The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
For the first time since my existence began on this technologically advanced planet, I have been forced to submit to having just one console from each gaming era, if I was lucky. In the golden-old days of gaming, I had the ZX Spectrum. In the 8-bit era I managed to aqquire a better model ZX Spectrum. In the 16-bit era, my brother had a Super NES. In the 32-bit era my brother had a Nintendo 64. In the 128-bit era (looks like gaming skipped a heartbeat), things have changed. My brother and I combined, have managed to get one of every console of the 128-bit era between us. That is the Playstation 2, the GameCube, the X-box, the Dreamcast and the Game Boy Advance.
"Show off!" I hear some of you say in your jealousy, others of you should have more sense than to be too concerned about what different consoles I have and will be enjoying the consoles you have. For me, however, it gives me the chance to express an honest and fair opinion on all the consoles, and considering this may be the only time in my life where I'll have every current console on the market, I am going to take the opportunity now whilst I still have the chance.
Style:
Each console has its own certain style. And although style shouldn't really make or break a console, it can cause many different arguments between people about which console looks the best.
The console I would consider in having the best casing would be the GameCube. It is small, it is cool and with the choice of two colours there's no excuse for anyone not to buy it 'because its purple'. It's small design means it's portable and can be taken virtually anywhere which can't be said for my second choice, the X-box. The X-box, although looks cool, weighs around a tonne (which is not good if you're trying to walk half a mile home from the nearest bus stop is it?), but it sits nice and steadily on any stand (big and strong enough to support it), whether it be a table, TV cabinet shelf or just your bedroom floor. The Dreamcast would be my next choice when it comes to looks. It's small, white (which is unusual for a console seeing as developers used to go for the cheap grey colour plastic *cough*Nintendo*cough*) and it's shape makes it look simple. Because it doesn't have a lime-green blob on it or any purple areas it can suit any colour scheme in a room. What doesn't seem to go with anything is the perculiar shaped Playstation 2. It's slanted, it's crinkle-cut (although the X-box is too), and Sony sell stands for it to be kept vertical and horizontal! Where's the logic in that? I mean, is a rectangular console really going to have a problem with lying flat on one of it's larger sides? Sure, the upright feature may have seemed a great novelty at first, but when your three year old cousin pushes it, vertical stand or no vertical stand, it makes a mighty fine crash when it falls. There was just no logic involved in the design at all and it's a wonder more people still don't come out with the "radiator" and "toaster" comments, even though the console looks more like...well it doesn't look like anything in fact! The blue light on the front is the only part of the design I like, so I'm glad I don't have to have the Playstation 2 in my room.
You may have noticed in the extremely large paragraph comparing the consoles that I missed out the Game Boy Advance. In my opinion, it doesn't really compete for style. It's a different type of console altogether, fitting in the hand, having it's own screen and being it's own controller. The only comparisons I would be able to make in this respect would be with other handhelds such as the Game Boy Color, the Game Boy and the Game Gear, and considering they're not current generation, I see no point.
Controllers:
What is a games console without some method of input? Well it's a waste of space. A game needs something to play it with. In old fashioned cases it was a dice and counters, in the twenty-first century it's buttons and sticks. This is why the feeling of comfort and the easiness of being able to reach buttons with your thumbs and fingers is exremely important to the enjoyment you recieve whilst playing games.
One again I have to say the GameCube's controller stands out a mile when it comes to the the feel and the ease of use in games. Although looking like something Duplo made, the controller feels like it was designed for the games and not the other way around. The sticks are in easy reach for people with large or small hands and the majority of the buttons don't make you feel like you're giving your thumbs a workout to try and press them. The analogue shoulder buttons have been moulded perfectly for fingers to be placed over the top and their extra 'click' function, although not used in many games as of yet, replaces the need to putting extra stress on the control sticks. The only problem I have with the controller is the Z button. Although it makes you wonder why there wasn't another button on the left side of the controller, the Z button isn't so easy to press and makes me almost have to reposition my hand just to use it. The controller just doesn't feel right for both the R and the Z button to be used the same time, which is a bit of a bummer when you want to use secondary functions in weapons on games such as TimeSplitters 2 and Turok Evolution.
Despite the comments made about Microsoft 'not being experienced enough in home videogames', they've made a bloomin' good start! However, they haven't really done anything with reguards to making a decent controller other than to make it look good. They've shaped it like an 'X', which although it matches the console, doesn't make for a good shaped controller. It feels a little too big and bulky and to reach the Start and Back buttons required you to move your right hand (or left depending on which you prefer). However, despite the initial comfort problems, Microsoft have put together a fairly decent controller. They've taken the trigger elements of the Dreamcast controller, the four coloured A, B, X, Y buttons of the Super NES controller, and have followed the design of the Nintendo GameCube's controller of putting the sticks in a non-symmetrical way making sure thumbs don't collide when they are pushed towards each other. What Microsoft have also managed to do is make the analogue action buttons (A, B, X and Y) feel like analogue action buttons, as opposed to the Playstation 2s which feel very much alike the Super Nintendo's action buttons. Now when you're racing in Sega GT 2002, you feel the need to apply more pressure to accelorate which you know you can do because the X-box controller can cope with it.
Microsoft have listened to the complaints of the many from the United Kingdom and Japan and have released a smaller controller, named Controller S. Atleast they listen to public opinion (*cough*Nintendo*cough*) but to me, personally, I prefer the larger bulkier version of the X-box controller. The Controller S just feels too small and doesn't fit snuggly in my hands like the GameCube's controller. I suppose the Japanese, stereotyped to have most their body parts smaller than western people, really must have smaller hands if that's what they feel more comfortable with.
Next up is the Game Boy Advance. Although it is a handheld games console, it still has it's controls, and can also be used as a GameCube controller depending on the games. I have to admit that, although it's not perfect, the addition of shoulder buttons has made the Game Boy Advance that little bit more fun by allowing games to feature more functions. However, these shoulder buttons feel cheap and tacky and could have been better designed for people with larger fingers. Nintendo could have added a couple extra action buttons to the normal A and B featured on Game Boys too, maybe then Super Nintendo ports would feel much more comfortable to play.
The Dreamcast's controller is a little less ergonomic and a little more basic than the competitors devices. It's unusual shape does have it's advantages though. The console was able to use Visual Memory Units, memory cards with screens and buttons on them, which sometimes boosted the games by adding extra little effects (like Cupil's chard-finding abilities in Skies of Arcadia). However, this does not make for a comfortable controller. Although the trigger buttons make for very good analogue input, as Microsoft have observed, the action buttons feel too far apart and the analogue control stick is just too cheap and tacky for gamers who have played the other three consoles to get a grips with. For example, you push up on the controller and the actual stick turns about 90 degrees as you do so. Although you're still pushing up, you feel like there's added pressure on your thumb as the skin in contact with the stck is twisted slightly. Overall, however, the Dreamcast's unique style of controller is better than the final, unmentioned controller.
The Playstation 2. Although the console's look was changed, Sony only added a bit of colour to the mould as far as they were concerned with their controller. Don't get me wrong, it's not the worst controller ever designed, but it's over the hills and far away from being perfect. First of all, the controller is too small. Although it's width is only millimetres smaller than the GameCube's controller, it has no depth. There's nothing to grip onto, which makes actually using the controller fairly difficult indeed. Much alike the Dreamcast's controller, the action buttons are too far apart, and unlike all the competition featuring dual analogue control, the sticks are too close together making for a lot of thumb bashing in the annoying, non-Mario Party way. The only advantage the Playstation 2 controller has, in my opinion, is the shoulder buttons. They make for some good easy reach buttons to be used in shooting games.
Format:
They type of storage for the actual games themselves is now considered extremely important, moreso than it once was. Years ago it didn't seem too important how long loading seemed to take. People were happy enough to wait up to half hour for their ZX Spectrum games to load, whereas other could boast much quicker loading times whilst using some form of cartridge or magnetic disc such as the 5" and the 3.5" floppy diskettes. However, now people know technology can provide us with instantaneous loading, people can't stand waiting ten seconds let alone ten minutes, so quick transfer of data is vital for keeping the punters happy.
This is where the Game Boy Advance actually prevails. Because the game is stored on a removeable circuit board and connectsdirectly to the Game Boy Advance, there is very little, if any, loading involved. The only problem is the cartridges used for Game Boy Advance games are so small, they can easily be lost, which is poor design of Nintendo considering they aim the Game Boy Advance at the younger audience.
Nintendo have also got the crown of having the fastest loading times on their TV-based console, the GameCube. It uses unique ODs (although 'Optical Disc' is the general term for any kind of CD, DVD, or storage medium scanned by light) that are 8 centimetres in diametre. This allows for some very quick loading that in comparison with the other consoles on the market, is nothing at all. The disadvantage, as far as multiformat gamers are concerned, is that the console can not play audio CDs and DVDs, unlike the other two consoles.
Microsoft and Sony have gone with the DVD format to put their games onto. This means their consoles can play DVD movies as well as games. In a market where more is usually (but not necessarily) better, this increases fierce competition and raises the stakes, as well as allowing me to watch Red Dwarf series one without actually buying a DVD player.
Sega went for the cheapest approach (maybe why their console isn't on the market now?) and used normal CDs to store games on. Although they modified the game discs to run on a specialised Dreamcast format. This was their method of preventing pirate copies to be produced of Dreamcast games, however it didn't take long at all for somebody to find away to copy them. Because their discs are the old CD format, they don't hold as much data as the other OD formats and games take longest to load.
Features:
As with all the consoles, we have seen many features and we are still to see some, promised to us by the console developers for the future. Some features can be the deciding factor for some people such as online play or backwards compatability, whereas others are just little somethings that make gaming that little bit more fun.
This is where the GameCube again comes out on top. With the aid of the Game Boy Advance and GameCube to Game Boy Advance link cable, gamers can download mini-games from one format to the other, use the Game Boy Advance as a controller with an additional screen, and with this level of interactivity comes the potential for a huge amount of possibilities in the future, such as the Game Boy E-card reader being used to transfer data from collectors cards to GameCube games (Animal Crossing being the one most recently mentioned) opening up new features in them. The GameCube also has three extension ports (two for modems) which could be used in the future, one example being a GameCube add-on like the DD was to the Nintendo 64.
For the Microsoft fans, the X-box comes next with a lot of features ready out of the box! First up is the ability to play DVDs - though Microsoft cunningly programmed the DVD player to only work with a remote meaning you'll have to spend some extra pennies to play them. Another cool feature is the ability to play audio CDs on the X-box. Although the Playstation 2 and Dreamcast boast the same ability, Microsoft have gone one better by allowing you to copy your favourite songs onto the X-box hard disk drive so that they can be used in compatable games! The hard disk is Microsoft's biggest feature though. With it, the only need for a memory card is to transfer data from one X-box to the other, and that's not likely to happen often. Microsoft also boasts internet play out of the box - though a cable to plug the X-box into the telephone line has to be bought seperately, and nobody is too certain of the costs yet, but whatever happens, I personally can't see myself taking up any online play features with any console unless I can use my own ISP and not get charged extra for playing games I have already paid up to forty quid for.
Sony comes up next, only just beating the Dreamcast with features in that it can play DVDs. The Playstation 2 is expected to go online sometime next year allowing for internet play on a number of titles.
The Dreamcast is sadly last on the list. The VMU system was a flop, requiring extra batteries to sustain it, and the arcade system allowing you to continue your games was not widely used (maybe for fear someone else might take your VMU?). The Dreamcast did use the feature of being able to play CDS though and a few of the Dreamcast discs themselves had extra content such as PC desktops.
Games:
The actual fun experienced in the games depends on personal preferences, but the range of games available can still be measured.
Nintendo come up top trumps with a general selection of games for all ages, although not exactly matching the amount of games the Playstation 2 has going for it, the GameCube has only been out for six months and already has a strong line up with Resident Evil, BMX XXX and Eternal Darkness as some examples for the late-teens to adult, and Super Mario Sunshine, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle and Crash Bandicoot as some examples for the younger audience.
The Playstation 2 comes in second place with a huge library of games, though some could argue that it isn't a fair comparison considering there are still a lot of Playstation One games being played on the Playstation 2, which, although having a back-catalogue of games is a good thing, doesn't do any good for those who want just Playstation 2 games. In saying that, there are many games for every age on the Playstation 2 including the highly acclaimed Grand Theft Auto series and the Final Fantasy series.
The Game Boy Advance comes next, boasting many a game since 1989. As the Game Boy Advance is aimed for everyone, it can play any Game Boy games from the past including the original Tetris all the way to Yoshi's Island, which was originally seen on the Super Nintendo.
Next it's the X-box's turn. It has been out for much longer than the GameCube in the United Kingdom, yet can't boast many more games. Microsoft, in aiming the console at the older market, have not got so many of the cute and cuddly games on them but do have some exclusives for the adults such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Project Gotham Racing.
The Dreamcast has to, sadly, come in last, despite having some of the best games ever created in it's library - Skies of Arcadia being one of them. The Dreamcast just had too many arcade ports and didn't focus on what people wanted to play at home. So even though they may have made brilliant games that were successful in the arcades, it wasn't enough to boast the best library of games around.
Verdict:
You see, I'm not one of these people who's interested in sales. I don't care if Playstation 2 is still going strong in the market, or if Sega have stopped production of the Dreamcast. Somebody's favourite console could be the worst for someone else! So, based on my opinions and statements above, this is the order I'd put the consoles in, from best to worst in the 128-bit era:
1. Nintendo GameCube
2. Microsoft X-box
3. Sega Dreamcast
4. Game Boy Advance
5. Sony Playstation 2
Yes, you'd be right to disagree. Who am I to say this is true and final. Everybody has their favourites and will interpret the facts in a way to suit them. But this topic wasn't typed to start arguments, just to put my opinions across and allow you to do the same. I have got the ability to play any of these five consoles whenever I am at home, and I took the opportunity to make as fair a comparison as I could. If you disagree with me, say why, but please, please, please don't criticise a console you haven't played!
"Show off!" I hear some of you say in your jealousy, others of you should have more sense than to be too concerned about what different consoles I have and will be enjoying the consoles you have. For me, however, it gives me the chance to express an honest and fair opinion on all the consoles, and considering this may be the only time in my life where I'll have every current console on the market, I am going to take the opportunity now whilst I still have the chance.
Style:
Each console has its own certain style. And although style shouldn't really make or break a console, it can cause many different arguments between people about which console looks the best.
The console I would consider in having the best casing would be the GameCube. It is small, it is cool and with the choice of two colours there's no excuse for anyone not to buy it 'because its purple'. It's small design means it's portable and can be taken virtually anywhere which can't be said for my second choice, the X-box. The X-box, although looks cool, weighs around a tonne (which is not good if you're trying to walk half a mile home from the nearest bus stop is it?), but it sits nice and steadily on any stand (big and strong enough to support it), whether it be a table, TV cabinet shelf or just your bedroom floor. The Dreamcast would be my next choice when it comes to looks. It's small, white (which is unusual for a console seeing as developers used to go for the cheap grey colour plastic *cough*Nintendo*cough*) and it's shape makes it look simple. Because it doesn't have a lime-green blob on it or any purple areas it can suit any colour scheme in a room. What doesn't seem to go with anything is the perculiar shaped Playstation 2. It's slanted, it's crinkle-cut (although the X-box is too), and Sony sell stands for it to be kept vertical and horizontal! Where's the logic in that? I mean, is a rectangular console really going to have a problem with lying flat on one of it's larger sides? Sure, the upright feature may have seemed a great novelty at first, but when your three year old cousin pushes it, vertical stand or no vertical stand, it makes a mighty fine crash when it falls. There was just no logic involved in the design at all and it's a wonder more people still don't come out with the "radiator" and "toaster" comments, even though the console looks more like...well it doesn't look like anything in fact! The blue light on the front is the only part of the design I like, so I'm glad I don't have to have the Playstation 2 in my room.
You may have noticed in the extremely large paragraph comparing the consoles that I missed out the Game Boy Advance. In my opinion, it doesn't really compete for style. It's a different type of console altogether, fitting in the hand, having it's own screen and being it's own controller. The only comparisons I would be able to make in this respect would be with other handhelds such as the Game Boy Color, the Game Boy and the Game Gear, and considering they're not current generation, I see no point.
Controllers:
What is a games console without some method of input? Well it's a waste of space. A game needs something to play it with. In old fashioned cases it was a dice and counters, in the twenty-first century it's buttons and sticks. This is why the feeling of comfort and the easiness of being able to reach buttons with your thumbs and fingers is exremely important to the enjoyment you recieve whilst playing games.
One again I have to say the GameCube's controller stands out a mile when it comes to the the feel and the ease of use in games. Although looking like something Duplo made, the controller feels like it was designed for the games and not the other way around. The sticks are in easy reach for people with large or small hands and the majority of the buttons don't make you feel like you're giving your thumbs a workout to try and press them. The analogue shoulder buttons have been moulded perfectly for fingers to be placed over the top and their extra 'click' function, although not used in many games as of yet, replaces the need to putting extra stress on the control sticks. The only problem I have with the controller is the Z button. Although it makes you wonder why there wasn't another button on the left side of the controller, the Z button isn't so easy to press and makes me almost have to reposition my hand just to use it. The controller just doesn't feel right for both the R and the Z button to be used the same time, which is a bit of a bummer when you want to use secondary functions in weapons on games such as TimeSplitters 2 and Turok Evolution.
Despite the comments made about Microsoft 'not being experienced enough in home videogames', they've made a bloomin' good start! However, they haven't really done anything with reguards to making a decent controller other than to make it look good. They've shaped it like an 'X', which although it matches the console, doesn't make for a good shaped controller. It feels a little too big and bulky and to reach the Start and Back buttons required you to move your right hand (or left depending on which you prefer). However, despite the initial comfort problems, Microsoft have put together a fairly decent controller. They've taken the trigger elements of the Dreamcast controller, the four coloured A, B, X, Y buttons of the Super NES controller, and have followed the design of the Nintendo GameCube's controller of putting the sticks in a non-symmetrical way making sure thumbs don't collide when they are pushed towards each other. What Microsoft have also managed to do is make the analogue action buttons (A, B, X and Y) feel like analogue action buttons, as opposed to the Playstation 2s which feel very much alike the Super Nintendo's action buttons. Now when you're racing in Sega GT 2002, you feel the need to apply more pressure to accelorate which you know you can do because the X-box controller can cope with it.
Microsoft have listened to the complaints of the many from the United Kingdom and Japan and have released a smaller controller, named Controller S. Atleast they listen to public opinion (*cough*Nintendo*cough*) but to me, personally, I prefer the larger bulkier version of the X-box controller. The Controller S just feels too small and doesn't fit snuggly in my hands like the GameCube's controller. I suppose the Japanese, stereotyped to have most their body parts smaller than western people, really must have smaller hands if that's what they feel more comfortable with.
Next up is the Game Boy Advance. Although it is a handheld games console, it still has it's controls, and can also be used as a GameCube controller depending on the games. I have to admit that, although it's not perfect, the addition of shoulder buttons has made the Game Boy Advance that little bit more fun by allowing games to feature more functions. However, these shoulder buttons feel cheap and tacky and could have been better designed for people with larger fingers. Nintendo could have added a couple extra action buttons to the normal A and B featured on Game Boys too, maybe then Super Nintendo ports would feel much more comfortable to play.
The Dreamcast's controller is a little less ergonomic and a little more basic than the competitors devices. It's unusual shape does have it's advantages though. The console was able to use Visual Memory Units, memory cards with screens and buttons on them, which sometimes boosted the games by adding extra little effects (like Cupil's chard-finding abilities in Skies of Arcadia). However, this does not make for a comfortable controller. Although the trigger buttons make for very good analogue input, as Microsoft have observed, the action buttons feel too far apart and the analogue control stick is just too cheap and tacky for gamers who have played the other three consoles to get a grips with. For example, you push up on the controller and the actual stick turns about 90 degrees as you do so. Although you're still pushing up, you feel like there's added pressure on your thumb as the skin in contact with the stck is twisted slightly. Overall, however, the Dreamcast's unique style of controller is better than the final, unmentioned controller.
The Playstation 2. Although the console's look was changed, Sony only added a bit of colour to the mould as far as they were concerned with their controller. Don't get me wrong, it's not the worst controller ever designed, but it's over the hills and far away from being perfect. First of all, the controller is too small. Although it's width is only millimetres smaller than the GameCube's controller, it has no depth. There's nothing to grip onto, which makes actually using the controller fairly difficult indeed. Much alike the Dreamcast's controller, the action buttons are too far apart, and unlike all the competition featuring dual analogue control, the sticks are too close together making for a lot of thumb bashing in the annoying, non-Mario Party way. The only advantage the Playstation 2 controller has, in my opinion, is the shoulder buttons. They make for some good easy reach buttons to be used in shooting games.
Format:
They type of storage for the actual games themselves is now considered extremely important, moreso than it once was. Years ago it didn't seem too important how long loading seemed to take. People were happy enough to wait up to half hour for their ZX Spectrum games to load, whereas other could boast much quicker loading times whilst using some form of cartridge or magnetic disc such as the 5" and the 3.5" floppy diskettes. However, now people know technology can provide us with instantaneous loading, people can't stand waiting ten seconds let alone ten minutes, so quick transfer of data is vital for keeping the punters happy.
This is where the Game Boy Advance actually prevails. Because the game is stored on a removeable circuit board and connectsdirectly to the Game Boy Advance, there is very little, if any, loading involved. The only problem is the cartridges used for Game Boy Advance games are so small, they can easily be lost, which is poor design of Nintendo considering they aim the Game Boy Advance at the younger audience.
Nintendo have also got the crown of having the fastest loading times on their TV-based console, the GameCube. It uses unique ODs (although 'Optical Disc' is the general term for any kind of CD, DVD, or storage medium scanned by light) that are 8 centimetres in diametre. This allows for some very quick loading that in comparison with the other consoles on the market, is nothing at all. The disadvantage, as far as multiformat gamers are concerned, is that the console can not play audio CDs and DVDs, unlike the other two consoles.
Microsoft and Sony have gone with the DVD format to put their games onto. This means their consoles can play DVD movies as well as games. In a market where more is usually (but not necessarily) better, this increases fierce competition and raises the stakes, as well as allowing me to watch Red Dwarf series one without actually buying a DVD player.
Sega went for the cheapest approach (maybe why their console isn't on the market now?) and used normal CDs to store games on. Although they modified the game discs to run on a specialised Dreamcast format. This was their method of preventing pirate copies to be produced of Dreamcast games, however it didn't take long at all for somebody to find away to copy them. Because their discs are the old CD format, they don't hold as much data as the other OD formats and games take longest to load.
Features:
As with all the consoles, we have seen many features and we are still to see some, promised to us by the console developers for the future. Some features can be the deciding factor for some people such as online play or backwards compatability, whereas others are just little somethings that make gaming that little bit more fun.
This is where the GameCube again comes out on top. With the aid of the Game Boy Advance and GameCube to Game Boy Advance link cable, gamers can download mini-games from one format to the other, use the Game Boy Advance as a controller with an additional screen, and with this level of interactivity comes the potential for a huge amount of possibilities in the future, such as the Game Boy E-card reader being used to transfer data from collectors cards to GameCube games (Animal Crossing being the one most recently mentioned) opening up new features in them. The GameCube also has three extension ports (two for modems) which could be used in the future, one example being a GameCube add-on like the DD was to the Nintendo 64.
For the Microsoft fans, the X-box comes next with a lot of features ready out of the box! First up is the ability to play DVDs - though Microsoft cunningly programmed the DVD player to only work with a remote meaning you'll have to spend some extra pennies to play them. Another cool feature is the ability to play audio CDs on the X-box. Although the Playstation 2 and Dreamcast boast the same ability, Microsoft have gone one better by allowing you to copy your favourite songs onto the X-box hard disk drive so that they can be used in compatable games! The hard disk is Microsoft's biggest feature though. With it, the only need for a memory card is to transfer data from one X-box to the other, and that's not likely to happen often. Microsoft also boasts internet play out of the box - though a cable to plug the X-box into the telephone line has to be bought seperately, and nobody is too certain of the costs yet, but whatever happens, I personally can't see myself taking up any online play features with any console unless I can use my own ISP and not get charged extra for playing games I have already paid up to forty quid for.
Sony comes up next, only just beating the Dreamcast with features in that it can play DVDs. The Playstation 2 is expected to go online sometime next year allowing for internet play on a number of titles.
The Dreamcast is sadly last on the list. The VMU system was a flop, requiring extra batteries to sustain it, and the arcade system allowing you to continue your games was not widely used (maybe for fear someone else might take your VMU?). The Dreamcast did use the feature of being able to play CDS though and a few of the Dreamcast discs themselves had extra content such as PC desktops.
Games:
The actual fun experienced in the games depends on personal preferences, but the range of games available can still be measured.
Nintendo come up top trumps with a general selection of games for all ages, although not exactly matching the amount of games the Playstation 2 has going for it, the GameCube has only been out for six months and already has a strong line up with Resident Evil, BMX XXX and Eternal Darkness as some examples for the late-teens to adult, and Super Mario Sunshine, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle and Crash Bandicoot as some examples for the younger audience.
The Playstation 2 comes in second place with a huge library of games, though some could argue that it isn't a fair comparison considering there are still a lot of Playstation One games being played on the Playstation 2, which, although having a back-catalogue of games is a good thing, doesn't do any good for those who want just Playstation 2 games. In saying that, there are many games for every age on the Playstation 2 including the highly acclaimed Grand Theft Auto series and the Final Fantasy series.
The Game Boy Advance comes next, boasting many a game since 1989. As the Game Boy Advance is aimed for everyone, it can play any Game Boy games from the past including the original Tetris all the way to Yoshi's Island, which was originally seen on the Super Nintendo.
Next it's the X-box's turn. It has been out for much longer than the GameCube in the United Kingdom, yet can't boast many more games. Microsoft, in aiming the console at the older market, have not got so many of the cute and cuddly games on them but do have some exclusives for the adults such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Project Gotham Racing.
The Dreamcast has to, sadly, come in last, despite having some of the best games ever created in it's library - Skies of Arcadia being one of them. The Dreamcast just had too many arcade ports and didn't focus on what people wanted to play at home. So even though they may have made brilliant games that were successful in the arcades, it wasn't enough to boast the best library of games around.
Verdict:
You see, I'm not one of these people who's interested in sales. I don't care if Playstation 2 is still going strong in the market, or if Sega have stopped production of the Dreamcast. Somebody's favourite console could be the worst for someone else! So, based on my opinions and statements above, this is the order I'd put the consoles in, from best to worst in the 128-bit era:
1. Nintendo GameCube
2. Microsoft X-box
3. Sega Dreamcast
4. Game Boy Advance
5. Sony Playstation 2
Yes, you'd be right to disagree. Who am I to say this is true and final. Everybody has their favourites and will interpret the facts in a way to suit them. But this topic wasn't typed to start arguments, just to put my opinions across and allow you to do the same. I have got the ability to play any of these five consoles whenever I am at home, and I took the opportunity to make as fair a comparison as I could. If you disagree with me, say why, but please, please, please don't criticise a console you haven't played!
Page:
My list of top 5 games machines
1 - SNES
2 - Super Famicon
3 - ZSNES emulator
4 - SNES9x emulator
5 - Gamecube
Hmmm, is there a little bit of a similarity here?
1 - SNES
2 - Super Famicon
3 - ZSNES emulator
4 - SNES9x emulator
5 - Gamecube
Hmmm, is there a little bit of a similarity here?
Ant wrote:
> Surely you can't put the GBA in front of the PS2! I've lost my GBA and
> I don't care.
Yea but your silly :oP
Congrats on the GAD Edgy, mammoth post.
> Surely you can't put the GBA in front of the PS2! I've lost my GBA and
> I don't care.
Yea but your silly :oP
Congrats on the GAD Edgy, mammoth post.
faz-meister wrote:
> Here is a list of my top five consoles:
>
Again, this topic isn't about top five consoles...
> Here is a list of my top five consoles:
>
Again, this topic isn't about top five consoles...
faz-meister wrote:
> 5. X-Box - can't think of a lot to say about this flop but it
> certainly beats the Sega Dreamcast.
Open your eyes mate, The Xbox is'nt floppy, its made out of plastic.
> 5. X-Box - can't think of a lot to say about this flop but it
> certainly beats the Sega Dreamcast.
Open your eyes mate, The Xbox is'nt floppy, its made out of plastic.
Here is a list of my top five consoles:
1. Nintendo Gamecube - this is by far the best console out today with excellent graphics, very quick loading times and a wide variety of games for all ages after just 6 months.
2. Playstation 2 - althogh I am not a big fan of the Playstation, I would have to say this is the second best console today with a huge amount of games to choose from and good graphics, although the design, loading times and controller style let it down.
3. Nintendo 64 - although the N64 is said to be dead, I say codswallop. The Nintendo 64 has some of the best games ever created and still has the best ever shoot-em-up to its name and harldy any loading time at all.
4. Game Boy Advance - Although this is a handheld console, I rate it above the X-Box because it has no loading times whatsoever and some classic games, and it can be taken anywhere with you, unlike the home consoles.
5. X-Box - can't think of a lot to say about this flop but it certainly beats the Sega Dreamcast.
1. Nintendo Gamecube - this is by far the best console out today with excellent graphics, very quick loading times and a wide variety of games for all ages after just 6 months.
2. Playstation 2 - althogh I am not a big fan of the Playstation, I would have to say this is the second best console today with a huge amount of games to choose from and good graphics, although the design, loading times and controller style let it down.
3. Nintendo 64 - although the N64 is said to be dead, I say codswallop. The Nintendo 64 has some of the best games ever created and still has the best ever shoot-em-up to its name and harldy any loading time at all.
4. Game Boy Advance - Although this is a handheld console, I rate it above the X-Box because it has no loading times whatsoever and some classic games, and it can be taken anywhere with you, unlike the home consoles.
5. X-Box - can't think of a lot to say about this flop but it certainly beats the Sega Dreamcast.
gamezfreak wrote:
> Heres my list of my top 5 fave consoles.
My topic wasn't about my top five consoles...
> Heres my list of my top 5 fave consoles.
My topic wasn't about my top five consoles...
Heres my list of my top 5 fave consoles.
1.Microsoft Xbox - Stunning, Excellent Games, Xbox Live = Great console
2.Nintendo Gamecube - Innotiative, not my type of games though, but I do enjoy having a go on my mates Gamecube.
3.Sega Dreamcast - Why did this never get a chance? Its an excellent console, made by the pioneers of the gaming industry.
4.Nintendo Gameboy Advance - Although I'm not a big fan of it now, due to the lack of games coming out, I still love to have a few games on Tony Hawks - Can handhelds get any better?
5.Sony Playstation 2 - Abeit to overhyped, GTA3 is'nt the same since GTA1, controller is kinda small. But its got Stuntman, thats why it beats the Nintendo 64 in the gamezfreak console chart.
1.Microsoft Xbox - Stunning, Excellent Games, Xbox Live = Great console
2.Nintendo Gamecube - Innotiative, not my type of games though, but I do enjoy having a go on my mates Gamecube.
3.Sega Dreamcast - Why did this never get a chance? Its an excellent console, made by the pioneers of the gaming industry.
4.Nintendo Gameboy Advance - Although I'm not a big fan of it now, due to the lack of games coming out, I still love to have a few games on Tony Hawks - Can handhelds get any better?
5.Sony Playstation 2 - Abeit to overhyped, GTA3 is'nt the same since GTA1, controller is kinda small. But its got Stuntman, thats why it beats the Nintendo 64 in the gamezfreak console chart.
½pint wrote:
> 5) 486. Dunno if this classes as a console, but my early childhood
> was spent on this. As Edgy knows, I was addicted to some truly
> classic games; Commander Keen, Monster Bash, Cosmo, Stunts, Secret
> Agent, Paganitzu, Raptor... the list goes on. And almost all was
> thanks to Apogee... bless.
A 486 as in the Pentium PC processor?! Actually, I had a 486 until about two months ago, when I pulled the parts from it.
Ah! I've just remembered a game I used to love (which I played on that 486). It was called Humans. You controlled these prehistoric men and you had to pick up tools to help you to get to the end of the level. You could also get the men to make a human tower to get one man to a high place. Oh, remeniscence...(!) Actually, I think I've still got Humans kicking about somewhere....
> 5) 486. Dunno if this classes as a console, but my early childhood
> was spent on this. As Edgy knows, I was addicted to some truly
> classic games; Commander Keen, Monster Bash, Cosmo, Stunts, Secret
> Agent, Paganitzu, Raptor... the list goes on. And almost all was
> thanks to Apogee... bless.
A 486 as in the Pentium PC processor?! Actually, I had a 486 until about two months ago, when I pulled the parts from it.
Ah! I've just remembered a game I used to love (which I played on that 486). It was called Humans. You controlled these prehistoric men and you had to pick up tools to help you to get to the end of the level. You could also get the men to make a human tower to get one man to a high place. Oh, remeniscence...(!) Actually, I think I've still got Humans kicking about somewhere...
My input:
1) Xbox (only cos mine's chipped and it's suddenly become so versatile :-D)
2) Dreamcast. The first of the 128 bit consoles, and still one of the best. This was the console which had 50% great games, and got me hooked on racing games (MSR), fighting games (SoulCalibur), shooting games (with the PC ports) and re-instated my love of RPGs, cascading me with numerous awesome Japanese RPGs.
3) Nintendo 64 (this was the console which had the most games which I'd play and play and play. Absolutely brilliant)
4) PSone. You can't deny it was a great console, with awesome games.
5) 486. Dunno if this classes as a console, but my early childhood was spent on this. As Edgy knows, I was addicted to some truly classic games; Commander Keen, Monster Bash, Cosmo, Stunts, Secret Agent, Paganitzu, Raptor... the list goes on. And almost all was thanks to Apogee... bless.
1) Xbox (only cos mine's chipped and it's suddenly become so versatile :-D)
2) Dreamcast. The first of the 128 bit consoles, and still one of the best. This was the console which had 50% great games, and got me hooked on racing games (MSR), fighting games (SoulCalibur), shooting games (with the PC ports) and re-instated my love of RPGs, cascading me with numerous awesome Japanese RPGs.
3) Nintendo 64 (this was the console which had the most games which I'd play and play and play. Absolutely brilliant)
4) PSone. You can't deny it was a great console, with awesome games.
5) 486. Dunno if this classes as a console, but my early childhood was spent on this. As Edgy knows, I was addicted to some truly classic games; Commander Keen, Monster Bash, Cosmo, Stunts, Secret Agent, Paganitzu, Raptor... the list goes on. And almost all was thanks to Apogee... bless.
Page: