How Do You Decide Which Format To Buy Games For?

DY357LX · January 2011

<div class="IPBDescription">Dead Space 2 - Do I Get The PS3, 360 Or PC Version? :-/</div>Multiple-format owners, gather and share the woe.

Big titles such as Dead Space 2 are on the horizon and I can't decide which version to buy.

(+ is an advantage, - is a disadvantage)

PC:
+ Cheaper than console versions
+ Free to play online (No Xbox Live Gold required)
+ Keyboard + Mouse controls are superior to control-pads (in my opinion.)
+ (Potentially) fancier graphics settings. (Higher resolution, MSAA, etc)
+ Can take screenshots + record videos via FRAPS (if you're into that kinda thing.)
- Can't loan it to friends or trade it in when completed.
- No achievements/trophies. (Possibly Steam achievements?)

Xbox 360:
+ Achievements
+ Avatar awards
- Requires Xbox Live Gold to play online.

PS3:
+ Trophies
+ Free to play online via the PSN
- The PSN is a bit... lacking when it comes to getting friends into games. (That could be title specific. Was a nightmare in RE5.)

So how do you guys decide which format to buy for and why? I have this problem quite often (Red Dead Redemption, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Metro 2033, etc etc).

The deciding factors for me are usually, how many friends will be playing on a frequent basis and the price.
Left 4 Dead 1 and 2 were great investments because they were well priced (Â£10 on a Steam special for L4D!) and I've racked up nearly 300 hours on each.

sherpa · January 2011

If there's multiplayer with dedicated servers I sway towards PC.

If it was designed with consoles in mind and the PC port was a lazy effort I sway towards console.

I'm sure I tried DS1 on the PC and found that you could only turn so much with the mouse (I assume for gameplay reasons so you couldn't do a 180-reflex turn and zap a monster who spawns behind you) which made me =(

lolfighter · January 2011

Dead Space 1 had an annoying bug with vsync that points towards hasty porting. No telling how the Dead Space 2 port will be.

NeonSpyder · January 2011

+PC might not always have achievements out of the box but almost every steam game these days has steam-achievements so any achievements you get on the 360 version you probably get on the steam version too.
+PC(steam) sales can really plummet in price to a very affordable rate not long after the product is released

Feha · January 2011

pc:
+ Keyboard + Mouse controls are superior to control-pads (in my opinion aswell.)
+ usb ability for stuff
+ windowed mode (I assume)
+ its pc
+ steam (friends!)
+ easy to update trough internet
+ easy to share, with discs its just to share it, with digital copies you can log in to your steam acc on their comp (only works with the acc tho)
+ if game is in windowed mode, you can watch tv while you play
+ big screens

- windows (I assume)
- noisy fan (depends)
- small screens

~ and more

Svenpa · January 2011

If:
FPS
RPG (I can't see myself playing Dragon age on console, even with DA2s specifically made arcade/action/fighting mode)
RTS
Games requiring quick fine movements
Heavily relying on multiplayer
You have a good PC that can take advantage over things consoles can't.

Get for PC

If:
3rd person
PC port is bad
Keys are slickly mapped to the gamepad (I'm currently playing Batman Arkham Asylum on PC, the controls are much harder to remember at first and less fluid. l-shift+mouse1 is takedown, while lctrl+mouse2 is a finisher on the floor and all variations of it does different things).
Story originated singleplayer
Co-op
Partygame
You don't have a TV you share with other people constantly

Get for either console

Konohas Perverted Hermit · January 2011

PC. If I don't want the game or know if it's any good I can always "try" them.

Chris0132 · January 2011

PC generally. If they are designed for xbox I can just plug a 360 controller into my PC.

XBox is really only if I want it to work properly, some things don't work so well on PC so they'd be better on xbox, but given as I use the PC for everything anyway and it's usually cheaper, PC is the first choice.

I don't really see any point in achievements, sometimes they can have funny names and it's sometimes funny to just see the things the developers did in playtesting and made achievements for, especially if it's something very weird, but otherwise there isn't any appeal in them, they're just there.

tschumann · January 2011

PC is usually cheaper so that's what I normally go with. If it's something small and arcadey, or my computer can't run it I'll probably go with the Xbox version.

sheena_yanai · January 2011

since these EA ######s only released the demo for consoles and not pc, i have to pirate a demo to see if the controls are still as clunky as in deadspace 1.
seriously, that whole "lowering sensivity while in aiming mode so you can aim more easily while using the gamepad joystick" with the mouse sucked so much ass. also not being able to strafe when needed was also quite a handicap. playing this game now feels like isaac is wearing 50kg boots on each leg.
ohmahgawd , and that l4d like objective based multiplayer deathmatch thingie looks awesome, i just wish they would have got rid of the floaty names above peoples heads... on the necromorphs its even more annoying to see. and what happend to the single player campaign coop? any word on that or did they cancel that?

i only want to have smooth controls :( nothing console nerfed like DS1 , they completely ruined the keyboard and mouse controls by porting the gamepad system 1:1 to it, almost forcing you to play the game with the xbox controler.

lolfighter · January 2011

The saving grace was that the game was so easy, it felt like they were handicapping you so the poor necromorphs would have a hint of a chance. Hell, the first time around I played through the game with the vsync bug because I didn't know that it WAS the vsync bug. I thought it was just a bug with the PC port. Hell, I even suspected it was an actual "feature" to simulate the lack of accuracy of a gamepad. So I had 200-300ms lag on my controls. Would've made tracking a quickly moving object impossible, but luckily hitting most necromorphs was trivial: Hit 'em in the chest once or twice to make them stagger backwards, then go to town on their limbs while they're temporarily not moving.

Hell, that bug had the side effect of making the game LESS scary than it already was. The few scares it has are from sudden noises and appearances of enemies, Doom 3 style. All of that goes out the window when the vsync bug forces you to play slowly and meticulously rather than twitchy, which keeps your adrenaline low and makes you less jumpy.

I still liked the game though. It's kind of weird how I'll almost like any game that gives me a breadcrumb trail of video, audio and text logs to follow. Apparently I really like those?

Obraxis · January 2011

I tend to buy FPS and strategy games for my PC, and 3rd person shooters/games/platformers for my 360. Mainly due to controls on each, and the fact those types of games are optimised better usually for those platforms.

Kouji_San · January 2011

Read Dead Redemption actually had me looking the the general direction of PS3...

I mean after Gun, which was too small and Borderlands which was way too repetitive, of course Rockstar has it right with their GTA or in this case GTH. Wild Wild West FTW dammit...

GTA is however one of the few games that port quite good to PC. GTAIV was a weird exception though. But BLAST THEM for always releasing it on them blasted consoles initially!

Crispy · January 2011

Pretty much what everyone else has said.

Wait for a review. In the meantime, go back and play a classic you haven't played yet.

Thaldarin · January 2011

I generally only play multiplayer games, FPS RTS and MMO; of which to me do not lend themselves to a controller at all so I use my PC.

I don't actually own a real next gen console anymore, I don't count the Wii as one. Although even things like Assassins Creed, 3rd Person adventure game, I just bought an X-Box controller and plugged it in my PC. I find the PC is versatile for every game I want to play, although I do find I can't play with my console friends who say they're the best at CoD, on their poopy little controller ;)

A_Boojum_Snark · January 2011

Looks like Valve is taking the need for this decision away, even if only for one game. I doubt it will spread to other companies though. <a href="http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/709812/Portal-2-For-PS3-Steam-Features-Detailed-Includes-Free-PCMac-Copy.html" target="_blank">http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/709812/P...PCMac-Copy.html</a>

Tykjen · January 2011

Achievements is a REASON for getting a game on one platform over another? jesus fkn christ.. the kids of the next gen has so little to play for.
Having said that, I still enjoy playing on the big screen laid back in the couch via console instead of hovered over the table with a mouse and keyboard on the pc, getting strains in arms and shoulder after 5 hours straight. The body is not what it used to be, and console gaming has cured it a little.

broadband · January 2011

pc, always. there is no other alternative, join the pc gaming master race or die with the peasants.

Nil_IQ · January 2011

Dead Space 2 is a game I plan to play in my room, alone, after dark with all the lights turned off, as god intended. So PC.

Sops · January 2011

I have a new computer being shipped right now, soon I will reenter the world of PC gaming. If the anticipation wasn't high enough I am receiving everything today except the motherboard which won't arrive until late in the week. :(

DY357LX · January 2011

I went for the PC version. My love of keyboard, mouse + pre-loading content was too strong.

Wondering if the bonus gun for having a Dead Space 1 savefile on your machine will work like it does for the PS3/360.

If not, I'm sure there'll be a console command or something to unlock it eventually.

-Drake- · January 2011

My rig is getting old and my work station feels cramped now (given that I'm nearly 7ft) so sitting at it for any length of time doesn't help the old legs.

So I thought ###### it I'll buy for my 360 so I can slouch on my couch, stuff my face with cheesey wotzits, pop in the disc with no drama and play it on my big ass TV.

Good times.

<3 DS2

Swiftspear · January 2011

DiscoZombie · January 2011

I go for console games less and less. Too lazy to go to the store to buy retail games and get harassed by gamestop, and too lazy to pop the disc in the machine even. digital distribution all the way. I just lost everything I own in an apartment fire - 2+ decades worth of game discs... but I still have my Steam games. <3 Steam.

spellman23 · January 2011

Considering I only own a PC.....

Talesin · January 2011

There's the obvious flaw with this question that no matter the answer, at the end you'll own a copy of Dead Space 2.
(I regret the time I spent on a rental, much less <i>buying</i> it.)

Want a good <i>horror</i> game, go grab Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

ANeM · January 2011

I was considering picking up Dead Space 2 on the PC, up until I read <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/01/26/dead-space-2-severed-not-coming-to-pc/" target="_blank">this</a> (Along with a number of its comments)

Basically EA announced DLC before the game came out, but didn't bother mentioning the PC would not be getting it until after pre-orders had gone through.
This would be slightly more bearable, but they are charging equal prices for PC and console versions, regardless of the PC not needing to pay licencing fees. It is standard practice that PC games are -slightly- cheaper due to this, which makes it bizarre to raise the price above the standard when you're offering a substandard product.
Its worth noting that a number of cross promotional unlocks and pre-order bonuses were not available on the PC, and the Vsync bug from the first game never got fixed. They only had 2 years to fix it.

To make things even more frustrating, the price of the "Collectors Edition" is the same between Canada and the United States. The difference though is where Canadians spend an extra $20 and get a second manual in French, Americans spend $20 and get a replica Plasma Cutter that lights up and stuff.

I was considering buying this game, but apparently EA wants me to give them the full price without actually giving me the full package. I don't know if I will pick it up on a console, but I certainly will not pay money for the PC version. I'd love my own (fake) plasma cutter, I'd love a follow up to Dead Space: Extraction, I'd really like to pay money for these things but EA would rather just have my money and call it a day.

Monkfish · January 2011

Welp there goes my sale.

lolfighter · January 2011

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>the vsync mouselag that troubled some folk in the PC version of Dead Space 1 is still alive and kicking in Dead Space 2.</div>
What the ###### man. When Anem said the vsync bug never got fixed, I thought he meant that it never got fixed in Dead Space 1, not that THEY LEFT IT IN FOR DEAD SPACE 2. You have to be kidding me, that's just stupid.

Sops · January 2011

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Swiftspear @ Jan 26 2011, 11:14 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1827670"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'>Do I want to play
With friends ------------------- No --------------- > PC</div>
Yeah, there is all of one half decent 360 game with 4 player multiplayer/coop (via a bug) and that is Halo 3 which does get old after awhile.
Black Ops does let you have 4 players against AI but that was an after thought and the AI is not well scripted.

Unless you have four xboxs and four TVs you can't really play with your friends.

Feha · January 2011

magicka has 4 player coop on one machine, atleast I read that somewhere.

Also, if you want to play with friends, use computer, most console games require a physical copy of your friend to play with, and thats rare.

How Do You Decide Which Format To Buy Games For?

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