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8. Insights on Games Consoles....
...and all that jazz (Continued)
...and all that jazz (Continued)
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To this end, the best games on offer for the Playstation 3 are:
· Uncharted 1, 2 and 3. They use the full power of the Playstation to the limit and are quite simply the best games for the console. They are imaginative, puzzling and exciting and the perfect fun filled adventure for any gamer.
· Heavy Rain. Crime noire thriller with a twist – every action in the search for a serial killer activates one of over 30 endings to the story. I loved this game and recommend it to anyone who likes to think or likes CSI. Exclusive to Playstation 3.
· The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion/The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. Awesome series set in lands of fantasy and adventure. The latter was released less than a week ago and I am desperate to play it.
· The Grand Theft Auto series. With number 5 being released next year, this series can only get better. Despite their vulgarity, I love them and their attention to detail.
· Bioshock, Bioshock 2 and the upcoming Bioshock Infinite. Beautiful games set in the destroyed under-sea city of rapture. The first game won Game of the Year at the BAFTA’s and there is a reason for this. Bioshock Infinite is one of my anticipated games and it set to be one of the major releases of next year.
· L.A. Noire. An excellent crime thriller by the same geniuses behind Grand Theft Auto. Less vulgar, more heart and thought.
· Dead Space 1 and 2. I love these games, but I cannot play them alone. Set on a derelict spacecraft with an alien infection, this series scares me like no other and definitely needed its 18 certificate.
· Little Big Planet 1 and 2. Cute Playstation exclusive. You build your own maze (reminiscent) to the old Sonic the Hedgehog games and work your way through with challenges and puzzle. Share with your friends online or by yourself – they are a ton of fun.
· More recent releases/good games include: Deus Ex: Human Revolution, the Assassins Creed series, The Silent Hill Series, The Tomb Raider series, Batman: Arkham Asylum/City, The Call of Duty series, The Resistance series, The Darkness 1 and 2, Borderlands 1 and 2, Dead Island, the Battlefield series and the upcoming Aliens: Colonial Marines.
As I’ve said before, try to research the games online with other people’s reviews before you give in and buy them for your kids.
Good luck with the Playstation 3!
The Microsoft Xbox 360
This is the other major player in the console wars. It can do almost everything that the Playstation 3 can, but it does have some differences. The Xbox was released around a year and a half before the Playstation 3, so undoubtedly there will be more games which means – more choice.
The graphics for the games are almost identical and the internal gubbins are pretty much the same too. As I’ve already given you extensive descriptions of what consoles are capable of in the Playstation 3 section, I’ll just detail the differences for the Xbox.
Good luck with the Playstation 3!
The Microsoft Xbox 360
This is the other major player in the console wars. It can do almost everything that the Playstation 3 can, but it does have some differences. The Xbox was released around a year and a half before the Playstation 3, so undoubtedly there will be more games which means – more choice.
The graphics for the games are almost identical and the internal gubbins are pretty much the same too. As I’ve already given you extensive descriptions of what consoles are capable of in the Playstation 3 section, I’ll just detail the differences for the Xbox.
· Microsoft has a more extensive online community than the PSN. Xbox Live as it’s knows is specially formulated to allow players to join each other online and play through their games as a community. The PSN offers more or less the same thing, but for Xbox Live it required a subscription to be purchased from shops to play online. To buy things, swop things, rank up, add special features however, Xbox Live needs extra ‘points’ to be purchased separately. Just remember the subscription and the points. Both are normally required to get the whole online experience for the Xbox. They start from around 10 pounds and can go up to 40 pounds depending on what the player needs. Try to determine whether your gamer really needs to go online because unlike the PSN, this service is certainly not free. You are however getting a more exclusive service for your money, so I can definitely say it’s not a waste.
As parents you need to understand about the online community of players. People from all over the world are playing together and sometimes this can mean a few rifts when things go wrong.
As parents you need to understand about the online community of players. People from all over the world are playing together and sometimes this can mean a few rifts when things go wrong.
My personal opinion when it comes to online gaming is this: I wouldn’t recommend letting your child online until at least fourteen or fifteen. Young gamers need to understand that there are instances of bullying/swearing when playing online and if they have a headset to hear it, this can be even worse. For people like myself, I understand that online gaming is competitive, intense and overall quite silly - as people play with each other from all parts of the world and realise they probably will never meet their team-mates face to face. It's all supposed to be fun and games and trust me - most of the bullying online isn't serious. However, your young one may not realise this and become upset when they want to log on and play their favourite game.
The most notorious online gaming offenders in terms of games are probably the Call of Duty or the Battlefield series, but this is not limited to those two games. I personally don’t like going on there because finding a girl online is like finding the Holy Grail apparently – so they begin a game that I call ‘hunt the chick’. Some online gamers also have become one with their sofas through playing so much and if you're new - they will take you out quickly and give you no chance to play. Not very sportsman-like I suppose. Any online community can be affected and this includes the PSN. However, I have faith that not everyone online is practically a bully, but hey – you can’t shield kids from everything.
The most notorious online gaming offenders in terms of games are probably the Call of Duty or the Battlefield series, but this is not limited to those two games.
· Whereas the Playstation has the Move, the Xbox released their version first called the Kinect. This device is practically a high-end camera that captures movement without the need for motion controllers to be held – making it simpler and safer, but not as accurate in capturing movement. Gamers can play things like the Just Dance series and have just as much fun as playing with the Move. Here it is in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B0Z6FQPE1Y&feature=relmfu
· Xbox 360 consoles also have an accessory that is very useful for serious gamers – the extra hard-drives that are sold separately in stores. I think that the most expensive hard-drives are around £80 and can easily be connected to the top or the inside of the console. Playstations do have extra hard-drives, but they are pretty much the same ones that go into laptops – so it’s likely that only PC hardware stores may sell them. I know that I don’t in my store, but some gaming stores probably might.
· Xbox’s do play HD DVDs (the competitor of Sony’s Blu-ray back in the day), but due to Blu-ray winning out in the past, this is pretty much useless because HD DVDs are not being manufactured anymore. You could probably buy them pre-owned but this is unfortunately where the Playstation wins out. They still require HDMI cables to generate high definition images though – don’t forget this.
· Like the Playstation, the controllers for the Xbox 360 are wireless and can be purchased separately if your gamer needs more.
· The Xbox 360 exclusive games are: the Gears of War series, the Forza racing series, Mass Effect, the Crackdown series, Dance Central, the Left 4 Dead series, the Fable series and the Halo series.
· The Playstation 3 exclusive games are: the Uncharted series, Heavy Rain, the Little Big Planet series, Demon Souls, the Gran Turismo series, the Infamous series, Heavenly Sword, the Killzone series, the Metal Gear Solid series, the Resistance series, the Ratchet and Clank series, the Motorstorm series, the Singstar series and the White Knight Chronicles.
· If your child wants any of the above games, you know which console to buy.
· The sizes of the Xbox hard-drives are as follows: Core (nothing inside), 20gb, 60gb, Arcade(very little inside), Elite (120gb, 250gb), the S model (latest series - 4gb, 250gb, 350gb). Apart from the S models, the rest have been discontinued and can only be purchased pre-owned in most game retail stores.
· The media capabilities are pretty much the same as the Playstation, they play windows supported videos and music, store photos and all that jazz.
Fast links to Consoles covered in Penny’s article
Penny Glen Investigates