As a gamer, I’ve had the pleasure of having all three next generation consoles from before launch. People often ask me which one I play the most. The answer is, “It depends.”
The PlayStation 3, which has not been well-received by the media or gamers, does have two must-have games from last year. Insomniac Games proved that it’s more than a “Ratchet & Clank” developer with “Resistance: Fall of Man,” a first-person shooter that’s just plain fun to play in single-player and a blast with 40 players online. The other must-have game is EA Sports’ “Fight Night Round 3.” Although this game is available on other platforms, including Xbox 360, the PS3 game not only looks better thanks to the hardware power, but it includes an exclusive first-person boxing mode that’s just plain cool. This is the only game that I have for both systems that I actually play on PS3 instead of Xbox 360.
As for Microsoft’s console, “Gears of War” proved that the DVD-9 format can pack a lot of punch. It’s easily the best game for the system, and it was made here in Raleigh. Another breakout hit for Xbox 360, “Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter,” was also developed locally. It remains one of the top games for the console and a sequel is coming this year. With over 160 games out for Xbox 360, this is the console to buy for anyone who wants selection. And Xbox Live is clearly years ahead of Sony’s PlayStation Network.
But whenever we have guests come over, it’s Nintendo’s Wii that wows our friends. Although some games do support 480p, it’s not the visuals that entice even novice gamers to stand in front of the big screen HD TV. It’s the gameplay.
And that’s important to remember, no matter which system you choose. Sony and Microsoft will offer similar HD graphics with games that come out for multiple platforms, but it’s how these games play, more than how great they look, that will win the next hardware war.
