"This was never intended to be a gaming device."

The old PC. It's probably what you're using to read this review. It's also what you're probably using to read a FAQ on this site. It's also what you're probably using to write your 2 MB documents and presentations. It's also what you're probably using to draw a nice picture in bitmap format. But this isn't what the review is about, its about how well this multitask device actually performs in the gaming department.

External Features and Durability 2.5/10

This isn't as important to consoles (or the PC) as it is to handhelds, but your device still needs to be durable enough to withstand your little sister's colouring, smashing, throwing barbies at, and accidental tripping off the cables and dragging the monitor, keyboard, mouse, motherboard, webcam, printer, scanner, any external modems or hard drives, USB devices, and speakers with it. A standard PC would need some serious repair after such treatment.

Standard consoles are impractical to move around, but if you still want to take it to a friend's house, it is possible without much trouble, or you could just take the memory card to your friend's house if he has the console. As for computers, if your friend has no computer (highly unlikely) you'll have to take everything with you. Even if he has one, if you want to play a game on it, you'll have to install the game and go through all the trouble of transferring your save files from your PC to a storage device then to his. Don't forget that his PC specs may even be insufficient to run the game smoothly which means major load troubles and rendering problems. Highly impractical if you ask me.

Graphics and displays 9.5/10

Beautiful. This is one of the advantages of a PC. You don't need to give a damn about the HD crap the Xbox 360 and the PS3 are competing on. It's all about getting the best graphics card out there, which will make short work of the X360 and the PS3's so called "High Definition Graphics".

The size of the monitors might not make the gaming experience that good. Playing Need for Speed on a 17 inch screen is incomparable to playing the same game on a massive 60 inch TV, where 1080p resolution really shines. Nevertheless, you need to afford such a massive screen first!

Sound 10/10

I'll repeat what I said for the Graphics section here. It's essentially getting an incredible sound card and speakers, and enjoy. But again, sometimes playing with a surround system on a console gives you better gaming experience. I wouldn't say anything bad about this section.

Controls and button layouts 5/10

When it comes to RPGs, MMORPGs, and pretty much any strategy games, a keyboard and mouse layout is excellent. Unfortunately, that's it. The standard console controller beats the keyboard and mouse in pretty much every other category. Imagine Ace Combat (an air combat simulator-ish game) coming out on the PC, what will the controls be like? The arrows to Pitch up/down and Yaw left/right, the spacebar for guns, Enter for missiles, any of the letter keys for wingman commands, map, afterburners, air brakes, and switching targets, and numbers for looking up/down/left/right/back. It would distract you to look at the keyboard and try to remember what every key stands for, while it is much better to just use a controller.

You can also buy a joystick or racing wheel for the PC if you want...

Features 10/10

Please. It's a FREAKING PC. You can do EVERYTHING you want concerning software on this thing. You can view and edit pictures, listen to and edit music, you can view and edit documents, you can browse the net, you can play games (duh), you can chat with and even call your friends, and you can restart the PC 100 times just for the heck of it. All of that of course provided that you actually PURCHASED the software for the respective task you want to do.

Games Library 9/10

Got a PS2 and can't put your hands on an Xbox game? Got a GameCube and can't put your hands on Grand Theft Auto? There's a pretty damn big chance that the games you want are released on the PC. Yep. PC is considered the "neutral" side to the console wars. If you have the latest PC, you can just don't give a damn about consoles and what games are released on them as odds are that it's been released on the PC as well.

Speed and Performance N/A

I really can't give a score to this one. It depends on your PC. If you've got the latest technological marvel, you'll run every game produced on the PC since the production of the first computer very smoothly. If you've got your grandpa's PC (that's impossible by the way), you'll wait for about 2 hours before you find out that 1000 errors have occured in the stupid Windows software, then throw a motolov into the monitor out of frustration ;).

But you see, this is the problem about the PC, it needs to be constantly upgraded. This means that $500 out of your salary will be deducted on a monthly basis. If you just wait for a year without upgrading your PC, you'll be experiencing some lag times and problems with the latest games.

Multiplayer and Online 9/10

The best thing about PC gaming is online. Usually it's free which adds tons of replayability to games. There's even patches, user created mods, and hacks to further boost the game's replayability. Some of the patches can be interesting, you can for instance alter the handling of a tank to make it behave like a hot air balloon! You can even create your own mods if you want to.

As for simple Multiplayer, you'll need several computers and a LAN setup to do that. This will cost you some more and of course, is impractical if your friends don't visit you that common. As for playing on the same computer, that's impractical as well because of the lack of controls problem ;).

Price 0/10

Boo. This isn't like consoles, you pay a ****load of money once and get over it, you'll pay the same ****load every couple of months and if you don't, there will always be a lagging, underperforming game that reminds you of opening your wallet and getting the latest hardware. Meh, and they complain that the PS3 is expensive... Almost every feature, upgrade, and enchancement you get for this thing will make your wallet bleed money.

All in all, this is because this device is not dedicated for gaming, so using it in such a task will cost you an arm and a leg (you could throw in a kidney as well!).

Overall 6/10

Nope, this isn't the perfect gaming device. Well, it is, if you're Bill Gates or Oprah :). It's waaay too costly and will drain your money like no other (straight from the Sony ads). It isn't about the purchase, it is about the continuous hunger to upgrade to keep up with the advancing games. I'd rather stick to a PS3 or Xbox 360, it'll give me the good graphics, sound, online, as well as games in a single batch of $400-$600, or even a $250 Wii if you're not into the technology stuff.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 09/14/06