Xbox versus PS2 for the discerning adult

[Dark Jezter]

Very good post, WizarDru.

Regarding my tastes, though, I recall a quote made by John Carmack a few years ago that still rings true. "A good game with a bad story is still a good game, and a bad game with a good story is still a bad game."

Games like Final Fantasy X actually remind me of the old laserdisc game Dragon's Lair (made by animation legend Don Bluth); they're not games so much as they are movies where the player occasionally has to fight or take an action so that the movie can proceed.

 

[John Crichton]

I can see why some see a game such as FFX is an "interactive movie" but that is selling it terribly short. There is a strong story element and there are a bunch of movie cutscenes that dominate early on. As the game continues it becomes much more than that. It's not as good as FFVI or VI in many respects but the production values and the sense of wonder and attachment that you get with the characters that you get to customize is what makes the game fun. It is most certainly not Dragon's Lair.

It's not as open as Morrowind, GTA or KotOR but it is something else.

For my money, an RPG is any game where you have direct control over the development of the character/stats or story. Some games have RPG elements (GTA:SA, NBA Street) yet are not RPGs in the slightest. There are all different shapes, sizes and sub-genres (tactical, hack and slash, etc) but they are all still RPGs.

WizarDru did make some very good points above which I essentially agree with. The kill it and take its stuff motif is part of the gaming culture that extends waaay beyond RPGs. Some games transcend this and others embrace it.

Personally, I can't wait for future FF games. They have a new producer (the same who created FF Tactics) which should give the games an even darker direction.

 

[Arnwyn]

Just last night, I was playing Metroid Prime 2 and Resident Evil 4 on the cube in 5.1.

How'd you manage that? Do you mean Dolby Pro-Logic II?

 

[WizarDru]

Correct. The games themselves are Dolby Pro-Logic II, which my receiver then decodes the matrix surround channels out of the original signal, making it 5.1. The Pro-Logic II technology (and IIx, which is 7.1) extracts all the channels out of 2 inputs.

My wiring is actually slighly convuluted: I have all my inputs for my video games going straight to the TV, and then a digital output to my reciever, which then decodes the signal for the speakers. It works out well.

Sound support for games varies wildly. Xbox is all over the Dolby Digital with 261 titles supporting it...more than the gamecube and ps/2 combined, who both support only Dolby ProLogic II with 98 and 128 games, respectively.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Actually, all three major systems have support for HDTV formats and 5.1 sound.

You can determine which by visiting this site. Xbox currently has the only games that support anything over 480p, with the exception of Gran Tourismo 4, which supports 1080i. Xbox has four games that support 1080i, and a large handful that do 720p. Gamecube boasts that 90% of their first-party games are 480p capable. Many games that don't support HDTV formats do support 16:9 screen size and Dolby IIx or Digital, and some even have DTS support. Just last night, I was playing Metroid Prime 2 and Resident Evil 4 on the cube in 5.1.

Xbox, however, has a clear lead in HDTV support, with the only system delivering 720p games. We discuss this topic more in depth (HDTV and games) in this thread over here.

Thanks for that link. Very useful. I see that XBox still has the superior goods in terms of sound and vision according to the number of titles. But it's good to know about the other stuff.

I've also heard that the X-Box is easier to design for. Apparnelty to make it backward compatible, PS2 had to have a lot of things changed for it. Those were only concerns when both started and by the time the X-Box came around, PS2 already had it's "1st" generation of games out there, and the "1st" generation of X-Box games sucked hard. Kabuki Warriors or Azure anyone?

 

[Desdichado]

Those were only concerns when both started and by the time the X-Box came around, PS2 already had it's "1st" generation of games out there, and the "1st" generation of X-Box games sucked hard. Kabuki Warriors or Azure anyone?

Luckily, that only applied when the Xbox was new, and not now! Of course, the Xbox running on essentially a Windows-like OS has got to help with porting games to that system too, so you're probably quite right about it being easier to work with for most third party game developers.

Despite what I posted earlier in this thread, I'm leaning more towards a PS2 at the moment (but I'm constantly waffling between the two) and will probably get one with my bonus this month, but when the price comes down, I'll probably pick up an Xbox too.

 

[Arnwyn]

Correct. The games themselves are Dolby Pro-Logic II, which my receiver then decodes the matrix surround channels out of the original signal, making it 5.1. The Pro-Logic II technology (and IIx, which is 7.1) extracts all the channels out of 2 inputs.

Ah, I see. I just call it DPLII - when people say 5.1, I automatically think "Dolby Digital". Bad me!

Though I do like what DPLII does with the good old red'n'white cables - the sound test in the Rogue Squadron games is slick.

Sound support for games varies wildly. Xbox is all over the Dolby Digital with 261 titles supporting it...more than the gamecube and ps/2 combined, who both support only Dolby ProLogic II with 98 and 128 games, respectively.

Actually, the PS2 also does in-game DTS (which, IMHO, sounds better than DD5.1).

I've seen that HDTV arcade site linked here before, but it's really not that great. The PS2 section, for example, is woefully out of date and in many cases flat-out wrong.

Not helpful.

 

[LightPhoenix]

Um, I play fun games, don't play un-fun games. What console they're on doesn't make a difference.

That said, I don't own an X-Box. I might pick one up for Jade Empire though. Bioware is one of only two companies I'll buy a game from cold.

 

[Eosin the Red]

I loved BGI & BGII on the computer On the other hand, I can't seem to interest myself at all in Anime - I have borrowed Witchhunter Robin, Noir, & Ghost in the Shell from my buddy and could not sit through more than an episode or two of each (GitS got about 45 minutes from me and seemed the most interesting but still not enough for me to spend my time on). The impetus for buying a consule was the failure of my computer to run Knights of the Old Republic.


PS - I sit here looking at my shiney new X-box.

Thanks everyone.

 

[John Crichton]

PS - I sit here looking at my shiney new X-box.

Thanks everyone.

Good stuff. Kickin' with KotOR & KotOR 2 will keep you busy for some time.