We were happy to receive our *replacement* Xbox 360 this past Friday. Not too long of a wait, I must say. I wondered if we would receive a “repaired” X360 (our original), a refurbished unit, or an entirely new unit altogether. Well, I am happy to report that we received a brand new console that was manufactured just a few weeks prior! How cool is that? 🙂
Funny that I should say “cool”.
Our new console has twice now done something that we never, ever saw on our previous unit: the 2-red-quadrants-of-shut-offed-ness. Ever seen this? Evidently this is the message that your Xbox 360 has reached some sort of internal temperature threshold, and then shuts itself down. Microsoft even has a KB article on this. This “behavior is by design”, I imagine. I’m guessing that the (almost certainly) heat-related RRoD issues are now dissuaded by lower temperature thresholds in the Xbox.
Less heat = less issues = less RRoD = less failed units = less $$$ out the door
To be fair, we’ve always kept our console in a TV cabinet. Evidently this is an undesirable situation, as the (above) KB article states…. “Do not put the Xbox 360 console in a confined space, such as a bookcase, a rack, or a stereo cabinet, unless the space is well-ventilated.” Guess what? That’s where we keep our entertainment stuff! Now we’re just leaving the doors of the TV cabinet open while we use the X360, but at the expense of our hearing and sanity. Geez these things are loud. Too loud. WAY TOO LOUD.
It’s obnoxious.
Meanwhile, the rest of the getting-our-Xbox-up-and-running-again experience has been fine. Our profiles and saved games were all fine. Connecting to our wireless required re-entering the key, but that’s easy-to-do. All in all, a fairly smooth transition.
Y.I.P.C.A.N.J.O 
Now that you have your 360 back, I think it’s high time you invest in Lost Odyssey. It’s a story-heavy RPG that is highly comparable to the likes of Dragon Quest/Warrior and Final Fantasy.
Well, I like Lost Odyssey anyway, but I grew up on games like that.
What games do you have for it?
Sadly, I don’t have THAT much time to play games — especially the RPG style games that *really* require an investment of time and attention! I enjoy them, but I seem to tend toward “pick ’em up and play ’em for 45 minutes” types of games. My very favorite games? Any shoot ’em up style game that I can play in co-op mode! My wife and co-op’ed and finished all 3 Halo games, Gears of War, and a few others. Awesome!
Some other awesome games…
– Bioshock
– Rainbow Six: Vegas
– Gears of War
– Halo 1 – 3 (my 10-year-old son is *amazing* at multiplayer!)
– Rallisport Challenge 2 (no X360 support 😦
– Star Wars: Battlefront
– Call of Duty series (#4 is incredible!)
– Thief: The Dark Project
So far, the only game on your list that I’ve played is Bioshock. I think it’s pretty good, but I have a slight touch of Gaming A.D.D., so I didn’t invest a ton of my time into it. Methinks I know what I’m probably playing next.
I’m currently saving up to buy Guitar Hero World Tour, and I might even trade my Rock Band stuff for the whole $2 that Gamestop will give me for it. You ever play Guitar Hero or Rock Band?
Have I ever played Rock Band? 🙂
https://yipcanjo.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/watch-out-for-kungpufanda/
Strangely enough, my son started getting bored with Rock Band, which surprised me a bit. Not sure what the deal was there *especially* since he’s so into drums and drumming! Who knows. Those games are a lot of fun, though — especially with the right group of friends to join you! Good times!!!
I agree, that is, unless you’re the one having to lug all of the equipment to a friend’s house… but ah well, small price to pay. I think the drums *are* the most fun out of all the stuff that comes with the game, because dang, the guitar’s kinda awkward with the strum bar I’ve noticed. Yeah, it doesn’t click, but it’s slippery! And let’s just say that I’m not a singer, period.
So I stick to drums mainly, which I’m now playing on expert!…. though In Bloom is kicking my butt currently… but so help me, it can be done!
Since we’re talkin’ games, what are your thoughts on the Nintendo Wii? I’ve owned one since it came out, and I like the stuff I’ve played on it, but I’m not sure that it’s necessarily worth all the fuss I see on a daily basis (I work in Wal*Mart’s electronics department, by the way) about it. Maybe it’s the thrill of the hunt…
My experience with the Wii is pretty limited. To be honest, I’m as much into “graphics” as I am into “gameplay”, so the Wii didn’t impress me a whole lot. Fun for awhile, but not a long-term interest to me. It seems that they *REALLY* need to increase their library if they want to compete long-term, though. Otherwise, they’ll continue to be a “niche” or “my second game machine” kinda console.
My $.02
I think what I like about Wii mainly is the virtual console, seeing as how I can legally and a lot more cheaply (for the most part) obtain games from yesteryear that I enjoyed. While there are some fun Wii games, for the most part, it’s… ehhh, again, not really worth the mania I see on a daily basis to obtain it. If I didn’t already own one, I’d probably be okay with waiting a while before I buy one.
Are there any games you’re looking forward to on the 360? At the moment, Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band 2 are on the top of my list! 🙂
Actually, I’m *REALLY* looking forward to the new Xbox dashboard re-design….
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/16/video-walkthrough-the-new-xbox-360-dashboard/
…and the Netflix integration, of course 🙂
‘Gears of War 2’ looks sweet. ‘Left 4 Dead’, from the Valve team. ‘Halo Wars’, though I’m not typically into those types of games. And whatever the Bungie team is set to announce pretty soon here!