coli

I have been playing video games my whole life, but took a breather from them for the past 3-4 years, so I am not up to speed on the PS3, XBox360, WII generation platforms. I am trying to decide which system to get:

-Has this generation of platform games gotten away from the 'arcade' type games that were very popular on '16-bit which were side scrolling games, and on the 32/64-bit which were 3-D type solving games. I guess I am asking are there games out there anymore that are good such that resemble games like Mario, DonkeyKong Country, Sonic, Crash Bandicoot? Or are those games of the past and really not popular anymore?

-Are most games now so massive that solving them shouldn't even be a goal anymore, as you need strategy guides, etc to really solve. Or am I just being too extreme on how I am perceiving them?

-I am leaning towards a PS3 cause that has a BluRay player, and it looks like that is going to be the winner of the Format-War. Yet from what I heard, the XBox360 has better games?

-Games I like: Anything EA Sports (Madden, NHL, TigerWoods, FIFA),
-Which is the best racing game out on the market?
-Any good Sonic, Mario-type games out there ?
-Which is the best Star Wars game on the market?

I know this is long, but it is weird how I haven't followed this stuff for a couple of years, and I am totally lost on the video game market.

Thanks.

PixyJunket

Short answer:

You'll want an Xbox 360 for football and car games.

You'll want a Wii for Mario and.. that other thing.. games.

taffer

Personally, I feel that platform games are going the way of the old point-n-click adventure games. The general audience doesn't care about platformers anymore, and I can't really think of many platform games released in the last few years. The Wii has some like the latest Mario game, but I can't think of any on the 360 or PS3. I think the pure platform genre is dying and being replaced by platform-hybrids (games like Prince of Persia, Assassin's Creed, Ninja Gaiden, etc).

In my opinion, games today are easier than games in the past. There were a lot of NES/SNES era games I could not complete without help, but I can't think of any games for the Playstation/Xbox era that I couldn't complete on my own. Some of the big RPGs might be too complex for newbies (especially the Elder Scrolls series) but that would be all.

Yeah, the PS3 only has a few good exclusive games. The 360 has been out longer and therefore has a much bigger library.

I don't play sports or racing games, so I can't help there. If you want Mario/Sonic type games, the Wii will get the best. The PS3 and 360 will most likely always be light in the platform department.

The best Star Wars game is bar-none Knights of the Old Republic. It was released on the original Xbox, but it backwards compatible with the 360 I believe. I am not sure though as I own the PC port. It is an RPG that uses the D&D/d20 ruleset, so it might be a little complex if you aren't familiar with D&D.

Michael Corvin

Those are called 'Platformers' and they are few and far between this gen. There are probably 1-2 great ones on each system. Nintendo has Mario, Sony has Ratchet & Clank, 360 has Kameo. All three companies need to step it up in this genre.

Just depends on the game and how dedicated or decent you are at games. Most games have difficulty settings. Massive games are the exception not the rule. Most games this gen seem to hover between 10-20 hour mark.

The 360 currently has the best lineup. Not to mention the largest library. Both of those mean you can find great games cheap for the system now. Sony has a few great games out and this year appears rosy, but the way you have to look at it is, how often are you going to watch a BD disc? How often are you going to game? Whichever is more, that is your system.

- EA is multiplatform. You generally can't go wrong with either system.
- Racing games are generally multiplatform as well, although GranTourismo is still a heavy hitter for Sony, but MS's Forza and Project Gotham are no slouch.
- the best Sonic is Sonic Rush on DS and of course Mario is only on Nintendo Wii. Should be noted that Mario Galaxy was a Game of the Year contender this year.
- Star Wars: Force Unleashed is due out later this year and has some great positive buzz swirling about it.

Lastly, if you missed out last gen, I'd factor in backwards compatibility for each. Any games you missed out on? Halo? GTA? Zelda: Wind Waker? etc.

lordzeppelin

The EA Sports games, and all sports games in general have been better on the 360 thus far. I played a few on a friends PS3, and they just don't stack up.

Also - as far as platformers and Star Wars go, you can't go wrong with Lego Star Wars, in any of it's incarnations. While it's not the experience that Knights of the Old Republic was, it's just damn fun! It's easy to just pick up and play, it's platforming style is something you'll like, and it's, well, Star Wars. I'm going through the newest one now, the Complete Saga, on the 360 and I love it. I played the original one on the XBOX (the new trilogy), and then there's also part II (The original Trilogy). But the New one combines both games and adds features. There's something fun about fighting Darth Maul with Vader for some reason.

coli

I appreciate the feedback, keep em coming!



I forgot about 1st-person shooter games. I had a PS2, so I missed out on Halo.

Other then Halo, what are the other great 1st person shooter games?

DJ_Longfellow

I would agree that the 360 generally has the better multi-platform games. All the EA sports games ran smoother (60 fps vs 30 fps) on the 360. Although, maybe the 09 games.

As for platformers....not sure about those. I really enjoyed Kameo, Ratchet & Clank is a visually stunning game also.

As for "solving" a game, the 360 has achievements, which rewards you for things you did....mini-goals basically. It sounded lame at first, but I actually enjoy it....not as much as some though

I will say the PS3 is a nice system, the Blu-Ray player is top-notch, but the 360 is my gaming system of choice. The Wii is also nice, but it's more gimmicky.

REL77

if you want it for gaming, HANDS DOWN, the xbox 360... If you want more for movies, the PS3... I have had a Ps3 since launch, and outside of Resistence : FOM, i havent played another game. I havent played any game on my PS3 in probably 10months...

I play my xbox 360 pretty much every day, cause the games are better, more of my friends are on it, and its just better for gaming... I also have a Wii, but hardly ever play it

coli

This is a good point, as I will probably use it more for games, and from what you guys are saying comfirms what my friends told me: XBox360 has the bigger library and better games.

Another question, why PS3 doing so bad, as I have read it has about 15% of the market. It sounds like they rushed the PS3 out?

taffer

No, they didn't rush the PS3 at all. It was delayed by over a year. It was originally supposed to come out around the same time the 360 came out.

What hurt the PS3 is the price tag and lack of games. The PS3 initially was $600, which is far more than the average joe is willing to spend on a "video game machine". The lack of games is also really hurting. There are only a handful of exclusive titles. The reason the PS2 was so successful was because it had a HUGE game library. The PS3 (so far) is the opposite.

JasonF

Would people consider the Simpsons Game and Lego Star Wars to be platformers? Both of those games are lots of fun.

uncle-frank

360 has kameo and will be getting banjo kazooie 3 (platform wise)

ps3 - ratchet & clank (its a great game, but for the time being not worth buying a system for)

wii - mario (good platform game, plus nintendo will have more to come. zelda isnt really a platform game but is really fun)


id say cuz you like sports aswell. get a xbox360 then if you want anything after that choose.

superdeluxe

If you intend to play games with your children and/or wife/SO. Get the Wii, like others have said, It has Mario, which is one of the last of a dying breed of platformers.

Get a Blu Ray machine for your blu ray dvds.

Xbox360 for your sporting game needs.

Michael Corvin

Never played the Simpsons but Lego Star Wars is definitely a platformer. Plus there are three more Lego games in the works which should all be fun. Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones Trilogy and Lego Indiana Jones & the Crystal Skull. Those will all be multiplatform though. The Lego games have TREMENDOUS replay value. There is a ton to do and even more if you go for achievements on the 360.

As for replay value, achievements offer that in spades on every title. It should be noted that not everything is worth chasing after though, [cough]Dead Rising's 7-day survivor[/cough], but generally there is something worth trying for in every game.

McHawkson

EA Sports still "control" the sport section, however, they have repuation for releasing buggy games.

Best racing game... I like Burnout series. I've played PGR3, NASCAR 08, Forza 2, and MotoGP 07 - NASCAR 08 is fun, but full of bug (see above about EA), PGR3 is somewhat boring and annoying (cone game, wtf?), Forza 2 is NOT SIM racing as everyone claimed and the gameplay is completely boring and no challenge there. Burnout is only one I enjoyed the most.

Star Wars game... I like KOTOR very much.

The best FPS out there is probably Call of Duty 4, through I haven't played other FPS which supposely better than COD4.

There's plentiful games in Xbox Live! Market that you can play.

RichC2

The 3D platformer got its fill on the N64 thru PS2... It really is a bit of a repetative genre and started to fade out until recently. On the PS3 you have Ratchet and Clank as well as (if you get a 20, 60, or 80gb PS3) the backlog of PS2 platformers (Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter, Sly Cooper, etc; ). It isn't so big on the Xbox360 with its most famous platformer being more of a beat 'em up (Kameo). The Wii has the Virtual Console which contains a lot of old school 8- and 16- bit platformers. As well as Mario Galaxy which was one of the best game of '07. It isn't the most popular genre, but games still pop up in it from time to time and, lately at least, they're pretty high in quality. It's a tough call for this genre as each platformer is Backwards Compatible with their more platform/adventure friendly predecessors. The Wii has GC games ( Super Mario Sunshine (wasn't a fan personally), Star Fox Adventures, etc; ) and Virtual Console, the X360 has Xbox games (Psychonauts, Conker's Bad Fur Day (Live and Reloaded), etc; ), and the PS3 (non-40gb) has the PS2/1 (Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, Sly Cooper, etc; ).

Too extreme. With exception of the massive open games like Grand Theft Auto or to a lesser extent, Crackdown, games are just as short and easy as you remember. The controls schemes got a little more complicated for a while there, but difficulty levels haven't gotten any harder and games no more complex.

This is very true, imho. But the X360 is largely dominated with First Person Shooters. The sports titles currently run better on the X360 but that is expected to improve this Fall. Online play has a fee on the 360 but works better than the PS3s. Games like Mass Effect, BioShock, Halo 3, and Eternal Sonata haven't been matched yet on the PS3 in the US, and with titles like Ninja Gaiden II due pretty shortly, the PS3 has a ways to catch up. The PS3 does have a stock of good sequels (Tekken 5, Ratchet and Clank:TOD) if you aren't already sick of them, as well as a few solid originals (Uncharted, Eye of Judgement (Cam), etc; ) with a promising 2009 (2008 looks a bit iffy to me).

X360 is better ATM for EA Sports games.

Best racing game,

Sim-style/Not Sim/Whatever it is: Forza 2 (X360) (best looking: GT5: Prologue (PS3), gameplay is middle of the road, never realized how much not having damage distracted me)

Arcade: Burnout/Revenge or Paradise (haven't played, great reviews, fans of older games aren't quite used to it yet though).

Sonic/Mario - Sonic: Secret Rings (Wii), Mario Galaxy (Best since SMB3) (Wii), Psychonauts (Xbox/BC with X360) and Kameo (X360), Ratchet and Clank (PS3)

Current best Star Wars game - Don't laugh, Lego Starwars: The Complete Saga and Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox)

fumanstan

360 has my vote for best all around system right now, although you still need to be cautious about the hardware problems and being without your system for a month. There should be something on there for all your wants, albeit platformers are the weak point.

sniper308

As others mentioned, 360 for Sports, FPS, larger library, Xbox Live, as well as BioShock, Mass Effect, etc.

Wii for playing with casual gamers, Nintendo franchises, Virtual Console will have all the platformers you could ever want, etc.

And might I mention the Nintendo DS if you really are wanting platformers and favorites from the past, as well as some new goodness. Get 2 and go multiplayer for less than most of the other consoles.

Can't speak to the PS3 as I don't own one.

uncle-frank

^^^^yea, i forgot about the simpson game. i beat it 100% (collected everything) its a really fun game especially if you like simpsons.

lego - they are suppose to be making a batman one aswell

Michael Corvin

False. Less than 15% of the entire 360 library is shooters. On top of that, except for a select few(Halo 3, COD2 & 3) nearly every one of them is on the PS3 as well.

Trevor

One great thing about the 360 is the fantastic Xbox Live service. $50 or less gets you 13 months of:

- Demos of just about everything. I checked the other day and there were like 120 demos of retail games, and 110 XBLA arcade games, which are often great.
- Chatting (voice only or video) with friends while you play games, or anything else on the 360. Last night, I was playing Call of Duty 4, chatting with my friend in Mexico, and downloading demos in the background. No hiccups at all.
- Multiplayer games, content download, leaderboards. Almost every game has some online component. I'm not a big gamer, and don't play multi-player very often, but XBox Live and XBLA is the bees knees.

RichC2

I know I know, just most "big" titles seem to fit in the genre.

Sports/Racing, First/3rd Person Shooter

mr.snowmizer

Thanks to consumers, those are today's 'big genres', so any successful game in these categories will be 'big titles', dominating attention. (Similarly, any list of PS3's 'big titles' would probably not exclude Resistance or Motorstorm.)

That doesn't make the categories any bigger, in absolute numbers of titles released, though. It just seems that way.

Ocelot

Just get all three systems and you're set...

If not, get the Wii, b/c it's the cheapest. It got tons of games, and Mario is Nintendo exclusive, so you know what that means.

Get the X360 if you want jump into the current gen of games, a lot games are cheap, since they were released for a while now. However, if you want to play on-line, pay up. Or do what i do... stack up those 48 hours cards and use them whenever you want to play on-line (some games come with them). So, technically, i'm operating on the "free" principle. If you're working and all, i don't think you can game that much...

Get the PS3 if multi-media is your thing (the X360 can do this fine too, but for HD stuffs, you have to buy the HD-DVD add-on and no Blu-ray options at the moment). For me, the #1 reason to get the PS3 is the AVCHD playback function (e.g. your kid's first steps in HD). The games are coming, 2008 is the PS3 year, with MSG 4, FF XIII and Resistance 2, you can't go wrong. Also, on-line play is free, with Resistance 2, i wonder Sony gonna change the policy....

Michael Corvin

I wonder if both companies are doing the same thing. MS waiting for Sony to charge and Sony waiting for MS to go free.