XBOX-Disappointed

[g4ry13]

After getting my XBOX a few days ago i can't help but feel somewhat disappointed with it. I feel that the quality of the controller is rather poor, and although the games may look very nice; i've seen it all before.

So my pledge to PH is to recommend me a game that will convince me to keeping my XBOX.

Appreciate any replies

Thanks Gary

[g4ry13]

I have PGR2 and Halo. I can't really say i like Halo although i admit i haven't played it for very long. PGR2 i admit is a good game. But it's still the same, i have practically the same game on my Dreamcast- Metropolis Street Racer.

The controller quality to put it mildly is rubbish. All the games are just the same with better graphics. Which only leaves me feeling disappointed as the XBOX graphics aren't much better than my Dreamcast.

>> Edited by g4ry13 on Monday 22 December 11:40

[g4ry13]

I have the new controller.

I think it's very poor quality. It makes a buzzing noise, i've researched this on the internet and it's the motors spooling up. The left trigger is starting to make crunching sounds when depressed. The resistance of the left trigger is no longer the same as the right. Oddly enough the right has more resistance than the left. And the D-pad makes squeaky noises....2 days into ownership. Microsoft have done a poor job of testing their pad out.

[g4ry13]

Ffirg 005 said:

Re best games, depends what floats your boat. My all time favourites are Splinter Cell and Halo. Haven't tried Rainbow 6 yet but understand that to be excellent. Take your controller back and change it if its faulty. I've got one that's just given up after a year of use, three others that are fine. The noise problem you mention either doesn't happen on mine or if it does it's never bothered me. Not sure what you were expecting, but at £129 or whatever the bundles are at now I think its pretty good value, and graphics are better than anything else out there by a long way.

Here's a link about some people that have mentioned the buzzing noise:

www.eurogamer.net/forum_thread_posts.php?thread_id=5085&forum_id=1

This is already my second controller after two days When i got it the triggers felt fine, after playing maybe for a day now, the left trigger makes crunching noises when depressed and the D-pad also squeaks quite annoyingly. As i also mentioned before the resistance of the two triggers is now different.

I admit i got quite a good deal (£140- XBOX with PGR2 and Halo) From what i've played of Halo i can't admit to be too keen on it.

I wouldn't really say the graphics are much better than my Dreamcast, they're better i admit - but not worth justifying £130 for a console and £30/£40 for games which are only sequels and completely un-original. I'm already sick of the milking gamers get from the industry

[g4ry13]

JakeR said:

Mate, you deffo have a duff controller there... my two are sharp and crisp and work very well. take em back!

I can't, the shop will kill me i'm already on my second controller and i bought it on friday. I'm contemplating a PS2 anyway. Or just taking the whole thing back.

Do you have the S? The buzzing noise i mentioned you may not notice if you have your speakers turned up, i've had trigger problems myself with my Dreamcast pad, but they sorted themselves out.

[g4ry13]

I might take the controller back if i decide to keep the whole thing to a different shop. Unfortunately i don't think i'll be able to swap the Controller S for the bigger version of the Xbox controller as the S came with my xbox. Does anyone find that one trigger pushes down a lot easier than the other trigger, if it does it should probably be the right trigger which would make more sense than the left trigger- which mine is doing

When you press down your trigger is it completely silent? You can't hear any spring noise?

I'm just trying to figure out if it's a case of they all do that as i am new to the scene.

[g4ry13]

I haven't got Live yet as i only got my XBOX on friday abd didn't want to commit at such an early stage. You can't play MSR online but don't forget the Dreamcast does have a modem and it was the first console to enable online gaming. The XBOX live package is a rip-off. What do you get for your money? A years subscription and a headset. At least with the Dreamcast it was free and you only had to pay for the cost of the call (depending on how your phone billing works out.)

[g4ry13]

Ffirg 005 said:

Don't judge Live until you've tried it. I worked for an ISP who provided Dreamcast gaming services back in about '96/'97 and it was good for its time, but the experience on XBox Live is at a different level with the richness of the environment, virtually no lag, headset chat, etc. Surely not expensive at £40 for a whole year - just over £3 a month? This includes the headset and software which all just works out of the box with the same interface, buddies list, etc across all the different games and it is a managed service with a help line you can call (haven't had to do that myself after a year of using it). If you break the cost down into a cost per hour of gaming it is not at all expensive IMO.

IMO it's still £40 too much, the headset may be worth about £10. What do you get for your money? You have to pay your £30 odd a month for broadband, you have to buy a patch lead or wireless adaptor so you can use the internet. Sega had a helpline that can be called as well, so i don't think Microsoft's promise is that great. So what happens to the other £30 paid for live, it's merely the industry just exploiting customers again.

I'll first have to decide whether or not to keep my XBOX due to quality issues before investing in Live.

[g4ry13]

Patch leads are more than £1 if you look in any mail-order catalogue, especially for the length of cable i'd be looking at. I could make it though so it's not an issue.

Don't get me wrong, i'm not just coming on here to insult the XBOX. I bought one because i wanted one and i heard they were better quality than the PS2 because i've heard stories of PS2's crashing,blue disk problems,running the PS2 upside down so it works and a load of other stories. It's just i bought my XBOX on friday, and this is already my second controller and it's already starting to show its weaknesses. The buzzing noise i complained about it appears that i'm not the only person to suffer this as can be seen from the link i posted previously. I can't believe that Microsoft overlooked this fact and released a controller like this.

As for GTA coming out in January, that is a fact. But it's been on the PS2 for the last two years what's the big deal?

[g4ry13]

Ffirg 005 said:

<a href="http://www.scan.co.uk/products/Products.ASP?CatID=30&Category=Networking">www.scan.co.uk/products/Products.ASP?CatID=30&Category=Networking</a> Scroll down to Network Cables - two for £1 or £1.05 for a 5m one, though you might have to order a few of 'em to get free postage . Hope you get things worked out anyway. If you're disappointed with the XBox then you'll be disappointed with all consoles IMHO.

I'm going to decide by Wednesday whether or not i take the whole thing back or just get a new controller.

You're probably right that if i'm disappointed with an XBOX i'd be disappointed with anything else. On reflection, looking at the console market it seems very un-original and cash-in. Everything is just sequels. What is the difference between FIFA 2003 and FIFA 2004, updated physics and new teams all for only £40. What is the difference between Colin Mcrae rally 2.0 on my playstation (a very good game) and Colin Mcrae 4 it's just improved graphics and a few new modes. It just shouts cash-in and lets exploit the customer as much as possible.

>> Edited by g4ry13 on Tuesday 23 December 13:15

[g4ry13]

I think i'm going to keep it and change the controller today. If the next controlller lets me down i think i'll be very disappointed. With PGR2 it said i had a free 2 month trial. Is this completely free? Or do i get these 2 free months when i subscrive? The small print said something about subscription and was slightly confusing.

[g4ry13]

peterpeter said:

no, as far as I know, its free.

There isn't a catch like i have to give some credit card details or not?

Does mean that i can use it for other games other than PGR2?

I decided to keep my XBOX and i spoke to the guy in the shop about my control pad and he said it needs to be broken in etc. and some other BS. So i'll give it a few days and see.

One thing that does puzzle me with PGR2 is, they have sports coupé series, and in it there is jaguar xkr coupe, porsche 996 (that's fine) then TVR tamora, morgan aero 8 (they're convertibles not coupés) and there is an Audi RS6 Estate, what's that all about?

[g4ry13]

Did you buy the bundle from Game for £139.99 if so that's the bundle i got. It is a bit strange though with PGR2 and the sports coupe series with TVR Tamora, Morgan Aero 8 and an Audi RS6 avant I don't know what that's all about.

[g4ry13]

It was tthe best bundle i've seen. I didn't want the extra controller because sometimes third party stuuf isn't that good. I'm still trying to do the cone challenges on platinum on the first level, it's so hard. My controller makes weird creaking noises, i wish i hadn't swapped it. I'm thinking of buying a scart cable for the XBOX to improve the quality.

[g4ry13]

I'm going for platinums, just completed the cone challenge on the first series at platinum level, took me a few goes. I also decided to treat myself to an Enzo even though i'm not quite at that stage. I've started Halo, i've done about the first level and a half but am mainly concentrating on PGR2. At the moment i'm finding PGR2 more enjoyable, although i admit i haven't played very much of Halo.