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I don't think anyone's posted this information so far, a google search of Freeola certainly didn't bring anything up.
Anyway, the thing is that while a lot of games are region-locked, and hence US or Asian copies won't work on PAL machines, there are a select few games which aren't. Games which can be had, legally, much cheaper than in the UK by buying from Play Asia or another importer such as Lik-Sang. Typically, a 360 game that has an RRP of £49.99 in this country, can be imported, and will work fine on a UK console, usually in English, for a grand total of £22 quid including P+P.
There's a complete list of 360 games that work on other region consoles here which is updated all the time.
I've had a couple of games this way, most recently Prey, which arrived in the space of about four days and worked perfectly, and was in English, but I'm also considering getting Saints Row, another region-free Asian title. So far, the below games work. These links are affiliated, so I get a few pence if you buy through it - I couldn't find anything in the rules about this, but if there's a problem and the mods want to remove the links, going to play-asia.com and searching should do the job. Some US 360 games are also region-free but they're generally pricier. The reason for using Play-Asia or similar isn't so much to get games faster - games generally hit the UK and US before or at the same time as Japan. No, the reason I use Play-Asia is the ability to save about 20 quid a throw on a game!
Remember, only the below Asian games have been noted to be region-free. Other foreign games will likely *not* work on a UK 360.
Blazing Angels - Out of Stock at time of writing.
Call of Duty 2 - Out of stock but available to order at time of writing.
Far Cry Instincts Predator - In stock at time of writing.
Gun - Out of stock at time of writing.
Hitman: Blood Money - In stock at time of writing.
Moto GP 06 - In stock at time of writing.
Tomb Raider - Legend - In stock at time of writing.
Prey - In stock at time of writing.
Quake 4 - Dispatches within 1-5 days at time of writing.
Saints Row - Out of stock at time of writing.
Rockstar's Table Tennis - Dispatches within 1-5 days at time of writing.
Tom Clancy's Advanced Warfighter - Out of stock at time of writing.
X-Men III - The Movie Game - In stock at time of writing.
So what's the catch?
Well, there's no big catch, but there a few things to remember. Firstly, while the games come boxed with manuals and so far, it may say 'only for sale in Asia' or something on it. My copy of Prey had a little sticker on it to this effect, so I don't know if you'd get any trade in at places like Gamestation.
Secondly, there is the risk of import charges. Any item more expensive than £17.99 can be charged duty on if it's caught, which could cost you perhaps a fiver or so extra. However, at the time I ordered my last game, Play-Asia did agree to mark the games down to half price. I don't know if they still do this, but if they do then you shouldn't get duty charges, but you will only get that amount of money back if the game goes missing. Customs may not catch the parcel anyway, but it's a risk.
And finally, these games tend to go fast. Some of the ones on the list are out of stock, but if they come back in stock they'll likely go out of stock again fairly quickly.
Remember
It's only a select few 360 games that work on UK and Asian consoles together. Most games are in fact region-locked. Test Drive Unlimited, for example, is region-locked. Which is especially a pain in the backside when you realize that it's a budget title in the US, costing around twenty-five pounds, but a full price title here. But that's another rant entirely.
Anyway, the thing is that while a lot of games are region-locked, and hence US or Asian copies won't work on PAL machines, there are a select few games which aren't. Games which can be had, legally, much cheaper than in the UK by buying from Play Asia or another importer such as Lik-Sang. Typically, a 360 game that has an RRP of £49.99 in this country, can be imported, and will work fine on a UK console, usually in English, for a grand total of £22 quid including P+P.
There's a complete list of 360 games that work on other region consoles here which is updated all the time.
I've had a couple of games this way, most recently Prey, which arrived in the space of about four days and worked perfectly, and was in English, but I'm also considering getting Saints Row, another region-free Asian title. So far, the below games work. These links are affiliated, so I get a few pence if you buy through it - I couldn't find anything in the rules about this, but if there's a problem and the mods want to remove the links, going to play-asia.com and searching should do the job. Some US 360 games are also region-free but they're generally pricier. The reason for using Play-Asia or similar isn't so much to get games faster - games generally hit the UK and US before or at the same time as Japan. No, the reason I use Play-Asia is the ability to save about 20 quid a throw on a game!
Remember, only the below Asian games have been noted to be region-free. Other foreign games will likely *not* work on a UK 360.
Blazing Angels - Out of Stock at time of writing.
Call of Duty 2 - Out of stock but available to order at time of writing.
Far Cry Instincts Predator - In stock at time of writing.
Gun - Out of stock at time of writing.
Hitman: Blood Money - In stock at time of writing.
Moto GP 06 - In stock at time of writing.
Tomb Raider - Legend - In stock at time of writing.
Prey - In stock at time of writing.
Quake 4 - Dispatches within 1-5 days at time of writing.
Saints Row - Out of stock at time of writing.
Rockstar's Table Tennis - Dispatches within 1-5 days at time of writing.
Tom Clancy's Advanced Warfighter - Out of stock at time of writing.
X-Men III - The Movie Game - In stock at time of writing.
So what's the catch?
Well, there's no big catch, but there a few things to remember. Firstly, while the games come boxed with manuals and so far, it may say 'only for sale in Asia' or something on it. My copy of Prey had a little sticker on it to this effect, so I don't know if you'd get any trade in at places like Gamestation.
Secondly, there is the risk of import charges. Any item more expensive than £17.99 can be charged duty on if it's caught, which could cost you perhaps a fiver or so extra. However, at the time I ordered my last game, Play-Asia did agree to mark the games down to half price. I don't know if they still do this, but if they do then you shouldn't get duty charges, but you will only get that amount of money back if the game goes missing. Customs may not catch the parcel anyway, but it's a risk.
And finally, these games tend to go fast. Some of the ones on the list are out of stock, but if they come back in stock they'll likely go out of stock again fairly quickly.
Remember
It's only a select few 360 games that work on UK and Asian consoles together. Most games are in fact region-locked. Test Drive Unlimited, for example, is region-locked. Which is especially a pain in the backside when you realize that it's a budget title in the US, costing around twenty-five pounds, but a full price title here. But that's another rant entirely.
Ta - I've fixed that.
Hannard, you don't need the "" in the links, that's only on PM.
Yup bought Hitman off there for 22 quid, not too shabby
I don't think anyone's posted this information so far, a google search of Freeola certainly didn't bring anything up.
Anyway, the thing is that while a lot of games are region-locked, and hence US or Asian copies won't work on PAL machines, there are a select few games which aren't. Games which can be had, legally, much cheaper than in the UK by buying from Play Asia or another importer such as Lik-Sang. Typically, a 360 game that has an RRP of £49.99 in this country, can be imported, and will work fine on a UK console, usually in English, for a grand total of £22 quid including P+P.
There's a complete list of 360 games that work on other region consoles here which is updated all the time.
I've had a couple of games this way, most recently Prey, which arrived in the space of about four days and worked perfectly, and was in English, but I'm also considering getting Saints Row, another region-free Asian title. So far, the below games work. These links are affiliated, so I get a few pence if you buy through it - I couldn't find anything in the rules about this, but if there's a problem and the mods want to remove the links, going to play-asia.com and searching should do the job. Some US 360 games are also region-free but they're generally pricier. The reason for using Play-Asia or similar isn't so much to get games faster - games generally hit the UK and US before or at the same time as Japan. No, the reason I use Play-Asia is the ability to save about 20 quid a throw on a game!
Remember, only the below Asian games have been noted to be region-free. Other foreign games will likely *not* work on a UK 360.
Blazing Angels - Out of Stock at time of writing.
Call of Duty 2 - Out of stock but available to order at time of writing.
Far Cry Instincts Predator - In stock at time of writing.
Gun - Out of stock at time of writing.
Hitman: Blood Money - In stock at time of writing.
Moto GP 06 - In stock at time of writing.
Tomb Raider - Legend - In stock at time of writing.
Prey - In stock at time of writing.
Quake 4 - Dispatches within 1-5 days at time of writing.
Saints Row - Out of stock at time of writing.
Rockstar's Table Tennis - Dispatches within 1-5 days at time of writing.
Tom Clancy's Advanced Warfighter - Out of stock at time of writing.
X-Men III - The Movie Game - In stock at time of writing.
So what's the catch?
Well, there's no big catch, but there a few things to remember. Firstly, while the games come boxed with manuals and so far, it may say 'only for sale in Asia' or something on it. My copy of Prey had a little sticker on it to this effect, so I don't know if you'd get any trade in at places like Gamestation.
Secondly, there is the risk of import charges. Any item more expensive than £17.99 can be charged duty on if it's caught, which could cost you perhaps a fiver or so extra. However, at the time I ordered my last game, Play-Asia did agree to mark the games down to half price. I don't know if they still do this, but if they do then you shouldn't get duty charges, but you will only get that amount of money back if the game goes missing. Customs may not catch the parcel anyway, but it's a risk.
And finally, these games tend to go fast. Some of the ones on the list are out of stock, but if they come back in stock they'll likely go out of stock again fairly quickly.
Remember
It's only a select few 360 games that work on UK and Asian consoles together. Most games are in fact region-locked. Test Drive Unlimited, for example, is region-locked. Which is especially a pain in the backside when you realize that it's a budget title in the US, costing around twenty-five pounds, but a full price title here. But that's another rant entirely.
Anyway, the thing is that while a lot of games are region-locked, and hence US or Asian copies won't work on PAL machines, there are a select few games which aren't. Games which can be had, legally, much cheaper than in the UK by buying from Play Asia or another importer such as Lik-Sang. Typically, a 360 game that has an RRP of £49.99 in this country, can be imported, and will work fine on a UK console, usually in English, for a grand total of £22 quid including P+P.
There's a complete list of 360 games that work on other region consoles here which is updated all the time.
I've had a couple of games this way, most recently Prey, which arrived in the space of about four days and worked perfectly, and was in English, but I'm also considering getting Saints Row, another region-free Asian title. So far, the below games work. These links are affiliated, so I get a few pence if you buy through it - I couldn't find anything in the rules about this, but if there's a problem and the mods want to remove the links, going to play-asia.com and searching should do the job. Some US 360 games are also region-free but they're generally pricier. The reason for using Play-Asia or similar isn't so much to get games faster - games generally hit the UK and US before or at the same time as Japan. No, the reason I use Play-Asia is the ability to save about 20 quid a throw on a game!
Remember, only the below Asian games have been noted to be region-free. Other foreign games will likely *not* work on a UK 360.
Blazing Angels - Out of Stock at time of writing.
Call of Duty 2 - Out of stock but available to order at time of writing.
Far Cry Instincts Predator - In stock at time of writing.
Gun - Out of stock at time of writing.
Hitman: Blood Money - In stock at time of writing.
Moto GP 06 - In stock at time of writing.
Tomb Raider - Legend - In stock at time of writing.
Prey - In stock at time of writing.
Quake 4 - Dispatches within 1-5 days at time of writing.
Saints Row - Out of stock at time of writing.
Rockstar's Table Tennis - Dispatches within 1-5 days at time of writing.
Tom Clancy's Advanced Warfighter - Out of stock at time of writing.
X-Men III - The Movie Game - In stock at time of writing.
So what's the catch?
Well, there's no big catch, but there a few things to remember. Firstly, while the games come boxed with manuals and so far, it may say 'only for sale in Asia' or something on it. My copy of Prey had a little sticker on it to this effect, so I don't know if you'd get any trade in at places like Gamestation.
Secondly, there is the risk of import charges. Any item more expensive than £17.99 can be charged duty on if it's caught, which could cost you perhaps a fiver or so extra. However, at the time I ordered my last game, Play-Asia did agree to mark the games down to half price. I don't know if they still do this, but if they do then you shouldn't get duty charges, but you will only get that amount of money back if the game goes missing. Customs may not catch the parcel anyway, but it's a risk.
And finally, these games tend to go fast. Some of the ones on the list are out of stock, but if they come back in stock they'll likely go out of stock again fairly quickly.
Remember
It's only a select few 360 games that work on UK and Asian consoles together. Most games are in fact region-locked. Test Drive Unlimited, for example, is region-locked. Which is especially a pain in the backside when you realize that it's a budget title in the US, costing around twenty-five pounds, but a full price title here. But that's another rant entirely.