Well, finally broke down and bought an XBOX 360 system. I kind of wished I felt like waiting until 2007, when Microsoft puts their new CPUs in the system, which is going to make them run a lot cooler. After reading a lot of stuff about the xbox 360 and heat issues, there was no question whether or not I should buy one of the external coolers.

I've read reviews of the 2 most popular ones, the intercooler and the pelican stand. The pelican stand uses 1 fan and can only be used when the xbox 360 is on its side. I wouldn't mind using the system on its side, but many are claiming that using the system on its side actually creates lots of scratches on the discs, even when the system isn't being moved from the normal position.

I'm the type of person that likes his discs to be in perfect condition forever. So, there's no way I would ever chance playing the games like that.

To get most or full use out of the xbox 360, you really need the hard drive. So, I bought the premium system. For $299, you get the "core" system with a wired controller. With the premium system, you get the core system, an ethernet cable, replace the wired controller with wireless, a hard drive, HI-DEF A/V Cable (w optical digital output and selectable hd/sd resolution switch,) and a headset, for xbox live.

My first complaint is that the wireless controller should have had a battery pack and optical usb cord, like the plug n charge kit. Knowing they were not included, I bought the plug n charge kit, for appx $20.

My second complaint is having to buy the intercooler. These coolers aren't even official microsoft products. These two accessories, I feel they are required and not just extras. The brings the system from $400 to appx $440. Most people will also buy an extra controller ($49 - wireless) which makes the total to appx $490. If a spare plug n charge kit is needed ($20) that makes the total appx $510.

Luckily, the xbox 360, like the original xbox, has the ability to save games to the hard drive. So, memory cards are almost a thing of the past. If you're going to bring a saved game to a friends, that's fine, but if not, then most people won't need it.

I really like the fact that the HD-AV cable supports three systems. 1st, it supports hi-def component video. 2nd, it supports composite video, and 3rd, optical digital (you have to buy your own optical digital cable) plug. The only thing they could have done better would be to add s-video. There should also be vga and dvi cables available, and soon hdmi, although expensive to buy seperately.

Another thing I like about the xbox 360 is its added game support for hi-def televisions. When the original xbox came out, many people were telling microsoft that one of their favorite features of it were the hi-def support, although limited. There just weren't a lot of games that supported it. Some of it may have been because of the slower processor. So, Microsoft wanted to make a new system, based on hi-def support and their one true success: xbox live: the xbox 360. Not all games support 1080i though.

The only game I've been able to play so far is enchanted arms. Being a RPG, the gameplay graphics are good but probably don't take advantage of the 360s capabilities, however, the cutscenes are crisp, clear, and nicely detailed.

The game itself is ok, but there are some downfalls. There are way too many cutscenes, talking, and text in it. There are a lot of parts where your character will have just stopped chatting 10 seconds earlier before another chat happens, over and over again.

An interesting aspect of the game is the ability to build golems, based on core materials you either get through doing various tasks, beating certain bosses, or buying. I don't know how many you build throughout the game, but I think there are probably many. Each golem has a special ability: combat, defense, or some where in between. The golems also increase in level with experiance.

You have a typical party, which is 4. 1 golem, you main character, and 2 others.

One thing that I find disturbing is that one of the main characters is gay. I don't have a problem with gay people, but in a game that is meant for kids and all types of RPGers (in other words, not marketed for the gay market) that this gay dude is constantly hitting on one of the other main characters just doesn't sit right with me.

congrats on your 360, now all you have to do is get Oblivion and you won't leave the house again. :)

A few more observations: I tried the dvd player out, using resident evil superbit dvd, using DTS, and the sound dropped out about once every 10 mins or so, for a second or two.

I also find the battery indicator hard to read, at least one an HDTV.

On enchanted arms, the load times are minimal. I'm sure oblivion will be a lot worse on that. Hopefully I'll start getting my used games in at the post office by monday to try some more out.

Well, Oblivion arrived today but I wont' be able to try it out until tonight...

I haven't had the chance to play Enchanted Arms yet, I want to, I've heard it was a really interesting and fun game. And I like the idea of a prominant gay character, though from what I've heard and the video of the footage I've seen I could probably do without the outright, over-the-top stereotypical persona that they gave that particular character.

One other thing to look for with the 360 is Geometry Wars. Think Asteroids smashed with Smash TV/Robotron 2084 and that's the experience, the retro arcade pack (can't remember the real, official title). Plus the other games that come on the pack, which I know nothing about, but GW is worth the purchase alone.

Almost makes me want a 360, but I can't buy it for that game alone... close, but just can't do it.

Ya know, the 360 is an improvement over the original xbox, but I can see it on both sides, and I'm not just talking about Sony fanboys. For some people, the improvements may not be worth the extra money, especially since there isn't 100% backwards compatibility.

My main complaint about that is that they didn't add support for Soul Caliber 2. Soul Caliber 3 was announced awhile back, I believe for the 360. So, that could be a reason to not support it.. Microsoft also said there is no support for games that have the same name as their xbox 360 counterpart - fight night round 3, madden 06, 07, a lot of sports titles, etc. It's not that big of a deal, because I do still have my original xbox, but I'd still like to see soul caliber 2 supported.

Enchanted arms.. I'd personally rate it a 3 out of 5. It was pretty easy until about 7-8 hours in to the game, when you get to the frozen city and then gets pretty hard. It could be my fault for not exploring each and every crevace, leveling along the way. There was one long walk where I had to skip probably 20 different pathways, due to one of my characters' vitality points getting too low. So, I had to rush her through to the other side heh, and a few levels later, she could kick my main characters a$$ in a minute.

You also get so many golems that it's hard to figure out which one to use, and that could be a problem, as they not only get exp just by being with you on your journeys (not just fighting) - but they get stat points when they're actually in your party fighting, and those stat points can mess you up. If you play the wrong golem and devote too much time in to it, then it may be harder for you to actually play a better golem later on.

I just found a game that I think will be a great addition to the 360. Half Life 2 Episode 2. It won't be out until early 2007, but valve will be including 5 games on the 360 version: Half Life 2, with better graphics than the pc version, half life 2 episode one, half life 2 episode 2, portal, and Team Fortress 2. Portal looks like it might be an interesting game as well.

I can't wait for Gears of War and Fear. I got to play both games a few weeks ago and they are both GREAT!!!.

Rainbow six Vegas was also very good, Didn't get to play Half Life or even see anything about it, i guess we have to wait until 2007.

Just ordered Phantasy Star Universe, for the 360.. Hopefully will be playing it within the next week, if the game and the wifi adapter come in on time!

I want to play that, i just don't want to pay the monthly fee. I know you can play it off line with no fee but that really isn't what the games about.

From what I hear, PSU is very close to PSO 1&2 on the cube, but the world is 10x larger, I think there's one extra character/race, and you get vehicles.

In the past, the games has been plagued by bugs and cheaters, especially in the DC and xbox versions, and later on in the gamecube version, because character information was stored on memory cards or hard drives.

When blue burst came out, the character information is saved on the servers, and I'm guessing that's the way it'll be on PSU. Your single player character will be saved on a memory card or hard drive and online character on the server (Correct me if I'm wrong, if any one knows for sure.)

I played PSO1&2 for the cube for several months online. It was worth the monthly fee, when I was playing it hardcore, but in the last month I played, I didn't play it many hours. Same thing happened with me on everquest. Any way, within that time period, I got multiple freezeups and had to start my character over several times, due to it corrupting my card, and I still managed to beat the ultimate level online in that time.

After that, I was scared to get on-line, in fear that it would ruin my character again. I play it offline on and of to this day and have a ranger around lev 128, a fighter a little lower, and an android ranger at around 82.

The $60 price is a bit much, for a MMORPG, but I think the fees are worth it, if you like the game and don't burn yourself out of it.. To me, PSU isn't a game you'd play for over six months at a time on-line, even though some have played it for years.

Well, unfortunately, my PSU order is backordered at bestbuy (had a giftcard), but I'll wait it out and see what'll happen, since I don't have the wireless adapter in yet any way.

Just got an email stating my psu game was shipped today. That's the quickest resolvement I've ever had on a delayed shipment. My luck is usually I never get it and either the company cancels the order or I do heh.

Well, it looks like the half life package has been delayed until summer of 07... Ya win some, ya lose some..