Best Video Games

Review by William Daniels III for Xbox 360 Wireless Controller Black
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Whenever anyone comes over to play, this is perfect. Give him the pink controller, and don’t let him forget who’s in charge.

Review by Lisa Shea for Xbox 360 Wireless Controller Black
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If you’ve got an XBox 360, you really need to get your hand on one or two wireless controllers. These controllers are GREAT for keeping your gaming area free of clutter. To start with, the controller is much smaller than the standard XBox controller was.

For control items, you start with the standard blue X, yellow Y, red B and green A buttons. There are two thumbsticks, one on the upper left and one in the center right. There is also a directional (d-pad) in the lower left.

Next, you have a pair of shoulder buttons at the “top” of the unit, up above the other buttons. You also have a pair of triggers below those shoulder buttons.

Finally, you have a center X button that can be used to turn the console on and off, plus a “start” and “back” tiny white buttons on either side of it.

The unit has a rechargeable battery unit inside it, the size of two AA batteries. You have to buy a recharger set SEPARATELY that lets you charge up while you play. In essence you plug the charger into the back of the controller – and the other end into the USB port in the front of the XBox 360 unit. So you play with the controller “wired” as it charges up. When it’s fully charged again, you just pop off the wire and keep playing.

The range of the wireless unit is 30′, which is probably much further than anybody is really going to even try playing a game at. The wireless is much easier on your hand – no cable holding you down – plus it’s a great help in keeping your gaming area organized. You can easily pass the controller from person to person, and visitors can come and go without tripping over wires.

The documentation says you can get 40 hours of gameplay between charges, but if you have features such as vibration on, that sucks the time down to maybe 8-10 hours. It’s up to you of course – I personally like having vibration on because it is often important for gameplay to get those warning signals.

Still, even if I have to plug the cables in every 10 hours or so to give it a juice boost, I still love wireless!! Highly recommended.

Review by Sinister Crayon for Xbox 360 Wireless Controller Black
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Ok, so this is basically just the white controller painted black. To be honest, the white controllers don’t look too bad, its the white console that looks terrible. But that is my opinion. On to the facts. The black controller is almost exactly the same, but part of the grip is more “matte” than the white one. The white controller always makes me sweat for some reason because it is too smooth. These look great however. The colors are well matched even though it may not look like it in the pictures. I’d definitely recommend picking these up if you have an elite, or if you have core/premium and you want the black ones so the grime doesn’t show as much, I’d highly recommend these.

Review by gamerdude27 for Xbox 360 Wireless Controller Black
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I’ve gamed with almost every gamepad imaginable and never before have I used a controller that is so comfortable and easy to use. The Xbox 360 wireless controller is near flawless. Everything from its button layout to its build quality to its comfort level; it’s all just perfect.

Never before have my hands wrapped around a controller so naturally. Typically with a controller, you have to make your hands form to the controller in order to access all of the buttons, typically resulting in fingers getting jammed into each other uncomfortably or strecthed out across the controller awkwardly. With the 360 controller, my hands just mold into every angle of the design and my fingers effortlessly wrap around the controller’s button layout.

The button layout is as follows: Two analog sticks, D-Pad, four face buttons, two triggers, two shoulder buttons, start & back buttons, and the Xbox Guide Button. I’d give the layout and button design a 10/10. Everything is accessible without having to move your hands from the controller and everything has a solid, durable design. The triggers are smooth and glide with the motion of your fingers and are truly perfect. The shoulder buttons work just fine and are easily accessible (these are where the black and white buttons the from Xbox controller S went). The face buttons have great spring to them and don’t feel mushy like the Playstation controller. The analog sticks are an 11/10. Compared to the PS controller in which you jam your fingers into each other and trying to correct out the play in the analog sticks, the 360′s sticks are awesome; firm, precise, smooth gliding, and simply perfect. The D-Pad is unchanged from the Xbox controller, which wasn’t good to begin with. It works and get the job done, but it could be better. The start and back buttons have moved to the middle of the controller and are better off in the center. And last but not least, the Xbox guide button (which needs a paragraph of its own).

The Xbox guide button is a feature that is running 24/7 and is implemented straight into the 360 architecture and games. Even in the middle of a game, you can hit the Xbox guide button and access everything from your gamerscore, friend’s lists, messages, music, achievements, game invites, etc. It can even take you back to the dashboard without even having to restart the console or remove the disc. When you’re done with the dashboard, you just fire the game back up with even leaving the couch. When you want to turn off individual controllers or even turn off the console, simply hit the guide button. Want to turn on the console? Just hit the guide button. It’s easily the best feature of the controller.

Wireless technology = 10/10 Seamless integration with the console and an incredible stable connection with the console, even through walls, doors, etc; it’ll even stay connected through different stories of a house. In over a year’s time with the 360 wireless controller, I have NEVER lost my connection with the console. That’s right, never. No interference with my wireless network, 2.4 ghz cordless phones, nothing. It is incredible how seamless it is. To connect a controller to a console, turn it on, press the link button on the controller and then the connect button on the console and almost magically, your controller is hooked right up and playing. And once your controller is connected to your console, you never have to link them together again; the next time you turn on your 360, the controller is automatically synched with the 360. If you want to add controllers to your 360, you simply synch them together with the same method that I just mentioned. Want to use your controller on a different 360? Simply synch them together and you’re playing. The wireless technology with the 360 and its seamless integration is top-notch. Simply the fact that I will never have to deal with cords again makes the wireless controller more than worth the extra money. But with wireless, you have the issue with charging and batteries…

I average about 25 hours per charge with my controller, although intense vibration feedback in games can drop that number down to about 20 hours. I get plenty of charge to last me through a week or two and when I run out of juice, I simply switch out my battery pack with the fresh pack sitting on my quick charge kit. The biggest problem with the wireless controller is the fact that you are literally forced into buying the rechargeable battery pack with the Play & Charge kit or the Quick Charge kit. It’s not that big of a deal, but if you think you can get away with AA batteries, this controller will eat them for lunch, especially with rumble. Speaking of rumble, the motors in the 360 controller pack quite a punch and you’ll end up paying more in batteries than the mere rechargeable pack costs. Everything from the roar of a machine gun to the light vibration of deflecting a pass to the jolt of a hard impact, everything on-screen is brought to life in your hands with this controller. And no, this isn’t the same rumble like the PS2 or Xbox controller. The 360′s rumble is more seamlessly integrated into games and serves a much more useful purpose in immersing you within the experience and can create all kinds of varied feedback effects like never before. I’d take this over six degrees of tilt any day.

Overall, this controller is near flawless and hands down the best I have ever used. Comfort, wireless precision, durability; this controller packs it all into one sleek little controller.

Review by Sick Daddy for Xbox 360 Wireless Controller Black
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If you’ve got an Xbox 360, you need controllers. This covenant model if pefect for Halo fans of all ages. Todd McFarlane did the artwork for this controller. The picture won’t soon rub off onto your hands, and it’s a great conversation piece amongst your plain colored controllers.

The layout of the buttons on the Xbox 360 is amazing. It’s perfect for many of the games that are on the 360. The rumble is effective, and the wireless capacity is wonderful.

The only beef I have, is that I’ve had two controllers that become loose on the left analog stick, and they began to drag the cursor when not touched. The Xbox Warranty I had from the console replaced them free of charge. Luckily I had extra controllers to get me by in the week it took to replace it.

When matched with the rechargable battery pack, they give you lots of gaming time between charges.

Review by Vaclav C Bares for Xbox 360 250GB Console
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I am extremely picky about any hardware I use. Having owned both models of the PS3 and a few Xbox 360s (that I bought and sold over time) I have pretty high expectations. Personally I think Xbox live is much better then PSN which is why I jumped from PS3 back to Xbox. My big issue was the hardware. Microsoft took care of a big issue by allowing users to burn their games to the hard drive. However, the fan noise on my Xbox Elite was still driving me crazy. Now my Elite wasn’t broken, my ears just seem to attune to the noise they make. It especially drove me crazy when playing games like Puzzle Quest or when browsing the dash board. In this case the PS3 fat and slim where hands down superior (hardware build wise). But like many a fans I put up with the crappy build quality for the sake of a better interface and of course my friends list.

Now onto the new Xbox 360. Let me just say that for once I am very proud of Microsoft. They seem to have taken all the complaints from users and fixed them. This is the system they should have released long ago. The very first thing I noticed is how silent this machine is. Even after running for over an hour you can barely hear the fan. I would go as far as to say it’s even more silent then the PS3 slim (which I found to be louder then the fat model). The new Xbox has a strange but cool new look. I don’t understand why people are complaining that it is a finger print magnet. How often do you really touch your system once it’s in place? The buttons on the front are now touch sensitive instead of pressing them in, and make a cool noise I must say. I’m happy to say that even my disc drive is quite. It’s almost as quite running a disc as the fans on my Elite were. There are no old school memory card ports, but they upped the USB ports to 5. 2 on the front and 3 in the back. The new 250GB hard drive is removable. There is a button on the right side vent that you can press and remove the plate. The hard drive is in a special case but it’s easier to move. The only downside to this is the people that take their hard drives to their friends house, but this can be fixed by using a USB drive now.

The controller is pretty much the same as the Elites plus a couple changes. The bottom portion of the controller that was gray shaded is now a shiny black and the Xbox button is shiny chrome. All in all goes will with the package. The ear cushion on the headset is also now black instead of grey. Microsoft also has a picture of a black chat pad and wireless headset on the box for the new 360. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a black controller charger.

To close, I’m extremely satisfied with my purchase. It’s a worthy upgrade and one that shows Microsoft is actually listening for once. Also for those planning to get Kinect there is a dedicated port so on the new system which will let you use the camera with one less cable.

Review by Shane T. Ware for Xbox 360 250GB Console
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The new Xbox 360 redesign is slimmer, quieter, sleeker, has built in Wireless N, and has a 250GB hard drive. It is not a new console, and is not any spectacular leap for Xbox. This is simply a better Xbox 360. First off, the console looks great. It is much smaller than the current model, and has a really nice black glossy finish (although fingerprints show up a lot easier). The buttons are now touch sensitive rather than physical buttons. It is also, as said by Microsoft, “whisper quiet”. Unlike the current model, this one doesn’t sound like a jet engine when running, and allows it to be practically unnoticed, a big plus when watching movies. It also has built in Wireless N Wifi, which adds a significant value to this console, as the current adapters Microsoft sells are in the $70-$100 range. They also added a 250GB internal hard drive, which is removable, but NOT compatible with current 360′s. If you are looking to upgrade, you are going to have to transfer all of your stuff from the old Xbox to the new one using USB drives (this 360 does not have memory unit slots, just USB). The console is also Kinect ready, and includes a specific port for Kinect when it launches this November. This port supplies the Kinect camera with power and the connection to the Xbox, whereas otherwise you would have to plug in Kinect to the wall for power AND the Xbox for the connection.

Bottom line, if you don’t have a 360 and want to make the jump, this is the time to do it. If you have a 20GB 360 or a console that’s giving you problems (overheating etc.), I would say you should look at upgrading. If you have a fairly newer 360 model, I think you should just hold off.

Review by Ernest W. Grzybowski for Xbox 360 250GB Console
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I got mine from gamestop today. It’s nice and sleek and super quiet. Touch sensitives buttons and the angular design provides for a modern look. It’s the same price as the other bundles now so with integrated WiFi N (fastest available) it’s perfect. The optical audio that’s on there now without the adapter is helpful as well. There is no reason not to love this product. Same price, cooler, quieter, less power consumption, modern, bigger hard drive, wifi, kinect ready, optical out, 5 usb ports, sleek, and sexy.

Xbox 3Sexy

Review by davey118 for Xbox 360 250GB Console
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I am a PS3 owner but by no means a fan boy. The only thing that was keeping me from purchasing a Xbox 360 was the unreliability of the hardware. When this new console was announced I felt it was time to make the purchase. Built in wifi, quieter design, and a redesign that supposedly fixed the previous issues with the red ring of death, were all things that appealed to my sensibilities as a consumer. So far I have not been disappointed.

First off I am going to compare the Xbox 360 to the PS3 because it is my frame of reference. Simply put the Xbox is more user friendly. Load times so far on the Xbox have been much shorter than those on the PS3 (this could be because of the games I have been playing, which so far have only been a few on the Xbox, none of which are new releases). You don’t have to use a disc to play Netflix, and the Netflix interface on the Xbox is much better than that on the PS3. Not only is it easier to use, but it just looks better. Xbox Live is also much better than the Playstation Network, and even though I had to pay for the premium service the price for a year is reasonable for the way multi player works seamlessly and again it just looks better. Sorry, I like things that are functional and look pretty. It is also reasonably priced I think I paid $37 bucks for 12 months of Xbox Live ($3.08 a month, big deal). I also like the Xbox controller, I find it very comfortable to use, and to me it is more comfortable that the PS3 Controller. As far as graphics go between the PS3 and Xbox the difference is negligible, and I really don’t think anyone could tell the difference unless they had the two consoles on two identical TVs side by side. One thing the PS3 does have going for it is that going through the exclusive games for that console compared to the 360, I have much more interest in the PS3 exclusives (which has nothing to do with console performance and really only speaks to my preference of games).

Now onto the Xbox 360 itself and the supposed new features. First off, the set up was a breeze, everything so far has worked right out of the box. Built in wireless set up very easily and detected my network right away. Also I have never been disconnected while playing or experienced any lag on screen. It seems to be quiet at least as quiet as the PS3 (I can’t compare it to the old model Xbox as I have no frame of reference). You can still hear it sometimes but I think to expect to not hear anything coming from a device that has moving parts is ridiculous. Bottom line is that when I am in game it does not distract me which is the main issue. There is some heat coming off of it, but mine is not so hot where it worries me. I also have not had the issue of the console turning off when it gets too hot as some people have reported, although I think the most I usually play at a time is only a couple of hours compared to some who play for extended periods of time. I also have not had any issue with the system scratching discs. If you don’t move the console with a disc in it you won’t have a problem. Even if the system will be off, if I move it I will take the disc out as that what it says on the front of the console. I was also surprised at how easy it was to hook up the mic. Voice chat worked very well without having to do anything, I plugged it in and was chatting with my friends playing L4D. There was some feedback at first when using the mic but it went away and I haven’t experienced it sense. I am very impressed with what is included in the box for the Xbox, they pretty much give you everything you need minus a game and HDMI cable, but the price of this product at $300 with a larger HDD and built in wireless seemed like a very good deal, and HDMI cables on amazon are cheap, as are many of the older games that I will start out playing. I also hooked up my 5.1 surround sound headset to the optical output and they worked right away without having to change any settings which was very surprising.

The one thing I cannot attest to with this hardware is its reliability. People have been saying they have been having issues with the hardware failing, but with any new hardware there will be a few lemons in the bunch. I also have only had the hardware for a week so it is very possible something could go wrong and I will be revising my review. I would recommend buying an extended warranty with this product. Apparently the new Xbox only has a 1 year warranty whereas the older version was covered for 3 years for the issues it has had (RROD). Also this is the first iteration of this product so I feel it is better to be safe than sorry, just in case this hardware has its own issues. Lets face it the Xbox 360 has been around for 5 years now and they were still having issues with the last generation, so do yourself a favor and protect your investment.

Review by Deckard 26354 for Xbox 360 250GB Console
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First of all, as an owner of all the big 3 gaming systems this generation and last, the Xbox and Xbox 360 get my vote for “Best Video Game Consoles of the Last Decade” in terms of the over-the-top FUN, game-playing ease (on & offline), killer-graphics & sound, and the highest quality and variety of exclusive games.

If you’ve never owned an Xbox, now is the time to jump in! For around $300, you get practically everything you need for two players to have infinite fun! In addition, Amazon.com has great deals on Xbox 360 games from $10 to $20 on factory-sealed games that are only a year or two old.

Pros of the Xbox 360 Slim:

* It really is whisper quiet.

* Better heat ventillation system. Safeguard mechanism to shut down before overheating.

* Semi-Internal 250 GB Hard Drive (different from the past 360 models)

* Built-in Wireless Modem

* Built-in Kinect Port for controller-less gaming coming this Nov. 2010

* Sleek, sexy, glossy-black finish on console that is smaller than its predicessors.

Cons of 360 Slim:

* Although it has the brand new Valhalla chip, the proven Jasper chip in the Elite bundles runs cooler (such as in the Limited Modern Warefare 2, Resident Evil 5, Splinter Cell:Conviction, and the Final Fantasy XIII Bundles). All have gigantic 250 GB hard drives with seemingly endless memory for storing games, videos, and music.

Here’s my take, the latest Jasper-chipped 360 Elites were finally perfected, ran very cool & quiet, had the lowest incidents of Red Ring of Death from overheating, and an awesome 3-year warranty. The new Slims have taken one step backwards in that the game discs get much hotter. So, if you are looking for an Xbox 360 Elite for a your first Xbox 360 or just as a backup, I would highly recommend getting The Final Fantasy XIII Bundle with the free $50 FFXII facelate (my personal recommendation at $299) while you can because they have discontinued production of everything, but the Xbox 360 Slims.

My bottom line suggestion is to get the proven Jasper Elite while you still can, but you certainly won’t be disappointed by the Xbox Slim. I just wish Xbox would have given us the choice of the new Slim design or the slightly larger Jasper Elites. Whatever you decide, HAPPY GAMING, you won’t regreat buying an Xbox 360 as your primary gaming system! Nintendo Wii and PS3 aren’t bad machines, just less fun than the Xbox 360 in my opinion from a veteran gamer who remembers when pinball machines and pong games ruled the arcades.