XBox questions, I know nothing!! can you help?

[bizzylizzy]

Hi everyone... Mrs Dozy again
I've definitely decided to buy my hubby an xbox for Christmas. What's the diff between the standard xbox and the xbox360? I read somewhere that not all games will play on both. How do these consoles work. We have a 42" sony plasma TV and he has an apple mac computer. Can the games console be plumbed into his mac screen as well as the tv? Are the leads supplied or will I have to buy them, and finally, what kit should I buy to start him off? Sorry for being thick, but I know nothing about gaming. He won't play online I know that much. Our Broadband speed is rubbish. Thanks very much everybody.

[silverdaler]

put it this way if u buy him a normal xbox than its divorce lol

[Richard1966]

The original xbox is now quite a few years old and whilst it is still pretty good you ought to be looking at the xbox 360.

The 360 comes in two formats, a core package which is cheaper but does not have a hard drive and is only supplied with a wired controller.

The other full package (which I would recommend you go for) includes a hard drive, wireless controller and all the cables you will need to connect it to your (presumably) high def plasma telly. The difference here is the quality of the game images and having gone from an original xbox to a 360 viewed on a high def LCD telly it really is quite remarkable.

I have no idea if he can use his Mac to view the 360, I suppose it will depend on the connections on the mac. He should be able to use his internet connection to go to xbox live. The full 360 package comes with one month free subscription. You will be forking out of a full annual connection as playing live with real people is a different experience again.

Go for it, but expect to become a xbox widow for at least the first few weeks.

Rich B

[jason1980]

hi again!

An xbox360 is next generation gaming meaning its the newest and best on the market. An xbox is like a ps2 - outdated!! Xbox games do play on the xbox360 - but its only useful for those who have had an xbox original upgrading to the 360.

Get him the premium pack which comes with hard drive and mic.

The premium pack comes with the cables for your plasma as the xbox360 is a HD gaming machine

[jason1980]

I never played online before, but with a 360 - its so good u cant help yourself, you don't need an excellent connection as the majority of information needed is on game discs - but you will need to hook it up online to get machine updates or download arcade games direct to the hard drive. Texas Holdem, and UNO is excellent. - On UNO you can see people as well as talk to them with the Vision Camera, you get all ages on there and can press the MUTE option under recent players to block any ones camera and/or mic should the be irritating.

[Mattk]

Definitely a 360 and check out the deal at Argos at the mo.Probably the best available at the mo.

[Phantaxus]

dont forget the games

a list of a few to take a look at

Gears of war (out next week)
Call of Duty 3 (COD 2 should be a cheap 2nd hand purchase)

on the driving front

PGR 3
Test drive unlimited

Eye candy for the kids

Kameo ( another not too expensive 2nd hand purchase)
Viva Pinata (1st Dec)


RPG

Oblivion


if you post o here the style of games he likes im sure you will get suggestions as to what to buy

[FrancisB]

Yes, the answers provided here are excellent.

My advice to you is to definitly go for the X360 Premium package, the more expensive one. At first, it seems more expensive, but in the long term, it will work out better and cheaper. It will last a good 4-5 years, at least - before the 'next generation' arrives.

The original XBox is starting to become outdated (it has more or less reached the end of its lifecycle) and you can only play the original XBOX games on the premium X-Box 360 console, not the core system (because of the extra memory needed).

Hope that helps.