Now that we are a few years into the current console generation, I figured it was time to take a look at where each system stands. Each has had plenty of time to get out into the stores (except the Wii), get a large catalog of games (except the PS3), and work the kinks out of the hardware (except the Xbox 360). Here at GameFury, we have had all the systems pretty much since they were released and have had some time to come to our own conclusions about each.

I will begin with the Xbox 360 since not only was it the first released, but it is also the best of the three in my opinion. The games available are not only, on average, much more impressive but there is also far more to choose from than the other consoles. Even if you tire of the new games, there is also an awesome selection of old games to download from the marketplace. There are faithful recreations of classics like Galaga or amazing remakes like Prince of Persia. If that isn’t enough, there is an expansive video store that has movies, television shows, and other videos that are ready to play after a quick download. My only gripe with the marketplace would be the breakdown of the points prices. 500 points cost $6.25 so you need to whip out a calculator to figure out exactly how much money the 240 point movie is actually going to cost you. This is easy enough to forgive, though. Add the fact that it is also a DVD player and the system can move up from being simply a game console to the core of your home entertainment center. This is, of course, if you don’t mind being without it for weeks on end from time to time while it is sent off for repair. By now, most everyone has heard of the red rings of death. Microsoft is swearing that the failure rate is less than 5% but I find that hard to accept when everyone I know has had it happen to their console and my own personal console has died twice on me. Microsoft has done an awesome job stepping it up by extending the warranty to three years and refunding repair costs to those that paid before the warranty bump, but they aren’t really doing anything but fixing their defective product that wasn’t properly tested before it’s release. A simple yet brilliant addition to the console is the Achievements system. Every game gives you the opportunity to accomplish goals and rewards you with points that are added to your overall gamer score. Before the 360 came on the scene, if you beat a game, you only have your word that you completed it. Now, with a quick look at your gamer score and achievements, you can prove that you beat a game or found every hidden item. Since your profile is visible online, everyone you play against or meet in game has access to your achievements list. Throw in online multiplayer for most games and you end up with everything you could want from a system. The online chat can also be used to talk to out of state friends, both in game and out. All in all, this is the best choice if you are a serious gamer since it is moderately priced and has the hardware power to back it up.

Next comes the Wii. Many people were afraid that it was going to be a gimmick that died quickly, but I am here to lay those fears to rest. Although I have spent more time playing games on the 360 than the other consoles, I would say that I have put more time into Wii Sports than any other individual game on any system. This brings up the fact that the Wii is the only system that comes packaged with a game. Even though it is the cheapest of the three systems, it is the only one that is ready to go right out of the box without buying more stuff. Wii Sports is very basic, but endlessly fun. It also, like many other games for the system, gets you off the couch and actually makes you get a bit of exercise. The whole system is set up to be incredibly user friendly and people who have never played games before will be ready to go in no time. There is also an impressive selection of classic games to download; probably better choices than the Xbox 360, though less in number. Many of these games require the purchase of a separate controller, but all the NES games can be played with the Wii remote. While there are already a bunch of outstanding out for the Wii made by Nintendo (Zelda, Mario Kart, and Metriod to name a few) the third part support is still a little weak, probably because they have little experience making games with such a unique control mechanism. There are a few gems out there, but there is a large number of very bad games also. While the Xbox 360 is a good choice for intense gaming action, the Wii is a better choice if you just want kick back and have fun. It’s also the best way to get a group of you non-gamer friends together because it is so easy to pick up and play. The graphics will never compare to the other systems but the best games on the system are so well done that it probably won’t even matter. The lack of a built in DVD player hurts a bit also, as does the missing online multiplayer. Since it is the lowest price system, it is easy to pick up as a secondary console and it is the perfect choice if you are new to gaming.

Finally we come to the PS3. I only call it a gaming console for the sake of uniformity. It has provided me about a much fun as a plastic spoon. I have played many games on the system and have had the desire to purchase exactly zero of them. Sony claims it is the most powerful system so I can’t understand why there are still no good exclusive games available (I haven’t played Metal Gear Solid 4 yet which is supposed to be great, but we all know what happens with over hyped games). Any games that are good on the system are also out on the Xbox 360, and many run better on the 360 than on the PS3. The few exclusive games on the system are graphically weak (like Devil May Cry 4 or Heavenly Sword) or just play like crap (like Lair or Ninja Gaiden Simga). The system has been out for nearly two damn years, the ‘good games are coming later’ excuse just isn’t going to fly anymore. There are also the stupid design decisions to consider. The controller uses an internal rechargeable battery and can only be recharged while the system is on. The cord that charges it has to be plugged into the system and is less than three feet long. This means you have to either leave the system on to charge the controller or sit right in front of your TV while playing so the cord can reach. Another dumb design flaw I had to deal with was when I switched to another TV that had a different resolution. The PS3 didn’t automatically detect the new television like the other consoles would and only showed a blank screen. After nearly accepting that it was broken, I found the solution deep in the expansive instruction manual; hold the reset button for several seconds. Even the PS2 detected the television automatically so it is stupid that the PS3 can’t. There is an endless list that contains several other little annoyances like this, like the controller turning itself off when starting some games or simple actions being buried in the confusing menu system. To add insult to injury, just thinking about touching the system seems to leave fingerprints all over it’s surface. Hint to designers: if you have to package a console with a cleaning rag, maybe you should reconsider the materials you build the console with. If you accidentally bump the controller’s power button while the system is off, it will continue to flash and search for the system for several minutes, wasting the battery. The Wii and Xbox 360 controllers will turn themselves back off if they don’t detect the system being on after only a few seconds and don’t continue to waste battery power. The amount of downloadable content is embarrassing when compared to all that the Wii and 360 have. The one big advantage is that it has a Blu-Ray Player in addition to being a DVD player, although I have yet to see a movie that looks that much better in Blu-Ray that I could justify spending $10 more on it and losing the special features that come on a DVD. I bet that if it weren’t for the Blu-Ray, the console would cost $200 less but would still be overpriced. So far, the system is a steaming pile of over-hyped monkey crap that should not be purchased by anyone….ever.

So to sum up, the Xbox 360 is probably the best all around system with an impressive amount of games and so much great content from the online marketplace. The Wii will probably have the most fun games and is great for beginners. The PS3 has basically no redeeming qualities and needs to be buried in the same cemetary as the likes of Dreamcast, Sega CD, and Turbo Graphix 16.

Vegas 1.5 probably would have been a much more fitting title. Barely anything has been added and the game can be completed in under 5 hours. Even so, if you enjoyed the first game, you will enjoy this one.

Other than a very few minor additions, the game plays the same. The gunfights are intense and rewarding. The cover system continues to be one of the best in gaming. Intelligent, tactical approaches to situations are definitely the best idea. Your squad mates are incredibly helpful and fight like the highly trained soldiers that they are (unlike, say, nearly every other squad based shooter ever made).  They did occasionally display some odd behavior. Once, they got stuck at the bottom of a stairwell and I had to go back to get them. They also had a habit of entering rooms backward. This never really got them killed, but it just looked dumb. These issues weren’t major and didn’t really cause too many problems. It is very easy to be able to rely on them to back you up, which makes it that much worse in the second to last level when they leave and you are sent in alone. It didn’t make sense as to why they didn’t come along and it was the most frustrating section of the game. The only reoccurring glitch that really bugged me arose when you tried to stack up on a door before your team. Once you command them to join you, they will tell you that they can’t execute the order. This forces you to walk away from the door, reissue the order, wait for them to get into position, then get back in your spot by the door. This made the game feel less like a tactical, squad-based shooter and more like a babysitting simulation.

Even though the game is very short, a new gameplay feature was implemented to increase replay value. Once you create your soldier (from a fairly limited character creator) and the game starts, an experience bar appears along the bottom. Every enemy killed gives your soldier experience points that will level them up through a large number of military ranks that begins with Private Second Class and ends with Elite. The higher difficulty you play on, the more experience is earned. Kills from your teammates earn you points also, but not as much. Each level unlocks new armor or camouflage to equip. In addition to your level, there are also three other categories called A.C.E.S. to rank up. Players who like to take the enemy out from a distance or with precise headshots will increase their marksman rank. Others who like to mix it up at close range will improve their CQB (Close Quarters Battle) rank. And finally there is the Assault rank for those that just like to blow crap up. Performing actions related to each category increase the corresponding rank and rewards are based on each. For example, the best sniper rifles will only be available to a highly ranked marksmen. The A.C.E.S. ranks allow players to be rewarded for catering the game to their own play style. These rewards carry over to online since the same character is used for both multiplayer and single player.

The environments can best be described as “…meh.” There is only one casino level and much of your time isn’t even spent on the main floor; strange for a game named ‘Vegas’. The others aren’t particularly exciting. There is one level that is in a convention center, which was cool at first but I quickly caught on that it was little more than one giant room. Another is in a night club, but without the being full of customers, it looks like any other building. Most of your time is spent in backrooms and hallways that look almost the same no matter what building you are in. While the graphics are good, the environments are so ridiculously clean that they aren’t believable. Other games, like Gears of War or GTA 4, have dirt and smudges everywhere or debris floating around but the levels in this game are spotless. The game is also almost completely devoid of non-terrorist life. There is the occasional hostage to rescue, but you never see anyone that isn’t directly involved with you. Looking out a window or down from your chopper and seeing downtown Las Vegas completely barren kills the experience a bit. The final level puts the last stamp of blandness on the whole experience. It takes place in a sparsely decorated estate and can be completed in about twenty minutes; half the time as any other level in the game.

Although the game is quite fun, at the end of the day it is still simply an upgrade to the original game and not worth a full $60 price tag. It contains nothing that wouldn’t have been added to the average PC game through a series of free patches and user mods. If you loved the first Vegas, then it’s a must buy. On the other hand, if you thought the last game was simply ‘pretty good’ then you will probably get everything you want out of this sequel from a rental.

Thone of Agony is yet another title that wasn’t taken seriously and was made just to squeeze some quick cash out of the PSP’s lacking RPG market. The story is uninteresting and the interface feels completely slapped together. Not only is it a huge step backward from the Dungeon Siege titles on the PC, but it wouldn’t even be able to compete with the original Diablo.

The first major disappointment that hit me was the fact that you cannot create your own character or choose a class. There are three premade characters to choose from that cannot be edited. This would be understandable if the story revolved around these specific people, but it doesn’t. There are a few unique cutscenes for each character, but any player created person could have been thrown into the game.

Once the game begins, it doesn’t take long for it to start falling apart. I played through as the battlemage and he starts with a few basic fire spells. Soon you get a fire mastery spell that improves all fire magic. After that, you get lightning mastery that does the same for lightning. The problem is that there are no lightning spells. Other mastery spells are unlocked, but you are never given anything but fire spells. There are also several area of effect spells that are available. The problem with these is that you will never be attacked by more than one or two enemies at a time, so these spells will not ever be useful. About halfway through the game, I started finding weapons that were far more powerful than my spells. At this point, every battle broke down to me looking at the enemy and holding down the attack button until they are dead. For the last half of the game, I never cast one spell. Since I had a ranged attack, I never even saw most of my enemies because you character can target them from the mini-map and they never appear on screen. To make matters worse, I killed the final boss with five hits without getting a scratch on me and she was only visible on screen for a few seconds. There were also countless occurrences that I couldn’t decide if they were glitches or horrible design ideas. For example, every barrel containing gold in the game only spills them in 1 gold piece piles. When items later in the game cost 100,000 or more and enemies regularly drop hundreds, breaking a barrel and picking up three gold seems completely pointless. All these things made the adventure feel like it was created by quickly slapping itself over the framework of a much more fleshed out game.

The followers in the game are basically useless. There is about a three second delay from the time you get attacked and the time your follower joins the battle. Most enemies are weak enough that you can just about always kill them before your follower jumps in. Sometimes they will get the sudden urge to actually attack an enemy, but they don’t choose the closest one and will run away and get killed. One of the followers you can choose is a pack mule that is supposed to allow you to hold more supplies but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to hand items over to him. The only follower worth anything is the healer because she does a good job of staying out of the fight and making sure your health is full. I have a feeling that she is the only one that anyone will ever use.

Throne of Agony plays from an isometric view with the camera locked in position. It isn’t close enough to really enjoy the graphics, which are rather good if you hold your PSP an inch from your face. It isn’t far enough out to be able to see much of the action and you will constantly be attacked by enemies off screen. The camera also can’t be rotated if a part of the environment gets in your way. There is also no map for the dungeons and each is so randomly constructed that it would have been extremely helpful. There is a mini-map onscreen, but it only shows your immediate surroundings.

Though the graphics look nice, they are just about all taken straight from the PC versions of Dungeon Siege. Aside from major people key to the story, there are no original character models for this title. The cutscenes and character’s portraits for conversations are totally out of place. They are hand drawn cartoons that would be more at home in the Sunday paper. They don’t look bad, but the style is completely wrong for the game. Nothing about the game really pushes the envelope for the PSP, but that doesn’t stop the constant loading pauses. Putting on a new piece of armor, switching followers, or simply walking more than one hundred feet into a dungeon will result in the game freezing for several seconds. Loading the world map also brings up an excessively long loading screen. The map is simply all brown with a few hand drawn icons to mark the points of interest, but for some reason it still needs a thirty second loading screen.

The game has some interesting ideas, but absolutely zero of them are actually fleshed out. It appears to have been designed by taking Dungeon Siege on PC, removing the party based gameplay, and making it as much like Diablo as possible without spending too much money. If a game breaks down to me running toward red dots on the mini-map and holding down a button until it disappears, I have to feel that there is something better I can be doing with my time.