^you must've either heard that about NBA Live or heard it from someone who hadnt played 2K6

12/27/2005 4:46:41 PM

Yeah, NBA 2k6 is one of the better basketball games out there.

12/27/2005 6:13:15 PM

i want a 360. too bad no place has them

12/27/2005 9:36:17 PM

just keep checking, i keep hearing that walmart will have them either jan 1 or jan 2.

12/27/2005 11:28:52 PM

Is the NBA2K6 play choppy? It seemed so when I was watching videos of gameplay on IGN.

I'm loving Call of Duty 2. The online play is awesome, except for the fact that you can't choose rooms in which to play, only formats.

I heard FIFA was pretty terrible. I really wanted a good soccer game so I could play in a league online. Meh.

NFS is pretty cool. I'm wondering if you can do pink slip races online.

PDZ is also great. The co-op play is pretty cool, I've been tearing it up with a friend.

12/28/2005 1:20:17 AM

Quote :

"I heard FIFA was pretty terrible. I really wanted a good soccer game so I could play in a league online. Meh."

I think FIFA has a free demo on live. The game seems pretty rough, but they don't explain the buttons and it is limited to a min or two per half. Same with the madden demo. The WORST part about both though is after the demo game it kicks you out to the dashboard. So if you want to try again you are forced to watch all their splash screens and let the game load again.

I wouldn't overlook NFS. I played the lesser xbox version, but it is fun. Certainly an arcade racer, but I like running from the cops and smashing shit up. They know it is not a simulator just like burnout. Way back when though I thought NFS Porsche unleashed was a good driving game.

Anyhow, its the classic battle of sim vs arcade racer. Both have merits IMO. My gripe about PGR this time around is there are no lesser cars to work up on. It seems a 400 HP (memory guess) Mercedes is entry level and step 2 is supercar. The game also seems to make every car very ass end happy to support the Kudos system they setup.

In both games this seemed very wierd to me. In NFS I would choose to take the pinkslip of the person I beat. Next thing I knew I had a car that one of the best in the game and it was already tricked out. I can't imagine why anyone would buy a car in that game unless they wanted to spend 4 hours trying out new wings. The same idea applies to PGR. I chose my first car and started racing on medium. After about 5 cups or so (because you get huge bonuses for winning a cup) I had enough for the F50 which seems to be the top car in that game.

I personally don't want to spend hours on a track to get the pro (or whatever they call them) medals so my interest in both games dropped really fast.




[Edited on December 28, 2005 at 2:26 AM. Reason : NFS]

12/28/2005 2:09:59 AM

I downloaded the NBA demo on Live, but it kinda sucked.

12/28/2005 2:27:45 AM

I downloaded the FIFA demo and Im like WTF is this shit??? Wasn't impressed at all. though it was fun for a few minutes to trip everyone and get a red card

12/28/2005 4:48:52 AM

I had to quit playing NFS. After a certain level (early on) the "catch up" AI became unbearable and took all the fun out of the game. Turns out it doesn't matter how far behind the CPU cars fall, they will catch up to make it a photo finish.

Once after pinning the competition behind an 18 wheeler I built a quick 8 second lead. That lead evaporated in less time than it took to build once the CPU got out from behind the 18 wheeler. I mean it couldn't have made up the time as quick as it did unless I was at a standstill.

That plus the ability of the police to rotate on a dime. If you watch carefully they don't stop and turn around when you pass them going the opposite direction. They instantly do a 180 (the car literally rotates as if all 4 wheels could turn) and end up driving the same speed as you in almost the same instant you pass them.

Turned out to be more frustration than it was worth.

12/28/2005 7:18:43 AM

Didn't notice about the cops. I will say the suv cops are annoying. In the game they must way 50 tons because you can barely move them (usually you come to a instant stop). While you are at a stop and somewhat boxed the cars require a 10 sec burnout period before they move (it seems) so getting busted is easy.

The catch up works both ways. Thats why I said it was pointless to buy any car in the game. With both games (to me) they were fun for a while, but then just seemed really stale and repetitive.

NFS also has a problem with the "nitrous" in the game. Your speedo will increase, but your speed relative to the cars next to you doesn't change. The only thing it is good for is quickly increasing speed for the stoplight cameras. "Performance" upgrades are a joke in the game, they barely add anyhting to the stats of a car. I honestly feel most things are only in the game because it is a choice in most other racing titles. Without it (regardless of how pointless they are) some people would whine that they couldn't upgrade theirs cars vs game X.

12/28/2005 7:32:53 AM

^The reason nitrous doesn't do anything is because of the "catch up" AI. If you go faster the competition will go faster whether they use their nitrous or whether they have a slower car or not.

The best place to see the cops spin is when they are trying to box you in. You will notice that they don't do 3-point road turns or stop and turn... they just rotate. Another way to see it is to look on the map. You'll see thier car blip do an abrupt about face as you pass.

12/28/2005 7:45:40 AM

Yea NFSMW is crap. Doesn't look real at all. PGR3 is the clear winner.

12/28/2005 12:48:24 PM

the cops have the speedbreaker too...press x, make your turn, press b for nitrous and then you will do the exact same thing...

nfsmw isn't a realistic racer, but it is very fun imo

on xbox live there is NO catch up feature

[Edited on December 28, 2005 at 1:12 PM. Reason : /]

12/28/2005 1:12:30 PM

wal marts are all putting 12 out on New Years @ midnight. Too bad no one will be in a wal mart at new years at midnight. haha


I want one, though. Anyone have news on any other shipments?

12/29/2005 11:09:59 AM

XBox 360 uses water to cool the CPU.

Now you know.

12/29/2005 1:59:04 PM

nfs is getting hard now...the bounty points for the top 7 people are hard to get because you have to do so much to get 8 roadblocks and i keep shooting gaps with hidden spike strips...and the stupid rhinos that ram you head on get you stuck to the walls

12/29/2005 3:12:24 PM

can anybody's 360 play DVD+R or DVD-R movies?????

12/30/2005 2:48:18 AM

^^^ not so much water as water vapor.

12/30/2005 2:51:24 AM

^^mine plays them just fine...i just watched sky high tonight

12/30/2005 4:27:45 AM

My PGR3 disk is starting to crap up. Have received a disk error like 3 times now.

12/30/2005 4:44:11 AM

uh oh...vertical or horizontal?

nfs froze on me once...no disk error though...

[Edited on December 30, 2005 at 5:14 AM. Reason : xbox i mean...vertical or horizontal...]

12/30/2005 5:14:10 AM

vertical

It basically gave me an error that either the disk is a different region or I need to clean it.

Funny thing is that it always crashed when loading the Japan speedway thing. so I took it out and rubbed it vigorously. haven't seen the error since, but I am keeping my fingers crossed.

12/30/2005 5:55:42 AM

^ you probably got grease on it from the chicken you were eating fatty

12/30/2005 8:31:40 AM

EVERYONE KNOWS THAT IF YOU PUT IT VERTICAL, IS HAS BEEN KNOWN TO FUCK UP. so lets just all leave ours laying down flat.

12/30/2005 10:25:37 AM

^that's not true

like 1% are having problems...i have the vertical stand and it works great...most all of the problems are from overheating on the first batch...which can be from having the MASSIVE power strip too close to all of the other electronics or from having the system in an enclosed space...

the vertical position scratching disks is a myth and rare

12/30/2005 11:02:35 AM

it'll scratch disks only if you move it from one alignment to another while it's still on. even the manual warns you against that. My disk isn't scratched.

And again, overheating is caused by blocked vents. Have you tried to feel the exhaust coming out of the console? It's like aur coming out from a heater. That said, you get a warning when it starts overheating

12/30/2005 12:39:15 PM

Moody.

If you leave your xbox vertical on carpet.

It will overheat.

You can take that to the bank.

12/30/2005 2:31:22 PM

Actually, the converse is true. My Xbox is vertical on a carpet. There are no vents down there.

12/30/2005 2:33:46 PM

so i got an xbox 360 from toys r us today. platinum, last one they had. i just created my xbox live account, name: DoggieDerek if anyone wants to play me at madden 360 or NBA 2K6, holler

12/30/2005 4:29:35 PM

Get PGR3 d00d

12/30/2005 4:33:44 PM

i plan to eventually. i also wanna get tiger woods

12/30/2005 4:34:15 PM

download all the demos

They just released Quake 4 demo last night.

12/30/2005 4:34:46 PM

Quote :

"i have the vertical stand and it works great"

people gotta read...mine worked fine on carpet too...ALL the vents are on the sides like ultra said

[Edited on December 30, 2005 at 4:36 PM. Reason : user]

12/30/2005 4:35:39 PM

how do I download demos?

12/30/2005 4:38:55 PM

goto the XBox Live marketplace and then select demos.

12/30/2005 4:40:06 PM

Geometry wars 1 & 2 is built into PGR3 (demos at least) instead of going to xbox live arcade.

Choose to look around your garage and you will see two video games in the back corner.

12/30/2005 4:49:06 PM

holy shit the full version?

12/30/2005 4:50:23 PM

doa4 is sweet

roomie just got it

12/30/2005 4:58:26 PM

Dunno, I can't remember.

Its not my xbox. My memory is limited to when I was dorking it up at a friend's place. He didn't realize it was in there at all. To be honest, I don't know what the difference would be from the full version and the demo except the ability to post scores online and prove you are teh ubernerd.

12/30/2005 4:58:45 PM

sweet I just found the arcade machines.

12/30/2005 5:00:01 PM

it's a demo

12/30/2005 5:02:42 PM

Quote :

"people gotta read...mine worked fine on carpet too...ALL the vents are on the sides like ultra said"

The intake is on the bottom.

Now that DOA4 is out, there's finally a reason to own a 360.

[Edited on December 30, 2005 at 5:03 PM. Reason : .]

12/30/2005 5:03:17 PM

it isn't on mine.

12/30/2005 5:04:48 PM

anyone want to sell me doa4 or cod2? maybe i'll get lucky on anandtech.com

12/30/2005 5:07:46 PM

buy a new one

12/30/2005 5:08:17 PM

Quote :

"anyone want to sell me doa4 or cod2? maybe i'll get lucky on anandtech.com "

DOA4 just went on sale today.

Good luck prying it out of anyone's hands not named "Best Buy"

12/30/2005 5:15:53 PM

it's already out of stock on bestbuy.com

but for some reason people on anandtech.com sell new stuff with receipts cheaper than in store...stolen maybe?

12/30/2005 5:21:31 PM

bestbuy's inventory management sucks. Try Walmart

I got my PGR3 from there.

12/30/2005 5:26:57 PM

nah i'll wait til i get a deal or someone buys it for me...i haven't even played pd0 yet because of nfs

12/30/2005 5:27:38 PM

yea I have the Best Buy membership and every dollar I spend elsewhere costs me.

12/30/2005 5:31:54 PM