Expert: Brian Jay - 11/20/2007

Question
QUESTION: Hi, I'd love to surprise my husband and get him an XBOX 360 for Christmas.  What's a good price?  Where should I look?  What games should I get him?  Any other advice? I'm totally lost when it comes to video games.  Thanks!

ANSWER: Hi Ruby.

First of all, great choice :)

Secondly, I ~could~ go into detail about the tricks and traps in regards to the 360, but Microsoft have done all that and put it into a nice flash presentation. See the link below (copy and paste it into the address bar):

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/wheretobuy/?WT.svl=nav

Just some extra points (I've separated into three for each part of the flash link)

1-Consoles-I would have to say that going the base model is to much of a waste compared to the price of the stuff its missing, and the Elite version is only best used on top of the range tv's. The best bet is usually the middle of the range full console.

2-Games-I do realize that you wouldn't be sure as to what games to choose. Where it comes to that, you just gotta look at the interests your husband has and go from there. A driving game for car buffs, or a RPG for someone who likes a story, you know like that.

A good game to start with probably is Mass Effect. It combines a Tactical Shooter, with great RPG style elements, and its all set in space. Great allround game with a terrific story. Might be a good place to start, especially if your husband is into the whole star wars thing (or maybe a good place to avoid if not haha)

Another good idea would be one of the Guitar Hero/Rock Band style games. Terrific fun, that anybody can play. It may require extra purchase for the controls needed (its shaped as a guitar), but it is well worth the price.

Have a look at the games section in that link, it will explain more, including other popular games.

3-Accessories-A play and charge kit is almost a must, unless you have a good supply of batteries. Wired Microphones are fragile, so if you get one of them, make sure he takes care of it. The wireless ones are so much more durable.

Another note to remember is that for multiplayer to work, it does require a paid subscription. Probably the best start in that regards is the Live Starter Kit some places sell (depends on store size, locale, those kinds of things). It comes with 12 months prepaid, a wired microphone and an xbox live arcade game.

Live membership can be brought prepaid (usually a tad more expensive) or online using a credit card. Same goes with the online currency (Microsoft points) used to download items online.

If there is anything else that you would like to know, or anything specific, feel free to ask again.

Good Luck

Brian Jay

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Wow Brian - Thank you!  So I thought there were ONLY the basic & Elite
consoles, I had no idea there was an inbetween.  That's great to know.  and a
wireless headset - never even crossed my mind.  Any brands you recommend?  I
live in the US...are you in the UK?  Thanks!!

Answer
Hi again:

Yeah, the "inbetween" console or the full one is more than often the better deal out of the three. The basic will require the purchase of other essential things like hardware and controllers, which will result in a more expensive end cost...

...and while the Elite is nice, it really isn't needed unless the TV its going to be used on supports HDMI, for the top 1280 type projections. The extras are nice, but if you take a little care with the machine and do all the right things (I mean, you would anyways) the full console will be more than enough.

For the headset, the Microsoft ones are fine. They are considerably more than wired ones, but last longer than the price they are sold at. They one I have, I brought a good 6 months ago, and it has survived quite a few events, as opposed to the first three-four months that I had personally gone through three of the wired ones.

And just for interests sake, I live in Australia. In regards to things 360, it gets a bit rough seeing as we are a small market and we aren't getting everything thats being released everywhere else straight away (like the US, UK etc) so I try and base my answers based on US/UK markets. Doesn't always work, I've answered questions for people from all over the world :)

Anyways, good luck with it all and as always any problems feel free to ask away.

Brian Jay