PC gaming is ever maturing... But have you been noticing how many games are now coming out for both the console and the PC?! Tons. With this large cross-over deciding on whether to spend the money on the console version, or the PC version is big news. And now with Sega PC the choice is very tough. Is it better to go the PC route and get typically better graphics and sounds, or go the Console route and get typically better game-play. And now that there are CD-based console systems how much better are PC's? And will Sega-PC finally put gameplay on the PC? Read on...
Intel Multi-media Pentium:120Mhz 64-bit processor, 32-bit Wave Table with FM synthesis, 16.8 Million color 640x480 display, 16-MB Random Access memory, 500 MB HDD storage, 2x CD-Rom and a cherry on top. Do you really need all of this power for a game? Yes! Games like Wing Commander 3 use every last drop of speed in your machine. From the high detail, high color action scenes, to full motion video these games eat up all of your system.
Top end Console:6 Mhz 32-bit processor, 16-bit fm-synthesis, 32,000 color 500x300 display, 1-MB RAM, No HDD, 2x CD-Rom and a cute controller. Now the question is-- Is this enough? By now we've seen enough Full Motion video to make us throw-up. And now we are starting to see games like Wing Commander 3 for consoles. Are they as good? Usually the answer is no. The limited console capabilities usually force detailed games to skip frames in the animations, and lower the speed. The biggest downfall is typically that the console games are missing lots of the detail and depth found in PC games. However, console games have a few major advantages. The first is compatibility. I've never heard a SNES owner tearing his hair out on the phone with a tech being told to change the line C:\dos\emm386.exe 2048 /s /p:512 actually will effect the speed in which his character picks up objects in his new RPG. I've also never heard a SNES owner scream when his whole machine won't do anything after he plays his favorite new game. Just the stress you go through getting it to run can ruin a wonderful game. Some never get it to run.
Help!! I'm broke! Then stay away from PC Gaming. It is not un-common to have to shell out $3,000 for a new machine, only to have it too slow to run a new game in less than 6 months. Console owners are becoming furious over the proposed $300 price tags new consoles are debuting at... You won't see these people at your local CompUSA.
Are PC's Worth the money? For many, the answer is yes. That is because PC's are usually used for far more than just gaming. Because of this, people want their PC's to play games, and then switch back to that dreaded thing... Work! This desire to be able to play games easily have brought about several new PC innovations. One of the biggest of these is the new Operating Sytem war formed between Microsoft and IBM. Jump to our Operating System test to learn a little more. Another upgrade coming about is hardware NTSC cards. These include cards that let you play games like a 3DO on your PC, or TV-cards that allow you to hook up your favorite console sytem to your PC, and converters that allow you to use your Big-screen TV as a monitor for your PC. The biggest new addition is are the 3D accelerator cards for your PC, like the 3D blaster (not 3do blaster), and the Diamond 3D card. With Sega-PC supporting these, it will get interesting...