Entering the brave new world of being a dual console owner

By Nadafinga May 11, 2011 22 Comments

I've had a PlayStation 3 for three years now, and have been pretty satisfied in my single console world. Sure, I haven't been able to play some 360 exclusives, but I felt like I wasn't missing out on too much....after all, you can't play every game out there, even on just one console, let alone two. But as time passed, more and more people I knew (both personally and virtually) were getting Xboxes. And more and more exclusives were coming out that looked really good to me. Slowly but surely, I started wanting an Xbox 360. But I am also married, and so I always have that beautiful wife of mine as my voice of reason telling me I didn't need another console. "95% of games come out for both systems," she would say. And she was right...but the longing persisted.

And then, the PSN hack happened. Now, don't get me wrong here. I'm not jumping off the PlayStation ship and swimming over to the Xbox shores to throw rocks at Sony for some ill-conceived "betrayal." I plan on keeping my PS3 and playing many more games on it. Sony got hacked, it sucks, but they'll bounce back from this. Nonetheless, the extended PSN downtime was enough to push me over the edge and pick up a second console. I went with the 250GB model because, c'mon, what's 4GB gonna get me?

As I set up my XBL account last night, I quickly realized why the 360 is a beloved and popular console. The interface is very slick, easy to navigate, and user friendly. The console seems more geared towards connectivity, and the whole vibe screams "fun!" On the other side, the PS3 seems much more simple, maybe a bit dry and sterile. I'm not necessarily saying that's a bad thing either, I actually really like the interface of the PS3. But I can see why some might gravitate towards one console over the other. While they mostly play the same games, their UI couldn't be more different.

Anyway, why am I telling you all this? Well, I want recommendations!  I'm into action games, shooters, I like small indie games too. I already bought Alan Wake, The Gears of War Triple Pack, and Limbo. What other 360 exclusives are must haves? Anything to stay away from? Any advice for a 360 noobie?

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