Okay, so whether you've made up your mind or not, I'll go ahead and do this. I'm pretty ****ing bored.
Being an Xbox owner, I'll share with you what I know.
First off, being a Kingdom Hearts site, you're going to be overpowered with people who will vote Playstation. There's no getting around that. I used to be a playstation owner, myself. I went from a Sega Genesis to a Nintendo 64 to a Playstation to a Playstation 2. When it was '06, the year that the Playstation 3 came out, I voted for the Xbox 360 console. A couple reasons are behind that. One, it turned out that there were barely any exlusives for the PS3. Or even for the future. Well, that were appealing.
Now, what kind of gamer are you? I can honestly promise you I NEVER saw myself on a console known for it's shooters. I just never was a shooter fan. But you know what wins with shooters? Multiplayer. That's where it gets seriously awesome.
Oh, and that kid Sharingansora824- he doesn't know much of shit. Trust me. Especially when he puts "I have all the systems ever invented." From Sony and Microsoft, maybe. >_>
Anyways, yes, Windows has its games for the PC. HOWEVER, unless you have the required graphics card, ****ing awesome memory, etc. etc., the game will not only get laggy, but become shit. Or, you can't even play the game. A lot of people are fine, but unless your computer can handle it, I'd say be wary. And if you don't even know if you'll get a gaming console, let alone a lap-top.. I wouldn't throw all my cards in just yet.
I have a 360 like I said, and Xbox Live Marketplace (Gold Membership) is simply awesome. Trailers, Movies, Games (Arcade games, Older games, AND full-fledged games from the original Xbox.) It has pictures for your gamertag, themes for your Xbox Dashboard and guide menu, and downloadable content ALL THE TIME. The Marketplace has TONS of stuff for free and for not. The only stuff that's not for free is content like games, maps, songs(eg. game or mp3), songs, the videos or movies you download, themes, and pics. However, stuff like maps, songs, and videos will either become free over time or Xbox Live just randomly makes them free for say a few days or something. Oh, and they'll update you in the whole 'Inside Xbox' on your Live dashboard. (More on that on the paragraph below.) Also, there's just an assload of random free content. Songs, maps, themes, pics, are just also free. Random stuff. And permanently, not like the limited time stuff from above. Just reading the inside xbox every now and then and just looking at stuff that interests you (There's new stuff literally almost every day, stuff that you will spend weeks or more on, so nearly every day is a lot.).
If you're like me from the PS2 era, which I know you are, you're bound to have some bit of a completionist in you. That, or someone who just loooves more than normal gameplay. Yeah, I mean the goodies. Well, people tend to have difficult times with this and/or getting certain achievements(more on these in a bit.). To reconcile this, there's a whole team of people from Xbox Live(not normal people, people with Xbox) who help you out. You get videos with commentary, pictures, and all sorts of hints from these guys. That, or they bring you news on upcoming games, downloadable content or events. They even will highlight random gamers(of course with consent) from time to time and just put a picture of them, their gamertag, and a few fun facts about them with a short background on the Inside Xbox news. A little slide/page just for a random gamer on the Live community.
Now, for the games.. Let's start off with oh, dare I say it? Achievements. You might not think much of them now, I didn't at first. But you will in time. Now, to have the highest gamerscore? I wouldn't say that's the point. But it's just a beautiful thing to be playing a game and hear that little click on the bottom of your screen for beating a certain part of the game or knowing you've finished a certain objective, whether or not it is completely out of the way. Or when you beat a game and get a, say, 100 point achievement for beating Bioshock. It's wonderful. You really won't understand it until you start getting into it. Plus, achievements are like little challenges. Like in Call of Duty, for beating certain missions on Veteran, the hardest difficulty. If it's not about the points, it's about showing off, in a way. I mean, you can go to your friend's profile in your friend's list on Live and compare games, and see the achievements he has, you both have, and that you have. To know you've beaten or accomplished something a friend has before they have, especially a competitive one? Well it's sooo refreshing. And I play games just for fun and I say this. PS3 has recently tried to copy this(albeit like they've tried to copy everything else recently) and provide "Trophies" to games here and there. For beating certain objectives. Oh, but unfortunately, it's only for certain things. And I forget to tell you that it often completely ruins the player's game. It messes it up. Not because of what the trophy is, it just has been known to mess up a lot of games. Watch out. You might *not* want to do something here or there. :/ But the achievements have been integrated from day one and are with the game, not Xbox Live. So even if you don't get Live, you can still get the achievements. Don't think of it as an add-on. Think of it as part of the game. Why? Because it is, actually.
Now, to Xbox Live since we're on the topic. The memberships. By now, you already know that there are two types of memberships. The Silver membership (free), and the Gold membership (not free). I have friends IRL that first told me to get a gold membership. That was around the time Lost Planet came out. (Fun game btw, just the gameplay gets repetitive by the time you get to level 6. Online is shit, too. Well, for me. Some love it.) Anyways, we all know that the PS3 is free to play online. Well, apart from the Marketplace on Xbox Live, gold only gets you one more thing. You get to PLAY WITH YOUR FRIENDS. That's right, you can't without gold. HOWEVER, you can still chat, message, compare, and all that good jazz without Gold. Believe me though, Marketplace and Playing Online are very worth it. Here's the prices:
1 month: $7.99
3 month: $19.99
12 month: $49.99
It's obvious the best choice. Oh, and if you buy the card/code in say a Best Buy or GameStop or something, you're bound to get a free month on top of the 12 months. It's just what they do. Basically for adding the middle-man into it. Just gotta make sure it says so.
Oh.. and you first join Xbox Live you automatically get a free month of Gold. After that, if you haven't payed for or put a code in for Xbox Live, your account reverts to silver. Simple to fix, though. Really. Easy as hell.
Now, you also get a free month of Gold if you have to send your Xbox in to get repaired (ie. Red Rings of Death or some other problem.) Why? Well, we all know the 360 has had problems with equipment over time. They fix it for free, and it'll take about 2-3 weeks to be sent back to you from the time you send it off. Why? Shipping takes longest. But it's free, and they even do what they can to redeem you. A free/redeemed bit on Live. Now, surely it sucks, but you get your baby back as if it were new, and they also extend the warranty. That's also only for hope in a long-run. If it's problems with your system dying, they'll fix that up no matter what- well, so long as it wasn't something you did to **** with it.
And just from my standpoint, I only sent my Xbox in once. And it wasn't the Red Rings, it was optic drive (the drive that plays the disks). It died on me. And you can't mistake that sound. Reason being? Lol that was actually my fault for "beating the system", not the actual Xbox's fault. Kind of overkilled the drive. I'm a rare case in that, though. Just from the Core edition, which no longer even exists. It's fine. And just like a computer, being built as it is from a PC-orienting company, it may have errors every now and then. You might start your Xbox and get a black screen with a bunch of what looks like Chinese writing and a flashing single red bar on your 360. Restart the console, you'll be fine. Just a start-up error. And I've never had this happen until today (and I got my 360 in '06, nearly two years ago), but I popped in my game to find it with a white screen with a bunch of chinese/asian writing and the only bit of english telling me that I needed to put the game into a 360 console before I could play it. And yes, I'm all "it's a 360, so wtf." Restart, you're fine. Rarely ever happens to anyone. Never happened until recently. And no it's not like a computer which can take ****ing forever to start, it's very quick.
I'm just letting you know this so that if you DO decide to get a 360, know that even if some things happen, you have nothing to worry about. Easy-fix errors like on any PC. And these rarely occur. Just something to know. Previous knowledge. So don't get scared or worried is all.
Now, to the actual games.
-Gears of War is simply one of the most awesome and amazing games I've ever played. The gameplay is simply spectacular, and the graphics are self-explanatory. And I've most definitely played my fair share. Gears of War 2 is about to come out. It's going to be even better, as awful as it is to hear myself say such blasphemy. It's actually the main reason I bought a 360, the winning exclusive. I can tell you- it DOES NOT disappoint.
-Halo 3. Albeit many hate it. I'm not a fan, either. "Gaylo." However, I love playing Campaign and the player match abilities and great. Possibility are about endless. Make your own game types, customize maps with weapons, teleporters, vehicles, blockades, secret places, etc. etc. Oh, and the party set-up is perfect. I mostly don't like halo, but I like things about it. For some reason, on all three Halos, I've loved Campaign. Multiplayer kind of sucks for me, though.. I mostly like the player matches for the social aspect and pointless hilarity that can be had.
-Forza 2 Motorsport is one of the most in-depth and amazing racers I've ever played in my life. **** Gran Turismo, as fun as it was. (I mean, I have them from the original from the Playstation all the way to GT4 on the PS2. I LOVED them. But Forza kicks it's ass.) With things like upgrading [that makes sense], realism, REALISM, Gifting cars, and REEEAAALLISM out the ****ing wazzoo, you can do anything a real car can do. You can tune your car to your driving needs. And I mean tune the f*ck out of it. Not neccessarily improving the car, but making it tuned to how you want it to perform. You can drift and drag-race with buddies, actually race or do whatever. Phenomenal game.
-Bioshock. OMG. This game is sex in video-game form. I don't know how it'd be pulled off, but I kind of wish it had multiplayer. It was so fun and so sexy. And the whole morality thing is pretty sweet, too. Anyways, the game is unbelievable. And if you can't take being surpised, then this game might be a little much. It's a killer and some *females* have been known to get scared. Simply, the game is one of the best FPS games of all time. Some people think COD4 should have won Game of the Year '07, but I remember way before all that I just happened to say Bioshock should get game of the year. Actually, it might be on this forum. Not sure. >_<.. I ran across it the other day is all. Trust me, though. Play it, you'll love it.
-Mass Effect. Holy Hell, baby. You want a FANTASTIC RPG? Nobody has even brought this game up, but it holds itself as one of the best RPGs. The story is epic. This is literally the closest you will get to a game playing out like a Science Fiction novel. The story is that epic. And the game is that good. If you like RPGs, and you own a 360, and you don't have this game, kill yourself now. Just saying, bub. It really is worth it.
-The Orange Box. I'd almost pay the full price for Portal. Seriously, it's that awesome. So great. Also, with Team Fortress 2 for the multiplayer and all of the Half Life 2 series, the game is MOST DEFINITELY worth it's price. By far one of the greatest deals ever. THANK YOU VALVE. <3
-Dead Rising. Ask anyone on this forum who's played it. ****, go ask Silh right now in a PM and see what he has to say about it. I remember when he first played the damn game. LOVE it. When you start beating zombies in a mall with literally anything grabbable. ANYTHING.. well.. you have to start playing. It's a wonderful feeling.
-Ninja Gaiden II. Not just some petty remake of the first one like on the PS3, this game lives up to it's name. Fun. BadASS. HARD... But it's a great game, really. Great RPG. Honestly. Effing Aye. Oh, and you can buy the first Ninja Gaiden off of Xbox Live for $10 instead of however much it costs for a remake on the PS3. Good deal, eh?
I thought I'd post the current exclusives CURRENTLY out that will suit ANY gamer's needs. Now for some of the greater multi-platform games.
-Grand Theft Auto IV. Fun. That's just simply. Free Mode is by far the best part of the game. Riding around in helicopters, blowing shit up, etc. etc. Really, it's a fun game. Nothing more. Oh, and Nico Bellic is a badass.
-Assassin's Creed. Another point that I realized I could get the 360 and live. While originally destined for the PS3, they made it for the Xbox 360 as well. The game is just fun. A great RPG. It gets a little repetitive towards the middle, but there will parts of this game that will EASILY overstep the bit of repeating. Let's just put it this way, when you get the throwing knives back, that, climbing buildings, and hidden blading people, with a few counterattack kills here and there, you'll love the game.
-Burnout Paradise. Racing game, but all about the crashes. The game is constant fun. And multiplayer is where this shit is AT. Great game.
-Rainbow Six Vegas [the first or the new one (2)]. Once again, I'm not an enormous shooter, fan, but this game is great. Really. If you have a penis, the game is awesome. While it does nothing for your penis, it seems to be a guy's game. Really, though, the game is great. The second is apparently even better. From everyone I know, this has been said. R6 addicts or not, R62 is great, it seems.
-Call of Duty 4. ****ING PHENOMENAL. Really. Story and multiplayer are sweet, but multiplayer makes the game. By far. My personal favorite story mission though is All Ghillied Up. Stealth, baby. Just how I like it. Anyways, one of the best and most realistic shooters you will every play in your life. And if you play story mode on veteran, one of the most annoying. <3
-Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It is simply one of the most enjoyable RPGs of all time. Bethesda is Godly. The game is epic. Simply. No matter what your preference, the game has it. Blunt instrument of death? Fighter's Guild is for you. Spellcaster? Mage's Guild. Like to keep to the shadows? Thieve's Guild. You a murderous busy-body who just likes to kill people who don't deserve it just because? The Dark Brotherhood. Oh, and how about one more good faction for you? The Arena. Gladiator pit, baby. That's right. Cyrodil's got it all. (Cyrodil is the empire, all the land in the game of Oblivion, apart from the Oblivion realm itself.) Also, the story is epic. You're the hero, but you're not the hero. You find the actual savior and help him to become the greatness he was meant to be. But to do so, you have to be a hero in your own rights. The story really is great. You aren't just the hero as always, you're just a side-guy, for the most part. And if you think about it.. that's pretty cool. Oh, and you can actually become a Vampire. Holy shit, right? With pros and cons just like it would be. The game is deep and expansive with leveled enemies, so no matter what level you become, it will still be fun. By far one of the coolest games ever. Oh, and you can get the game for only $30. Over 200+ hours of gameplay, easy. Sad part is, that isn't a joke. Oh, but why settle for less when you can have more? Just go ahead and get the Oblivion Game of the Year Edition with both expansions for $30 dollars more? Or, if nothing else, but the expansions later on one disk for $30. But for $30 the game really is a steal. And with all the downloadable content? Holy shit. BTW- if you get the game (which you very well should), get the Frostcrag Spire download. Not joking. You'll wonder how you ever lived without it.
-Rock Band. Sorry Guitar Hero, you've lost. At least as far as overall gameplay. You've got some nice songs though. Anyways, Rock Band is great. You should already figure that, though. It's going to come to Wii soon, as well. And Rock Band 2 is soon to come out, so just get that and perhaps Rock Band 1 later for it's songs. They're all backward compatible.
-Soul Calibur IV. Incredible. Just know that. Really. It's great. Everything you hoped.
-Devil May Cry 4. Badass. Simply put. And up the difficulty for a seemingly impossible challenge. Srsly. You'll really enjoy it. But you should already know you will. I mean, ****.. it's Dante, babes.
-Dragonball Z: Burst Limit. Great.?
-Battlefield: Bad Company. While I have not played it, or payed attention to much of it, it is apparently f*cking amazing.
What will I miss from the PS3(Though I'll probably get one eventually. I mean, the lifespan is supposed to be as long as the PS2's was. Yeah, I know. Lol, yeah right it will.):
Ratchet & Clank
Any Final Fantasies that don't make it to 360, if they don't. But the future is bright thanks to a new deal with Square and Microsoft.
God of War 3
Motorstorm
MGS4
Resistance: Fall of Man
Future games for the 360?
Final Fantasy XIII
Resident Evil 5
Gears of War 2
Tomb Raider: Underworld
Too Human
Rock Band 2
Mass Effect 2 (Already in the works)
Bioshock 2 (Already in the works)
Fallout 3
Dead Space
Marvel vs. DC Universe
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
Left 4 Dead
Fracture
Saints Row 2
Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon
Edit: ..And I didn't even add any of the JRPGs besides FF. And I'm not talking about rumored shit, I mean games that are actually in the works, if not almost out. And not even everything coming out. Not even arcade hits. Just SOLID games that are going to be great. Not some crappy games.
