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Fallout 3 Review – Xbox 360

Jennifer — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:08:08 +0000

Just buy it; I can’t honestly offer you any more appropriate advice regarding this game. Far too rarely in my video gaming ‘career’ have I come across a game which exhibits the perfection that you will find in this title. This game literally has nearly everything a person could want in a piece of entertainment media, but we’ll get to that in a moment.

In Fallout 3, you are ‘the vault dweller’ – a character of your making who will have the race, sex, and appearance of your choice. The year is 2277, two hundred years after a nuclear war between the United States and China has ravaged the entire world. A few families managed to buy their way into underground fallout shelters, or vaults. Your character is a descendant of these fortunate few.

Your story begins in Vault 101 where you are raised by your father until he disappears during your teenage years. Without ruining too much of the storyline, I will say that events lead to you being forced to leave the vault for the first time. As you stumble into the blinding light of Washington D.C.’s Capital Wasteland, your adventure truly begins. In your quest to find your father, you will traverse the wasteland that was once the greater D.C. area while exploring settlements, ruins, and the general wreckage that was once a thriving society.

The moment that you take this fabled first step out of the vault is the moment that the game opens wide to your whims. You can search for your father or head in the opposite direction. You can wander the wasteland helping its citizens or become their worst nightmare, stealing and murdering across the massive game world. You can explore long-forgotten locals, search for valuable commodities to trade for weapons and armor, and even take up permanent residence in two of the settlements.

Regardless of your reason for traveling this vast (and I truly mean vast) wasteland, you will be forced to fend off packs of savage raiders, slavers, and various forms of mutants – whether mutated variations of familiar wildlife or entirely new creatures which are the result of 200 years of life in the irradiated wastes. Combat against these dangers involves an intriguing mixture of real-time combat and the V.A.T.S. system, which lets you freeze the action to queue attacks on one or more enemies and even target specific body parts. These V.A.T.S. attacks are more likely to cause critical damage and are a great way to sort out the chaos of tough battles. The game also offers a wealth of combat options through weapon variety and character specialization.

These character choices are one of the strong suits of the game. Each time your character gains a level you are able to choose perks which can help specialize your character to fit your play style and interests. Through this specialization you are able to create a savvy negotiator, a mad scientist, a crafty sniper, an explosives-wielding maniac, or many other possible combinations. The sheer number of different types of character you can play, along with the many choices you face in the game itself will have you playing through several times over.

Both main and side quests are intriguing and fun, if you choose to play them. Most feature several possible means of resolving the problem or completing the goal at hand. The world’s non-player characters are lifelike and each gives a sense of individuality and uniqueness. Every single line of dialogue spoken by these characters is fully voice-acted and while many characters share the same voice actor, the other differences between these characters do a good job of making each seem unique.

Overall, the game world is very lifelike. While it is often barren in places and makes heavy use of the colors brown and gray, this only helps to reinforce the idea that the player is in a hopeless wasteland of post-apocalyptic horrors. You really get the feeling that the citizens of the wasteland struggle to survive. The game developers also did a great job of showing the dark side of humanity in this setting. While many of the wasteland’s people wish only to survive in peace, others stay alive by killing, stealing, selling others into slavery, and even feeding on the flesh of their own species.

As I earlier mentioned, there just isn’t much missing here that one would hope to find in a piece of entertainment media. The game has it all: action, suspense, horror, drama, comedy, and best of all a believable, lifelike world and intriguing story. Combine that with great game play, combat, character development and growth, and it’s easy to see why this game is such a winner. Topping it all off, the game has fantastic replay value. At the time of this writing, I have logged over 300 hours into this game and have four different characters I am currently playing along with another one planned for the future.

If you love gaming the way I do and haven’t played this title yet, do yourself a favor and pick it up. This could be one of the greatest gaming experiences of your life.

My Score: 10/10

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nicholas_Raquet

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Falling Xbox 360 Prices

Author — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:47:49 +0000

When the Xbox 360 launched, it cost $300 and $400 for the barebones and fully decked out systems, respectively. This was a full $100 more than its predecessor, the original Xbox, but people still clamored to be able to finally play games in high definition. With the advent of high definition televisions and monitors capable of supporting 720p and 1080i/p content, the Xbox 360 had a wide market. Many people predicted that the Xbox 360 price might keep it from achieving mainstream popularity, but this was not the case.

Coming Down in Price

As all other electronics tend to do, the price of the Xbox 360 has fallen and will continue to fall as the manufacturing processes mature and Microsoft finds better ways to produce the electronics. Also, as the price of the parts falls, so will the cost of the entire package. However, some people might look at the current high end package which costs $450 and question this logic. What they don’t realize is how much more value is packed into the current high end package than in the previous one. With a bigger hard drive, gamers can store more media on their 360, nearly giving it the functionality of a fully fledged personal computer. With unparalleled accessibility and functionality, many people predict that the next round of gaming consoles will have to try to not be labeled as personal computers!

The upgraded Xbox 360s are set on a three tier system now instead of a two tier one. The Xbox 360 prices for each tier are about $280, $350, and $450. Depending on sales at the retailer and other specials, these prices may rise or fall, at least temporarily. When it first came out, the Xbox 360 price at times went for as much as $1500 on eBay and other online auction sites. Since then, gamers can buy an Xbox 360 for a fraction of what they cost new in stores online on those same auction sites.

Many people have also traded in their gaming consoles (not because of any defect or shortcoming in the console, but simply because they want to try something new). Therefore, the Xbox 360 price for a used console is likely to present consumers with large savings, and many used console retailers offer guarantees for the quality and longevity of used consoles and accessories. Because the Xbox 360 offers so much great value, many people have overlooked the price of the Xbox 360 which is slightly higher than traditional gaming consoles.

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DIY Improvements to your Gaming System with Xbox 360 Mods

Author — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 03:45:30 +0000

It has been said that avid gamers have too much free time on their hands and too much technology in their brains. Okay, maybe it hasn’t been said yet, but it should be. This explains the need for many of these Xbox aficionados to take the system and tweak it just a bit to make it more convenient, easier or cooler looking. And once these technical wizards have figured out how to improve the system with their own version of Xbox 360 mods, they are kind enough to share it with the rest of the tecno-challenged world. They do so through a variety of websites that will bring the Xbox 360 mods to the public at large with instructions that even the least techno-savvy minds can grasp.

That last part may not be entirely true, so unless you want to end up in Wal-Mart purchasing another Xbox console for a few hundred bucks, you might want to leave the Xbox 360 mods to the experts. However, a bit of minor tweaking may be just what you need to get that machine running at top capacity and then some. At the very least, you can check out some of the websites that amazing minds have put together to help you help your Xbox be the best gaming console that it can be.

Most Common Xbox 360 Mods

Are you looking for Xbox 360 mods of purely aesthetic value or is function and performance more your thing? You can find ways to change the color of the LED’s on the Xbox faceplate fairly easily if you want a simple project to try first. For those hard core gamers that are looking for the extra edge in their game playing, why not add an extra button or two onto your controller to help you defeat the big bosses with ease? The Internet can help you get there with step by step instructions.

Some Xbox users have complained about the noise of the machine, so there are online instructions in Xbox 360 mods that will help you quiet your machine in a few simple steps. Of course, step one requires that you open up your system and get down and dirty with your consoles innards. Again, if this type of work makes you feel squeamish in the slightest, it might be best to leave this sort of work to the pros.

If you are one of the pros, perhaps you would like to share your handiwork on one of the many forums that are designed for Xbox 360 mods. You will get to show off your skills and others will get inspired by your expertise. If you can’t beat ‘em, modify ‘em!

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What Is The Xbox 360 Premium

Author — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 03:46:24 +0000

Gaming consoles have come along way since the early production during the 1970’s. Two of the biggest competitors in the gaming console market are the Xbox and the Palystation. These two units made by Microsoft and Sony are considered the top of the line gaming consoles, and consumers seem to enjoy both systems.

Each of the consoles has specific games that are considered exclusive to that unit. This means that certain titles of games can only be found made for a specific gaming console. The Halo series is one that is very popular and is only made for the Xbox series of gaming consoles.

When consumers are deciding on what type of gaming console that they are interested in, they often first determine which types of games are made for that system. The Wii is another gaming console that is certainly beginning to make a huge impact on the gaming market, as many of their games are more family oriented and this is changing the way consumers perceive the gaming world.

For those that are loyal to the Xbox 360, there are many reasons to look into an Xbox 360 Premium package. The Microsoft Company will put together accessories that are then considered an upgrade from the standard package and the Xbox 360 Premium is one of those groups.

What Is In The Xbox 360 Premium Package

The Xbox 360 Premium package contains the standard Xbox 360 gaming console. This console contains the standard console that weighs 9.9 pounds and is 3.25 inches in height and the unit is black. The Xbox 360 Premium package also comes with a wireless remote control, Ethernet cable to hook up to the internet to get Xbox Live play and a 20GB external hard drive.

Being able to access Xbox live play is one of the benefits of the Xbox 360 Premium package. The Xbox live play enables a player to interact with gamers from around the world in video games. Not only can individual players play games with others, teams of players can meet within the game and play together against other teams. This highly interactive play allows for the gamer to experience playing against all levels of players and improve their own games. This is definitely the wave of the future in gaming systems and the Xbox 360 Premium allows for this type of play.

The Xbox 360 Premium is a package that includes the basics needed for high level interactive play required by many gamers these days.

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The Evolution of the Xbox 360 Logo

Author — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 03:44:43 +0000

It is no great secret that when you update a great product to make it an even better one, the logo needs to reflect the improvement as well. Such is the case with Microsoft and their evolution from the standard Xbox console to the Xbox 360 in 2005. With the all new gaming system came the all new Xbox 360 logo to reflect the wave of the future. However, Microsoft was very careful to stick with what worked with the original plansphere to reflect the 360 theme; clever, right?

The font of the Xbox 360 logo also changed slightly to a boxier version of the original name. However, Microsoft was wise in their efforts to slightly tweak the Xbox 360 logo without doing away with the original design completely, since many people had already come to associate the green glow of the X with this company. Now the grey sphere is easily recognizable in the gaming industry and generally associated with the high quality of products that Microsoft has been known for.

Create your Own Xbox 360 Logo
If you are interested in creating your own Xbox 360 logo, you can do so with the help of the Adobe Illustrator. There are plenty of online tutorials to help you do so, but we have the basic steps for you right here. First, you will want to use your Ellipse tool to create a circle, and then place an X in the middle with the help of the pen tool. Shade the X in green and then use the pen tool to draw two smaller X’s inside the larger one in contrasting colors. You will then need to use your blend function to merge all three shades to create highlights and shadows. You will then do the same type of process on the circle itself to get the grey color and the shading around the edges. Voila! Your Xbox 360 logo is complete!

It is also possible to use the Photo Shop program to recreate the Xbox 360 logo, and you will find instructions online for this process as well. While making your own Xbox 360 logo can be fun, searching for that grey ball with the glowing green X in gaming stores will let you know that you have found a quality product that is backed by the Microsoft guarantee. If you are shopping for Xbox merchandise, the Xbox 360 logo will always point you to the right area of the store.

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Why Xbox 360 Live is so Much Fun!

Author — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 03:43:51 +0000

There are many cool and awesome features on the new Xbox 360, but by far the best one is Xbox 360 Live. Xbox 360 Live has many different aspects to it, but all of the features are in place to enhance your game play experience.

Xbox 360 Live – Features and Benefits

There are several different features included with an Xbox 360 Live subscription. The first and probably best is the ability to play multiplayer games online with your friends or even other people around the world. Xbox 360 Live allows you to enter a game lounge for any of the games that are supported so you can see other people online and join in their games.

Halo 3 and Team Fortress are example of two first person shooters that you can play against online opponents. In addition to first person shooters, you can also play sports games against online opponents. Boxing, football, basketball and even gold can all be played through Xbox 360 Live.

Another feature of Xbox 360 Live is the Xbox Live Marketplace. The marketplace allows you to purchase and download extended features for your current games including new content, themes for your Xbox, demos of new games as well as video trailers.

Xbox 360 Live also give you access to the Xbox Live Arcade. This is a virtual arcade that has a large selection of games that you can download and install on your system. Now instead of having to go to the store to purchase new games, you can simply download them from the arcade.

The other thing that Xbox 360 Live does is keep track of a lot of different statistics through your gamertag. Your gamertag is your online name and holds all the information on you records such as best round, high score, longest drive and putt, things like that. You can compare this information with other gamers and in addition gamers can view this information before deciding whether to play you in a march. Having this information available makes many of the matches online much more fair as you can select you opponents.

As you can see there are many features to Xbox 360 Live, but in order to really understand it you need to experience it yourself. Luckily a trial subscription is included with every Xbox, so as long as you have an internet connection and an Xbox you should be able to test it out yourself. Create your gamertag and away you go!

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Xbox 360 Hints Help you Get the Most out of your Games

Author — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 03:41:44 +0000

If you own a gaming console of any type, you know that each game comes with a high enough price tag to become a serious investment into your entertainment budget. Because of this, it pays to do your homework both before you purchase a game and after it becomes a part of your gaming library. One way to up your knowledge of a potential purchase is by talking to friends who already own the game and by reading the many reviews on the Internet and in gaming magazines to learn whether a particular game is a good choice for you. Once you have made your purchase, you can up your playing power by checking out the many sources of Xbox 360 hints and cheats that are available from these same resources to get full playtime out of your selections.

Why Use Xbox 360 Hints?
There are many websites that are dedicated to providing a whole host of Xbox 360 hints, cheats and walkthroughs. But why would you need them? There are many reasons to hit these sites for information. First, it is not at all unusual to get stuck at a particular point in a game, which means that the game cannot progress until you work past it. Xbox 360 hints can offer the help that you need to work past these hitches, such as talking to a particular character for help or trying a different type of move or weapon to get past the level. Cheats can also help you progress through a game by offering methods to override certain types of game play and get to the next level quicker.

Another benefit of using Xbox 360 hints may occur once you have played through all of the levels. Many games will include bonus features like special videos or additional levels – if you know how to unlock them. Some of these features will become accessible after you have found a certain number of items and others will appear if you defeat every enemy throughout. By checking the Xbox 360 hints, you may discover ways to access additional game play through these methods, which will allow you to get the biggest bang for your gaming buck.

Where to Find Xbox 360 Hints
There are plenty of resources for Xbox 360 hints and walkthroughs, and most gamers will begin with the Internet as their source. You can search on the name of your game to find the best sources, but once you become familiar with the different sites available, you will probably find that there are a couple that will become your favorite. Most of thesesites will also include news and reviews so that you can keep up with the industry as it pertains to your gaming console. Another good source of Xbox 360 hints is the publications that have come out specifically for the gaming industry. You can find these magazines anywhere that games and systems are sold.

Get the most out of your gaming system by using Xbox 360 hints, cheats and walkthroughs. Play on!

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Storing Media with your Xbox 360 Hard Drive

Author — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 03:26:38 +0000

One of the main benefits of the Xbox 360 for gamers is the inclusion of an internal hard drive in most models (the basic model only includes a very limited amount of hard drive space). This allows gamers to store movies, music, and other types of media and documents on their Xbox 360, giving it a functionality almost like a personal computer, which generally costs a lot more than an Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 hard drive allows gamers to store their most important media on their Xbox without having to carry around a USB drive or external hard drive, although these are also possibilities.

Internal Hard Drive

Many people use their Xbox 360 hard drives (20 Gb for the Premium and 120 Gb for the Elite models) to store music, movies, and other media that they don’t want to lose. In fact, many gamers have found out that they can enjoy their very own selection of music while playing their favorite games. By having a comprehensive music player and mixer included on the Xbox 360, gamers can play their own music in the background on the Xbox 360 while playing games, negating the need for an external music player to listen to their own music while playing. This is made possible by including a hard drive in the Xbox 360, something consoles without hard drives cannot claim to support.

However, gamers have other possibilities for storing media via their Xbox 360. Two of these more portable options include external Xbox 360 hard drives and USB drives. External hard drives support much greater capacity (and portability) with hard drives going up to 500 Gb and more. Once you’re done transferring files to and from your Xbox 360, you can simply unplug your external hard drive from your console and take it with you. Another alternative for the Xbox 360 hard drive is a USB drive. This utilizes flash memory which is more stable than a traditional hard drive and uses less power. However, the capacity of USB drives is much lower than that of traditional hard drives, at least until further advancements are made (it should also be stated that flash memory has only become mainstream in the past year or so while traditional hard drives have been used for decades).

To store all of your media on your Xbox 360, you can use the internal Xbox 360 hard drive, or you can use your own USB drive or external hard drive. The internal hard drive is included in the Premium and Elite Xbox 360 models, but you’ll need to supply your own portable memory if you want to use them. To double your Xbox 360 as a storage device, decide which Xbox 360 hard drive is right for you.

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The Xbox 360 Halo Edition is the Gaming Console to Beat

Author — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 03:25:54 +0000

If you are a fan of both Xbox and the Halo series, than an Xbox 360 Halo Edition console is the perfect choice for you. This console delivers everything that Xbox consoles promise, including some of the top gaming experiences in the industry. The packaging of this particular edition is really cool with nice colors and plenty of accessories included. It is the perfect system for both the hard core gamers and the beginners on your list.

History of the Xbox 360
Before the Xbox 360 Halo Edition made its entrance into the marketplace, the regular Xbox 360 was born. This was the first baby to come along in the new series of gaming consoles; a full year ahead of PlayStation 3 and the Wii. Earlier versions of the Xbox console had plenty of great benefits, but unfortunately, reliability was not one of them. Microsoft has worked hard to get the bugs out of this system and now offers a three-year warranty that handles most of the technical difficulties that you might encounter.

Now this gaming system is available in the Xbox 360 Halo Edition, which recognizes one of the most popular video games in the history of this home entertainment giant. The Halo games are a three-part series, in which you battle an army of aliens that are bent on destroying mankind. The first Halo game, titled Halo: Combat Evolved was released in 2001, and enjoyed huge popularity that has carried it through the release of the third game in the trilogy last year. One of the attractions of the later releases of this game is that multiple players can participate at one time, making it a popular choice with teens who like to get together with friends on the weekends for mass Halo play sessions.

The Xbox 360 Halo Edition Package
When you purchase the Xbox 360 Halo Edition package, you will be receiving quite a bit of gaming possibilities for your money. The console is the main piece of the package, but it also includes a wireless controller for ultimate gaming convenience and a headset. The entire set comes in a “Spartan Green and Gold” theme to delight the Halo fans in your group. The package also includes a membership to Xbox Live, which allows your gamer access to online chats with friends and live gaming session when the console is hooked up to the wireless network adapter.

If you have Halo fans in your midst, perhaps the Xbox 360 Halo Edition gaming console is the perfect gift idea.

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What Songs Does the Xbox 360 Guitar Hero III Game Come With?

Author — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 03:24:10 +0000

Guitar Hero has stormed the world with its addictive game that makes you truly feel like you’re a rock star. The game is played and enjoyed by all ages, letting some of us rekindle our love for rock and roll, while others get to fall in love with it for the first time.

With each edition of Guitar hero, different songs are offered up to be played. Many say the new songs offered on the Xbox 360 Guitar hero III are some of the best, and for good reason! If you like the idea of the game but you’re not sure you’ll dig the music, all it takes is a little love for rock to fix that! But if you want to know more about the songs you can play like a rock legend, read on.

How the Songs are Offered

The songs on the Xbox 360 Guitar Hero III game are offered in different modes. There are a total of 73 songs that come on the disc, which are separated to be distributed depending upon how you choose to play the game.

You’ll find that while playing single player, there are 42 songs to choose from. There are 6 career exclusive songs for co-op that are up for grabs, and another 25 bonus songs.

You can also download 22 available songs both in the Xbox 360 and the Playstation versions of Guitar hero III. This brings a total number of accessible songs for the game to 95.

Songs Found on the Xbox 360 Guitar Hero Disc

You will find rock songs dating back as far as the 1970’s and some that were made recently. Plenty of songs speckle the years through it all.

The first songs available to you when beginning the game are Slow Ride by Foghat, Hit me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benetar and Rock and Roll all Nite by Kiss.

Once you get your “first real gig”, you can expect that your fans will want to hear new songs! Get ready to learn songs that include Mississippi Queen by Mountain, Sunshine of Your Love by Cream and Bulls on Parade by Rage against the Machine.

As the list goes on, expect to see The Killers, The Rolling Stones, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black Sabbath and The Sex Pistols among a ton of others. This list doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface, but it should give you an idea of why the Xbox 360 Guitar Hero III game is a great investment for the family.

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