Lockjaw

Finally came into some expendable income finally after about 2 years and I'm kind of stuck on what to do. I want to get back into gaming but I'm not going to be hardcore gaming 5-6 hours a day...I might be gaming for like 3-4 hours a week if that.
The games I like to play...FPS,racing games, fighters. RPGs not so much and online as much as possible
I've got like 300 bucks to play with.
Here's what I WAS going to do...

buy a used PS2 get Gran Turismo 4 when it comes out and play online and spend the remainder on some other games....
but there will be no online play for GT4 so I really don't want to do that.

Thinking now about getting an X-box and picking up Halo 2 but considering I've never played the first Halo I'm not so sure if that's the best thing but then I heard about this Forza racing game that will basically be a little like GT4 and it will have the greatness of online play and I've heard there are some good X-box games so with the extra 150 I'd have left after getting a system I should be able to get started on a decent sized collection.

Last option upgrade my PC and get a single game.
My PC is aging and it needs an upgrade. I was thinking about picking up a better graphics card for like 160-180 bucks...get a bigger HD and pick up something like Battlefield Vietnam,Star Wars Battlefront,or maybe City of Heroes. The PC thing might make more sense overall since I'm always on my computer and the upgrades will extend the life of my current system until I get a chance to rebuild it from the ground up. But at the same time it will be the most limiting game wise because if I get something I don't like I won't have any other options to waste my time with like I would with the X-box or PS2.

So...what say you?

Kadath

Do NOT get SW Battlefront. Of the choices you listed, I would say Battlefield Vietnam.

I think you should spring for the cheaper PS2, then pick up the GTA Doublepack to tide you over until San Andreas when it comes out in 12 days, but that's just my vote.

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Orodinn

If youre planning on casual gaming, fighters is the best way to go. You can play a few games and quit unlike RPGs and other types of games. Tekken 5 is about to be released and it looks amazing. Soul calibur 2 is really good too if you havent played it yet. For those who like it, MK can be a good choice.

My favorite kind of fighters are 2d fighters though by capcom. Theyve released some compilations with street fighter 3. Theyre also about to release a fighter featuring characters from 5 games. Looks really cool. Im definitely gonna get it. PS2 is probably the best choice moneywise for the casual gamer.

pandafaye

Edit: wrong person signed in. Blast it all.

MooseMan3000

...because it costs twice a Gamecube? Hm.


However, since you are looking at online play, Gamecube is out of the question. You can get a broadband adapter, but only to connect systems together... pretty stupid, if you ask me. Overall, in my opinion, PCs are the best for online gaming. Shooters are also the best on PC, and almost all of those can be played online. Depending on your taste, go with BF:Vietnam or UT2k4. They're both excellent games, just very different styles of play. Half-Life 2 is also coming out soon (maybe), but even failing that you can get Counter-Strike Source and others by "buying" Half-Life 2 off Steam. And for $200 you can get a nearly top of the line graphics card (Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro) that will run the shit out of any new games, so long as the rest of your system is decent.

So yeah, that's where I'd go.

If you'd prefer a console, I'd go X-Box. Not playing Halo isn't a great excuse for not playing Halo 2. You can get Halo new for about $20, if you really NEED to play it first, but I think that's unnecessary. You can also get Crimson Skies, which is supposedly excellent online, or Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, another fantastic game. And X-Box Live is a surprisingly good way of managing online games. You pay one monthly fee and everything works right. Plus, X-Box has fighters and racing games which, generally speaking, suck ASS on PC. Look at Soul Calibur 2 for an excellent fighter.

Carno

I completely agree with MooseMan3000, except I just want to add my opinion on one thing: Crimson Skies is not very fun online.

Fun fact: you get Crimson Skies free when you buy an Xbox Live subscription, so you get to find out whether you like it or not.

shadowalker

only bad thing about GT 4 is that its currently not going to be an online game, It will have lan support but on net play.

Taken from the IGN site

Whenever GT4 does come out it will be a cause for celebration and this time it will be easier to share the joy with some friends. While there is no current online support, there will be LAN support. With the new slimmed down Atkins dieted SCPH-7000 with built in Ethernet this will become much easier in the future. We will have to wait until next year for some announcements about the online support for GT4, as cryptic as that may be, but at least we can now throw our new PS2s into a skinny bag and get it on in some group races.

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omega2K4

From what I've seen of it, Forza Motorsport will blow GT4 out of the water.

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shipofshame

As a casual gamer (4-6 hours a week), I can't say enough about my XBOX.

I love Burnout 3, if you're into arcade racing. Looking forward to Forza and Halo 2.

Stare At The Sun

I haven't touched my PS2 in over a year.

Star Wars Knights Of the Old Republic
Halo
Morrowind
Burnout 3
Crimison Skies
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Dead Or Alive 3


and very soon HALO 2.

Those are all the more reason to get the box.

omega2K4

Ditto. Don't forget MechAssault 2, Ghost Recon 2, Splinter Cell (3): Chaos Theory, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: The Sith Lords also.

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Lockjaw

How much is X-box Live each month?

mandal

300 dollars is just enough to buy a pre-modded box with a bigger hard drive in it. Definitely go for that.

no to ps2 cause I hate ps2. the only superior thing in ps2 is rpgs, but since you can't play much it doesnt do you too much good to take a half a year to beat one rpg.

XBOX is the way to go simply because you'll be able to get cheap games through whatever ways you can find and with a Modded box you can even use it to run Gentoox and treat it like a PC.

lockjaw, live is originally 50 a year just for access, but microsoft has some sort of deal going on for people who are working for retailers where you can get it for 20/year. Look around microsoft's site and you should be able to find it.

DonnieBoy

Damn you guys just made me want to go and get an xbox... I have been hold ing out because... well I don't really know why... game prices mostly but with so many games out there now there are bound to be a few I can get under $20.

now I have to convince the wife to get me an xbox for xmas, might not be hard it would leave her more time for online cribbage...

"xbox for xmas" hrmmm that has a nice advertising jingle to it...

DB

Scorps

Lockjaw your best bet would be get the XBOX, reason is it will be aroudn longer, loads faster and 100x better graphics. There might be more games for PS2 right now but more then half suck!

The Magic

If you're going for a FPS on the computer, you must get Call of Duty and the expansion United Offensive ($50 for both? it's not too much).

The single player game is like living the Band of Brother series. On the hardest setting the game is actually very challenging. The multiplayer is tons of fun (40 people games with tanks~)

mkultra

Upgrade your computer and get Half-life 2 when it comes out. If you like the idea of mmorpgs, but you can't play constantly to get to 'the good stuff' (sounds like you don't have a huge amount of play time) then I would recommend City of Heroes. Right from the beginning you get to do a lot of cool stuff, and you can advance alot easier than your regular mmorpg. It also cuts out alot of the boring stuff, like farming for camps and crafting.

p.s.- my fanboy reaction to the console wars: PS2 pwns XBOX everytime. Especially since you'll still be able to play the games on the PS[insert integer > 2 here].

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freddy b

choices choices
well the only real reason to buy an x box should still be halo i guess and with the sequel coming up can't go wrong with this
for racers you can play project gotham racing 2 live it's really fun and no freaking cheaters here too also coming for x box forza should be an amazing racer
it's kind of difficult to say what to choose though cause killlzone an exclusive psx2 title should be amazing too
and an exclusive title for the gamecube resident evil 4 and the new upcoming zelda makes it even harder
it's all about exclusive titles anyway ... for me anyways
but if you like online play you should go for xbox live cause it's way better organized and it took be like a month to get the psx2 working for online play

fred

Scorps

Don't forget Call of Duty: Finest Hour also