Gaming Thoughts

• 15May 08

  Another New Gaming System

  Back in July of 2007 I was searching for a hand-held gaming system so I would have something to do at work (got to love working for State Government). After extensive research and much debate, I went with the Nintendo DS based mostly on the fact that I wanted to play Nintendo games again, like I stated in my blog post. Sometimes I just hate myself for being this way, but it just wasn't good enough for me to have only the DS. So, I purchased the PSP with the Daxter game and 1 Gig memory card. I know, I know - believe me, I've read my blog post. I know what I said and was convinced at the time that I had made the right decision. Do I regret buying the DS? Heck no. I love it!

  The PSP offers something else, though. It's hard to describe, really. I guess I would say that the games for the PSP are more "grown-up" (and I hate to say it like that, but I don't know how else to describe it). Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that the DS and Nintendo in general has stuck to being a gaming system for kids. I love it because I cut my teeth on the Atari system and Nintendo came out at the perfect age for me (I was 10 when the NES hit the market). I missed playing those games, even with the onset of the PS, PS2, and XBox I remained faithful to my NES through college (all I did for the first 2 years was play Final Fantasy for endless hours) until it died in 2001 (I had no idea that I could have just bought the parts to fix it, I'm shooting myself now for that one).

  I like the PS2 and PSP because the games associated with them are more like the computer games I really enjoy - RPGs. Though the selection of RPG games for both hand-helds are limited, I know more will be developed and I wanted my cake and eat it too. I just didn't want to limit myself to just DS games. The more I read about the PSP system and read reviews by gamers on some of the games, I just wanted it and I couldn't talk myself out of it.

  Even more pathetic is the fact that I have considered the PS3 and Wii. I rejected the PS3 as soon as I read some information regarding the compatibility with PS games. However, the Wii is like a bug in my brain that I can't get rid of. It just looks like so much fun to play games on that system - more interaction rather then sitting and pressing buttons for hours on end (which I really don't mind, BTW). I'm sure in less then a year I will be posting that I purchased a Wii.

  • Posted May 15, 2008 9:18 am GMT
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• 9Oct 07

  Computer Upgrades

  Ah, the wonderfull world of Vista. For the first time in my life I have purchased an OS within the first year. I raged against XP for years before, finally, giving in in order to play more recent games at the time. I like XP, I have no problems with it. What got me for Vista was DirectX 10. I fell victim to the classic media ploy. I got Vista Home Premium (64-bit) OEM really cheap from Newegg.com, which also fueled the fire. A new OS so cheap? How could it be?

  Since I have a dual core AMD 64, I thought Vista Home 64-bit would really bring out the speed, basically, let the computer do what I built it for: Games!! Installation was much easier then I could imagine, everything worked, nothing like the horror story reviews I read about hardware incombatibilities, etc. All drivers were updated without a hitch. Computer is running faster and better since I installed the software, hard to believe.

  Of course, with any one upgrade, several must follow. It is the natural order of all things gaming. So, I have--currently on the way from Newegg--an upgraded video card from EVGA. I went with the GeForce 8600 GTS superclocked instead of the 8800 models based mostly on the fact that I'm not a die-hard gamer. I just wanted DirectX 10 and an upgrade from my old video card. From what I read the 8800 run a little hot and are monster sized cards. The 8600 is still 9 inches long (as is the 8800) however, it is not nearly as wide. I did not want to have to buy a new, larger tower for a video card. The 8800 were a little too pricey for me, and-like I mentioned earlier-I'm not a gamer that needs all that extra stuff on a video card. The only thing I really don't like about the 8600 is the 128-bit memory interface. It is a step down from my 7900 which was 256-bit. Not sure why Nvidia has done this, considering that the 8600 is supposed to be an upgrade from a 7900. The really weird thing is that the 8600 is cheaper then my 7900 when I purchased it last year-another reason to buy a new card!

  I know the whole debate between ATI and Nvidia, I looked at ATI cards as well--then I remembered something. I purchased an ATI last year, when I was looking for an upgrade, to replace a Nvidia 6200. It was supposed to be better then the Nvidia at the time, however, I noticed a clear difference in the graphics. That was when I went back to Nvidia and the 7900 model. I know people swear by ATI, and I don't disbute them in the least. However, in my opinion the Nvidia is just plane better. I have seen it, it is better. I guess the same could be made about ADM vs Intel. I had a computer with an Intel Celeron (back in the day) and then purchased an HP with an AMD, back when AMD was not the name it is now and it made the computer much cheaper. Needless to say, AMD sold me. Same as ATI, I realize some people swear by Intel. That is fine with me, neither of us is right or wrong, only opinion.

  Anyway, back to the subject at hand of upgrading. I am also adding another gig of memory. I have read reviews where 2gigs wasn't enough for Vista. Mine works just fine with no problems. I am adding another gig because it was on sale and I couldn't pass it up. Besides, I figure if I'm going to spend $200 for a video card, what's another $40 for memory?

  • Posted Oct 9, 2007 1:23 pm GMT
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• 18Jul 07

  New Gaming System

  I recently purchased a new Nintendo DS. I was torn between getting a PSP or the DS. For a while I was leaning heavily towards the PSP due to the fact that I have a PS2, however, the more research I did into the games the more I saw that the DS had more games that I wanted. It seemed the PSP had games that were just like the PS2, so I opted for a platform that was different then the one I already had.

  The PSP seemed to have problems with scratches on the screen from thereviews I read. It did have abigger screen size, but that was not so important to me in the end, though I did think it would be at first.It also had the better resolution, color, etc. and had all these advantages that the DS did not have. However, the PSPwasvery expensive, especially since I was notgoing to be using it for the other funtions that it provided. Since I was not, it seemed to me awaste ofmoney to pay extra for things I was not going to use. It also required memorycards ifyou wanted to save games and the battery life was not as long as theDS, and the cheapest system did not even come with a battery charger!

  I was slated to buy the PSP, however, I was in Sears one day picking up some vacuum bags when I happened to see a DS on display for demonstration. I found myself playing Mario Kart DS for serveral minutes before an employee came over to help me pay for my item. That made me rethink my plans on buying the PSP to the DS.

  My choice for the DS was two-fold. One, the DS had more games that I wanted to purchase then the PSP. Two, I had a Nintendo growing up as a kid and I really wanted to get back to some of the old games I was so fond of and see what else Nintendo has to offer since then. So far I am very pleased with the DS Lite and the games are much better then I could have hoped for. I also like the feature of the system closing on itself to protect the screens. The dual-screen feature is really amazing, and to be honest, I did not think this would be a good thing when I began my research into the system.

  • Posted Jul 18, 2007 8:28 am GMT
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