XBox or PS-2?

[leviathan7734@msn.com]

I probably shouldn't even be replying, since I am sternly anit-console gaming. I plug a controller into my computer and play pretty much all games on my computer, especially now that I have a system capable of running high-end graphics. FPS's are without a doubt only best played on PC, but in my opinion the XBOX is a strong second. PS2 may have more games in their library, but for the most part they're crap. The games made for the XBOX platform are all for the most part reliable and of good quality, not to mention, the XBOX's processor is something like 2.5 times faster than that of the PS2, and has a maximum resolution of 1024x768 pixels as opposed to the low end resolution of a PS2 (between 600x400 and 800x600 pixels). Plus the XBOX just went down in price...

 

[Barnolde]

I know this is something of a contentious subject for some people, but here's the deal:

We're getting one of these systems - so far we're leaning towards the XBox (I think it looks nicer).

The games we like playing? Me: RPGs, shoot-em-ups, driving games, god games.

The wife: shoot-em-ups, driving games, and she wants to play the LOTR games

Which would be better? Please explain your reasons

Xbox is one of my top 3 systems of all time (the others are Dreamcast and Genesis). I'm a Mac fan who loves Xbox, so they must've done something right. I previously owned a GameCube but so little games appealed to me that I sold it.

I think you'd like Xbox more, for a few reasons. Mainly because it's cheaper! Hell for $170 you can get a purdy looking clear green console with the best Xbox game, Halo:
http://gamestop.com/gs/halobundle/halobundle.asp and it's a limited bundle too. Xbox is $150 new, Halo is $30 new, so that saves you $10, plus it has a $10 rebate coupon.

I'll list some game recommendations and the prices of them.

RPGs:
Star Wars: KOTOR (called the game of the year for 2003, won't run on your PC, superb RPG) -$30 street price
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Game of the Year Edition (tons of replay, fixed the bugs, includes 2 expansion packs) - $30 MSRP
Shenmue II (not really an RPG, but an amazing experience) - $20 MSRP
Phantasy Star Online: Episode I & II (popular MMORPG, no cheaters with Xbox Live) - $25 street price
Popular upcoming ones include Fable, Sudeki, True Fantasy Live Online

Driving/racing games: (Xbox has a ton!)
Burnout 2 (very fun arcade style racing) - $20 MSRP
Project Gotham Racing 2 (very popular street racing type) - $30 MSRP
RalliSport Challenge (great rally racing!) - $20 MSRP
Colin McRae Rally 04 (more great rally racing) - $20 MSRP
Crazy Taxi 3 (who doesn't love this arcade classic?) - $20 MSRP
ToCA Pro Race Driver 2 (very realistic online racer, comes out soon) - $30 MSRP
Sega GT Online (online version of Sega GT 2002, similar to Gran Turismo) - $20 MSRP
Popular upcoming ones include RalliSport Challenge 2, ToCA Pro Race Driver 2, Street Racing Syndicate, FlatOut

Action/shooters:
Halo (game of the year 2001, the best Xbox game) - $30 MSRP, $20 street price
Counter-Strike (the popular PC online shooter, no cheaters with Xbox Live) - $30 MSRP
Serious Sam (includes both PC games in 1, also has co-op play!)
Rainbow Six 3 (not really a shoot em up, but it is an FPS) - $50 MSRP
TimeSplitters 2 (great FPS from the makers of Goldeneye) - $20 MSRP
Unreal Championship (who doesn't know Unreal?) - $20 MSRP
Breakdown (really cool FPS/first person puncher) - $50 MSRP
Metal Arms (excellent third person shooter) - $30 MSRP, $20 street price
Popular upcoming ones inluce Halo 2, Half-Life 2, Doom 3, Unreal Championship 2, Far Cry: Instincts, Operation Flashpoint, Men of Valor: Vietnam, Chronicles of Riddick

Xbox gets the best playing and looking console versions of games like GTA, The Suffering, Burnout 2, Manhunt, Metal Gear Solid 2, Splinter Cell, Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, Hitman 2, Hitman: Contracts, Max Payne, Max Payne 2, etc. just much better than the PS2 ports

It gets LOTS of faithful and updated and expanded PC ports, great for people like you whose PC isn't that great.

Custom soundtracks! It's a great feature in games like Counter-Strike or Tony Hawk to be able to listen to your own music. There's nothing cooler than listening to Death's Leprosy while shooting people over Xbox Live.

Xbox Live, if you have broadband. A cheatfree awesome environment. Has AOL/AIM buddy list features, voice chat, content download/upgrades.

Hardware wise it's the best of the 3 consoles, and it has a hard drive to store your custom soundtracks, downloaded content, upgrades, and NO MEMORY CARDS NEEDED! Plus it has parental controls for the games and DVD player, if there are young kids around.

And lots of companies only support Xbox and PS2 now, because they've dropped GameCube support. Some of those companies are Midway, Acclaim, Eidos, Take-Two (they own Rockstar, Godgames, Gotham Games, lots), Electronic Arts (for the most part) and more companies too.

And Xbox has all 3 Lord of the Rings games, plus similar (dare I say, better) games like Hunter: The Reckoning (1 & 2) and Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (1 & 2), and Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes.

Anything else? just ask

 

[Final_Vision]

After reading that post I strangely want to buy another xbox for no reason

Very good post.

 

[Barnolde]

After reading that post I strangely want to buy another xbox for no reason

Very good post.

Thanks , it took me about 10 minutes to write, heh. I'm thinking about getting that Halo bundle just because it's the first special bundle that the US has had and it's damn cool. I got my first Xbox at launch (around $400 with tax for the Xbox, Halo, and another controller) and I don't regret a thing. Plus, it'd be cool to have 2 systems in the house for system link games of Halo, Serious Sam, or Deathrow

I'm not a big PC gamer, because I prefer consoles, but Xbox has similar games, which is good for the PC gamer in me. Games like Max Payne and GTA translated well to Xbox, although Halo translated poorly to PC .

 

[Mark]

Thanks for the replies, guys

 

[Final_Vision]

Be sure to let us know what you get, I'm guessing its gonna be an xbox despite my best wishes

 

[LordMorgoth]

I say Xbox. Many who argue for the Ps2 say they have better games. well most good ones get ported to xbox eventually. plus many big name franchises in my opinion are in the toilet, namely the FF series (excluding 11). I personally am getting pretty sick of these dumb heroes sporting retarded hip-hop garb. The MGS series is definetely a strong point, but xbox did eventually get a port there. plus you get a much, much more comfortable controller with the xbox. and Xbox also has great games of it's own like Halo and Knights of the Old Republic which breathes new life into games, as opposed to lame franchise sequels.

Bottom line, go with the xbox

 

[alphacorvus]

Get an Xbox, get it modded, and it's the ultimate...I use my Xbox to play all the media on my home network, I can watch DVDs from any region in NTSC or PAL, and I play arcade, NES, SNES, Genesis, 32X, Sega CD, Neo Geo, PlayStation, and Turbografx 16 games on it (you can do more, but that's all I use).

In that respect it's the most valuable system that I own...

 

[Barnolde]

Get an Xbox, get it modded, and it's the ultimate...I use my Xbox to play all the media on my home network, I can watch DVDs from any region in NTSC or PAL, and I play arcade, NES, SNES, Genesis, 32X, Sega CD, Neo Geo, PlayStation, and Turbografx 16 games on it (you can do more, but that's all I use).

In that respect it's the most valuable system that I own...

I purposely left that out, because a lot of people use it to pirate stuff, which I'm against. I have mine modded, and I did it mainly because my DVD drive was dying and so I could play emulators, there's something cool about playing Goldeneye on Xbox as well as The Simpsons arcade game. I don't have any 32X, Sega CD or PlayStation games on my Xbox, mainly because I can't find them and I have no clue how to get PS1 games to play.

 

[Psychonaut]

ARGH! I just typed out a reply and something went wrong. Anyway, here's the Cliff Notes version: XBOX!

 

[alphacorvus]

I purposely left that out, because a lot of people use it to pirate stuff, which I'm against.

While that may be somewhat of a concern, I don't think it outweighs the legitimate applications of modifying an Xbox. I'm not going to call myself totally innocent here - I do infact possess some software that I shouldn't, but I do buy an overwhelming portion of my games. But I totally agree with you. Some people go way too far with this stuff.