I touched on this in the Uplinked channels thread, but this warrants a thread of its' own.....
One MAJOR warning for those hooking them up to HD sets: Don't buy the Psyclone Component HD cables from Best Buy. XBox 360 "senses" what cable is hooked up to the unit, and for some reason it absolutely refuses to pass through an HD signal (it keeps saying that the switch is set to "TV" which prevents it from passing the signal -- the MS cable has a slider switchto go between TV and HDTV). There is no HDTV switch on the Psyclone cables (Didn't ANYONE test these things?).
I usually pony up for Monster cables since they seem to be beefier and less prone to interference. For whatever reason, Best Buy DOESN'T carry the Monster Cable for the 360. The sales rep handed me the Psyclone cables which looked fine (and their TOSLink cables worked fine). This sounds like MS's much threatened lack of unlicensed third party support rearing it's head. I wound up using the cable that was supplied with the premium system (no component video cables with the core system, so you may have a problem if you are forced to get a core system (or for some reason would CHOOSE to get one -- don't forget -- you need a $40 memory card for save games, there is no backward compatibility without a hard drive, no component cables, etc..... It just makes NO sense to get a core system, unless you are one of these "non gamer" buyers that MS thinks is gonna buy these things).
.....
OK, other first impressions. Forget the relatively thin launch game slate, this thing is worth it for what it does for your older games.....
Halo 2 is simply stunning from a sound AND video standpoint. I know that the original XBox was capable of outputting HD and 5.1 sound, but the newer hardware blows the old box away. There are NO jaggies on any onscreen objects. The Curved Covenant ships are PERFECTLY rendered. There are a few instances (when you first get the tank I noticed this) where the textures bounce from fuzzy to razor sharp which is a little distracting, but the battle in the Earth city is awe inspiring. The sound is much cleaner, and the orchestral music sounds like a concert hall (I'm running it through an Integra 9.1 receiver (7.1 surround).
The case itself is primarily metal this time (that surprised me a little), with the exception of the much ballyhooed faceplate. Other than the cabling issue I ran into, setup was simple. It immediately transferred my existing XBox live subscription to Gold Status and logged me in. I saw SheriffTruman (one of the posters on these boards) was playing Call of Duty 2 and Project Gotham Racing 3. (It carried over my meager Friends list from myu old Xbox account - now that they've expanded the capabilities for finding friends, I'll start using this feature more).
I went to the XBox marketplace and downloaded some free trailers (Get The Red vs. Blue Halo spoof.... it's a riot.... The new silver spartan walks in on a battle and asks where the store is... he needs a few downloads and some "headlight fluid"..... red vs. blue veterans will get the joke.... Later on the Red Seargent is heard yelling that he doesn't know how to "rip a CD", nor does he even know what that means, but he'd be happy to "rip him a new one", which then gets a threat from the "shopper" that he will be getting "negative feedback"..... :lol: )
To the games...... Project Gotham Racing 3 is gorgeous, but I REALLy hate the whole "kudos" dynamic. After Burnout Revenge, all other racers seem to pale in comparison. The cars and cityscape ARE shown in gorgeous detail, though, so it is a good demo for the system. Madden 06 is gorgeous (Hey! What happened to the Madden Cards?), and the new rear based controls seem to be easier to work with than the dreaded black/white buttons. Kameo seemed to be much harder to control (I got this one for my kids), but my kids who mastered Metroid Prime on the GameCube should have no problems.
I REALLY miss my Duke controller (the big original XBox controller), but I'll get used to the smaller controls. The wireless controllers worked well.... Once you "woke" them up, they never lost their connection to the base unit (and I'm 18 feet from my TV). A light on the controller clearly indicates which player you are (upper left quadrant lights up on the controller and the base unit to show that I was player 1). A big demi-sphere button can also power on the base unit AND bring up a menu to shut down the unit as well (or bring up the XBox 360 "blade" menus).
I tried to load Burnout Revenge, but was told curtly that the game wasn't supported, but to check online frequently for updated compatibility lists. A LOT of EA games aren't on the list so beware.....
After all of the buildup for the next gen hardware and games, I found myself playing..... Halo 2 the most. Since you can't carry save games over to the new unit, you have to play them all again from scratch.
Another problem... I was able to download a program to my PC that allowed the 360 to see all the music on my PC and stream it to the console BUT it wouldn't let me pull (or push) any mp3 files from the PC to store on a playlist or custom soundtrack on the 360's hard drive. The original XBox was lousy at this too, but a little known game/microphone combo called XBox MusicMixer (they originally marketed as a karaoke machine emulator), allowed you to transfer files to your XBox. I'll keep working on it. Those of you with Media Center PCs may have a different story, but those of us with just XP may be out of luck. You can still load music of off "redbook" audio CDs (I don't know if CD-Rs will work or not).
As I write this, the other three wireless controllers and my Perfect Dark Zero game haven't arrived yet. My wife wanted me to save a few games for XMas presents, so Quake 4, Call of Duty 2, and King Kong will sit wrapped in a closet until next month. Call of Duty 2 will be the hardest one to wait for....
I've heard lots of horror stories about people not being able to get them, but the BestBuy preorder window (all 60 minutes of it worked for me, after clicking for 45 minutes on 11/9 to try and get it to accept it -- I guess several thousand others were trying to do the same thing) worked for me. I paid for the overnight shipping to get it on launch day and it was a rip after playing for 3 hours to see all the horror stories on the news about people waiting in the rain and then some of them not getting one (apologies if this was one of you).
As for the game freezing issue a few people saw, it didn't freeze on me once, and I've only got about 3/4" top clearance on a shelf that also houses my DVD Recorder, so I am concerned about heat issues as this one seems to run hotter than the original.
Anyone else?
One MAJOR warning for those hooking them up to HD sets: Don't buy the Psyclone Component HD cables from Best Buy. XBox 360 "senses" what cable is hooked up to the unit, and for some reason it absolutely refuses to pass through an HD signal (it keeps saying that the switch is set to "TV" which prevents it from passing the signal -- the MS cable has a slider switchto go between TV and HDTV). There is no HDTV switch on the Psyclone cables (Didn't ANYONE test these things?).
I usually pony up for Monster cables since they seem to be beefier and less prone to interference. For whatever reason, Best Buy DOESN'T carry the Monster Cable for the 360. The sales rep handed me the Psyclone cables which looked fine (and their TOSLink cables worked fine). This sounds like MS's much threatened lack of unlicensed third party support rearing it's head. I wound up using the cable that was supplied with the premium system (no component video cables with the core system, so you may have a problem if you are forced to get a core system (or for some reason would CHOOSE to get one -- don't forget -- you need a $40 memory card for save games, there is no backward compatibility without a hard drive, no component cables, etc..... It just makes NO sense to get a core system, unless you are one of these "non gamer" buyers that MS thinks is gonna buy these things).
.....
OK, other first impressions. Forget the relatively thin launch game slate, this thing is worth it for what it does for your older games.....
Halo 2 is simply stunning from a sound AND video standpoint. I know that the original XBox was capable of outputting HD and 5.1 sound, but the newer hardware blows the old box away. There are NO jaggies on any onscreen objects. The Curved Covenant ships are PERFECTLY rendered. There are a few instances (when you first get the tank I noticed this) where the textures bounce from fuzzy to razor sharp which is a little distracting, but the battle in the Earth city is awe inspiring. The sound is much cleaner, and the orchestral music sounds like a concert hall (I'm running it through an Integra 9.1 receiver (7.1 surround).
The case itself is primarily metal this time (that surprised me a little), with the exception of the much ballyhooed faceplate. Other than the cabling issue I ran into, setup was simple. It immediately transferred my existing XBox live subscription to Gold Status and logged me in. I saw SheriffTruman (one of the posters on these boards) was playing Call of Duty 2 and Project Gotham Racing 3. (It carried over my meager Friends list from myu old Xbox account - now that they've expanded the capabilities for finding friends, I'll start using this feature more).
I went to the XBox marketplace and downloaded some free trailers (Get The Red vs. Blue Halo spoof.... it's a riot.... The new silver spartan walks in on a battle and asks where the store is... he needs a few downloads and some "headlight fluid"..... red vs. blue veterans will get the joke.... Later on the Red Seargent is heard yelling that he doesn't know how to "rip a CD", nor does he even know what that means, but he'd be happy to "rip him a new one", which then gets a threat from the "shopper" that he will be getting "negative feedback"..... :lol: )
To the games...... Project Gotham Racing 3 is gorgeous, but I REALLy hate the whole "kudos" dynamic. After Burnout Revenge, all other racers seem to pale in comparison. The cars and cityscape ARE shown in gorgeous detail, though, so it is a good demo for the system. Madden 06 is gorgeous (Hey! What happened to the Madden Cards?), and the new rear based controls seem to be easier to work with than the dreaded black/white buttons. Kameo seemed to be much harder to control (I got this one for my kids), but my kids who mastered Metroid Prime on the GameCube should have no problems.
I REALLY miss my Duke controller (the big original XBox controller), but I'll get used to the smaller controls. The wireless controllers worked well.... Once you "woke" them up, they never lost their connection to the base unit (and I'm 18 feet from my TV). A light on the controller clearly indicates which player you are (upper left quadrant lights up on the controller and the base unit to show that I was player 1). A big demi-sphere button can also power on the base unit AND bring up a menu to shut down the unit as well (or bring up the XBox 360 "blade" menus).
I tried to load Burnout Revenge, but was told curtly that the game wasn't supported, but to check online frequently for updated compatibility lists. A LOT of EA games aren't on the list so beware.....
After all of the buildup for the next gen hardware and games, I found myself playing..... Halo 2 the most. Since you can't carry save games over to the new unit, you have to play them all again from scratch.
Another problem... I was able to download a program to my PC that allowed the 360 to see all the music on my PC and stream it to the console BUT it wouldn't let me pull (or push) any mp3 files from the PC to store on a playlist or custom soundtrack on the 360's hard drive. The original XBox was lousy at this too, but a little known game/microphone combo called XBox MusicMixer (they originally marketed as a karaoke machine emulator), allowed you to transfer files to your XBox. I'll keep working on it. Those of you with Media Center PCs may have a different story, but those of us with just XP may be out of luck. You can still load music of off "redbook" audio CDs (I don't know if CD-Rs will work or not).
As I write this, the other three wireless controllers and my Perfect Dark Zero game haven't arrived yet. My wife wanted me to save a few games for XMas presents, so Quake 4, Call of Duty 2, and King Kong will sit wrapped in a closet until next month. Call of Duty 2 will be the hardest one to wait for....
I've heard lots of horror stories about people not being able to get them, but the BestBuy preorder window (all 60 minutes of it worked for me, after clicking for 45 minutes on 11/9 to try and get it to accept it -- I guess several thousand others were trying to do the same thing) worked for me. I paid for the overnight shipping to get it on launch day and it was a rip after playing for 3 hours to see all the horror stories on the news about people waiting in the rain and then some of them not getting one (apologies if this was one of you).
As for the game freezing issue a few people saw, it didn't freeze on me once, and I've only got about 3/4" top clearance on a shelf that also houses my DVD Recorder, so I am concerned about heat issues as this one seems to run hotter than the original.
Anyone else?
. I waited in a couple of lines but didn't get one 
