A True Gamer

A true gamer, be them a Professional or a person playing them for Fun, is not biased when it comes to Video Games. A true gamer has the ability to see the “Pros” and “Cons” of each console, and is able to enjoy all of them. Gaming is more or less an Art form, and although some Artists excel in different types of Art, they all appreciate all forms of Art in general. Now, I have been an avid player of Video Games since I first got my hands on an NES Controller, and since I have grown up, I have learned to distinguish what each of the major gaming companies choose to put most of their effort in. Of course, this is all in my opinion, but I believe any true gamer can appreciate them.

Now, my first topic would be the Xbox 360. Yes, it was most likely released before it was ready to be released, thus leading to all the hype about the “Red Rings of Death” and other such things which could of been avoided if they had taken the time to look over the Hardware and Software a bit more, but none the less, this is probably my favorite out of all of the systems. Now, the thing that separates Microsoft and their Xbox System is that it is an America-based Company, which up until the Xbox came out wasn’t the best place to make Video Games. They are having to compete with the likes of Sony, whom was the first to take CD games to the next level in Console Games, and of course Nintendo, whom was in the Gaming Business for over ten years prior to the appearance of the Sony Playstation. Of course, it had some minor competition such as Atari, Sega and others, but that is beside the point.

Sega put up a good fight, but its credibility was shattered with the Sega Saturn and the Dreamcast (I actually loved the Dreamcast, but apparently the majority of people did not) Either way, Microsoft has some seasoned competition out there, and seeing this is merely their second Console System, I believe they are putting up a decent fight. Now, Microsoft’s claim to fame is obviously the Halo Series, which was one of the main reasons why I bought the Xbox 360, which was to get my greedy hands on Halo 3. Now, Microsoft clearly has a death grip on the Computer Gaming sect, seeing as I believe more people have Windows-based Operating systems, which most if not all Computer games are compatible with. They took this, and applied it to their Console, thus giving birth to the Xbox Live network, something which all of today’s Next-Gen systems have taken and modified for them.

This alone gives Xbox and Microsoft an edge over the others, because they originated, or at least made popular, the idea of Online Console Gaming. I believe the PlayStation 2 had something that allowed for online gaming, but it was never very popular in my opinion. Now, the pros with the Xbox 360, are that the Controller is much smaller and easier to handle then the original Xbox Controller, which was huge. It is pretty compact, at least in comparison to the PlayStation 3, and can fit just about anywhere. The graphics are decent, and they have a lot of nice titles, such as Fable, Halo, and Left 4 Dead, which are probably their main breadwinners, again, in my opinion. The cons of it are that if it is standing vertically, it is easily knocked over. I lost my first copy of Halo 3 because my Dog bumped into the system, knocking it over, and the CD got knocked off of its track and got scratched very badly. Also, you have the Red Rings of Death, something which a lot of frustration came from. Overall, from a scale of One to Ten, I believe the 360 should have a Seven, mostly because it blends in Fun Game play, with good graphics to boot.

Now we go onto the Nintendo Wii, by far one of the most fun video game systems I have ever played. Sure, they do not have a lot of serious big-name titles, aside from Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, but all of their games are fun to play, even if they seem somewhat childish. The idea of having the objects within the game controlled, for the most part, by your own movements is outright genius, and such games like the Wii Fit, Mario Kart, and Mario vs. Sonic: Olympics take this to its full capabilities. It encourages Gamers to not sit on their butts all day, and to get up and move. Also, the idea of being able to download old-school games like Super Mario Bros 3, and other such awesome games, was the main reason I even wanted a Wii to begin with.

Sure, it sounds like an Oxymoron, buying a Next-Gen system to play Oldie games like that, but eh, that’s what made me fall in love with Nintendo in the first place. Now, in terms of the Cons, one of the major Cons is that the Wii lacks any serious titles, games of the sort like I and my fellow hardcore gamers have come to appreciate (Basically serious RPGs, like Final Fantasy, or FPSs like Halo). That is probably the main reason a lot of gamers don’t take it seriously. A second con would be its lack of Graphics. Microsoft and Sony both are competing in the realm of Realism, they are trying to make their games seem as if you are actually there doing all the things within the game, where as the Wii doesn’t put as much emphasis on this aspect, again it is a minor Con, but still, a lot of us Hardcore Gamers like to play games that will keep us coming back to play them, and the Wii certainly excels in that.

And finally, we come to the PlayStation 3. This scored third on my list, mostly because Sony deviated from what made me fall in love with the PlayStation in the first place, and that was the high abundance of awesome RPGs. I remember being about Ten or Twelve years old, sitting at my PlayStation for Hours on the weekends, playing games like Final Fantasy 8, Grandia, Legends of Dragoon, and so on, and becoming enveloped in the story and the characters. It was much like reading a very good book, you read it and read it, fall in love with it, and then become sad once it is over. This was the same feeling I got from the overall majority of RPGs available on the Playstation. The PlayStation 2, wasn’t that disappointing, I mean, they had some decent RPG titles like Final Fantasy 10, Orphan, and other titles that I can’t seem to recall, but not as many as the Playstation.

PlayStation 3 also scored low because of the dumb idea to make two out of the three different systems, unable to play games from the PlayStation 2 or 1. The basic PlayStation 3 cannot even play games from the past, it was solely made for its Blu-Ray capabilities and to play games made solely for the PlayStation 3. The second on the scale is only able to play PlayStation 2 games, and the most expensive of the bunch can play almost every major title from the past two systems. It just seems stupid in my opinion that they would do that, but again, it’s just my opinion. Now, some of the pros of the PlayStation 3 are its beautiful Graphics. Almost every major title for the PlayStation 3 has superb graphics, almost having you believe that you are looking at what is happening from behind a window. The ability to actually browse Websites when going online with the PlayStation 3 is also a very nice capability.

All in all, each system has its own unique thing which sets it apart from the rest of them. The Wii has its Fun and Replay ability with its different titles, the Xbox 360 is about as close to a Mix of Visually pleasing and Replay Ability, and the PlayStation 3 makes it beautiful to sit there and play their games. In the end, you have to take the Good with the Bad when it comes to Gaming, because no system is going to be perfect and fulfill the expectations of every Gamer that buys them, because wither we admit it or not, we all are a bit picky.