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I'm thinking about buying a new PC or buying a console. To play games. However I'm trying to decide which way to go.

I've never owned a console and I'm hesitant about getting one now. My issues with them in the past have been:

1. I hate console controllers. I find them awkward and annoying.
2. I dislike many of the genre's that work well on consoles/with console controllers. This includes (but is not limited to) racing games and platform games.

For those of you who have a PS3 or a 360 my questions are:

1. Are there enough good games available to justify buying one at this point in time?
2. Have the types of games available on consoles branched out with any success? Can you get a good RTS, turn based strategy, or RPG (I didn't really like KOTOR that much)?

Or am I better off just getting a new laptop or desktop?

TBS? Fuck Yeah.

Also, RPGs can be great too, dependent upon taste.

No.

Honestly it sounds like a bad fit.

I'm pretty much in the same boat as the OP.  I used to be a console maniac.. but got more into PC gaming about the time that the Playstation came out.  Ever since then I've pretty much gotten a console pretty much for sports games, and that's it.  I tend to regret my console purchases though.  As an example I got my PS3 last christmas.. Played it hardcore for about a month or 2 then it sat and gathered dust.

I think it's mainly because I can do alot more then just game on my PC, where with a console you pretty much play games on it.  I know there is more you can do with every new generation of system, but at that rate.. consoles will just be PC's anyway.

Uh, well, yeah, I understand that computers have so many more uses than a console, but it's stops becoming an either/or situation when you bring that into the equation. That's like comparing a car with a 4 wheeler.

If you used to be a console maniac though, you're not the same as the original poster. He seems to have no love prior for them.

Also, I'm in the same boat as you as far setting the PS3 aside for awhile. New console blues. But shit, it's starting to be pretty good now. Go get Uncharted.

/agree.

You don't want a console.  360 has a decent amount of good games.  A lot of good games you wouldn't like. 

If I wanted to hear more bitching and moaning out of you, I'd say "yes, buy one.  In fact, buy a PS3!"

Heh, if you're not averse to Japanese stuff, the PS2 has some the best RPGs/sRPGs ever made.  You didn't list that as a dislike.. so   :|  Plus, it's cheap and I love the PS2 controller.

Who me? Bitch and moan?!  :oh_i_see:

I might try getting a PS2 then. I'm not adverse to trying new games as such, I just don't want to get a 360/PS3 and then find I never play it. I could better spend that money elsewhere.

Thanks for the replies all.

Sounds like a console isn't right for you right now.

But, for the price of a good gaming laptop, you could build a fairly stout desktop rig *and* buy a console.  Run your console through your PC monitor (as long as it's HD capable and has the inputs).  Best of both worlds, really.  That's what I did/do.

I bought my 360 for Mass Effect, GTA, sports and racing games.

Strategy, shooters, and other RPGs are PC games to me. If thats what you enjoy, stick to the PC.

I'm getting my 360 for Mass Effect, Assasin's Creed and for basically just team-play/friendly competition over Live with a few friends.

Anyone know how big a dick the 360 is about playing through a router?

Mine is playing through a router.  No problems with Live.

Likewise.

I think a lot of my PC-related gaming problems are due to having a 5 year old router. Some games play just fine, other games require router jujitsu to get the damn thing to work properly (especially older games, I admit).

I'm still pissed I can't play Alpha Centauri and still use my other PC to surf the net. It doesn't play well with NAT.

I assume consoles are much better about that sort of thing. PC games typically open up different ports and use different networking/address schemes, I assume it is much more standardized on the 360.

That makes sense. I'm looking forward to getting it -- I've played a friend's (enough to decide I want to pair it with a HDTV.

Get a Wii.  :grin:

I'd say get a new PC, though you won't have nearly as many options for games. The 360 has more good games than the PS3 and the Wii, so is the console of choice if you can afford it. The PS2 has even more good game choices, and a lot more of the RPG/TBS type of thing than the 360 will, plus it's asstons cheaper.

But really, it doesn't sound like you'd like any of the consoles very much. The Wii has good games, but not as many as the 360 and with a much more console-y flavor than either a 360 or PS3. The 360's best games are probably too console-y for you. The PS2 lacks some of the more friendly features of the newer consoles.

You sound like a PC guy.

(As long as you aren't Japan-phobic) Turn-Based Strategy and RPGs equals consoles in my head, specifically the PS2 and PSP (and to a lesser extent the DS). Plus, the PS2 is dirt cheap so it's not mutually exclusive with a PC.

Go with PC if you are short on time.  I haven't been able to finish a console game since Katamari Damacy and God of War :

List of good console games that are way too long :

- Final fantasy XII
- Rune Factory
- Pokemon
- Most TBS
- Everything except racer and platform  :oh_i_see:

Hell, even Brain Age 2 is too long to unlock mini game.

On the PC side :

- Orange box and a load of decent enough 12 hours shooter.
- Couple of good 20 hours strategy game.
- Some mmo are casual friendly enough to entertain you for 3-4 hours a week.
- 100% backward compatible
- Great TBS that are also way too long (civ4, gal civ 2)

OK, just for kicks, I'll give lamaros 10 reasonably safe (and exclusive) reasons to get any given console. If you can't find anything of value here, then there's something wrong with everything you think about games. And possibly, life itself.

XBOX 360
--------------
Halo 3
Dead Rising
Gears of War
Ace Combat 6
Eternal Sonata
Mass Effect
Blue Dragon
Forza 2
Viva Pinata
Naruto: Rise of the Ninja (hey, shoot me..I liked what I saw!)
Crackdown

PLAYSTATION 3
-----------------------
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Ratchet and Clank Future Tools of Destruction
Ninja Gaiden Sigma
Resistance Fall of Man
Motorstorm
Folklore
Warhawk
Heavenly Sword
Eye of Judgement
Formula One Championship Edition

Wii
----
Super Mario Galaxy
Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess
Super Paper Mario
Wii Sports
Metroid Prime 3
Umm..
Umm..
Umm..
Umm..
Virtual Console?

Zack and Wiki.  Also if you can put Formula One down as a reason to get PS3, you could reasonably put down RE: Umbrella Chronicles as a reason to buy the Wii.  I'm at a loss for anything else you can add at the moment though.

Formula One is cool enough. Whatcha talkin' about Willis?

Halo 3 isn't a reason to buy a console anymore. Not with COD4 out. There's a reason Amazon, EB, Frys, etc have dropped the price on the legendary to half of what it used to be.

I would replace Formula 1 with Time Crisis 4 or Gundam Musou.

COD4 is available for everyone... I didn't want to make a giant list for non exclusives. It's probably just make lamaros' head explode anyways.


So much hate Formula 1...

Well, it's no Forza or Ridge Racer.

People have said some terrible things about Time Crisis 4.

No, it isn't Forza. Not trying to make comparisons between each consoles respective racing titles. Just listing what stands out on it's own merits. If I were to list the best though, it'd be Forza, Dirt, Burnout Revenge, Motorstorm. Haven't play the newest Project Gotham though..

Wating for Burnout: Paradise myself.

Excite truck
Raving Rabbids 2
Mario Strikers

Wii: RE4 - Come on people!

Also how the hell do you leave Virtua Fighter off a list that has Blue Dragon on it?

If this is his first console owned in a while backwards compatibility (on whatever system) is much more relevant. A backwards compatible PS3 or a Wii expands the libraries significantly and this would be the first console he ever owned.

For that reason I would probably suggest a PS3 if he could find one with hardware backwards compatibility.  Xbox 360 would probably be my last choice only because there aren't many XBox games worth playing.

Buying older used games is also very cost effective.

Keyword: Exclusives. Just trying to point out some of the things that make each system stand out at the moment.

I like Virtua Fighter a lot.

Same goes for RE4. Sheesh! ;)

If I listed every game like that, like I said, lamaros' head would explode. And so would mine. There's a lot of good new console games out there.

Just to round it out though, I guess. Some multiple platform titles (but not PC):

Virtua Fighter 5
Dirt
skate
The Darkness
Rock Band
Assassin's Creed
Fight Night Round 3

Some hardware intensive titles you'd be getting on console and that you might not be able to run well on PC:

COD4
Bioshock
The Orange Box

He should just get a PS2 and pick up:

Okami, Katamari Damancy, Guitar Hero, one of the Grand Theft Autos, God of War....

He couild get a console, a wide array of console titles, all for much cheaper than a PS3 or 360 -- enough for him to figure out if he's really going to like consoles.

Gamecube RE4 is superior to the Wii One.

The PS2 RE4 is superior to even that though, the side story is great.

And if he enjoys RE4, odds are he'll love RE5.

A 60GB PS3 might be worth the cost of admission.

So, basically, go to any gaming site (heck even Gamespot), sort the list of current games by platform, then get whatever has the most games that you like.

I'm gonna get a PC next year and, when we get a nice big HDTV for the living room and switch to digital cable for it, I guess I can bundle an Xbox with it (justified as "what's another few hundred compared to the thousands that the TV will cost").

No.


Really, no.

To add to that list of Wii games: Red Steel, Trauma Center (even though I hated the anime genre conventions), Prince of Persia (not exclusive but still a great game even with the tacked-on waggle), Fire Emblem (from what I hear), and Call of Duty 3.

But as I said, he really shouldn't get a Wii, since he doesn't sound like a console guy, and if he does get a console, the 360 has more good games than others.

Quit saying Red Steel. Everyone hates it but you.

I still think he'd be best served by a PS2.  Test the waters with minimal investment.  (If you're a graphics whore, might want to stay away though.  All but the most recent PS2 games are starting to look dated.)

You are completely and totally wrong. But that's OK, because you liked Red Steel.

You liked Killer 7. We're even.

Not even. Killer 7 was a terrible game. I liked what it tried to do and the style.

Red Steel is a wretched piece of shit. You liked it. To say nothing of the style. Which was crap also.

Is this because they are making PS3 now with less then 100% backwards compatibility?

Yes. Some PS3 come with software EMU and some come with no EMU.

If you get one with hardware EMU you can play the entire PS2 library, which is pretty awesome for a first time console owner.

The 60GB and 20GB PS3s can play pretty much 100% of the PS1 and PS2 library.

That's pretty much all the best shit from the last 2 generations save maybe 5-10 games.

I still don't quite understand.

1.  I want a ps3 that can play all ps1-2 games.
2.  I don't want to buy a ps3 right now.
3.  If the ps3's that can handle all ps1-2 games are going to be rare collectable $3k purchases on ebay in a year I need to know now.
4.  If 3 is true, how do I determine if a ps3 is a worthless pos or one that can play ps1-2 games?

Thx guys.

This is totally unconfirmed and I haven't read it anywhere, but the EB manager I was talking to when I got Mass Effect said that he had heard that the 80gb PS3s where going to be Hardware Backwards Compatible in the New Year.

Totally unsubstantiated rumour as far as I know, though.

The 80GB, or the 60GB if you can find it, are your best bets. The 60GB actually has the PS2 guts inside, but they're not making those anymore. The 80GB is running software emulation, that at least for the games I cared to look up seemed serviceable (Compatibility Status Search (http://www.us.playstation.com/Support/CompatibleStatus)). I think the worst problem I saw was GH2's "At various points during gameplay, the title may hang." Outside of different methods of BC (and the HDD size) the 80GB/60GB are the same, so I see it as mainly a toss-up.

Avoid the 40GB like the plague because it simply doesn't even do BC.

Navigating 360 SKUs was more a matter of avoiding annoyance (it exploding) versus buying crippleware.

There really isn't any room for choice, get a 20GB or 60GB. That's all there is to it.

I say there's no choice because finding a 20GB is very very very hard.

Console gaming should not be seen as a budget-friendly substitute for PC gaming. It would take discipline to become a console-only gamer if you are used to having a PC on which you can play games. I made that mistake with the first Xbox.

You should at least try a Wii (if there's a shop or friend/relative with one you can try). Just to experience the potential of what new control systems could bring to gaming. I like my Wii and it's cheap, uncomplicated, slots right into a wireless network and is quite relaxing to use - whether gaming or sitting back watching youtube videos on TV. But I wouldn't be without my Core 2 Duo PC with its 8800 graphics card - both of which are now great bang for buck.

I just found out I would have to buy a PS3 to play God of War 3!!!!   What?  That's extortion!  I'd like to kick their asses!  (http://www.mommiescamelot.com/forum/images/smilies/warn.gif)

Ok but the 60GB ones with the ps2 inside aren't dissapeering tomorrow or any other bullshit like that right?

Actually I think they're pretty much unvailable from online retailers now, and I wouldn't be surprised if most stores are sold out of them after the holidays.

I tried to find one online and locally here, and had no luck whatsoever.  I almost had one online, but in the time it took for me to make a deposit at the bank to pay for it, it sold.  You could eBay for it, probably, but I just ended up getting an 80gb model.  This was about a month ago. 

Mother
Fucker
I hate consoles.

Ok I'll start looking now, but really I'm very very pissed off about this.

I never played Killer 7, and the gameplay videos don't look that great, but I am surprised how many reviewers (http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/562551.asp?q=killer%207) thought it was reasonably entertaining.

Take a look at most adventure-esque game reviews, and people will give low scores. I'm not going to fully analyze why that is, but usually it has something to do with some fatass story skipping 20 year old who knows next to nothing about "gameplay" except unit building and fragging. He'll foam at the mouth at anything else. And if you like adventure games yourself, then you should be welcoming Killer 7 with open arms. It's got style and humor to match the best of them.

[edit] By reviewers, I mean anyone with a bad opinion about it! Fuck em all. :-P

It's nice that some "professional" reviewers thought differently though.