Xbox 360 Slim Halo Reach Edition Review
I really enjoy writing reviews. I wanted to find out more about the newer Xbox “special edition” bundles.
Video games are fun for me to play and before I studied them in detail, I didn’t realize how many different options there were. I always bought whatever had the best (lowest) price.
Now I know better. You get what you pay for, so in order to get the best deal, I looked closely at all the options out there. Following a great deal of research, I decided on the Xbox 360 Slim Halo Reach Edition.
When You Buy an Xbox, Double-Check These Features
Here are the most critical things to consider when buying any game console:
* Hard Drive
* Number of Controllers
* CPU/Chipset
* Wi-Fi
* Kinect Compatibility
* Console Color/Theme
* Included Games
If all you do is scan the list for the lowest price, you’re going to regret it, believe me. Let me explain each one of these items and tell you how it’s related to when you buy Xbox 360 Slim Halo Reach Edition.
250GB Hard Drive
It comes with a 250gb hard drive. If you own an older Xbox that has a small (say, 20gb) harddrive, you probably feel like it’s a bit of a hassle trying to fit new games or movies or music etc. Usually, just deleting older content was your only option. And the fact that you had PAID for it all wasn’t helping any either! The small drives are just too small to hold much. Well, once you get this puppy and get everything switched over to the new 250gb hard drive, you’ll find out and realize you still have plenty of space for more stuff. A larger drive has an added bonus of making games go smoother during play and the whole system will run a heck of a lot quieter as well. Specifically, with a 250gb hard drive, you can install twenty to twenty five games with room to spare.
Two Wireless Controllers
This Slim Halo Reach console comes with 2 wireless controllers. They run on non-rechargeable batteries. You can buy an Xbox360 Charging Base for about 25 bucks on Amazon. With the charger, the two wireless controllers fit nice and tight in the charger base while they’re recharging. If you have kids, maybe you’ve seen them fight things. With 2 controllers, they don’t have to argue about which one can play – they can just play simultaneously. At least one user reports that the controllers – compared to previous Xbox controllers – feel nicer, and they specifically mention that the D pad feels much better.
CPU/Chipset
The Xbox360 Halo – like all Slim Xbox 360s – are built upon the new 45 nanometer Valhalla motherboard architecture. This allows your Xbox to consume less electricity (environmentally friendly) and also run much more quiet and cool.
Headset
The headset is wired (not wireless.) It’s a standard headset, nothing spectacular. It is not Halo-themed.
Console Color/Theme
The Halo edition has a Halo-themed silver matte design. If you have any black furniture you know that it shows the dust really bad. The silver Xbox 360 Halo Reach console not only looks good among all the black in the typical entertainment center but also is a much better design.
The Halo Edition comes with custom sounds, which many users say they really like a lot. Hit the power button and you hear the Halo Reach sound effects. Hit other controls and you hear them as well. Most people report that the sounds, far from being annoying – which many expected them to be – are actually quite enjoyable and add to the overall mood of the Halo playing experience.
Wi-Fi
Built-in wi-fi makes connecting easy and trouble-free. This makes the need for an expensive network adapter a thing of the past. Having said that, if you never move your Xbox around, then connecting it via Ethernet may be fine. But if you plan to have any mobility requirements at all, then the wi-fi feature is very nice – and many buyers say, long overdue.
How Much Does It Cost?
We’ve seen the Xbox 360 Slim Halo Reach Edition listed for as much as $600 on some online retailers. But that is way too much. You should not be paying more than $430 for this Xbox bundle. The best price we could find on Amazon where they regularly sell this bundle for under $400.
What’s Included:
* The Xbox 360 Halo Reach-themed console
* The Halo Reach game
* Free download of the Halo Legends movie
* Power supply
* Black headset
* Standard A/V cables for TV
* Wall outlet cable for power supply
* 1 Ethernet cable
* Two Halo Reach Controllers
Do You Get Any Warranty?
This Xbox 360 Slim Halo Reach Edition bundle comes with a 1 year warranty.
What Others Say
This particular Xbox360 bundle got really good reviews from purchasers. It received an amazing 4.5 (of a possible 5) from 106 reviewers on the Amazon website.
These are some actual comments:
* “This console looks great and sounds great!”
* “I’m quite happy with this purchase.”
* “…very quiet and runs very cool.”
* “…one thing that I love the most is that its not a dust magnet”
* “I recommend this product to anyone who is looking to get a new xbox.”
* “This console looks great and sounds great!”
Any Negative Feedback From Buyers?
We found some complaints about this Xbox bundle. The most frequent complaint centered around the lack of an HDMI cable. But as others mentioned, this seems to be the norm nowadays with any video game console you buy. But an HDMI cable is cheap – only around $6 or so, so people seem to agree it’s not that big a deal.
Where Can You Buy the Xbox 360 Slim Halo Reach Edition Bundle?
You can buy this Xbox 360 Slim Halo Reach Edition Console from Amazon. Currently, Amazon has free shipping. It seems by looking at the various prices online that Amazon has the best deal – especially when you factor in that free shipping. Click here to see it on Amazon.
Where Can You Read More Reviews for the Xbox360 MW2 Limited Edition Console?
Amazon is the best place to read actual purchaser reviews of the item