Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with gaming and xbox360

What storage devices does the Xbox360 support?

Kyol — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 06:29:40 -0800

Xbox 360 4G storage upgrade options? I'd like to upgrade my kids' Xbox 360 4G (the slim model) to give it some storage. I know Microsoft will gladly sell me a 320 gig drive for $120-130, but that seems excessive. I also know that I can get 3rd party firmware flashed expansion drives for $40-50 or so, but my wife is uncomfortable with the support possibilities with those. What are the other options? We have a few 32gig thumb drives that we could hand down for almost no cost - can you use those as normal Xbox storage devices, or are they limited to data transfers only?

(I think the concern about the flashed drives is that MS might eventually break compatibility with them, which I think is fairly unlikely, it's still a possibility.)

Saved the galaxy a third time. What now?

TheWhiteSkull — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 13:37:03 -0800

Finished ME3. What should I play now? So I've played a couple of runthroughs of Mass Effect 3 and quite enjoyed it (although not as much as the previous two). I may do another runthrough, and play the new DLC as it comes out, but there is still plenty of summer left. What is my next game?

Special snowflake details- I'm looking for something with similar gameplay and story elements- strong RPG elements and campaign mode, but with action-y combat mechanics. I'm not especially interested in online play, either co-op or multiplayer, and prefer compelling stories to online competition. A key for me is a high level of character customization (stats and appearance).

In the past, I have been a big fan of the Mass Effect games (and old-school Jade Empire), but I have also enjoyed things like Portal, BioShock, Katamari, Star Wars Battlefront, and the Scott Pilgrim 8-bit game. Giant robots are also good, and while I don't really get jRPGs, I could possibly be sold on one. I was not a fan of the Fable games.

I play mostly on XBox 360, but I also have a PS3.

Any good new splitscreen xbox games?

Silentgoldfish — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 04:48:35 -0800

What are some good multiplayer xbox360 games that can be played on one TV screen? Co-op preferred... I've done a search but the closest similiar question's from a while ago.

My friend and I like to play in his living room, so on one screen only. 2 player versus modes when we're both in the same room are kind of boring so we've been having more fun with co-op modes - mostly all the Halo Games.

We tried the latest Tomb Raider (with the co-op campaign) but didn't much care for it.

Any suggestions for games we could try? My experience is all with PC games!

XBOX 360 setup help followup

flatluigi — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 13:54:17 -0800

I'm still trying to connect my upcoming XBOX 360 to my computer monitor. The monitor has only VGA and DVI-D inputs and no audio output, however, so I'm having issues tracking down what needs to be done. Currently I'm fairly sure I've got what I need for video, but I still need help figuring out how to connect audio. From the last thread, I've settled on this HDMI to DVI-D cable. I still need help pinning down what I need to get to set up actual audio, however. What do I need?

Note: If it's impossible to use that HDMI to DVI-D cable and still get audio, I'm willing to take suggestions for however to use the proprietary VGA cable instead for audio. I would prefer the cable I've selected, however, as it's much cheaper than the VGA.

XBOX 360 setup help: Using a monitor & getting audio

flatluigi — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 00:53:41 -0800

I'm getting an XBOX 360 shortly, but I have a few questions about setting it up. For one, my television is very bad, so I'd like to use my computer monitor for it - should picking up a VGA cable be fine? Secondly, I'm not sure how the XBOX's audio ports are set up - can I just plug my headset with a standard headphone and microphone plug into it, or do I need adapters? Additional information: My monitor is ACER brand and only has VGA and DVI-D ports; my PC doesn't have room to stick a TV tuner in or I'd definitely go that route.

HELP US COD-MW2 IN AFGHANISTAN!

Master Gunner — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 00:41:14 -0800

We're in Afghanistan. We have 8 Xbox 360s, and no internet connection that we can hook our Xbox 360s to. Help us get a multiplayer thing going... We're in Afghanistan. We have 8 Xbox 360s, and no internet connection that we can hook our Xbox 360s to.

We have basic email and web surfing, but Xbox Live is specifically banned (and we don't have the bandwidth to spare).

Four of the Xbox 360s have the latest Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 patches. Four of them do not have any patches. We have a 16 port ethernet switch, and we all want to play together (system link). We can't get all eight players into the same game (because of the patch issue).

Is there a way to manually download and apply the patch to each Xbox without hooking up the Xbox 360 to the internet.

If not, is there a way to specifially remove the Modern Warfare 2 (or any game) patches without any special hardware (data cable for the Xbox Hard Drive).

Also, be aware that all gaming websites/blog/etc are banned from our network by an admin over 200 KM away.

Best video game blogs?

kmz — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:59:35 -0800

What are the best video game blogs out there today? We've had a Wii for a while, so I'd been reading Joystiq's Nintendo subfeed. We just got a 360, so I'm switching to their whole feed, and also thinking about Kotaku. Outside of those two, what are the best news/review type gaming feeds to read?

Aging beatnik narrativist seeks Xbox360 bliss

palmcorder_yajna — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:44:30 -0800

Please recommend some smart, nifty-looking, story-heavy Xbox360 games for an relatively artsy, overly cerebral, 30-something newbie. Hey all,

After a decade and a half of being an almost total FPS and console gaming philistine, I have recently completed Bioshock on the XBox360, and I have fallen in love.

Now what should I play? My husband and I have amassed a pretty decent stash of relatively recent releases, but none of the ones I've tried so far have been even 1/10 as compelling as Bioshock. Can youse guys hope me?

Below, you'll find way too much information about my likes and dislikes. I've decided to err on the side of being too thorough, so feel absolutely free to skim or skip if it's not helpful.

Here is a random sampling of some of my favorite other art/media/literary things, to give you an idea of my tastes:

a) 100 Years of Solitude
b) Alice Munroe
c) Hitherbee Dragons
d) Daniel Pinkwater
e) Max Ernst
f) Louisa May Alcott
g) Edward Albee
h) Maria Sibylla Meriam
i) Heavenly Creatures
j) The Museum of Jurassic Technology
l) James Ellroy's My Dark Places
m) Octavia Butler
n) Joe Lansdale
o) Manuscript Found in Saragossa

Here's what I liked about Bioshock, in order of importance:

1) Excellent story with lots of detail and meat to it

2) Gorgeous, intellectually and aesthetically satisfying visuals, and really swell music.

3) Low friction (I.e., it's easy to get into the game and start having fun. You don't have slaughter boars in the woods for months, or wander around identical-looking levels clicking on every pixel to get the fun started.)

4) Attempt at a moral/ethical dimension (Yes, I know this was half-assed. I give them props for even trying.)

5) Good gameplay for a beginner-- i.e., not a lot of individual limb movement, combos, etc. (I'm willing to learn this stuff, but right now, given that I'm very much a n00b, I'm liking games wherein deficits in muscle memory and dexterity don't utterly stall out the gameplay. )

6) Vague and impressionistic sciencey-ness: The game sort of paid homage to science, but instead of being apologetic about its implausibilities (like, say, Star Trek-TNG), the designers decided to revel in their absurdity (more like, say, Alfred Jarry.) Me likey. Me really likey.

Here are some games that I've recently started, and what I liked (marked "+") and didn't so much like about them (marked with a "-" ):

I) Condemned: +Backstory (i think; I just stared); +metaphysical and crime motifs | -seems to be on rails; -relatively high friction; -desite the fact that this is a crime-solving game, I don't get the sense that there's going to be a whole lot of deduction required; -killing faceless, identical junkies for no good reason (I know it's an FPS, but I'm an (inactive) member of the criminal defense bar! I don't want to shoot these people; I want to get them favorable plea deals and then get them the hell out of my caseload!)

II) Psychonauts: +Story (i think; again, I just started) + pop-surrealist flair | -dexterity puzzles (more frustrating than challenging for me at this point, maybe I'll feel differently in a few months); -Family friendly. Way too family friendly.

III) Mass Effect: +Story, +Character/ethics appear to play a big role; +Dexterity requirements are sympatico; | -unreconstructed space opera/ aesthetically kind of blah; -high friction. (I'm walking around talking to folks. A lot. Just walking around. . . .)

Thanks for your help with this, guys.

I suppose I should also mention: We have a PS2 in addition to the Xbox360, so PS2-compatible recommendations are welcome as well. No PC games, please, unless their hardware requirements are extremely light, or unless they're so unstoppably awesome that you just can't contain yourself. My laptop doesn't really have the CPU or the graphics card to handle anything too intense.

Hello Cleveland! Are you ready to rock? And by rock, I mean click really loudly.

Rock Steady — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:41:14 -0800

A couple of Guitar Hero: World Tour (Wii) instrument silencing questions. Now that I live in an apartment and my video gaming set-up shares a wall with my daughter's bedroom, I need a way to not wake her up and keep my neighbors happy while I continue to rock out (for certain values of the word "rock"). To wit:

1. I have seen numerous drum pad silencers for the Rock Band drum set, but none for the GH:WT drum set. Does anyone know of any, or will the Rock Band silencers work on my drums (I realize they won't do any good on the "cymbals")?

2. Can I somehow disable the click that the strum bar on the standard GH:WT guitar makes? I am willing to take the thing apart, if I must, but I'd like some detailed instructions if I am going to do that.

I am such a noob

MrVisible — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 08:56:12 -0800

How do I get better at first-person shooters on the Xbox360? I've never been into the FPS genre. I like RPGs and various third-person games for the most part, and I'm most used to a computer interface as opposed to a console gamepad.

But the Xbox360 is a beautiful machine, and the line between FPS and RPG has been erased by titles like Mass Effect and Oblivion and Bioshock. The problem is that these games assume that you're pretty familiar with the FPS interface, and because of the structure of the game you don't get much time to practice.

Are there any games out there that include a pretty good training area or an opportunity to learn the two-stick control system before dumping you into situations where your skill with the system is the only thing keeping all your NPC buddies from getting fragged? I'm not looking to be uber-1337 at Halo3, but it'd be great to not have to re-do every fight scene in Mass Effect five times before moving on with the plot.

Thanks!

Why doesn't my XBox 360 know it's an XBox 360?

boombot — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:41:11 -0800

Borrowed Call of Duty 4, for the XBox 360, from a friend, and each time I try to play a message appears informing me that I need to insert the disc into an XBox 360, which is where it is. The message is static, and when trying to do anything with the controller, the DVD control overlay appears. What's going on here? Google searches point to some similar experiences, but not much in the way of solutions. The disc has been cleaned several times and while not in perfect shape is certainly not damaged beyond playability.

Noiseless gaming tips

phatmonkey — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 10:49:49 -0800

Which second hand Xbox 360 should I buy to minimise noise? I understand there is a new "Jasper" motherboard coming out for the Xbox 360 soon, but I would quite like to play GTA IV over the summer break, then possibly sell it on before I leave for uni.

Since a new one is coming out so soon, it doesn't make sense to me to buy a new one which will lose a whole load of value if I want to sell it on again. eBay seems the best choice. Any other ideas?

Now, I am rather finicky about the noise that my technology makes. I have heard horror stories about the early 360s sounding like jet engines, from both the fans and the DVD drive. What models should I be aiming for to minimise noise? What questions should I be asking eBay sellers to check for these things? I would also like an HDMI port.

Some may suggest the PS3, but all my friends are on Xbox Live, and it's rather expensive. I prefer the Xbox's game lineup too (Halo 3 for example). If you think it'd be a better choice, convince me!

Bully for the 360: How Do I Know It's Patched?

BitterOldPunk — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 16:36:10 -0800

I want to play Bully: Scholarship Edition on my Xbox 360. There was just a patch released for the game, but my console is not hooked up to the internet and never will be. How (and when) can I know that the physical copy of the game I buy is a post-patch version?

Finding my A game with the Xbox360

Gordion Knott — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 06:17:39 -0800

Making a clean break -- with PC gaming, and transitioning to gaming on an Xbox 360. What will bowl me over? What will annoy me? After looking at the break-the-bank system requirements for recent PC games, like Cyrsis, I've decided that it's time to put my aging PC in cold storage (I'm a Mac user primarily), and pick up an Xbox 360.

Problem is, apart from a few brushes with them at Best Buy, I've never used or even laid hands on a gaming console. I've long bought into the PC gamer's prejudices against consoles as low-resolution nightmares hamstrung by intellectually challenged software and brain-dead controllers. But now, by hooking up the Xbox 360 to my plasma and 7.1 audio, I'd be looking at a gaming rig that blows PC gaming out of the water. Potentially.

Potentially-- assuming I make the right purchasing decisions. Which is where I need advice, oh ye gamers-in-the-know.
1) First off, coming from newbie land, what thrills and/or annoyances should I expect transitioning to gaming on an Xbox 360 (which I plan on sticking with as my first purchase for now, due to its games--sorry, PS3 fanboyz). Will I absolutely hate the controller on my first outing in Bioshock?
2) Next, as an exclusively non-online gamer, which Xbox 360 should I invest in? I'm assuming the answer is either "pro" or "elite," but the bottom line is, I want to avoid the spontaneous-combustion-type problems that plagued the 360 when it first came out.
3) Peripherals? I'm assuming I need an HDMI cable, f'r starters. Anything else to interface with a plasma and 7.1 setup?
4) Online shopping recommendations? Is there any way to take advantage of the post-Xmas season to pick up a unit on the cheap? If so, how and where?
5) Other, off-the-cuff advice? The anything goes category.

How do I import a draft class with real names into Madden 2007 on the Xbox 360?

hcastro — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 09:17:35 -0800

How do I import a draft class with real names into Madden 2007 on the Xbox 360? I enjoy managing franchises in the Madden series of football games, but it just isn't the same without draft classes containing real college players. I used to import classes on the PS2, but what are the consequences of doing this with the 360? What are the methods (legitimate or unsupported)?

Help me buy my boyfriend an awesome XBOX wireless headset

missmle — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 21:02:16 -0800

XBOX 360 question! Help me get my boyfriend a wireless headset he will love. My boyfriend loves his XBOX 360 and plays a lot of Halo with his friends using XBOX Live. I want to buy him a really awesome wireless headset for Christmas. Price is not really an issue here, although 100 bucks and under would be good. I've looked at all kinds of websites for reviews, but I'm really clueless about this sort of thing. I want to make sure its comfortable (especially for long periods of time), has good sound, works well after owning it a while, is convenient, basically all the stuff that you can't really learn from online reviews. If you use one please tell me, what do you think? What should I get? Is there anything I should look for when choosing? Or, if you own one and love it/hate it, why?

What excites you about nextgen gaming consoles?

ArcAm — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 18:08:15 -0800

What features of Xbox 360, PS3, or Nintendo Revolution are you most looking forward to? What are the most unique features?