Rogue

It was going to happen eventually. After over a decade of exclusively getting my digital interactive entertainment fix from the stylish and powerfull PC on my desk, it's time to return to the couch and get a taste of the console wars again.

Follow up:

My last console I could actually admit to owning was the venerable Sega Master System II back in '91. That was one beasty machine, Sonic forever and all that.

But I sold that bad boy an eternity ago (for $40 as it happens) and have been happily console free ever since. But now I've fallen off the wagon. Those sexy new Xbox 360 games - they call to me oh so sweetly. Dead Rising, Fight Night 3, Saint's Row, Dead Or Alive, etc. That's some damn fine couch gaming to be had right there with experiences you just can't get on the PC. They demand a different type of playing style... one where you kick back and throw empty beer cans at your mates directly instead of over LCDs.

I plugged in my entry to the next gen console era last night, straight into my brand new TV bought to compliment. I'd been waiting for over a week to get the unit, since I ebay'd this purchase but it has been worth the angst and risk.

I played it for hours and hours last night, eventually taking a break and playing some Sid Meir's Railroads! while I had dinner (another awesome game, do yourself a favour and play it). After that session it quickly dawned on me that the bulk of my native skills on PC are completely useless on the console simply thanks to the controller.

In Dead Rising I ached to be able to flick the mouse to nab a headshot on those zombies, but instead I now have to learn to orientate my character's facing as close as possible first before switch to first person with one of the triggers and then finally using the right joystick thingamebob to slowly aim. It's a little alien after so long.

Likewise in Fight Night, I struggled the few times I've played it on Xbox and on Xbox 360 it's a much sexier version of the same game. So I still struggle just to pull off a punch. The total punch control is apparently meant for people with... coordination and practice. After a marathon 12 round inaugural bout of me mostly wrestling with the little joystick I've switch controller layouts back to buttons. Easier for me to figure out how to just throw a damn punch.

I'm very happy with the whole system though. Sure the Wii might be coming out in a couple of months and the PS3 a few months after that, which might have driven down prices. But quite frankly I'm sick of putting off buying the things I want. I wanted an Xbox 360, it has the games and capabilities I'm after. The Wii is novel but not exactly my cup of tea and the PS3 has precisely zero games available to it on launch which interest me (I'll be playing GTA IV on PC).