I recently came across this article. It contrasts this article (sort of) but my focus will be on the former. In typical Nick style instead of bringing you peace I will bring you conflict as I enjoy it. Take this, console fan boys!
I feel the article hits on some key points on why to choose a PC over a console. Instead of me reviewing a review– the “review” being nothing more but a self-answering questionnaire– I will instead just agree or disagree with each point. As you may have assumed it would help if you read the article first.
HD is So Last Gen
As much as I love to blow stuff up in games just to blow them up I tend to focus on content over awesome graphics.
Mouse & Keyboard for the Win
As much fun as Golden-Eye for the N64 was the controls are inherently bad. Even with such a game that did the best possible job they could have they still sucked. I sort of got the hang of it but come on! 3D space calls for 3D controls!
Now You’re Really Playing with Power
This is not an argument that is all that strong in my mind. Sure you can get more raw power in a PC at will but there is something you would be forgetting. Consoles (at least the well made ones) are controlled platforms machines. What I mean by that is since they are not general computing machines you know what you are getting and can write very tight routines to take advantage of every last bit of power. No abstraction layers, no guessing or checking bit-fields. What you are left with is code that may very well run circles around superficially similar code on a PC. Pains me to say it but console for the win on this one…
Will Wright = Game God
Huh? I could not hear you over Carmack‘s mighty roar.
Kids’ Play
This argument holds a lot of water. Before anyone says “Halo has blood!” or some such stuff (read: shit) remember you are playing the dumbed-down version of another game. Consoles are built for mass appeal and the masses are finicky.
With that said the Super Monkey Ball series is great fun.
Blame it on the Console Gamers
“Console gamers are responsible for the decline of some of the PCs best franchises.” Plain and simple. Halo looked awesome when it was coming to PC. Then Microsoft stepped in, changed everything and now we have… this. For every Metroid there are 10,000 whiny little brats with a headset and microphone screaming “wall hack” for no other reason than they lost.
Their culture is among the bottom of the food chain and it shows.
You Think That’s Realistic?
PCs are the ones pushing the limits. Consoles imitate. Cutting-edge technology is the PC.
But again: content > shiny.
GamerTags are Overrated
What the fuck? GamerTags? Are we six? A gold star for you…
The Invincible PC
I do not doubt this is very much a cutting edge sword. If a PC can be considered “invincible” because you can keep upgrading it you will be poor pretty soon: PCs can be expensive. If they are worth it or not depends on how serious you are about gaming.
Nyah, Nyah, Console Tools
Suck it.