Tsyr said:
Also, the two-part breakaway cables the X-Box controllers use are *nice*. A real system saver, I can say from experience.
"No! Don't step there! Aaaah! *crash*"
Especially when you have small children like I do, who don't always pay attention to where that cable is.
I own an Xbox and a Gamecube. I like both equally, and find they each do different things equally well. NO console does traditional CRPGs that well, as they're not geared to it, and the focus is different. Here's a brief set of thoughts:
First, for LP's sake, understand that most console gamers, magazines and companies recognize 'exclusive' to mean 'console-exclusive'. Halo PC came out two years after Halo on the Xbox, so I'd say it qualifies, especially as Halo is considered one the killer apps for the Xbox, especially for LAN parties. Morrowind wa a PC game first, so it's more legitimate to be upset as hearing that as an exclusive...it's clearly an adaption. But 'exclusives' are what set one console apart from another, and help sell the platform. Getting the exclusives like Metroid, Mario and Zelda were big selling points for getting the Cube, to me.
Nintendo has fewer games than any of the three platforms, but the quality level is also higher, per capita, IMHO. As an old school gamer, you might appreciate many of the games that emphasize gameplay. Mario Party 4 and 5 are great party games, for example. The whole Resident Evil series has been brought the Gamecube, now, which are awesome. Zelda: Wind Waker is one of the greatest games for any console anywhere, and Metroid is suprisingly well done. Super Mario Sunshine is just plain
fun, and Rogue Squadron is too. Super Smash Brothers Melee sets the standard for crazy multiplayer, and games like Ikaruga, Viewtiful Joe and Mario Golf are suprisingly good games.
Nintendo isn't for kids, it's just not only for adults.
Xbox, on the other hand, has a slight technical edge, and targets a difference audience. Xbox is after the 18-24 male, and it's software choices reflect that. It has more games than Nintendo, but still fewer than the PS2. Of the three consoles, it has some of the best US RPGs, namely Morrowind and Knights of the Old Republic. Since the former is a PC adaption and the later was always envisioned to be moved to the PC during creation, this isnt' suprising. In this respect, the Xbox wins hands-down, in that the likelihood of future CRPGs finding their way to the Xbox is much more likely than any other platform. An example of this is Deus Ex 2: Invisible War...but if you're a CRPG gamer, you can get it there, instead. Xbox is big on FPSs (which you don't prefer), middling on platformers, and big on sports and driving/racing games. Games like Crimson Skies and D&D Heroes (a super souped-up Gauntlet) are fun, and Microsoft has been agressively trying to garner support for new Xbox exclusives, like Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, stuff from Rare and the like. The only place the Xbox really falls down is in support from Japan, where the Xbox has had poor sales, meaning little development for anything other than the US market. X-box also has the best online service, with X-box Live, delivering new content and online matches with equal aplomb, and more feature rich than Sony's offering.
PS/2: The only console I don't actually own. First advantage: backward compatability. Currently the only system you could play ever Legacy of Kain game on (if you were masochistic
), for example. This is somewhat overrated if you didn't own a PS/1, and aren't interested in getting the older games. The huge library available is another big selling point, in that Sony's console leads by a huge margin over it's rivals. Unfortunately, as Sturgeon's Law tells us, 90% of everything is crap. Some titles that should never have seen the light of day show up as cheap throwouts for the PS/2...but that's hardly the console's fault (but it is important to consider when hearing that 2000 games are available...do you really think you'll be picking up Antz Extreme Racing, Lowrider or Pryzm Chapter One: Dark Unicorn?) On the other hand, PS/2 has some of the best and most innovative games available anywhere, and the newest and some of the best games will only appear here. Games that are truly different, like ICO, or that push the genre like Devil May Cry or Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy VII. Having millions of fellow players means you get access to the widest library and some of the best games anywhere, sometimes first and sometimes at all. Technologically, the PS/2 is the weakest (particularly with it's graphics), but at the same time, it's also benefits from the being the one that programmers are most familiar with (and able to push), as well as benefiting from the widest developer base.
All of which ignores the fourth "console", and the second most popular behind the PS/2....the Gameboy Advance. The GBA is an old schoolers paradise, with games that emphasize gameplay (although some have quite snazzy graphics, thank you) over pure graphics splendor. It's portablity is something that shouldn't be underestimated. I play Fire Emblem (a tactical RPG) on the train to work every day, and my wife won't let me play Final Fantasy Tactics: Advanced, until she's totally defeated it. Games like Metroid: Fusion and old arcade classics are fun, and there are lots of good platform and RPGs available...more console RPGs than the Gamecube and Nintendo combined, if you like that sort of thing (including Eye of the Beholder, the 3e version of that old PC goldbox classic). And if you purchase the GBA and Gamecube, you get synergy between the games, as well as the ability to purchase the gameboy player, an attachment to let you play GBA games on the Cube. Which RAWKS, in case you're wondering.
Finally, remember that many games are available across multiple platforms and are quite good in any incarnation. Games like Prince of Persia and Soul Calibur look just as good, no matter what platform you're on. Some games, like Spy Hunter, are equally BAD no matter what plaform you buy them for. As for controllers, I actually prefer Nintendo's Wavebird as the best one, and then the Xbox Controller-S, but YMMV.
So my recommendation? Any of the above, depending on your criteria. If I had to choose just one, it would be one of the Nintendos, I suppose, for different reasons (play with the kids, play on the road, and so on). I may get a PS/2 at some point...but I've got enough titles as it is.
Hope that helps.
