I am starting to wonder what the main attraction is of Xbox Live. When people talk about multiplayer or online services on a current generation console, it is mostly the Xbox 360 being brought up with it's highly popular Xbox Live service. One of the most played and widely subscribed online services in the current generation. But what is causing all of the players to become such a huge fan of this service? Is it the Xbox Live Arcade games? Is it the market place? Is it the multiplayer? Or maybe just because it has so many players in it already.
Xbox Live Benefits
There are many benefits to being a part of Xbox Live, one of the best online services available. One being that you get to play the extremely stable online play, and be apart of a large, extensive, online community filled with many people worth playing. You will definitely run into a variety of people that will leave you with many experiences worth bragging about. Not only that, but you have the Xbox Live Market Place to explore. Having access to hundreds of demos made available to you, which may help you find new games that you may want to purchase for the Xbox 360. You may download some exclusive themes, or even Xbox Live Arcade games that may catch your eye. There are many things worth getting and playing on Xbox Live, and would possibly be a great thing for you to get if you are interested.
Xbox Live Cons
Having to pay for Xbox Live would be an annoyance, definitely. It annoyed me when I had to pay for Xbox Live membership, it would probably annoy you too. Though $50 a year isn't so much, I am not interested in paying a fee for membership. Not only that, but there are a lot of unruly players on the Xbox Live that you will run into. If you are a minority, expect to be hassled by racists while playing. If you are white, expect people to be racist to you as well, or make fun of your voice. If you are young, expect people to make fun of you still and make jokes about puberty. Pretty much, every one is a target, and the trash talk that goes on is pretty ridiculous. I catch myself having heated arguments at times, though most of the time I just do not care.
There are a fair amount of benefits and cons towards being apart of Xbox Live. You get to play multiplayer, which is arguably one of the best features about the Xbox 360. You also get access to many of the features on Xbox Live, such as the party system, netflix, demos and more. But on that note, there are also cons such as the payment, unruly players and occasional down times. If you have an Xbox 360, and you are interested in playing Xbox Live, you should read my first post on how to get Free Xbox Live Codes, it may help you.
Maturity On Xbox Live
Encountering mature players while on Xbox Live is always a sort of funny conversation. Simply because most Xbox Live users can relate to it in one way or another. The amount of users on Xbox Live simply look to annoy, curse you out, be racist and much more annoying acts done to piss you off. These crowds can be found across all games, but I have encountered most of them while playing Halo 3 or Call of Duty 4, though I am not really sure.
While playing Halo 3, I constantly run into people who will curse you out for getting killed or being black. Then again, they seemed to use the same racial slur against even white people, as a simple insult, so maybe it's normal for them. But for the over hyped few that will kill you then tell you to quit life for being a failure in Halo 3. Not only that, but tea bagging is like a sport in Halo 3 that pretty much at least one person does in every match. It annoys me so much to have to run into kids who will tea bag you then brag about it like they just spat in your face. Though I can't say that I didn't do it back in retaliation...
While playing Call of Duty 4, I have to say I have heard the funniest arguments then. There was a kid having an argument with his mom about doing the dishes or something. Every one then proceeded to curse him out for being a little kid. I have heard clans of racists whom would attempt to belittle you if you a minority, and it turns out that my clan had some minorities in it. Though we proceeded to beat them so badly that they just signed off Xbox Live. The especially funny one is when I ran into a clan who was trying to act gay making a bunch of gay jokes and terrorizing the straight people in the match, it was hilarious.
Honestly, this isn't a really informative post,but simply a post to poke fun at how much immaturity you run into while on Xbox Live. I am not saying that the Playstation Network is superior or anything like that, because I have not actually used it yet. But I generally turn my mic off, due to the annoying kids and voices I run into while playing on Xbox Live. But I am at least being able to enjoy getting Free Xbox Live. To be honest, I would not want to actually pay any money to play over Xbox Live to run into so many of these annoying kids.
While playing Halo 3, I constantly run into people who will curse you out for getting killed or being black. Then again, they seemed to use the same racial slur against even white people, as a simple insult, so maybe it's normal for them. But for the over hyped few that will kill you then tell you to quit life for being a failure in Halo 3. Not only that, but tea bagging is like a sport in Halo 3 that pretty much at least one person does in every match. It annoys me so much to have to run into kids who will tea bag you then brag about it like they just spat in your face. Though I can't say that I didn't do it back in retaliation...
While playing Call of Duty 4, I have to say I have heard the funniest arguments then. There was a kid having an argument with his mom about doing the dishes or something. Every one then proceeded to curse him out for being a little kid. I have heard clans of racists whom would attempt to belittle you if you a minority, and it turns out that my clan had some minorities in it. Though we proceeded to beat them so badly that they just signed off Xbox Live. The especially funny one is when I ran into a clan who was trying to act gay making a bunch of gay jokes and terrorizing the straight people in the match, it was hilarious.
Honestly, this isn't a really informative post,but simply a post to poke fun at how much immaturity you run into while on Xbox Live. I am not saying that the Playstation Network is superior or anything like that, because I have not actually used it yet. But I generally turn my mic off, due to the annoying kids and voices I run into while playing on Xbox Live. But I am at least being able to enjoy getting Free Xbox Live. To be honest, I would not want to actually pay any money to play over Xbox Live to run into so many of these annoying kids.
Halo 3: ODST Release
As many of you Halo 3 fans may know, Halo 3: ODST has recently been released, which offers a wealth of new gameplay elements and a new story line for players to enjoy. It is surely a game to be widely enjoyed by the Xbox Live community, especially considering the all new Skirmish mode that has been added to the mix. This isn't really an informative post on Halo 3: ODST, rather a post that tells you why you should get Free Xbox Live, and why this game may be good for you to play.
If you don't know, Halo 3 is pretty much one of the most popular, if not the most popular, game to be released on the Xbox 360. It offers an extensive Xbox Live player community, and a robust match making system that provided the standard for many online games to come. It is a very novice friendly game and is simply a fun experience for those new to the Xbox 360. It was the game that I started out with, and I don't regret it. It actually got me into the Xbox 360, since I started playing at my friends house on his console. It is a great party game to play especially if you're gaming in a party with your friends.
It is a pretty old game, so there is a lot of exclusive content that has been added already. This is good if you have not picked this game up yet, simply because you will now be able to enjoy more immediately, opposed to those who had the game from the start and had to wait for content to be released. There are new map packs, downloadable content and even the new Halo 3: ODST, which offers a different look into the Halo 3 world and story line.
Simply put, Halo 3 is one of the most enjoyable multiplayer experiences available on the Xbox 360. Halo 3 has a great and extensive single player mode, many multiplayer modes available to offer you the utmost variety and when coupled with Halo 3: ODST, you get an even further look into the Halo 3 storyline as well as a new multiplayer mode in which you cooperate with team members to take out hordes of enemies. If you've just read my guide on how to get Free Xbox Live, then this game would be a good game to spend your time playing.
If you don't know, Halo 3 is pretty much one of the most popular, if not the most popular, game to be released on the Xbox 360. It offers an extensive Xbox Live player community, and a robust match making system that provided the standard for many online games to come. It is a very novice friendly game and is simply a fun experience for those new to the Xbox 360. It was the game that I started out with, and I don't regret it. It actually got me into the Xbox 360, since I started playing at my friends house on his console. It is a great party game to play especially if you're gaming in a party with your friends.
It is a pretty old game, so there is a lot of exclusive content that has been added already. This is good if you have not picked this game up yet, simply because you will now be able to enjoy more immediately, opposed to those who had the game from the start and had to wait for content to be released. There are new map packs, downloadable content and even the new Halo 3: ODST, which offers a different look into the Halo 3 world and story line.
Simply put, Halo 3 is one of the most enjoyable multiplayer experiences available on the Xbox 360. Halo 3 has a great and extensive single player mode, many multiplayer modes available to offer you the utmost variety and when coupled with Halo 3: ODST, you get an even further look into the Halo 3 storyline as well as a new multiplayer mode in which you cooperate with team members to take out hordes of enemies. If you've just read my guide on how to get Free Xbox Live, then this game would be a good game to spend your time playing.
Zombie Apocalypse on Xbox Live Soon
Konami's top view zombie shooter, Zombie Apocalypse, is making it's way to Xbox Live by next week. The game will cost you 800 Microsoft Points over Xbox Live for a wealth of options. If you have already read my first post on how to get Free Xbox Live, then you most likely will be enjoying your coop for free.
Imagine a top down arcade Left 4 Dead styled game. It is a 3d arcade game with lush visuals, though nothing extremely intensely graphical. The game boasts 55 levels and 11 weapons available, as well as online cooperative play. You can play both online and offline with your friends, which is good for those of you without Xbox Live gold membership. The weapons are fairly good and offer a variety of choices for you to enjoy. You have weapons that may burn your enemy such as the flamethrower, a chainsaw which slices them up, or even a shot gun which obviously has the most impact per shot.
Kotaku claimed that the no drop in was a pretty annoying lacking feature. Though there is cooperative play, players aren't allowed to drop-in or drop-out. You can't add players between stages either. So once you are in a match, you are stuck with the people you have there already. Also, the characters may seem a bit familiar to Left 4 Dead, it can be seen as a homage. Though, no doubt, some of you will see that as a deliberate rip off. But these are minor nuisances, and if you've been actively looking for an Xbox Live game to play, and you like zombies, this would probably be a good game to get.
Also, it is a bit cool how you can use the environment to your advantage, at the zombies dismay. For example, the wood chipper, you can lure zombies into it to get shredded up which would be an easy way of dealing with the hordes of them. With the minor annoyances aside, this game is a pretty solid game and is worth getting. It has a fair amount of features along with it, and it only costs 800 Microsoft Points, so it's basically a game where you can have quite a bit of fun for a small price.
Imagine a top down arcade Left 4 Dead styled game. It is a 3d arcade game with lush visuals, though nothing extremely intensely graphical. The game boasts 55 levels and 11 weapons available, as well as online cooperative play. You can play both online and offline with your friends, which is good for those of you without Xbox Live gold membership. The weapons are fairly good and offer a variety of choices for you to enjoy. You have weapons that may burn your enemy such as the flamethrower, a chainsaw which slices them up, or even a shot gun which obviously has the most impact per shot.
Kotaku claimed that the no drop in was a pretty annoying lacking feature. Though there is cooperative play, players aren't allowed to drop-in or drop-out. You can't add players between stages either. So once you are in a match, you are stuck with the people you have there already. Also, the characters may seem a bit familiar to Left 4 Dead, it can be seen as a homage. Though, no doubt, some of you will see that as a deliberate rip off. But these are minor nuisances, and if you've been actively looking for an Xbox Live game to play, and you like zombies, this would probably be a good game to get.
Also, it is a bit cool how you can use the environment to your advantage, at the zombies dismay. For example, the wood chipper, you can lure zombies into it to get shredded up which would be an easy way of dealing with the hordes of them. With the minor annoyances aside, this game is a pretty solid game and is worth getting. It has a fair amount of features along with it, and it only costs 800 Microsoft Points, so it's basically a game where you can have quite a bit of fun for a small price.
Fun Experiences on Xbox Live
For those of you who have managed to play on Xbox Live at least once must surely be familiar about some of the fun experiences you may have on there. I know I have ran into quite a lot of experiences on Xbox Live during my couple of months of playing it. Particularly with games such as Call of Duty 4, Gears of War 2, Halo 3 and Grand Theft Auto 4. These experiences can make it worth getting Xbox Live membership, simply because it makes you remember why it's worth having. That's why you should read my post on how to get Free Xbox 360 Live if you haven't already.
On Call of Duty 4, one of my most fun experiences had to be when me and my friends decided to play as a clan. So we got into a match, as pipeline and the other team was trash talking us because we dominated them the previous round. So this round, we decide to be annoying and since we had a full team, we all camped from the back and dominated them as UAV Jamming snipers, hah. It was priceless how they could never tell when we were hiding, as we sneaked around the map and even when they managed to get UAV's, the wouldn't be able to see us any way. We laid traps, went knifing, and were camping the whole match, it was a pretty fun match and I don't think I have had a match in Call of Duty 4 as fun as that since.
On Gears of War 2, my most fun experience had to be when my friend and I were playing Wing Man and I was one of the last people left. It was me, my friend died, and two other teams. So I was being pursued by one team, so I ran, tagged a wall, took out one of their team members, ran into the other team and escaped, putting those two enemies into a shoot out. So I ran to the other side, stacked up on grenades, and tagged the wall, and ran away. Then I lured out the survivors of the skirmish and they fell for my trap, leading me to win the match. What I mainly find fun about that is how using brain over raw talent can determine who wins a match at times.
In Halo 3, it was probably when I was over at my friends house playing as a party, and we had one random member on our team, and we were having an extremely close battle and we managed to win. After all their trash talk about us sucking, us being noobs and etc. When we won, I remember my friends screaming into the mike "Yeahhhh boyyyyyyy!" and rubbing it into their faces, to the point where they just quit the match. It was pretty hilarious and it was a rush.
In Grand Theft Auto 4, I have to say that I've had the funnest experiences on there. Or at least some of the funnest. Like one time when I was playing free mode with strangers, and I was in the fastest car of the game, driving away from this guy who was pursuing me and managed to get my car on fire. So I waited a bit, then hopped out my car after I ran over a bench and it flipped in the air. So in a cinematic fashion, the car hovers over me as I hop out and it explodes directly above me. It was such a cinematic event, I just knew that Grand Theft Auto 4 would be my favorite game.
What are some of your favorite moments on Xbox Live? I mainly like the moments where we're being highly competitive, when I die or kill someone in a cinematic fashion, or when I am doing something with the purpose of annoying the enemy. Those moments can be fun. If you're wanting to play on Xbox Live now that you've read this, but you do not have gold membership, you should read my post on how to get free Xbox Live so you can join in on the fun.
On Call of Duty 4, one of my most fun experiences had to be when me and my friends decided to play as a clan. So we got into a match, as pipeline and the other team was trash talking us because we dominated them the previous round. So this round, we decide to be annoying and since we had a full team, we all camped from the back and dominated them as UAV Jamming snipers, hah. It was priceless how they could never tell when we were hiding, as we sneaked around the map and even when they managed to get UAV's, the wouldn't be able to see us any way. We laid traps, went knifing, and were camping the whole match, it was a pretty fun match and I don't think I have had a match in Call of Duty 4 as fun as that since.
On Gears of War 2, my most fun experience had to be when my friend and I were playing Wing Man and I was one of the last people left. It was me, my friend died, and two other teams. So I was being pursued by one team, so I ran, tagged a wall, took out one of their team members, ran into the other team and escaped, putting those two enemies into a shoot out. So I ran to the other side, stacked up on grenades, and tagged the wall, and ran away. Then I lured out the survivors of the skirmish and they fell for my trap, leading me to win the match. What I mainly find fun about that is how using brain over raw talent can determine who wins a match at times.
In Halo 3, it was probably when I was over at my friends house playing as a party, and we had one random member on our team, and we were having an extremely close battle and we managed to win. After all their trash talk about us sucking, us being noobs and etc. When we won, I remember my friends screaming into the mike "Yeahhhh boyyyyyyy!" and rubbing it into their faces, to the point where they just quit the match. It was pretty hilarious and it was a rush.
In Grand Theft Auto 4, I have to say that I've had the funnest experiences on there. Or at least some of the funnest. Like one time when I was playing free mode with strangers, and I was in the fastest car of the game, driving away from this guy who was pursuing me and managed to get my car on fire. So I waited a bit, then hopped out my car after I ran over a bench and it flipped in the air. So in a cinematic fashion, the car hovers over me as I hop out and it explodes directly above me. It was such a cinematic event, I just knew that Grand Theft Auto 4 would be my favorite game.
What are some of your favorite moments on Xbox Live? I mainly like the moments where we're being highly competitive, when I die or kill someone in a cinematic fashion, or when I am doing something with the purpose of annoying the enemy. Those moments can be fun. If you're wanting to play on Xbox Live now that you've read this, but you do not have gold membership, you should read my post on how to get free Xbox Live so you can join in on the fun.
