There's a gaming PC and 360 in my office.
There's a PS3 in the living room.
Basically, the only reason we have a PS3 is because I convinced my mother that it was the best possible buy for a Blu-Ray player, and would also serve well as a Netflix and Hulu device, with the real selling point being all of the exclusive titles I was missing out on. I have built up a nice collection of PS3 games, which started in September or October of last year, with the only ones I have actually beaten being Uncharted 2 and Demon's Souls. Metal Gear Solid 4, God of War 3, and Ratchet and Clank, among a few other exclusives, remain barely touched.
Why have these games remained untouched for all of these months, you ask? After 5:00, and on a good portion of all weekends, the living room television is difficult territory to control. This is not only because it is being used, but because forcing my mother to watch God of War III is not appropriate. With Uncharted 2 being an excellent adventure, and Demon's Souls near the top of my list of favorite games ever, many-a-time have I cried myself to sleep at night at the thought of all the great games I was missing out on.
Recently, though, a new problem that I kept held in the back of my mind for a while has surfaced. Multi-platform games with exclusive content on certain platforms. Choosing which game version to buy has never really been an issue aside for a few games that I plan to purchase soon.
For instance, I purchased Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age: Origins, Oblivion and Fallout: New Vegas all on the PC. These seem like mostly obvious choices, as my computer is pretty decent and can run these games 1920x1080 without a problem, in addition to control options, mods, and price. Other, competitive multi-player games like Call of Duty: Black Ops, though, I prefer to keep on the 360. Many of my friends have 360's, I generally prefer the controller for online console shooters, and, from my experience, the 360 seems to have a more competitive community than the PS3.
I will mention that I have owned the 360 much longer than the the PS3, so my Achievements greatly outweigh my Trophies, not that it makes much of a difference to me. Also, my first and so far only real gaming PC was built early last year, and since I usually buy my games from Steam sales, my collection is varied and consists of whatever deals I can find. Moreover, let it be known that even though I am aware of the visual advantages of buying multi-platform games on the PC, I tend to buy the cheapest option of a game available. The differences are usually minimal anyways, with the PC having slightly more anti-aliasing and FPS, along with a higher native resolution and control options. None of those make a substantial difference in most multi-platform games, though, and do not amplify the experience enough to outweigh saving money on a cheaper or more online friendly version.
The multi-platform games in question are as follows: Dead Space, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and Vanquish. Since I usually like to keep my games on the same console, I purchased Assassin's Creed 2 on the 360 knowing that I would prefer playing Brotherhood on LIVE over the other options available. Dead Space on the other hand, while also looking fairly similar across all platforms, it's sequel, Dead Space 2 includes Dead Space: Extraction on the Blu-Ray disc, which is an obvious advantage to buying the PS3 version. Batman: Arkham Asylum includes the Joker DLC exclusive to PS3, which looks like a good amount of extra content, and at least enough to warrant some exploration into getting the PS3 version. Finally, Vanquish, which was developed on the PS3, has a very slight graphical advantage over the 360, which is apparently no screen tearing whatsoever.
I turn 16 in a couple of days, and if I wanted to, I could use about 100 USD on an internet ready non-3D Blu-Ray player to switch with the PS3 in the living room. I guess the purpose of writing out all of this not-particularly-important-or-interesting-to-strangers-or-anyone-else-for-that-matter topic was to ask a couple of questions. Have any of you played Dead Space, Batman: Arkham Asylum, or Vanquish and enjoyed your experience on a specific platform, with or without the advantages? Have you even been plagued with a video game related decision such as this? Do you have any advice to give me on purchasing a good Blu-Ray player with internet capabilities, such as brand and model, or do you advise against the decision I am leaning towards entirely? Do you wish you had never read any of this and want roughly four minutes of your life back?
Your opinions will be appreciated.
Now that you have read through all of this information, if you are not satisfied with the questions I listed in the last major paragraph, here is another: Have you completed Alan Wake, and did you enjoy it? How about the Shin Megami Tensei games, mostly the Persona series? Are they worth a purchase? For reading through this entire topic, I will even give some advice to you! If you have not already, you should definitely try watching the television series Dexter. Furthermore, if you own a PS3 yourself, do yourself a favor and purchase Demon's Souls, which can be found for less than 20 USD. Thank you for your time.
Multi-Platform and Exclusive Advice Appreciated
What kind of 16-year-old has an office?
EDIT: I played Batman on PS3, briefly touched the Joker content but lost interest immediately. Also Persona 3 and 4 are amazing games, you should definitely pick them up. Two of my favorite RPGs of all time.
EDIT: Would you recommend I look for a copy of Persona 3 FES on PS2, or buy the PSP version, which is probably less expensive? Also, would you recommend I start with 3 before 4?
Does your family use the PS3 for games, or for any other purpose than blu-ray movies? If not then I'd see about getting a new player for them so you have access to the PS3 for games. Unfortunately, I have no advice on players or features to look for.
As far as mutli-platform titles, reading around the general consensus is to pick the version where your friends are for the mulitplayer. Most games I think are pretty comparable now days, with the occasional bad apple on either side (i.e. FFXIII or Bayonetta). Dead Space on PS3 sounds like a pretty sweet deal, and Batman does have a little more content. That said, console exclusive DLC needs to die, or at the very least be made available to every platform after a certain time. When choosing a platform, I'd also look into how much of a modding community there is.
Alan Wake is a good game and worth playing through, especially if you're a fan of horror type novels. It really did feel like an interactive novel as I played the game; not to mention interesting characters and a beautiful environment. Only jarring experience was the poor jaw animations for talking.
I see your problem and i would say batman and vanquish should not really matter which system you get it on. The whole thing about it looks better on this system over that is very small to the part of if you only playing it on that system it should not matter. Granted some games do port badly like Bayonetta which made me get the xbox one which i really wanted the ps3 version. But apart from bad ports i just go with the one with the most content or just which ever system i been playing it on.
Alan Wake was the best game of last year IMO. I got it at full price, played it through 3 times and got all the DLC for it and I still am enthralled by the gameplay. It's also MUCH longer than your typical game 6-8 hours game you'd find nowadays, my first playthrough took me somewhere shy of 20 hours. Then I went back and did each episode seperately to get the collectables, then I played through again on Nightmare. The area in and around Bright Falls that you get to explore is massive, boasting one of the largest game worlds I've played in this type of game. Not to mention the game has some beautiful scenery and graphics, with the best lighting I've seen in a game.
Keep in mind though, it's not a horror game, it's a psychological thriller.
As far as FES vs. P3P goes, well, the biggest bonus you get from FES is The Answer which is basically a 30 hour campaign that takes place after the end of the main game. It's fun but not as good as robust as the main game. P3P, on the other hand, has an improved combat system akin to the combat in P4 and the additional option to play as a female protagonist. However the lack of town exploration can make it feel like you're playing a game made entirely out of menus when you're not in a dungeon. If I had to choose, I'd lean more towards FES.
EDIT: Also being a sit-down RPG that takes hours upon hours to complete, you'll probably be more comfortable playing it on a large screen with a controller in hand. It's really not a game you can play on-the-go.
EDIT2: Actually there are also cameos from P4 that reverse continuity themselves into P3P... so actually the optimal path would be FES > P4 > P3P (female) but that might make your head explode.
Well about Dead Space specifically; your mom hates this. So keep in mind unless you move the PS3 it's gonna be hard to play much of the Dead Space series cause it's really violent and gory.
I haven't played Vanquish so I can't speak much to that, but definitely get Batman. I played it on PS3 and thoroughly enjoyed it, but if it's just the Joker challenge rooms making you consider PS3 over the 360 then don't bother; they aren't very good.
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