System link is a way to play with other people on the same network as yourself, so no you do not need live to system link but you do need to be on the same network
yes you do.
Depends on what your wanting to do. Xbox live will allow you to search and play matches with people around the globe. Without xbox live you can still do split screen or lan matches. lan/system link
If you are asking about setting up a game and playing head to head or co-op via system link, yes. Xbox live is not needed for that. The game will be hosted and played on the linked consoles. If you want to play other players on xbox live, you need to have xbox live. Linking your systems together will not allow you to bypass that.
plug a system link chord or an Ethernet chord from one xbox to the other or you'll have to have a connected hub or router for more than 2 360's
Gears 3 does in fact need xbox live to play multiplayer, but not for experience. Also, you can play multiplayer locally on Gears of War 3 via system link or on 1 console.
Yes, but only over Xbox LIVE or through system link. You can have up to two people per Xbox if you are playing campaign. The same goes for any Halo game except the first two (you can't play their campaigns over Xbox LIVE, but you can system link)
You need 2 Xbox's. Take an Ethernet cord and plug one end into one Xbox, and the other end into the other Xbox.
yes you can if you have xbox live but you cant play against people around the world like halo 3, you can only play system link which you dont need xbox live for anyway, all you need is a really long cable.
Two of the same kind
you need to have xbox live
No, but I'm pretty sure you need an Xbox (original) hard drive hooked up to your system to play them, that's what it tells me.
how much memory does xbox live need/
You need an Ethernet cable to run between 2 Xbox's, plug it in on the back, and voila! You got it!