Going HD. My First Seventh Generation Console
It feels like a long time ago that I first owned a seventh generation game console. I was yet to turn eighteen, when, encouraged by my friends at my local sixth form, I succumbed to my desire to upgrade my PlayStation 2 and move on to the next generation of consoles.
It was a very memorable occasion. I remember unboxing my new console, turning it on for the first time and seeing the high-definition graphics pop onto my TV. A significant improvement over the PlayStation 2's standard definition, the few games I started with were all bigger, smoother to play and more accessible than any I had played before. The only downside I could see was that the controllers needed batteries!
Now I know what you're thinking. The PS3 doesn't need batteries for its controllers! You are correct of course and based off the subject of this magazine and the fact that I was a PlayStation 2 owner, you'd have every reason to expect this amazing new console to have been a shiny new PlayStation 3.
It wasn't! My first next generation console was an Xbox 360.
The PlayStation 2 had been a very popular console for many reasons. It was sleek, had a DVD player, a great games library and was backwards compatible with the original. These were just some, amongst many other great features.
The PS3 was promised to be even better, but there was a problem: it was expensive. On top of that, none of my friends in School owned one at the time and Halo 3, an Xbox exclusive, had become a popular game amongst my peer group. Not wanting to be left behind, the new Xbox 360 took priority and became my console of choice.
My time with the Xbox 360 started off well. There were some standout games including Gears of War and the previously mentioned: Halo 3. I also enjoyed the Fight Night boxing game series as well as Jade Empire and The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion on the console.
This positive start was not to last however, I soon found that moving the console while a game was inserted in the disc drive resulted in the game getting damaged! Not a handy feature when I was regularly sharing the console with my eldest sister and moving it from room to room.
This was unfortunately discovered when I tried to play Fight Night, it became the first casualty, skipping and freezing whenever I would try and load the game. Not quite realising why it had happened, my habits didn't change fast enough, and more games were broken before an explanation was forthcoming.
In the meantime, my attention had moved away toward the PS3 again. One of my favourite game series, the Metal Gear Solid franchise, was releasing Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots as an exclusive on the PlayStation 3! This, coupled with the Xbox regularly breaking my games, led me back towards Sony's new console. As soon as my birthday came, I was a proud owner of a new PS3, and I never looked back!
As soon as I opened the box containing my new console it had impressed me. No discs to break simply by moving the console, a nice Blu Ray player, chargeable controllers and the main game I wanted to play. The same PS3 is still being used to this day which is more than I can say about my Xbox 360. A year after owning it, I got the dreaded red ring of death and my time as an Xbox gamer was officially over.
Now reading this you might think I have animosity towards Xbox players, after all I have been talking about my frustrations with the Xbox 360 console that I used to own. This isn't true. My own experience doesn't give me the right to criticise the many players who enjoyed their Xbox 360, the console was, after all, a better seller than the PS3 and had a great games library. The online features were also fantastic, and Microsoft released updated versions of the console that made it sturdier and less likely to break than the version I had.
It all comes down to personal preference in the end, so if you are an Xbox player or a PlayStation one, good on you! Here is to many more years playing the seventh generation of game consoles. Long may it continue!