Learn me Xbox

Ok, I just caved and ordered an Xbox 360 Pro with Forza 3, two wireless controllers, a headset, some kind of Live card thing, and all the cables. $208 shipped to our door. Dad and I went in on it together, so prepare to be dominated in Forza.

One issue- I know nothing about Xbox's. I've played lots of racing games, but I've always been a Playstation fanboi. I don't like the PS3, but I like playing on my friends' Xboxes, so I figured I'd try it out. I also realized that the Wii was going to turn me gay with all the cartoon crap, and I couldn't bear to miss out on CoD mw2 any longer.

Here are my questions:

How does the Forza online thing work? Will I have a screen name or something to give out?

How does Xbox live work?

How does Forza classing work?

Should I use the headset?

How do I stream content from my computer? (running osX)

And last but not least, what games should I buy? The only one I've ordered is Forza, and I think CoD will be next. Any other ideas?

Yeah yeah yeah, I know I should have researched all of this before I bought it.

Oh, and can I use a Linksys wireless N usb stick I have laying around, or do I have to buy the $80 Xbox wifi card?

How does the Forza online thing work? Will I have a screen name or something to give out?

You will create an xbox live screen name - you will then sign in with that name and that's what you use when you play any game online.

How does Xbox live work?

It works... very well. Connect your xbox to the internet and pretty much follow the on screen instructions. They make it easy to setup. At this point I paid for a year of xbox live using my credit card... since you already bought a live card, I think you should be able to just type in the code on the back of it and it'll sign you up for a year of xbox live.

How does Forza classing work?

Cars are classed from F,D,C,B,A,S and then you get the race cars at R3, R2, R1. There is a main scale from 0-1000 and each car has an overall number. Each of the letter classes have a threshold. If memory serves... class B for example is from 450-599 or something like that. Every mod you do to the car raises the overall number. You will try to mod the car to get to the maximum number for the class you want to play in. It sounds complicated, but it's not.

Should I use the headset?

Your choice. I like using the headset for most games, but never really cared for it in forza.

How do I stream content from my computer? (running osX)

Can't help you there. I linked my PC to the xbox using some windows media center thing, but I have no idea if it can be done with a mac.

And last but not least, what games should I buy? The only one I've ordered is Forza, and I think CoD will be next. Any other ideas?

CoD is a lot of fun, I put a ton of time into it. Those two should probably hold you off for a good while. What's nice is that there are a LOT of great games out there that you can buy for less than $10 used so you should be able to build your game library up quickly

let game finalfour32.

I don't play many games anymore, but go get Red Dead Redemption. I've never played a game that did such an incredible job at storytelling.

Tommy Suddard wrote: Ok, I just caved and ordered an Xbox 360 Pro with Forza 3, two wireless controllers, a headset, some kind of Live card thing, and all the cables. $208 shipped to our door. Dad and I went in on it together, so prepare to be dominated in Forza.

Bring. It.

Tommy Suddard wrote: Should I use the headset?

Yeah, they're pretty handy. Entering text sucks with the controller.

Tommy Suddard wrote: How do I stream content from my computer? (running osX)

If you figure it out, tell me. I think it's impossible.

If you can, talk your Dad into splitting the cost of a wheel. Forza is much more fun this way.

You can stream Hulu, Comedy Central, CBS, etc. via a program called playon that runs $20 a year, it uses your computer as a server. Don't forget if you have netflix you can stream that as well.

As for setting it up as a media center I know it's possible but never quite figured it out.

I believe you can use a non XBOX wifi adapter but i'm not 100% sure and you'll have to jump through some hoops to do so. True story, the original XBOX wifi adapter works on the 360 and tends to be cheaper than the 360 unit if you can find one.

Tom Heath wrote: If you figure it out, tell me. I think it's impossible.

Done. You use a program from nullriver called Connect 360 Costs $20 and supposedly does it all.

Tom Heath wrote: If you can, talk your Dad into splitting the cost of a wheel. Forza is much more fun this way.

We have two wheels that we bought when GT3 came out. They are USB, but we used them with a PS2. Will the Xbox work with them? I'm assuming it will.

Tommy Suddard wrote: We have two wheels that we bought when GT3 came out. They are USB, but we used them with a PS2. Will the Xbox work with them? I'm assuming it will.

The irony of XBox being a Microsoft product is that PC wheels are not all compatible. I would not expect your wheels to work.

The bad news is that the XB360 only accepts the XB360 steering wheel, or a couple models from Fanatec, which are very expensive. The good news is the XB360 wheel is pretty decent as far as feel and feedback. The mounting isn't the strongest, so be prepared to do a few mods to beef up the mounting and tighten things up. No big deal, though.

I have seen that a few third-party WiFi antennas work with the 360, but my understanding is they make you jump through a few hoops to do it. I think when I bought my wireless kit it came with some XB Live time, making the price comparable with the third party stuff anyway. And you can always just hardwire it for free if it's close to your hub.

jg

For teh internez and TV I have AT&T U-verse. All of our cable boxes are wirelessly connected to the AT&T router. Each cable box also has a network plug in back. A 3 ft network cable from my Xbox to my cable box and I was online.

JG Pasterjak wrote: I have seen that a few third-party WiFi antennas work with the 360, but my understanding is they make you jump through a few hoops to do it. I think when I bought my wireless kit it came with some XB Live time, making the price comparable with the third party stuff anyway. And you can always just hardwire it for free if it's close to your hub.

At $80 for the wifi card it might be cheaper to get a cheap 11N access point and wire it into that...

That's a killer deal you got there!

Yep, you'll create a Live screen name, and you use that for everything. It records "gamer points" which you get by unlocking "achievements" which are little mini-objectives in every game. Pretty fun, actually. You can also create an avatar, which is a ripoff of Nintendo's Mii's on the Wii.

As far as wi-fi adapters, I went with a wireless network extender, which pretty much acts as a hub for devices to connect to a network. The one I have is made by Buffalo Systems, and has 4 ports on it for different devices. It was like $40 less than the Microsoft thing and I can hook other systems and devices to it.

Oh, and games... There are TONS of great games for the 360. Let's see, here are some current favorites:

-Brutal Legend

-Mass Effect

-Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

-Burnout Paradise

-GTA IV

-Street Fighter IV

-Namco Museum

-Sonic's Ultimate Sega Genesis Collection

-Gears of War 2

-Halo 3

Most of the above games are $15 or less these days too, and they are all amazing games. Your minds will be blown, trust me.

Great, thanks for the advice. I think I'm just going to put DD-WRT on an old router and use it as a bridge. If that doesn't work, I'll just use my laptop as a bridge. When I get tired of all that crap, I'll just suck it up and buy the Xbox adapter.

SilverFleet wrote: Oh, and games... There are TONS of great games for the 360. Let's see, here are some current favorites: -Brutal Legend -Mass Effect -Star Wars: The Force Unleashed -Burnout Paradise -GTA IV -Street Fighter IV -Namco Museum -Sonic's Ultimate Sega Genesis Collection -Gears of War 2 -Halo 3

I think Chuck has all but two of those. Plus, don't underestimate the power of the LEGO games to suck you in. Indiana Jones especially.

racinginc215 wrote: I gotta know where that deal came from I'm in the XBox market.

+1. I was waiting on GT5 to come out and get a PS3.

But at that price, i could be persuaded to get going on Forza.

racinginc215 wrote: I gotta know where that deal came from I'm in the XBox market.

Amazon.com

I just used a cheap generic wifi adapter next to the xboxes at bestbuy $30 madcatz maybe? Instructions ask for lots of hoop jumping but the default settings work. Only had one session of connectivity issues.

As for games, I've been wanting to try Red Dead Redemption. Rock Star always has great writing for plot lines, therefore I will also throw-in on a recommendation for GTA IV. Modern Warfare 2 is pretty much FPS I've played. For play on Xbox Live with MW2 I would strongly recommend the use of a headset. The single player campaign has a decent story too, but to get the fullest from the story I would recommend playing Modern Warfare first. You can pick that up used at Game Stop for around $15. As soon as I get the network for the house up and running bring it.

If you're gonna do any racing online in Forza, you NEED the headset.

everything has been said about Forza.

As for other games, I LOVE Borderlands. I am in the middle of the second DLC, the GF and I play it all the time.

I don't know how you feel about the Zombie invasion (though you were asking about ZAVs a while back), but the Left 4 Dead series is about the best preparation there is.

I still like Dead Rising for zombie squashing. It's an oldie (relatively) but still pretty good.

I can't get into the shooter games. We did really like Red Dead; though they berkeleyed up the end of the game somethin' fierce. Wasting lots of valuable time playing GTAIV right now, and smacking the dope vein for a 'party till you puke' marathon of Fable III.

If you're into torrents Vuse integrates with the 360 very well