rich.carey

I was rather happy today when i found a trailer on youtube of the new GTA expansion due out in October. However my happiness turned to anger when I scrolled to the comments section to see (like every other game trailer comments) pages and pages of fanboy rants.

We will start by setting one thing straight here… NIETHER console is better ! I have friends on both side of this ongoing fanboy war and even though both of them make valid points, the truth is that neither console has something that places it higher on the winners podium.

Lets break down some of the “strengths”:

PS3:

• Bluray                            – Who really buys bluray dvd’s at double cost? seriously?
• Faster processor        – They both use a 3.2Ghz
• Better GFX                     – Still on par with 360 even though there’s more power
• Free online play          – There is a major downside to this : support.

360:

• More DLC                      – Pricey on top of Gold subscription but unique DLC’s give the 360 an advantage
• Better community    – Purely due to MS shipping their bundles with headsets. Ok, full of annoying pre-teens with squeaky voices, but fun nonetheless
• Cheaper

General arguments: (typically: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=5718573068&topic=6922)

• Controller:  Each fanboy says that their controller is better, personally I can switch between both consoles without a problem. If you find the buttons layout “hard” to use then you are clearly stupid…and imo PS3: Easier for racing games  , 360:  Action/FPS.
• Problems: Both consoles have their problems. Admittedly the PS3 doesn’t get red ring of death, this is mainly due to the PS3 not having a ring of lights….(stupid fanboy) However, the PS3 has jsut as many problems (My friends one overheated twice)
• XBox’s “gold” service: Ok, so 360 players have to pay the £40 a year! So what! The ps3 is AT LEAST that much more in the store… so how are 360 players the ones being ripped off?  Also i’d like to point out that live is much better supported and the money paid goes towards upkeeping of servers and towards updates etc to provide better gameplay (Fact, after much consumer testing i have less lag on the 360). When your sat playing your latest title on a lagged up server please do NOT complain about it… you get what you pay for.
• Graphics: it annoys me when people take sides on this one. On paper the PS3 wins hands down but there’s hardly any difference in general gameplay. PS3 DOES WIN on the cutscene front though… MGS4 is a good example of this.
• Selection of games:
  • Neither console can win here, the 360only has more games as its been out longer.Both consoles have games that are loyal to that particular manufacturer and many loyal fanbases behind said games.
  • PS3 Fanboys get:     “MGS4,  Gran Turismo, Killzone, little big planet”
  • Xbox Fanboys get:  “Halo 3,   Forza 3,  Gears 2, “
  • Achievements/Trophies : Xbox 360 wins this, you can’t even challenge that decision!
  • Final thought:  Xbox has better value for games as a majority are cross-platform anyway and the DLC you get from XBL wins hands down. Originality in games… that goes to PS3 owners.
• Cost
  • The elite has recently come to around £200 ish which still undercuts the PS3 but you get what you pay for. The 360 is purely a gamers console whereas the PS allows users to use it as an (average quality) media centre. Ok, so you could kill two birds with one stone and use your PS3 as a Media centre, games console and (with a little help from linux dual boot) your OS. The question is…. we all have PC’s / DVD players already, who needs all the extras!
  • Side note:  As my friend just reminded me, 360’s can access media centre – which is a pain, but worth it)
• Random/Misc
  • Avatars: PS3 wins this with its addition of PS3 home. (useless but cool nethertheless)

As we all know the whole topic of console gaming provokes the lamest members of our game obsessed  society to flame each other for months on end, arguing about each individual feature that makes their overpriced plastic box “the best thing since sliced bread”….. at the end of the day:

P.C    >  Consoles

…so stop your bitching

note: this would be a lot longer, but I didn’t want to stray from the basic point of this rant , which is to express my opinion on the console “war” (Also, i lost interest… but thats besides the point!)

Rich (Admin) Gaming, Reviews, Software, hardware microsoft, ps3, sony, xbox

This is my first review and i wanted to keep it fairly short

Advertised back in 2008,  TLAD seemed like it would be good with promises of new vehicles, a completely new storyline AND character and even new Xbox Live gamemodes! -

February 17th finally came and with my debit card at hand I purchased the 2000 points from the marketplace - I’m sure i wasn’t the only one who was a bit annoyed you can’t just buy the required 1600! I downloaded the add-on (yes, fsck you sony owners!) and booted up GTA, instantly I could tell this would be a hit from the opening scene  – with a bike wheel being used as a face-sander….

The game itself which provides an extra twenty-something missions (and 250G) was fairly easy to get through with the new added weapons (Sawn-off, Machine Pistol, Pipe bombs) and to gain the 100% completion should only take around 15 hours, but for 13quid you can’t really complain! Additional to this all the vehicles (including new ones) have had a handling update (finally) so no more face-planting the wall when hand-braking around corners!

As far as multiplayer goes there has been some additions to the playlist including Lone Wolf and some more bike-related team games but free roam is still the most enjoyable in my opinion! The only downsides i could see to the game were missions towards the start where you have to ride in a pack which is slower, however the plus side of this is you can call in support for any mission from your bike gang!

Overall the game was enjoyable with it’s ‘filler’ stories for GTA4 (LATD runs parallel with gta4)  , unique biking oriented missions and of course the epic last mission with unlimited ammo, this game deserves 9.5/10

Note:  I realise i have left out a lot, but i didn’t want to add in any major spoilers, this game is best explored by the player themselves! (also I dont mind about the extra 400 points on my account as i just bought doom as well!)

Rich (Admin) Gaming, Reviews gta iv, gta4, live, lost and damned, microsoft, points, review, xbox