Rage against the (console) machine

Over the past week, I’ve done something I’ve never done before: played a new video game before it’s released to the general public on a console, rather than a PC. And part of me hopes I never have to do it again.

Don’t get me wrong: That has nothing to do with the game itself: id Software’s Rage, which was released on Tuesday to mixed-to-positive reviews. True, I wasn’t enormously enamored of it, but being paid to play games is fun in any event, and being able to do so before there’s a ton of information (both the regular and the mis- kind) floating around out there is thrilling. That I’d do again in a heartbeat. (You hear me, Bethesda? Skyrim is coming up…)

It’s the “play it on a console” part I’m not so ja ed about repeating.

Though my focus has always been on PC gaming, I’m no stranger to dedicated home video game consoles. I owned an Atari 2600 mumblemumble years ago, and eventually graduated to playing others, including the original NES, the SNES, the Sega Saturn and the Sega Dreamcast (I’ve had good luck picking them, don’t I?), and the more recent Nintendo Wii. But this time I was settling down with an Xbox 360, which I’d previously used only on isolated occasions (though I do have a controller for use on my home Windows box), and never before with a deadline looming.

I discovered right away the frustration in having to install all three discs to the Xbox’s hard drive, just to get the strongest performance. Bethesda recommended this, so I felt I had to oblige, but it was a time-consuming process; once upon a time, nothaving to flip discs or install games were things that made consoles more attractive than PCs for gaming purposes. When I finally got into the game itself, I was shocked at the quality of the graphics. Not the design, mind you — the ramshackle Firefly science fiction-meets-Old West-meets scrapheap look was, for the most part, shrewdly implemented. But the sharper lines and more defined colors I’m used to weren’t there. (And don’t get me started on the anti-aliasing — or the relative lack thereof.) Then there were the scrunched-together controls and oddly long saving and loading times…

Grab that hunk of plastic

People are actually able to put up with this? Yes, apparently they are. In August, the International Data Corporation reported that the already robust sales of game console hardware and software will reach $39.7 billion worldwide by 2015, at which point there will be approximately 257 million active consoles. Practically every time I have a meeting with AMD or Nvidia reps about a new video card or some other computer-oriented graphics technology, they always show me border-busting charts proving that PC gaming isn’t just alive and well, but that it’s the next big Next Big thing. Maybe it is, but one thing’s for sure: Consoles aren’t going away anytime soon.

I think the reason for this boils down to two letters: TV. Aside from the issue of screen si e (which I won’t discount, though it matters more to other people than it does to me), having easy, instant access to cable — and being able to switch between it and the game you’re playing with just the press of a button — is a huge benefit and convenience. Beyond that, the console experience seems a natural extension of television watching, with the sitting positions, the access to snacks and drinks, and even the remote control-game controller relationship all very much the same.

Bed sores

On the PC, things aren’t quite so simple. If you want the biggest visuals you can get and generally the highest frame rates, you have to go full screen, and that means neglecting whatever else you may be doing. Then there’s the matter of comfort: Unless your living room is laid out very efficiently, and you have the right kind of controllers, or you’re playing on a laptop (which introduces a whole new collection of headaches), you’re not going to be able to game from the sofa. And I’ve yet to find a computer chair anywhere near as comfortable as one of those. (Do you know of one? Leave a comment below — please!)

Otherwise, PC gaming is much sleeker and more satisfying, in ways that wouldn’t have been thought possible even 10 or 15 years ago. PC graphics technology has gotten a lot better and consoles’ improvement has normali ed. Now, all it takes is a solid gaming video card to surpass consoles in terms of graphic detail — we’re not talking an AMD Radeon HD 6990 or an Nvidia GTX 590 here, though those are mighty nice — and you can tweak countless little settings to find your perfect blend of quality and performance. (This is a weak point for Rage right now, by the way, but things are reportedly improving.)

The keyboard-mouse combo offers do ens more interaction possibilities than a single cramped controller, even one the console manufacturer has packed with buttons, and you can customi e your peripherals and preferences more easily than you can with a console. Chances are, your computer is also already connected to the Internet, something that is still far from a given in terms of TVs, and that instantly improves and simplifies a game’s multiplayer and DLC aspects.

Then there’s the matter of game purchase and download services like Steam and Origin that offer quicker and more sensible access to your full library of games — on a computer hard drive that will have more trouble running out of space than the one on your Xbox or PlayStation 3. Get stuck along the way? Momentarily Alt-Tabbing to Windows and hitting GameFAQs.com – or whatever your favorite site is — is a snap. (Uh, not that I’d ever do this.)

Was there anything I preferred about the console version of Rage? Sure. The driving sections — and there many of them — were much less confounding with the Xbox’s dual control sticks than with the PC’s WASD movement keys. But in every other way Rage on the PC was a better-looking, faster-loading, more connected game. I have no regrets about the time I spent with consoles in my youth. But thanks, Bethesda, for helping me learn once and for all that if the choice is between a console and a PC version of the same game, the latter is likely to be the better bet.

Rage against the (console) machine