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Gaming
With the Devil
In
a holiday season dominated by expensive, hysteria-fueled releases,
is there any reasonable way to play next-generation games
on Christmas morning?
So
let’s assume you didn’t wait in line for days to get yourself
or your game-hungry child one of the newest next- generation
systems. Let’s go one step further and assume that perhaps
either that little devil on your shoulder (or your unrelenting,
trend-devouring child) just won’t stop nagging you to lay
down the cash to become part of the next-generation gaming
wars. What is the most sensible way to satisfy your gaming
itch?
Most of the hype this season has been around Sony’s Playstation
3, so let’s get this one out of the way quickly. You don’t
want to spend the extra $500 it probably will cost you to
fetch the PS3 off eBay. Why? Well, first, because the PS3
still has a lot of quirks that need to be worked out. Sony
has managed to put itself in the same position Microsoft was
in during the last round of the gaming wars. The PS3 is a
lot like the original Xbox: overpowered but incomplete and
poorly designed. The PS3’s controllers are not fully wireless,
and its online functionality is poor. (If you download something
on the PS3 you have to wait for it to finish before you can
move on to another task.) The system itself is large and clunky,
but more important, Sony’s catalog of games for the PS3 is
(currently) severely lacking. The one major standout is Resistance:
Fall of Man. However, the game is simply a competent first-person
shooter and does not add any sort of killer-application excitement
to the PS3’s release. The PS3 likely will be a viable gaming
platform down the road, but as of now it is simply not worth
laying out the $499 or $599—plus the eBay mark-up—for a system
that still feels rough around the edges.
The Nintendo Wii manages to provide the sensibility
and simple joy of gaming that is lost by the PS3,
and it does so at the far more reasonable price of $250.
Rather than focusing on blue-ray players and high-definition
graphics, Nintendo has delivered an affordable system that
pays attention to fun and function. Its motion-sensitive controllers
get the player involved in the game: If you’re playing a shooter,
you make the motion of shooting a gun; if you’re playing a
fishing game, you cast your line. The system even comes with
a pair of motion-sensitive nunchucks. Through its online component,
the Wii offers access to an impressive catalog of older titles,
not just from Nintendo’s past but from Sega, Turborgrafix
16 and a number of other high-profile game developers. Its
back catalog is something Nintendo has milked on all of its
portable systems and should have mined on its home systems
a long time ago.
 However,
the Wii’s greatest asset—its simplicity—is also its greatest
flaw. The Wii’s graphics pale in comparison to either
the PS3 or the Xbox 360. Graphic-heavy games like Call
of Duty 3 that are available on all three next-generation
systems are made interesting by the Wii’s control scheme,
but at the same time, seem clunky and retro compared to the
versions on the PS3 or 360. There is also the concern that
the Wii will go the way of Nintendo’s last two systems, the
Nintendo 64 and the Gamecube, which were both undersupported
and never built a truly impressive catalog of games. Right
now, the one shining reason to own a Wii is Zelda:
Twilight Princess. If the idea of playing through a classic
Zelda game by actually using your controller as a sword is
appealing to you, then the Wii is a can’t-miss. Hopefully,
Nintendo will be able to quickly deliver similarly exciting
and competent reimagiations of classic Nintendo games like
Metroid while third-party developers find a way to
maximize the graphic capabilities of the system.
This holiday season, there is truly only one way to fully
enjoy the next generation, and that is the Xbox 360.
Yes, the system is well-stocked, reasonably priced at $299
or $399 (depending the size of hard drive) and free of system-release
glitches. But that is not what should sell you on the 360.
For a teen-to-adult gamer, the X360 simply delivers the most
exciting gaming experience, complete with high-definition
graphics, full online game play and service and a catalog
of games that will remain unchallenged by any of the other
systems until late 2007. If you need convincing, stop by a
Best Buy or EBgames where they have an Xbox 360 demo unit
and check out the recently released shooter Gears of War
($59.99). Its innovative gameplay, engrossing storyline
and simply overwhelming graphics and sound are the definition
of the next generation. For role- playing fans, 360 boasts
what could possibly be one of the best role-playing games
ever made, Elderscrolls: Oblivion ($59.99). Along
with these two standouts, the 360 has a catalog of genre-defining
games such as Rainbow Six: Las Vegas, Dead Rising, Saints
Row and Fear.
Of
course, after all this, it’s possible that the angel on your
shoulder has shown up to tell you to take the conservative
route and wait until the price of games for these systems,
which clock in at about $60 a pop, and the cost of the systems
themselves come down. But seriously, I wouldn’t listen. .
. . What do angels know about being cutting-edge?
—David
King
dking@metroland.net
2006
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