Downloading Games Onto the Xbox 360 Hard Drive

Tagman · 12-30-2008, 12:21 PM

OK, I think this goes in this forum, but I'm not entirely sure.

This is mostly a question, because I just gat the whole NXE update, and I was wondering if there are any games that would show negative effects if I download it to my Xbox 360's hard drive. Or, if this is even worth my time to download. I have Halo 3, Fallout 3, Gears of War 2, and Bioshock. Help anyone?

Prawnatron · 12-30-2008, 12:23 PM

Can you actually download full games? I thought it was just dlc.

NitRoDrivEn · 12-30-2008, 12:24 PM

Well, I don't own an Xbox 360 but I would generally assume the same applies as on the PS3. Downloading a game has no negative effect other than taking up a huge chunk of hard drive space. I think it might load faster since it's on the hard drive, as opposed to DVD.

Couch · 12-30-2008, 12:33 PM

Nitro's pretty much got it right. You can download games on to your hard drive just like how the PS3 does it. Everything loads faster, but it takes up a chunk of your hard drive. You still need the disc to play the game, however. It has to be in the console, even though it's loading from the hard drive and not the disc.

Tagman · 12-30-2008, 12:39 PM

I pretty sure I'm downloading Fallout 3, and maybe Bioshock. I just got a message while playing Halo 3 too, it said I shouldn't, because it would make game play slower. That's confusing.

Assassin · 12-30-2008, 1:47 PM

Yeah, some games are affected negatively, Halo 3 for example. There's a blog about it on Bungies website. There are probably others too.

woodentoast · 12-30-2008, 2:07 PM

The only game i've been told not to so far was Halo 3, although I only installed games with longer loading screens like Saints Row 2 and GoW2. Ok the loading screens on GoW are fine but I wanted to install it just because I could. It is pretty cool how quietly the game runs, you only really notice how loud your console is once you've done it.

BreakTheWalls · 12-30-2008, 2:29 PM

It's a really useful feature. Loading times are made quicker (though not by much, depending on certain games) and the machine doesn't make as much sound then. Very helpful at avoiding certain coloured rings.

hbk · 01-04-2009, 6:10 AM

I really haven't even noticed a difference when a game isn't or is installed on a hard drive.

Hickabod · 01-04-2009, 6:23 AM

I installed all my Guitar Hero games, the difference is noticeable, but I wouldn't go out and buy a bigger HDD just for the feature.

Derelict · 01-04-2009, 6:25 AM

Has anyone done it for Left 4 Dead? I'm considering it. I hate how long that game takes to load every time.

Hickabod · 01-04-2009, 6:31 AM

I thought about it, but then I realised that if you're playing online it'd make no difference, because you'd have to wait for the slowest person to load each level too.

Derelict · 01-04-2009, 6:38 AM

True enough. Even for the title loading, though, it might be worth it. It's not like I use that extra 8gb for anything anyway.

Sarge51 · 01-04-2009, 6:46 AM

As stated before, Halo 3 is one of some that have a negative effect.

and I was going to do Left 4 Dead soon. If you're playing online, yes, it wouldn't make too much of a difference, but when you're playing offline it'll help. Not to mention it quiet downs your system and reduces the usage of your cd-drive, so there's less over-time wear on it. It might even reduce heat buildup just a little bit.

Currently, the only game I have installed is Rock Band 2. and the loading times are fast when I am playing quickplay. Especially when I do setlists, the transition from one song to the next is incredibly fast. It's also fixed a little lag issue (I think.) in the middle of a song when it freezes and continues.

Matterialize · 01-04-2009, 11:14 AM

Would this fix stuff like slow texture loading? I might go and buy the 120GB drive so I can do this with a few games, including Mass Effect.

junglebunny · 01-04-2009, 11:19 AM

How much space does a game generally take up?

Hickabod · 01-04-2009, 11:31 AM

Between 2-5GB depending on the game

Benjaman · 01-04-2009, 11:42 AM

Any idea for Oblivion? It's a rather large game and I don't have a very large drive.

Tagman · 01-06-2009, 4:19 PM

I installed Fallout 3 (About 7gb) and noticed a few seconds difference in load times. I'm thinking about installing GoW2, but the load times aren't that bad as it is.

I haven't noticed any negative effect other than a large chunk of my hard drive taken up.

Tempest · 01-06-2009, 7:20 PM

I installed Rock Band 2 simply so that it would run cooler and quieter on my system. Load times are quite a bit better as a result as well, but the whole cooler/quieter thing was a great success and I love it.

NutButters · 01-06-2009, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tagman

I installed Fallout 3 (About 7gb) and noticed a few seconds difference in load times. I'm thinking about installing GoW2, but the load times aren't that bad as it is.

I haven't noticed any negative effect other than a large chunk of my hard drive taken up.

GOW 2 ran a lot better after I installed it to the HD. I also have Fallout 3 installed, but haven't noticed too much. Out of the few games I copied, Gears had the biggest difference.

Kwanza · 01-06-2009, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derelict

Has anyone done it for Left 4 Dead? I'm considering it. I hate how long that game takes to load every time.

Left 4 Dead had great results, saved about 8-15 seconds off the initial load for me.

Tried it with Fallout 3 and GTAIV, didn't notice a lot of difference sadly.

Matterialize · 01-06-2009, 11:38 PM

Mass Effect still has texture popping. I guess the disc not spinning is good, but that's about it for that game.

opn4bzns · 01-07-2009, 12:40 AM

I doubt the difference will be big for games that aren't pc ports, since native games are probably optimised to read off a dvd, whereas pc ports should be optimised for hard drives.

NVM · 01-07-2009, 2:39 PM

My friend gave me an arcade disk he got with his cheap 360.
I wonder if I install that, they would work off my hardrive like regular arcade games.
Doubt it, though.

Also I previosuly installed Dead Rising which sort of helped, but not really.

Sarge51 · 03-24-2009, 3:51 PM

Thought I'd bump this since there's been a load of new games released and maybe you guys had some experience with installing them.

Dead Rising definitely has a significant difference for me. Usually when those random loading screens come up to show cutscenes I'd have to wait for what seems like forever for it to load, and transitioning to other parts of the mall takes about half the time. Dead Rising is definitely worth it if you're playing it a lot and working on getting achievements, and is especially useful for getting the 5/7 Day Survivor achievement.

I'd like to know if Bioshock has any difference. Haven't play it in a good while but I remember the loading screens taking a little while.

Tasty · 03-25-2009, 12:20 PM

Fable two loads regions instantly and doesn't make your box sound like a speedboat if you install it.

Chips · 03-26-2009, 2:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BreakTheWalls

It's a really useful feature. Loading times are made quicker (though not by much, depending on certain games) and the machine doesn't make as much sound then. Very helpful at avoiding certain coloured rings.

Just wondering how this helps? Genuine question here. I also installed Mass Effect like Matt did and didn't see much difference. The texture popping is still there but it kinda loads a tiny bit faster. Not enough to actually care about but it does sound so much better running from the hard drive. The noise was actually getting annoying after a while (probably when I first started noticing it).

Found a list of games that have notes saying whether it's worth installing or not.

Sarge51 · 03-26-2009, 2:24 AM

Anything that the console doesn't have to do helps a bit. I'm sure disc reading generates some heat of some sort. Take away that factor and that's just that much less heat to worry about.

BKS · 03-26-2009, 6:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Assassin

Yeah, some games are affected negatively, Halo 3 for example. There's a blog about it on Bungies website. There are probably others too.

I heard that this can affect Rock Band as well, but Im not positive.

If I had a bigger HDD, I'd use it, but has anyone seen a difference?

junglebunny · 03-26-2009, 9:55 AM

Skate 2 loads in about half the time. And it has less texture loading issues.

LaughBoo · 10-26-2009, 4:53 AM

Those links in your post should be able to help you out.

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Blueblobb · 10-26-2009, 6:59 AM

I downloaded Gears, Oblivion, and Mass Effect. I don't even see the game get textures in Gears anymore, Oblivion certainly seems smoother and quicker to load, and Mass Effect textures don't materialize while playing. I think downloading these games makes them a lot smoother, just the little bits at least.

laura6712 · 11-03-2009, 8:20 PM

hi guys

i just got my xbox360 mod, now i would like to download games for free from where i can download...Any good xbox 360 game downloads site where i can download fast n new games..so i can play burn games..Thanks

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LandMarkMoon · 11-03-2009, 8:21 PM

You are probably like the other idiots that got banned off of xbox live for modding.

Thanks, Laura aka some fat dude behind a pc.

LaughBoo · 11-03-2009, 8:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaughBoo

Those links in your post should be able to help you out.

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Imo, this thread should be locked. There is no need for it to be open, no more discussion. And its getting adbots, for the same place. Coincidence? I think not.

LandMarkMoon · 11-03-2009, 8:26 PM

Not everybody is fucking Nostradamus.

IMHO, shut the fuck up. Downloading games on the hard drive isn't as beneficial for some games as others so it's actually helpful to know which ones suck balls when you save them.

But you seem to know everything, I don't.

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john41martin21 · 11-04-2009, 4:04 PM

I downloaded NCAA 10 football, and its like i dont have to worry about loading screens anymore.

B3n · 11-05-2009, 5:17 AM

When the update first came out, I downloaded Gears of War 2, and it made online play even worse than it already was. Laggy and such. Loading was faster, but playability went down a lot.

785 · 11-05-2009, 7:54 AM

From my experience, downloading a game to your hard drive avoids you from needing to buy the game again if it gets scratched. One of my games, "Call of Duty: World at war" got scratched months ago, but my brother had the game as well, so he let me install it onto the hard drive and now I can play it again while still using the scratched disc. All the Xbox needs is confirmation that the disc for the game is in the console. The disc doesn't need to work properly. It does need to know that it's Call of Duty in there, but that's all. I haven't noticed it speed anything up, or quiet anything down, but I have noticed that I can play my scratched games. :)