XBox games

[WilliamLX]

Hi bought my 8 year old son an XBox 360 250GB yesterday and got the new Star Wars games as the bundled title. Microsoft are a mean bunch, sell an HD console and don't include the HDMI cable! Any way, I just wondered if you could recommend a few age suitable titles. A good but not to hard core driving game and anything Crash Badicote (not sure if that is available on the XBox but it was one of his favorites on the PS2) like.

[WilliamLX]

bump

[Big-Pete]

Dirt 2 or FIA WRC 2010 are good driving games, There's also forza 3 (or Forza 3 Ultimate) but it's more of a simulator really than and arcade'ish game, Or next week there's Need For Speed Hot Pursuit out on the 16th Nov, thats a good arcade / fun game, and also Blood Drive which is a driving game where you mow down zombies in various forms of vehicular combat Thats out on the 19th and it's only about £17 from places such as Shopto.net

As for the HDMI cable, Both MS and Sony sell a packaged HDMi cable seperate to the console, The PS3 Slim I bought also came with a standard HDMi cable, You used to get a HD Component lead with the 360, but like you say now consoles only come with standard A/V leads..

Blood Drive
In Blood Drive contestants must use their motorized death steeds of steel in a televised game show where drivers battle each other and hordes of revolting flesh eaters in an all-out fight to the death. Face undead frat boys, cops, strippers and bachelorette partiers, each with their own special brand of death and devastation – and ways to die! While these rotting monsters wander the streets of a desert sin city craving sweet, succulent brains, your enemies have come equipped battle hardened armed vehicles, including heavily weaponized muscle cars, hot rods, and more. Amidst this gore-drenched mayhem contestants must use their head or lose it!
Blood Drive features several gruesome events set up as tournaments in the game's six unforgiving environments. Battling for top position is even more satisfying in multiplayer modes where up to four friends can drop in and drop out of the bloodbath at any time. With such a target rich environment, it won't take you long before you send the endless mass of blood-thirsty zombies and battle hardened maniacs back to hell, one ****** tire-tread at a time!

Dirt 2

• DiRT 2 official trailer, Ken Block hype trailer, Ken Block riding on DiRT trailer, Codemasters studio Tour
• Ken Block Gymkhana practice, Gymkhana two the infomercial, Gymkhana two build, Mtn lab 1.5 snow park NZ, 171 rally car jump, Pastrana + Block moto & rally jump, DC teamworks tour

Following on the success of the original Dirt as well as a decade of videogame development in partnership with the late Colin McRae, DiRT 2 explores various disciplines of off-road racing. Dirt 2 features a roster of contemporary off-road events, taking players to the most diverse and challenging real-world environments. This World Tour has players competing in aggressive multi-car and intense solo races at extraordinary new locations, from canyon racing and jungle trails to city stadium-based events.

• Powered by the third generation of the EGO Engine's award-winning racing game technology, Dirt 2 benefits from tuned-up car-handling physics system and new damage engine effects.
• Showcases a spectacular new level of visual fidelity, with cars and tracks twice as detailed as those seen in Race Driver: GRID.
• Dirt 2's garage houses a best-in-class collection of officially licensed rally cars and off-road vehicles, specifically selected to deliver aggressive and fast paced racing. Covering seven vehicle classes, players will be given the keys to powerful vehicles right from the off. In DiRT 2 the opening drive is the Group N Subaru; essentially making the ultimate car from the original game the starting point in the sequel and the rides just get even more impressive.
• In addition to the World Tour, DiRT 2 will come complete with full online functionality that will be core to the overall experience, with head-to-head competitive online play and new social features to engage the racing community.
• Headlined by Colin McRae, honoring the life of the rally legend. Colin McRae, who consulted on the series for over ten years, tragically died in a helicopter accident in September 2007. The decision to continue the famous series bearing his name was made jointly between the McRae family and Codemasters.

[B]

Forza 3 Ultimate Collection

Summer is long gone, but Motorsport fans can enjoy a steaming hot October with the arrival of the Forza Motorsport 3 Ultimate Collection. As the name kind of hints (very strongly) this is the award-winning Xbox 360 racer from Turn 10 studios plus a heck of a lot more, including new content thanks to a partnership with the BBC’s Top Gear.
Yes, Forza Motorsport has begun a long-term agreement with Top Gear that will bring exclusive download content to series fans on Xbox 360. For starters this means that the game includes an Xbox LIVE downloadable content card that gives access to three of the hottest new cars in the world: The Koenigsegg CCX, LEXUS LFA, and Mercedes Benz SLS-AMG. These vehicles form part of “Stig’s Garage Car Pack”; The Stig being an impossibly skilled driver well known to Top Gear fans.
In addition to Stig’s Garage Car Pack, there’s a 90-minute Top Gear video and an Xbox LIVE Theme featuring Top Gear. Also included in the Forza Motorsport 3 Ultimate Collection are all previously released add-ons from Xbox LIVE; boosting your garage to include 500 vehicles with more than 100 track configurations to race.
The Forza Motorsport 3 Ultimate Collection launches with a roar of thunder on 29 October, exclusively for Xbox 360.

[B]

WRC FIA World Rally Championship
This is the official game of the FIA World Rally Championship, bringing fans as close to the action as possible.
ROAD TO WRC: face the extraordinary career mode which will allow you to go through the steps of a real driver of WRC! Start by building up your own team and participating in regional championship, moving step by step to most prestigious categories and conquering a contract with the official teams of WRC
TIME ATTACK: choose your favourite car to set the record on your favourite special! You’ll be able to upload the ghost of your best performance and download those of the world record holders!
ONLINE RANKING: compete in the online section facing the other players worldwide: you’ll be able to organize or participate to completely customizable Single Stages, Single Rallies or Championships! Earn experience with your performances and raise your online ranking to become the Number One!
INCREDIBLE WEATHER CONDITIONS: from the snowy tracks in Sweden to the dusty desert in Jordan, through the technical asphalt trails in Spain!
ADDITIONAL GAME FEATURES! Unlock an exclusive set of liveries and sponsors for each car in the game! Experience all the four official car categories of JWRC, PWRC, SWRC and WRC championships! Work on your favourite car settings! Exploit your co-driver audio notes to master the hardest sections of each track and to bring the game to utmost extreme realism! Use the voting system to choose your favourite rally and play in it!

[WilliamLX]

Thanks Blood Drive sounds like it would be his kind of thing. Any older titles that could be picked up 2nd hand, just to give hime a selection on X-mas day without me spending a fortune?

Game Station wanted to charge me £12 for an HDMI cable, said no thank you and got one for £4.99 in the Argos next door. Just though it was rather mean not to include one given the price of the console and the fact that nearly everyone will have an HD TV who are likley to go for an XBox.