I'm into cars, computing, ten-pin bowling, films. Varied musical taste, and I tend to like particul...
I'm into cars, computing, ten-pin bowling, films. Varied musical taste, and I tend to like particular tracks than a particular artist. I live in Durham, UK. Would like to move to the States in the not too distant future if I can wangle it. Have fun.
Member since:24.09.2002
Reviews:47
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What is Xbox Live:
Xbox Live is the online service for players of the Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles.
Xbox Live Silver is free to all users and gives some limited facilities. With a Silver account you can accumulate a reputation by achieving goals within games. These are own on your Gamercard and allow other users to see how experienced a gamer you are. With a Silver account, you can also download game demos, trailers, and event videos. Some games have the ability to upload performance based stats like lap times etc. to online leaderboards.
Xbox Live Gold is a pay-for subscription, approx £35 to £40 pound a year. Gold gives you all the benefits of Silver, however you have access to marketplace items days, and sometimes weeks before the rest. The biggest benefit of purchasing a Gold subscription is that it opens up the full online multiplayer capabilites of the Xbox 360. Playing against your console is fun, but nowhere near as fun as knowing the person you just shot in the head from a mile away is another human being, or that the car you just overtook was driven by someone who was lacking that little bit of skill or little bit of luck to stay ahead. You can also trade game elements like cars etc. with your fellow players.
If you have the Xbox Live headset you can even have conversations with the other players, organising assaults on the enemy's fortress or gloating a little as your opponents plane drops from the sky in a ball of flame.
What you need for Xbox Live Gold:
An Xbox, or Xbox 360 A broadband internet connection A way to connect to the internet (discussed a little later) An Xbox hard drive (an add-on for the 360)
Looking at how to connect to your broadband connection, you have a number of options, each requiring the use of an ADSL router:
Wired, a network cable between your Xbox and your router. The simplest and cheapest option if your console is close to your router.
Wireless via the Xbox 360 wireless adaptor, Microsoft's choice, as they charge approx £60 for the adaptor. This plugs into the back of the 360, via the network port and rear facing USB port. The adaptor is powered by the 360, and is a neat option. Your ADSL router requires a wireless function for this to work.
Wireless via an access point configured as a wireless client. Using a network cable between the 360 and the access point, the access point provides your link to your home wireless. Again, this requires your ADSL router to provide wireless access. The access point will cost you about £25 and about a fiver for the network cable. So for half the price and a little bit of cable clutter, you can have the same as the official wireless adaptor. Another advantage of this method is that an access point normally has a stronger wireless signal than the official adaptor.
Although £40 a year may seem a little pricey at first, when you consider that the likes of World of Warcraft charge £9 a month for the one game, it's actually quite reasonable.
Sony's PS3 has a free online service, however it still needs to mature and the userbase is nowhere near as large. At some point, they may overtake Xbox Live but it won't be for some time to come.
When you buy your Xbox 360, you are given a months free trial, activated when you create your Gamertag. Also, new games have a free trial (usually 48 hour), so you have the option to try before you buy.
If you have a 360, I would recommend buying a subscription, it's definitely worth it.
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