It’s tough to know just what you need when you purchase a new console gaming system. So we thought we’d give you a little heads-up on the Xbox. Pre-orders for the Xbox usually required that you choose a couple of games to get with it. Hopefully one of the titles you picked was HALO, and we’re betting if you’re checking this out, then you’ve already gotten the skinny on the other launch titles. The big names are all still the same: HALO, Munch’s Oddysee, Mad Dash, Dead or Alive 3, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2X are all looking like must-play titles. Other notable mentions include NFL Fever 2002, Project Gotham Racing, 4x4 Evo 2, Fuzion Frenzy, and Dark Summit also look very interesting. You can click here to get the full story on all of the Xbox launch titles.

Your Xbox will come packaged in a tidy little box with one controller, a power cable and the A/V cables. These are all set to plug into standard RCA jacks and should work with most televisions and VCRs. If your pre-order package didn’t come with an extra controller, you’ll probably want to pick one of those up, which will set you back about $40. On the cost-saving end of things, you need no memory card. That Xbox has a 10GB hard drive in there and that will suffice to save game data for a long time. Xbox memory cards will really only be useful if you want to transport game data from your house to a friend’s. If you’re psyched to play HALO with the multi-system link function (LAN bash style), you’ll also want to pick up a link cable. If you want to play DVDs on your Xbox, be sure to pick up the DVD Playback Kit, which enables the movie-playing functions of your Xbox and includes a remote control.