Xbox Live
This is a guest post by BigDaddy
As I’m not a ‘serious’ gamer and have only ever had the Arcade version of the Xbox (no hard drive) I had never considered joining the massive online community that is Xbox Live. We were sent a new Xbox 360 Elite console with 12 months Gold membership and a few games to play as part of Littlemummy?s role as an Xbox ambassador. The gold level membership requires a subscription (?39.99 a year) and for this you’re able to download HD movies, games, demos, add-ons for games you already own, music and so much more. Some of this content is free and some costs Microsoft points which you can buy online or in shops. This is quite a good idea for us parents as it stops the kids going crazy with your credit card! You can preload the points and when they are gone that?s it. There are also parental controls which you can use to restict the download of content which you feel is inappropriate for your kids. You can even restrict how long your kids can play the Xbox for by inputting a set play-time limit.
Silver membership is free but the content you can download is limited (no movies).
The main reason to be online that I can see is to play games against friends over the internet. Gone are the days when you and your mates huddled around the portable TV in your bedroom, squinting to see the small section of the screen which was yours while tripping over all the wires from the extra controllers you had to plug in. These days all you need is an Xbox and a broadband connection, sign up to Xbox live and you?re away. This is truly great fun and gives games a new lease of life in multiplayer mode as you can play people you know or people you don?t from all over the world. That is quite remarkable and really good fun.
You can also use Xbox live to keep up with your friends on Facebook and Twitter and it also lets you see which of your friends on these sites have Xbox Live accounts. I use this quite a lot as it saves powering up your laptop/PC all the time and it?s cool to see photos on your TV (yes, I am a geek!). You can also use it to stream Sky TV through your Xbox (either on a pay-per-view or subscription basis).
All in all I would say Xbox Live is well worth getting and paying for to maximise your console. I will definitely be renewing my subscription when it runs out. The only downside of the whole thing is that the console itself is not Wi-Fi capable, a wireless adapter is available but is quite costly (?59.99). This is the ONLY thing the Xbox rivals have to their advantage as the Xbox Live online is far superior experience to any other, I highly recommend it!!
We have Xbox live in our house!
Rather jealous of Littlemummy?s role as an Xbox ambassador!! I cant get enough of DJ hero & CSI 
Had my 360 for over a year, wouldn’t be without it
We have Rockband Emma and love it, what do you do on DJ?
Martin – We have Wii and Xbox but play the Xbox much more.
Ooh snap! I’m an XBox ambassador too! (hence the rather crap video). No, I haven’t purchased the wireless adaptor yet. My two are mad on Banjo Kazooey and the little gardening game,what’s it called? Viva Pinata? I’m sure E would like it, its dead cute! x
Did you get Fable II? Quite enyoying that.
It’s like learning to be a DJ! Just like rockbank & guitar hero! I’m into those kinda games where as the OH is into fifa & final fantasy!
[...] Littlemummy.Com ? Xbox Live [...]
DJ hero sounds quite cool emma, may have to give that a go as I’m addicted to rockband. DJ battles online would be quite cool!
I have XBOX Live and Playstation Network (which is free). I like both, but the XBOX is a little more polished than the PS3 one. You can also watch SKY on the XBOX which is pretty cool.
OMG I am aso an Xbox Ambassador. I’m a bit pants at it but think I could get into Fable. I have watched a film on Xbox live and my bros are Xbox peeps so I plan on popping up and surprising them soon.
[...] which was sent to us as part of my role as an Xbox ambassador. Read a review on our Xbox Live experience here, or watch my embarrassing video on parental controls for the Xbox [...]