by Laura Elmes

Created on: April 30, 2010

My first memory of a console as a kid was playing “Theme Park” on Sega Mega drive. Back in the day, there was no save function so if you wanted any hope in hell of completing the game you had to stay up all day and night to do it! Naturally, this is what I did (to the disgust of my family).  Although consoles have changed a lot in recent years, the fact still remains – they are still very restricted in terms of their functionality. They are also out of date the moment they are boxed and shipped to your door.

In fact, I was only playing Bioshock 2 on the Xbox the other day. To my horror there was no quick save ability unlike the PC version. Instead you would have to hunt around the level to find a save point, which in my opinion is a huge design flaw. What if you need to go somewhere urgently? This is an example of how the device limits the game play.

The sky is the limit with PCs these days and if you fork out a half decent amount of money, you can not only play games, you can make them if you wanted to. Having a good computer is not only good for gaming; it opens up a whole new entertainment portal. The best thing? It is all contained within one smart package.

Admittedly, I once jumped on the console band wagon. My room would be filled to the ceiling with them, and to think they are obsolete junk now really hurts my pocket. PC games become obsolete too although that’s what an emulator is for. An Emulator fools your computer into thinking it’s a console. Ultimately this means the PC gamer has access to a wide variety of games, which is great if you are a fan of online multiplayer or retro games across an array of platforms.

If you have no use for a computer then maybe there is no point in venturing down that path, or so it would seem. I mean, you put a game into a console and off you go! No technical hiccups or incompatibility problems. On the other hand, if you are computer literate, it really isn’t a problem to install the latest drivers and patches.

In my opinion, this technical knowledge is a great skill to have because nobody knows for sure where the industry is heading in years to come. Newer generations are becoming smarter and smarter – wouldn’t it be great to have the cutting edge knowledge and skill to keep on top of things? I have total control over how the game runs and the ability to change a degree of settings that are unavailable on console. I could even change the frames per second if I wanted to. How many consoles have that ability?

In conclusion, I would be ignorant to suggest that PC games are the only way to go. In fact, each has their advantages. If you are into racing games or sports games they are ideal. Overall though, if one wishes to experience cutting edge technology, the PC offers just that. If money is an issue, ask yourself how much money you have spent when a console either breaks or when a new model has been released. Now is the time to really ask yourself - at what cost?

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