Buying an Xbox: new or refurb? Any good guns?

[LiquidPolicenaut]

After all this time, I'm finally gonna buy an Xbox and I need some quick help. Should I buy one of those refurbished ones from EB or GS or should I just get a brand new one? Any ideas where to get them the cheapest? Last quick question...does the Xbox have any good light guns for it? I know there is the MadCatz one but I heard it isn't so good. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

[meancode]

I bought a used one that had a ton of game saves on it :)

I also believe the cost of new ones went up after the release of the 360 (yes, went up).

[YoshiM]

I had pretty good luck with my EB Refurb that I've had for over 3 years. Only the last few months has the DVD drive been malfunctioning (dirty disc errors). However from what I've read online that seems practically par for the course after a few years. Plus from experience: my bro-in-law's Xbox pretty much gave up the ghost in about the same time frame and he bought his brand a couple of months after I bought mine.

So it's kinda luck of the draw, though for an extra $30 you get a brand spankin' new Xbox (which may have been built better than past systems), a virgin controller and that Forza racing game.

[norkusa]

Just make sure you get one with a Samsung drive and you should be good, refurb or not.

As far as guns go, the only one I've used was the Pelican sniper rifle, which totally sucked for Silent Scope. Wasn't too bad when using it for HotD III, but even with the stock and barrel removed, the thing was still too heavy to play with for long amounts of time. The pump re-load action was fun though.

[tholly]

id just buy new.....no scratches, dirty, unknown problems, unknown abuse....plus, how much more is it over a preowned....

[Slate]

Buy one new, But make sure you get one with a samsung DVD drive (You'll know wich one it is when it has 2 extra circles cut out - My xbox has a samsung and i haven't ever had any DREs with it unless it really was the disc that was bad)

[PapaStu]

I've had 2 (well 3 but the third one is still sealed up) Xbox's. My original Thompson Drive finally crapped out on me (for the most part) last summer and I bought a new one (from JibbaJaba) and it had a Samsung drive and its been totally fine. I'd recomend getting a new one over a used one since the systems are going out of production getting a new one ensures a longer shelf life than one thats been played for who knows how long and had who knows what happen to it if you buy a used one. The EB/GS refurb policy does not really give me the warm fuzzies and i've read numerous accounts of people having to go through 3 or 4 systems before they even get a fully working PS2/Xbox.

In regards to the lightguns, theres a Mad Catz gun (officially licensed for House Of The Dead 3) thats pretty sweet. Considering how few games support it, its where I recommend you toss your money.

Click Me! (http://www.ebgames.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=801509)

[roushimsx]

If you care at all about playing Panzer Dragoon Orta, Jet Set Radio Future, Gunvalkyrie, or Voodoo Vince in 480p, make sure you get an older Xbox (1.3 or earlier) :(

[erehwon]

If you care at all about playing Panzer Dragoon Orta, Jet Set Radio Future, Gunvalkyrie, or Voodoo Vince in 480p, make sure you get an older Xbox (1.3 or earlier) :(

Could you explain?

[ProgrammingAce]

The games listed are hard coded to support the older video chipset. Microsoft changed to a newer video chipset after the 1.3. Several older games won't run in progressive scan with the newer xboxes.

[erehwon]

Do you know if there is a fix? I'm planning on picking up a xbox soon and was looking at a new one. I'm gaming on a 13" non-HDTV with component inputs. I probably wouldn't notice a big difference right now, but I plan on upgrading in the near future to a better tv.

[LiquidPolicenaut]

Well, after going through all the opinions on here, I decided to just get a used one from Gamestop. Mine had one small scuff, not really noticeable. I did a nice cleaning job on it and it looks better now :) I had to check the harddrive to see what was on it and the guy/girl who owned it had some saves that were basically useless to me and had like 25 cd's on there.....and I erased about 23 of them lol. So far, Im liking my JSRF, HotD3...but not so much Doom 3. Too many corridors. I have Outrun Coast 2 Coast, Dreamfall and Panzer Dragoon coming too. Since I'm not using my Xbox to go online nor do I like FPS (yes, I tried Doom 3 ause once upon a time I did like Doom), so I waited awhile to warrant a purchase of the system. Thanks for all the opinions.

[emperorx]

If you care at all about playing Panzer Dragoon Orta, Jet Set Radio Future, Gunvalkyrie, or Voodoo Vince in 480p, make sure you get an older Xbox (1.3 or earlier) :(

I made an odd discovery the other day about Jet Set Radio Future and 480p incompatibility on the newer Xboxes.
My Xbox is the newest version, 1.6 I think,
and it does not play Panzer Dragoon Orta in 480p.
So, I was surprised when I tested out Jet Set
Radio Future on the Sega GT 2002/JSRF disc and it worked fine. Perhaps the version on the combo disc does work? I double checked the dashboard to make sure it was set to 480p and it was.