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Gaming is a filthy business. For years, we swear allegiance to one hardware vendor over another, and then on a whim we buy a console when mere months before we said we wouldn’t touch it. The cruel mockery of yesterday becomes the lavish praise of today. Developers can go from being virtual deities to real-life failures, all in the space of one poor game.
A blunt introduction, I guess, for this piece. I’ve never been a massive fan of Microsoft consoles. The company itself, I have no real opinions on. But the behemoth machines they’ve launched (or at least, limply thrown as far as their arms allow) never really grabbed my attention. The Xbox was the most powerful of its generation, yes, and did eventually finish with quite a catalogue of games. However the slant, or indeed, massively obtuse angle that they took towards FPSes - whether intentional or not – was not to my taste. It seemed like a console for twattish American teenagers, all of whom had tired of playing Counterstrike on their PCs and instead wanted to play Counterstrike on their TVs. Thankfully, or perhaps not, my similarly-minded group of high school friends agreed and we all bought PS2s and Gamecubes and never thought of it again.
Wind forward this perfect scene of teenage ignorance to 2008. Everyone wants a Wii, or a DS Lite, or even simply a paper cut-out of either if only to keep quiet their children for a second or two. The PS lineage has taken a strangely entertaining turn for the worst, being outsold from all sides and having roughly 2 must-own titles on shelves. The Microsoft camp, like you might expect, still has the hardcore contingent safely warm against its chest, whilst taking pot shots at the casual kids by attempting to make 360 the great all-rounder.
Being the kind of guy that I am – that is, the guy who picks the ‘General’ class in RPGs and plays as ‘Yoshi’ in Mario Kart - I like to own the all-rounder console of a generation. I had the PS1 for my easy going kicks, and the magnificent PS2 for all those strange and wonderful games that didn’t have a hope of making it to the GC or XB. So wasn’t I surprised when, after all 3 ‘next-gen’ (does that still stand?) consoles had made it to market, the 360 was looking at me, pawing even, telling me that he was the all-rounder!
Don’t get me wrong – I love my Wii. To put it in perspective, had Woolworths not gotten my Wii in stock on launch day like I was told, I probably would have done something awful involving the cashier’s fingers and some piano wire. Thankfully, that grim situation never arose and many hours were spent wandering the planes of Zelda and perfecting my swing in Wii Sports. The Forecast Channel’s soothing tones alone have brought me hours of mellow entertainment. But for all the Brain Training and Academies and Endless Oceans and what not, it’s still a relatively niche console when it comes to the games. Nintendo’s first party line up is second to none, perhaps the best any console has seen in years. My review of Super Mario Galaxy is testament to that. Nevertheless, it’s hardly the PS2 of the modern group of consoles, where every genre is well catered for and no taste unsatisfied. Maybe in the future - in fact, almost certainly in the future – it will be… but not yet.
On the other hand, I can’t say I love my Xbox360 anywhere near as much. He’s a bit of a brute, still flogging his FPS wares to bored passers-by and has a ridiculous price-per-Gb for his hard drive. The music isn’t as lovely as the Wii Channels and the chrome-alike disc tray is nothing as beautiful as a blue-lit slot loader. What it does have, though, is grunt. Power isn’t everything, but it certainly helps. Admittedly the thing does sound like a plane taking off at times, but I can deal with that, just. Where as in previous generations the ‘Console Wars’ (to give it the ridiculous moniker a 9 year old might) have been all about power, the Kyoto giant has now driven off the gaming motorway onto motion-sensitive country roads. Sony tried to follow, but the Hummer wouldn’t fit. Microsoft, instead, is following the signs all the way home.
Why is this a good thing? To tell the truth, I can’t really pinpoint it to one factor or another. What I can say is this - looking at things completely objectively, we’re now beginning to see the full spectrum of gaming loveliness on that once-belittled console. Yes, yes, squad based WW2 shooters will still be released with amusing regularity, but those big and little gems that I came to only expect on the 100-million seller the PS2 are beginning to appear. For Gitaroo Man, there’s Space Giraffe. For Final Fantasy X, there’s Blue Dragon. For Rez, there’s… umm… Rez HD! I’ve got decent RPGs, I’ve got a tonne of great racing games, platformers are becoming less rubbish (though my Wii usually steps in here) and I’m even warming up to the occasional fragfest.
I suppose that a few of those games only made it because they’re downloads, and not boxed retail efforts. True, I guess, but it’s not like we’re seeing them on PSN or streamed down the otherwise-spiffing Virtual Console. I’m all for Mario 64 on my Wii. I’m more for Rez HD on my 360.
I still think that the way Microsoft has gone about the whole affair has been a bit, well, dim, but I guess if you throw cash at anything for long enough it’ll eventually turn good. Except perhaps terrorists, that probably wouldn’t work such a treat. Now, as they enter their 5th year in the business proper, it seems that all the ingredients are just right. The games, the online service, the peripherals, and the price are making it a perfect mid-way machine. Fair enough, it’ll take a little more than Viva Pinata to attract the same massive market Wii is going for, and the PS2 has (even if Viva Pinata is frickin’ genius), but it’s a step in the right direction.
It’s odd for me to write this because traditionally I’ve been a Nintendo nut. And let it be said I’m in no way revoking that ‘nuttage’. For all the crappy advertising campaigns, Euro delays and general ham-shittery that Ninty UK throws our way, I’ll always love them in a I-also-could-do-with-therapy sort of way. It’s just I’m only now beginning to share a bit of that love with the Xbox. I mean, he’s still a step-child to my other kids. But give him a couple of Christmases and I think we’ll see him become a proper part of the family.
(Note: This, oddly enough, was meant to be a review of the fantastic but horribly difficulty-spiky Guitar Hero 3. I’ll probably chuck that up in a few days. I also had to take sweary words out. Boo.)
A blunt introduction, I guess, for this piece. I’ve never been a massive fan of Microsoft consoles. The company itself, I have no real opinions on. But the behemoth machines they’ve launched (or at least, limply thrown as far as their arms allow) never really grabbed my attention. The Xbox was the most powerful of its generation, yes, and did eventually finish with quite a catalogue of games. However the slant, or indeed, massively obtuse angle that they took towards FPSes - whether intentional or not – was not to my taste. It seemed like a console for twattish American teenagers, all of whom had tired of playing Counterstrike on their PCs and instead wanted to play Counterstrike on their TVs. Thankfully, or perhaps not, my similarly-minded group of high school friends agreed and we all bought PS2s and Gamecubes and never thought of it again.
Wind forward this perfect scene of teenage ignorance to 2008. Everyone wants a Wii, or a DS Lite, or even simply a paper cut-out of either if only to keep quiet their children for a second or two. The PS lineage has taken a strangely entertaining turn for the worst, being outsold from all sides and having roughly 2 must-own titles on shelves. The Microsoft camp, like you might expect, still has the hardcore contingent safely warm against its chest, whilst taking pot shots at the casual kids by attempting to make 360 the great all-rounder.
Being the kind of guy that I am – that is, the guy who picks the ‘General’ class in RPGs and plays as ‘Yoshi’ in Mario Kart - I like to own the all-rounder console of a generation. I had the PS1 for my easy going kicks, and the magnificent PS2 for all those strange and wonderful games that didn’t have a hope of making it to the GC or XB. So wasn’t I surprised when, after all 3 ‘next-gen’ (does that still stand?) consoles had made it to market, the 360 was looking at me, pawing even, telling me that he was the all-rounder!
Don’t get me wrong – I love my Wii. To put it in perspective, had Woolworths not gotten my Wii in stock on launch day like I was told, I probably would have done something awful involving the cashier’s fingers and some piano wire. Thankfully, that grim situation never arose and many hours were spent wandering the planes of Zelda and perfecting my swing in Wii Sports. The Forecast Channel’s soothing tones alone have brought me hours of mellow entertainment. But for all the Brain Training and Academies and Endless Oceans and what not, it’s still a relatively niche console when it comes to the games. Nintendo’s first party line up is second to none, perhaps the best any console has seen in years. My review of Super Mario Galaxy is testament to that. Nevertheless, it’s hardly the PS2 of the modern group of consoles, where every genre is well catered for and no taste unsatisfied. Maybe in the future - in fact, almost certainly in the future – it will be… but not yet.
On the other hand, I can’t say I love my Xbox360 anywhere near as much. He’s a bit of a brute, still flogging his FPS wares to bored passers-by and has a ridiculous price-per-Gb for his hard drive. The music isn’t as lovely as the Wii Channels and the chrome-alike disc tray is nothing as beautiful as a blue-lit slot loader. What it does have, though, is grunt. Power isn’t everything, but it certainly helps. Admittedly the thing does sound like a plane taking off at times, but I can deal with that, just. Where as in previous generations the ‘Console Wars’ (to give it the ridiculous moniker a 9 year old might) have been all about power, the Kyoto giant has now driven off the gaming motorway onto motion-sensitive country roads. Sony tried to follow, but the Hummer wouldn’t fit. Microsoft, instead, is following the signs all the way home.
Why is this a good thing? To tell the truth, I can’t really pinpoint it to one factor or another. What I can say is this - looking at things completely objectively, we’re now beginning to see the full spectrum of gaming loveliness on that once-belittled console. Yes, yes, squad based WW2 shooters will still be released with amusing regularity, but those big and little gems that I came to only expect on the 100-million seller the PS2 are beginning to appear. For Gitaroo Man, there’s Space Giraffe. For Final Fantasy X, there’s Blue Dragon. For Rez, there’s… umm… Rez HD! I’ve got decent RPGs, I’ve got a tonne of great racing games, platformers are becoming less rubbish (though my Wii usually steps in here) and I’m even warming up to the occasional fragfest.
I suppose that a few of those games only made it because they’re downloads, and not boxed retail efforts. True, I guess, but it’s not like we’re seeing them on PSN or streamed down the otherwise-spiffing Virtual Console. I’m all for Mario 64 on my Wii. I’m more for Rez HD on my 360.
I still think that the way Microsoft has gone about the whole affair has been a bit, well, dim, but I guess if you throw cash at anything for long enough it’ll eventually turn good. Except perhaps terrorists, that probably wouldn’t work such a treat. Now, as they enter their 5th year in the business proper, it seems that all the ingredients are just right. The games, the online service, the peripherals, and the price are making it a perfect mid-way machine. Fair enough, it’ll take a little more than Viva Pinata to attract the same massive market Wii is going for, and the PS2 has (even if Viva Pinata is frickin’ genius), but it’s a step in the right direction.
It’s odd for me to write this because traditionally I’ve been a Nintendo nut. And let it be said I’m in no way revoking that ‘nuttage’. For all the crappy advertising campaigns, Euro delays and general ham-shittery that Ninty UK throws our way, I’ll always love them in a I-also-could-do-with-therapy sort of way. It’s just I’m only now beginning to share a bit of that love with the Xbox. I mean, he’s still a step-child to my other kids. But give him a couple of Christmases and I think we’ll see him become a proper part of the family.
(Note: This, oddly enough, was meant to be a review of the fantastic but horribly difficulty-spiky Guitar Hero 3. I’ll probably chuck that up in a few days. I also had to take sweary words out. Boo.)
Gaming is a filthy business. For years, we swear allegiance to one hardware vendor over another, and then on a whim we buy a console when mere months before we said we wouldn’t touch it. The cruel mockery of yesterday becomes the lavish praise of today. Developers can go from being virtual deities to real-life failures, all in the space of one poor game.
A blunt introduction, I guess, for this piece. I’ve never been a massive fan of Microsoft consoles. The company itself, I have no real opinions on. But the behemoth machines they’ve launched (or at least, limply thrown as far as their arms allow) never really grabbed my attention. The Xbox was the most powerful of its generation, yes, and did eventually finish with quite a catalogue of games. However the slant, or indeed, massively obtuse angle that they took towards FPSes - whether intentional or not – was not to my taste. It seemed like a console for twattish American teenagers, all of whom had tired of playing Counterstrike on their PCs and instead wanted to play Counterstrike on their TVs. Thankfully, or perhaps not, my similarly-minded group of high school friends agreed and we all bought PS2s and Gamecubes and never thought of it again.
Wind forward this perfect scene of teenage ignorance to 2008. Everyone wants a Wii, or a DS Lite, or even simply a paper cut-out of either if only to keep quiet their children for a second or two. The PS lineage has taken a strangely entertaining turn for the worst, being outsold from all sides and having roughly 2 must-own titles on shelves. The Microsoft camp, like you might expect, still has the hardcore contingent safely warm against its chest, whilst taking pot shots at the casual kids by attempting to make 360 the great all-rounder.
Being the kind of guy that I am – that is, the guy who picks the ‘General’ class in RPGs and plays as ‘Yoshi’ in Mario Kart - I like to own the all-rounder console of a generation. I had the PS1 for my easy going kicks, and the magnificent PS2 for all those strange and wonderful games that didn’t have a hope of making it to the GC or XB. So wasn’t I surprised when, after all 3 ‘next-gen’ (does that still stand?) consoles had made it to market, the 360 was looking at me, pawing even, telling me that he was the all-rounder!
Don’t get me wrong – I love my Wii. To put it in perspective, had Woolworths not gotten my Wii in stock on launch day like I was told, I probably would have done something awful involving the cashier’s fingers and some piano wire. Thankfully, that grim situation never arose and many hours were spent wandering the planes of Zelda and perfecting my swing in Wii Sports. The Forecast Channel’s soothing tones alone have brought me hours of mellow entertainment. But for all the Brain Training and Academies and Endless Oceans and what not, it’s still a relatively niche console when it comes to the games. Nintendo’s first party line up is second to none, perhaps the best any console has seen in years. My review of Super Mario Galaxy is testament to that. Nevertheless, it’s hardly the PS2 of the modern group of consoles, where every genre is well catered for and no taste unsatisfied. Maybe in the future - in fact, almost certainly in the future – it will be… but not yet.
On the other hand, I can’t say I love my Xbox360 anywhere near as much. He’s a bit of a brute, still flogging his FPS wares to bored passers-by and has a ridiculous price-per-Gb for his hard drive. The music isn’t as lovely as the Wii Channels and the chrome-alike disc tray is nothing as beautiful as a blue-lit slot loader. What it does have, though, is grunt. Power isn’t everything, but it certainly helps. Admittedly the thing does sound like a plane taking off at times, but I can deal with that, just. Where as in previous generations the ‘Console Wars’ (to give it the ridiculous moniker a 9 year old might) have been all about power, the Kyoto giant has now driven off the gaming motorway onto motion-sensitive country roads. Sony tried to follow, but the Hummer wouldn’t fit. Microsoft, instead, is following the signs all the way home.
Why is this a good thing? To tell the truth, I can’t really pinpoint it to one factor or another. What I can say is this - looking at things completely objectively, we’re now beginning to see the full spectrum of gaming loveliness on that once-belittled console. Yes, yes, squad based WW2 shooters will still be released with amusing regularity, but those big and little gems that I came to only expect on the 100-million seller the PS2 are beginning to appear. For Gitaroo Man, there’s Space Giraffe. For Final Fantasy X, there’s Blue Dragon. For Rez, there’s… umm… Rez HD! I’ve got decent RPGs, I’ve got a tonne of great racing games, platformers are becoming less rubbish (though my Wii usually steps in here) and I’m even warming up to the occasional fragfest.
I suppose that a few of those games only made it because they’re downloads, and not boxed retail efforts. True, I guess, but it’s not like we’re seeing them on PSN or streamed down the otherwise-spiffing Virtual Console. I’m all for Mario 64 on my Wii. I’m more for Rez HD on my 360.
I still think that the way Microsoft has gone about the whole affair has been a bit, well, dim, but I guess if you throw cash at anything for long enough it’ll eventually turn good. Except perhaps terrorists, that probably wouldn’t work such a treat. Now, as they enter their 5th year in the business proper, it seems that all the ingredients are just right. The games, the online service, the peripherals, and the price are making it a perfect mid-way machine. Fair enough, it’ll take a little more than Viva Pinata to attract the same massive market Wii is going for, and the PS2 has (even if Viva Pinata is frickin’ genius), but it’s a step in the right direction.
It’s odd for me to write this because traditionally I’ve been a Nintendo nut. And let it be said I’m in no way revoking that ‘nuttage’. For all the crappy advertising campaigns, Euro delays and general ham-shittery that Ninty UK throws our way, I’ll always love them in a I-also-could-do-with-therapy sort of way. It’s just I’m only now beginning to share a bit of that love with the Xbox. I mean, he’s still a step-child to my other kids. But give him a couple of Christmases and I think we’ll see him become a proper part of the family.
(Note: This, oddly enough, was meant to be a review of the fantastic but horribly difficulty-spiky Guitar Hero 3. I’ll probably chuck that up in a few days. I also had to take sweary words out. Boo.)
A blunt introduction, I guess, for this piece. I’ve never been a massive fan of Microsoft consoles. The company itself, I have no real opinions on. But the behemoth machines they’ve launched (or at least, limply thrown as far as their arms allow) never really grabbed my attention. The Xbox was the most powerful of its generation, yes, and did eventually finish with quite a catalogue of games. However the slant, or indeed, massively obtuse angle that they took towards FPSes - whether intentional or not – was not to my taste. It seemed like a console for twattish American teenagers, all of whom had tired of playing Counterstrike on their PCs and instead wanted to play Counterstrike on their TVs. Thankfully, or perhaps not, my similarly-minded group of high school friends agreed and we all bought PS2s and Gamecubes and never thought of it again.
Wind forward this perfect scene of teenage ignorance to 2008. Everyone wants a Wii, or a DS Lite, or even simply a paper cut-out of either if only to keep quiet their children for a second or two. The PS lineage has taken a strangely entertaining turn for the worst, being outsold from all sides and having roughly 2 must-own titles on shelves. The Microsoft camp, like you might expect, still has the hardcore contingent safely warm against its chest, whilst taking pot shots at the casual kids by attempting to make 360 the great all-rounder.
Being the kind of guy that I am – that is, the guy who picks the ‘General’ class in RPGs and plays as ‘Yoshi’ in Mario Kart - I like to own the all-rounder console of a generation. I had the PS1 for my easy going kicks, and the magnificent PS2 for all those strange and wonderful games that didn’t have a hope of making it to the GC or XB. So wasn’t I surprised when, after all 3 ‘next-gen’ (does that still stand?) consoles had made it to market, the 360 was looking at me, pawing even, telling me that he was the all-rounder!
Don’t get me wrong – I love my Wii. To put it in perspective, had Woolworths not gotten my Wii in stock on launch day like I was told, I probably would have done something awful involving the cashier’s fingers and some piano wire. Thankfully, that grim situation never arose and many hours were spent wandering the planes of Zelda and perfecting my swing in Wii Sports. The Forecast Channel’s soothing tones alone have brought me hours of mellow entertainment. But for all the Brain Training and Academies and Endless Oceans and what not, it’s still a relatively niche console when it comes to the games. Nintendo’s first party line up is second to none, perhaps the best any console has seen in years. My review of Super Mario Galaxy is testament to that. Nevertheless, it’s hardly the PS2 of the modern group of consoles, where every genre is well catered for and no taste unsatisfied. Maybe in the future - in fact, almost certainly in the future – it will be… but not yet.
On the other hand, I can’t say I love my Xbox360 anywhere near as much. He’s a bit of a brute, still flogging his FPS wares to bored passers-by and has a ridiculous price-per-Gb for his hard drive. The music isn’t as lovely as the Wii Channels and the chrome-alike disc tray is nothing as beautiful as a blue-lit slot loader. What it does have, though, is grunt. Power isn’t everything, but it certainly helps. Admittedly the thing does sound like a plane taking off at times, but I can deal with that, just. Where as in previous generations the ‘Console Wars’ (to give it the ridiculous moniker a 9 year old might) have been all about power, the Kyoto giant has now driven off the gaming motorway onto motion-sensitive country roads. Sony tried to follow, but the Hummer wouldn’t fit. Microsoft, instead, is following the signs all the way home.
Why is this a good thing? To tell the truth, I can’t really pinpoint it to one factor or another. What I can say is this - looking at things completely objectively, we’re now beginning to see the full spectrum of gaming loveliness on that once-belittled console. Yes, yes, squad based WW2 shooters will still be released with amusing regularity, but those big and little gems that I came to only expect on the 100-million seller the PS2 are beginning to appear. For Gitaroo Man, there’s Space Giraffe. For Final Fantasy X, there’s Blue Dragon. For Rez, there’s… umm… Rez HD! I’ve got decent RPGs, I’ve got a tonne of great racing games, platformers are becoming less rubbish (though my Wii usually steps in here) and I’m even warming up to the occasional fragfest.
I suppose that a few of those games only made it because they’re downloads, and not boxed retail efforts. True, I guess, but it’s not like we’re seeing them on PSN or streamed down the otherwise-spiffing Virtual Console. I’m all for Mario 64 on my Wii. I’m more for Rez HD on my 360.
I still think that the way Microsoft has gone about the whole affair has been a bit, well, dim, but I guess if you throw cash at anything for long enough it’ll eventually turn good. Except perhaps terrorists, that probably wouldn’t work such a treat. Now, as they enter their 5th year in the business proper, it seems that all the ingredients are just right. The games, the online service, the peripherals, and the price are making it a perfect mid-way machine. Fair enough, it’ll take a little more than Viva Pinata to attract the same massive market Wii is going for, and the PS2 has (even if Viva Pinata is frickin’ genius), but it’s a step in the right direction.
It’s odd for me to write this because traditionally I’ve been a Nintendo nut. And let it be said I’m in no way revoking that ‘nuttage’. For all the crappy advertising campaigns, Euro delays and general ham-shittery that Ninty UK throws our way, I’ll always love them in a I-also-could-do-with-therapy sort of way. It’s just I’m only now beginning to share a bit of that love with the Xbox. I mean, he’s still a step-child to my other kids. But give him a couple of Christmases and I think we’ll see him become a proper part of the family.
(Note: This, oddly enough, was meant to be a review of the fantastic but horribly difficulty-spiky Guitar Hero 3. I’ll probably chuck that up in a few days. I also had to take sweary words out. Boo.)
Very entertaining, as usual.
Wii was certainly the only console of this generation I got at launch, but I too have a soft spot for the 360. Mind you, I also have a soft spot for that current underdog in the shivering blanket, the PS3, so this says that I just like games in general.
I never did like FPS games, apart from maybe Timesplitters 2 and Halo, but I've turned a corner on that and really got in to them on the 360. Sure, there's a lot of dross, as with racing games, but there are some top FPS games that beat a lot of the other genres out there at the moment too.
Wii was certainly the only console of this generation I got at launch, but I too have a soft spot for the 360. Mind you, I also have a soft spot for that current underdog in the shivering blanket, the PS3, so this says that I just like games in general.
I never did like FPS games, apart from maybe Timesplitters 2 and Halo, but I've turned a corner on that and really got in to them on the 360. Sure, there's a lot of dross, as with racing games, but there are some top FPS games that beat a lot of the other genres out there at the moment too.
Cheers dude for having a look :D
I can understand why the PS3 is hard not to love. It is an absolutely incredible piece of hardware, and as soon as FFXIII makes it out I'll be well on the bandwagon. Until then, though, I just can't warrant the purchase. I love the R&C series but 1 game can't justify the price, especially when so many games are cross-platform on 360.
Any good 360 beginner-friendly recommendations for the uninitiated FPSer?
I can understand why the PS3 is hard not to love. It is an absolutely incredible piece of hardware, and as soon as FFXIII makes it out I'll be well on the bandwagon. Until then, though, I just can't warrant the purchase. I love the R&C series but 1 game can't justify the price, especially when so many games are cross-platform on 360.
Any good 360 beginner-friendly recommendations for the uninitiated FPSer?
Well, Call of Duty 4 is probably the best of the best right now. I know you don't like those generic WW2 games, but bringing it up to date and setting it in present day battlefields really makes a difference.
Obvious choices are Halo 3 and Gears of War after this.
The other overstretched genre on the 360 is the Sandbox game, but there are some corkers here as well, Crackdown can be picked up pretty cheap now and is well worth a look.
Obvious choices are Halo 3 and Gears of War after this.
The other overstretched genre on the 360 is the Sandbox game, but there are some corkers here as well, Crackdown can be picked up pretty cheap now and is well worth a look.