A convert of casual gaming- please help!

[WillSimplyBe]

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

Thanks for the review. I'll check it out.
I know all the reviews say it's deadly hard but it looks so nice. Maybe that'd be enough to sustain me. Or maybe I'll resort to Little Big Planet and Stephen Fry's calming voice instead.

It may have piqued your interests as a good natured RPG adventure romp, but don't be fooled. Demon's Souls is a Horror RPG that is known for its BONECRUSHING difficulty. It is NOT a good place to start to break into gaming.

Anyway, personally if you like RPGs, I say go with the xbox 360. It's a great console with some great RPGs on it. From Western like Oblivion to Japanese rpgs like the tales games or Lost Odyssey, you really can't go wrong with the 360. People may suggest the PS3 over the 360, but they are only talking about the FPS crowd. While the Xbox does have a load of shooter titles(which I myself am not interrested in the slightest), it also has more RPGs than the PS3 does.

If you want something that is very serious gaming, but not scary and you are into starwars, I recommend... hell, this WHOLE SITE would recommend you try Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. just my opinion.

 

[Fappy]

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

Thanks for the review. I'll check it out.
I know all the reviews say it's deadly hard but it looks so nice. Maybe that'd be enough to sustain me. Or maybe I'll resort to Little Big Planet and Stephen Fry's calming voice instead.

It may have piqued your interests as a good natured RPG adventure romp, but don't be fooled. Demon's Souls is a Horror RPG that is known for its BONECRUSHING difficulty. It is NOT a good place to start to break into gaming.

Anyway, personally if you like RPGs, I say go with the xbox 360. It's a great console with some great RPGs on it. From Western like Oblivion to Japanese rpgs like the tales games or Lost Odyssey, you really can't go wrong with the 360. People may suggest the PS3 over the 360, but they are only talking about the FPS crowd. While the Xbox does have a load of shooter titles(which I myself am not interrested in the slightest), it also has more RPGs than the PS3 does.

If you want something that is very serious gaming, but not scary and you are into starwars, I recommend... hell, this WHOLE SITE would recommend you try Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. just my opinion.

Yeah... but do not for any reason play KOTOR on 360. It is emulated HORRIBLY!

 

[WillSimplyBe]

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

Thanks for the review. I'll check it out.
I know all the reviews say it's deadly hard but it looks so nice. Maybe that'd be enough to sustain me. Or maybe I'll resort to Little Big Planet and Stephen Fry's calming voice instead.

It may have piqued your interests as a good natured RPG adventure romp, but don't be fooled. Demon's Souls is a Horror RPG that is known for its BONECRUSHING difficulty. It is NOT a good place to start to break into gaming.

Anyway, personally if you like RPGs, I say go with the xbox 360. It's a great console with some great RPGs on it. From Western like Oblivion to Japanese rpgs like the tales games or Lost Odyssey, you really can't go wrong with the 360. People may suggest the PS3 over the 360, but they are only talking about the FPS crowd. While the Xbox does have a load of shooter titles(which I myself am not interrested in the slightest), it also has more RPGs than the PS3 does.

If you want something that is very serious gaming, but not scary and you are into starwars, I recommend... hell, this WHOLE SITE would recommend you try Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. just my opinion.

Yeah... but do not for any reason play KOTOR on 360. It is emulated HORRIBLY!

Its a minor annoyance. Granted it could have been done better, fewer sound glitches, but it isn't horribly broken or anything.

 

[Fappy]

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

Thanks for the review. I'll check it out.
I know all the reviews say it's deadly hard but it looks so nice. Maybe that'd be enough to sustain me. Or maybe I'll resort to Little Big Planet and Stephen Fry's calming voice instead.

It may have piqued your interests as a good natured RPG adventure romp, but don't be fooled. Demon's Souls is a Horror RPG that is known for its BONECRUSHING difficulty. It is NOT a good place to start to break into gaming.

Anyway, personally if you like RPGs, I say go with the xbox 360. It's a great console with some great RPGs on it. From Western like Oblivion to Japanese rpgs like the tales games or Lost Odyssey, you really can't go wrong with the 360. People may suggest the PS3 over the 360, but they are only talking about the FPS crowd. While the Xbox does have a load of shooter titles(which I myself am not interrested in the slightest), it also has more RPGs than the PS3 does.

If you want something that is very serious gaming, but not scary and you are into starwars, I recommend... hell, this WHOLE SITE would recommend you try Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. just my opinion.

Yeah... but do not for any reason play KOTOR on 360. It is emulated HORRIBLY!

Its a minor annoyance. Granted it could have been done better, fewer sound glitches, but it isn't horribly broken or anything.

You're right... I was thinking of KOTOR 2. Trust me... never put the disk in your 360. You will regret it.

 

[eldorquo]

kotor is definitely an amazing game. kotor 2 is mediocre.

if you don't want to get a pc (which I prefer for gaming), i'd buy a ps2 and an xbox and play all the best games from those systems. it'll be a lot cheaper, and the games don't get any worse just because they're a few years old. unless you want to play online, there's no real reason to get brand new stuff imo. the games on those last generation consoles could keep you busy for years.

if you insist on getting a newer system, i'd get an xbox 360.

but play kotor (and anything by bioware, they make the best rpgs)

 

[Weaver]

I have all 3 current gen consoles and a PC. I recommend a PC.

 

[swytchblayd]

A lot of older generation consoles would be better to pick up than those around nowadays if you're wanting to go more hardcore. Most RPGs for the SNES and PS1 fit this definition just by nature, without a lot of hand-holding, and there's quite a few (Disgaea comes to mind, mostly) on the PS2 and other systems from the last generation (Skies of Arcadia for the Dreamcast comes to mind...) that are great. As for platformers, the entire Ratchet & Clank series is a great starting point (minus Deadlock, since that's basically a shoot-em-up) as it's both a little challenging and fun, while also being quite humorous at the same time. Just be aware that some of the more sought-after games (ala Chrono Trigger on the SNES, Persona/P2 and FF7 [for whatever unholy reason] on the PS1, just for reference) can set you back quite a bit, and I do not officially condone the use of ROM/ISO downloads for legal reasons (ie- so I don't get house-searched by the police... again...).

Anyhow, with that out of the way, there are all the billions of remakes around; Final Fantasies 1-6 (even III, which was never officially released outside of Japan until it was redone in 3D on the DS... not a bad deal after all ^-^) have been reduxed for the PS1 (except the Japanese III, and one is bundled w/ a re-release of Chrono Trigger), as have Valkyrie Profile and Atlus's PS1 classic Persona for the PSP. Personally, though, I know there are mixed feelings about re-releases, but that's just opinion. Me? I love them!! *secretly plots to kidnap Atlus employees if they don't announce a redux of Persona 2 sometime soon, and force them to make one >.>*

There's too many to place in one post and still keep it to a sensible length, so I'm not going to try... mostly because I'm lazy XD I would suggest, though, that you try out different games from different genres, mostly to figure out what you would like best. Especially since some genres can get very specific in what they like to be.

 

[SamFancyPants252]

PS3. Xboxes are for the 20-25 year old casual gamer who wants to play Halo and just go online with his mates. PS3s are for the supercool, super 'tech-ed up' non-casual gamers. Your best bet is the PS3.

Oh, and welcome to the Escapist, by the way.

 

[snow]

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

If FPS doesn't suit you... What about RTS? If I remember correctly... I think Starcraft might be able to run on mac. (Might want to look that up first just to be safe though... I'm not 100% sure if that's true or not.)

Sure it's an old game, but a LOT of people still play it, even competitively.. If you never played RTS before.. It's actually a good game to start with.. Very simple concept and the game's HUGE single player campaign will have you feeling pretty confident in your gameplay to take on other players.

If you're dead set on a new system though... The PS3 and 360 are both great systems... Don't let people fool you with their hate spam, but there are differences that may persuade your opinion... The biggest one for me was the fact that you have to pay money to have your 360 connect to the internet. While on the other hand the ps3 connects online for free.

There are also other smaller things.. Like I've heard people giving their opinions on the controllers.. Some like the 360 controller because of it's design and the fact that it's larger... Making it better for people who have large hands, then if you've seen what the ps2 controllers look like... That's what the ps3 controller looks like, except without the wire and it has motion sensors, kind of like the Wii, but definitely no where near what the Wii is capable of...

If money is no problem for you, then both systems have very similar aspects in the online department. Free demos, stuff you can buy and download.. Etc, Etc.

I've just heard that playing online for the 360 is a little more lag-free than the ps3... Although I've had no real issues in playing online on my ps3 in terms of lag... (I play it at my gf's apartment, and she has the worst internet connection EVER, and the ps3 plays smoothly) It's still something to consider if chucking in a monthly fee for online play is no problem for you.