Xbox 360 Console Review

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(More customer reviews)I don't have all the cash to spend in the world, so deliberating between the Arcade bundle and the Elite bundle was a lengthy, careful process that involved reading multiple reviews and generating a feature vs. value spreadsheet.In the end, I'm very happy with my choice to go with the Arcade bundle.It allowed me to get the core system plus three games (Gears of War, Final Fantasy XIII, and Super Street Fighter IV) for a little less than the price of an Elite bundle.I'm giving this a 4 star review for the following issues:

1)The pack-in games aren't that great.Neither Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts nor Viva Piñata are particularly enthralling (and this is coming from someone who greatly enjoyed the original Banjo Kazooie, and Animal Crossing - which is similar in concept to Viva Piñata).This is a matter of opinion, however, so I recommend giving both games a test drive if you can.If neither are your cup of tea, then maybe the extra $100 is worth spending on the Halo 3: ODST and Forza Motorsport III pack-ins of the Elite bundle.

2)No means of internet connection.I prefer playing games solo and not online, so I didn't think that this would be a problem.However - and this is something important to consider - in order to use the Xbox 360 as a decent media hub, you *need* to have network access.I already have a few hundred GB of photos, music, and movies stored in a portable hard drive and was intending to hook it up to my console to watch/listen to media, but half of the file types aren't supported unless you download a system update.Of course, you can't download the update unless you're connected to the internet.D'oh!Syncing with a PC via Windows Media Center to watch media you already have stored on a computer also requires an internet connection.So in addition to considering whether you'll want to play games online or not, definitely also think about whether you'll want to use your Xbox for viewing media when deciding which bundle to purchase.Also think about whether it will be more convenient for you to use an ethernet cable or wireless router.If your console is set up near a port or a router, then the cable that comes in the Elite bundle will do.If you want to connect wirelessly, you'll have to buy the Wireless network Adapter anyway (or set up a work-around, the means of which you can find out and about the internet), so maybe the Arcade bundle will suffice.

3)No included high capacity storage.There's 512 MB built into the console, but after creating profiles for me and my wife and saving saved game data for five games, I'm down to around 180 MB.With the latest system update, you can use a third party external storage device (flash or hard disk drive) to store up to 16 GB of games, media, and Xbox Live Arcade purchases per device (you can use up to two, expanding your storage to a total of 32 GB).This is a good thing since I have a few portable hard drives that I can use, thus saving me the cost of having to buy an official Xbox 360 hard drive.However, loading a game onto your external storage - which greatly reduces loading time, noise, and wear-and-tear on the DVD drive - takes about 8 GB per disk, so at 32 GB you'd only be able to store 4 games tops.I tend to play around three games at a time, so I think I'll be okay (though Final Fantasy XIII is three discs large, hmmm...)But if you have any intention of loading a library of games onto your hard drive, you'll want to consider the Elite bundle which comes with a 120 GB Xbox 360 Hard Drive.

The above issues considered, I'm still very satisfied with the Arcade Bundle I chose.In the end, I'm going to forego the official Xbox 360 hard drive and stick to my external hard drive (perhaps loading one or two games attime).I purchased a Wireless Network Adapter through another online retailer a few days ago, so I'll be able to download the system update and purchase games on Xbox Live Arcade.With the additional expense of the Wireless Adapter and considering my gaming habits, I still feel like I got a better value with the Arcade bundle over the Elite bundle.

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Product Description:
The Xbox 360 Arcade console is everything you need to hit the ground running. Plug in the console and connect the wireless controller and you're playing.

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