Head to head – Ghostbusters: The Video Game vs. Other movie based games

Ghostbusters: The Video Game is one of those rare movie based games that is actually good. Rarely do you see a game based on a film from twenty five years ago be as well received as Ghostbusters was. But just how good is it? Oh, it’s very good. Let’s say you’re a fan of the Ghostbusters films, there is no reason you won’t like this game. It’s not a game version of either of the two movies, but it acts as a third film in the original story and completely new script. It also retains the same humor we come to expect from the Ghostbusters.

Head to head: Realistic racing sims vs. arcade style racing games

Let’s compare two completely different styles of racing games today! I’ve never been a huge fan of racing games, but I actually used to love Gran Turismo (the original) and also Need for Speed. I consider both series completely bland and lacking anything fun that makes games like Burnout, Pure, or Test Drive: Unlimited so successful and, most importantly, fun. But both Gran Turismo and Need for Speed fit two different kind of sub-genres within the racing genre.

Xbox Live vs. Playstation Network

Okay, maybe this is less of a comparison between the two and more of me addressing those who complain about having to pay for Xbox Live and then go on to say the PSN is better simply because it is free. There are so many things wrong with that, it would take a long time to go over them all, so I’ll just cover the basics here.

Head to head: Real time inventory vs. static inventory (New school vs. old school)

No, really, this is something that is pretty insignificant, but I feel like it’s necessary to address. With the release of the Resident Evil 5 demo (my impressions of which you can read EXCLUSIVELY at Press X to Win. Yeah, go there now…now. NOW) and I think it’s something that may bother a lot of people. A real time inventory. Okay, yeah, what’s the big deal? As I said, insignificant, but an interesting topic of discussion.

Time to rant! Let’s talk Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

As long as there will always be more than one console, there will always be console fanboys. And they annoy me to no end, especially considering I’ve always supported all of the consoles (for the most part) and felt that there is always room for more than one big exclusive on different consoles. I had both a Super Nintendo and a Genesis, a Playstation and an N64, and all three systems from the last generation. And now I’m lucky enough to have the three current consoles, to be able to enjoy all three for what they are and what they offer in terms of features and games. But why do people always seem to have a need to bash the console or consoles they don’t own?

Let’s leave the Nintendo Wii out of this, since it’s a bit “different” compared to the other two, to say the least. Let’s talk about the two consoles that appeal more towards gamers that played the PS2 and Xbox (and maybe even the Gamecube, minus the Nintendo exclusives) last generation. This is in no way a knock against the Wii, it’s still a great system, but I feel like the main console “debates” are always between two main systems, and this time around, it’s the 360 and the PS3. I’ll never understand the purpose of bashing another system, aside from “I’m too cheap to own both, so I’ll just bash the one I don’t have just to piss off the other crowd” mentality. Does that sound immature? Maybe it is, but I have a feeling that a lot of the time, it’s the truth.

PS3 fanboys, or just 360 haters in general, have always bashed both the Xbox and its successor due to have an “access amount of shooters”, or primarily being the “shooting systems”, since they both had a lot of shooters, mainly of the first person variety. I’m not going to discuss the last generation, but this generation, the 360 does have a lot of shooters. This is true, but the one thing that gets me is…so does the PS3. 95% of the shooters you can find on the 360 are also on the PS3, and the ones that are exclusive to Microsoft’s console can be countered with Sony exclusive shooters. Gears of War? Sony has SOCOM. Halo? Sony has Resistance.

This entire generation is about shooters, and it has been for a while, no matter which system you own. It’s just what a good portion of the industry is focused on. Sure, there will still be your adventure games, your racing games, your RPGs, but there are a lot of shooters because they generally sell well. Of course, you’ll still get a top seller such as Fable II more recently, which is an RPG, but doesn’t that just counter the point of PS3 fanboys? The 360 has more games that aren’t shooters than the PS3, more specifically the games that normally would be found on a Sony system, but this generation aren’t as much: RPGs. While some are multiplatform, such as Enchanted Arms and Eternal Sonata, quite a few are exclusives, such as Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey.

So, the 360 has a more “diverse” catalog of games than the PS3 does. But now let’s talk about the so called “problems” with the PS3, one being the “lack” of exclusives. Games or series that you would traditionally see on a Sony platform, such as Devil May Cry and, more recently announced, Final Fantasy are being seen (or are going to be seen) on MIcrosoft’s system as well. So, in that case, the PS3 is losing all of its good exclusives, right? Wrong. First, the PS3 still has very strong titles such as Metal Gear Solid 4, LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2 (and the original), plus for the RPG/strategy fans, Valkyria Chronicles.

What about the exclusives on the 360? Aside from Gears of War 2 and Halo 3, most of them can be or will most likely be found on the PC. Sure, some may be “console” exclusive, but that doesn’t mean they are exclusive. Both systems focus more on multiplatform games this generation than any other, and the once very large and impressive list of exclusive games dwindles each year. It all comes down to the system itself, since both generally have a very impressive line-up of games, with a few exclusives to balance each other out. Which controller do you prefer? How important is online gaming to you? Does Blu Ray matter to you? Is price important? All these are things that can be considered when making your purchase.

But you can also get both, since both clearly have both their ups and downs, but they manage to balance each other out. But whatever you choose to do, stop arguing. It’s meaningless, it’s annoying, and no side will ever win. Sure, one console may be selling more than another, but that in no way determines the quality of the system or the games you can play on that system. There is no right or wrong answer here, just pick up the controller and play your games, and don’t worry about what others think or whatever is on that other system. You’re a gamer, right? Stop arguing and just do what you enjoy doing: playing games.

Left 4 Dead vs. Other Zombie Games

This is yet another one of my lazy posts, where I realize that while the day isn’t quite over for me, it has been over 24 hours since my last post and I haven’t updated, so I’m a bit late! So I’m going to very briefly talk about Left 4 Dead, and why it’s the best of its kind.

The one thing other zombie games may have above Left 4 Dead is the length; Left 4 Dead can be beaten in four hours, maybe more or less, depending on your difficulty. But it has a massive amount of replayability, being co-op, which has never really been seen in a game like this…well, not including the terrible Resident Evil: Outbreak games. And yes, Resident Evil 5 will have co-op, but until then, Left 4 Dead will reign supreme.

Let’s not forget the amaaaaaaaazing versus mode, which lets you play as either the survivors in one of the campaigns, or one of the special zombies. And playing as the zombies themselves is a blast; you never know just how fun it is until you play as a Tank and are able to knock down all four survivors in a single attack. Left 4 Dead is the best multiplayer experience you can have all year, and definitely the best “oh my god what the hell was that” games of all time. Yes, that is a game category, and you’ve never experienced it until you’re fighting off the zombie horde with three friends in this amazing game.

So, Left 4 Dead is the clear winner here, adding a co-op, a versus mode, and more replayability than any other game of its kind. I suggest you buy it, if you have a good PC or a 360, and enjoy countless sleepless nights killing the endless streams of zombies with your friends.

Resistance 2 vs. Gears of War 2

I needed to do this. Why? It’s not that the two games are really that similar; despite the fact that they are both shooters, they are both completely different kinds of shooters. But, they are the two biggest games for their respective systems for the Holidays, and lots of people are comparing the two. I figured I would examine the three big aspects of the games (Single Player, Co-op, and Multiplayer) and then come to a final overall decision based on which I’ve been getting the most enjoyment out of. Let’s FIGHT!

Let’s talk about ROCK! (featuring a special guest post concerning one of the greatest game series of all time PART TWO)

Guitar Hero: World Tour (aka Rock Band with a Guitar Hero spin) has recently been released, and yesterday I had a chance to play it for a few hours. I tried the new guitar and drums, and had a chance to play an extensive amount of songs. Ranging from songs we’ve played in Rock Band, to songs we’ve played in Rock Band 2, this is a pretty good collection that can be found elsewhere! But the exclusive songs the game has, including Hot for Teacher and Crazy Train, and a few songs from Tool are a nice addition and are some of the best in the game. But, is this better than Rock Band? Yes, it’s better than Rock Band. Keep in mind, I didn’t say Rock Band 2.