nickbarnes ([info]nickbarnes) wrote,
@ 2008-12-30 12:45:00
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Xbox 360 game recommendations sought
J (13) is getting an Xbox 360. His money, his choice. He's trying to choose a bundled game: the top three options seem to be "Fable 2", "Gears of War 2" and "Halo 3".

The idea is that one console will live here and the other one at his mother's.

His favourite game at the moment is "Quantum of Solace" on the Wii, especially the online play. But he is also enjoying "Animal Crossing" on the Wii.

He's becoming a fairly typical 13-year-old, but is still very averse to horror/gore. Keen on Heroes, but turns away from the scene where Claire Bennett puts her hand in the waste disposal. Shooting characters in the head is fine. Wading through their brains is less good. Zombies and/or huge drooling insectoid monsters are probably not ideal.

Recommendations? I'd also like recommendations for other XBox 360 games/accessories, especially anything that's going to work well for/with his little sister E (9). Kung Fu Panda? Lego Indy? Banjo Kazooie?

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[info]gareth_rees
2008-12-30 05:17 pm UTC (link)
Rock Band of course.

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[info]nickbarnes
2008-12-30 05:35 pm UTC (link)
Well, yes, but nobody has a 60GB + Rock Band bundle. Rock Band will definitely arrive in due course.

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[info]nickbarnes
2008-12-30 05:38 pm UTC (link)
Aargh, web confusion. Do I want "Rock Band 2"? Do I need "Band in a Box" or other accessories? How many XBox controllers will I want?
Man, I hate technology. Why can't he just buy a freaking football or something?

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[info]gareth_rees
2008-12-30 05:55 pm UTC (link)
Confusing, isn't it?

Rock Band is the game only, no peripherals. It's possible to play the game with XBox controllers, if you must.

Band in a Box is a set of peripherals (guitar, drum kit, microphone) but no game. You can buy also buy the peripherals individually. I bought a second (wireless) guitar.

Rock Band 2 is a sequel. It has identical gameplay and it is compatible with the same set of peripherals, but a completely new set of tracks. We're only about half way through but my opinion so far is that the selection of tracks is not quite as good as in the first Rock Band, but (at expert difficulty, anyway) the second game is a bit harder, which is good for me anyway.

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[info]nickbarnes
2008-12-30 06:00 pm UTC (link)
So that's quite an expensive hobby, then. XBox + RB + BiaB is somewhere over 300 quid.

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[info]gareth_rees
2008-12-30 06:13 pm UTC (link)
Tell me about it.

But not as expensive as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I had to buy a television and a television licence as well as a Nintendo 64 in order to play that.

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[info]gareth_rees
2008-12-31 11:58 am UTC (link)
On the bundle question. Halo 3 and Gears of War 2 have received excellent reviews but both are shooters replete with huge drooling insectoid monsters. Fable 2 is a Zelda clone that has received mixed reviews ("Every single woman in Fable 2 had knockers significantly bigger than her head").

I note that the blurb for Gears of War 2 praises the game's "ambient occlusion" and "dynamic shadows", so it may be aimed at an audience that has heard of and cares about those things, i.e. wannabe game developers.

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