Xbox vs. PS2 games (1 Viewer)

[Jay H]

Yah, it makes the decision quite hard. I had a PSX which I sold in July, and used to play some various Squaresoft RPGs, like Parasite Eve 1 and 2, Vagrant Story, as well some racing games like GT1/GT2 and a couple other games like MGS.

You'd think that I would be a shoo-in to get a PS2, but the XBOX hardware is really making me kind of hesitant on which to buy. Now if Sony went ahead and did a price cut on the PS2, hell, I would of bought one already but since they aren't, it makes my decision a hard one at which I'm leaning towards getting an X-box because of it. I've read hear that Konami is porting some version of MGS for the X-box and Squaresoft is still truly unknown if it'll go to X-box or not. I've browsed some of the upcoming X-Box titles and notice 3 RPGs coming out. Any word, initial reviews on how good they are? I can't access IGN or most of the game review sites cause of our firewall and I'm too lazy to convert them all to IP numbers to workaround. Anybody know the buzz on the RPG games and realistic driving games upcoming for the X-box?

Jay

 

[Jerry Gracia]

s

 

[Peter Rohlfs]

Max,

For Fighting games X-Box has only DOA3

or did I miss something?

PS2 has

Tekken Tag

DOA2 Hardcore

Street Fight EX sequal (and I believe Capcom vs NES (?))

Kengo

Knockout Kings

Ready to Rumble 2

another boxing game from Japan coming out soon and

if memeory serves right a Mike Tyson and Rocky (Stallone)

game coming

Is there some announcement I missed about Capcom's Street Fighters or Namco's Tekkn being supported on X-Box?

As it stands now, PS2 has alot more 1 on 1 fighters than X-box.

Peter

 

[Alex Spindler]

I'll share my philosophy on this, and it may or may not apply to you. I consider myself a part time gamer now, mainly because the HT and my computer supply so much entertainment now. But I was more dedicated towards my PS1 as a major entertainment source. For this reason, I was renting and buying games all the time. If I was in this mode, I would only buy a system that could continue the entertainment perpetually. It was in this mode that I decided never to purchase a new system until it had 6 months under it's belt. It was only after six months that the library started to fill out and the reviews of the games settled down from the wow factor of the new system and began evaluating it more evenly. I didn't buy my PS1 until 6 months in and didn't get the PS2 until six months in. I've never felt that I've been starved for content with those systems and never had to resort to replaying the same game over again as I did during my NES days.

Of course, now that I consider myself a part time player, I might ease those restrictions. But the problem is that the six month window for the XBox is not especially promising. Outside of the ports of GTA3 and Medal of Honor, I'm really reaching for standout titles (all opinion of course, and I recommend everyone wander through the IGN release list and previews section for a while to get a feel for whats coming). I would be worried that only being intrigued by titles that I've been playing on my PC for a while may dull the sheen of the XBox, which is a shame since it has huge potential. Of course, MS is also new to the game, so I would think that they will eventually end up with a library as strong as the PS2's is now given enough time.

As a quick recap, if you are looking for a primary entertainment source starting in the holidays, then I would recommend the PS2. I think it has a rich release schedule that is appealing to the old school gamer in me (less than 3 months and we'll have a Dodgeball game and Maximo/Ghosts and Goblins!) as well as the defacto epics from Square and Namco.

If you are a part time gamer, I would wander the XBox lists and see if the must haves are abundant. If they are, go for the XBox. I have little doubt that games release on both systems (and the release dates for the PS2 and XBox look very similar), I have little doubt that the XBox will have the superior presentation.

Unfortunately, the Gamecube is stuck with the catch-up position. Star Wars is the critical game so far (much as Halo is for the XBox) and they've got some franchises locked down (RE and Rare games), but there's no telling when they'll arrive. It could be a whole year before that system gets a decent library.

 

[Derrick_Ellis]

I'm actually backtracking by a couple of responses, but in response to Lou, the PS2 does support realtime 5.1 surround. (SSX Tricky uses it) And the PS2 also supports 16:9 TVs too. (As do most of the games) I'm personally going to wait and see how well the X-Box does before I spend any money on it. I just bought my Playstation 2 a couple of months ago. If it had been five years ago, I would've gotten it right away (Like I did with the original Playstation.) But after being burned by 3D0, and the Atari Jaguar, I've calmed down a bit. You may just want to wait for the commotion to calm down a bit. (If you can wait until after the holidays, you might even save some money.)

 

[James Nguyen]

Derrick,

the PS2 does not have any hardware to support realtime encoding of true dolby digital 5.1 surround sound. Although I suppose it's possible to do in software, I'd have to imagine that it would bring the system to a performance load that would make just about doing anything else in realtime an absolute crawl.

The EA Sports web page for SSX Tricky also makes no mention of real time surround sound nor does it have a dolby digital logo on there.

I'm gonna guess that it's 5.1 used in things like cinematics and so forth, where the sound engineers can prepare these soundtracks beforehand for simple playback (a la DVD movies). The Bouncer was I believe the first example of a PS2 game that did this. However, playback of *realtime* 5.1 sound as the gameplay changes isn't possible on the PS2 in hardware..software sure, but that would incur such a penalty that quality would have to be sacrificed somewhere--either visually or aurally.

 

[ChrisV]

SSX Tricky does realtime DTS as does EA's NHL 2002.

The quality of the sound is still being debated, but nevertheless, it is there.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

the PS2 does not have any hardware to support realtime encoding of true dolby digital 5.1 surround sound. Although I suppose it's possible to do in software, I'd have to imagine that it would bring the system to a performance load that would make just about doing anything else in realtime an absolute crawl.

The EA Sports web page for SSX Tricky also makes no mention of real time surround sound nor does it have a dolby digital logo on there.

It's realtime DTS 5.1 surround.

It is also really bad, not immersive, and not worth bothering with.

 

[Derrick_Ellis]

I agree Mike, the DTS in SSX Tricky isn't really worth writing home about, but I think it will get better when the programmers have more experience with it. (The first DVDs weren't that great either, but now look at 'em.) And I have SSX Tricky to blame for comsuming at least two hours out of every evening. Man, every time I think I'm out, they pull me back in!

 

[Derrick_Ellis]

(I just noticed that the forum says I've been a member since 1970.) So I've been on the forum since I was one years old! Heheh. Talk about senority.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Go with PS2 right now. If you want to choose a console a year from now, then it will be different.

Hardware aside, PS2 wins. It might not have the best hardware or capabilities, but it undoubtedly has the better games.

 

[Max Leung]

That's right Peter, the Xbox only has one fighting game at this very moment.

I'm making the assumption that Capcom will port some of its fighters over, and that Sega will bring over Virtua Fighter, like they did with the Dreamcast. It's too early to tell if that will ever happen though.

Personally, I don't care for fighting games. I like FPS and Gauntlet/Diablo-type games myself.

 

[Romier S]

As far as soon to come X-box games. Here is a bit of a list I compiled.
Here are some "Heavy Hitters":
Silent Hill 2 Restless Dreams-survival horror
Giants X-adventure/strategy(An all new game in the Giants universe)
Black and White Next Generation-strategy (another all new game)
Metal Gear Solid-action/adventure (in some form or another)
Enclave-fighting/adventure (Damn this game looks good)
Hunter the Reckoning-action/adventure (another looker)
WWF Raw-Wrestling/fighting
Project Ego-RPG (this game will change gaming as we know it IMHO)
Azurik Rise of Perathia-Adventure
Star Wars-Obi Wan-action/adventure
Some further ports of PC games and other games:
Max Payne-action/adventure
Ghost Recon-Tactical Shooter
Elderscrolls III Morrowind-RPG
Genma Onimusha-Survival horror
Grand Theft Auto 3-action/adventure
Medal Of Honor Allied Assault-first person shooter
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3-X-sports
Ultimate Blade of Darkness-action/adventure (very cool PC game in need of a controller!)
Unreal Chamionship_first person shooter (an unreal fans wet dream!)
SSX Tricky-X-sports
Ridge Racer X (New RR game)-Racing
Soul Caliber 2-Fighting
Some other farther off in the future titles:
Jet Set Radio Future-adventure
Gunvalkyrie-Fighting
House of the Dead 3-Gun shooter
Panzer Dragoon-Shooter (next game in series)
Duality-first person shooter
Fellowship of the Ring-RPG/action adventure
Fate-Online RPG
The Matrix-action/adventure
BloodWake-Racing/shooter
This list is in no way super comprehensive but it gives you a good idea of the genres being covered and what is coming out for the system in the next year or so. Dont ask me how I broke them down cause I dont know I just threw them into categories as I wrote.
It looks to me like the X-box has a bright future ahead. If you want my opinion for right now though. I say go with the PS2. It is an exceptional system that will deliver hours of entertainment (I own one as well as the X-box and 'Cube) It has the games now and it won't dissapoint. If something I listed above tickles your fancy though you wont be unhappy if you go with the X-box (again Halo in 5.1 is just to awesome for words!)

 

[DavidAM]

Thanks for all the input guys. I'll break it down and let you know my situation. I already have an Xbox. I picked it up at midnight at Walmart when it was released. My intentions were to ebay it for a $100 or 2 BUT if any of you have checked ebay and the xbox, they aren't going for much. I have no problems waiting a few months till supply catches up to get a machine, but my xbox sold for $350 and it looks like the guy is backing out which is fine with me cause I'll just keep it. And like I said, I have a full surround system (Harman Kardon AVR-520 reciever coming for xmas, Polk RT8's for front, Polk R10's for surround and am working on a center channel for when the HK comes for xmas.....currently have a Dolby Surround Pioneer reciever which is 11 years old). Since I will have all the new features with the HK reciever, I'm leaning towards the Xbox. I could always return it or ebay it and get a PS2 if I want so that is why I'm asking advice on which to get. But since I already have the Xbox in my hands, I will probably just keep it and hope it evolves into a great machine with great games. Before the Xbox, I had a Saturn which I never played. I never bought a PS1 so really, my gaming is when I was younger with the original NES and Intellivision before the NES. I'm not a hardcore gamer that needs a PS2/Xbox/Gamecube all at the same time. Whichever machine I stick with will be what I will play....this is why I want to make the right choice so I don't get screwed like I did with the Saturn and not like any games it had and have it be replaced a year after I buy a console. No future Xbox titles are catching my eye, but then I haven't been in the gaming mode for the last few years so I really don't recognize any titles or know what they are. I do know I like Metal Gear for PS1 so if Xbox releases that, I will buy that and pretty much any racer game they offer. Throw in a good RPG or 2 and an awesome football/baseball/basketball game and I will be happy. NFL Fever is supposed to be awesome so that is good and if they release a Metal Gear version and a few other good racer games I will be happy.

So now that you know all that, should I stick with the Xbox I already have or should I still consider the PS2? I can't deny that the PS2 has an awesome game lineup right now that I prefer, but honestly, I've been looking at it for a year now and waiting for the Xbox to come out and its just recently that the PS2 lineup has started to interest me. If the Xbox grows like the PS2 did in a year, then I will be happy with the Xbox. I figured you guys knew what was coming with the Xbox more than I do....that's why I asked on here to get opinions. I'm looking more at releases a year from now than what I can buy right this minute. I just don't want to get stuck like I did with the Saturn and not want any games, but I don't see that happening with the Xbox. More opinions are welcome!

 

[Morgan Jolley]

The X-Box has a great list of games coming out in the next year, but when you consider which ones will be ported to other consoles (or are on other consoles already, like SSX Tricky and Silent Hill 2) it sort of levels the playing field.

I look at it like this: of the major developers that are making games for the next gen consoles, do I want Nintendo/Rare/Factor 5 (GameCube), Squaresoft (PS2), or Sega (X-Box) the most? I personally can't live without Final Fantasy, Mario, and Zelda, so the X-Box is sort of the odd man out. Next year, when Sega releases a lot of its games, I will be more interested. So far, the only exclusive games seem to be PC ports, spinoffs, or sequels, which is fine, but I can get the games on another platform that I already own. Like I said, next year will make a purchase more worth it for me.

That said, go with the PS2 for now. The games are there and they are just getting cheaper.