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On Consoles: A Guide
Topic Started: Oct 31 2008, 11:01 PM (490 Views)
Jackal
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Come and Take It - Temple Tsundere

So, I know you're probably sitting there on your computer chair, wondering
if it's finally time to join that "next-gen" experience people keep
blabbering on about. But what console do you get? Surely there's one
console that's better than all the others, right?

Believe it or not, all of the consoles have strong and weak points. I'm
going to make this little guide to the three main consoles so, in the
event that you want to get one, you have the information right here.

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Microsoft: The Xbox 360

The first of the Seventh Generation consoles to be released, the Xbox
360 holds a year-lead above the other consoles. There are currently
three versions of the 360 out now: The Arcade, Pro and Elite packages.
The Arcade version is the only one that lacks a hard-drive, whereas the
Pro version has a 60GB hard drive while the Elite has a 120GB hard drive.

The current interface of the 360 is the Dashboard, though this will soon
be replaced by the "New Xbox Experience", which gives 360 users Avatars,
to represent themselves with a virtual self, and the ability to install a
full game disc on the hard drive to decrease load times, though the
disc must still be there for verification.

While the 360 is great and all, doesn't it seem like Microsoft just wanted
to jump on the proverbial bandwagon? The Wii already has Avatars, as
opposed to the PS3, which has the full disc install ability.

In the games department, the 360 probably has the second-most
exclusive titles, behind the Wii and above the PS3. Obviously, Halo 3
is by far the biggest-selling game on the console, at 8.1 million copies.
However, other games like Mass Effect, Dead Rising, Dead or Alive 4,
and others are just as great, if not better, than Halo 3.

One of the major flaws of the 360 back in the Summer of '07 was the
"Red Ring of Death". Basically, a lot of 360's had a poor innercooling
system, the system overheated, boom, RRoD. While i'm not sure if it's
still common, it's a major damper on the fun of the system.

In addition, most of the big titles here are meant to appeal to FPS
players, like Fallout, Halo, BioShock, etc. It's hard to find a good RPG
here, but Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey and the upcoming FFXIII can hold
RPG lovers over for a while.

Overall: While the 360 tends to play Follow the Leader at times with it's
habit of copying items that have been made by other developers, the
360's strong lead over the past few years show its true strength. No
console is better for a fun time at the shooting gallery.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nintendo: The Wii

The Wii was marketed with the term 'innovation' in mind, and this is
what Nintendo delivered. The Big N eschewed traditional controllers in
favor of the Wii Remote, a motion-sensing controller.

The Wii was the first of the consoles to implement a virtual avatar in
the form of 'Miis'. The Mii represents you and plays a pivotal role in
games like Wii Sports, and minor cameos in other games, like Galaxy.

By far, the Wii has the most recognized exclusives in its lineup. Games
like Super Mario Galaxy, Twilight Princess, Brawl, and others make the
Wii the place to go for the games you recognize. In addition, you can
find buried gems like Trauma Center, No More Heroes and Elebits.

The Wii's main problem is the insistance of adding motion control to
everything. Nine out of Ten titles seem to require use of the Wii Remote,
and the results tend to vary from Okay to Horrible. Even ported games
like Okami and Marvel Ultimate Alliance have iffy motion controls which
make them lower than their counterparts on other systems.

The Virtual Console and WiiWare service allows retro and original games
to bought for the system at a price. While you can find the amazing
gems like Military Madness and ActRaiser in there, this too has flaws.
Most of the titles on the VC you'll either own, not want, or have
emulated on your computer. And the WiiWare is a gamble: Most of the
games on it are rubbish.

Finally, the Wii's low development standards mean game companies
can put substantially less into a game. Naturally, the Wii's disc titles
are occasionally littered with utter shit like Ninjabread Man.

Overall: I would recommend the Wii if you only want the first-party
games, a family system, or something to make your friends look like
idiots. Aside from its large, well-known games and the occasional gem,
the Wii has trouble standing up in the crowd.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sony: The PlayStation 3

Sony's third installment in the console realm, the PS3 was the slowest
of the consoles to develop, but gained some of the better titles in a
late-bloomer scenario.

The PS3's hardware includes the Blu-Ray Player, which won the format
war, and Home, a Second-Life style version of the Avatar system. By
far, Home is the most detailed version of the Avatar system, with the
ability to play PS3 games straight from Home among others.

The PS3 has the lowest number of exclusive titles among its ranks, but
the vast majority of them are gold. Titles like Resistance, Metal Gear
Solid 4 and LittleBigPlanet are all golden titles, and titles like Heavenly
Sword, Uncharted, and Disgaea 3 are just as amazing.

Naturally, like everything else, the PS3 has problems. The main factors
are the high price and the games. The Blu-Ray Player jacked up the
PS3 prices. Meanwhile, most of the games on the PS3 can be obtained
on the 360, and don't have graphical slowdown issues.

The PlayStation Network is basically the PS3's version of the Marketplace
or the Virtual Console. PSN's saving grace, however, is that the games
on it are good. Echochrome, Pain, flOw, and others are all incredibly
different from the norm and brighten up the PS3's drab interface.

In addition, the PS3 makes its gamble with the world of Console MMO's.
While MMO's are meant to be played on PCs, the PS3 will soon make
a dive into the world with The Agency and a DC-Inspired MMO. This move
could either help or hurt the PS3.

Another main problem of the PS3 is that they consistently look "to the
future". It feels like everything good for the PS3 involves waiting a set
number of months just to get a release date for when said item actually
appears.

Overall: The PS3 is mostly overshadowed by the Xbox 360, but its
redeeming qualities, like Home, PSN, and the Blu-Ray player, could
easily make it a viable choice for a family if you can handle the price
tag.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

...And there's my first draft of the Console Guide. I hope to make
changes on this based on the future and your opinions on this. Jackal out.
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Gilgamesh
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solbowz Aurarius

I know we had that little argument earlier Jackal, but this seems to cover all of the good and bad aspects of each console. Well done.
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Jackal
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Come and Take It - Temple Tsundere

You know, if you've got any input you'd like to add for a console, feel
free to say it and i'll check into it to get facts and make sure it's correct.
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Gilgamesh
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solbowz Aurarius

I think you've got it covered, but it may be worth it to point out that the Wii's online is free, at the cost that it seems inferior to the other two consoles. And this is just opinion, but it seems that, with few exceptions, Wii motion controls only work well in party games or first-party titles. Third party developers can't seem to execute motion controls as well as Nintendo can.
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Phoenix7
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Odyssey, ya see~ Odyssey, ya see~

Jackal
Nov 1 2008, 04:01 AM

Nintendo: The Wii

The Wii's main problem is the insistance of adding motion control to
everything. Nine out of Ten titles seem to require use of the Wii Remote,
and the results tend to vary from Okay to Horrible. Even ported games
like Okami and Marvel Ultimate Alliance have iffy motion controls which
make them lower than their counterparts on other systems.

The Virtual Console and WiiWare service allows retro and original games
to bought for the system at a price. While you can find the amazing
gems like Military Madness and ActRaiser in there, this too has flaws.
Most of the titles on the VC you'll either own, not want, or have
emulated on your computer. And the WiiWare is a gamble: Most of the
games on it are rubbish.

Firstly, I'd like to point out the fact as you haven't played Okami, you've simply followed what reviewers have said. To be honest, Okami's motion controls are great, it's just practicing them and this only takes a small while anyway. I say this not only because other reviewers have pointed this out, but from my experience. Not all ports are bad with motion controls added, Resident Evil 4's controls for the Wii version if anything made it better then it's GCN and PS2 conterparts.

In the case of Wiiware, Dr Mario, Megaman 9 (Granted, this is on Xbox 360 and PS3 as well) Bomberman Blast, Tetris Party, Lost Winds and TV Show King (MY FRIEND HAD THIS, DON'T BLAME ME FOR PLAYING IT AND LIKING IT.) are all great examples of Wiiware titles.

I suppose you do have a point about the VC games, though there are people who are new to Nintendo and don't emulate, so it'll be nice for them to see how great Donkey Kong Country and Ocarina of Time were. Speaking of which, N64 games are hard to emulate, but there are only a few on there right now.

Other then those few little niggles, good job. ^_^
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DJ Octavio
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Check out my spicy wasabi beats

Mention of Disgaea 3 in the PS3's section made that part win.

Overall, pretty good summary. You could also add the online features of all the consoles, explain XBL, Nintendo WFC, and the PSN and what the pros/cons of each are.
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