The list dwindles

chillzilla | 7/17/2008 6:31 am | Game On

My wife's reasoning for buying me a Xbox 360 two years ago had nothing with my NEED for a Microsoft system . The reason she so kindly plunked down the plastic card for the gift is because I couldn't stop taking about Gears of War. Ted had brought his 360 over to our place one weekend with his new copy of Gears of War and instantly I was hooked. I was hungry for the game and my only way to play was on the new Xbox.

Amethyst and I are the only Game On writers without a PS3. I would love to get a PS3, but financially, we can't afford it. Thankfully, I have no desire for one. I am not a PS3 hater. I would love to own the system, but there are no games I want that justify the purchase. The choice is not based on fanboy-ism, but instead on how many entertainment dollars we have to spend. I feel I need to mention that I"m not a 360 fanboy, either. It is just the only next gen system I own (unless you consider the Wii to be next gen.) Sure, it would be nice to have the other system, but games are what drive my console purchases.

When the PS3 launched, I had a list of games that, when released, would make me want to have the console in our house. The list had only 5 games on it. Now, there is only one and, strangely, I'm not that interested any more.

1. Grand Theft Auto IV - Originally, GTA has always appeared on a Sony platform first. While GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas have all appeared on the original Xbox, they launch the games very late. I'm not sure how long I could have held out to play the next iteration. Thankfully, it was announced early on that GTAIV would appear on both systems.

2. Resident Evil 5 - I didn't know what was going to happen to this franchise. After Capcom's exclusive RE deal with Nintendo died years ago, I had figured that the game would be multi-platform, but wasn't 100% sure. There was still time for Sony to rush in and try to get the game first. This game will be multi-platform at its release.

3. Devil May Cry 4 - Here was another good-looking action game that for a brief time was rumored to ONLY be on Sony's shiny black box. The game can be bought for both systems.

4. Metal Gear Solid 4 - I can not explain enough how much I love Metal Gear Solid. I think it is one of the few perfect games out in existance. The gameplay is beautiful, the story is amazing and the games little tricks (You like Castlvania, don't you?) made the experience all the more personal. The day the second game was released I quickly snatched it up. I will admit to being slightly disappointed and that is probably the day that my excitement for Metal Gear wore down a little. The gameplay is number two is awesome. I had a great time playing the game, but the story was convoluted. I still have yet to play the third. This is why I'm not beating down the doors of my local Buy More for a PS3. Gotta play the third before I play number four.

5. Final Fantasy XIII - All but one item on my list so far has gone multi-platform. Up until Monday's announcement, I never would have guessed that Final Fantasy XIII would be available on Microsoft's system. FFXIII was to be the game that made me wish I had a PS3 in my house. My only solace was that the game still had a ways to go before its release date. Now though, I have nothing to worry about. While FFXIII is a PS3 exclusive in Japan, the game will be coming my North American Xbox 360.