Console game system advice.

[RandomGuy]

I will be purchasing a console game system some time in the next year or so.

What platform should I get and why?

I really have very little clue about the strengths/weaknesses of the various platforms.

What is the best game to buy for that platform? accessory?

Assume I am somewhat tech-saavy and smart enough to understand most jargon.

[MiamiHeat]

XBOX 360. It has the best games as of now, better exclusive games, and most importantly...THE BEST online multiplayer experience available of any console - XBOX LIVE.

you get the best support from one of the world's richest companies in Microsoft. The 360 is compatible with your Windows PC so you can easily transfer movies, music, all sorts of files from your 360 to your PC or vice-versa.

Make sure you buy a 360 that comes with a harddrive. There is a 20GB harddrive or the 360 Elite that comes with a 120GB harddrive (more expensive). I have the 20GB right now

Accessory, you will need to buy the following :

Play and Charge Kit (because the 360 wireless controllers come with battery packs that use batteries OR rechargeable batteries. the play and charge kit comes with the rechargeable batteries. that's what you want. I use it and never ever have a problem with power. you can play games as it's charging.)

Headset. there is a less expensive cord headset that connects to your wireless controller, or a more expensive ($40ish) wireless headset. I use the wireless one. it brings a power cord to recharge the headset.


as for games, depends on what genre you like.

i'll list only a few 360 exclusives.

Gears of War (one of the best games of any console)
Mass Effect (sci-fi space action RPG)
Dead Rising (awesome zombie survival game in a mall)
Halo 3 (the entire series is good)

also, 360 has the best downloadable content. for instance, Grand Theft Auto IV's THE LOST AND THE DAMNED content is ONLY for the 360. PS3 doesn't get it because Microsoft paid the developers of the game $50 MILLION to have it be 360 only exclusive. same with fallout 3, 360 only.


also, if you like war games, get Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare. it's online play is very fun. make sure you have a headset so you can talk to everyone

[Summers]

Does this mean Santa already knows what he's bringing the kids?

[BlackSwordsMan]

360

[Cry Havoc]

One sec, I'll post something from another thread.

[dirk4mvp]

360 and it's not really close.

[JoeChalupa]

XBOX 360. It has the best games as of now, better exclusive games, and most importantly...THE BEST online multiplayer experience available of any console - XBOX LIVE.

you get the best support from one of the world's richest companies in Microsoft. The 360 is compatible with your Windows PC so you can easily transfer movies, music, all sorts of files from your 360 to your PC or vice-versa.

Make sure you buy a 360 that comes with a harddrive. There is a 20GB harddrive or the 360 Elite that comes with a 120GB harddrive (more expensive). I have the 20GB right now

Accessory, you will need to buy the following :

Play and Charge Kit (because the 360 wireless controllers come with battery packs that use batteries OR rechargeable batteries. the play and charge kit comes with the rechargeable batteries. that's what you want. I use it and never ever have a problem with power. you can play games as it's charging.)

Headset. there is a less expensive cord headset that connects to your wireless controller, or a more expensive ($40ish) wireless headset. I use the wireless one. it brings a power cord to recharge the headset.


as for games, depends on what genre you like.

i'll list only a few 360 exclusives.

Gears of War (one of the best games of any console)
Mass Effect (sci-fi space action RPG)
Dead Rising (awesome zombie survival game in a mall)
Halo 3 (the entire series is good)

also, 360 has the best downloadable content. for instance, Grand Theft Auto IV's THE LOST AND THE DAMNED content is ONLY for the 360. PS3 doesn't get it because Microsoft paid the developers of the game $50 MILLION to have it be 360 only exclusive. same with fallout 3, 360 only.


also, if you like war games, get Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare. it's online play is very fun. make sure you have a headset so you can talk to everyone

Damn. I'm getting freakin' old.

[Cry Havoc]

I don't buy Blu-ray for every movie. However, some movies are worth paying the extra for, for the (much) better picture and sound. I wouldn't buy a movie like Dark Knight on DVD. For comedies or movies that don't demand a "wow" effect, DVD is fine.

At the very least, it's nice to have the option of buying Blu-ray, and having a great gaming system to boot.

I feel like this is the generation of "good" consoles. There are no stellar standouts. The Wii is the most user-friendly, has by far the best party factor, and has a few absolutely stellar les... and not much else. It's game library is choked, and it is very graphically limited.

The 360 is a fantastic online experience, clearly better than the Ps3 or the Wii and currently has the best library of games with great graphics. Normally these would be enough to secure any system a lock to win the console war, however, the RRoD plague hurt the 360 as much as anything could have.

The Ps3 has has similar graphics to the 360, supports Blu-Ray, is a rock-steady system that has an extremely low failure rate, and has a smaller library of stellar, exclusive les. However, the caveat here is obviously the gaming library doesn't compare yet to the 360s, and the online experience, while improving, still doesn't compare to Xbox Live.

So all three systems have reasons they're great and all three have reasons they suck.

Which is why I still favor PC over any console. Fast, stable, graphics that are far ahead of anything the other three are capable of, and still the best online experience around. Not only that, but the user interface is miles ahead of even the best controller for a console. For several genres, console shouldn't even be an option. I can't get over trying to play CoD4 with a joystick. It's just awful.

The only reason I wouldn't buy a 360 (and haven't) is because I refuse to own a piece of hardware that I'm almost positive will break down on me at some point. The RRoD is inexcusable, IMO.

For what it's worth, don't listen to these people who are saying, "it's not close". They're fanboys. They want you to buy what they own. Do your own research and decide what you want to buy. It's safe to say you're going to sink quite a lot of money into a console, so make sure it's what YOU want, not what Gears of War 2 fanboys are telling you is a must-have.

I can tell you from my own experience that nothing can compete (for me) with the flexibility and power of a gaming PC. And they're cheap now too, you can build a very respectable rig that will outperform either the PS3 or the 360 for $500, or buy one from craigslist. Plus, games for Windows are $10-20 cheaper.

If I HAD to buy a console today, it would be a Ps3, though. Because while having a massive game library like the 360 is nice, how many games are you going to buy? Most gamers own 10-20 games for a respective system. There are 10 excellent les for the PS3 out right NOW, so unless you're a hardcore gamer looking to spend $3000 on games, what does a library of 4,000 les get you? What does a library of 100 incredible games get you if you are only going to own 20 games, max?

[IronMexican]

360.

You can chat with a friend and play two different games.

[JoeChalupa]

I've always heard that PC gaming is the best but I don't like using the keyboard to play games but I'm also naive when it comes to pc gaming.

[S_A_Longhorn]

Report just came out that the kids prefer the Nintendo Wii, teens prefer the 360, and the older audiences prefer the PS3.

Games are subjective. If you don't like shooters, the 360 lineup is not that enticing. The PSN has the most artisitic & unique games are exclusive to the PS3.

Honestly, buy whatever system supports the game you want to play, as I am assuming you have a game you want to play. If the game or games are available for multiple consoles, then weigh-in the non-gaming aspects.

[Cry Havoc]

I've always heard that PC gaming is the best but I don't like using the keyboard to play games but I'm also naive when it comes to pc gaming.

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/ga...s.aspx?pid=091

The Xbox 360 controller for Windows. Use it. Love it.

If you play first person shooters though, there is absolutely no comparison for using a mouse + keyboard. I was a console gamer for ~15 years, and the first time I played Counterstrike 1.4 with a keyboard and mouse, I knew I was never going back. Once you get used to the WASD control and the mouse, it offers a level of precision and satisfaction that you simply cannot find with a joystick.

[Cry Havoc]

360.

You can chat with a friend and play two different games.

I can chat with an unlimited number of friends while gaming and doing homework on my computer, with a Playstation emulator running in the background.

[JoeChalupa]

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/ga...s.aspx?pid=091

The Xbox 360 controller for Windows. Use it. Love it.

If you play first person shooters though, there is absolutely no comparison for using a mouse + keyboard. I was a console gamer for ~15 years, and the first time I played Counterstrike 1.4 with a keyboard and mouse, I knew I was never going back. Once you get used to the WASD control and the mouse, it offers a level of precision and satisfaction that you simply cannot find with a joystick.

Thanks for the info.

[Cry Havoc]

Thanks for the info.

Yep. Keep in mind that using a mouse + keyboard may feel awkward at first, but if you're like me, your first real gaming experience was with an atari joystick which refused to work half the time or controlling a little plumber by mashing on a bright red button to get him to jump. That was pretty freakin' awkward too until you get used to it!

[S_A_Longhorn]

I'll put in a vote for WARHAWK for the PS3. Look up some vids on YouTube. A great game that allows to shoot on foot, roll in a tank, ride in a jeep, or jump in a jet. The action is fast and the maps are huge.

My buds and I play for hours every nite.

[JoeChalupa]

Yep. Keep in mind that using a mouse + keyboard may feel awkward at first, but if you're like me, your first real gaming experience was with an atari joystick which refused to work half the time or controlling a little plumber by mashing on a bright red button to get him to jump. That was pretty freakin' awkward too until you get used to it!

I started with Atari. Way back I bought this joystick for a PC but I could never get it to work so I gave up. It was back when Mouse had all these PC games.

[balli]

360, but it is close.

[CuckingFunt]

I prefer the PS3. Especially now that the number of good games is starting to catch up to the 360. Game exclusivity is always going to be a factor, and I get why people buy the 360 to remain loyal to their franchise of choice, but I'd have a real hard time dropping money on a console that is so prone to crashing.

[DarkReign]

I've always heard that PC gaming is the best but I don't like using the keyboard to play games but I'm also naive when it comes to pc gaming.

This. Nothing touches PC gaming and any game that is on a console is better and more customizable on a PC.

With that said, there is a learning curve for certain aspects of gaming a console-exclusive player wouldnt know or even care about (resolution, anti-aliasing, cvars, console keys, user.ini files, etc).

But if youre going to get a console, go with a 360 hands down.

I own all the gaming systems...my PS3 is a glorified Blu-Ray player...at least until GOW3 comes out.

[DarkReign]

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/ga...s.aspx?pid=091

The Xbox 360 controller for Windows. Use it. Love it.

If you play first person shooters though, there is absolutely no comparison for using a mouse + keyboard. I was a console gamer for ~15 years, and the first time I played Counterstrike 1.4 with a keyboard and mouse, I knew I was never going back. Once you get used to the WASD control and the mouse, it offers a level of precision and satisfaction that you simply cannot find with a joystick.

I cant get the son of a to work on my PC. Trust me, I want to. Sports games no worky-worky with a mouse+keyboard.

Also, I have my basement networked and cant exchange files between my 360 and PC. Any tips?

[baseline bum]

Like Heat said, x360. It wins in the only thing that really matters: better games. Just like Gameboy killed the technically superior GameGear and how 8-bit NES was better than 16-bit Genesis. If you're looking to make it a media center you might be better off with PS3 though. You can't stream a lot of types of video to the X360 yet.

[baseline bum]

I cant get the son of a to work on my PC. Trust me, I want to. Sports games no worky-worky with a mouse+keyboard.

Also, I have my basement networked and cant exchange files between my 360 and PC. Any tips?

Is it the wireless controller? I don't think you can use the wireless controller on Windows even with the wire from the charge kit. Wired x360 controllers should work out of the box though.

[Cry Havoc]

I cant get the son of a to work on my PC. Trust me, I want to. Sports games no worky-worky with a mouse+keyboard.

Also, I have my basement networked and cant exchange files between my 360 and PC. Any tips?

Did you buy a 360 controller for windows? A standard 360 controller will NOT work with a PC, as far as I know. You need to buy one especially for your PC.

As far as the networking goes, try this, if you haven't already:

Go into your network sharing center (control panel > network & sharing or the like), then make sure your network discovery, file sharing, media sharing, and public folder sharing are turned on. I believe you can do this through windows media center as well. This should allow your PC and 360 to access each other freely.

[sabar]

$4 ps2 controller + $5 usb adapter >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> M$ Official 360 Controller