i hate x-box with a passion

[Draxas]

There's a 2 year waiting list to join this club. Please get in line.

[N3B]

I wish I had an Xbox 360.

However, I also wish I wouldn't have to shell out like $600 to first buy one (with a hard-drive) and then equip it with another controller and a handful of games.

Seems to me that the 360 had established itself as the leader of this generation of consoles. While I had high hopes for the Wii and its revolutionary gameplay capabilities, it seems like many of the Wii games fall short of their potential, and mostly only the Nintendo-developed games turn out to be worth their weight. There are some good multiplayer games, but not a whole lot of substantial single-player games. Or at least, single-player games with significant depth that go beyond cheap thrills.

I've been playing a lot of PC games since the Cube era because the PC seems to be the platform that offers the best "depth" of single-player games. Seems like there're fewer worthwhile games coming out these days, which isn't much of an issue considering there're still tons of older games from the late 80s, 90s, and early 2000s that I've still yet to try out. I'd say that when I play PC games I look for "serious" games to play with a "serious" attitude.

And sometimes it's fun to just sit on a couch with a controller in your hands, rather than at a computer desk over a keyboard. I haven't done much of this in the past few years, and with the 360 that opens a new window of games that have been piling up for several years to try out. Course I have less time these days to dedicate to gaming, what with school work and school-related activities, as well as widening my range of hobbies and interests.

'Tis a tough call. Perhaps I oughtta start scouring Craig's List for used bundles.

Blarg.

[Draxas]

Forget the 360. The best single player experiences are (surprisingly) on the DS. The 3rd party support is unprecedented (even Microsoft releases games for it via Rare), and there are vast quantities of awesome games to be found for it, often at serious bargain pricing. Why throw away a grand on a console that has geared itself toward online multiplayer as its primary userbase (and charges a periodic fee for the privilege of using it), when you could grab up excellent titles for a handheld you probably already have?

[Altl]

Personally I've never really been a fan of handhelds other than the rare excursion (Pokemon Red/Blue, Link's Awakening, Game and Watch Gallery, and Animal Crossing DS, I'm looking at you). Just something about playing on a 3" screen over something bigger; also I get an influx of unwanted nerd points by pulling one out in public. Of course I might change my mind if the DSi can play music off that memory slot its supposed to have and they re-release Link's Awakening.

[N3B]

Problem with the DS is that it seems marketed predominantly towards either young people (10-14) or casual gamers. At least whenever I'm at a game store and check the DS section it's difficult to find something that isn't based on a cartoon or toy I have no interest in, or that amounts to more than simple arcade game concepts.

When playing on a computer or a console, the platform often becomes (to quote Mr Bezos) "invisible." It's easier to look beyond the screen and become more immersed in what's happening. Playing a handheld is much more difficult to become immersed in because (aside from the screen being smaller and less graphically capable) your hands are interacting with the platform so close to the screen and it places you in a more physical and mental state of playing a game. That is to say, it looks and feels more obvious that you're merely playing a game, rather than "experiencing an adventure."

My challenge to you is to name off DS games which come close to replicating PC/console gameplay experiences. I am genuinely curious and interested; I've been feeling bad for neglecting my DS.

[Draxas]

I can name tons of great DS games, to say nothing of the GBA library you can access with it as well.

The Castevania games: Portrait of Ruin is the best, Dawn of Sorrow and Order of Ecclesia are both excellent
The Puzzle Quest games are great fun. Galactrix is available tomorrow.
If you like turn based strategy, both Advance Wars and Fire Emblem will not disappoint.
Get your classic RPG fix with the Dragon Quest rereleases or Chrono Trigger DS. Plus Dragon Quest 9 is coming soon.
Of a slightly more unusual bent is The World Ends With You. It's a unique mix of RPG and action.
Professor Layton is an excellent choice if you enjoy brain teasers, rather than action-style puzzles.
Animal Crossing has already been mentioned. I haven't tried the new one, but as I understand it, the DS version is still the best.

That's just off the top of my head. The DS library is huge, and runs the gamut for every genre and play style you can imagine at this point. Just because the games for 8-12 year olds are big sellers at Gamestop doesn't mean that they're the focus of the system; quite the contrary, in fact.

As for PC gaming, I've pretty much written it off. I can't afford to keep up with the required upgrades every 3 months. I count on the fact that when I insert a game disc or cart, it's going to WORK, not give me error messages about hardware conflicts or demand to install opressive anti-piracy software that F's up the rest of the machine. I don't find that to be fun, do you?

Of course, there is no way you can do a comparison of PC games vs. DS games. That's like trying to race a Cessna against an SR71; everyone knows that the DS is utterly incapable of that kind of performance. But trying to do a direct comparison is meaningless; you would have to strip away the best traits of the DS in order to try to replicate a PC based experience. By the same token, try as you might, you simply cannot replicate the kind of tactile experience that you can have on the DS with any other piece of hardware.