Xmas buyer's guide: video games

BUYER'S GUIDE: Read this first.

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With Christmas fast approaching, video game consoles are likely high on the wish list for many families. How do you choose among them? That's where Gerard Campbell comes in.

So, you want to buy a games console for Christmas, but which one do you buy? Don't panic. We're here to help. Grab a cup of coffee and a gingernut (for dunking), put your feet up and get comfortable . . .

The three main current gaming consoles come from Microsoft (the Xbox 360), Sony (the PlayStation 3) and Nintendo (the Wii), and plug into your television set either using a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) cable or cables that have red, green and blue ends or yellow, red and white ends.

If you've got a relatively new LCD or plasma TV, it'll have at least one HDMI connection. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 use an HDMI connection which means you can get a high-definition picture while the Wii uses a cable with red, yellow and white ends meaning the picture is displayed in standard definition.

Game software comes either on disc, either DVD or Blu-ray, or can be downloaded to your console from the internet services offered by Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.

Sometimes you can install PS3 or Xbox 360 games straight to your console's hard disc drive (if your Xbox 360 has one. A PS3 comes with an upgradeable built-in hard-disk drive) which makes load times shorter and the game run a little smoother as the console doesn't have to read the disc as often.

Big Three Consoles

The Xbox 360 (starting from $499) is more suited to serious gamers as it probably has more games aimed at hardcore gamers than families, although that has changed with games such as Scene It! and singing game Lips.

It has a brilliant online service called Xbox Live, which lets you play online against your friends (although you have to pay a yearly fee), and as of last month, you can rent films on its Movies on Demand service (although to watch them in hi-def you'll need an all-you-can-eat broadband data plan) as well as check out your Twitter and Facebook pages using Xbox 360-specific applications. You also have a special avatar that you can customise and dress up.

Top current games for the console include Gears of War 2, Forza Motorsports 3, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Mini Ninjas (for the kids). New release Xbox games start at $120.

The PlayStation 3 ($629) was released in New Zealand in 2007. The original PS3 was a big and bulky machine (which I liked), that retailed for $1200, but now it's been put on a diet and replaced with a much slimmer, much quieter, more power efficient - and much cheaper model. Unlike the Wii and the Xbox 360, the PS3 has an built-in Blu-ray drive that lets you watch high-definition movies and also has an online service called PlayStation Network, where you can download game demos, buy items of clothing for game characters and watch game trailers.

You can browse the internet on the PS3 as well as play online games for free.

There are many games suitable for families, such as quiz game Buzz! and karaoke game Singstar, and other top games include Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, LittleBigPlanet, Killzone 2, Metal Gear Solid 4. New release PS3 games start at about $130.

Although the Nintendo Wii ($499) is the least powerful of the current generation consoles, it has found favour worldwide with families and older people thanks to its family-friendly games and its motion-sensing controllers, which you wave about mimicking tennis rackets, bowling balls, baseball bats and so on. It has a lot of games for children.

The Wii is the only current generation console that doesn't display its games in high definition but you can browse the internet, catch the news and check the weather using the console's Channel service. And you can also download old Nintendo games and small bite- sized games using Nintendo's Wiiware service.

If you plan to play multiplayer games, you'll need to acquire an extra Wii remote.

Top games on the Wii include Wii Fit, Wii Sports, Dead Space Extraction and New Super Mario Bros Wii. New release Wii games cost from $80.

Handhelds

The most popular handheld in the world is the Nintendo DS (dual screen), which has a touch-sensitive bottom screen. The original was soon updated with the DS Lite, the DSi which has two in-built cameras and software that lets you tweak photos and sound files, and a new version, the DSi LL, has just been launched in Japan that offers bigger screens and a fatter stylus.

Top games for the DS include Mario Kart DS, GTA: Chinatown Wars, Scribblenauts and Brain Training.

Sony also does a handheld, called the PlayStation Portable, which lets you play games, watch movies and listen to music. In October, Sony launched a new model of the PSP called the PSPGo, which forgoes the original PSP's disc-based software system for downloading content off the internet.

The machine is considerably smaller than the original PSP but also costs almost $500. Top games for the PSP include God of War: Chains of Olympus, Patapon, LittleBigPlant PSP and Loco Roco. New release games for handheld gamers start from about $90 (DS) and about $80 for PSP.

- © Fairfax NZ News