Hey Everyone,

I was recently helping out a customer on Amazon.com with purchasing an Xbox 360 and when I went to post this in his forum, it turned out that I couldn't because I haven't purchased anything from their website. Well this review had taken me about 45 minutes to write and it's nearly a couple of pages in length. Since I had put all this effort into it, I didn't want it to go to waste, so I'm posting it here for whoever may want to read it. It's just an Xbox 360 buyers guide. Now keep in mind I hadn't really revised this since I wrote it for him. It's for him and his kids. I'm pretty bumbed I couldn't send this to him, but here's the guide anyways.

XBOX 360 BUYER'S GUIDE:

There are currently 3 different Xbox 360 systems that you can purchase at most retailers (ex. Target, Walmart, Bestbuy, here, etc.). The first is the Xbox 360 Arcade which is priced at $199 and comes bundled with 5 arcade games and no Hard Drive but does have a 256mb memory card.

Then there is the normal Xbox 360 which costs $299, comes with a 60gb Hard Drive, a headset, network cable, and component cable so you can hook up to high definition. It also has an hdmi input for highest quality sound and video but you have to buy the cable for that seperatly.

Finally there is the Xbox 360 Elite, which is a black Xbox 360 (as opposed to white like the other two). The controller that comes with this is black as well and comes with a 120gb Hard Drive. It also comes with a black headset, network cable, component cables, and an HDMI cable.

Here's a nice comparison view of the 3 consoles: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/compare101.htm

Now for all of these systems, they are all going to be updated and will run better than when the 360 was first released in 2005. There is far less chance for getting the feared Red Ring of Death in these current systems (where the system stops working entirely and is no longer playable, symbolized by three Red segments lit on the front LED of the Xbox 360). However if for some reason you do encounter the RRoD, there is a 3-year warranty with Microsoft where they will replaces it free of charge, they send you the box and shipping labels and tape with instructions while only taking a couple of weeks to fix (at least in my case).

Now as far as memory goes. There is a new update for the Xbox 360 which is called the New Xbox Experience, which is entirely free, and will be automatically downloaded when signing into Xbox live (which I will discuss later). It changes the 360's interface into something entirely new which is more easy to navigate. What it also does, is enable a person to fully install a game onto the system's hard drive. This can enable faster loading times and a much quieter Xbox 360. When a game is installed on the Hard Drive, the system will run it through the hard drive, which means the disc will not be spinning in the system. This depends from game to game as some game companies do not recommend installing games directly to the hard drive because they are meant to run off the disc and can actually slow the game down more (ex. Halo 3). I personally installed Fable 2 onto my 20gb Hard Drive and my system became very quiet, VERY NOTICEABLE when playing and it is well worth it. It did however take up about 8gb of space, that plus demos I like to download, I'm going to run out of space fast. Considering this, I would recommend the Regular $299 or Elite $399 version, which come with 60gb and 120gb hard drives respectively.

If you want to view the system in all of it's glory, hook it up to an HD TV and you will enjoy a whole lot better. It does look good on a standard definition TV as well though.

Alright, now each system comes with a single controller so you will probably want to buy another so your kids can enjoy the games together. You could get a wireless controller for $49 or a wired controller for $39.

Next is Xbox Live. There is the silver membership (which is free) and then there is the gold membership (with prices listed) that you need in order to play game online with others. You could buy either a 1-month time card ($7.99), 3-month time card ($29), or 12 month time card that comes with an additional 1 free month ($49). There are also microsoft points that enable you to buy xbox arcade games online along with other goodies. You could buy 1600 Microsoft Points for $19 or 4000 for $49. You could also handle this all online with a credit card if you like.

Each account that you want to have a gold membership is going to need to be paid for individually. So if each of your kids wants to have their own seperate Gold account, you will need to pay $8 per person per month, although when using a credit card or buying the year long time card, it comes to be cheaper.

Also, I would recommend connecting through a router or if you have a wireless router with the 360 in another room, there is the wireless network adapter that costs $99 at your local retailer. I have this and it works like a charm, no noticable difference or lag when playing games online.

Now the fun part, the games. Oh man are there a lot of them. Some games that I recommend are:
Halo 3 ($60): Great single player game that can be played with 4 player co-op, both online and offline (I believe, it's that or 2 offline). Then there is multiplayer mode with a theater (to watch and save all of your gameplay videos) plus forge (which allows you to make custom maps).You can as well play with up to 3 other players (which don't need gold accounts) on a single system (so 4 altogether) or over xbox live. Xbox live matches range anywhere from 8-16 people.

The Orange Box ($30): 5 games in one. Half Life 2, Half Life 2: Episode One, Half Life 2: Episode Two, plus Portal and Team Fortress 2. Team Fortress 2 is an online game which can support up to 16 people as well in a single game. However in all of these games, there is only single player, no 2 people can play it on the same console at the same time. All of these games are very enjoyable.

There is also, Gears of War ($30 at bestbuy), Gears of War 2 ($60), Grand Theft Auto 4 ($60), NHL 09 ($60), Assassin's Creed ($30), Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare ($60), Fable II ($60), and Far Cry 2 ($60).

These are just some of the many great games available and I believe a lot of them are actually cheaper here on Amazon.

I'm not really sure if I've covered everything about the Xbox 360 but my hands are getting tired of typing, so I'll just end at that. When it all comes down to it though, I would probably get the elite due to the hard drive size (which you can purchase the hard drives seperately, not sure of the prices though). However the 60gb would do just as good and would be able to handle multiple games installed onto it plus game downloads and handle all saved games. The games I listed would be good ones to start with but just ask your kids to see what they want. Get an extra controller and maybe a recharge kit, which can range from just about $15 to $30 or so. As for intercollers to cool down your system, I don't recommend them. I hear bad things about them just heating your 360 and their poor build quality which only harms the system. Really all you need to do is keep your Xbox 360 in a well ventilated place, treat it well and you should be good to go.

I hope you find what you're looking for and I hope you have a ton of fun with it.

Happy Holidays!