The Hot Topic Returns

[DisturbedSwan]

Alien Isolation is such a fucking amazing video game, one of the best of the generation for me. Criminally underrated cause the Yanks whined about the save system

 

I absolutely adored PT and Outlast 2 this generation, the original Outlast less so. The Evil Within and The Evil Within 2 shit all over any RE game I've finished personally. 

 

I guess for next-gen I'm looking forward to RE8, RE7 was my favourite RE ever and this being a sequel with similar themes and gameplay could be fantastic. I am a bit Resi'd out at this point though and feel like for me personally they don't resonate with me as much as they do others for one reason or another.

[Nag]

Quote

GameCentral readers discuss their favourite video game consoles, from the Sega Saturn to the current gen PlayStation 4 and Switch.

 

The subject for this week’s Hot Topic was suggested by reader Simon and inspired by the imminent start of the next generation of consoles.

 

We must’ve had almost every console ever released mentioned by someone, although we were surprised that the Mega Drive didn’t get more nods than it did, given it’s usually considered the most popular retro console in the UK.

 

[AndyKurosaki]

Probably the Super Nintendo. It had so many absolute classics, that still stand up today.

 

My least favourite would probably be the Xbox 360. Not because the games were bad, because they weren’t. But the actual console itself was total shite, reliability wise. I went through at least 6 360 consoles in its lifetime. In contrast, my day one PS4 has never let me down once.

[DANGERMAN]

My head says Dreamcast, it probably is. It was so far ahead of its time, great games, looked amazing (at the time), and it was capable of all sorts. I used it as an avi player, a Vcd player (even had a remote for it), it played Neo Geo cd games, could boot Mega Drive and Snes games from cd, it was great

 

Nowadays though I'm more likely to play the Saturn for its 2D games. I think 2D from that era has aged better, and while fighting games have moved on, that was the era of them really finding their feet, not being too basic. When I browse ebay it's generally for Saturn games, which I can't afford or justify, and as a machine it can be a bit rickerty, but it's my most played retro console easily 

[OCH]

N64 for me. It was released at the right time, formatively. Meanwhile pretty much every game we had has burned itself into even my piss poor memory ever since. 

 

As far as least favourite, I couldn't really choose one. I only ever had two games for my PSP Vita. They were Suikoden ports via PSN, so maybe that counts?

[Jimboxy]

My favourite would be between the Master System, original game boy, PlayStation and Switch. Master System was my first and where I started playing games, PlayStation was where it was cemented into a life long hobby. I probably wouldn't go back and play games on either now though. Most PlayStation games have aged pretty terribly in terms of looks and often controls. The original Game Boy was possibly my most played console, and I've always been a big fan of Nintendo hand helds. The switch is my favourite modern console mainly for the flexibility it brings and a selection of games that appeals to my current gaming habbits. (Basically, snatching a bit of time here and there)

[mfnick]

Emotionally and from the heart - definitely the Saturn. The most “right time” console for me. I absolutely adored that console even though it subjected me to a lot of abuse from the PS kids. & I was jealous of them having chipped consoles and being able to get games at £5 a pop. 
Due to it being a 2D powerhouse it does actually hold up quite well now too as @DANGERMAN said. Better than the PS and N64 IMO whose 3D focused games I find far more difficult to go back to. It is no doubt lacking in the quantity department though and to really appreciate you have to have a NTSC-J console or a modded PAL one. Otherwise the majority of the best games aren’t accessible. 
 

Actual best though. I’d say it’s between PS2 and X360. PS2 for the sheer quantity, diversity and quantity. Some of the best IPs and games of all time were created in the PS2’s lifetime.  The 360 could possibly match for quantity and quality but it took a huge dive in diversity. But this is where camera and controls were figured out which makes a big difference and helps quality go up. Can’t deny the impact having a proper console UI and online console gaming (for better and worse) made too. 
 

If I had to chose - PS2. Just can’t argue with the diversity and wealth of different titles which were on that console and quality was just high enough. 
 

Saturn still holds a really special place for me though. 

[mfnick]

Went looking at Saturn’s after this post on Ebay. Holy shit! I had no idea how much stuff had gone up by. The console and games are ridiculously expensive now. Always odd games which were pricey - I had some like Radiant Silvergun (sold for £90) and Panzer Saga (sold for £120) - but they’re in another league now  

[one-armed dwarf]

Panzer Dragoon Saga is one of the most expensive games to buy online now.

 

A reason why piracy and emulation is a necessary evil.

 

(Not that emulation is evil, stealing stuff is.)

[OCH]

I only ever had the one cousin that owned a Saturn. The two times I recall seeing it, he was playing Shining Force 3 and X-Men: CotA. Games that stuck in my head for obvious reasons. So I kind of forget it existed. Since aside from Dreamcast, we flipflopped from Nintendo to Sony machines since PSOne.

 

I know the Mega Drive collection very well from PS2. But I don't think I've ever seen one for the Saturn or Dreamcast? That would remove the need for piracy.

[mfnick]

3 hours ago, OCH said:

But I don't think I've ever seen one for the Saturn or Dreamcast?

Surprised there’s not been many, if any, Dreamcast ones.

 

But I do know the Saturn is a absolute pig to emulate. Similar to the PS3 (but even moreso) it’s got such a unique architecture and chipset it’s difficult to emulate. That’s why you don’t see Saturn collections. I think PC’s have only just reached the point where they can do it and even then it’s not 100% and you need a relatively powerful one. 
 

Ive seen some modded Saturns where they replace the disc drive with a SD card. I’m really, really tempted by one of those. Cheapest I’ve seen is £450 though and not sure if that has all the import games on it I want. Plus at that price I’d be buying it instead of a next gen console. Genuinely considering it now though. ?

[spatular]

360 for me, it’s got some of my favourites like halo and pgr, the best collection of bullet hell games, Xbox live arcade had some really cool stuff too. Ps2/4 and wii are also up there for having many great games. And I’ve got a soft spot for n64, GameCube, and Dreamcast.

[Nag]

It's probably a toss up between the original Playstation or Xbox 360 for me... on the one hand you've got FF VII and VIII plus the original Resident Evil trilogy of games which were absolute classics. On the other hand the Gears trilogy, Dead Space trilogy, Mass Effect trilogy plus the whole online play thing kicking off.

 

Actually it's the 360... no question.

[one-armed dwarf]

Toss up for PS1 or PS2 for me, classic* Final Fantasy on PS1. DMC/Onimusha/GTA on ps2. Lots of weirdass bullshit on both consoles before everything got really brown and boring in the early HD gen.

 

PS4/Xbone has been a decent runner up gen, definitely a return to form for Playstation in particular.

 

*as in 32 bit, we never got 16 bit FF over here until years later so I consider the ps1 games the classic gen for us.

[regemond]

I'm genuinely struggling here. It's either GameCube for the sheer amount of weirdness that ended up on there, or 360, which had a ridiculously strong library.

 

Mass Effect and Gears had the TPS section sorted, Halo had the FPS crown, PGR 3 and then the Forza games had racing cornered. Then you've got stuff like Eternal Sonata and Blue Dragon for anyone who wants RPGs. Want weird curios? How about Viva Pinata? I always preferred playing multi-format games on 360, too. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West was incredible. Splatterhouse and Lollipop Chainsaw were both big, dumb, piles of fun. 

 

GameCube will always hold a special place in my heart. Especially for Mario Sunshine, Double Dash and Wind Waker, but I think I've just convinced myself on 360...

[radiofloyd]

The PS1 had the FF trilogy which is the bedrock of my love for gaming, but for quality and quantity I’d have to say the PS2. I got a PS2 in 2001 and was still buying new games for it in 2009. There were early highlights like GTA Vice City and San Andreas, FFX, Kingdom Hearts, Jak and Daxter...right up to Dragon Quest VIII, the Guitar Hero trilogy...and late highlights like FFXII, Rogue Galaxy and Persona 4. And those are just the games that I played at the time they came out. I was literally playing the PS2 from my last years in primary school to my first years in college.

 

I have a soft spot for almost all of the Nintendo consoles I owned though, even the Gameboy. The Gameboy Colour was cool, the GBA SP was cool, the DS had an amazing library of games. The Wii was a lovely console that I played a small number of excellent games on, and wish I had with me here. The 3DS was kind of lame but I haven’t really given it the attention it deserves.

 

The 360 runs the PS2 fairly close - an amazing library of games. Western rpgs like Fallout 3, Fable 2, The Witcher 2, the Mass Effect trilogy, Oblivion, Skyrim... Japanese rpgs like Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey and later of course Dark Souls. Rockstar’s games didn’t have the same charm as the games that had come before but I still thoroughly enjoyed them. And then you had games like Bioshock and Fez.

 

The PS4 and Switch are both great but I couldn’t pick a console from my adult years.

[Sly Reflex]

I've said it before ages ago on the forum. It's the PS1 for me. The bridging console between my childhood and adulthood. Those long days where I was carefree are long missed, and while I might have spent more time playing games (especially recently what with the Corona), the PS1 will always have a special place in my heart.

[Nag]

4 hours ago, regemond said:

Splatterhouse and Lollipop Chainsaw

 

??

[DANGERMAN]

If I had to pick a 'clinical' best console, it'd probably be the PS2. It had, for me, a really slow start. I don't think there was an interesting game until after Devil May Cry, but I might be being harsh, or generous. It ended up having a ridiculous library, all sort of interesting games, and some absolute classics. Granted one or two were better elsewhere, but it was still great

 

The only real competition it has is the DS. The DS is probably my favourite non-Sega console, and it had some really, really good games. Great RPG, great puzzle games, great platformers, great narrative games, and an awful lot of games used the abilities of the DS in fitting and fun ways. Something that the 3DS slipped up on for me by having the 3D screen meaning the touchscreen was barely ever used because that wasn't the screen you were looking at

[OCH]

I do tend to forget about the DS (and the GBA, prior) as I had loads of great games for both.