A Reviewer's Dilemma

Posted on March 13, 2002

Written by Jeremy Pallant - jpallant@yahoo.com

Every so often a reviewer has the delightful task of trading in games they have reviewed and did not care for in favor of a game they have not received for review, but wish to play anyway. The store I have used most often for this purpose is the Electronics Boutique in Tucson Mall. Last year I estimate I traded in fully half the games I reviewed. This included such lemons as Army Men: Green Rogue, WDL: War Jetz, and Rune: Viking Warrior, all of them for the PlayStation 2.

Not all games we receive are lemons, however, and occasionally, just occasionally we may get two versions of the same game for different console. As I write this, I faced just such a dialemma. Having reviewed XGIII: Extreme G Racing for the PlayStation 2, I was sent a copy of the same game for the GameCube so that I could do a comparison. Unfortunately the website I was writing for closed down abruptly. Just before the close-down I had written a review of Max Payne for the PlayStation 2. When recently I purchased an XBox, I made sure to acquire a copy of Max Payne for that console with the specific intention of doing a comparison. Purely for my own edification, mind you, though readers of this little essay may benefit from my observations.

So, I had duplicate copies of two excellent games. Which to keep, which to discard?

Let us examine XGIII: Extreme G Racing first. Graphically speaking, there is nothing to choose between the two of them. I mean absolutely nothing. When connected up to my XGB-2 Upscan Converter so that I can view the games on a 21" VGA monitor, I can switch between the S-Video input from the GameCube and the Japanese RGB input from the PlayStation 2. Despite the theoretical advantage RGB has over S-Video, I really can't tell which game is which. Seriously. No difference.

How about gameplay? Well, the GameCube version may be slightly more forgiving. If I were to attempt to characterize the reason for this, it seems as though the bikes may be a bit heavier than those on the PlayStation 2, though an argument could be made that I am misinterpreting the difference in controllers. Still, there's one minor advantage in favor of the GameCube. The deciding factor, however, turned out to be boot and load times. Here Nintendo's console absolutely kicks Sony's derriere. The GameCube is well known for its stellar loading times, and XGIII is no exception. My decision was, therefore, to trade in the PS2 version.

Then there's Max Payne. This is a simply superb game on both the PS2 and XBox. The decision this time around was a little harder however. Both versions have their good points and their bad points. Comparing the two, I particularly like the PlayStation 2's save system. Once you have completed a game you can return to any of the automatic save points and replay and section. This isn't possible with the XBox, though to counter this, the XBox version has a save anywhere feature, an undeniably useful facility that makes it far easier to get through the game.

The deciding factors, though, are the graphics and the gameplay. Though the two games are very similar, a careful study of the versions benefits the XBox. It has better anti-aliasing for starters, and I think some of the textures, especially on the character models, are higher resolution with more detail. Additionally, bullet tracks in Bullet Time, Shoot Dodging and cinematic kills are better defined. Also blood mist effects, when a round impacts an opponent's body are better on the XBox.

Frame-rate also plays a part. I get the feeling that the PlayStation 2 version is pushing the current capabilities of the console and as a consequence suffers from occasional slowdown and stagger, the latter when doing a fast pan of the environment. The XBox isn't flawless, but the graphics are definitely smoother with such issues being of a considerably lesser degree, though still present on occasion.

Much to my surprise, I find that I now prefer the XBox controller for playing Max Payne. I have been a critic of the massive Dreamcast-derived monstrosity, yet I seem to be getting used to it, I still think holding it is like having a lemon in each hand, and it may well be that I am misinterpreting the improved graphics and frame-rate for improved control, but playing the two side-by-side clearly show me that my reaction times are better with the XBox.

Based on these factors then, I will be trading in the PlayStation 2 version.

In conclusion, if you have a PlayStation 2 and a GameCube, get the latter version of XGIII: Extreme G Racing. Regardless, it is a worthwhile purchase for either console. The same comment can be made about Max Payne, though if you have a PS2 and an XBox, I am forced to recommend the XBox version.