Hey guys I'm srsly considering buying a 360 and I need your help/advice. My main reason for buying it is to play Black Ops with all my friends who have 360.

So basically I need you guys to decide my best course of action, I've already calculated all the pricing. My pricing includes a year of live ($60), a router that is mandatory for me to play online ($45), Halo Reach ($60), and a charge and play kit ($30)

1) Buy the 4GB Arcade 360 (Total cost $410) - Only reason I'm considering this option is the reasonable price. The hard drive is useless though.

2) Buy the 250GB better 360 (Total cost $510) - This has the bigger hard drive I want, but of course its $100 more.

3) Buy the 250GB Halo Reach Bundle (Total cost $540) - Includes Reach and an extra controller and a slick looking silver console instead of black. Downsides are its most expensive option and I really don't need the second controller.

4) Wait and see if there's a Black Ops bundle - Assuming its $400 like the Halo Reach bundle is the total price would be $540 with all the stuff included (minus the price of reach because I wouldn't buy it). I'm willing to wait till November if there is a good Black Ops bundle coming.

5) Buy a shitty used one off of Kijiji (similar to Craigslist) - This would save me money big time but I would miss out on having the cool slim 360 and of course it would mean its an older model and prone to RRoD

What do you guys think is the best option or suggest other options please.

Which country do you live in?

Go with option #3, its the best option since you might need a second controller one day and it already comes with reach.

Also go to amazon to buy the live card now, its 40.77 if you live in the U.S. The play and charge kit is also just 20 bucks on amazon and both have a free shipping option.

I'm gonna hurry up and get in here before the haters start posting saying "Don't buy a console for one game!" Well guess what guys? I bought a PS3 for God of War 3 and I'm glad I did so if you want to buy a 360 for Black Ops I say do it.

First of all I'll pretty much guarantee there will be a Black Ops bundle. MS signed a 2 year exlusive DLC package with Activision for COD and MW2 had a special console bundle. I'm pretty sure Black Ops will have one as well. Most likely it will be the 250GB with 2 controllers and Black Ops for $399. Now as you said you don't necessarily need the extra controller so if I was you I would just purchase the 250GB and buy Black Ops when it releases. You will save $40 by not purchasing the bundle. I recommend the 250GB (I have one myself) because I prefer installing games therefore not having the discs spinning the whole time I'm playing games. Its completely silent with games installed with no risk of disc reading errors or it becoming worn out. Also the built in WiFi is clutch (I"m assuming this is why you are buying a router).

The reason I suggest definitely buying the 360 for Black Ops is because you aren't necessarily buying it just for Black Ops. Once you get the 360 you will realize the 360 has an amazing portfolio of games. Gears of War for example is an experience that can't be missed. The Fable series is another that is great. You mentioned Halo:Reach and trust me its one of the best FPSs I've ever played. I already have over 30 hrs logged in on that game in just 2 1/2 weeks. FPSs just play different on the 360, and by different I mean better. When you get the controller in your hand and get used to it you will see what I mean.

I bought a PS3 a little over a month ago because I wanted to play God of War 3 and it opened me up to more games like Uncharted 2. Now I have certain genres I buy for the PS3 and I'm glad I have the best of both worlds. When you get your 360 you will be glad you have both because the 360 is better for certain games, while the PS3 is better for others. FPSs is where the 360 dominates and I urge you to definitely pick up the 250GB slim.

Canada

And thanks for the advice, good deals!

Thanks for the advice! Great post.

The point about installing games on the hard drive is huge for me. I don't really consider the 4GB arcade a valid option because I plan on putting every game I buy on the hard drive.

And my reason for buying a router is actually because I'm at college and you're only allowed to have 1 device registered to the internet at 1 time (yeah pretty lame I know) so I'm thinking a router will let me use both my laptop and a game system; but it is super nice to have built in wifi (although I wouldn't mind if it didn't have it and was $50 or $100 cheaper!)

So good advice, I think I'll either go with option 2 or 3 because I want the big hard drive.

I'll put in a little more advice. I bought a $30 charge kit and it came with a controller dock for charging two controllers at a time and two rechargeable packs. Pretty damn good deal if you ask me. I think its by Nikko. I bought it as Best Buy (don't know if those are in Canada). I'm at the GF's house so I can't check. Secondly I forgot to mention XBLA (Xbox LIVE Arcade). So many good games it is astonishing. When and if you pick up your 360 check out games like Shadow Complex, Geometry Wars Evolved (Lame name I know, but amazing), and classics like Galaga, Pac-Man, etc. You will be amazed at the type of games you can get for $5-$10.

If and when you pick up a 360 my gamertag is WhamBamThanxSam. Go ahead and add me if you like. Xbox LIVE is something to be experienced. PSN is free but you'll see what I mean when you connect, and why its $60 a year (even though you can hop on Amazon or another website and pick up a gold membership card for cheaper).

You have a ps3?

I never knew that....

God Of War 3 is a badass game huh

Well even if you are well intentioned at keeping your limited scope, things like DLC and XBLA games are always very tempting and it is nice to have games installed to save wear and tear. So I would recommend getting whatever you can afford. If you get a bundle the price is offset somewhat by the extra games.

Oh yeah dude Xbox Live is pretty awesome! I actually had a 360 from early 2008 till about summer/fall of 2009 too. I'll definitely add you if/when I get a 360! And thank for the advice on some good XBLA games.

Wait for a Black ops Bundle .