Monday, April 26

Mama said "Knock you out!"

"How you like me now?" My new (and fourth) Xbox360 asks me from my entertainment unit.

I don't know why it is there exactly. I have some ideas as to why, but at the moment they are struggling to qualify as genuine reasons:
  • The quality software offered via the Playstation Network is of frustratingly low quantity when compared to the Xbox Live Arcade: Perfect Dark, Duke Nukem 3D, Doom, Soul Calibur (the original and the best), Pacman: Championship Edition, Trials HD and the list goes on. Try and name 5 decent games on the PSN which are not available on XBLA. Let's make that challenge harder: each of those 5 games must be available on the Australian Playstation Store. Too hard.
  • I've read rumors of both Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio being released on XBLA (OMGWTFBBQ!!!)
  • I hate exclusives: Halo 3, Gears of War, Dead Rising 2: Zero Case, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Mass Effect 2.
  • Motion control: While I am not really interested in Natal or Move, Natal appears to be the more original and potentially innovative option. Playstation Move at the moment is nothing more than code for black Wiimote. 
  • Games on Demand: While buying games from the comfort of your own home sounds appealing, the pricing system is a little too whacky for my money. Bioshock is $49.95 as is Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. If you were to visit your favourite, local brick and mortar store you could find each game for a substantially lower price or buy them in a 2 pack for $59.95 RRP.
  • Custom Soundtracks: Sony, please take note. On the 360 you can play your own music while playing any game, on or offline. Just Cause 2 would be all the more epic with a J Dilla album to accompany my scenic heli flights.  
Perhaps most importantly (and I did touch on this briefly already), I do not intend to continue missing out on some truly brilliant games because of some misguided sense of loyalty. I will complete the Gears of War trilogy and I will love it! With the 360 (and I know this is a stretch), I will also be able to report to you on a greater breadth of gaming experiences.



One thing for sure is, when I re-downloaded Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade (1989) I felt joy.

Does anybody own both consoles? I don't really count the Wii. I haven't really had any experiences of note on the Wii, mind you I had purchased mine shortly after the launch when Australia was still in the midst of a baffling "shortage," of the motion-control based console. It's a Gamecube with a silly controller.

12 comments:

  1. Ah, to have the freedom! I'd be wanting to try out Halo: Reach if I were blessed with a 360. Can't say the same about Gears 3, but my views on that are known.

    You do bring up some excellent points on the online experience for both systems. However, I love the "free" aspect of PSN and vainly cling to the hope that they implement cross-game chat like they've been promising. That's all I ask.

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  2. It all makes sense now, the comments you made last night lol, i just thought you were logged in from your PC or something. Rofl indeed. Mass effect 2 is the greatest. I recommend smashing one in 20 hours and getting to lvl 50 then playing 2, totally worth it. I will probably pick up gears 1 & 2 for 18 and 25 respectively then play 3 a few months after it comes out.

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  3. The content that I aim to take advantage of does not require a gold subscription, however I may need to reconsider my position with the Halo: Reach beta approaching as you noted Taz. When it comes to purchasing multiplatform games w/ compelling multiplayer features I will buy the PS3 version... that is unless I crack and subscribe to gold.

    I was logged on to my PC Rubes :p. I was playing Street Fighter IV while I downloaded some of my old XBLA acquisitions. I've seen some more screen shots that lend weight to the rumour that Jet Set Radio is coming!!!

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  4. i will never join live gold again, dont care if its halo or some crap, psn is free.....free! halo is only good local anyways, same for most games except battlefield. if you recover my profile you can DL dead rising, im gonna recover you and savage your purchases lol

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  5. That's cool, I already transferred my purchase license. Just let us know before you do it, unlike when you just log into my PSN account!
    Halo was good on Live, never really approaching great. I don't know what all the fuss was about with Forge anyway.

    I wonder how the DRM works on Games on Demand purchases. Will I need to log you on the second control? I always needed to if I wanted to play your XBLA games.

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  6. Should be a good ride. If I were rich and famous, I'd definitely join you in the dual console ownership thing. As it stands, my gaming needs are met. Lost Planet 2 and Red Dead Redemption are going to last me for a long time. Battlefield has finally run its course for me, it's getting a little samey. Need some mech-assisted bug-hunting and gun-slingin' posse clashes to liven things up.

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  7. Good call on Red Dead Redemption. Lost Planet 2 will have to wait I think.

    I agree that Battlefield may have run its course. Depressing really, but I don't have enough time to dedicate to two online shooters (let alone one). Modern Warfare 2 has that casual lean that will stand the test of time. BC2 asks just a bit too much of me, especially with the high wookie to human ratio.

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  8. Darren Bonelli has actually been Rudolphing all those goddamn wookies, he's into being the cop big-time on those selfish clowns. Keeps firing tracer darts into their faces so they can't even see where they're going, let alone use their scopes!

    Yeah, I'm happy to leave Bad Company where it is. I've had a ton of fun with it, looking forward to the next Bad Company - whenever that is - but as far as the next FPS, I'll wait until Brink. Brink should be excellent. It'll be third-person antics until then.

    We should get a posse happening on Red Dead Redemption! Hunt some elk and wolves, then take on a gang. Man, it looks ridiculous, that game.

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  9. I'm totally up for that, we could enforce our own brand of street justice!

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  10. Red Dead looks amazing! I am pretty pumped about it. I have seen a few things of Brink, but nothing solid yet that makes me truly excited (as in I haven't seen enough of it to form an opinion).

    I play BC2 from time to time, but the thing that is casuing me angst is the lack of maps,and the fact that I can't stand Nelson Bay on Rush (the snow one).

    Also, I am pretty sure that MW2 is the most frustrating game ever. I will probably buy the Map Pack, but I really can't see me lasting much longer on it. I have gone back to playing COD4, it is a super game, especially since I get better connections now.

    I will never own an XBox, I have no interest in their exclusives (bar Mass Effect, those games look epic!)

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  11. Word, Nelson Bay sucks.

    You're missing out Sambo. X360 has some great games, and the dashboard/marketplace are expertly constructed. Also the Xbox Live Arcade is a brilliant concept, and the games offered are ultra compelling. Perfect Dark yes?!

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  12. Perfect Dark was sex on the 64, but would I really want to play it now? You have to remember I don't download any mini games, it isn't my thing. The only games I really want are the Mass Effect ones, and I am still kinda hoping they come to the PS3. But I hate Halo, it is a piss weak version of Quake 3.

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