A new 360 owner looking for recommendations

[Tortuga]

Hey folks,

I picked up an XBOX 360 this weekend and I'm looking for game recommendations.  I managed to get the MUA/Forza 2 bundle, and I've also picked up EA's Tiger Woods 08.

What 360 games would you recommend?  If you could take a couple sentences to explain your recommendation, that would be great.  Thanks!

[Verfall]

Rock Band!

Why? It's fun as hell, especially if you can get a group together. You're a music geek Tort, so it should be right your alley.

[Midnight]

Puzzle Quest on XBox Live Arcade. I have it for PC and it is indeed... awesome.

[UnfluffyBunny]

having still not seen the light of rock band on UK soil, guitar hero 3 is another great game for music lovers ^_^

[bredon7777]

Bioshock - best 1st person shooter in recent memory (at least on the Xbox- PC, not so much :() Plus a repudiation of the garbage philosophies of Ayn Rand, as espoused in her extremely mediocre books.

Philosophy, plus being able to blow people into bloody chunks.  Seriously, what else could you ask for in a game!?! :D

[TheMarvell]

I recommend:

-Halo 3
-Mass Effect
-BioShock
-Prey

Most of 360's best games are FPS. People seem to either love or hate Halo 3, but most agree that multiplayer is fun as hell. I personally enjoyed Mass Effect, as it was the reason why I picked up a 360. It's a very immersing single player RPG from the guys behind KOTOR. Real time third person shooting, mixed in with some "force-like" powers, hacking abilities, and an epic story. It's great (except a lot of side missions are tedious). BioShock for reasons already mentioned, and Prey because 1) it's cheap, and 2) I was actually really surprised at how good the game actually is. It's not worth full price, but definitely around 20.

I personally liked these games too, but not sure if I can really recommend them:
-Kameo
-Spider-Man 3
-Conan
-*Assassin's Creed

I picked up AC last week, but haven't tried it out yet. Lots of people think the others are really mediocre, but I personally got a lot of enjoyment out of Spider-Man 3 and Conan (think God of War, only not as fluid). 360 has plenty of cheap games to choose from by now and those are great choices.

also, there's Orange Box, Call of Duty 4, Devil May Cry 4, and Lost Odyssey.

[murs47]

Well, there's Halo 3. Then there's Halo 3. Finally, there's Halo 3.

Did I mention Halo 3?

[Tortuga]

I'm dling the Bioshock demo right now. I plan on renting Mass Effect when I get tired of golfing.

I'd love Rock Band, but getting the XBOX itself was enough of a hurdle -- a $170 game would not go over well, heh.  Besides, my brother has it and I'll play it there.

Keep sharing your recommendations!

btw, my gamertag is EDTortuga.  Add me!

[Mowgli]

Tortuga! Good to have you online with the 360! I am on as well, and predictably named "Mowgli". Look for Jeynice as well.

As for reccomendations on the 360:

-Gears of War- Great FPS all around. Incredible graphics, solid gameplay and contril. Decent story as well.
-Marvel Ultimate Alliance- Just lots and lots of super hero fun. It's great for comic fans.
-Dead or Alive 4- Excellent fighting game. Graphics that amaze with destructible environments.
-Puzzle Quest (XBox Live Arcade)- Great twist on a puzzle game as an RPG.

If I think of any more, I'll let you know. I'll add you to my friends list as well!

[vamp]

Well, If your like most guys and like things that go fast, hitting things, and explosions, then I'd Recommend Burnout: Paradise. It is one of my favorite gaming series so far (though i have yet to by Paradise), but i am a bit of a racer. I can't recommend it as a must buy though because i have yet to play it myself.

[JeyNyce]

Tortuga! Good to have you online with the 360! I am on as well, and predictably named "Mowgli". Look for JeyNyce as well.

We hooked up last night. 

Marvel Ultimate is a must game to get and if and when you do get it get the GOLD edition, so you can get the extra characters  without the hassle of the download.

I may the only one here but if you are a Star Wars fan then the Lego Star Wars games are great.

Crackdown is good too if you're into Superhero Cops

If you afford it, renting games are great too.  I used Gamefly and if I rent a game that I like I can get it at a cheap price.

One more thing: THE ORANGE BOX! for nothing else PORTAL!

[TigerStyle]

It depends entirely to what you like.  Games I've played and enjoyed by genre:

FPS
Halo3 - Campaign is fun and insanely challenging on Legendary.  Enjoyed best with co-op.  Multiplayer can be alternatively great and annoying depending on who matchmaking pairs you up with.  The mute function is incredibly useful.

Rainbow Six Vegas - Best enjoyed with friends doing things like coop terrorist hunt.  You could probably wait for the sequel due out next month. 

RPG
Blue Dragon - If you're expecting Chrono Trigger, you'll be disappointed.  Still fun if you like classic JRPGs.  You can expect 70-90 hrs of gameplay. 

Mass Effect - Sci fi fan catnip.  If you liked Biowares previous RPGs, this won't disappoint.  Good story, and an incredibly in-depth universe for a brand new IP.  I think my first play through took somewhere between 60-70hr.  Then you can play a different class and have a whole different experience. 

Elder Scrolls 4 - Just go out and buy the GOTY edition.  Now.  I have over 100 hrs invested in this game and still haven't finished it.  Great game. 

Action
Dead Rising - I never made it very far into the story, but I did kill a lot of zombies. 

Assassin Creed - I haven't finished it yet, but that will probably be soon.  The gameplay does get a little repetitive after a while, but I still get a thrill out of using the hidden blade for assassinations. 

Marvel Ultimate Alliance - Fun action game.  You might be a little disappointed with your favorite superhero either not being in the game or not being very powerful, but well worth a play through.

Saints Row - A GTA clone with a some very fun mini games. 

Crackdown - A GTA clone as a cop who gets more powerful as you play.  Jumping and climbing your way through the city is a lot of fun.  Great for the coop play, if you can find someone to play along. 

Platformer
Lego Star Wars 2 - You could probably pick up the complete saga.  Still fun to experience moments of the original movies with a lego spin. 

Kameo - I think this title is $10-20 now.  I enjoyed it and I haven't played a lot of platformer type games. 

Sports
Fight Night round 3 - Great boxing game.  At 360's launch the graphics were great.  You should be able to find this on the cheap. 

Rockstar's Table Tennis - "Table tennis?" you say?  This game is a lot of fun in a bargain package.  The gameplay is simultaneously intuitive and deep. 

XBL Arcade
Puzzle Quest - The bejeweled RPG.  As addictive as you could expect from either type of game. 

I think that wraps it up.  I haven't had a chance to play games like Bioshock, or Orange Box yet.  If you want to look me up my gamertag is "x APEX x". 

[Tortuga]

Well, I'll be...

Just a week or so after I buy an XBOX 360 Microsoft announces that they're dropping the price in Canada due to the well-performing Canuck buck.  My lack of patience has cost me $50!!

I am going to try and see if the store I bought it at will honour the price change.  If not, I may just have to exchange it (within 30 days of purchase) and buy a new one at the lower price, heh.

By the way: Jey, Mowg and Tigerstyle -- we should hook up for a game of MUA.  It would fun to see that game in its multiplayer co-op glory.

[GrizzlyBearTalon]

Well, I'll be...

Just a week or so after I buy an XBOX 360 Microsoft announces that they're dropping the price in Canada due to the well-performing Canuck buck.  My lack of patience has cost me $50!!

I am going to try and see if the store I bought it at will honour the price change.  If not, I may just have to exchange it (within 30 days of purchase) and buy a new one at the lower price, heh.

By the way: Jey, Mowg and Tigerstyle -- we should hook up for a game of MUA.  It would fun to see that game in its multiplayer co-op glory.

I tossed ye a friend request! :gbtclaw

A lot of games that I either have or would have recommended have already been mentioned. Ill toss another nod to Devil May Cry 4 in as it is very impressive if you are a fan of action games.

Get the demo for Superman Returns just so you can fly around, heh. The game is TERRIBLE but the flying is very fun. I may actually pick up a bargain bin copy if I can ever find one.

I would also recommend a few games from the Xbox Originals list from Xbox live, Ninja Gaiden Black, Psychonauts (possibly the funniest game I have ever played) and Sid Meier's Pirates.

Bully is coming out for the 360 soon or maybe it is even out now with an updated Scholarship Edition, I played the original and found it's gameplay pretty fun. You might get an extra kick out of it being a teacher yourself.

Some other recommendation quickies....

Lost Planet (Cheap & Fun game with very large enemies and some cool mecha piloting)
Fight Night Round 3 (My alltime favorite boxing game, you might not love the controls but I did)
Jade Empire (Actually an Xbox game but made by the KOTOR people and often overlooked gem)
Panzer Dragon Orta (Again an XBox game but the most fun you'll ever have riding a dragon)
Virtua Fighter 4 (The best fighter I have played in a while)
WWE Smackdown 08 (If you like wrestling and video games why not? Very fun game)

If you didn't already have an xbox I'd also recommend looking into the list of xbox games playable on the 360 and getting some of those as well. A lot of great games that aren't quite as pretty but still a lot of fun. Hulk Ultimate Destruction and Knight of the Old Republic immediately come to mind.

My tag is Mister Grizz anyone can feel free to add me, just toss a comment along with it if you are using a name I wont recognize just so I know who you are.

[Tortuga]

Gotcha Grizz, thanks.

To add insult to injury, the Best Buy stores are throwing in Bioshock with a 360 Pro at the newly adjusted price.

On top of that, Madam T reminded me that originally I was planning to buy an XBOX this weekend (and not 8 days ago when I broke down and bought one anyway).

:banghead:

[JeyNyce]

By the way: Jey, Mowg and Tigerstyle -- we should hook up for a game of MUA.  It would fun to see that game in its multiplayer co-op glory.

Let me know when and I'm there.

[Tortuga]

I rented Mass Effect (and will keep it for a month -- hooray for no late fees!) and played it a ton yesterday.  It's definitely up to Bioware standards, although my TV is too small to clearly read some of text that appears, heh.  Lotsa fun so far though.

[Mowgli]

By the way: Jey, Mowg and Tigerstyle -- we should hook up for a game of MUA.  It would fun to see that game in its multiplayer co-op glory.

Sounds good to me!  :thumbup:

[Verfall]

My gamertag's vajje, but since I'll never pay for Xbox live, putting it here's probably pointless eh?

[Zippo]

I'd recommend Dead Rising. My brothers have a 360 and it's the only game that continually pulls me back to it. There's something therapeutic about chainsawing hundreds of zombies in half. 

[Tortuga]

My gamertag's vajje, but since I'll never pay for Xbox live, putting it here's probably pointless eh?

But you still have Silver, which allows you to comminicate.  Gold is only $4 or so per month, so I'm picking up mine soon.

[Mowgli]

I will second that "Dead Rising" reccomendation. It is a lot of fun just blazing through zombies in a mall setting. It's a fun game all around. Definitely worth a rent.  :thumbup:

[detourne_me]

My brother has Dead Rising,  when i was over at his place playing it I had a great time until I got to the boss battles,  they scared the crap out of me (the cult and the clown)

[Sword]

Orange Box is a godly game set.
If you're into racing, pick up Forza 2 for deep customization or Project Gotham 4 for quick casual play.
And don't forget the XBLA, where you can pick up the 1989 TMNT arcade game.

[electro]

Gears of War - best Shooter for online Multiplay but it is rather Hard Core compared to easier games like Halo 3
Bioshock  - made by our good friends who made Freedom Force & is an awesome shooting/action/thriller experience but has zero online play
Elder Scrolls : Oblivion - can't go wroung if you looking for an RPG
Mass Effect - Another Shooting rpg with zero online play but well worth checking out for the cool Unreal graphics & universe spanning story
Dark Messiah ; Might & Magic - solid rpg that does alot of things Oblivion doesn't & has a pretty cool Online play that i'm not sure many people know about - graphics are a little lacking thow :blink:

Getting and HD TV is a must for fully enjoy the graphics but you will also need HDMI cables or VGA cables or the HD TV really doesn't help - I run mine with VGA since i have the older 20 gig machine - I would throw the HD component cables in the trash they suck ballz

[TigerStyle]

I'm down for some online MUA.  I'll be on vacation all next week, so anytime after should be good. 

[Tortuga]

Yesterday I traded in Frontlines: Fuel of War (a team shooter my brother and I both picked up, but stopped playing shortly before GTA4 arrived) and took advantage of a Buy 2 Get 1 Free promo on preowned games.  I picked up Bioshock, Mass Effect and Crackdown for a whopping $17!

[captmorgan72]

Just curious, who plays their 360 on a monitor instead of a TV? I have a crappy old set so I play on a Samsung 22" SyncMaster 226BW. The monitor was way way less than a decent high def TV would have cost me. All the games and movies look fantastic on this monitor. A cheap way to go to get high def fun.

[Tortuga]

I would do that, but I need something bigger for the space in which I play 360/watch movies/TV.  I'm planning on buying a 42-46 inch LCD TV this summer.  :thumbup:

[Marmeille]

I bought a 360 last week at Future Shop it came with Halo 3 and Gears of War, I've been looking at the Xbox 360s for a few months now so when I saw that bundle offer I caved in. :rolleyes:

I also purchased GTA4 :D I'm still getting used to the controller but I'm liking it a lot.