Video Games : Xbox 360 Console Core System (Includes: Xbox 360, wired controller and composite TV connection & SCART adaptor)

Rating: - Core System is fine!
Xbox live works just fine on the core system, you DO NOT need a hard-drive, a memory unit works just fine.

You don't really need the expensive cable that comes with the premium (unless you are lucky enough to own a hi-def tele!). The media remote is useless as well, you're not going to use your console as a DVD player, it's too noisy!

If you want wireless controllers, go trade the wired one in somewhere and get a wireless control for about a tenner. Sorted!

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Rating: - The future is here
I very gratefully received an XBOX 360 core system for Christmas after some (well documented) problems trying to get hold of a premium system. The XBOX 360 is an impressive piece of kit and really showcases what the next generation of gaming machine is going to be capable of. Sadly the games on release don’t live up to the machine but I am not reviewing them – am I?

As is well documented the core system doesn’t come with a host of add-ons that the premium system comes with so I will run through this first. The hard drive is the most notable and obvious omission. In my opinion if you can get a premium system it is worth it to receive the hard drive alone, you can't save progress, set up to XBOX live, play some older games or save music / video on your console without it. If you consider at the core system plus hard drive would come to the premium system cost alone it makes a difference. The HDTV adapter is only of relevance if you own a HDTV! I am going to get one later this year so the cable at the moment is superfluous. The wireless controller is a nice touch over the wired controller but again is only personal choice. As for the headset, without the hard drive to set up XBOX Live then it is irrelevant.

The graphics that the XBOX 360 produces is nothing short of stunning, it really is an amazing piece of kit. The extra processing power also will allow for some stunning game play once the games begin to come (something that cannot happen soon enough). One word of warning I will give is that I have heard that the system has a habit of scratching a ring around the disc if it is placed on its end, I haven’t come across this but bear it in mind.

The XBOX 360 is sold as a concept in home entertainment and it has some lovely features that I want to highlight. The controllers (that are wired) are connected through USB ports. If you opt for the wireless controllers you leave free your USB ports which can be utilised with an iPod, a digital camera, or other remote storage devices. What a great way to play music / show pictures to friends and it really is very easy to do.

Overall this machine is by far and away a 5 star machine, but in the core version its more like 4.6 stars, if you can get one go for the premium. Either way this is an awesome machine.

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Rating: - Great stuff
Let me get one thing clear from the start. This console isn't perfect by any means. Its array of fans and other moving parts make this quite a noisy console. The fans make quite a hum and the DVD drive can be intrusive. The power supply is huge and there is currently no HDMI support.

Also, I don't understand why the Core and Premium versions were sold without the same display cable. The Premium version has a combined composite and component adaptor for people with or without a HDTV, yet the core was shipped with a composite cable and scart adaptor.

Now, everything else I have to say is positive. The Core edition features a wired controller, so there are no batteries to worry about and it has a plain plastic drive cover, which I believe looks better and more consistant.

As a games console it is brilliant. Sound quality has taken a giant leap forward from the old x-box and there is a noticable graphical improvement even at this early stage. Granted, many of the launch games are mere rush-jobs and of very little substance, but it is early days. I don't think any of the current catalogue really show off what the 360 is capable of, except maybe Project Gotham 3.

Worth buying, but not at the insane prices you see on the marketplace or ebay in the run-up to Christmas (2005).

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Rating: - Damn Good
I was lucky enough to get a 360 on the release day but i could only get the core version, now lets cut to the point this system is amazing the games are unreal and there only going to get better with time, You get a wired controller which is compatible with your PC which is a massive plus, and all the stuff you get with the 279.99 version you can just bolt later so id say its ideal for anybody who is looking to play the next gen games for a cheap price cos lets be frank 209.99 is cheap for something which is 5 times more powerful then high end PC's
one last thing make sure if you get the core version get a memory card there only 17.99 i think

(I hope this helps any one who is undecided as to what to get)

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Rating: - Why buy the core pack?
Well I’ll tell you why. I initially ordered the premium pack for £279.99 from Amazon.co.uk because it is generally thought of as the better value pack, and it is.....depending on what type of gamer you are, but if you on a budget, maybe not, if you are reading this and have an interest in the console I’m sure you know the difference in the two packages (core and premium) and the attractions of the premium pack are aimed at gamers who already have a lavish home entertainment system (HD TV, Media Centre PC, Wireless Broadband, Xbox Live etc) and if you have that (or intend to get them) then the 360 is a great priced system and worth buying over the core pack, but me, personally, like the majority, don’t have these things and probably wont for a year or two until the prices come down, for now, like many, I have my standard PC and DSL set-up and a portable TV set in my room.

Now the items such as the HD AV cable is really only needed for a HD TV, so right out I knew I didn’t need that, the mini remote I kind of wanted because I had the Original Xbox and DVD playback kit and thought I would need one for the 360 to watch my DVD's but I did my research and found out I could use the controller to operate the DVD functions of the 360, the mini remote is there if you want it for DVD but its more aimed at using a Media Centre PC which I don’t have, so I don’t need that item either, the headset also is cool but if you don’t have or intend to take the 360 online then its pretty much useless, I am sure some games will be enabled to have voice commands set for offline gaming (Rainbow Six 3 on the Xbox for example) but I always felt kind of silly shouting out commands at my TV set (I’m sure other people in the house must have thought I was nuts). The wireless controller is a great idea and I wanted one a lot but I got to thinking how the pads lasts for 25 hours (it does warn hours before its out of power apparently) and I didn’t want to have to stop gaming and leave it charge for a while, and I know I could buy a play and charge kit and keep on going but as I said if, like me, your on a budget and you just spend nigh on £300 on a games system (and that’s before you buy any games) the last thing you want is to splash out on more expensive hardware, so it turned out that the wired pad was a selling point with me for with core pack.

Now we come to the biggest decision I had to make when choosing a package.......the hard drive, I knew I wanted, no needed this (for backwards compatibility. I decided a while back I wasn’t going to get a launch title seeing how they were nothing special, if you want my advice play the stellar Xbox games you already have and wait till spring for the real next generation games, incidentally you'll need to download an update onto your 360 hard disk from Xbox Live, if like me you don’t have Xbox Live just go to Microsoft’s homepage and download the patch, burn it to disk and pop it in the 360) to play games like Halo 2 and Half - Life 2.

When you weigh up the facts you cant deny that if you go for the core pack and buy the hard drive separate it will cost the same as the premium pack only without the free (but perhaps unnecessary) items, I knew in essence that I’m going to pay the same and get less, initially, but I thought on it and realised that if I went with the premium pack I would still want to buy the play and charge kit for the wireless controller and I knew the extra items that came in the box…..would stay in the box, the things I would actually be using I would get with either pack, I would get a 360 with a wired controller (no charging) and I would just have to get a hard drive to play my original Xbox games.

The bottom line is that your going spend 280 either way if you want to play your old games (the core pack is aimed at people who want just to play 360 games and not old ones, granted but you will still need a memory card or hard disk to save game progress), which most people will (even if you didn’t have the first Xbox the great thing with the 360 is that you can still, provided you have a hard drive, pick up the classics like Halo 1 and 2), and if you go with the premium pack your still likely to want to buy a play and charge kit, so depending on your needs you could argue that you could save money either way, if you just want a 360 for your bedroom and a normal TV go with the core pack and hard drive, you'll get value on money, if you have all the latest gear to take advantage of the 360's power, go premium, you'll get value for money.

One advantage the 360 core pack has right now is that your much more likely to get one for new years than a premium pack, only one minor regret about not getting the premium that I have, is that the premium has a chrome disk tray and the cores disk tray is just plain. Since it launched over in North America and here in Europe I have been to countless websites, forums etc and feel I know as much about the 360 as I possibly could without having it yet.