War Department--MAY 22, 2001

shalin@softhome.net - The Sega Dreamcast has 0 points, well this is not fair. where are all the fans. The DC has the best library of games, far far better than PS2. I think PS2 is not that good, the X and nintendo will kill it, and it will only serve as a DVD player. Game boy advance deserves a point along with the DC. hope this helped (1 Point) (+1 DC)

yonw32785@cableinet.co.uk - Oh, joyful days, or something. A Metal Gear Solid 2 Demo is here, and not only that, but it actually works on my PS2, which is more than some of you can say.

Yes, a demo is the biggest news for the PS2, and it's not even for an exclusive game. And what else have we got to look forward to from it? Nothing much. So far the PS2 has got the admittedly great Time Splitters, but thanks to Sony, you've got to buy a multitap to enjoy the multiplayer mode (and as it's a multiplayer only game, doesn't that make TS a bit expensive?)

Now onto the XBox. Japan accounts for about a third of the gaming market, and I can't see many more than two of them selling there. No Dating or Train Station Simulators? A non Japanese company? And they have to pay more? When you pay for the console, you're paying for the built-in DVD player. Unfortunately, you have to buy an expensive remote control for it to work. If one of the worst looking games on the XBox actually turned out to be doctored, what else has been tampered with? [ed: You can find undoctored screens here.]

And now the Gamecube. Not only does it have Zelda, Mario, Metroid, Pokemon, Perfect Dark, Starfox, etc., etc. as exclusives, but Nintendo and Sega, two of the best software companies out there, are working on a Gamecube game together, featuring all the stars from both companies. This could quite possibly be the best thing ever.

Still, it's up to the gaming public what succeeds, so it's time to make a decision; will you have a stack of unoriginal, overpriced, rubbish in the form of the PS2 and Xbox, or will you have a stunning mix of classic and original gameplay at a lower price? I know what my first choice would be. (3 Points)(-1 Xbox)(-1 PS2)(+1 GCN)

diffeys@alltel.net - in the June 2001 issue of playstation magazine, there is a thing called the GSCube that sony has developed. Does the word cube bring anything to mind (cough*GameCube*cough)??? It isn't any thing new they just taped 16 PS2s together and said tha it is revolutionary! In case you wanted to know it is a 19in. square and weighs 103 lbs.!!! If you couldn,t figure it out this is against PS2 and for the original cube(cough*GameCube*cough)!!

PS2 1 color
GameCube 5 colorssss
PS2 2 controllers
GameCube 4 controllers
PS2 $300
GameCube $150-$200 [ed: official price announcement can be found here.]
PS2 less power
GameCube more power
PS2 no connectivity
GameCube GBA connectivity
PS2 launch=bad games
GameCube launch=good games
PS2 old controller
GameCube new "pretty" controller
PS2 baaaad
GameCube gooood (2 Points)(-1 PS2)(+1 GCN)

Lurch1982@aol.com - I'm back............. Only response I'm going to make is on KirbytheKirby's Sega comment. (and the only reason I'm doing that is because I was going to rant anyway....i don't think there's enough people sending to warrent replies...what gives??)

Ok, Sega in the sense of consoles is dead. Let me spell it for all you naysayers : D-E-A-D. The DC was a great last hurrah, but its gone. Sega is finally going the way they should have....developer. What does sega have to gain by re-entering? A loss of profits gained by developing for everyone. A loss of money by trying to compete with competitors that haven't been in the red for the last 5 years? Trust me on this one...Sega is best off developing because they have the potential to become bigger than EA in terms of influence, power, and profit.

Moving on to my ever-loved comments:

I feel that right now, we are in a dead period in gaming. Lets face it, we're in between technologies right now (N64 dead, PC games are stagnating waiting for the GEforce 3, Microsoft releasing soon, and Sony's lack of plentiful good games that are worth buying, not a rental.) Comment on each individual system:

Sony: Well, the PS2 is out. Most people didn't grab one at launch, but they're fairly easy to get now (and were fairly easy to get around Feb). Sure, we all loved SSX and a few sports titles, but where are the great awesome mind-blowing games we were promised? I get more use out of the one in the living room as a DVD player and a PSOne than anything. (BTW: go rent Bouncer if you haven't already. Not meant for purchase really, but excellent eyecandy).

Nintendo: They have a lot to prove still. No question about it. Many people scream the company's learned from their past mistakes, but I'm not convinced. Inferior format? Silence still?? Yes, I know "wait for E3." I believe it was Shane who said it best on the message boards: "E3 is the one year anniversary of when we should have gotten info."

Microsoft: The newcomer. People are either all for or all against them for various reasons. What amazes me is that people continue to complain about a lack of a killer app. Halo's PC future is a huge uncertanty, so the large chunk of PC gamers who've been waiting for Halo since '98 have to go to Xbox. Then you have the Matrix deal they have with more features. Oddworld 3 looks to be the breakthrough title in the series (breakthrough as in becoming a huge series). How about multiplayer? Microsoft's been handling the Internet deal for years now, and that should be an easy step. Still not convinced? In the past few years, Microsoft has been establishing themselves as a top PC gaming company through acquirements and some great titles. Plus, one of my favorite qualities of Microsoft's gaming division is the fact that in many of their recent releases, they heavily relied on what the fans themselves want. Will microsoft break out in the fall and pass sony overnight? No. This fall is the start of the domino effect.

PC: The PC gaming community is in a slump right now in my opinion. I'm sorry if I don't think that a few "The Sims" addons are great titles. Many of the killer games have been pushed to later in the year. The shining point was the release of Tribes II, however. Many people can finally stop drooling over screenshots and can start drooling over in game screens. This year doesn't really look that bad, with some great titles on their way in the summer and fall. A few I'm looking forward to are Mechcommander II, Neverwinters Nights, and the Baldur's Gate II expansion. Why? Mechcommander II is the sequal to one of my favorite strategy games ever and has been done in full 3d by Microsoft. Neverwinters Nights is AD&D and multiplayer crack for an old RPG'er like myself. Baldur's Gate II expansion is...well, nuff said in my concern. Why is the PC gaming community at a slowdown at the moment? Personally, I believe its due to the PC gaming crowd being in a transition phase. We're about to get the next wave of 3d cards (GeForce 3's!!!) and all the current cards are being pushed as hard as most people can without suffering from bad gameplay and performance fallbacks. The PC market is definatly going to rebound soon, and I'm eagerly awaiting several games this summer. (4 Points)(+1 Xbox)(+1 PC)

spyderman401@yahoo.com - Although these two systems are "dead", they deserve some credit for what they did accomplish.

Sega Dreamcast: Revolutionized internet play on a console. It went quite smoothly as well. Can we say that will necessarily happen for, oh say, Sony? Nooooo........

Nintendo 64: Revolutionized in multiplayer. Seriously. Before the N64, did you (or anyone for that matter) get together with 3 friends and play a video game? Nope. But, with Super Smash Bros., Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, and countless others, Nintendo set the standard for "LAN" [ed: LAN gaming is when you connect multiple machines, not playing on one machine. Still, I agree that the N64 revolutionized multiplayer gaming.] multiplayer gaming. (2 Points)(+1 DC)(+1 N64)