A convert of casual gaming- please help!

[Uzbekistan]

That's the kind of advice I need Uzbekistan, thanks so much. I'm secretly a huge huge poke-nerd and would by a DS and just play pokemon forever, especially since they're redoing Gold and Silver. I assumed every PS3 could play PS2 games but I'm glad you told me that. I missed out on that generation of games and would like to discover some titles (Katamari anyone?)

I've been searching for Okami on Wii but it's really hard to find. So yes, that one is a must too.

Thanks again for your advice. You win a high five.
*high five*

Yeah, apparently the head people at PS-land wanted everyone to toss out their old PS2s thinking, 'hey, they're backwards compatible!!' only to have to rebuy them when they find they're not.

I would suggest Okami on the PS2 since I fail at the Wii motion sensors.

*HIGHFIVE OF JUSTICE!!*

OH!! And I also strongly recomend the Phoenix Wright Series. They're really good.

 

[azncutthroat]

Meh, you don't need a console to be a "real" gamer. You can check Steam out, they have a good variety of games and even throw in demos that are pretty useful for making a direct decision without relying on others (not advertising for Steam).

 

[Prophetic Heresy]

what the hell is a light FPS?

There is no such thing as casual or hardcore. What you need to do first is get out of that mindset. Then just play any game that looks interesting to you. If you want a console, just do a search of what the "best" titles are, and base your decision on the games that appeal most to your interests.

Anyways just listen to this, I think its lame to say your a "casual" or "Hardcore" gamer. For me its playing games that I enjoy, some cutsy puzzle games hold my interest for hours. While the next day I get into debated conversations over the min/maxing in WoW and will beat KotOR multiple times just so that I can get the whole game.

I see that if you only play games you like, regardless of what others say is hardcore or not, you will have much more fun time playing. And I would rather have tons of happy gamers playing what they want then a bunch of fools only playing hardcore or casual for the title.

He really did need to hear that.

It's great that you're taking the plunge to invest in your video gaming hobby so you can take it to the next level. But don't worry about being called "casual" when starting out or "hardcore" when you start getting deeper. It really is all about enjoying yourself and respecting other people's wish to do so.

 

[Wolvaroo]

Honestly Sir Madam, get a PC. A mediocre PC is around the same price, or get a cheap windows based netbook and slightly older games. New games suck anyway!

The cheapest $300 netbook will probably play Oblivion. And you could rock the socks off such greats like Morrowind, Baldur's gate, Icewind Dale, Planescape, Kotor, Jade Empire, Theif, Mechwarrior 3/4, Starcraft, Warcraft, Dues Ex, Most MMORPGs and probably even Dragon Age. Many people don't realise how far you can scale back newer PC games to be playable on lower end machines. Including the use of low-res community mods.

EDIT: Don't forget about a slew of indy and flash games! And the glory that are Steam's weekly sales! And as someone mentioned earlier many of these great games have patches to run on Mac so you can enjoy great games without a new platform.

 

[jpakaferrari]

I assumed every PS3 could play PS2 games but I'm glad you told me that. I missed out on that generation of games and would like to discover some titles (Katamari anyone?)

*high five*

Katamari was an awesomely addictive and creepy game. Katamari Forever on the 360 was okay but not as good as the original

 

[brunothepig]

I only have a Wii, there's some good games on it. I would suggest Resident Evil 4, bonus content and everything. And a lot of fun with the Wii-mote. Then there's Zelda, though not for everyone. I hear No More Heroes is good, and we'll be getting number 2 soon. Dragonball Z Tenkaichi 3 is a lot of fun. And there's Gamecube games, if you get a controller. For a new platform, since I hear PC is out of the question, I recently bought a PS2. Can't afford a PS3 or 360, and PS2 is still awesome. There's a massive back catalog of games, very cheap. Unfortunately pre-owned, but I only had one game out of eight that doesn't work, which was just $15 (of course it was God Of War). But I can walk into eb games with $50 and walk out with four games, and three dollars change lol.

 

[m-bot]

Honestly Sir, get a PC. A mediocre PC is around the same price, or get a cheap windows based netbook and slightly older games. New games suck anyway!

I dunno, there's something to be said about sitting on your wonderfully comfy couch with your cat and letting your thumbs do the talking. The controls on the PC seem daunting. But then again I haven't played a PC game since Myst. Well that's not entirely true I guess. Sims 3 is my heroin in concentrated form. But that's more of a toy in my eyes.

And by the way I am a Madam incase you call care.

 

[Wolvaroo]

I would recomend a DS far before either a 360 or PS3. There are a ton of great DS games for all tastes and it's the cheapest way to go.

 

[Wolvaroo]

Honestly Sir, get a PC. A mediocre PC is around the same price, or get a cheap windows based netbook and slightly older games. New games suck anyway!

I dunno, there's something to be said about sitting on your wonderfully comfy couch with your cat and letting your thumbs do the talking. The controls on the PC seem daunting. But then again I haven't played a PC game since Myst. Well that's not entirely true I guess. Sims 3 is my heroin in concentrated form. But that's more of a toy in my eyes.

And by the way I am a Madam incase you call care.

I was quite honestly thinking of typing sir/madam but thought it wouldn't be in class! Lulz on me. But you'd be happy to know using a gamepad with a PC is as easy as plugging one in! (In most cases)

 

[Gladion]

I'd suggest not buying a new console for now - there are a lot of nice Wii games out you can check out first - you mentioned Okami before, you'll be occupied with that one a long time, I assure you, and if you liked that, you can get any Zelda game, too. I don't know where you're from, but most Amazon shops I buy/import from sell both games cheaply, you should find them pretty quickly. No More Heroes was mentioned before, a great and very funny game. If you have friends playing with you - Mario Kart is the best multiplayer (and party) game in my book.

But if you really want to get a new console, I would recommend a PS2, like some other people did. Especially since you said you liked RPGs, which are very rare on the Wii. Now, there are so many great Playstation 2 games out there, I will only suggest Shadow Hearts (as I do to everybody), Suikoden, and the Legacy of Kain (play "Defiance" last! Story is important!) and Sly Raccoon games.

I'd propose more games, but you said you didn't want to play any "heavy" games (I think I know what you mean), which is the exact opposite from me and I don't recommend any games I haven't played myself.

Also, get a PS2. There a lot of good games for that too. If you must, get a PS3 BUT MAKE SURE IT IS BACKWARDS COMPATIBLE. Why they just didn't make the PS3 BC in the first place is beyond me.

Well, money of course! Sony is still losing money with every console they sell, so they at least cut down the loss by removing the PS2's emotion chip, which was responsible for the PS3 being capable of playing PS2 games. I'd suggest buying both a PS2 and a new PS3 light, as the two are probably cheaper than a single one of those old PS3 models.

 

[MorsePacific]

A PS3 and LittleBigPlanet, if you like platformers. Endless amounts of fun with friends and even by yourself.

 

[Souplex]

Be happy with your wii, for it is where the exclusives are.

 

[NEVRINx54]

I'd say that if your PC is any good, just play games on that.

I only have a lowly MacBook for my lowly essays/school work

i have a Macbook Pro as well and the only game i can find is the flash game N... so i just stick 2 Xbox Live.

 

[grimsprice]

I suppose "light" as in not too bloody or scary? Because I am very weak at heart and even playing GoldenEye nowadays makes me break out in a cold sweat. But maybe there is no such thing?

I see that if you only play games you like, regardless of what others say is hardcore or not, you will have much more fun time playing. And I would rather have tons of happy gamers playing what they want then a bunch of fools only playing hardcore or casual for the title.

But I like this. Maybe I'll do this in conjunction with getting a PS3, since I've been on the fence about it anyway.

I would advise a PS3. There are a lot of 360 users here, just because its the sort of crowd this website attracts, but since you aren't heavy into the violent shooters, i'd suggest the PS3 over the 360. Its the same price really, once you buy everything you need for the 360, its probably less.

Anyhow, get Ratchet and Clank games. AMAZING games really. light, funny, engrossing, and long winded generally. besides, most games you can get for both 360 and ps3, the exculsives tend to be more violent on the 360. I'm really aching for a PS3 right now so go with that. Oblivion is a clear choice right off the bat.

And don't worry about the fight or flight. It always starts that way. you'll get your E-legs soon enough. Especially with Ratchet and Clank.

 

[Ultra_Caboose]

Hi there!

This is my first thread and post! I've been mustering up courage to post here for the past little while. But why should I worry since you all seem like nice people (right?)

So as the title would suggest, it is my New Years resolution to emerge from the world of casual gaming into the intense and extreme world of real gaming. At the moment I only own a Wii (the horror!) so I figure my first step in conversion would be to get a new console. This is question number one, which console should I invest my hard earned money in?

To get a better idea of the games I would like, and thus which console would be best suited for me, let me start off by saying I don't really like FPS! They initiate a fight-or-flight response in me that is not too enjoyable. But there must be more games out there, right? I like what I've seen of Assassin's Creed, and Demon's Soul in terms of new games. Generally I love a good platform/adventure game and could get lost in an RPG forever.

So hopefully this gives you enough information to go on. I'm M by the way *shakes hands*

Welcome aboard, M! The absoloute best advice I can give into hardcore gaming is to go a console generation backward. Back in the day, when I had planned to get an Xbox (back when they were new), my local game store didn't have any in stock. So instead, I bought a PS1, and 12 games with the same money I was planning to spend on one console and one game.

So, instead of trying to spend a small fortune on the latest and greatest, go get a PS2 or an old Xbox, or better yet, start buying up Gamecube games. They're obviously much cheaper than the new games, and are still fun as hell.

 

[WayOutThere]

My sugestion is that you buy a PS2. Its cheap, the graphics are still alright, and there is sure to be many games to your taste on it.

Its a solid investment.

 

[Souplex]

Spoiler: I have compiled a list of every advantage of every console, enjoy!

Worthwhile exclusives: (If it is on the PC as well but not on the other two consoles then I count it as an exclusive. This list does not include downloadable games as the list on all the consoles would be too long. This list does not include games that have not come out that we know will be good such as Halo Reach, God of War 3, or Nintendo mascot X number Y)

PS3: Whatever Ratchet and Clank games are floating around, Demon souls, Valkyria Chronicles, InFamous, and Little Big Planet. (Yes I am aware of Metal Gear and Uncharted, but this list is about good games.)

360: Halo games(3, ODST and Wars), Gears of War 1 N' 2, Mass Effect, Dead rising, Crackdown, Fable 2 (I have forgotten the rest of this list, but I will be back later.)

Wii: Mario galaxy, N.S.M.B.W., Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Greatest game ever made), Zelda twilight princess, Muramasa, DeBlob, No More Heroes, Mario Kart, Wario land: Shake it, Battalion wars 2, Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn, Tatsunoko VS. Capcom (If you are into importing.), The Conduit, Madworld, Zack N' Wiki, All the rail shooters attached to a big name series, Little King's story, Punch out!, and Brawl.

If your friends have a PS3 or 360 it increases their value as their online is actually good, whereas the Wii has more local muti-player and as such it's quality is independent from what his friends have.

Online is free on the PS3, but Live is faster and more reliable.

Multi-platform games tend not to be for the Wii or be very phoned in.

These are the facts, (Except for the 360 list which I cannot recall a large chunk of at the moment due to a lot of it having ceased to be exclusive such as Bioshock) I will leave the judgment up to you.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Hi there!

This is my first thread and post! I've been mustering up courage to post here for the past little while. But why should I worry since you all seem like nice people (right?)

So as the title would suggest, it is my New Years resolution to emerge from the world of casual gaming into the intense and extreme world of real gaming. At the moment I only own a Wii (the horror!) so I figure my first step in conversion would be to get a new console. This is question number one, which console should I invest my hard earned money in?

To get a better idea of the games I would like, and thus which console would be best suited for me, let me start off by saying I don't really like FPS! They initiate a fight-or-flight response in me that is not too enjoyable. But there must be more games out there, right? I like what I've seen of Assassin's Creed, and Demon's Soul in terms of new games. Generally I love a good platform/adventure game and could get lost in an RPG forever.

So hopefully this gives you enough information to go on. I'm M by the way *shakes hands*

Demon's Soul in terms of new games.

Welcome, but I highlt advise against Demons Souls [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.158526] as your way into gaming.

A good Rpg to start with would be something like Dragon Age Origins [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.166483] or The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

yeah i second this. im an experienced gamer and demons souls is lots and lots of fun, but def. not for anyone casual or new to long rpg like games

dragons age is awesome, i would recommend that in a heartbeat, along with Star wars knights of the old republic (if you end up getting an xbox) and also the sequel if you do

bioware over all makes some amazing rpg's, so look them up and see what you might like

bethesda takes a different turn in rpg's, and is more of a freeworld freedom rpg, such as fallout 3 or oblivion, and i would also recommend those if you have not tried them

the ps3 and 360 deboggle is up to you..check out the games on what you might like the most and go with that, as someone stated before online for xbox is mostly fps games and it costs money, so depends on what your looking for really, ps3 and 360 have a great selection of alot of games tho, if your looking for a light shooter, i'd recommend uncharted 1 and 2 for the ps3, as its third person and the campaign is amazing


also, welcome, and enjoy the escapist =] be courtious with your opinions and views and everyone else including myself with try to do the same in return!

 

[Fappy]

Honestly I would invest in the console (including PC) that has the exclusive titles you find the most interesting and cater to your favorite genres. IE: Don't buy Xbox if you like fighters and don't buy PS3 if you like Mass Effect (seriously... who doesn't?)