Beyond 360: Add More to Your Xbox

So, you have finally bought an Xbox 360, hooked it up to your HDTV and bought some of the best titles available. The question is: what would you need to further enhance your gaming experienceon your Xbox 360? Here is a quick lineup of our much recommended additional purchases to help you make the most out of the Microsoft gaming system.

Xbox Live

First off, buy an Xbox Live subscription card. These little things can be found in most gaming outlets and convenience stores and also on our Xbox Live Page HERE –making them incredibly accessible. The big picture here is that players get to sign up for an Xbox Live account, take part in multiplayer games and of course, be part of the of the XBL community. With a majority of the Xbox 360’s best games featuring multiplayer functionality, this is a much needed feature. Of course, you will have to have a decent internet connection, and preferably, a good WiFi router. Another advantage of buying a card is that you will not need to input your credit card data online.

Xbox 360 Plug and Play Chargers

Gaming with batteries is hard, and anyone who has had a Nintendo Gameboy or a Sega Gamegear will tell you, those batteries will run out –sooner than you think. So what is a good plan for your wireless controllers when you tend to clock in several hours of gaming each day? Get rechargeable batteries. This is made easy by Microsoft, who sells official rechargeable battery packs that allow you to charge whether your controllers are in standby or in use. This means that you get to enjoy a more seamless gaming experience -and at the same time, save the environment since you will not be throwing batteries in the trash bin every two or three days.

Xbox 360 Headset

Of course, it will take more than a fully charged controller to enjoy a session of online gaming – after all, communication is a the key to having a good time. Try to find a good Xbox 360 compatible headset in order to make full use of the system’s voice chat functionality. While you might have to bear with a few obscenities every now and then (well, a lot more often than we would prefer actually), this allows you to instantly communicate with your team mates in order to formulate strategies, cheer for your squad, or simply talk about how nice the weather has been while you are stalking out a target on your scope.

Xbox 360 controller keyboard

Speaking of chat (pun intended), you might not be too fond of a direct conversational approach. In this case, the Xbox 360 controller keyboard is a great add on. This chat-pad or “Messenger Kit” sticks directly between the controller grips and provides players with a fully functional QWERTY keyboard to make use of while you are gaming and cannot afford to put down the controller. While it does take a while to get used to, being able to instantly type out letters is significantly faster than having to use an onscreen keyboard.

Lastly, to add even more value to your Xbox 360 accessories (outside of gaming on the console itself) you might want to consider purchasing the Wireless Gaming Receiver. This is a great add-on, but only for those who love to play on the PC. This little USB receiver comes with Windows drivers that allow players to use various Xbox 360 accessories on the PC. Of course, you will still need to do a little joypad mapping in order to make full use of your controller, but it certainly is a lot better than having to shell out even more just to buy a separate joypad for your desktop system.