I've already been through this one with my girlfriend, I will spend the together time watching the chick shows only if she wants to spend an equal amount of together time playing video games. I only said it because I knew she would balk, but if she had accepted it would have been a huge mistake. She watches Grey's Anatomy while I play games on the computer.

I think I am already picking up a 360 this weekend so I can play it during the Thanksgiving holiday on my parents plasma, but I might try for one through the Amazon deal too.

Its worse when you have to get caught up in the drama of 'americas next top model' instead of play COD2

Thats a chapter in my life Ill never get back!

I just got my 360 tonight (after wanting one for over a year). Until Sunday (and some of the deals at BestBuy) I just have RidgeRacer 6. But I have some questions that I'm hoping you guys can help with.

1) I know overheating is an issue, so what is the optimal setup? Vertical or horizontal? And I've also heard the powerbrick needs to be in an open area, is that right? I'm going to buy the warranty from MS, but I still want to prevent any malfunction due to something I can control.

2) Should I buy one of the aftermarket coolers (like the Nyko Intercooler or the Pelican fan stand)? I'm fine with the price of either, I just don't want to do more harm than good with them. The Pelican seems good, since that will keep it upright and stable.

3) I got the Premium, so I have the wireless controller. It looks like MS sells products for keeping the controller recharged. What is the difference between the "Quick Charge kit" and "play and charge kit"? If I'm going to get two wireless controllers, do I need two charge kits?

4) What do people consider "essential" accessories?

Thanks for any answers you can provide!

Okay, I got FIFA 07 to review, and I have to ask:

How on earth do you play this game? I played three matches and each time I got my ass handed to me. I know I'm new to it, but even when I thought I was picking up the fundamentals of the game, I still couldn't actually make my players work any better. And what's up with the awful auto-player selection? For some reason the game decides it's best to choose a player that's 20 yards away from the ball instead of a player that is right next to it. I spent most of the time screaming at the TV screen. Worst gaming experience I've had in a long time. I don't know how I can fairly review this. While there are clearly things I can point at and say "This should have been done better," I can't really judge the rest as I have no sports experience. I didn't realize the game would be so in-depth.

1- I keep mine horizontal (launch system) keep well ventilated, do not place power brick on carpet.
2-can't help you here, as I don't have one
3-Play and Charge, charges via USB. You can plug it into the console and continue playing "wired", comes with battery. It will also charge over night plugged into the 360, but I would avoid this. You can also plug it into a pc to charge. Quick charge kit plugs into the wall and can charge 2 batteries at once. Comes with one battery. I would stick with a quick charge kit and extra battery. Or, just get some rechargable AA.
4-The remote is nice, but you can still navigate with the controller pretty easily....oh, I grabbed a headset "adapter" from circiut city for $10 that allows me to use my Halo 2 headset.

Just use a cord for your controller to charge it while you play that seems the simplest to me.

Dont mess with 'coolers' just make sure you have a warranty and you're golden.

I always keep my systems horizontal with great success but im not sure it matters.

Whatever you do stay away from the Nyko Intercooler, there have been reports of it destroying systems. I really don't think you need any kind of cooler device just keep the system well ventilated.

Here are some examples of what the Intercooler did to some guys system.

I'm not sure that using the 360's USB ports to charge the battey will cause any issues. But I will say that using a seperate PC's USB ports does charge it much faster than the 360's ports. You(mbs),should also know that while playing "wired" the controller does NOT use the wire to send commands. It still transmits command by wireless means and only uses the cable for charging. I've played my 360 many times with my controller hooked to my PC so it can charge up.

Also, with the play and charge kit you don't need to find yet another wall outlet like you do with the other battery charger kit.

That play and charge kit had been the most confusing accessory for most consumers when the 360 first came out. They had no idea how in the hell to decipher something as simple as 'play and charge'... I mean for the love of God, it was called the 'play and charge'! As said, the wire doesn't do anything but charge. You still transmit wirelessly, have fun!

Is a hdd necessary for game updates? Might pick up a core system from microcenter for the rebate and will probably hold off on the hdd for now until a definite date for a larger hdd is released. I know you can use a memory unit to get online, but I'm wondering if game updates can be saved on that.

Also, there shouldn't be an issue with having 2 systems logged on live from the same location right? I figure as long as the speed of the connection is up to it and they're hooked up to the router, it shouldn't be a problem.

Trust me. I'm a lucky guy. She refuses to subject me to the stuff she likes and I don't. We are good that way.

I doubt it will cause issues either, but as a precaution*, I strictly use my 360 for games and don't leave it on any longer than necessary.


(*I don't have an extended warranty...yet)

Hmm, got it.

Yeah but there are times when you both will need to take a bullet and check out the other's stuff. You gotta have more in common than just sex. Plus the effort will be appreciated.

Besides, Grey's Anatomy is actually a decent show.

I voted for the 360, even though that "Prime Membership + $100 Toys & Games Certificate" would've been more beneficial for me.

fixed.

I didn't want to read every page of this thread to catch up, but I went on to get the Rainbow 6 demo, and is only available to gold members!!

It seems to me the point of a demo is to sell games, and making available to only certain people is B.S. So the only usefulness of a silver membership is to download commercials now.

Or it's impetus to get the gold membership

I think it's a time thing, where it may be available to Silver peeps later on.

I agree that it sucks that Silver members get screwed out of demos, but it doesn't really matter with the Rainbow 6 demo, since it is a multiplayer demo that requires Gold to play anyways.

You do also realize it is an online multiplayer demo. Silver can't play online. Seems like making it Gold only seems like a way to stem complaints from Silver members calling or emailing because their demo won't let them play online.

edit: hadn't updated my window to see eat already made my point like an hour earlier.

I didn't realize the demo was multiplayer only, since I cannot look at it because I am not a gold member.

I don't have much time to play games, let alone play online, so the gold membership isn;t really an option for me. I just used to think it was nice to be able to get demos. Sometimes I forget the games are becoming online based more and more, making solo players like me less welcomed.

There is a single player demo of Rainbow Six as well that is available for silver members. Well, at least there was a single player demo a month or so ago, I don't know if it is still there or not.

There are two demos for Rainbow though. One is mutiplayer, the other is single. I'm pretty sure you should be able to dl the single player version, could be wrong though.

There's a new free XBox 360 Ezine magazine here, but when I download it I get an error message saying that the file is damaged. Can anyone else successfully download this and open it up in Acrobat?

Thanx Chris

It kinda works in Preview (OS X) but none of the text is there. It's unreadable and pretty ugly from what I could see. I don't think you're missing much.