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.