GamerSpeak:

Girlfriend's Guide to Xbox 360: Part Two

The old saying, "If you can't beat them, join them," has been passed on from generation to generation. I vowed to myself that Xbox 360™ was not an item that would teach me that lesson. As far as I am concerned, it is a waste of time and space.

Of course, that was before my last article.   Since then I have only learned cooler, money-saving tips on my boyfriend's Xbox 360.

Long-Distance Chat
First there was Xbox Live® (where I first discovered Marketplace), but now there is free long-distance chat and it is unlimited! Call of Duty® 2 really sucked my boyfriend, borgd, in and I was always sure to make fun of him for wearing that silly headset while he played. My mom in Arizona feels my pain (I live in Seattle). My little brother is just as big a sucker for the World War II first-person shooter (FPS) game. As we complained and gossiped over the phone for hours wasting our precious limited cell phone minutes, I realized we should be using the headsets!

After wrestling the controller from my boyfriend's hands I managed to hook up with my girlfriend via Xbox Live. For a measly 60 dollars a year, I can talk to anyone around the globe for as long as I want.

At first, I had to get past feeling the dork level rise when I put on the headset so I made the most out of it and made my boyfriend document the experience.

See? Not dorky at all.

Now there's a wireless headset too. How cool is that? It's Bluetooth gone Xbox 360. I love it, and so does my mom. She signs on as my bro, rickdog77, and we talk as long as we want.

It Plays Games Too?
I don't know about you, but I am not the type of person who likes to think when playing video games. Pong never made me think and neither did Duck Hunt. There is no way I can sit for hours and focus on The Elder Scrolls® IV: Oblivion™ or FINAL FANTASY® XI. Role-playing games take so much time and detail to play that they do not interest me at all. Then, along came Kameo™: Elements of Power™.

Kameo is this talented chick that morphs into different characters that help you beat the ogres throughout different levels. While the game features all the next-generation aspects that Xbox 360 includes, it also has a Whatnot Book that offers help whenever you need it. If you are stuck, with one click of a button, you have directions on what to do next. This makes it so simple to ease your way into this new realm of video games. I am hooked!

Xbox Live Arcade
I have to be honest—I can't play Kameo for hours and hours. I do need a break! Then I found Xbox Live Arcade. These games are so fun to play and include puzzle games, retro arcade games, card and board games, and many others. Try them out with a free demo before you buy them.

My favorites? Definitely Zuma® Deluxe and Hexic® HD. In fact, Hexic comes pre-loaded on the Xbox 360 Hard Drive. All of these games are under 20 bucks. You can't beat a sweet deal—at least I can't, anyway. Give them a try!

Xbox GamerchiX
I love playing sports and racing games, although I haven't purchased any besides Project Gotham Racing® 3 yet. One night I was trying out a multiplayer demo of MotoGP '06 and was playing against all these wanna-be macho men who talked crap the entire time. They talked so much junk that it intimidated me from playing.

It turns out I wasn't the only girl who felt that way, so Xbox created a group called Xbox GamerchiX. It is a women-only group that play games together, compliment each others' game play, and we even have a private forum. Inside the Xbox community resides Xbox GamerchiX, a place girls can go to feel comfortable and get their game on.

I may not be a sucker for Call of Duty 2 but I can honestly say that I joined the Xbox 360 gaming generation and won't make too much fun of my boyfriend for it anymore, because it turns out I am just as bad.

Article by KillaKaiKai