XBOX 3 BIGGEST TRICKS

1. Connect your Xbox 360 to
two screens at once

If you've got one of the
component/composite dual
video cables – the one that
comes in the box with most
360s – you can have your
console display its gamey
goodness on two TVs
simultaneously. The trick is
to flick the cable's switch to
Standard Definition but hook
up the composite (yellow)
cable to one screen and the
component (the red, green,
blue) cables to another. It
won't be high-def, but it
could be handy if you're
staging a mini LAN party and
want to set up a display for
bored spectators to point
their eyes at.

2. Play Xbox 360 games
online for free – without a
Live account

That you have to pay a
subscription for online
gaming, something that's free
on other consoles and on the
PC, is perhaps the 360's
greatest bugbear. Stage your
own form of peaceful process
by playing online without
paying a penny. You'll need
XLink Kai , a free app you run
from a PC on the same
network as the console that
tricks the 360 into thinking
the internet is a LAN.
So it'll treat remote
opponents as though they're
in the same room as you –
and you don't have to pay for
local multiplayer. Clever! One
snag – Microsoft has set the
360 to boot out anyone with
a ping higher than 30ms, so
you'll have to be selective
about who you play with.
Local chums are best, not
your Chinese penpal.

3. Play your own music in
original Xbox games

That you can fire up your own
MP3s during a 360 game is
common knowledge (and re-
soundtracking moody horror
games with the Benny Hill
theme tune never stops being
funny), but it doesn't work if
you're playing a title from the
original Xbox. There's a way
around it – start playing your
album or playlist before you
load the game, and it'll keep
on playing once you do fire
the title up. The game's own
music won't be muted,
however, so if you can't do
that in its settings you'll go
mad from the weird
cacophony.