My son turned 13 today, got him a 360 elite

[digitalwanderer]

Ok, colour me all console now...we got my son a 360 for his birthday today.

Got it last night on a bit of an impulse at Target, picked up a bundle with a couple of games just 'cause it looked like the best deal.

Actually managed to surprise the hell out of my son, he was flabbergasted.

So what do I have to get now? I already picked up an extra controller and Halo3 ODST, what else do I need? I was looking at the wireless controller, but $70 for a stupid NIC? Is lag an issue with wireless G, is N ok, or should I just hardwire it for best results?

 

[Mize]

Hardwire or buy a generic wifi print server and hang it off that - they're cheaper. ODST is only ok IMHO. Many other better games out there.

 

[I.S.T.]

Try Crackdown, it's an awesome game.

 

[patsu]

Congrats ! I still have 8 more years to go. T_T

 

[Florin]

Now you just need Red Dead Redemption!

 

[AzBat]

Are you asking for games he might like or you?

For disc games I second Crackdown, but since he's 13 I have a hard time suggesting M rated titles. You might or might not care, but every kid & parent are different. I just thought you might want to be aware that a lot of great titles on disc will be M rated. Personally, I don't have a problem with my son playing them. I've let him play all the Halo titles & the open world titles like Crackdown, Saints Row 1/2 & Prototype. He'll soon get to play Red Dead Redemption.

For Teen rated titles I would suggest all the Tomb Raider games & Guitar Hero/Rock Band games. I also HIGHLY suggest Microsoft Points for Live Arcade($5,$10,$15,$20) and Live Indie Games($1,$3,$5). They probably have the biggest & best catalog of Everyone to Teen rated titles out there. Just be aware that Indie Games require a Live Connection in order to play. Games on Demand sell for around $20-$50, but you can use a credit card to buy those if you don't want to buy Microsoft Points.

As for accessories, he's going to want to have a rechargeable battery pack. I highly recommend either the Play & Charge Kit or the Quick Charge Kit. I suggest both if you have more than one rechargeable battery since you want to keep a spare on charge when you're using one. Plus, if you happen to not have a fully charged battery the charging cable comes in handy in a pinch. If you rather just buy the battery packs by themselves & a use a 3rd party charger, then I also have the Energizer Power & Play Charging system. They released a new version that comes with a charging port for the official Wireless Headset and now comes in both white & black. I've got the white, but I'm about to trade it in for the black version. Works great for controllers & the headset. Not sure if your son will have access to more than 1 Xbox 360 system, but if he does then I highly suggest a 1GB flash drive to store his game profile & saves. Keep the profile on the flash drive and then he can take it with him to a friends or wherever. The battery pack & flash drive were the 2 biggest things my son wanted after he got his system at Christmas.

Give us a list of games he likes or that he has played before and I'm sure we could give you a better list of titles to play.

P.S. Don't forget to check out the free demos for disc games on Live Marketplace. Also, all Live Arcade & Live Indie Games comes with free demos.

Tommy McClain

 

[obonicus]

Since you have a PC, probably better to focus on stuff that has no PC version, or won't get a cheaper PC version soon.

Like Banjo Kazooie: N&B? Some people really really enjoyed it. Forza 3? Maybe Gears 2, I seem to remember you not having a problem with your kids playing Saint's Row 2 on PC. If he might be into RPGs, then there's a pretty good selection there, too.

 

[BRiT]

If you allow them to play online, or if you want to play online then pickup a 1 year XBox Live card for $35 via Buy.com [ http://www.buy.com/prod/xbox-live-1...card-gold-membership/q/loc/108/211086907.html ] I think the 'normal' price is $50. You can stack up to 3 years on 1 xbox-live account.

Also have a look at various used game shops for some great-priced games, such as Gamestop / EBGames, Walmart, Gamefly. For new games, often times Amazon or ToysRUs have some incredible deals usually including $10 - $20 credit towards future purchases.

 

[digitalwanderer]

Yeah, just got done turning an old router into a switch and getting all the cabling hooked up and working. Still not quite sure how/what I did, but everything seems to be working just peachy so I'm leaving it as is.

They're making their Live accounts now. He gets a free month of Gold, so I figure we'll hunt for cheap subscription deals then.

As for games, I was kicking myself for not picking up Tekken 6 last night when I got the 360....need a good fighting game, I miss those most in PC gaming. There are NO good ones.

Saints Row is one I need get, my kids each bought a copy for their Steam account of SR2 so they could play online together. (My daughter is 10, yeah I don't have a lot of problem with them playing "mature" games so long as I play them first to make sure what kind of "mature" it is. Comic-over-the-top violence doesn't count as "mature" in my book. ) I love that game to death, must play the original!

Next up for me though is trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his birthday. My wife wants to take the family for a cruise to Navy Pier up in Chicago in the new vert, but I don't think the kids want to go anywhere unless it's to pick up some 360 games so we'll see the clash of the egos soon.

It was waaaay easier to hook it all up than I thought, other than getting an open network port to plug it in on. So far all impressions are positive.

 

[BRiT]

The $35 deals seem to occur about once every 2 - 3 months. Maybe once around Black Friday there will be one or two deals for $30, but they haven't occurred again in the past 19 months. You can purchase now and use later or if you use the code when the card arrives it will add on to the current time, so your 1 month free will still be utilized.

 

[RobertR1]

www.cheapassgamer.com Most important site for gaming. Always great deals to be found on games, trade ins, points and Live subscriptions.

 

[Rangers]

Ok, colour me all console now...we got my son a 360 for his birthday today.

Got it last night on a bit of an impulse at Target, picked up a bundle with a couple of games just 'cause it looked like the best deal.

Actually managed to surprise the hell out of my son, he was flabbergasted.

So what do I have to get now? I already picked up an extra controller and Halo3 ODST, what else do I need? I was looking at the wireless controller, but $70 for a stupid NIC? Is lag an issue with wireless G, is N ok, or should I just hardwire it for best results?

You didn't get the Elite with ODST and Forza 3??

 

[Acert93]

Besides CAG there is Half.com and GameFly where you can get used games cheap.

As for games, I was kicking myself for not picking up Tekken 6 last night when I got the 360....need a good fighting game, I miss those most in PC gaming. There are NO good ones.

You can get the impressive VF5 very cheap. Likewise the new Street Fighters are pretty good. 360 Dpad sucks though.

Saints Row is one I need get, my kids each bought a copy for their Steam account of SR2 so they could play online together. (My daughter is 10, yeah I don't have a lot of problem with them playing "mature" games so long as I play them first to make sure what kind of "mature" it is. Comic-over-the-top violence doesn't count as "mature" in my book. ) I love that game to death, must play the original!

RDR seems to be one of this generations best games and is a Sandbox game.

There are a lot of great 360 games in the back catalog.

Racers: Forza 3 and 2, PGR4, Shift, GRiD, DiRT2, Burnout Paradise. Ever Race Pro is solid. Forza 3 has split screen and scales to all skill levels. It plays great, I highly recommend it if you want 1 good racing game that 2 people can play.

Shooters: The nice thing about Halo 3 and ODST is they are 4 player MP and split screen coop through the entire campaign. I am sure you are up on your shooters so you know there are a lot of oldies but goodies. If you don't have it for the PC, Gears 2 has split screen coop for Horde and Online as well as for the Campaign.

Where I think the best bargains can be found are on the Arcade.

1. Age of Booty. 4 player split screen action-strategy game. Simple game and a lot of family fun.

2. Trials HD. Single player but very addictive. One of the most polished game ever.

3. Geometry Wars 2. 4 player and absolutely intense. Just get it. Thank me later.

4. Toy Soldiers. One of the most polished Arcade games it has 2 player splitscreen. It is Tower Defense + Battlefield. We absolutely love this game!

5. Worms Armageddon. 4 player, tons of fun. Great couch game.

6. Castle Crashers. 4 player, well designed, long campaign, leveling.

7. Peggle. Don't laugh! Very approachable game but it requires some skill and tinkering. 2 player mode is fun.

These 7 arcade games are equal in value to any single $60 game. The best thing is they are mostly multiplayer and great couch games. Most are accessible and offer a ton of replay value.

 

[digitalwanderer]

You didn't get the Elite with ODST and Forza 3??

No, they're not in stock ANYWHERE near me...believe me I tried. My wife was out with my daughter looking for most of the day and came home empty handed, I ended up doing a run to the closest Target and making it there about a minute before closing and got what I could.

We kind of decided this at last second.

I'm FREAKING OUT at the Xbox Live library you can download to the HDD on it. I can pick up a ton of older games I missed that way easy. Saints Row is only $20 direct download as is Crackdown, although I'm gonna probably have him try the Crackdown demo first. (We gotta get Saints Row, we're all nuts about it.)

Thanks for the suggestions Joshua, I'll run 'em past Just if I can ever get him off the Xbox. My wife is trying to get them to go out for a ride in the convertible, but they're holding firm that they'd rather not. (I agree with 'em, it's too hot! 95F)

 

[Rangers]

The cool thing about entering late in a generation is you have so many mega hits to choose from.

Fable 2, Halo 3, Halo Wars, Halo ODST, Alan Wake, Gears of War 1, Gears of War2, Forza 3, PGR 3 and 4, Assassins Creed 1 and 2, Modern Warfare 1 and 2, not too mention countless "lesser" hyped games like Borderlands, Dragon Age, etc etc. I mean, a RPG as deep as Dragon Age or a game as polished and good looking as MW2 would have blown us away at the start of the generation.

For my own personal tastes, I think Gears 1, ODST, PGR3, and Alan Wake are some personal highs of this generation.

 

[AzBat]

Agreed. And I almost forgot one great title...

Batman: Arkham Asylum

The Game of The Year Edition is out now & has all the challenge packs & supports red/blue 3D too.

As for more family oriented fair. I'll second Banjo Kazooie Nuts & Bolts. Plus Viva Pinata, Viva Pinata Trouble in Paradise & Kameo.

Tommy McClain

 

[digitalwanderer]

Hey, what's the recommended way to connect it to my TV? I got an older 42" plasma with no HDMI inputs, but I do have an HDMI->DVI converter. Would it be better to go HDMI->DVI or HDMI->composite?

And are those my only choices? (I'm currently being overwhelmed by the 360, just got the kids to let me set it up to "widescreen" at least and hooked 'em up with Xbox live gold...currently downloading oodles of demos. )

Xbox live is f-ing staggering, truly.

 

[Graham]

Hey, what's the recommended way to connect it to my TV? I got an older 42" plasma with no HDMI inputs, but I do have an HDMI->DVI converter. Would it be better to go HDMI->DVI or HDMI->composite?

And are those my only choices? (I'm currently being overwhelmed by the 360, just got the kids to let me set it up to "widescreen" at least and hooked 'em up with Xbox live gold...currently downloading oodles of demos. )

Xbox live is f-ing staggering, truly.

Certainly use hdmi->DVI. The 360 will match the resolution of the TV too, so if you set it up right the TV will think the 360 is a PC. It'll then disable all the nasty processing and look it's best

And yes, get geometry wars 2. The demo is fully playable too.

Live is really spectacular for content discovery. Get some friends and check their played lists. Usually a good indicator

 

[Acert93]

Let me know when you get tired of using a gamepad for shooters. We can talk

 

[Acert93]

And yes, get geometry wars 2. The demo is fully playable too.

That game proves you are more machine than man these days. All hail Graham, lord of Geometry