Xbox 360 recommendations

[Black Tiger]

Final Fantasy XII isn't terrible, but it was a huge disappointment.  For the first half, the combat is basically automatic, but the story is cool.  For the second half, the combat starts to get more interesting, but the story turns to shit and it introduces fetch quests.  That may not seem weird, but in the first half of the game, FFXII makes fun of fetch quests, and avoids them... until the second half starts using some really LAME ones.  (I heard the game switched directors halfway through, which is probably the reason for the sudden chance in attitude.)

Without spoilers:
* Each character has a dilemma.  When that dilemma is resolved, the character becomes boring.
* One main character's inner conflict is resolved by a Deus Ex Machina character who is basically introduced just to make it easy for that conflict to be resolved.  It's kind of like if Luke and Darth Vader were fighting in Return of the Jedi, and then Ramus Zebulas shows up and kills Darth Vader.  Logical question: who is this Ramus Zebulas, and why is he interrupting an emotionally charged moment?  .....that's kind of how it is in FFXII.
* There are things called Mist Combination attacks that make boss battles -- including late ones -- jokes.  You just have to sit through 40 consecutive cinematic sequences to use them.
* You have to learn how to wear a hat.
* You also have to learn how to wear boots.
* ...and how to wear a shield.
* Gameplay-wise, the characters are all the same.  By the end, you will be playing with six clones.  They do NOT have unique abilities.  They do NOT have strengths and talents above and beyond the others.

The plot/character development sounds like The Wizard of Oz, with the characters overcoming their weakness'.

The characters' being identical gameplay-wise would be alright if you could custom craft them from the get-go like the originator.

[nodtveidt]

Hrm...from your description ER, I don't think I want to waste the time on the game.

[Keranu]

Hrm...from your description ER, I don't think I want to waste the time on the game.

My bro rented it and I watched him play some of the beginning. It was terrible.

[Digi.k]

Bah i think my 360 needs to go in for repairs cause its starting to freeze up now.

[Black Tiger]

Bah i think my 360 needs to go in for repairs cause its starting to freeze up now.

Are you getting a red light on your power adaptor?

Have you tried playing with the power adaptor sitting across the top of an open box away from a wall?

Are you using a cooling accessory like the Interact fan or something?

I've had a few spells of freeze ups but have solved them all.

[FM-77]

It's time for the red lights...

...Of doom.

There's no escaping it. It WILL die. Very soon. Sorry to be so harsh, but that's what's going to happen. Don't be optimistic about it, you can't do anything to stop it.

[Digi.k]

Bah i think my 360 needs to go in for repairs cause its starting to freeze up now.

Are you getting a red light on your power adaptor?

Have you tried playing with the power adaptor sitting across the top of an open box away from a wall?

Are you using a cooling accessory like the Interact fan or something?

I've had a few spells of freeze ups but have solved them all.

well its starting to get really hot now .. like after 5 mins .. the heat at the back feels like its been on for like 10+ hours..

I did get that red ring appear twice within the 3 months that I've had the machine.. I think its  supposed to be a problem with A/V connection but that seems fine now..

Mostly started happening yesterday when enchanted arms started freezing up after few minutes of play the screen just froze and had distorted checkerboard effect but the lights were still green on the machine..

and also trying a few dvds the movie just froze after few minutes of play and ressetting the 360 straight after the machine just froze before the 360 logo could fully appear..

also tried clearing out the cache on hard drive and even playing a game from scratch without the hard drive connected up .. because according to MS call clerks my gamertag coulda been corrupted.. but the games still froze after a few minutes ..

and the power adaptor i think the light has only ever displayed amber or green light.

Well after calling MS up they gonna send of some labels and i gotta arrange for a courier to come pick up my machine but it seems like they only want me to send of the machine and leave the cables and power supply, controllers and hard drive behind.

[FM-77]

Soon you'll see this, and then it'll all be over.

[Digi.k]

oh hehe nevermind my console was bought around Nov 24th 2006 and since im in the UK i got a 1 year guarantee and im pretty sure MS can't say I've been negligent on my part and make me pay a fee.

[Black Tiger]

Soon you'll see this, and then it'll all be over.

I got the red ring once or twice, but it was no big deal.

[Digi.k]

I think I found out what the problem is...  its internal cooling device begins to become less productive over time because of more and more use...

the last couple of days .. loading up Enchanted Arms and entering a first battle the screen would just freeze up and you get distorted image with strange pink-ish scan lines.. and if you switch of the machine and power up straight away it freezes upon the 360 logo.

While  I'm waiting for MS to send me a pre-addressed label for me to attach my boxed up 360 and let the courier take it away.. 
 I decided to buy an external fan cooler which attaches itself to the back of the console which Black Tiger and a few other people have mentioned and guess what..



No freezing! Even after 20 minutes play on Enchanted Arms...  I gonna try a longer play test soon but I honestly now think that the 360 has a heat/cooling issue that gets worse over time..

I still gonna send my 360 away to be inspected but I honestly think those of you who haven't done this yet.. get yourself an external cooling fan and save yourself problems!  it does make the machine a bit more noisy but I think  you can bare it.

[Keranu]

Sorry, I was admiring that love Sega Saturn in the background instead of the 360. My bad  .

[Black Tiger]

Although many people claim that those rear coolers are a rip and do nothing, all I know is that when I use the Interact one my 360 feels cool to the touch and only slightly warm at the top center. But without it, the whole thing feels warm and then hot at the center.

After installing the black case on my 360, I took apart the cooler, painted the shell black and put it back together again. At first I got a buzzing noice from one of the fans, so I loosened it a bit. After that, the power adaptor doesn't seem to fit all the way in(there's no clicking mechanism) and I got the occasional shutdown with red power adaptor light.

I just went back to using no cooler and everythings been fine since, but I want to fiddle with it some more to get it working again because I don't want an ugly white cooler with the giant Interact logo across it hanging off the back of my black/chrome system.

[GUTS]

I've had a couple 360s, the first one I had did run pretty hot but I never had any problems with it.  Then I sold it for crack money, now the one I bought a few months ago runs really cool, I use it to both watch movies and play games and it never gets more than a little warm on the top.  Hopefully once Microsoft switches to those newer chip versions later this year it'll eliminate the over-heating problem completely.

[Black Tiger]

I've had a couple 360s, the first one I had did run pretty hot but I never had any problems with it.  Then I sold it for crack money, now the one I bought a few months ago runs really cool, I use it to both watch movies and play games and it never gets more than a little warm on the top.  Hopefully once Microsoft switches to those newer chip versions later this year it'll eliminate the over-heating problem completely.

Recent 360's come with a two prong power adaptor while older ones like mine have a ground. So they've it looks like they've been taking steps to fix overheating/power adaptor issues. Maybe newer models will come with a power adaptor smaller than the original PS2.