Th0r S1mpson

I'm looking for games that are great to play with or against another person on xbox live without a lot of hassle finding them, etc.

On my regular xbox, Halo 2 was the best for me in this department with their party system and I'm anticipating Halo 3 for this reason.

Sports games are an obvious pick.

From what I hear, Gears is good in this department.

So what are the best games to just hop on and play with another person if you called them up and wanted to get some game time in?

Battle for Middle Earth 2?
Gotham racing?

I'm looking for a game I can get at 50% off with the Toys R Us madden deal, so would also appreciate feedback with regard to that and these games as well. It was mentioned that I can get Gears used for fairly cheap and that it might be a waste of the 50% off.

Any feedback much appreciated! I should have my system tomorrow.

KurrptSenate

just one on one, I'd probably have to go with Armored Core 4, but no one really has that game.

My next choice would be Gears, considering I do play a good deal of one vs. one


then, i would probably have to say crackdown co-op

The Bus

Crackdown is a good choice.

Noonan

Street Fighter 2 on XBLA.

PixyJunket

WARTECH: Senko no Ronde.

Th0r S1mpson

I didn't even have Crackdown on my radar so I'll check it out.

KurrptSenate

i was seriously playing a ten year old last night (co-op)


felt kinda bad after kicking him off a building then blowing up his body with a rocket

Th0r S1mpson

Crackdown looks kind of like a rental to me but maybe I'm misreading it. It looks like I would enjoy it for a lot of hours up front but after a few months it would just be more of the same, unless there is more to the online play than I'm seeing. It does look like a great game to try though.

Michael Corvin

That's exactly what it is, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing as long as you feel you get your money's worth. If you are into collecting things and doing things out of the ordinary than this game will eat up a lot of your gaming time.

Plus once you tire of it and want to come back a month or more down the road, there is the DLC packs which add about 6-10 more hours of play.

KurrptSenate

what all is included in that pack. I was thinking about burning the 800 pts, but I haven't touched this game in months

Michael Corvin

I don't recall. There is a free one though that will get you back into the game. The biggest is a racing mode, which is part of the Premium pack. There are more rooftop races, a new type of roof race, more cars. There is a car collecting achievement that was surprisingly addictive. Not sure which pack that is in.

Th0r S1mpson

I so torn on what second game to get today. I'm getting Madden and one other game for both my brother and I.

The main purpose is to be able to play online together until NHL, PGR4 and Halo 3 come out. So maybe Gears is a good choice, but i'm torn. I could also just get a game that's fun to play solo since we will have Madden to play. Tomb Raider, Pinata? AAAAA! Help please.

Kicker_of_Elves

Thor you can play online co-op through Gears of War. That's the one i think you should get. You can also do online co-op through Crackdown.

RichC2

Playing unranked matches helps immensely in that department. With most games you can send an invite to anyone on your buddy list and start a game from there, or have them join a pre-existing game by doing the same thing.

Gears of War has one of the best implementations of online play I've seen (the way you can join or exit a co-op game, save progress, and the multiplayer is also a lot of fun (albeit a little cheap at times)). GRAW and GRAW 2 have excellent multiplayer, as does RB6:Vegas (main complaint here is that the game is beautiful in single player, but the multiplayer modes (including terrorist hunt) don't look nearly as nice).

Th0r S1mpson

My only concern with Gears is that we might get a little too FPS'd out leading up to Halo 3, but I might have to get it any way. I know it's one of the best visual feasts out there for any system.

I've heard good things about the new Tomb Raider so that's tempting as well, despite the lack of online play. That too is probably better as a rental, however.

RichC2

Good thing Gears is a TPS

If Assault Heroes were a little more consistent on its connection rate for me, I'd probably recommend that. As it stands, my buddy and I are at level 14 and can't establish an online connection anymore

I'm not a big racing guy, and would rather play Burnout than PGR or Forza, so I'll ease off of recommended one of them. You could always lay low and just play a lot of Bomberman (XBLA).

Th0r S1mpson

FPS, TPS.... yeah yeah It's a lot of bullets either way.

Burnout is fun (I have Revenge on the regular XBOX) but PGR4 looks too amazing to pass up for me. It will probably be the least played of the games i'm looking to get in the next 2 months but I still want it, so I probably won't get another racing game right now.

Is Viva Pinata really as enjoyable as these reviews make it out to be? I'm considering it.

But really, I probably should focus on the best games for 1 on 1 Live, I'm just torn because most of the ones I want aren't out yet.

Thanks for the tips so far, everyone. Keep 'em coming if you have ideas. I'll either go pick these up later this afternoon or tomorrow.

Michael Corvin

Tomb Raider: Legend is great. Probably a solid 8 hour affair assuming you don't get stuck. Then you can add another 3-4 hours for the remaining achievements.

Viva Pinata is amazing. I logged 60+ hours by the time I quit on it. Getting the full 1000 only takes about 35 though. Probably less if you are focused on it.

Neither are multiplayer though, but are strong enough without. I can't recommend Condemned highly enough. Another single player affair, but well worth it. It is super cheap these days.

As for multiplayer, don't overlook the arcade. Hits like Worms and Bomberman are well worth their cost.

Th0r S1mpson

Thanks, MC.

Yes, Worms is a must for me. I was hooked out that several years ago on my Saturn so I'm anxious to get back into it online.

I guess getting some marketplace points would be a good part of the gift as well. I want to do the Halo preorder deal but can't really do it for my brother since he won't be able to pick up the game without my ID (I think) and it's also difficult to order because I'd want to pick up the points at different stores than the game. Too confusing.

Lastblade

Wartech.

Th0r S1mpson

Thanks everyone. I went with Gears for now. Used the 20% off in addition to the Madden + one for 50% twice with no problems.

I will check out more of these games in the weeks to come.