Review by C. Eberlein:

The Xbox 360 is a great deal at 9 and a must-buy for gamers everywhere. It has its problems, such as overheating (something that has been improved with each subsequent update), and it’s much louder than it should be, but its shape and number of games (exclusive and not), especially Halo 3, certainly make the 360 a worthy competitor in the console wars. Perhaps a Slim model is on the horizon and this model is on its way out as suggested, but it is certainly a worthy edition.

Review by Evan:

By the title, I mean no offense to other reviewers, but when I was looking to purchase a new console, there was several questions not answered in the reviews. So, hopefully this can help someone, maybe a parent looking to buy for their child, a new console.

You can glance at my reviews and see that I’m completely lost in the last generation. I’ve held onto my PS2 like it was my security blanket. I’m not completely impressed with the current generation consoles trying to sell me on things that have no interest to me. I don’t care about a DVD player of any kind. Blu-Ray, HD, phooey, I’m here for the games. Don’t care about the online games. I go back to the Sega Dreamcast era of online console gaming. I remember the countless hours spent on dial-up access playing Phantasy Star Online. Of course, we dealt with the Gameshark modders that made weapons ten times better than any of us had found in the game, players who PK’d each other and stole your rare items. So, I have no interest, now in my 30s, to re-visit that frustration again.

I do however like the idea of downloadable content, especially the expansion pack type downloads, like with Grand Theft Auto IV. But, that’s not of my concern for now. Once I saw the price drop below 200, I figured it was time to grab one of these and try it out for myself. The Red of Ring of Death isn’t so much a concern to me either. I went through 6 Sega Dreamcasts and 4 PS2s. It isn’t like this is the first console to have some problems.

Ok, I ordered this, this past week. The console I received has the Jasper in it. For those not in the know, not that I am really, it is just a codename for the chipset. Jasper currently is the newest one and is supposed to be more efficient and less likely to have technical problems.

I was happy to see that Microsoft includes a wireless controller with this budget model. I don’t care about buying batteries. I was already doing that for the PS2 third party Logitech controller. No big deal. They do have a battery pack that can be charged that I will look into in a month or so, but just pop 2 AA batteries (2 Energizers included) in and start playing.

My biggest question was about the hard drive/memory cards. I actually went to a local well-known video game store that has the word stop in it. The guy absolutely baffled me. He was too busy trying to explain to me that the 360 has x amount of failure rate and blah-blah-blah. You must be kidding me? I tried an electronics store, but the lady working pretty much told me that she knew very little about the 360, but could sell me an HDTV to hook it up to.

I finally just bought the console without any understanding of the hard drive/memory card. So, now, I’m going to put it plain English, because I know there is some parent out there that is pulling their hair out trying to wade through the PS3/360 arguments to find out about the hard drive.

This model of the 360 on this very page has 512 internal memory in it. If you’re familiar with the last generation Xbox. This one is similar to it in terms of memory being built in. If not, all it means is that there is pretty much a memory card installed in this console. You don’t get all 512 MB though, memory may not be serving me perfectly here, but it was in the 320 MB free range. I guess they’ve installed something on the rest of it.

To give you an idea of how much memory that is, I only bought one game for now, GTA IV. It has taken up 1 MB. I’m sure other games are much higher, believe someone said the Forza racing game is around 40 MB. But, that is still not knocking a dent in 320. Mainly what I’m saying, I’ll get a hard drive eventually, but you don’t have to have one to get started. Also, when you do go to look for a HDD, check out that well-known auction site. I’ve seen them selling for 60 for 120 GB. But no, you don’t have to have one to get started.

If your intentions are to play online, then it would be recommended to get a hard drive ASAP. I usually play 1-2 games at a time. No rush to beat them, and enjoy them fully, so a hard drive is only needed in my case to get the downloadable content.

The power cord with this particular model uses only 150 watts, which I believe is 30-50 watts less than past versions of the 360. It comes with the basic A/V cables too. No HDMI, but if you’re like me, you’re not playing games on a HDTV, so who cares about the HDMI?

If you get the feeling that I feel pushed into this current generation of games, you’re right! I can only play God of War so many times. And not to worry immature ones, I have one of those slim PS3s pre-ordered, so this is hardly a biased review.

My thoughts so far on this console. I was shocked at how good the graphics are. I really didn’t think there was a big difference between last generation and the current generation, but I can see now that there is. One of my neighbors brought over the NCAA 10, and the difference between it and my PS2 NCAA 10 is like night and day. I’m one of the strange ones that prefers the 360 controller. I have big hands, it fits well, and I like the layout of their analog controllers better than the Sony controllers, though I guess is isn’t a big difference. The controller is nice though. Hardly no noise level and no heating up. So, so far, the Jasper must be doing its job. Overall, I’m very pleased with it and at least feel positive about this generation of consoles, as can be seen by pre-ordering the PS3 slim.

I just wish Sony and Microsoft would stop worrying about everything beyond games. We’ve got a Blu-Ray DVD player, three computers that are used on the internet. Just focus on those games! Hopefully this review will help those like me that can’t wade through the arguments, and helps someone out there.

Review by Stanton M. Daries:

::EDIT; Even though this is still recorded for me as the version I purchased, and it has the “Newest” sticker, the descriptor no longer includes the 512MB line on it. I don’t know if this means Amazon is recycling the older units in now for this order set, if they are doing that then that means my review cannot be relied upon and you may end up with a older chip. If they stick that 512MB label back on though then you are good to go.::

***

I am not going to go into the merits of a 360 ownership on this review. Rather this is geared for the gamer who has a orphaned HDD at home looking for a new 360 to be connected to, but they are afraid until they know they are going to get a Jasper.

After my fourth 360 died, this time out of warranty, I promised myself that I would never buy another one again while glaring hatefully at the number of games coming out in the next few months.

Friends had mentioned the mythical Jasper chip to me but due to the sentiment being that you are pretty much having a crap shoot on whether you would get one or not, no matter what SKU you ordered, I sat quietly and pined for a new form of entertainment.

Then I saw this product and knew everything would be safe for me to purchase it. Despite what some others are saying the 360 Arcade 512 MB version is always going to be a Jasper. Previous models had a smaller internal memory and you are stuck hoping that the model in the box was made after the Jasper date. With a 512 MB you are always getting a Jasper as that is what they are built with, there is no backlog.

One note , something that caused me to cry out in my office in fear as I opened the brown Amazon shipping box, is that the actual 360 packaging still says 256 MB on it. I am pretty sure I need to invoice them for a gray hair on that one.

Sure enough the inside held a lovely 512 MB unit. After a few days it seems to be working fine, of course my last one worked fine until a month out of warranty so who knows.

I am sticking with 4 stars on my review though as even though I love my 360 and the entertainment it has brought me, and even though all 5 consoles combined are still cheaper than any gaming PC I would of built, this is still my FIFTH 360.

I honestly question my sanity in buying this one and can’t help but have a small twinge of fear every time I go to power it on that it will glare back at me with a red eye.

Review by Jesse D:

If you have been holding off on getting an XBox 360 this is a great opportunity. Both of the included games are must owns and would cost you at least 0 if you bought them separately. Forza 3 is arguably better than the Gran Turismo series, I personally have a lot more fun with it. Halo ODST has all the multiplayer stuff from Halo 3 so the online content is really nice. The system reliability problems have been resolved, though I would still buy the three year warranty through Amazon no matter what console you buy.

I own a PS3 slim as well and both systems are great and both have great exclusive games so if you can you should own them both, but I would start with an XBox if you have neither. The only thing that disappoints me about the XBox is that built-in wireless should have been added a long time ago. The wireless adapter is laughably overpriced but there are cheaper alternatives like using a PC with internet connection sharing or buying a TRENDnet TEW-647GA Ethernet Port Wireless Gaming Adapter. Some people think that XBox Live should be free also, and it would be nice if it was but you can find it cheaper if you look around. I always get a 1 year card for . For that price it is a bit better than PSN, which isn’t as polished and organized as XBox Live.

Other great games for 360 …

Mass Effect 1 & 2 – These are must play RPGs

Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition (also on PS3 but it’s very buggy, get it on XBox instead)

Fable 2

Gears of War 1 & 2

Halo Reach (coming later)

Left 4 Dead 1 & 2 – also on PC since Valve apparently hates Sony

Viva Pinata

Also since the XBox has been around longer you can find A LOT more budget priced games and cheap used games around.

If you want to get a system now this is a great bundle, but if you are still on the fence about jumping into the HD generation I would wait. The rumored “valhalla” chipset should be coming this year, which will be the CPU and GPU on one die which will take up less space and will probably prompt Microsoft to make a XBox 360 “Slim” like Sony always does. If they do that it will really boost sales and no one will want the older bigger model anymore.

Review by J. Jenkins:

First off, let me state that this is a great bundle for an Xbox 360 newcomer. As shown, it comes with two popular games for the system, Halo 3: ODST and Forza Motorsport 3. The system looks great and runs very nicely. Also these are all manufactured with the Jasper chipset, the most reliable of all known 360 chipsets. I’ve owned another Jasper for over a year with absolutely no problems. There are two small annoyances I found with the bundle that I would like to address.

1. There is NO HDMI cable in the bundle. I’m pretty upset Microsoft took this route and have not included the HDMI cable in this bundle. Not sure why this move was made, but it’s very disappointing.

2. Forza 3/Halo 3: ODST both come in the same case. This is pretty standard with all bundles of this nature, but for us OCD gamers, it’s pretty annoying. 4 discs in one case. Really Microsoft?

Other than those 2 minor problems, I found the bundle to be up to par with the rest of the Microsoft game bundles. It makes a great gift for anybody and is also perfect for those looking to upgrade to a new system and hard drive (120gb).

Also something I liked, it came with a voucher to download a Boys and Girls Clubs of America hoodie for your male or female avatar. For each redeemed token, a donation is made to Boys and Girls Clubs of America. I liked this and am proud to say my avatar has his hoodie on right this second.

Review by Frozen Meatsicle:

I just recently got this bundle and I gotta say, it was definitely worth the 0 price tag. This system paid for itself overall. It comes with the black 360 with a 250 GB HD, that’s a lot of frickin space, two black wireless 360 controllers, a headset, simple av cables, no high def cables or hdmi cable (pity), and the splinter cell conviction video game, which is ultra badassery, but that’s for a different review. Basically what I’m getting at is that with all these extras you’re getting with the bundle, it’s well worth the money to shell out. So if you happen to have like 0 laying around, you should definitely get this bundle. Or you can always go out and try to get these things separately (brand new) and then see how much you pay then.

Review by Tim Collins:

I know a lot of you think this is not worth the money, but I disagree. Let me explain. First you’re getting the newest version “Jasper” Xbox 360, WITH a 250GB hard drive. Next you’re getting the game, “Splinter Cell Conviction” that is INCLUDED in the bundle. Lastly you’re getting the TWO wireless controllers. All of this for Amazon’s price (With FREE standard shipping), for only 9.99. That’s correct…9.99, NOT 9.99. Apparently Amazon.com must be running some type of unadvertised “special” right now on this bundle. I’d suggest that you pick this up, along with “Alan Wake” when it’s released in a couple of weeks (Amazon.com has a special offer on that too!)

So if you’re looking for a well packed Xbox 360 Elite and game included, at a super Amazon.com price, with free shipping, then you certainly can’t go wrong here. As always, Amazon.com comes through with flying colors, and never fails to impress me!