Gaming Noob Advice Please

[Ian_Gere]

Hi people. Tis a sad day, but i'm beginning to seriously fear that the state of my health may not allow me to airsoft at all this year. I'm not giving up hope and i'm certainly not thinking of selling up, or even reducing my tactical preparedness (tat pile), but I'm starting to feel the lack of trigger in my life...

 

So I'm thinking of buying a gaming platform. I'm not going to buy or build a gaming PC, because I'm pretty happy with my lappy for general puter stuff and i'm probably shortly going to upgrade the processor for about fifty notes, so I don't see the point of spending a grand and a half, or whatever, just to duplicate functionality; besides i don't have the or the willingness to take on that much debt. But which console to buy: that, Mr. Hamlet, is a far more important question. So which do you recommend and why?

 

My gaming experience is pretty limited. I didn't play any home-console or at home computer games, as opposed to arcade games, until about '98. Even then I don't remember I enjoyed Halo which i used to play when it first came out, on my Apple G4, simply because a mate had it and the graphics looked so much better than any game i had seen or played so i had to give it a go. I actually bought Myst (I forget which number - it was about 14 years ago) and loved it. A bunch of us used to have an intranet in a massive house i used to live in way back in the day and we had Unreal Tournament set up so we could play against each other - that was ok, although the graphics were shite, but the main problem for me was that a couple of the lads were gaming nerds and so good at it that i stood no chance. I'd say that my main interest is strategy games, but i do like 1st person shooters also, and they of course will be my trigger substitute...

[ImTriggerHappy]

This one could cause more arguments than the general election thread.

My personal opinion is go for the xbox one. I find the control pad more comfortable especially for first person shooters. I find the Playstation pads cause my hands to ache very quickly, this might be just because my hands are getting old and worn out by my job and I find the xbox pad more ergonomic.

[SeniorSpaz87]

Oh god, mods lock this now before we get a console war!

[ImTriggerHappy]

Oh god, mods lock this now before we get a console war!

It was a moderator who asked so that isnt going to happen.

[SeniorSpaz87]

Tbh, I'm xbox as well...

[Sacarathe]

You don't need to spend more than £850 nowadays for a good gaming pc (tower only), much less for adequate. Most of your money ends up in the £250 nvidia gfx card.

 

What laptop do you have, maybe it has a thunderbolt port?

[BrightCandle]

Considering for a £200 more you can get a substantially faster PC than the console it doesn't seem worth throwing money at an underpowered locked down computer in todays age. You definitely do not have to spend £1500 on a gaming PC, so long as you spend £600 well you'll get a much faster machine than a console and the games will be a lot cheaper.

[Ian_Gere]

You don't need to spend more than £850 nowadays for a good gaming pc (tower only), much less for adequate. Most of your money ends up in the £250 nvidia gfx card.

 

What laptop do you have, maybe it has a thunderbolt port?

Nah, it's an HP Pavilion G6-1241sa.

[Ian_Gere]

I've read in a review of an Xbox One bundle that came with a 500GB hard drive that you can get a 1TB hard drive edition for the same money - £300-ish, but the only 1TB one i can find is a limited edition CoD one for £395 - any help lads?

[Sacarathe]

Do you actually want a console or is money really a concern(?), that is to say, couch or desk, I'm right there advocating pc, though I admit I don't know why anyone would take a console over a pc if money was not the issue, other than the major titles from activision and EA most games are cheaper on PC than console.

 

Unless you buy few games, you're going to be spend £10-20 per game (new) on console that would be saved on pc games. How are your peripherals at the moment, screen, interface devices etc?

 

What I am trying to say is, that while consoles are marketed "affordable" unless you have a specific reason (money) to go console, you're better off with a pc. Many pc games now have full controller support.

 

At the moment a good* gaming pc is as simple as this:

Tower £40

PSU £60

Motherboard (with onboard sound) £140

Processor £100

RAM £100

SSD £100

HDD £60

 

(total so far: £600)

 

 

GFX card £ as much as you want to spend £100-£300 - more than £300 and you'll want to spend more on the processor first.

 

Optical drives are now optional. (£20 dvd, £50 bluray - however bluray playing software which is normally free with consoles costs £50 on pc).

 

You can also buy:

a gaming mouse £35

Illuminated keyboard for playing in the dark £30+

Aftermarket CPU cooling

5.1 sound system/headphones

22inch or larger 16:9 screen £100

 

All prices generally average.

 

*don't read too much into what "good" means, certainly superior to any console if the right decisions are made in the parts used - but I would expect such a pc to be competative for about 6-8 years with gfx card upgrades every 3 years.

 

SSD is a very fast replacement for the HDD, you do not need it or both just for a gaming pc, but generally they are not as reliable, though you should always backup data with any computer.

[Ian_Gere]

The reason I don't want a new computer is exactly what you have said above - there are so many options that i will end up getting my nerd on and spending more money than i can reasonably afford. But also I just don't want to build another computer either - that era of my life is over and tbh it's painful enough admitting to myself that i cannot airsoft, being reminded that i can no longer do my job as a sound engineer nerd is even worse. I want a console which i can plug in to my existing HDMI equipped TV, TiVo, and 5.1 Surround amp like a punter...

[Ian_Gere]

However if it is possible to get a 1TB console for the same money as some places are selling 500GB versions, then I'd rather get that and save myself 50 sheets on an external drive.

[ImTriggerHappy]

The only Xbox one you can get with a 1TB hard drive is the COD edition all others are 500GB. There is a rumour microsoft are going to release one but its not been confirmed as far as I know.

[BBrotherwood]

There are not a whole lot of Strategy games on the consoles and arguably the best ones are on PC. The number of games you can get on PC is astronomical and I find it much more intuative to use a keyboard + mouse. Graphical development in games has slowed down a lot in recent years with only marginal gains. The net result is you can buy a decent PC and it will be able to play stuff for several years to come. I brought my 7970 for £220 and can play everything still at ultra & 1920x1080 despite the card design being at least 2 1/2 years old now.

Also the PC has the ARMA series which you will probably enjoy if you find a good group to play with.

I am no console lover so slightly biased but I can see the advantage of one self contained package which you dont need to worry about.

[ImTriggerHappy]

Im pretty sure the op has expressed several times hes not interested in getting a new PC. So how about people start giving him the console advice he has asked for.

[Sacarathe]

The reason I don't want a new computer is exactly what you have said above - there are so many options that i will end up getting my nerd on and spending more money than i can reasonably afford. But also I just don't want to build another computer either - that era of my life is over and tbh it's painful enough admitting to myself that i cannot airsoft, being reminded that i can no longer do my job as a sound engineer nerd is even worse. I want a console which i can plug in to my existing HDMI equipped TV, TiVo, and 5.1 Surround amp like a punter...

 

Sorry, I was just being thorough, I can't know your level of knowledge after all It's amazing the amount of people who rule things out because of perceived difficulty. I've never had a negative experience with a console, but nor have I owned once since my gameboy colour.

 

Maybe these will help you:

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_game_exclusives_%28seventh_generation%29

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_game_exclusives_%28eighth_generation%29

[Ian_Gere]

Thanks for the help lads, I've got a new credit card and spanked it for an Xbox One bundled with Witcher 3 and Ori for 300 notes from GAME - will buy another wireless controller from fleabay for my g/f and, in a few days when my reward points are available, Halo: The Master Chief Collection Limited Edition from GAME also, as atoms not bits (primarily for the book of maps, but also to save needing an external HD right away). Will buy CoD and a Live subscription when my thumb skillz have developed.

 

Anyone have any recommendations on strategy games?

[Colonel Kurtz]

Strategy games is usually PC territory, only one can think of on Xbox is Defense Grid 2. Trying to move the pointer/arrow/selector across a large screen/game area using a controller rather than a mouse is just too tricky so they don't bother porting many to console

 

Your better off anyways, PC strategy games like Civilization will turn you nocturnal and consume time like a black hole

[Ian_Gere]

Oh Civ is a great way to spend 3 days dying for a piss!

[Berto]

Try battlefield 4 instead of cod, I find it a much more grown up game, there are tanks and less screaming kids than cod. Plus being able really tweak the weapons adds a deeper level of immersion that the usual generic attachments you get in cod. Did I mention the tanks?

 

I've had my xbone for over a year now and as a simple, turn it on, play games, abuse my mates and have fun, you can't beat it.

[SeniorSpaz87]

I preferred 3 over 4... And if you want tanks, get the Armoured Shield map; it's all about the vehicles.

[TacMaster]

Last time I played BF3 (sometime last year before I sold my PS3) there was pretty much no one populating the hardcore servers or the servers running expansion packs like Armoured Warfare. Just a word of warning there. I know it was PS3 and we're talking about XBLive here, but it's something to bear in mind- you won't find a great deal of players on most older online games.

 

That being said, I used to have Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 on my PS3 (came out in 2008, 3 years before Battlefield 3) and there were a lot of people still playing- although it was a really good game, one of the best in the tactical FPS genre IMO. You could customise your character's kit entirely, with a metric fuckton of camos, gear and apparel to choose from. A decent selection of weapons to choose from as well, just not a lot of customisation options- and the cover system! My god, it was absolutely brilliant! Here's a screenshot if anyone doesn't know what I'm on about:

 

 

You could blind fire, flip around corners and open up on the enemy, change stance while stacked onto a corner, reload, switch weapons, attach suppressors while in-game, shuffle along the cover and all sorts!

Here's a look at the customisation system too:

 

 

It was absolutely mega! You could choose shoulder, chest and leg armour, helmets, caps, bandannas, sunglasses, balaclavas, respirators etc for your head as well as a plethora of combat uniforms (no official names but some look very similar to real life clothing) and in so many patterns- it really puts a lot of modern shooters to shame, even now.

BF4 is close to it in customisation, but not quite close enough as every faction's character model in it has to wear sufficiently different clothing in their own countries patterns to differ from the other teams.

[AK47frizzle]

Don't upgrade your laptop, don't do it. Laptops aren't meant to be upgraded; you buy them and dispose of them when their life is up.

 

If you upgrade the processor, you'll just generate more heat that the laptop wasn't designed to handle, plus CPU power isn't the main thing for gaming, it's your graphics although I doubt you'll have a dedicated graphics card in it, only some sub par intel "HD" jimmies.

 

Console Pros:

• Easier on the hands
• More comfortable because arms closer together
• Easy to set up and go

Console cons:

• Less variety in games
• Movements aren't as precise

PC pros:

• More precise movements
• More variety in games
• Games are INFINITEY cheaper... All hail Gaben...
• Better frames

PC cons:

• A little more expensive
• Less comfortable position wise than console because arms further apart
• A little more complicated to set up for optimal performance

 

It does sound like you wanna take it easy, so go buy yourself a console and a huge bean bag and relax like this dude: http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0185/7502/files/huge-bean-bag-chair.jpg?87

[Ian_Gere]

^^I'm going to upgrade my lappie processor in advance of Windows 10 because:

Processor speeds, or overall processing power, for computers will double every two years

but software developers will add things like animations, semi-transparent windows, inter-operability between apps whether you use them or not, GPS compatibility, etc, much of it ultimately useless frippery, and, since we can no longer easily customise our OS or switch off these 'advances' in apps to have our available processing power dedicated to the stuff we actually use, we will not see any additional functionality in our equipment from Moore's Law; in fact if we keep up with the latest software we will get less functionality unless we also upgrade our hardware.

Bear in mind that support for Windows 7 has already ceased and Windows 8 is basically the same thing but optimised for tablets - HP Pavilion G6 lappies were designed to utilise 3 processors faster than the one which came in mine and I plan to install the fastest, an i7, so any additional heat is within the design parameters - i expect my fan will be on more often, but hey ho... that is the price of buying an E&L AKS-74M, upgrading her internals, and buying a gaming console plus games, all within a few months...

[AirsoftTed]

The assasins Creed series are good Ian. Really enjoyed Black flag, and I'm playing Unity aswell. Have to be strategic most of the time, unless you want a massive sword fight with 12 guards or something