Opinions needed about the available game consoles on the market.

[Prrkitty]

Up to this point I've only played computer games on my PC. But as I watch the TV commercials for the Wii I REALLY REALLY like what I see.

Since I know a lot of you own or have played with more then one of the game consoles available, which one would you recommend that I consider getting? And what about the games available for those recommendations?

My favorite PC game is Diablo II. I also like playing Darkstone, Dungeon Siege 1 & 2, Zeus & Poseidon, Pharaoh & Cleopatra, Children of the Nile, Age of Empires III (and many more but I'm too tired to pull the CD's out to remind me what they are).

One of these days I'm gonna get the files I need to look into Zelda and play it. The fact that the fan base for this one game is so huge says a lot for it's playability... and replayability.

Thank you ahead of time for your thoughts and opinions...
Prry

[Dechipher]

Zelda is a great game. Honestly, your best option would be (in my opinion) to get a Wii. Regardless of whether you play any actual Wii games, you can do the whole VC thing (and you KNOW Zelda is going to be on there.) If you can snag a NES with Battle of Olympus do so. Also Super Mario RPG for the SNES is a great game. Anything Mario is USUALLY a good idea.

[MANDRAG GANON]

I would have to recommend getting a Wii as well. The only other nextgen console Ive played is Xbox 360 and tho it looks nice it really isnt anything special, not only that they're extremly unreliable, out of 3 people I know who own xbox 360s 2 of them are on thier 3rd one becasue they keep breaking down :uhoh:

Either way the Wii. It seems like you like RTS games and I can tell already that the Wii will be amazing for playing Strategy games.

From your games you listed you might like some RPGs, in that case you could get a playstation 2, its older but has tons of RPGs (from the PS1 and PS2) and its probably pretty cheap now. Not sure though I havent checked prices of it in awhile.

I say go for a Wii though, the amount of fun that can be had right off the bat is incredible, Wii sports is nuts. And of course Zelda (oh how I wish i could play you right now, damned homework)

[Matteo]

Get the Wii. My Wife really doesn't like video games, she only plays because I love them so much, but she loves the Wii. She picked it up really quick and even beat me on our first game of bowling. The control for the games really immerse you in a way that I have never been immersed in a game. I am only about 5.5 hours into Zelda and I absolutely love it. (I am a big fan of the series). The Wii also is backwards compatible with Gamecube, which has a wide variety of games.

[Prrkitty]

Thank you for your thoughts/opinions/recommendations everyone. It'll probably have to wait until after the first of the year before we can consider getting anything.

The commercials I've seen for the Wii... like the bowling, fishing, and what looked like wrestling... OH and even hoola-hooping... looked like SO much fun :)

[Cloral]

The other nice thing about the Wii is it is a lot cheaper than the other consoles. So if you're not too sure you'll want to play console games, it makes a good choice because if you later decide you want to go back to PC gaming, then you're out less money.

[MottZilla]

Wii has alot of different games involving the motion sensing. If you like that, go for it. But you listed a bunch of PC games, and PC games are generally things that just don't work well on console to begin with. If you want a console that's cheap and has alot of games, Playstation 2 is the best bet. You'll be able to play most PS1 games and most PS2 games. I say most because the PS1 driver was never perfect, and the PSTwo redesign fucked a few things up.

Before you buy any system, I recommend you research what games are available for each that are of the type you like. Use a site like GameFaqs or something to browse through listings of games. This is more important than anything. Find the system with the games you want to play most, and with the most in general that you want to play.

To a general gamer, I don't recommend the Wii as a first console. Unless you're sure you want the games that utilize the Wiimote and such. The best thing to do would be goto a store and find a playable demo you can experiment with.

My recommended (current) console for general gamers is the Xbox 360. Big surprise right? By the way, don't go for Wii being cheaper and if you don't like it you are out less money. You can always resell a PS3, Xbox 360, or whatever. For me the 360 was certainly worth the money.

Now again, before you buy any, goto the stores and try out the demos. Always research and think about it before you buy.

[mikeron]

Yeah, as Mottzy said, the PS2 might be the way to go for someone who likes Diablo. But if you like what you've seen of the Wii so far, go to a store that sells the Wii and try out the demo console. If you like it, get a Wii and a copy of Zelda if you want. Zelda and Wii Sports should be a good place to start.

[Prrkitty]

Thanks y'all :) We have a Fry's down in Wilsonville and a compUSA not too far from here. Maybe after Christmas while Paul has some time off work I'll have him take me around to try some of the consoles. :)

[Nicholas Steel]

uhhh i read that they fixed a bug in the psx driver with fat ps2's and this fix is present in the slim console... it address a bug with metal gear and its expansion disc xD what did they screw up in the driver in the slimline console?

[MottZilla]

Compatibility with a few PS2 titles. Here's a ilst I googled.

Gauntlet Dark Legacy: Will sometimes freeze following the opening movie

The Stylish Mahjong: Will sometimes freeze at the save screen once you've changed the options

Racing Battle C1 Grand Prix: sound effects will sometimes replay endlessly when you hit walls and rails

F1 2001: will sometimes freeze after the title logo

F1 2002: will sometimes freeze after title logo when game is started up with GT-FORCE controller attached. If GT-FORCE is not attached, works fine.

Hitman Contract: takes extended time to create save file

Tekken 5: When selecting "Tekken 3" from Arcade History, the game will sometimes freeze following the save screen.

Seems alot less important. However there is the fact that the PSTwo are of lower quality than the older units that were made in japan. Oh well.

There are said to be over 40 PS1 titles with problems on the PSTWOs.