In January of this year, I finally bought a game console.  Over the years, I worked with games publishers while running a large developer program, and have followed the space closely because of my interest in the creative application of computer graphics.  However, until recently, I didn’t feel a real need to have a games console or play games on the PC.

I broke down and bought an Xbox 360, which I run through my Pioneer Elite 50" Plasma.  It rocks on the big screen.  While I’m still not a rabid gamer, I do enjoy a few genres and titles, which I will share with you.  Why did I buy an Xbox 360, you might ask, instead of a PlayStation 3 or Wii?  A couple of reasons: a) while the Playstation 3 comes with blu-ray, which, in itself pays for the cost of the console, I will be shortly setting up a home theater PC which has a blu-ray DVD-Rom drive included, so that’s not a motivation; b) there are more titles written for the Xbox 360 than the PS 3, and c) the Xbox 360 was cheaper and came bundled with games that I wanted (Forza and Marvel Ultimate Alliance) or thought I wanted.  What the Xbox 360 doesn’t include that would have been very useful: WiFi, Blu-ray, HDMI output without having to buy extra cables.

Some games that I like:

1. Burnout: Paradise.  This delivers a great catharsis from daily work life.  You drive through immersive environments and purposely knock other cars off the road and destroy things around you without fear of legal consequences.  The graphics are very detailed and realistic, and, in the case of Paradise, don’t require periodic reloading of environments to the extent that other games do.  The full city environment is loaded at the beginning, and as you drive around (which you can do without actually getting into any races or events), you get the feeling of having a persistent world around you that exists wherever you go.  The ‘road rage’ events are especially interesting and get more difficult over time. 

You would think that driving using a joystick is unnatural and more difficult than driving with a steering wheel, but, actually, quite the opposite is true.  In fact, after a while, I bought a steering wheel for the Xbox and found that I didn’t like it as much as the wireless controller. 

Highly recommended.

2. Dead or Alive 4:  This is a great martial arts fighting game with great graphics.  Each martial artist has her/his own look and fighting style (Kung Fu, Wu Shu, Jeet Kune Do, Karate, etc.), and the environments in which they fight are very well done.  There are several different playing modes (one on one combat, timed matches, facing serial combat with one opponent after the other in sudden death mode) all of which are engaging. Finally, there is no blood-and-guts.  Though the game is about martial arts fights, there is no breaking of limbs, blood, or death.

By the way, if you have a console and don’t know about this: Gamestop, which is just about everywhere, has used console games for sale.  You can buy these games at fairly decent discounts off of the price for new copies, and Gamestop will refund you your money if the discs are defective when bought used. I have yet to buy a disc there that was defective.

I’ll mention some other games as well as how you can use your console as a media player (videos, photos, etc.) in a future posting.

Tags: [1] xbox 360, [2] playstation 3, [3] gamestop, [4] Burnout Paradise, [5] Dead or Alive 4, [6] blu-ray

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