Which is better for games...computer or console?

[George G.]

A friend of mine has a PS2 with some war game(can't remember the name now)...Rise of something or Rising Sun...anyway, I've always had consoles from Atari to Nintedo to Sega to PS1. After seeing this game...now I need to upgrade. I've been wanting to get a little into gaming but don't know which is better.

A coworker plays COD on his computer and was telling me that all the commands/movements/weapons change is done by the keyboard...which I'm not to crazy about. But I always hear how these computer games rock!

So my question is...which is better? Are all computer games played by the keyboard instead of a control pad? Are graphics that much better?

[Orion]

nothing beats a keyboard/mouse for shear precision and control in games. i remember the days when i was worried about giving up my gamepad, but now they annoy the hell out of me

[Stang2be]

I enjoy both for gaming. I started out on the pc on the apple ii gaming and also had the atari, nes, etc.

I don't think you can compare them since both have their own strengths and weaknesses.

How to keep up with the PC gaming hardware can get expensive since video cards seem to only have a 8-9month lifespan before a new chipset is out. That said you dont always have to run the latest to game. PC's have been doing online gaming for a while and since you have the ability to upgrade/change the software they can patch/update/enhance games for the PC.

[sleeperLS]

another vote for computer. if its gunna be a shootem up style game nothing beats the keyboard/mouse. im not a big gamer by anymeans either.

[AbecX]

it really depends. Computers have their advantage, so do consoles. I prefer whichever supports the game I want to play.

[RiSk]

I Like pc's only thing that limits a pc is hardware, i see games all the time on xbox, ps2, ect that have GFX slow down, PC you have gfx slowdown spend a few bucks and the game runs smooth. Cant do that with a console your just SOL

[Sami]

For hardcore gaming PC has always been better and will continue to do so. If you do it once in a while then a console is an option. There are much better and versatile games available for PC than the consoles. KB + Mouse is a much better and easier way to control than the console pads. For racing the PC wheels and pedals are much better than their console counterparts IMO.

[ceyko]

PC is better, more expensive and fading just a bit.

Console is subpar, but a huge selection of games (especially if you own both an xbox and PS2), and it is overall cheaper. 1 console last years prior to being obselete and the initial cost is lower too.

[Stang2be]

PC is better, more expensive and fading just a bit.

Console is subpar, but a huge selection of games (especially if you own both an xbox and PS2), and it is overall cheaper. 1 console last years prior to being obselete and the initial cost is lower too.

I agree and I love the avatar :)

[Craizie]

i think pc is better for all games except racing games. nothing compares to the GT series games. but for FPS, RTS and RPG computer hands down

[DarkWolf]

It all depends on the types of games you want to play. If you're primarily concerned with FPS type games, then computer is the way to go. Good console FPS's are few and far between, but a dime a dozen on pc. RTS is pretty much the same, pc gets the nudge. RPG has strong contenders on both console and pc. PC's tend to get more of the MMO style rpgs, as well as the "Baldur's Gate" style rpgs, consoles tend to get the more action oriented rpgs, such as Final Fantsy, Dragon Warrior, and Knights of the Old Republic... action oriented, but definitely not lacking in story. Platformers (aka Super Mario Bros. style games), hands down, console. Keyboard/Mouse just don't work so well with platformer games... though I guess you could get a control pad. Racing games, again, either system will work. They all tend to be developed for both pc and console (except for a select few), and generally run the same on both.

[Trip139]

darkwolf said it pretty well, i agree w/ most all that.
I would add this personal opinion though, PC is great for FPS and such, and precision controls and all that jazz as mentioned before, but it seems like in my experience pc games are more prone to get scripted out and ruined by idiots, i have had a few games do that a few years back, I dont know if it's still like that nowadays, the only gaming i do, if EVER is play halo2 online. nwo that is one of a few console FPSs that rocks. console you have a better feel that you are on level playing ground as you can pretty well bet that you have the same system specs are your opponets so it's more about skill rather than having the best PC system which gets expensive to stay ahead of the curve. (of course there is modding consoles, but i dont know if a modded box can get online in these environments, i dont know how good they are at keeping that from happening.)

[Sami]

i think pc is better for all games except racing games. nothing compares to the GT series games. but for FPS, RTS and RPG computer hands down
F1GP4 is still the best racing game out there as far as realistic racing goes, and only available for PC. GT4 has the cool factor and I love driving the 'ring but that's not alone worth the purchase of PS2, at least yet.

[Sami]

console you have a better feel that you are on level playing ground as you can pretty well bet that you have the same system specs are your opponets so it's more about skill rather than having the best PC system which gets expensive to stay ahead of the curve.
You need the fastest computer to be on equal ground? Not IMO, just a decent computer and a good mouse. A bad mouse will ruin your game no matter how good you are.

[George G.]

Thanks for all the replies...I've been leaning towards the PS2 since it'll be cheaper than buying a worthy pc...is there a difference with the slim or regular? I also want to be able to get online later. Is the online feature an attachment that works with both models? sorry for all the basic questions. :o

[DarkWolf]

The slim ps2 is replacing the regular ps2. Same hardware, just a smaller case, essentially. And the network adapter is built into the slim ps2 (it's a seperate add-on for the regular). The only real disadvantage for the slim ps2 is you can't put a hard drive in it, and load games from the hard drive, instead of the discs. You could stick an external usb2 hard drive on there, but the data transfer, while better than the dvd, won't be as good as it could be with a internal hard drive. AbecX has a thread, titled "Tired of slow load times with your ps2?" ... or something to that effect. Read that thread if you're interested in figuring out how to load games to/from the hard drive.

PS2 doesn't really have a centralized online network that all the games use. Xbox has Xbox Live. PS2's online gaming is left up to the game developers, which usually means not much in the way of online offerings. Most games online consists of scoreboards, rather than head to head play, though there are a few multiplayer online games for PS2.

[trey85stang]

It all depends on the types of games you want to play. If you're primarily concerned with FPS type games, then computer is the way to go. Good console FPS's are few and far between, but a dime a dozen on pc. RTS is pretty much the same, pc gets the nudge. RPG has strong contenders on both console and pc. PC's tend to get more of the MMO style rpgs, as well as the "Baldur's Gate" style rpgs, consoles tend to get the more action oriented rpgs, such as Final Fantsy, Dragon Warrior, and Knights of the Old Republic... action oriented, but definitely not lacking in story. Platformers (aka Super Mario Bros. style games), hands down, console. Keyboard/Mouse just don't work so well with platformer games... though I guess you could get a control pad. Racing games, again, either system will work. They all tend to be developed for both pc and console (except for a select few), and generally run the same on both.

I agree with everything you said... I'm glad you typed this out cause I didn't wnat to :D

[staticX]

I use to play computer games, but it seemed like everytime I bought a computer game, it was either to much for my comp to handle, or wouldn't load right/was to big for the memory ETC. ETC.....just got tired of looking at the games and wondering if it'll run or even load with my 9 month old comp

Where as the console you know if you buy a game it will run, it will save without taking up memory, it may not be as good graphicly but its worth the no hassle