dean_r

I did that around Christmas time.

£43. Cheap enough to make it interesting.

No it isn't! BUY.

YOSH.

Hey, you sound like Shishida-sensei! As for the Xbox, I say if you can afford it, go for it.

XD I wanted to make an icon of that! You beat me to it.

Actually, I made it. She just uses it.

I'd say yes as you can't play AE2 on an Xbox if you had no PS2, but as you have one of those already, do so! =D

For £43 you'd be mad not to. But "Best versions of multiplatform games"? I'm not so sure about that one. I'd much rather have the GameCube version of Soul Calibur 2 for example.

I meant in a general manner. Say, Prince of Persia.

Soul Calibur 2's an exception due to the bonus character each game gets - I'd rather be Link than Spawn.

Taking Prince of Persia:SoT as an example, is there that much difference? I heard the Xbox version sounds a tiny bit better than the GameCube one, has a better polygon count than the PS2 version, but the PC version dumps on them all. I just completed the PS2 version last night as it happens and it was a fantastic game. I'm sure that if you bought any version you'd be happy.

If it comes down to "can I afford the space" or having another format to have to choose between, it's not worth it. But £43 is a ludicrously good price, probably worth it just for Halo and the like.

I think that I haven't seen much value in the console - that is, until I've noticed multiplatform games are starting to ignore the Gamecube. Toca Race Driver 2 intrigues me, though.

And it's more a case of a slight difference but those single player games can be saved on a hard drive, instead of wasting Gamecube memory card space.

They're ignoring the GameCube? I hadn't noticed that. Could you give me an example?

The hard drive is nice, but then a PC has one of those too.

Another thing that might be worth considering: the next generation of consoles looks to be on the horizon. Looks like they'll be out by the end of 2005. Do you really want another console of this generation when it's going to be all but obsolete within 24 months?

Whatever the PC can do is moot, my PC isn't top of the range and updating it to handle these games would cost more than the price to get this console.

Burnout 3 seems destined to not appear on the console, given EA have taken publishing rights and have shunned the Gamecube with recent titles (Euro 2004, Fight Night 2004 - not good games, but showing EA have little concern for the GC market), and I recall the XBox version was superior to the PS2 version, and a very decent racing title.

Codemasters have also stopped producing Gamecube titles. Not as much a loss, and it sounds like due to games sales of decent multiplatform titles such as Prince of Persia or Beyond Good and Evil flagging, there may not be as many produced for the Gamecube, unless the development cost is minimal.

I didn't buy my PS2 until it was a few years into production - more games available that way. I'd be unlikely to pick up a next-generation console until 2006-7, when the prices drop and the titles are there for it.

I see the traditional summer lull coming, and I wonder if I see buying a console as a sound investment. After all, I can enjoy a few random games this summer and if I don't enjoy it I suppose I could sell it for around £50.

I'd personally say no. I've barely even touched my Xbox. Very few top-notch games for it. I don't even think KOTOR is that great. oO

My plans are more to use it for emulation/music and the occasional decent game that the future may bring.

OutRun 2 over Live, perhaps, when it's out. Better than that Project Gotham rubbish. :P

Mmm, there's potential for that, yes siree.

Seems everything interesting being done with the internet is being done on the X-Box. However, I'm not particularly interested in multiplayer games over the internet, so this fact isn't much of a draw for me. The fact that it does downloadable content so well is nice, but not enough.

Eric would have more to say about this.

Mmm. The intention of attempting some of the more dubious things the Xbox has been "made" for were on my mind with the purchase.

Emulation and all that sounds very novel.