Yeah I know what you mean, they are both great in their own ways.

With the games that you listed in the OP, your friends all having Xboxes and the internet being out of the question then I would definitely go with the Xbox360.

Now you asked about the red ring of death earlier... This was a BIG problem for the earlier versions where they used poor quality solder on the mobo and inferior cooling compounds for the CPU, resulting in the separation of components when the Xbox started to over heat. The problems eventually became less frequent with later board revisions though and the latest model seems to be rather solid machines (OK they did take the LED out that displayed the Red Ring lol).

I would buy the new system too, as you will get the full store & manufactures warranty. Stay away from 2nd hand and return units!!! You can never be sure of their history.

*Disclaimer; I have known many people over the years that have gone through several Xboxes and I'm only speaking from their experiences and from those others who have reported this on the web. MY OWN Xbox is an original launch model (bought on the day of release in the UK) and has never faltered once, to the dismay of my friends. Lol