Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

If you take nothing else away from this review, understand that the Arcade bundle is simply an Xbox 360 without a hard drive and some games thrown in. The games are nothing to go crazy about, but you can't beat the price. The fact that this version doesn't have a hard drive is important because backwards compatibility (the ability to play old Xbox games) relies on emulator software which gets installed to the hard drive. If you hear someone saying that the Arcade version can't play old Xbox games, they probably don't realize that all you have to do is install a hard drive. Microsoft is running a promotion where you can get a 20GB hard drive with a free Gold Live subscription for around $30. This is way cheaper than retail. It's also worth mentioning that some industrious individuals have figured out how use an inexpensive (~$60) 120GB (Western Digital BEVS) hard drive rather than paying four times as much for Microsoft's version. If you're interested I suggest googling "HDDHackr". It appears that Microsoft has made some improvements on the Xbox 360 since they first came out, especially in cooling to help prevent the dreaded "Red Ring of Death" (RROD) which results from your console overheating. This is a great reason to buy one of these new consoles rather than a used one or old bundle. If you've got the money, check out the Pro or Elite. If you're like me and would rather put that cash into a premium drum set for Rock Band 2 or rechargeable wireless controllers, the Arcade version is a great option.