I want to thank everyone for their information and input. I know that I usually ask a lot of questions about things and never get it; mostly because I just don't have enough money. However, I am debt free for the first time since what, high school... and now I can actually start to enjoy some things that I would like instead of just talking about them

The Xbox 360, of course, being one of the first things that I finally can get. Could not play it today because I have been out and about, so probably not until Friday is when I can really get into it. Looking forward to it.. and the cool thing is, all of my old Xbox games are compatible except for Deux Ex (which I bought for $3 so it is not that big of a loss).

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Gears is phenomenal. But.. if you're not into multi player, you can rent the game and beat the single player campaign in about 12 hours. I don't see the point in buying it for $60. Not really sure which games I will buy, probably just Halo 3 and Mass Effect and just rent other games.

Here's a really good video of what Mass Effect is all about:

http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/13855

Sadly, so true. So very very true.

I wish the Wii had better games, man. Sigh. Maybe 2008. or 2009.

The new Mario will be out soon and looks very nice. But, I don't think xskycrasherx will ever be happy with the Nintendo Wii. It wont feature the games you like I believe. I could be wrong tho, but its not a hardcore gamers machine. One thing, Super Mario Galaxy looks like it will be a great game indeed.

The same 10 first party titles get old after a while, no matter how good they are. Hello gamecube. They've got to have stuff worth playing that is coming out more then once every 2-3 months. Party games only carry you so far.

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Marauder Harabakc Goat

I'm not a hardcore gamer. I'm very, very, VERY casual. I just beat Bioshock yesterday. Most "hardcore" gamers powered through it in a day or two. Week at the most.

I might like Super Mario Galaxy, but if Super Mario Sunshine is any indication, I won't. However, if it's a throwback to the old SMB games, or Mario 64, then maybe it'll succeed.

The Wii really needs a unique "Wii Only" title to push it to the next level and to make it worth getting for something more than a novelty item. Everything I have seen is just a rehash of old stuff (Zelda, Mario, etc).

Recently got Metroid Prime 3 and so far it is the most fun and refreshing game that I've played on the Wii since the console came out (Zelda is a Gamecube game so it doesn't count). There is a lot of physical interaction with objects around the game (door locks, levers, etc) that doesn't feel gimmicky.

The story is serious, the areas are beautifully crafted (though the character models really do show what the console can't do...) and the game is not filled with minigames like most of what is out for the Wii. So, hopefully we start getting more games like this that really do feel like unique Wii titles. It's probably just a matter of time.

That's interesting, I've heard that MP3 has a lot of tedious interaction with doors and locks and the like that is very tedious and wasn't designed that well.

How is the enemy AI? Are there any truly ingenuitive battles that require any strategy or anything?

I'm still waiting to rent it, all the reviews I saw highlighted all the bad points about the game that pushed me away from it. =(

That is one thing that I have to ignore when I play FPS games. I keep wanting to compare AI to F.E.A.R.

Skycrasher:

The only tedious thing so far is the scanning, but I hated that in the first Metroid Prime as well, and really hate it now (I'm only scanning to get the bonus shit though and the lore, I bet I could keep it to a minimum if I really wanted). But other than that, I'm really enjoying the physical interactions with switches and stuff. To me it brings me into the game.

As for the AI, so far the monsters are a bit retarded, though every now and then there will be a semi challenging monster. Keep in mind I'm not too far into the game, so maybe they get harder later who knows. The bosses though do feel challenging so far. But then again, I sort of suck, so maybe they are easier than I think.

I really don't like FPS games, and really couldn't stand the first two Metroid Prime games. Yet I'm having a good time with this one and I think it is because of the controls. I'd say rent it, I find it very fun so far, maybe you'll like it.

Dammit, lol thanks to you people I was crouched in best buy with the Xbox elite in my hands =P

The elite isn't worth it unless you can't find a Zephyr premium, I know a few people with elites and can't even fill 20gigs. Amazon still has HDMI Premiums and free shipping and tax free in most states.

Played galaxy for a good amount of time this week at my convention,I am not the biggest supporter of nintendo,but I liked alot of things they have coming and galaxy from what I got to play will be a very very good game...but I will say people who get motion sickness may have trouble playing this.

eh. I plan on snagging uncompressed hd versions of tv shows at some point so I can rewatch them over and over again, thus I justify my purchase of the elite.

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World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

Still love my 360 but the disc drive ate itself Sunday night for some reason. Fucking thing made the worst noises I've ever heard and then every disc from that point was unreadable. Luckily I had a replacement plan through Gamestop so I took it in and got a brand new one. What's better is that I got a new one with a HDMI port. I also bought another replacement plan for it. I only had the 360 since last November and probably easily put less than 100 hrs into it. Probably more like 50-75 but meh.

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Avelle <Risen>
80 Mage
Ner'zhul Server (Fuck Illidan)
Avelle 75 PLD/DRG/DRK/BRD
Midgardsormr - Active again
Elidrin 75 Paladin
Midgardsormr - Retired
Elidrin 65 Ranger
Lanys T'Vyl - Retired

Hmm the premium doesn't seem to come with the HDMI cable, just those High def av cables and nothing I read mentioned Zephyr. Sounds like the elite has some different chipset in it?

Then again they contradict themselves in their description on Amazon :HDMI and then 2 lines down "this product is not HDMI compatible...etc

The premium didn't come with HDMI when it first came out. It was only recently that they started introducing them with HDMI, hence my happiness when my unit was replaced by one with HDMI capabilities.

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Avelle <Risen>
80 Mage
Ner'zhul Server (Fuck Illidan)
Avelle 75 PLD/DRG/DRK/BRD
Midgardsormr - Active again
Elidrin 75 Paladin
Midgardsormr - Retired
Elidrin 65 Ranger
Lanys T'Vyl - Retired

Look on the box and on the detailed specs thing look for the serial number, it'll have "ZEPHYR" on it if it's HDMI capable.

Even the premiums that are zephyr retrofits won't come with an HDMI cable though.

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World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

You could probably go online to a store like monoprice.com and find a decent price on HDMI cables or ask a friend at BestBuy who can get like a 50" for 10 bucks =p they sure do mark cables up a lot!

Or just go to wal-mart and get an HDMI cable for $10 retail :p

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World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

Oops, sorry, I thought retail still sold cables for really high marked up prices, I guess just BestBuy/CC.

heh, that's because best buy is in bed with Monster Cable, I'm almost 100% sure. same with CC.

I've found wal-mart is relatively decent on their prices for cables.

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World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

I didn't find one for under $30 at Wal-Mart, but you can find one on Buy.com or Amazon for under $10.

Unfortunately all cables are not created equal.

http://www.monoprice.com

unless you LIKE getting assraped for calbles

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Don't fall for the hype. No cable is worth more than $20. As long as the connectors are gold, you're fine. "EM Shielding" is a whole lot of crap, just don't let them get tangled up in each other and you'll be fine.

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World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

95% of cables are created equal.

And the remaining five percent are sub par cables that should be avoided.

Luckily, these only show up at places like radio shack right next to the monster cables and the average consumer is dazzled by marketing speak and they pay $40+ for an hdmi cable.

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World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

Traded in a bunch of my older shit in and got one for myself today. Got tired of mooching off a friends. $280 bucks in store credit for shit I no longer play is awesome.

But...

My shit runs hot. Hella hot. Not like burn your hand hot, but very warm. A quick bit of research suggested to elevate the power brick so heat is better dissipated, instead of transfered over a flat surface. It's not a zephyr unit, but was a Sept 06 revision.

No warranty card or registration? Or do they do that in XBox Live now?

I handled my registration with xbox live.

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World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

and technically, at most retail locations, your date of purchase is automatically handled because they have to enter the S/N of the unit at the register, at least when I got my 360 at wal mart they did.

I'm assuming it's date of purchase along with loss prevention at least.

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World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

So most HDMI cables are the same? I'm just remembering back from my days selling audio/video and man...cables made a gigantic difference. I actually had a room of near identical speakers with the only difference being cheap cable and expensive ones. Sound difference was phenominal. I won't mention this to my dad who spent a chunk on his HDMI cables lol.

I'll put it to you this way then hehe. If I wanted to go and buy an xbox, right now and wanted the bang for my buck I'd buy ___________ ?

Best buy seems to have the Elite and then a regular model and a Core system I believe. Haven't seen a premium. My options for actual retail purchases are like...Sam's Club, Wally World and Best Buy. I live in Bumblefuck currently. The elite seems to come with a bit more and is 100$ more. The HD by itself is around 100 isnt it?

the differences between the models has been explained.

The "premium" isn't marketed as such, it's the one in the white box.

If you don't plan on 'renting' shows from the xbl marketplace, just get the white box version, looking for a zephyr retrofit.

As far as cables making a difference, I've never seen a cable make a marked difference in picture quality, unless it's a shitty set of component cables versus a decent set for $15.

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World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

HDMI cables are all similar. Component can have a very small difference, but as far as high-end video goes, Component and HDMI are all pretty much the same. It's a shame companies like Gamespot and EB Games (I know they're the same) charge 40$ for shitty "PS3/Xbox360" HDMI compatible cables. Such a scam. 5$ one at Wal-Mart will do fine. Ha.

Ugh I'd almost find a way to take it back Givin.. just for the heat issues alone~

I'll be picking up a 360 at some point, I'll make sure it'll be one of the newer cooler chips though~

Sadly, normally I laugh at people who purchase replacement plans, but with the issues 360s have, it's probably worth it.

Why bother getting the replacement plan for extra money when there's a three year replacement on them already from the factory?

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World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

Even their very newest models get hot as shit Lou! It's just poor planning but with a 3 year warranty I wouldn't worry about it. I don't know if any store sells a warrenty longer then 3 years anyways. Chances are in 3 years they will have a better(Falcon) chipset to send you back or another new console.

Most places replacement plan that add a year only take affect after the manufacturers warrenty has expired.

Not all. You really have to read the fine print, and if you question the guy who is trying to sell it, and he doesn't know, odds are it's a shit deal.

360s do not have a 3 year cover everything warranty. It's one year from date of purchase for parts and labor, 3 year total covering only red ring of doom. RROD is a hardware failure, not confirmed to be a heat issue, altho it is pretty obvious overheating causes the leads to expand to the point of coming loose from their fitting, especially in the old boards. Repairing them does nothing, as they will just rebreak the solder.

At least this is how this was explained to me, as far as how long and what the warrenty covers.

Many product replacement plans also require you hand them everything from the failed device, including your hard drive in the case of the 360.

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World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

Huh? The hard-drive never gets sent in if you send it in for a repair. They don't want anything except the unit itself.

However, my PS3 when it was repaired wanted everything. Controller, wires, etc.

I was talking about in store replacement, not warranty service.

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World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

If you manage to take your 360 back to Wal-Mart, I doubt they'd even check to see if you had a HD in the box.

wal-mart didn't offer me a product replacement plan either.

best buy and circuit city are a bit more thorough in their box inspections.

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World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

Yeah I'll have to see what BB charges for their lil extended thingy.

Sams and wallymart have really a really good return policy but you can buy an extended warranty at the register methinks.

Retailers will have a sticker on the box stating that they do not take defective units back and you have to go through the manufacturer. If they do not have said sticker, my opinion is by all means use them as the middle man.

With Gamestop all I had to do was hand over the core unit, kept my cables, hd, etc. In a lot of cases I don't bother with replacement plans, however when I first bought my unit they had not extended the factory warranty. Besides I get a brand new unit through Gamestop again (repurchased the replacement plan) and don't have to worry about 4-5 weeks of downtime or whatever. Worked out pretty good for me anyways since the new unit came with HDMI which my old one didn't have. I didn't buy a plan for my PS3 as I had not heard of widespread issues, unlike the 360.

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Avelle <Risen>
80 Mage
Ner'zhul Server (Fuck Illidan)
Avelle 75 PLD/DRG/DRK/BRD
Midgardsormr - Active again
Elidrin 75 Paladin
Midgardsormr - Retired
Elidrin 65 Ranger
Lanys T'Vyl - Retired

My policy towards product replacement plans has always been "if it costs less than $500, I don't get it" -- I usually buy them on things that cost over $500, especially shit that's a pain in the ass to get warranty on.

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World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

Thank you for telling us your policy.

I was just thinking the other day..."I wonder what Vanamar's policy is?" and what do ya know, he spelled it out!

Hehe, Eww.....

Microsoft is spending an AWFUL lot of money on broken xbox's

http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22027422-16123,00.html

Yep... old news.

The elites in stores now are fixed. The core systems should be fixed soon.