Consoles vs PC - what do you think?

[Andy]

I Firmly beleive that it is not possible to compare the 2, its like trying to say do you prefer coke or a cheese burger? their just not on the same level. Without opening up a whole new debate and putting it as simply as possible, a console will never replace what a PC does and a PC will never replace what a console does.

[3pidemiC]

That last sentence is complete bull. Where did you pull that factoid from? Sure, there may not be as many dedicated servers, but in no way is the lag worse on a console than it is on a PC. I have an XBOX 360, PS3, and a Wii. I've played games on all of them. Although it is not that common, I do experience more lag. This comes from the fact the actual people are hosting their own servers from their in home internet connections as opposed to a T1 or T3 connection that a PC server provider will give you. I agree mostly CoinReturn...(nice name btw) Although I think....well....WSAD is a bit hit and miss, like u don't really get too much precision in ur moviements, u hit the W key quickly and it always moves that distance if you get my drift...with analogue stick u push up just a tinsy bit and can move really slowly etc...actually i've experienced much mroe lag on PC games online than I ever have with the xbox.... It's the same on a PC. The precision in your movements in just a good. You may have experience more lag on a PC because you joined a server that was far away from your own home such as across the US or in another country. But it is fact that PC games will give you a faster and more reliable connection because of the reasons listed in the reply I gave above.

[Khardis]

Consoles all the way. I spent a number of years spending LOADS of cash upgrading my PCs to run the newest best thing, big waste of money to spend. Now I just play awesome games like CoD4 on my 50+ inch HD television sitting in my couch, instead of cramped up in front of my 20 inch computer screen with carpal tunnel wrists.

[3pidemiC]

I also want to add that if you ever read reviews of different games, the reviews often use a term called "consolitis" as a negative term for a game. What this term means is that the game is "dumbed down" and linear so that it can appeal to a "console audience", which is usually the case with console games. PC games on the other hand are almost always more open-ended and required a deeper though process and understanding of the game.

[DeadJonas190]

For FPS games and RTS games PC all the way. I am very good at FPS on the PC and not nearly as good on the consoles even though I generally play on consoles. Every other type of game I prefer on a console. So for me, my answer depends on the game.

[Danny]

i dont care for fps games on pc's ,they were alrightin the soldier of fortune era but with modern ones like half life 2 moving with a mous makes you feel like your playing, wich you technically are, as a floating camera. wereas on the console version it just feels a little realistic, like your actually playing asa person, 2 other examples are the darkness and condemned.

[CoinReturn]

I also want to add that if you ever read reviews of different games, the reviews often use a term called "consolitis" as a negative term for a game. What this term means is that the game is "dumbed down" and linear so that it can appeal to a "console audience", which is usually the case with console games. PC games on the other hand are almost always more open-ended and required a deeper though process and understanding of the game. Are you calling us console guys dumb in some roundabout way?! As far as PC games requiring deeper thought process, I don't know about that. Games like Baulder's Gate and Company of Heroes have the advantage of a keyboard with dozens of buttons for commands, spells, and chat options. But then again, the console version of Command and Conquer 3 had intuitive, streamlined controls on a gamepad with way less buttons. Its not the players fault that the two control schemes are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Halo Wars comes out for 360 this year, that should be a pretty big test of real-time strategy controls on a console. Also, games like Bioshock show that brilliance doesn't recognize the console/PC barrier, and can be enjoyed completely on both.

[3pidemiC]

I actually meant that console games are much more linear and streamlined when it comes to actual gameplay and how the environments are laid out.

[CoinReturn]

Examples?

[Danny]

I actually meant that console games are much more linear and streamlined when it comes to actual gameplay and how the environments are laid out. so when i play vice city im only getting half the map on my ps2 or something?

[SymphonicX]

in terms of consoles being linear I really think it depends on the game....Cod4 is painfully linear and that was on both systems anyway...I guess games like Crysis have bigger maps overall but generally the sandbox genre works extremely well on consoles - playing Resistance: FAll of Man is extremely linear however....very annoying

[3pidemiC]

Most console-made FPSs are extremely linear.

[MinionZombie]

In terms of linear/non-linear FPS games...*ahem* STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl, proper non-linear, damn-near sandbox even...and on the PC, ho-yeah. Aye...I am playing it for a 4th time, could you tell? Anyway, despite the linear nature of COD4, it really makes up for it with drama, great set-pieces and intensity. I'm not entirely convinced that linear gaming is down to consoles...perhaps more of a mindset, or an air of laziness/unoriginality/inability to hammer a square peg into a round hole for certain games. I mean, Rainbow Six Vegas - great game, but still quite linear. Point A to Point B pretty much. Although I could also, on the other hand, understand why you might say that consoles might make for more linear games, if consoles are indeed more about relaxed and laid back gaming...but even still on consoles there are expansive games that can take a while, sandbox titles being the most obvious port of call.

[SymphonicX]

Rainbox Six Vegas was really anything but linear, with almost every scene you're given at least two or three different ways to do something - in most cases you're given up to ten ways of getting your team into a room. Couple that with the fact that you can choose to go all out assault or covertly take out enemies and you change the structure of the game entirely - sure there an A to B element but the way you get from A to B is purely down to your preference...shall i go silent and weapon's free or shall I go loud and dazzle my enemies with stun grenades? Shall I go silent and smoke out a room before clearing it or shall I grenade the hell out of it? How quickly can I kill the people in this room without alerting the bad guys who are about to storm into the room at any point? Where shall I put this C4, Breaching charge or smoke grenade to best help my team? Shall I be a sniper and cover my team-mates from afar or shall I go with them through one of the 10 doors available to enter? The possibilities for each room are ten fold - that's what makes it non-linear in some respects even with fairly linear level design. non-Linear means choices, and doesn't just apply to the lay out of a map.

[DjfunkmasterG]

I prefer PC games because of Graphics, but I still see the appeal of Consoles. I recently took my PS2 out of mothballs, and My XBOX has been getting some use lately as well.