Video Game Question

[Festus22]

Time to burn some poker winnings.

I've been out of the scene for awhile. The latest games I played were Warcraft and Starcraft, Quake, Doom, etc. I'm thinking along the lines of a Play Station or XBox since what I see in terms of graphics and sheer mayhem looks light years ahead of what I played.

Anyone have any recommendations one way or the other? What accessories are invaluable? Any particular games stand out for...

Destruction?
Exploring and Problem Solving?
Good for Kids? (Son is 5 so I'm really buying it for him - wink, wink)

Anything else I should know?

P.S. I'm looking to blow maybe $750ish.

[ArchAngel71857]

If you enjoyed Warcraft, Starcraft, etc. then you really don't need to go any further than your own PC. Warcraft III, and Diablo II will entertain you probably forever. Also, the soon to be released Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is supposed to be the greatest game ever made, or somehting.

but between x-box and PS2, i think PS2 has a little wider game selection. Destruction games? GTA Vice City. not for your 5 year old.

exploring and problem solving? Simpons Hit and Run (Best Simpsons Game Ever!), GTA: VC, Balduer's Gate: Dark Alliance, Metal Gear Solid 2, Castlevania Lament of Innocence.

They also have a ton of games for kids: Finding Nemo, Spongebob, Kingdom hearts, Harry Potter, Jax and dexter, Ratchet and Clank, the list is endless.

I don't really know much about the x-box, but im sure it won't be a waste.

Hope you "son" enjoys your xmas gift.

-AA

[Eihli]

Half-life is a good set. It has a lot of mods for it to, Team fortress(my favorite), counterstrike, blue shield, so on so forth. It is kind of like doom, but less demons and some great multiplayer action.

Savage is a fun game. www.s2games.com/savage (http://www.s2games.com/savage) They have a 30 day demo for download right now. It's a lot more graphics heavy than half-life. The game is a real time strategy first person shooter. Two teams of up to 32 people fight to destroy the others stronghold. Each team has a commander that can build defense, weapons, and upgrade the tech tree. So if you like real time strategies like starcraft, you can play as a commander. If you like first person shooters like doom, you can play as a fighter.

Unreal tournament. I havn't played UT2003, but the original is a blast. It's a huge fragfest, very fast action and loads of fun.

Halflife2 and Doom3 are suppose to be coming out soon. Q1 of 04 I think. You should definitely save some money to get them when they are out. You may need to upgrade your computer though if it's kind of old. The graphics on these 2 games should be brutal.

[Mano]

Since it seems that you like shooters (Quake, Doom, etc.) I would get an X-Box. Halo is the best shooter currently available on the consoles, and Halo 2 is due out shortly. Counterstrike is also a great shooter, and Half-life 2 looks amazing (PC only at the moment but will be coming out for X-Box and not PS2). All IMHO, and I may be biased (I work for MS developing games for X-Box).

[Ray Zee]

how much better are the boxes than using a good home computer. am i really missing so much.

[Mano]

If you have a high end home computer with one of the latest video cards it is actually more powerfull hardware wise than the consoles (also quite a bit more expensive - a new XBox or PS2 are going for about $180 whereas a good gaming computer will start around $1000).

The problem is the trend is to make the new games for the consoles only. The PC game market has shrunk considerably over the last 4-5 years, although this trend could reverse in the future as it has in the past. Consoles are also easier to develop games for because you don't have to deal with compatibility issues. So although the home PC's have the power, many of the new games just are not available on them, or come out on the consoles first and then are ported to the PC much later (Halo was just released for the PC but has been available on XBox for 2 years).

Consoles also have the advantage of hooking up to your TV, so if you want to play with friends you can play in the living room instead of the office, and console controllers are generally easier to play games with than a mouse and keyboard, although different gaming controllers (steering wheels, joysticks, gamepads, etc.) are available as addons for the PC.

[baggins]

Xbox is worth it for Halo alone.

i'm really not much of an expert, but I love Halo.

If you're really torn, buy both. or rent both, and see what you prefer in terms of system design, playability, etc. and check out the titles available for each.

both have good games, but Halo (and the promise of Halo2) alone tip the scales in favor of XBOX.

[trillig]

X-Box has the better internal components.

If I was doing it though, goto a major retailer and compare titles...

On consoles, all I care about are Hockey, and Destruction Derby Racing games.

For a 5 year old, I'd get a used Genesis... WHY? Mega-cheap and easy to find carts for and still great gameplay to be had and NO waiting to load!

Go on ebay, mega-cheap.... I know caz I own 3 complete units, all worked fine, one had no controllers, which didn't matter, I bought 2 HUGE joysticks with big buttons for $5 each locally, very high quality controllers, suspect these went for $60 or more during Genesis heyday. I have at least 100 genesis cartridges, and I probably paid under $250 for all 3 units+ the controllers, + games.
A few games for the genesis maybe hard to find or fun bid wars on ebay for them, but your 5 year old would probably be very happy with instant loading cartridges, I know the attention span is not very much.... and these carts can take a beating... Just a thought or two... 8)

Expected cost for a complete genesis with 8 games in good shape on ebay including shipping? ($25) I got one for $12 + S. 8)

BTW with money saved, you have $725 left for your X-Box and those only go for $199 now, so you have plenty for game rentals/purchases... and perhaps a dedicated TV for it!

Game reviews for X-Box and PSX-2 try ugo.com

Game wise u can't go wrong with Soul Caliber 2 and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
Otherwise rent first, buy second... and check places that sell used...

-t

[Ray Zee]

thanks mano i learned alot from you there. since i am upgrading computers soon i will stick with that i guess.