Got an XBOX 360 yesterday!!...

[dave4shmups]

That's sort of half right - you need to be online the first time you play an original, compatible Xbox game, but after that you should be fine for any of the games on the list, as the forced update contains the relevant patch info for all of them.

Um, I think, anyway. I'm pretty sure that some of the Xbox games I've tried out in the past have worked first time, without the machine having to find the update, and I can only presume that this was because it downloaded everything needed for backwards compatibility in one go.

It's fairly rubbish, though, as others have said. An original Xbox is more or less a necessity if you're interested in last-gen games, because even when they do work on the 360 they have a tendency not to work properly.

Ok, thanks for that advice; I'll have to pick up a used XBOX then. Opinions on 2 games: Turok, and Bionic Commando (not re-armed).

[E. Randy Dupre]

Bionic Commando isn't very good. I said this about it elsewhere:

The combat is awful - hand-to-hand comes with a stupidly long wind-up time, gunplay is woeful - and when you're thrown into an area that's full to the brim with enemies, all you end up doing is swinging from one end of it to the other, avoiding all of them in order to trigger the next area load.

Then there are the hulking mech things. Is it just me, or after the first few can you no longer hook onto their backs and sprng kick them? I try it and it doesn't seem to cause any damage, leaving me with no choice but to run around trying to find rocks to punch at them. Which in itself is rubbish, because Spencer can be a dick when it comes to deciding whether or not he's going to do it properly.

Spencer's a dick all round, actually. "By the way, that's people you're breathing." Idiotic dialogue.

You can miss out on expository dialogue by ending an area too soon.

Some floating mines are floating in areas of radiation that'll kill you almost as soon as you enter them, but you've no way of telling until you hook onto them and die.

There's no good reason for there being no visible health bar when the screen is filled with other HUD items.

Rather than upping the ante with entertaining and intelligent, imaginative battles, the game just throws more and more enemies at you at one time. I'm "fighting" three mechs at once right now. For "fighting", read "running around like a tit, getting punched into the air, latching onto branches and swinging in random directions, then fluking the occasional rock punch".

It's a game that starts off promisingly, with some fun areas to swing through and manageable battles. But then it gets worse the longer it goes on or. I suppose it's just as well that it's quite short.

Also: if you fall in the water, you die. Even if there's a ledge an inch away from your head. And there's water *everywhere*.

If you really want to try it out, at least it can be picked up for small change nowadays. The opening sections are great fun, but it falls flat on its arse after a while.

Turok, I've not played. It got a lot of poor reviews, though.

[dave4shmups]

Thanks for the impressions! So, how much will it cost me to get on XBL if I just want to get on to download XBLA games??

[BulletMagnet]

So, how much will it cost me to get on XBL if I just want to get on to download XBLA games??

A "Silver" XBLA membership is free, and activated by default once your info is entered - it lets you get on and download stuff as much as you want (though obviously you'll need to pay for any non-free downloads themselves). A "Gold" membership, which costs extra, is what you need if you want to play games online against others.

[dave4shmups]

So, how much will it cost me to get on XBL if I just want to get on to download XBLA games??

A "Silver" XBLA membership is free, and activated by default once your info is entered - it lets you get on and download stuff as much as you want (though obviously you'll need to pay for any non-free downloads themselves). A "Gold" membership, which costs extra, is what you need if you want to play games online against others.

Ok, great news; thanks!!

[StarCreator]

I don't know if they're still running it, but last time I checked if you didn't pay for Gold when prompted during the gamertag signup process, you'd get a month of Gold for free anyway.

[dave4shmups]

OK, I would love to hear thoughts about Over G Fighters for the 360. I know it's only $6.99 used at Gamestop, but the missions (that I've watched on Youtube, anyway) look really bland. I also know that it's not trying to be Ace Combat, and I don't care, but it is it worth buying?? Controls aren't that much of a concern, as I've read that you can change them from the default arcade setting.

Thoughts??

[SuperGrafx]

OK, I would love to hear thoughts about Over G Fighters for the 360. I know it's only $6.99 used at Gamestop, but the missions (that I've watched on Youtube, anyway) look really bland. I also know that it's not trying to be Ace Combat, and I don't care, but it is it worth buying?? Controls aren't that much of a concern, as I've read that you can change them from the default arcade setting.

Thoughts??

It really is a bland game.
Came out around the time of the system's launch back in 2005 or 2006.
I bought it back then at full price and it's one of those games more similar to the AirForce Delta games than Ace Combat.

I'd say pass on it even if it is only $6.99 used.