2000-2003

PS2:

Diversity of Game Selection- A+

Frequency of " AAA" Titles- B+

Graphical Prowess- B-

Exclusives- A-

Online- B-

Overall- A- / B+

After going through the typical 3-month drought at the start of its lifespan in October of 2000, 2001 became one of the best years in video gaming history. It began in March and didn' t really start to slow down until January of 2002, and in that span of time, games like Onimusha: Warlords, Red Faction, Twisted Metal: Black, Soul Reaver 2, Gran Turismo 3, ICO, Silent Hill 2, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Devil May Cry, Madden 2002, Grand Theft Auto III, Final Fantasy X, and Jak and Daxter lit up the gaming world. No platform has had a year like it since, unfortunately, but 2004 looks promising for just about any system.

As was to be expected, the PS2 sported the largest diversity of any platform in this three-year span. Genres that other platforms simply won' t touch are readily accepted by the PS2, most likely due to immense third-party support. Rhythm/dance, strategy, and puzzlers, not to mention some of the last 2D titles in existence, are all here, and are higher in number than most would believe. Leading the pack with the best platformers, many of the best RPG' s, and several of the best racers and action games in existence, the PS2 easily solidified itself as a true gamer' s console.

Drawbacks for the system have always included the lack of four controller ports, loading times, and graphics that aren' t quite up to snuff with the other two systems, released more than a year later. However, despite being an obvious third-place in the visuals department, the PS2 has still provided us with some of the most beautiful games ever, and one will be hard-pressed to find many games on any platform that look significantly better than games like Silent Hill 3, MGS 2, Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando, and Final Fantasy X. 2004 may show us more with the likes of Gran Turismo 4 and God of War. Lastly, what is widely regarded as one of the best controllers ever made, the Sony DS, is another major plus for this system.

As far as online goes, the program struggled to get off the ground for the longest time, and has yet to hit its stride. It does have a large number of loyalists, though, and several choice titles (i.e., Tony Hawk, Madden, etc.) are being played online on a very frequent basis. With the additions of the SOCOM series and Final Fantasy XI, online popularity has risen, and most online gamers have stated that the overall service has increased in reliability and speed. However, it has yet to match the quality of Xbox Live, which in all fairness, is one of the primary selling points of the Xbox.

Top Exclusive Titles:

Onimusha 2
Devil May Cry
Gran Turismo 3
Final Fantasy X, X-2
Suikoden III
ICO
Twisted Metal: Black
Ace Combat 4
Kingdom Hearts
SOCOM I, II
Xenosaga
Ratchet and Clank, R&C: Going Commando
Jak and Daxter, Jak II
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
Amplitude and Frequency
Virtua Fighter 4, VF 4: Evolution

Xbox:

Diversity of Game Selection- B-

Frequency of " AAA" Titles- B

Graphical Prowess- A

Exclusives- C

Online- A-

Overall- B

Microsoft' s system debuted to much speculation, but Halo immediately quelled that mini-resistence. What followed afterward was your typical " rookie drought" through the middle of 2002, but ever since, the system' s been on the up-swing. Releasing the greats at very much the same clip as the PS2 once 2002/2003 rolled around, the Xbox provided some of the most memorable gaming moments in recent memory- Halo, Splinter Cell, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Morrowind, and Rallisport Challenge head the list. Sequels to some of these top games came about in 2004, but that' s for later...

Keeping a fairly determined focus on action, sports, and FPS, the system was able to work its way through the skepticism and the unhealthy " poor man' s PC" and " PortBox" monikers. It has struggled to provide gamers with good platformers, fighters, and RPG' s, but with the advent of KotoR and a 2004 that will show the likes of KotoR 2 and Jade Empire, that last bit is likely to disappear as a " struggling factor." Not having the support of the PS2, it also lacks strategy and rhythm/dance titles (although it did just get its first; DDR, just recently), but the Xbox does excel where its focus lies. And this is one of the few similarities it holds with the PC. As far as controllers go, the original didn' t have that many fans, but with the release of the superior S Controller, the Xbox is even more of a formidable force.

Being a technical powerhouse is always a bonus, and although it took a few years to top the graphical masterpiece that was Dead or Alive 3, several new titles have proven the system' s graphical prowess. While the top titles can be compared and contrasted with top visual productions on the GC and even the PS2, in general, the average game simply looks better on the Xbox. This leads to one of the bigger pluses of the system: the fact that multi-platform games are almost always best seen, if not best played (more subjective), on this console. It' s biggest problem (that it' s currently working on): lack of " AAA" exclusives. Too many great titles are brought to PC and other platforms; if they could keep some big-name titles just for themselves, they would probably see another sales spike.

Instituting the slogan, " It' s Good To Play Together," Xbox Live kicked off to decent success; a success that has only grown with the addition of some stellar online titles. Whether it be a failing of Microsoft or not, they have stuck to their goal, which is to see online console gaming become much more popular than it already is. If it were up to them, they' d have an Xbox Live kit in every home that had an Xbox, and chances are, they will continue to push this goal into the next generation. Revolutionary online experiences is a specialty of this system, and as mentioned before, they excel in what they focus on.

Top Exclusive Titles:

Project Gotham Racing 2
Rallisport Challenge
MechAssault
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Top Spin
Dead or Alive 3
Unreal Championship
Jet Grind Radio: Future
Shenmue II

GameCube:

Diversity of Game Selection- B-

Frequency of " AAA" Titles- D+

Graphical Prowess- B+

Exclusives- B

Online- N/A (possible substitute- Connectivity)

Overall- C+

Great things were expected from this code-named " Dolphin" system, and Nintendo made many promises. Luckily, we find that Nintendo hasn' t lost its old charm, but unluckily in some ways.........they haven' t lost their old charm. It is impossible to discount some of the very best games on this system, simply because they are some of the very best games of this generation: Metroid Prime, Animal Crossing, Super Mario Sunshine, Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Resident Evil 0, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, and Eternal Darkness lead the way. One of the best parts about this system is that all of their top titles just so happen to be exclusives as well. It' s just unfortunate that there' s not more of them.

Another aspect unique to the GameCube is the connectivity issue, which is essentially the heart and soul of multi-player for Nintendo. This is a nice feature that allows for switching and swapping between the GameBoy advance and GameCube, and ultimately allows for some truly fun experiences for those willing to hook themselves up with a friend or just by themselves. The lack of online play may turn people away in the future, but it may be unwise at this point to battle Xbox Live and Sony Online.

The company has also flexed some considerable muscle when it comes to power, and this is shown in some of the more spectacular visual performances. Many gamers still consider Zelda: WW, Metroid Prime, and RE 0 to have the very best graphics of this generation. For the most part, GC games have a healthy helping of color and detail, and you will rarely find a game that truly failed in the graphics cateogry. As far as controllers go, it' s hit or miss with the GC controller, although the wireless Wavebird has created quite a positive stir.

What Nintendo is in dire need of is quite simple- more games. Or, to be more specific, more " AAA" games. While it' s clear that the GC has had its fair share of top titles in the past few years, it is also painfully obvious that the frequency of the appearance of such titles is much too low. They may produce a game or two that is always in the running for Game of the Year, but in general, there isn' t much else in the stock room to draw on. To be perfectly honest, the GameBoy Advance is having a much better run of games, and we at least owe some thanks to Nintendo for that.

Top Exclusive Titles:

Super Mario Sunshine
Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Metroid Prime
Resident Evil 0
Animal Crossing
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles
Eternal Darkness
Super Monkey Ball 1, 2
Star Wars: Rogue Leader

2004 to date

PS2: C+

Champions of Norrath
Onimusha 3
La Pucelle Tactics

Xbox: A-

Ninja Gaiden
Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
Rallisport Challenge 2
The Chronicles of Riddick

GameCube: D

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles

2004: 2cd Half

All potential A' s. For the PS2, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, God of War, Devil May Cry 3, Gran Turismo 4, Star Ocean 3, Xenosaga: Episode II, and Suikoden IV, for the Xbox, KotoR 2, Halo 2, Jade Empire, and Fable, for the GC, Metroid Prime 2, Resident Evil 4, Donky Konga, and the new Zelda.

I click on this thread to see info on the next gen sytems. But noooooooo! Instead I find myself reading about CURRENT gen systems. And where is the Dreamcast?

ORIGINAL: Joe Redifer
And where is the Dreamcast?

Probably in trash cans across america.

Fathoms, did you write all this yourself? That was a pretty deep look into the systems, very well done.

Yeah, that was all me. I was bored this morning.

Joe: The DC is not a current system, and hasn' t been for a couple years. It could feasibly be lumped together with these others, but it was so unsuccessful that it probably wouldn' t be worth it. It could easily be done, though.

And I' m just used to calling all these systems " next-gen." As far as I' m concerned, they just launched. LOL

Top Exclusive Titles:

Super Mario Sunshine

I can' t believe you used the words, " Top Exclusive" and " Super Mario Sunshine" in the same sentence... Ewwwww

Hey, I' m not saying I liked it, but the general consensus is that it' s a great game. I can only go by " general consensus" when making such a list.

My Dreamcast sure isn' t in the trash can. The only systems in trash cans are probably 32X, a few Sega CDs (the system is worth keeping though), Atari Jaguar, 3DO, etc.

As of this generation, I prefer Xbox due to its superior graphics and VASTLY superior sound capabilities, but overall the Xbox library doesn' t blow me away. The PS2 has some great games, but it' s the PS2, and the loading times are murder. The Gamecube is faaaasst but there are few games for that system that I am interested in. The current generation of games seems to lack the creative spark (for the most part, there are many exceptions) as the 16 bit era. Of course it can be argued that all 16-bit has were platformers, shooters, and sports games. I have no idea why I feel the way I do, but I do.

Joe: I know I mentioned loading times, but it' s really not a legitimate complaint, as far as I' m concerned. Most Xbox games take about 5-15 seconds to load while most PS2 games take about 10-20 seconds. The longest might take as much as 30 seconds, but that' s rare. In fact, of the 34 PS2 games I own, only GTA III and GTA: Vice City are anywhere near 30 seconds (and that' s a one-time load, for the most part).

Anybody who quibbles about 5-10 or even 15 seconds has more pressing problems than loading times (' cough' ADD ' cough' ).

And the DC is great for people who like arcade and arcade-style games, because 90% of the system' s library was made up of that kind of game. For those of us who favored the RPG, strategy, FPS, and simulation genres, it was borderline worthless.

Peeps will argue with you about Skies of Arcadia nd of course Shenmue 1 and 2. Skies was boring for me, but there is a hardcore fanbase for it, and many prefer it to the Gamecube version. And Shenmue just sucks up all of my time. It' s the only game where I could play a character getting a haircut!

When you' re playing a game and the action is high, long loading times to decrease overall enjoyment. Ever play WRC for the PS2? It takes about 2 weeks and 5 days (sometimes up to 2 weeks and 6 days) to load each track. You almost spend more time sitting on yer ass looking at the loading screen than you do playing the game. It always amazes me how long it takes to load such a miniscule amount of information. I mean the Xbox only has 64 megs of RAM. That' s not a lot. But when the designers format the disc, they make absolutely sure that the laser will have to go from the center of the disc to the outer edge and back for each single bit it must load.

Speaking of load times, WAIT until you guys check out Headhunter: Redemption ;)

Joe: For the most part, I don' t think that' s a legitimate complaint either. The way many games are made nowadays, there is one big loading time at the start, and that' s about it; there' s really no bigger " break in the action" on PS2 than on any other system. Look at the GTA' s: it takes probably 30 seconds to load the game, but once it' s loaded, it never loads anything again that takes anywhere near that long. Going between the two sections of the city takes about 7-8 seconds and so does going into a building. And if you want to talk racers, Gran Turismo 3' s loading times were extremely short, and the same goes for most all RPG' s I' ve played.

The Xbox and GC are certainly faster; I' m not disputing that. What I' m pointing out is that the discrepancy is surprisingly small; only a matter of about 5-15 seconds, as I said before. 10 seconds of downtime in any game has never hindered my enjoyment of it.

As for RPG' s on the DC, you just named them all, with the exception of Grandia II (which was good), and the Evolution games (which were downright horrendous). And it' s questionable about whether or not you can call Shenmue an RPG; it' s more of a hybrid. And even if you count it, you' re still only looking at about 3 RPG' s worth playing. The PSOne had well over 100 RPG' s, probably about half of which were worth playing. The PS2 has 35 even as we speak. And when it comes to strategy, simulation, and FPS, like I said, the DC is borderline worthless.

It' s a machine for arcade-style game fans. And it was a darn good one for them, too. For the rest of us........well, I had mine for Soul Calibur (still the best fighter ever, IMO), RE: CV, and NFL 2k. Once I found out that all of them would be made for the next-gen systems, I had no reason to keep the DC anymore. It was a very niche system...and I, and many others, simply weren' t in that " niche."

I can' t believe you used the words, " Top Exclusive" and " Super Mario Sunshine" in the same sentence... Ewwwww

Mario Sunshine was a really good game.I dont know y PPL hate it.

As for PS2 loading time i almost killed myself while trying to play PS2 version of Soul Calibur 2 in a store.


I still have my DREAMCAST because u dont need a mod chip to play burned games.I only bought 3 games(Soul Calibur,Sonic,Shenmue 1)and downloaded about 40 of other games.

Soul Calibur wasn' t made on any other system. It' s sequel was, however.

I take it that you like the slow moving games (ie: RPG' s) Fathoms? If that is the case, then yeah, you won' t even notice any load time. That would be like a board game that has loading time. Most people seem to think that loading time matters, so therefore it must. It' s not a deal breaker, but it matters.

In general, I prefer to be tested mentally as well as physically. I find the games that force me to think to be far more immersive and rewarding than the mindless titles that only require a certain degree of dexterity in the fingers. But if you' re asking if that' s ALL I play...well, here' s my collection. Judge for yourself.

http://www.gamespot.com/user/collection.aspx

Devil May Cry was awfully fast, and I don' t recall any problematic loading times. Same goes for Kingdom Hearts, Madden 2004, The Mark of Kri, MoH: Frontline, TimeSplitters 2, Onimusha 2 and 3, Twisted Metal: Black, and Rygar. None of these games have loading times of any longer than 15 seconds; most are lower. If you consider that an issue at all, then you and I are very different.

10 seconds I can deal with. 15 seconds is pushing it. Anything longer and they need to start adding commercials for us to watch as the game loads. OMG WHAT DID I JUST SAY??? I' ve probably doomed the future of games now :(

When I play games, I just wanna kick some ass. If I want to think, then I will work instead. Only strategy games really require much thought. RPG' s really don' t other than the strategy of which magic spell to use and which items to use in battle, or to decide if your level 63 Dwarf can defeat a level 74 magician. Roll the die, try again! :)

10 seconds I can deal with. 15 seconds is pushing it. Anything longer and they need to start adding commercials for us to watch as the game loads. OMG WHAT DID I JUST SAY??? I' ve probably doomed the future of games now :(

You guys would have Loved the load times in Headhunter: Redemption. I' m not kidding when I say this but It took over 3 minutes for the first mission to load. Now there;s a game that should have had commercial intermissions!

in most XBOX games loading times are really fast becasue of the hard drive.

For Example HALO,It takes like 1 seconds to restart a mission or to load your last checkpoint.

Test Drive 5 used Pong for there loading screen.
So more games should do that.

Put Classic games instead of loading screens.

You' re forgetting that Halo also takes a good 10 seconds to load when the game is first started. That' s barely five seconds faster than almost all of my PS2 games.

And that' s entirely the point I' m trying to make.

Actually Halo doesn' t load fast when you restart because of the hard drive. It restarts fast because the entire level is in RAM. Kind of like when you screw up in a racing game and want to restart the race. It is usually instantaneous (except for Rallisport Challenge 2 for some unfathomable reason). Dat' s cuz it doesn' t need to load the data it already has again.

Fathoms just called me up. He told me that he hates the PS2 with a passion and that he loves the Gamecube (preferably the purple one). Then he hung up on me.

EDIT: I want the HD Loader for the PS2. Will it be sold in stores? I am curious to see if it will improve anything.

EDIT 2: Fathoms, I clicked on your link above and it appears that you own ZERO games.

I guess you have to be a GS forum member. Try this one.

http://users.ign.com/collection/fathoms

Or, you could try to get to my collection at GS through my profile.

http://www.gamespot.com/user/profile.aspx