What games are you playing / looking forward to?

[DJDonegal]

/whooosh!!!!!!!!!

I'll second that.

Playing Civ IV and Gears of War on Hardcore at the moment. Playing Gears because I still haven't completed it and someone told me Act 5 was badass, and I'm halfway through Act 4 so far which is my favourite act at the moment.

Will get round to completing Bioshock afterwards.

[Flayed Man]

I'll second that.

Playing Civ IV and Gears of War on Hardcore at the moment. Playing Gears because I still haven't completed it and someone told me Act 5 was badass, and I'm halfway through Act 4 so far which is my favourite act at the moment.

Will get round to completing Bioshock afterwards.

Act 5 has some nice setpieces. The final boss is a pain in the ass on harder difficulty levels, but it's very rewarding when you finally kill the bastard.

What's the big deal with Civ IV? I played it through once or twice with the Warlords expansion & it was fun, but I kinda liked III better. Actually, I still really dig Alpha Centauri - it would be nice if they'd make a sequel to that.

[Daedalus V2.0]

Head to head comparisons for many different games have pretty much come out a wash or even slightly in favor of the 360. But I'm certain that Oblivion looks much better on your PS3 than my p.o.s. computer.

Yes, unfortunately of the games shared by bothe systems, Oblivion is the only one that looks better on the PS3... Although, rather retardedly, most of the games out for it so far use less than 30% of the Blue-ray's storage and rather significantly less than half of the PS3, hardware potential, which is rather sad.

I forgot before about Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Could be sweet.

Huh. Never heard of it. Is it supposed to be good?

I sure hope that SW:TFU is amazing, because I've been waiting since JK2 for a good game...

Yeah, Mass Effect is supposed to be about the greatest RPG to come out since KOTOR, and better than KOTOR. It's also 360 exclusive, meaning that for release at the minimum we won't be seing it on the computer, where it belongs.

[Flayed Man]

Yeah, Mass Effect is supposed to be about the greatest RPG to come out since KOTOR, and better than KOTOR. It's also 360 exclusive, meaning that for release at the minimum we won't be seing it on the computer, where it belongs.

Do tell.

[Maia]

I am re-playing NwN2 in preparation for Mask of the Betrayer and trying out mods for it. Looking forward to: MoTB, The Witcher (wonder if it is possible to grab Russian dialogs for it somewhere and whether they are better translated than the English ones) and fully restored KOTOR 2, which seems just around the corner now.

[PhoenixFlame]

Meh, give the PS3 time. Developers are still getting to know the system.

Games I'm Slavering About:

- Assassin's Creed

- Mass Effect

- Kane and Lynch

- GTA

- Final Fantasy Versus XIII

- Witcher (sucks because my computers are shit)

[Inigima]

Oblivion (Umm, almost as bad...) (Also notice- Looks far better on my PS3 than your 360, whoever said that all 360 games have better graphics)

I don't think anyone's said that The PS3 is very capable graphically. I still think it's easily the worst buy at the moment, though, and is the only console I'm not really interested in owning. Can we keep the circlejerking to a minimum, please?

[Daedalus V2.0]

PS3 seems to be very difficult to develop games for (if the release delays on games like UTIII are any indicator) and despite better, more expensive hardware has yet to produce any games that with better graphics than the 360. While 360 has Gears, Bioshock, Halo 3, and the Orange Box as console exclusives (with a fscking amazing holiday lineup to boot), PS3 has... ummm... Heavenly Sword? If Killzone 2 isn't the balls out best game of the year PS3 I'm not sure what it will have left to offer.

See, somebody did say it. I'm not going to get into the whole fanboy things, and I personally agree that for the moment the 360 has better games, but he discounts so readily a few games which really make the PS3 viable. He also discounts the hardware issues that might turn some people (me) off of the 360 (my friend has had to send his in for repairs 3 times so far. The local rental store also charges more for 360 games than anything else in the store, because apparently some of them grind the edge of the disc, making it unplayable).

I'm going to stop now, before I get into a rant detailing all the points in favor of both systems...

[Flayed Man]

See, somebody did say it. I'm not going to get into the whole fanboy things, and I personally agree that for the moment the 360 has better games, but he discounts so readily a few games which really make the PS3 viable. He also discounts the hardware issues that might turn some people (me) off of the 360 (my friend has had to send his in for repairs 3 times so far. The local rental store also charges more for 360 games than anything else in the store, because apparently some of them grind the edge of the disc, making it unplayable).

I'm going to stop now, before I get into a rant detailing all the points in favor of both systems...

Oh, I'm no fanboy. I've had to send my 360 in twice & it blows. I really just don't see the PS3 turning successful without some major exclusives - but all its good games are cross-platform, whereas 360 has a some serious exclusives. So at least for the next year or so 360 is a better buy.

[PhoenixFlame]

When's Final Fantasy XIII due out? That's a major exclusive.

[DJDonegal]

Meh, give the PS2 time. Developers are still getting to know the system.

Six years already. Or more. If the developers don't know what to do with it yet, they never will.

[Young Wolf]

Y-Dub - you sound like you've played it. Is it possible that you have???

It is, and I do have it.

Its great.

Been playing Super Mario Galaxy as well...that game is really, really, really fun on the Wii.

YW

[PhoenixFlame]

Six years already. Or more. If the developers don't know what to do with it yet, they never will.

GAH! I meant the PS3. Dear lord I'm silly.

[potsherds]

Question:

Can you hook up a 360 to a computer screen? I refuse to buy a TV, but I'll buy a 360 if it hooks up to a PC. I hear rumours that Mass Effect may come out for PC in the future...is that a strong rumour or a weak one?

[Shryke]

GAH! I meant the PS3. Dear lord I'm silly.

It ain't gonna happen. The Console business is pure snowball effect. The more people who buy your system, the more people will develop games for it, and that causes more people to buy it, and so on.

No one wants to go through the trouble of learning how to program for the PS3 (which is REALLY hard btw) when it's not sold enough units to be able to show alot of game sales. People are headed to the Wii because that shit is selling like mad. And the alot of the high end shit is moving to the 360, since it's selling way better then the PS3 everywhere but in Japan. And f not going exclusive, their at least going BOTH PS3 and 360, which is bad for the PS3 since the 360 is cheaper.

[Flayed Man]

It is, and I do have it.

***keels over and dies with jealousy***

Its about sucking. Mass Effect sucks hardcore.

Coco, I know you like the multiplayer over the single, but... That's a joke, right?

I don't see anyone developing new Xbox (original) games, yet Manhunt 2 just came out for the PS2. What's the deal?

PS2 has such a huge installed user base that it's still very profitable to produce games for it. & of course developers are very familiar with the platform. Manhunt 2 came out for Wii, too, btw. Haven't heard much good about it, though.

Can you hook up a 360 to a computer screen? I refuse to buy a TV, but I'll buy a 360 if it hooks up to a PC. I hear rumours that Mass Effect may come out for PC in the future...is that a strong rumour or a weak one?

I've never done it, but the 360 has a computer option on its setup screen, in addition to all the different HDTV settings. However, I highly recommend Gears on a 47 inch LCD.

There's no confirmation of Mass Effect for PC that I'm aware of, but it's pretty likely - most XBox exclusives (Halo 2, Gears of War) make their way to PC ~1-2 years after XBox release. I'd count on it being Vista only, though, which seems like bad news for game performance so far.

[potsherds]

There's no confirmation of Mass Effect for PC that I'm aware of, but it's pretty likely - most XBox exclusives (Halo 2, Gears of War) make their way to PC ~1-2 years after XBox release. I'd count on it being Vista only, though, which seems like bad news for game performance so far.

I can't wait 1-2 years!!! Goodie goodie on the computer hook-up. I'll comfirm that answer and put in an order.

[Ser Greguh]

Question:

Can you hook up a 360 to a computer screen? I refuse to buy a TV, but I'll buy a 360 if it hooks up to a PC. I hear rumours that Mass Effect may come out for PC in the future...is that a strong rumour or a weak one?

That's two questions

I can hook my 360 up so that it displays on my computer screen, but only because I have a video capture card. A 360 outputs to the various normal console outputs: component, S-Video, composite, and the newer ones all offer HDMI connections. If you have a very nice computer monitor (really the gap between TV's and monitors is starting to close) you might have one with an HDMI input, but most normal monitors are just VGA or DVI, neither of which the 360 is capable of outputting.

Short answer: no, not unless your computer has some kind of capture card and software to process the signal.

As for Mass Effect, I don't think anything's been announced officially yet, but its release for the PC is generally considered a pretty badly-kept secret. It would be a very good bet that it is released for PC eventually.

[Inigima]

I can hook my 360 up so that it displays on my computer screen, but only because I have a video capture card. A 360 outputs to the various normal console outputs: component, S-Video, composite, and the newer ones all offer HDMI connections. If you have a very nice computer monitor (really the gap between TV's and monitors is starting to close) you might have one with an HDMI input, but most normal monitors are just VGA or DVI, neither of which the 360 is capable of outputting.

Short answer: no, not unless your computer has some kind of capture card and software to process the signal.

Greguh, I'm afraid you are wrong about this. However, it does necessitate buying an extra accessory.

You want the Microsoft Xbox 360 VGA cable. I know it's $40, but you do want this one, not a third-party one. Not only are the third-party VGA cables known to do a poor job of carrying the video signal, they don't come with two adapters that you will probably want: a VGA gender changer so that you can plug directly into a monitor if you wish (I ended up using a KVM switch, so this wasn't necessary for me) and an audio adapter to convert the two RCA audio cables to a single stereo minijack so you can run it through your sound card's line in port if you're so inclined. Third-party cables generally come with neither of those.

Anyway, the cable works perfectly. That was the setup I used until I got my HDTV.

But honestly, how long does a buyer of the PS3 have to wait?

I don't see anyone developing new Xbox (original) games, yet Manhunt 2 just came out for the PS2. What's the deal?

It's a function of the software-centric console market. When consoles are loss leaders, you make up your money on licensing fees. The PS2 still has a much, much bigger install base than the PS3, and PS3 adoption rates have not, thus far, been high enough to warrant moving away from the enormous PS2 base. Since they need to sell software to make any money, especially given the terribly high cost of PS3 production, the PS2 is still a major focus of SCE's business model.

[Ser Greguh]

Greguh, I'm afraid you are wrong about this. However, it does necessitate buying an extra accessory.

You want the Microsoft Xbox 360 VGA cable. I know it's $40, but you do want this one, not a third-party one. Not only are the third-party VGA cables known to do a poor job of carrying the video signal, they don't come with two adapters that you will probably want: a VGA gender changer so that you can plug directly into a monitor if you wish (I ended up using a KVM switch, so this wasn't necessary for me) and an audio adapter to convert the two RCA audio cables to a single stereo minijack so you can run it through your sound card's line in port if you're so inclined. Third-party cables generally come with neither of those.

Well, I'll be. Ya learn something new every day. Thanks for the correction

It's a function of the software-centric console market. When consoles are loss leaders, you make up your money on licensing fees. The PS2 still has a much, much bigger install base than the PS3, and PS3 adoption rates have not, thus far, been high enough to warrant moving away from the enormous PS2 base. Since they need to sell software to make any money, especially given the terribly high cost of PS3 production, the PS2 is still a major focus of SCE's business model.

It's amusing to me that most of the same arguments that people are using against the PS3 today are the same ones that were being thrown around regarding the 360 shortly after its release. It basically took "Gears of War" before anyone could give an actual flagship game for the console.

The PS3 will get its games. Its success or failure will ultimately be determined by its price relative to its competitors and the survivability of blu-ray movies, at least in my opinion.