Which Game System for an Old Fart?

[gcutler]

May be couch bound for a few weeks and last time it happened tended to fall asleep watching DBS, DVD or Reading. Figure one of those game systems might keep my brain a little more awake.

Anyone have a recommendation for systems and games, with these caveats...

1) Late 30s' so I've lost my eye-hand coordination years ago (about they time I said to myself "I'll never drink like that again" and actually never did drink like that again) Them quick action shoot em up games would probably just get me angry and probably add another week to being couch bound.

2) Racing type games or Golf games sound nice

3) Sex and Violence in a game is fine with me

4) would rather have game that keeps interest than have state of the art graphics (only games I still play on PC are from 1994)

[raj2001]

Get the new Gameboy Advance SP.

[gcutler]

Is GB SP easily available, thought it was pretty new and hard to get your hands on???

[Chris Blount]

I recommend the PS2 with the game ATV Offroad Fury 2. I'm around your age and love the game. Easy to play but yet pretty challenging. If you have the funds, pick up the PS2 network adapter for around $40 and you can play others online. I was never a big online game person but it really is fun going up against a real person instead of the computer.

[Unthinkable]

Originally posted by gcutler
Anyone have a recommendation for systems and games, with these caveats...

1) Late 30s' so I've lost my eye-hand coordination years ago (about they time I said to myself "I'll never drink like that again" and actually never did drink like that again) Them quick action shoot em up games would probably just get me angry and probably add another week to being couch bound.

2) Racing type games or Golf games sound nice

3) Sex and Violence in a game is fine with me

4) would rather have game that keeps interest than have state of the art graphics (only games I still play on PC are from 1994)

I'd say get an X-Box with the type "S" controller and pick up the following games:

Racing - Quantum Redshift, Rallisport Challenge, Jet Set Radio Future, Aggressive Inline, Wreckless, Project Gotham Racing, Tony Hawk 3 & 4.

Golf with a great twist: Outlaw Golf

Sex/Violence: Max Payne, Halo, Splinter Cell, BloodRayne, Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers, Hunter: The Reckoning, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, James Bond: Agent Under Fire, Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter, Dead To Rights, Medal Of Honor.

I have all of the consoles and I rank them in this order:

1) X-Box
2) GameCube
3) PS2

Pickup the new Gameboy Advance SP for some portable fun - I like all the platformers like the super mario advance games, castlevania 1 and 2, wario, crash bandicoot 1 and 2, sonic advance 1 and 2, etc... as well as games like Advance Wars and Golden Sun.

[Bardman]

As a mid-30s male and proud owner of an X-Box, I'd have to say "come see the light" and get an X-Box.

Definitely picking up the bundle with the S controller and JSRF and Sega GP packed in. If you have Broadband internet, you MUST get X-Box Live. Battling oppenents from around the world is well worth the small price of admission!!

Also, be sure to hook your X-Box up to your Dolby Digital Home theater receiver. The experience of hearing a Covenant come over your right shoulder in Halo, or the explosion of a Mech in Mechassult is aweseome in 5.1 surround.

Go with the Box... you won't be disappointed!!

Brad
Xbox live gamertag: Bardman1123

[lastmanstanding]

Both X-Box and Playstation 2 are good machines. One way to choose is to look at the games and if you find one that strikes your fancy, buy the platform to support it.

Halo is outstanding. First person shooter. Well written. New version in the pipe.

We have both PS2 and X-Box, with the latter getting 80% of the action. The built in hard drive is a nice plus.

[HarryD]

Go for the PS-2 ! Most selections of games. Excellent machine.

[PeterB]

Xbox+Excuter2+mame-x=heaven.

[Dgenx321]

Go with the PS2 and try Grand Theft Auto: Vice City :)

[Filip1]

I think you should get a PS2. It has by far the biggest selection and variety of games. I think, as a guy who long ago lost the ability to play action games, that the RPG is the way to go. I would say get Final Fantasy 10 and see if Role Playing Games are for you. Hand-eye coordination is not needed but RPG's are a lot of fun and very involving.

[RichW]

Jetset Radio Future makes me feel young again! There is a bit of hand-eye coordination involved but with an "S" controller as others recommended, you will have a great gaming experience. Don't sell short the value of great graphics and sound. They help keep the brain awake.

[Martyva]

I think i still have a Sega around somewhere. It has some imagic games and Wyco joysticks, only 20 years old and very little use, unless the wife gave it to a relative.

[LadyTalia]

I guess I'm odd... I still swear by my dreamcast that I got used and all the games I got used.... WHOLE lot cheaper. I like the fantasy and racing games, since I stink at any first person shooters. I had no problem getting ahold of a Game Boy Advance SP and you can get good used games at software, etc. or any of their affiliates. It will play anything all the way back to the ORIGINAL tetris that came with my husband's original game boy. It's rechargable- no going thru batteries. It also doesn't matter where the TV is, you don't have to worry about cables reaching far enough.
That's my two cents- either the new Game Boy or a Dreamcast...

[lastmanstanding]

Dreamcast is/was a great system, that just never caught fire. My only complaint is that the color saturation was not as good as the systems that followed, but this doesn't affect gameplay one nit.

We live in an age where the dedicated gamer can really use several platforms.

I really wish some hacker type would make one box that played everything. Where are the reverse engineers when you need them?

[Jasonbp]

PlayStation 2 ($199) Has the most games out on the market today (close to 900 with all the PlayStation games). Tons of all different games. Would be your best bet. Only problem is with memory cards. You gotta have them to save your games. A PS2 ($25) one to save PS2 games and a PS ($10) one to save PS games.

GameCube ($150 w/free game from Nintendo) Super Monkey Ball, Super Monkey Ball 2, Super Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime, Zelda, Animal Crossing. Those would be some games to look into if you get a GameCube. Not many racing games out for it (if any). Gotta buy memory cards to save games $15 of $20 depending on the size card you get.

Xbox ($199 w/Jet Set Radio Future and SegaGT free from MS some stores are even giving Blinx to you free also). DOA3, Halo, Project Gotham Racing. Well over 200 games out now for the system. Good thing is you don't need memory cards, it has it's own hard drive to save games.

[BobMurdoch]

Originally posted by Bardman
As a mid-30s male and proud owner of an X-Box, I'd have to say "come see the light" and get an X-Box.

Definitely picking up the bundle with the S controller and JSRF and Sega GP packed in. If you have Broadband internet, you MUST get X-Box Live. Battling oppenents from around the world is well worth the small price of admission!!

Also, be sure to hook your X-Box up to your Dolby Digital Home theater receiver. The experience of hearing a Covenant come over your right shoulder in Halo, or the explosion of a Mech in Mechassult is aweseome in 5.1 surround.

Go with the Box... you won't be disappointed!!

Brad
Xbox live gamertag: Bardman1123

Ditto on the XBox. ESPECIALLY if you have a surround sound system and an HD capable monitor.

Halo is the best of the bunch, and has some especially user-friendly features for us "older gamers".... The gameplay is just a touch slower than some of the other first person shooters. The programmers goal was to supposedly make it more "realistic" and mimic real human movement. Anyone who has played Unreal Tournament can tell you that the movement is SO fast that many find it impossible to play well and they lose interest. I've seen newbies AND expert gamers take to Halo. To say nothing of the sheer shock value from numerous plot twists that would make Buffy, Alias, and "24" fans jump out of their seats.

Project Gotham Racing is also a great game. XBox lets you record your favorite songs to the hard drive and play them back as Soundtracks in games that support the feature. Playing Sammy Hagar's "I Can't Drive 55" or ZZ Tops "La Grange" while driving added immensely to my enjoyment of this game.

If you want to test an HD game, get Dragons Lair 3D which is the first 1080i video game. The gameplay is a litle frustrating at times, but fans of the old laserdisc coin op game will be hooked quickly as many of the old game's scenes are reprised with twists here and there.

XBox has recently added a new price tier for some older games where you can pick them up for under $20. Project Gotham Racing, Max Payne, and 007: Agent Under Fire are great games and can't be beat for the price.

Happy Gaming.......

[Unthinkable]

Originally posted by lastmanstanding
I really wish some hacker type would make one box that played everything. Where are the reverse engineers when you need them?

Yoshi's Y-Boxx:

http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/supergeek/story/0,24330,3424508,00.html

[Sherlock]

Xbox. Surround sound is incredible. Good LFE channel for a real kick, so a good subwoofer really pays for itself.

Halo is a must. Great story-line and particularly fun to play with a friend for tag-teaming.

Xbox Live is a blast. MechAssault and Ghost Recon are a blast to play online. Plus you can socialize without having to take a shower or get out of bed.

[sampatterson]

How about Pong? ;)

Xbox is the way to go, especially if you have an HD Television. My mom is 68 and every time she is over she wants to play Gotham City racing on the bigscreen.