A simple warning about owning the Xbox 360 in our fine country. Ok fine, we're guilty of the charge ourselves, and we’ve had fun shooting up plenty of shit. This isn’t a “do as I say, not as I do” deal. The simple fact is, it’s not worth it now. Three simple reasons.

Games

We’ve had a console since early this year and till a couple of weeks back, only one game for it. Unsurprisingly, it’s Gears of War. Crap song, but nevermind – great game. Now to keep it company, we have Rainbow Six: Vegas, which I had to ask my friend to buy in Dubai and bring down here. Also a great game, and why the hell isn’t it available here? Let’s take stock of what we do have here.

Gears of War – The only real console shooter I’ve ever played, and one of the best console games out there.

Kameo: Elements of Power – Don’t mind pre-teen games, but the demo I played really didn’t sell me.

Dead Rising – Cool concept, though I hear it gets somewhat aimless as it goes on.

Lost Planet – Pretty decent, the brief mech section in the demo was fun, but the reports are that it gets old before it gets over.

Saints Row – I’m all for a better looking GTA, but for some reason this clone isn’t nearly as fun as any from the original series, at least judging by the demo.

Crackdown – This was actually a blast – players grow to be juggernauts let loose in a free-roaming environment, leaping across buildings, flinging cars at thugs and a whole bunch of other examples of badassery. The cel shading style is a bit inconsistent, but it’s not a huge complaint. However, two sessions with the game and I seem to be around a third of the way through. Not good.

Just Cause – Just keep walking.

Forza Motorsport 2 – I imagine it kicks ass, if you can keep the car on the road.

Project Gotham Racing 3 – All those great cars, and we have to drive them around closed-off city circuits. What a waste.

Burnout: Revenge – Better looking version of an admittedly smashing Xbox game. But I’ve already it played it to death. And there’s no Live.

NFS Most Wanted/Carbon – Already played the first one, mostly disliked the second. This series isn’t what it used to be.

FIFA whatever – The best football game for someone who doesn’t really like football.

Rockstar Table Tennis – It’s table tennis. Unless it has an exploding ball, the real thing is more fun and it’s not that tough to get a game going. You probably need the exercise, too.

Top Spin 2 – I’ll pass.

Dead or Alive 4 – The boob physics are entertaining, and so are the multi-levelled arenas, but otherwise it feels like a second-tier fighting game. Weird that these are the same guys that made the awesome Ninja Gaiden.

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion – Great game, but I can't imagine sneaking around and shooting arrows from the dark with any competence using the gamepad. That's a blow to any aspiring assassin.

Prey – PC shooter. On a console. Bad news.

Call of Duty 3 – See above.

Battlefield 2 – And again.

Viva Pinata – Supposed to be a good nurturing type game – haven’t played it yet.

Yuvraj Singh International Cricket – As bad as any other cricket game out there. Which is pretty bad.

Fight Night Round 3 – Well, it’s not Super Punch-Out but I guess it’s still sort of cool.

Perfect Dark Zero – Disappointing is the word.

N3: Ninety Nine Nights – No idea.

So what, that’s just two clear winners for me – Gears and Forza. Everything else is iffy at best. I know I’m a cheapass, but when you’re expected to shell out 2.5k for a damn game, iffy just won’t cut it. If you’re the kind who can afford to put money down for every game that sounds mildly interesting, I don’t suppose it looks like a major problem, but when you’ve resolved only to buy the best of the lot, and they don’t even bother to sell half of those games, it becomes a huge deal.

It’s not like I’m clamouring for lesser known games like Earth Defence Force 2017 or Lego Star Wars II (though they should be selling that too) – I’m talking blockbuster titles like Guitar Hero II (yes, with the guitar controller!), Rainbow Six: Vegas, and both the Ghost Recon Advance Warfighter games. What’s the deal just sitting on your asses and seeing it to it that we don’t get to play them? Bitch. This is your plan for combating piracy in this country? Making it easier for players with modded consoles to play games?