Video Games : Xbox 360 Console (20 GB Hard Drive)

Rating: - xbox 360 premium
this is in my opinion the best console around, even better than the recently released sony ps3. there are 3 reasons for this

1. superb graphics
2. halo 3!!!!!!
3. xbox live allowing online play with up to 16 other players from across the world.

as you can see its the best.

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Rating: - good but not the best
I have playe dthe 360 many times and although I dont own one, I already know enough about it. There are some great things about this console, like the games and the online. However, I chose the ps3 over this and I have my reasons. The graphics aren't really good, except for the odd game like halo 3 and its so unreliable. Plus ther eare lots of add-ons for it and it costs alot to have everything. So I would choose the ps3 over this, as all that needs are better games which are certainly coming and online, which is improving immensely.

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Rating: - Just Great
I'm glad i bought a 360, like c'mon theres some awesome games to be played and theres a huge collection out already. Well i ordered my console on Tuesday and they delivered by Wednesday, Great Yeah!! Anyways moving on, yeah, like people say the console does make noise like a plane and yes its true, but if you are put off by that, just plug in a music device or turn the volume up.

Overall i have both PS3 and now 360, tbh i'm happy with both 'em and i think my money has been well spent.

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Rating: - The games rule, the hardware will break...be warned!
I've had so many computers,consoles etc I've lost count of em.Games are where it matters and the 360 at present rules the roost with a collection of top titles.But I ask you if the thing you've just shelled out on keeps suffering from catastrophic hardware failure a.k.a. the rings of death etc then how are you supposed to play the games? You buy it...it dies...you get a refurbished one from microsoft...it dies and so on and so on.This has proved to be a complete turkey of a console.I have cared and nurtured my console taking care that it doesnt get too hot and overheat, placed in a well ventilated area and limited my play to no longer than 4 hours any one day to see if that helps. It does'nt it just dies again and again.This is the most shocking piece of tat I have ever purchased and I feel a fool for believing all the hype.Please stay clear of any 360s unless you dont mind the repair times.If the breakdowns don't annoy you the customer service helpline will.If you can understand them they will string you on and make you feel that everything will be alright in a short space of time...well it won't.I will never buy another microsoft console.This hunk of junk is currently doing what it does best and that is as an expensive paper weight.Oh and I don't like the ps3 either so no I'm not a fanboy here to polute the minds of the x box faithfull.Its time to face facts and all standup and shout...this console is absolute garbage and I want my money back.

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Rating: - Please, from an owner since 2006, do NOT buy into Xbox Stress!
I'm going to make this short if possible. Game savvy people like me who've been into gaming since 1982 (atari VCS) and have owned loads of different consoles are well aware of the appauling failure rate of the 360. General consumers (such as the type visiting amazon) are not.

I feel it's dishonest for anyone to give this hardware 5 stars when most of the people know full well how unreliable and stress inducing the console is.

First up, i've been a 'fan' of the 360 since late 2006 and played some great games on it (favorite being 'dead rising' but also PGR, Gears Of War, Viva Pinata etc). And I do not own a 'competing system' so this is not some fanboy in disguise. I was more than happy with the games on the console but was never that happy about the quality of the unit itself. It was noisy, tempremental (sometimes would flash red lights, not boot, screen corruption, lock up etc) but most of the time it worked great. Just after a year of owning it (and not ever really using it intensely enough to consider anything my own fault) and things started to go bad.

The 3 red light error is one thing. The most famous thing. You can send your console back to MS for a 'repair' (you are most likely to get someone elses 2nd hand refurb back that will STILL fail on you in time). This is already disgraceful should you be the type as I was to really look after your hardware and allow it space to not overheat etc.

If you are unlucky enough to get what is known as the E74 error then it's even worse (I also had this). Basically the scaler chip inside burns out and means you console will die eventually. Mine did. The shocking part was finding out that MS didn't cover this 'fault' in thier extended warranty. They will make you PAY for them to fix it even though it's all part of their poor quality control and a KNOWN problem (do a search for xbox 360 + e74) there are more and more each day reporting this problem but if you get it then just as I was you are out of luck.

The whole point is that the system simply isn't reliable enough to securely invest money in buying games for it. I eventually gave up on MS fixing it and parted it out (games, accesories, internals that were still any good) to try and get some of the cost back that I'd wasted on it. I'd hate for someone else to have to do that, especially if it's a present for a youngster (i'm 33 so I kinda take it on the chin but i'm still very angry at Microsoft for knowingly releasing bad hardware, yes, they KNEW about the faults!).

So be warned, you may know 3 people who have 360's and they work fine but for every 3 I can find 6 who've had to return their console or throw it away and give up (i'm one of them). I'm not here to stir up console wars i'm here as a concerned consumer angry at his rights being completely disregarded (and a phone call to MS support is more than I bargained for when I gave them my cash, leave your brain and respect at the door 'cos you aint going to be needing them on that call).

Recently a MS insider pointed out how deep the problems go and that MS knew about it before release. Even the latest batch of consoles (while more reliable in general) are no immune to this sudden console death in all it's forms so don't think any fancy new chipset is a cast iron guarantee that you won't endure what millions of others have had to.

Simply put: Some great games on the system, great controllers, great online (but beware putting your card details in you'll never get them off and they keep recharging you - use CODE VOUCHERS ONLY!) but absymal quality control on the hardware leaves me rating the hardware a 1. It would be a 4.5 without these issues but if it won't even work, and in some cases you end up 'throwing away' vast amounts of money with no consumer rights left then it's barely even worth a 1 in my book.