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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (March 2, 2005)
8* LAC K AMA sPrint Arts Q^Entertainmen JjRp Presents March 2, 2005 For one night only! Console vs. Computer A fight to the death, death, death, death LANs are LAME AU hail the PC Jeff Sorensen The Clackamas Print | There’s always one at every LAN party. The guy who, for whatever reason, can’t get Windows to post, and has to bum a pirated copy from somebody just so he can re-install his video drivers and hopefully get a game to run before the end of the weekend. Sound familiar? This is what PC gam ing really is; sweaty guys eating Cheetos™ and drinking Code Red™ until their blad ders force them to push “pause.” Then they proceed to huff around the room screaming obscenities because somebody killed them while they were in “the john.” This is what the gaming community used to be, but the console gaming industry is setting out to change the way we think about gaming today. Be it the Microsoft X- Box, the Sony Playstation -2, or the Game Cube from Nintendo, all a console needs to be functional is a television, somethingmany families already own. Then, as if having a tele vision . handy wasn’t conve nient enough, most consoles end up in the family room or living room, so gamers can enjoy their favorite pastime from the comfort of their own couch or favorite amAhair. Unlike the PCs that drive players to ignore Mother Nature until it’s almost too late, consoles are as convenient and comfortable as the homes they are sold into. Console gaming systems also excel over those antiquated networks when it comes to multiplayer gaming. For the consoles, it’s all about gamers enjoying the experi ence with their friends. Gamers don’t have to worry about what the “other guy” has cooked up in his own personal hardware concoction because, save for their own individual controllers, they are all playing on the same system. Only when variables are removed is true skill allowed to shine through. Gamers can then applaud their friends’ efforts, rather than curse them, bringing their own small community closer together. Perhaps the largest advantage of all, however, is the technology that’s been incorporated into not only the next gen eration of consoles (the X-Box 2 is due out this year, followed by Sony and Nintendo in 2006), but also the impressive new handhelds that are already gracing the store shelves. Features like the Sony PSP’s 128-bit 3D image rendering and wireless multiplayer networks, in addition to the Nintendo DS’ touch screen and “Download Play” capabilities have all been stuffed into a new crop of systems that fit into most people’s back pocket. It’s no won der Electronic Gaming Monthly, Game Informer Magazine, IGN.com and lup. com are all calling 2005 “The Year of the Handhelds/Portables.” Consoles are just simply more fun, and PC gamers sometimes forget that firn is what gaming was all about in the first place. I’m convinced that when PC guys see something in consoles they relate to, like the graphics on the X- Box 2 (which runs circles around my Dual-Athlon ... yeah, I said it), then the world will finally see that in the argument over PCs vs. Consoles, the geeks never had a chance. iPod. Thousands of songs in Jsremy Froid The Clackamas Print PC games are better. It is as simple as that. Don’t get me wrong, I like console games. I own a Playstation 2 and an X-Box as well as a PC, but console games just can not compare to PC games. There are a number of reasons that I like PC games better. You can get patches to fix bugs, you can get mods for them, built- in technology that supports online multi player, and technology changes so fast, the games you get are always using up-to-date technology instead of making games on a console system that will not change for at least three years or more. There are downsides to PC games of course. It’s hard to keep up with the game requirements sometimes and even though you can upgrade your computer, it costs money, so consoles have the advantage in that people don’t have to invest as much móney in initial costs and continuing upkeep to play both. PC games excel because the built-in support for many things that console games lack, like online multiplayer. Yes, both current consoles have the ability to play online, but in order to get it you have to buy a separate attachment, whereas most computers havQ a connection already and almost all PC games nowadays have built- in multiplayer support instead of just a few games here and there. Also, PC game mods are also very good part of PC gaming; new multiplayer maps, new weapons, new single-player missions and campaigns, heck even whole new eras of play. So if you buy a new game, beat the game in single player mode, and you’re tired of the same old multiplayer maps, no problem; just download new areas to play in. It is not too difficult to find them on the internet. Another area is the pro gram glitches or bi plague every gan cannot fix these bugs on console games, but with Online fan fiction worth the seard r. J JeremyFreld Über Nerd Visit www.appte.com/students for special student pricing on everything Apple, including iPod. PC games all you have to do is go t game’s official website and downloa patch. More often then not, the patcl enhances game play and introduces things into the mix, which is more enough to offset the minor annoyat downloading and installing the patch. Console games have their place, hi games have many advantages that than offset any extra stuff you have ti with because you are playing on a PC PC gives any games played on it] advantages. The downsides are the course, like the fast pace of tech coming out for the PC on an almost» basis, but because of all the extra fe you can get with a PC, it is more than enough to offset any- d i s a d - vantages you get by play ing a PC game. Long Live the PC! Fan fiction used to be only written for oneself, but it has now leaped into toe cyber age. Now readers can find many fan fiction stories written by the fans of different television shows, games, movies and books. With all this fan fiction floating around, some may wonder where one can find it At wwwjpgff.net, one can find a variety of fen fiction stones based on role-playing games, including “Final Fantasy,” “Chror» Trigger,” “Chrono Cross,” and “Legend pf Dragoon” and “Legend of Legaia.” The sto ries are well-written, although some are taken from games with multiple endings and they sometimes leave out important details that would be necessary if one has not played the game(s) before. The httpr7fenfic.thefcuce.net web site is dedicated to “Star Wars” fen fiction, which is immensely popular on toe internet Many authors use the main characters from toe theatrical films, but others use characters that were created by toe authors them selves. The writing quality varies, but toere are some remarkable story lines. . Www.fictionalley.oig is a quality fen fiction site that has nothing but Harry Potter stories. The fen fiction stories are organized into four catego ries: novel-length fiction, romance fic tion, mystery and drama fiction and, of course, humorous fiction. Last, but certainly not least, there is an amusing site devoted to“Xenar Warrior Princess” located at http:// www.xenafanfiction.com. A well- organized site, each story is catego rized tty the first letter of toe story. There are some interesting stories involving Xena on this site. There are so many stories on this site, one could easily get lost On a side note, be warned: there are stories out there with adult content intoem. These sites are just a few of the good ones out there, but be careful to avoid toe bad ones out toere if you are sensitive to certain “subject mat ter. For every good fen fiction web site toere are probably 10 bad ones. Unfortunately, toere is no sure fire way to find good sites; one just has to go out there and find them. What is fan fiction! (for the laysurfer) The world of fanfiction can be a confusing place if you've never visited it before. Here are a few terms that might be help ful in your searches. Fan fiction. Stories that have been written within a fictional world already created by anoth er writer, artist or creator of a television series, movie, video game or book. May include existing characters created within that world, or original characters that the “fic write” creates on his/her own. Slash: Fiction containing homosexual content or themes. Does not have to be adult content. Alternate Universe: A storyline that diverts from that which die original creator has set out fora certain time period. Canon: A storyline that keeps with the original creator’s ideas within the timeline documented in the original series.
