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Xbox 360 Console (20 GB Hard Drive)
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583 Customer Reviews
RRP: £169.99
Amazon Price: £144.99
You Save: £25 (15%)
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Platform: Xbox 360
Publisher: Microsoft
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Editorial: Xbox 360 represents a dramatic leap forward in high-definition gaming and entertainment experiences. Fusing powerful hardware, software, and services, Xbox 360 fully engages you in a gaming experience that is more expansive, dramatic, and lifelike, where the possibilities are limitless and your imagination knows no boundaries. The next generation is here. A merger of form and function, Xbox 360 wraps powerful technology in a sophisticated exterior. Two of the most innovative design firms in the worldSan Francisco-based Astro Studios and Osaka, Japan-based Hers Experimental Design Laboratory Inc.came together to craft a sleek, stylish system that conveys the very essence of Xbox 360. The Xbox Gamer Guide is an entertainment gateway that instantly connects you to your games, friends, music, movies, and downloadable content. Available at a touch of the Xbox Guide Button, the Xbox Gamer Guide gives you instant access to the experiences and content you want, from the gamer card of the player that just invited you to play online to new downloadable content for the game currently running. Xbox 360 lets you create your own unique system and experience. With interchangeable Xbox 360 Faces, it's easy and fun to change the appearance of your console. Switch on your system and customize the look and feel of the Xbox Gamer Guide and Xbox System Guide with unique "skins." From sleek and sophisticated to fun and funky, pick the Faces and skins that show your personality. Divided into four quadrants, the glowing Ring of Light and Xbox® Guide Button visually connect you to your games, digital media, and the world of Xbox LiveTM, the first global, unified online console games service. Featured on both the wireless and wired controllers, the Xbox Guide Button puts you in control of your experience. In addition to bringing up the Xbox Gamer Guide and the Xbox System Guide, the Xbox Guide Button lets you turn the system on and off without ever leaving the couch. Xbox Liv
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| Retailer | Product | Price | Delivery | In Stock | Link |
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Xbox 360 Console (20 GB Model)
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£144.99
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Free
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Xbox 360 - 60GB
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£199.99
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£4.95
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Xbox 360 Premium Console - 20GB
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£199.99
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Free
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Last Update: (Not Known)
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"A worthy successor to the mighty Xbox!" by Turrican C64, from Wolverhampton, England - 27 April 2006
| Overall Rating: |  | Recommended |
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No need for me to go into too much depth regarding the specs of Microsoft's new baby because, let's face it, the world and his dog already knows! So, as a Premium Pack owner, I'd say the following: The Xbox 360 is, without doubt, a pretty darn cool piece of kit.
I remember splashing out £300 to buy the original Xbox console on launch day and was amazed at how its raw power kicked Sony's over-rated, PS2 backside. True, it looked (and still does) like a black slab of concrete....and the pad was oversized....and the console sported a nasty, cheap-looking central 'jewel'....but, so what? It was the world's most advanced console by a country mile. Not only that, but, far more importantly, the improving quality of the games as time passed left the PS2 looking the outdated, poor relation was. Little wonder then that the serious gamer looked to the Xbox brand.
So, what's this history lesson got to do with the Xbox 360? Plenty actually, because Billy Gates' design team has learned some harsh lessons well. For starters, the new console not only performs, but actually LOOKS the biz. It's elegant in design and also practical in the sense it can be horizontally or vertically mounted. Okay, changing faceplates is a bit of gimmicky nonsense to most people, but it's still an option if you're into that sort of thing.
The 360 certainly has a lot going for it, games-wise, and promises some breathtaking titles (especially exclusive ones) now that Lionshead Studios have joined the likes of Rare under the Microsoft banner. Besides, everyone knows that Xbox Live is the best on-line gamesplaying facilty out there, and the 360 will only take the experience to new levels of perfection.
My only real concern was that Microsoft decided that the Xbox 360 should have a standard DVD drive incorporated into its design. However, on reflection this was possibly the most sensible decision it could have made in the circumstances. After all, neither HD-DVD nor Sony's 'Blu-Ray' format has yet conquered the mass market, and where would that have left the 360 if it sported a dud optical system? At least the DVD standard is tried and trusted -and relatively cheap to produce for publishers.
Performance-wise, the 360 really does deliver as other reviewers have already said. Personally, I use widescreen TV with an Advanced AV cable hooked-up and the results, though not exactly High Definition standard, are indeed impressive. As has been mentioned, the DVD drive is pretty noisy in operation, but once you're lost in a game, who really notices or cares? The GPU/CPU fans aren't too bad, though, considering the sheer heat and power the chips are throwing out...so don't be put off, just position the console where it causes least ear-ache and forget that it's there.
You'll already know the score regarding the equipment supplied with this pack (wireless controller, headset, power supply), so I'll skip that bit. Instead I'll wind down by saying that the Xbox 360 Premium Pack is a very worthy purchase indeed. You get a lot of powerful hardware for what is, in effect, a very good price. Now that Sony are planning the PS3's launch for November this year, the battle for console supremacy is almost upon us. However, you don't need to wait for Next Gen gaming because it's already here. Buy the 360 and enjoy!
11 out of 17 people found this review helpful.
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"Xbox 360 System" - 3 December 2005
Finally got my console yesterday, and I have to say ... it was well worth the wait. The system looks much more elegant than its predecessor and the controller much more comfortable ... as well as wire free! I am glad I got Perfect Dark Zero with it. Ignore the reviews on the internet you have read, the graphics are outstanding and the Live play better than Halo 2! My advice is , get one! Do not get another over-hyped Sony machine and regret it later.
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"XBOX 360 CONSOLE" - 2 December 2005
well what can i say. this is a fantastic piece of gaming. i have just got my 360 with PGR, however i was told that the game was not compatible with the console, as it was the wrong region after playing it for about 2 hours????? also, it seems the disc had a scratch caused by the console...not sure if warranty covers games??? but could be a problem in the future. xbox 360 customer service is already in-undated with queries...not sure if they are complaints, but beware!!!
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"It doesn't get better than this...." - 2 December 2005
WOW - not only is the Xbox 360 an amazing game console - it's other features are worth the money alone!! I connected it up (using wireless of course) to my Media Center PC and can now enjoy the benefits of that without having to leave the sofa :-)Mine came with a HD component cable (six connectors) but if you don't have a HDTV then you stuck with a composite signal (poor). Recommend you get the Advanced Scart cable (RGB) and get the best out of your low-def TV - (much better than composite).
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"A Fantastic Machine" - 4 December 2005
My friend managed to get his x-box 360 on Friday from game as he pre-ordered it from them so i played it and it is fantastic anyone who loved the old x-box live will be impressed with the updated and revamped one, and i would recommend paying £40 for a year's subscription to the "gold" version as this is what allows you to play on-line multiplayer battles whcih for the 1st time can be against opponents on a pc aswell as other 360 users. It also can store all your mp3's from your mp3 player so when you are playing any game you can play your favourite songs/albums at the same time, i was playing PGR3 while listening to the "Ace of Spades" which i found to be a neat feature of it. I'm not a techno person so i can't comment on the specifics of the machine but can only say the graphics on it are amazing for the majority of games (especially king kong's video sequences). One of the best features though is what looks to be like the media centre you get with windows now which as has been mentioned in other reviews allows devices like your digital camera to be linked to it and have your photos stored on it. Yes the console has a pc likeness with some of the attributes it has now but it is still a console at heart and nothing is more fun than having your mates round for a few drinks and playing 4 player fifa of shoot'em ups which is what i believe makes his better than a pc for me. The current games our are pretty good, the ones i would recommened are Project Gotham Racing 3 and Perfect Dark 0 to begin with as these two games are fantastic.
All in all though its a fantastic machine that is well worth the money when you consider microsoft looses £70 on everyone it sells as its retail prices for them to make any profit was £350!One word of warning though do NOT move the 360 from lying flat to vertical when a game is in play as it WILL sratch the disc badly when doing this. Also i pre-ordered mine from amazon on Aug 19th and still haven't recieved mine so in future if something like this comes onto the market i'd recommend using a hifgh street store that will guarantee you what you buy for a specific date as it doesn't appear to be first come first serve on amazon which i am extemely disappointed about. 5 star machine
1 star for a bad delivery/ pre-order service from amazon on this one.
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"Best You Can Get" - 4 December 2005
Hello, now i have been reading all the reviews for the xbox 360 and i am not impressed with how some of you are comparing the console to a PC. First of all the 20 gb hard drive is more than enough for a CONSOLE! when you want to save for say QUAKE 4 the minimum save will be probably be about 1/2 a MB and that is tiny. If you want to save your online stats it will probably be a MB any one older than 10 can see that this hard drive has more than enough memory for a bloody console. a PC needs a lot more and i think that you are mistaken by saying 20gb hard drive would be laughed at on a PC they are still available.
Now i have that cleared up the games will be EMMENSE!! PGR3, QUAKE 4, C of D 2, they will all be brilliant and will look graphically better on the 360 than on PC. the controller is very easy to use and i agree with past reviewers on that. Also i cant remember your name but you said 512 mb is enough for a console, well done you're the only reviewer who has said something that is worth saying and for all you who don't beleive him it's true it is enough, It's like the equivalent to havin Gaming RAM on your PC, this stuff is very speedy.
P.S. PS3 is a rip off they, 360 is the one.
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"Good - But Keep Hold of Your Old Xbox" - 8 February 2006
First impressions as I unwrapped the 360 console was the quality of the construction and the beautiful design - much more pleasing on the eyes than the original Xbox and the proposed design of the PS3!The Console has a separate power supply unit that has a really beefy locking plug that attaches it to the back of the 360. Despite the alledged reports of the console overheating, I've never had the problem with my 360 and the power pack is nowhere near red hot even after several hours use. The wireless controllers are a fantastic idea and are really comfortable and seem to be slightly smaller than the 'S' Type controllers on the old Xbox. Battery life is pretty good also.
My only gripes with the controller are that the white and black buttons on the old Xbox controller have been moved to form extra shoulder buttons (almost PS2 style) and take a bit of getting used to. You can switch the 360 on and off from the wireless controller, and open and close the disk tray to load a disk, but you can't open it with the controller once there is a disk inside the 360 - you have to use the universal remote control or actually press the disk tray button on the 360 itself. The 360 dashboard allows you to copy tracks off of your audio CDs and play them back during play of your 360 games. The console can rip an entire CD in about 5 minutes and even copies the album title and track names if they are there. You can also plug in a USB keyboard (not supplied) and type the track names in if you want to, instead of doing it by means of the controller or remote control. The harddrive at 20GB seems a bit small, especially as the 360 'uses' 8GB for some reason leaving you only 12GB to store your game saves, CD tracks, and content from Xbox Live. It is easily detached/reattached to the 360 and fits in well with the design. The hard drive is necessary for the old Xbox game compatability. The old Xbox game compatibility software will prompt you to download an update when you connect to Xbox Live and installs itself onto the harddrive. The emulation software at present allows you to play a selected catalogue of old Xbox games - see www.xbox.com for details. The emulation is a bit of a let down and is not what Microsoft had originally promised. Most popular games work but if it isn't on the compatibility listing then it won't work. The games that do 'work' (such as Halo/Halo 2, Forza Motorsport for example) have graphical glitches and on occasion sound effects muting intermittently. Until Microsoft address this issue I would hang onto your old Xbox if you can. The new Xbox 360 dashboard is stylish and can be customised with your own wallpapers copied from a CD-R or the themes available from Xbox Live Marketplace. You can also download videos, demo games and old-school arcade games direct to your memory card (not supplied with 360 console) or harddrive. The 360 comes with a HD TV compatible video cable, but you can flip a switch on the connector and use the cable's other connectors to hook your 360 up to a standard TV set. The cable also has a port on the back where you can plug in an optical cable to output the sound to a surround sound system. You also get an ethernet cable so you can connect to Xbox Live straight out of the box - provided you have the broadband setup already in place. The headset supplied with the 360 seems to be of a more sturdy construction than the microsoft version for the old Xbox. It attaches to the back of the controller and has the mute and volume controls built into the headset connector, unlike the previous Xboxes' version which had a separate 'puck' which you had to connect to the controller before you attached the headset. In summary, the Xbox 360 looks and feels like a great piece of hardware. The problems with backward compatibility are a disappointment, but when the new games come out that will push the machine's capabilities further - e.g. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - I don't think that you will be so bothered about that feature. Games such as Project Gotham Racing 3 look so good, even on a standard 16:9 widescrreen TV (4:3 normal tv is also supported), but to get the best of the graphical capabilities, then hook the 360 up to a High Definition TV set.
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"The 360 has raised the bar!!" - 31 July 2006
I've had my 360 for about a month now, got the premium edition. I have to say that this is probably the best thing I have ever bought! I've never really been a fan of the old XBOX so I was a little bit concerned about getting the 360. I've always been a Playstation fan from day 1 when the original Playstation was released up until the PS2 came out. After reading good reviews about the 360 I decided to take the plunge! Let me tell you now, the 360 is awesome! I am blown away by it.
Firstly the graphics are STUNNING, games like Ghost Recon and Project Gotham Racing are truly amazing. Plus if you have a HD Ready TV then you're in for a real treat! In HD the games look out of this World.
Xbox Live is in a class of its own, playing games online against people all over the World is by far the ultimate gaming experience. PC gamers have been enjoying this for many years and now its finally starting to come onto consoles. I cannot praise this console enough, I have no complaints about it and doubt I ever will! I can honestly say that I'm not even thinking about the PS3 at this moment in time as the 360 is more than enough for me. At this price, compared to the PS3 this console is by far the best option out of the 3 "Next-gen" consoles. Microsoft deserve credit! They've done an amazing job and have won over a true Playstation fan!
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"Better than PS3?" - 6 September 2006
The big arguement is, can PS3 be better than the xbox? well if there was a PS3 in which this could be compared to then maybe we could look at this. I was considering about 6 months ago whether to get an xbox or wait until november to get a PS3, and im so glad i chose the xbox, with the PS3 being delayed until march and the chances of getting one off the shelf then are not great.
The xbox is a very good console, even better with a HDTV, the games that are coming out are just as good, there are some problems, it is very noisy the fan makes sone hell of a raquet and you need to make sure that it is kept stable or it tends to crash. Apart from that there are no real drawbacks.
On the up side the wireless availability is excellent, and the online game play is something that i dont think that sony is going to be able to match. My overall verdict to you is to trade in your PS2 for an xbox, for half the price of the PS3 i garentee it will entertain you at least until the price of the PS3 has fallen and we can see if it is going to live up to the hype surrounding it.
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"Another market for Microsoft to sew up..." - 1 August 2006
I decided to purchase an Xbox 360 simply because I fancied a change from Sony product (I have a PS1 & 2) and I was a bit put off by the continuing delays to the PS3 and its high price.
The Xbox 360 is a stunning piece of kit. It is well designed and has a very friendly operating system. Setting up is easy, just plug it all in and off you go. My internet connection (through an ADSL router) was detected and connected to the 360 without any action on my part and I was signed up and using Xbox Live in minutes.
Games load quickly and from what I've seen so far you can't fault the graphics and sound, they're superb for a games console. I only have a standard TV so haven't seen any games in their full high definition glory yet, but hope to one day. At least the console plays everything in widescreen. Be warned - a few Xbox 360 games will only work on a PAL television capable of running a 60hz display. Check this out first.
The facilities you can access in Xbox Live give you much more than just a straight games console. You can download demos, extras for your games, game videos and all sorts of other stuff (much of it you have to pay for, though). You can also send messages to other gamers, set-up a friends list and naturally play games. Performance in this respect, from what I've seen so far, is good. I have noticed a fair bit of abusive language in games and some poor behaviour by players, so it's well worth finding friends online if you want to have the most fun.
This pack comes with the wireless controller, which is very convenient (I don't miss the wires) and also a good pad. It's well laid out, very responsive (no lag that I've noticed) and fits in your hand well. It doesn't look too good, what with the white plastic and brightly coloured buttons, but does an excellent job.
The Xbox 360 does a lot more than just play games. It plays DVDs and CDs, and you can rip music off the latter to store on the hard disk. You can plug in your MP3 player and play music through the Xbox/TV. Music from your player or hard disk can be used as background music in games. You can connect your digital camera and view photos on the TV. You can even connect up your PC using Windows Media Connect (a free download) or Windows Media Centre (a more expensive operating system) and a small home LAN to stream music, photographs and video through the Xbox. All of this is relatively simple to do.
So, it all sounds great and believe me, it is. Well worth a purchase. But there are a few niggles and points to bear in mind. It's best to make sure your TV will support a 60hz display and if you have an HD TV, even better. The white colouring and especially the design of the pads may not be to everyone's taste and you wonder if Microsoft have even seen the PS3. You have to say Sony usually have the edge in styling. You can purchase faceplates for the Xbox to change the colour scheme a bit, however.
Make sure you have a reasonably well ventilated area for the console to sit as it gets quite warm (especially the huge power supply) and blows out quite a bit of hot air. It's also not that portable as the console and power supply are bulky and heavy and so best left in one place.
Finally, the Xbox 360 is rather noisy. Whilst running in dashboard mode or browsing Xbox Live, there is a noise but it's not too intrusive. But when you put a disc into the DVD drive, the noise level increases by some margin. It's bearable and you get used to it, but I want a console sitting under my TV, not a PC and it's a shame as it lets the 360 down a bit.
But nonetheless, a great machine at a decent price with good games available (Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, Call of Duty 2, Far Cry, Project Gotham Racing 3, Kameo, Hitman and so on) and more on the way. It is even (mostly) backwards compatible with original Xbox games. If you want a next-gen console and you have the cash, this is well worth the spend.
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"Things I didn't know " - 8 January 2007
Based on the reviews here and hearsay from friends I bought an XBox 360 for the family. I thought I would post my thoughts since I discovered things about the XBox that I didn't know before buying it. Everything good that has been said here is true, and none of the negative comments were. So in no particular order for existing comment comparison :-
1. The graphics are absolutely fantastic. Even on a normal Telly, but since we bought a Philips 26F791D HDMI it is truly staggering. Especially on ordinary DVDs, (the 1080i upscaling is very good).
2. We have had no crashes, freezes or any trouble at all.
3. The wireless is very simple to setup, and once sorted is a dooddle at connecting after startup.
Stuff I didn't know before buying (and it's not all good) :-
1. It has the noisiest fan of any game station we have ever owned. It is plain LOUD and is frankly annoying when watching a DVD, gameplay is usually loud in our house anyway so you don't notice it.
2. It runs hot so you cannot enclose it completely. But we have to some extent making the noise from (1) less annoying.
3. The external power supply transformer is HUGE, and heavy, so you need a big hole to get the XBox 360, it's transformer and clear air for cooling when you are locating it.
4. The wireless controllers use 2 AA batteries in a simple clip pod underneath, so you do not need a play and charge unit per controller if you already have an AA re-charger and some rechargeable batteries. (This is definitely a cheaper option in the UK.)
5. The HDTV connection is not a HDMI connection. It uses the Red/Green/Blue PR/Pf/.. and Red/White AL/AR connection scheme so make sure your TV has that or you need new cables (more expense).
6. Some games (TopSpin etc) require PAL-60 to be set, but the XBox comes with PAL-50 by default, and in HDTV mode the PAL menu is not visible so you cannot change it unless you switch back to normal viewing. (I just saved you 2 hours of messing about - you assume it's you, or some menu setting, at least I did, before trying to get help - we used the support line and it was excellent).
Despite my last 6 comments, which are for your information, our household is thrilled with the 360 and I would heartily recommend it, hence 5 stars.
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