Remember back in the day when Sega CD was released? Do you remember when CGI first came about in videogames long after the Last Starfighter film? Well games were great back then, esp Cyberia, Shellshock, FF7 and a few others to name the least. Even 10 years ago, games now have not become as great as we thought they would be. For instance, the reality check or the slow pace of technology proves its art style and effects move fast way ahead of the games back then except its CGI literally stays the same. CGI in games 15 years ago are still not incorporated in gameplay today. The polys in cgi film far surpass realtime thats why movies look so great, and mimic reality (final fantasy film and cgi cutscenes being the perfect example). The first time I saw the possibility of cgi in games was Shenmue. Thank god for realtime, Shenmue alone is enough to prove realtime is heading if not already in that direction. Sony would be a perfect candidate, with unusual cinematic effects only possible on their console (mgs rain effects, ps2 blur and particle effects + excellent realtime). The old games have more polys even today, except they look horrid in low resolutions. Our ps3s and 360s might just have to wait another ten years, so howabout ps4 or 720 anyone? Well anyways, CGI used to ruin the experience, almost as if you were playing a different game so it is never favored over realtime anyways at least by most gamers. To actually have cgi gameplay is a must though. 80 million pps yes...5-800 million ppf? Not quite but almost there.

As far as game browsers go, I reccomend Ps3, DS, Dreamcast, Wii and of course PC. For which ones to use best, there are many. I will start with Dreamcast. Dreamcast came out with its own sega browsers for Planetweb.com and they were modified with ones like Dreamkey and Planetweb. The best one is a combo of every browser with a sleek new interface called XDP. The PC has a specialized version that acts like a gamer's browser called Opera. DS has its own Opera gaming browser except it costs money. Sony's customized Psp and Ps3's Netfront browser is by far the best privatized browser next to PC O/S for software updates (firmware). 360 is the best customizable browser if you transfer a simple windows media center file (except its the only browser not usb/ps2 mouse compatible plus you need the new Xbox NXE interface + windows MCE o/s or greater). It is convenient and reccomended for HD-tv web browsing. Google Chrome can be nice in HD, if you want to risk cookies but its the fastest browser out. Safari is the best for navigating through pages. Like firefox, Macintosh Apple and Wii is all around easy to use and not hard to configure. Any windows or linux hardware can be used on ps2 and xbox. Ubuntu is the best all around for easy use in Linux (plus like ps3 linux os no viruses). PC browsers are only really different because of...well...editing tools. Any business machine commercially used for programming is a threat to your safety so it is always rec to configure security settings and system properties. To avoid problems, Pcs and Macs need to be configured for firewall, malware and virus programs because they run on open networks or explorers connected all the time to their o/s.;)

Update New IE for Xbox 360 release: Although I like Dreamcast ALOT in terms of technology, nothing in the sixth gen comes close

to the seventh gen's art style. Dreamcast is good, but ps3 xbox360 is better, me having the ability to log on emails, and update blogs tells me this. Both browsers are extremely fast, and avoids those linux issues which dc, ps2 and xbox had. Have not played DS browsers but i heard they were like pdas. Its always good to have the internet, and with the coming eight gen, the internet will be a standard information gateway to all types of comercial products...and like the console, hopefully spyware proof someday.

I recently bought the 360 vga adapter after reading from numerous sources that it was native vga. This is a straight out lie, like last gen's output adapters, 360/ps3 use component signals or simply converts the analog vga outlet. It is analog not vga, which proves my theory right. The Dreamcast vga invented HD tvs. Its signal is not analog it is completly native res, with what seems to be HD-TV perfect resolutions. The 360's horrid component signal(in 480p) is marketed as native except it is not. The port has no vga built signal so no monitor cable will work, except component for which it was built (which is why it looks so bright and blocky). It is just an analog signal, any idiot can see this at 640X480, 480p or watever res with AA and light colors screaming analog. I am sure ps3 is the same way due to its heavy manufacturing costs. Dreamcast is the only true vga signal at 480p. Once more, I recommend Dreamcast, Still thinking.9-9-99 through 9-9-09. Happy missed aniversary as well.

Reccomendations: Upscaling is now a fact. People didnt notice this on PCs (after dvi which imo is much better than direct vga because it doesnt upscale) and now is used on 360 (not to be confused with pixel meshing or bluring, eg scaling textures within textures...no...consoles cant do that unless upscaled or developed that way). Upscaling helps AA problems but thats about it, it is used widely on Dreamcast or PC to HDtv, which is okay if your PC matches the output. Dreamcast, and custom PCs on the other hand will not need it. Dreamcast uses 640 so if the res is upscaled it will appear bland like a component signal. The best solution here is to get an vga-to-HDMI 50 dollar converter or a DVI one if they have it (DVI is tricky, it needs res adjustments to a particular brand of tv eg 480p to the native res signal so PC is the best bet or beware adjustments in res with your device). pc is best when used with a component converter, albeit 360 and ps3 are fit for custom tvs (eg ps3 on sony's hdtv gives 1080p a fuzzy effect, whilst 360 gives it a better effect than 720p somehow? due to darkening the paneling of a large screen, some manufactureres may indeed use different plasma lighting methods, ie dark is better for large environments, and @ the same time shuns effects see tv comparisons and tests). Gamecube and xbox has component-to-hd converters as well. On consoles like Ps2, upscaling is not necessary, because playstation 2 lacks AA (eg vertex shaders, triangles etc) unless with developed but rare 1080p games (here is the trick, they upscale on ps3 to make it 'look' like no AA problems appear on a ps2 game. Stuff we already know like 640p results in 480p res (not really noticable on diamond 'ctr like' bulb screen hdmi tvs). Component upscaling will still show AA, the best bet is S-video for picture quality. Also color bleeding is a common problem on ps2 except for maybe plasma tvs. Ps3, Xbox 360 and PC def lead in HD quality followed by Dreamcast, Xbox and Gamecube and finally ps2 and n64. Most if not all converters except for maybe vga dreamcast will scale just a little or alot depending on the input eg svideo, component than vga, to mach the pixel on your HD. Note: certain games, as mentioned will not work in vga for dc, or have the right colors or do they use svideo-to-component (converters usually can upscale to 720 only or they may need to downscale unlike component-to-hdmi converters sadly eg rgb color conversions vs a cable signal) and this problem still occurs on xbox 360 games (eg too much green, lazy dev lack using AA). There you have it...Sixth and 7th gen reccomendations.

Tip: Here is a pro tip from hardcore gamers on setups. HD-Tv is always perfered at a 720p hi res for xbox 360. Ps3 may be the same deal except most of its games only work at 720p anyways. If a game like Batman AA for example is at 1080p, or some monitor res, its textures diminish and are flattened. No linen will be seen, so it gives the illusion that the game is not made for HD-tv, but any format at any res when that is not truly the case. 480 is an analog signal so dont even touch that! Quality over quantity is waht i always say, the 720 res textures are flattened when scaled to 1080p. Unless the game is built or programmed for it, stay away! Xbox 360 is truly customizable, except sometimes best left untouched. Any gamer will tell you this.

Tests

Emulators are bad because of the hardware involved. As you know PCs run on specific hardware that transfer well. They evolved as business machines and will stay that way. When graphics are emulated they need the EXACT hardware. This does not transfer well with dreamcast being one example. The Dreamcast runs its hardware with A 12X CDROM. This alone fails to create the most fluid graphics no matter how fast your computer is. The RPM rotates too fast. This creates uneeded bumps in framerate and glitchy hardware effects evident in games like aerowings 2. Harddrives move the gdrom too fast, not to mention the OS is running the graphics all together. Being that said, the O/S is the second mistake. Emulators dont transfer 3d polys well and cant mimic processors. Thats why you see glitches in 3d games on psone, dc, SNES emulators like no shadows etc. They are simply different Gpu graphix manufacturers. The OS simply cant mimic the processor. Win CE on the Dreamcast works the same way as does the sega O/S to an nes snes bleemcast emulator. Bleemcast actually being better because it runs from a CD. From what ive heard Consoles can, PCs cant (from my experience the epsxe Psone emu scratched up both of my 80 dollar ff7 games with possibly too fast hardware being the culprit). Quake I being the only sucessfully emulated game because it was built on the hardware by the publisher for free, so it was kind of cheating:) Like how 360 excels in texture and ps3 in physics/memory the dreamcast excels in hardware (and much more efficience in loading software from the cd than pcs) all together being at the right place in the right time.

Reccomendations

As for consoles, as mentioned, I managed to ruin a 60 dollar psone game, ffx7 because of it, not to name names, but psexe scratches the cds. So I cant even trust emulators unless transfered to the harddrive. Xbox is a different story. Not only can it run mugen, have usb controllers that are comfortable, but it can run emulators on PC/Linux fluidly! If you install linux, ubuntu or whatever, play native video card games like quake 3 or better yet the customized twisted metal 2 on it or a ps2/ps3 windows xp O/S then all that effort to installing it will def. be worth it (note ps2 needs a seagate harddrive of course). Games like tm2 were downgraded ports made for this stuff because they use no video card support and are made to play great on low-grade machines. Doom, quake and open source games are also a valid exception. All in all emulators will always be good for video recording, or quick gameplay try outs ala why the PSP was really made, for DOSbox (an emulator which emulates old shareware games on xp/linux) not Dreamcast emulators. So basically consoles like PSP are the most superior emulating console to date also being widely compatible with open source. Dreamcast and xbox are reccomended for old school gaming while PC is superior in every way but not gaurenteed:P. Not reccomended for avid gamers who want to play through a game fluidly and safely. If you are new to this field, Check out DCemulation or emulationzone.com to get started. Start with popular 16 bit emulators such as kgen or zsnes. 32-bit 64 genre tend to run fast as well. The faster the console the slower the emulation and more unique the hardware, sixth generation consoles are not reccomended, unless you have state-of-the art hardware and like to avoid glitches.

360 has horrible hd problems when in HD depending on the environments and colors. Because games have such emerse environments now and complex functions you will notice this. For instance Motogp on 360 switches from a hd colorful environment to a noncolorful one or a brightly colored one (mixed greens with dark shadows and dark blue sky). In fact, diminshing the graphics quality almost in half as if you are playing a new game with a cartoony effect (evident in lush green environments). Apparently, this is a problem for HD owners, who get good games like halo 3 or gta4 and mediocre ones who sometimes ruin emersion like motogp, an AA game except for its extreme modes making the game too long (see below). A worry for 360 owners looking for good third party arcade titles. 360/ps3 both being = in terms of HD, both actually being better true hd denotes the fact they both run on vga. The developers of AA games on ps3 find a way out of this. Sometimes games dont make the graphix, graphix make the game.

DVDs in console are another story, Ps2 being the best quality with a component cable since its release, surpassing xbox original because of its dark levels. The image and quality of its cgi cutscenes are unsurmounted. Sony is def a console to consider in terms of long gameplay, storyboards or rpg gaming. Xbox 360 and Ps3 take this one though because of hdmi.

Fanboyism defined: The 360's x-bot status comes from arcade games becoming too long, and easy to play. 120 hr repetative games become small good games and large bad bonus games in one reducing the term, imo, to an unfair biased fanboy slang because it is also loud. 360 has a future to private game owners as well like gran turismo (or in fanboy slang Gay Time), and needs to make AAA games in par with its sports titles (which are better than ps3). All it really needs is artfully crafted franchises which use an environment base like killzone 2 possibly a new unreal game? Not being far from ps3 maybe even better in textures, the graphics in a few years will probably be reduced to comparisons of in-game engine physics. It all depends really, fun games or fun games...made differently?!? Long easy gameplay vs good gameplay. Gpu vs Cpu same same. Who knows.

Added: Aesthetically it works well, racially not. I think it is fun to poke fun at aesthetics but when you demeen hard work it kind of feels ridiculous. For instance the proclaimed barbeque grill is subsequently easy to see, because its huge, and the xbot is kind of wierd except it really is loud. BUT..When fanboys judge graphics, or things they personally don't like about the system that everybody else likes thats kind of like racism, hate or just going against the grain. For instance, 'xbox 360 is for f@gs' or 'Batman Arkham Asylum looks plastic.' No its not, everyone plays it, and it looks plastic because we dont have star trek technology yet. Other systems in different gens get the same treatment from xbox's size to ps2's weak design. You could blame it all on the classic sega cd combo. Although some don't, redesigning is good for what its made for. Whether it be console or controller. it doesnt really denote the system's capabilities in anyway so its not important...to me anyways.

Dreamcast HD: Hd converters or complex transcoders reccomended for dreamcast systems and not ps2. Ps2 has no AA so it looks horrible in component, native vga and hd even though both are standard 480p. It gives us the Grain effect seen in there psone and ps2 console. The colors are enhanced in s-video, and diminished in HD giving it a flat texture feel + grain. The hd converters are useful because they create emersive environments in games which much need it such as blue stinger, trickstyle, doa and sonic. Games which dont need it are sega gt so like xbox 360 and ps3 it depends on the colors of the environment for hd emersion. AA on HD is a problem for new consoles even today where HD is not all about res as much about colors where 480 720 or 1080 dont make a noticable difference. Thankfully, most HD tvs have a vga output though so its better getting a PC out instead, although this is cheating. It makes the video colors look like component rather than hd because usually its upscaled ala the new gen xbox 360 effect.

Quick note: This is a given to tube televisions which mimic HD I personally call HDMI, most HD televisions will not function well in 640x480, often scaling or reducing the effects. HDMI tvs are good for 640x480, with of course the 50 dollar hd converter except bad for 720p, or native hd signals. It doesn't scale the images or reduce it like plasma does in 640x480p but make the graphics of 480p unnoticable (plasma has it scaled, usually discolored). In 720p on hdmi, you will see texture scaling or what I call no ability to see the bump mapping on the visuals and up-close textures (for xbox 360 this is a must). I have tested this on 3 tvs standard vizio, sony plasma, and another plasma i cannot recall at the moment (sanyo maybe?). As for xbox 360 1080p is the best choice with preference over quality...on a sony plasma which exceeds 40 inches because scaling does not effect the textures noticably than that. The native black levels, Aliasing and sharpness will be reduced at a cost of textures (reduced glare, shiny texture bp, loss of visible up close textures). Textures on games, as mentioned in one of my articles, effects the gleaming aspect, bump-mappingand sharpness of non-scaling. I prefer 720p because of this technical advantage unless games are truly made for 1080p (time to change the box insignia...any day now), very noticable in capcom and sega games. This problem can be alleviated by testing brands, eg lcd plasma, or other etc. I Reccomend older models of plasma which only use 720p to 480p. I use a diamond tube hdmi. Monitor quality Dreamcast on HDTV? Check. Well, see yah.

Copying games?

The best console to copy games are Ps2 and Dreamcast. Ps2 has an HD loader, while Dreamcast has CDrs to buy. The Ps2 is probably the best because the HD Loader lets you install any game. The Dreamcast can be good except not for the long run (if you are a game renter). Cartridge based Emulation is nice for the old school consoles and N64, except good to try and buy only, like the dreamcast or psone using cheap cdrs that dont copy correctly. They often glitch up, the cartridge aspect of N64 with unique graphics on emulators poses problems with 3d glitches. Most programs like Imageburn or Alcohol 120 are the best for this. I managed to copy about 100 games in the course of a month on Dreamcast using sites like DCisozone. Xbox, Psones and the new gens might need mods is what I heard, except Im not too sure. For the most part Dreamcast games are easily copyable and most commonly piratable. Low sound quality means no loud volume sound or base for that vga adapter hooked up to your surround sound system. The only really flaws I can think of is unnecessary reboots and freezes due to sound/video compression and graphics ommission ala 1.2 or something gdroms utilizing 700-800 megs cdr of data. On other game systems which I have once owned including gamecube and xbox 360, I am not too familar with mods. They are expensive and risky. I have never modded a console, although I heard its very beneficial in the long run.

Dreamcast CD-rs: Dreamcast reads cdrs twice as slow (long loadtimes@ 6x) and has missing content like music and cutscenes. Dreamcast CDrs are actually good, except it matters on which brand you buy. If you buy a brand, with the newer models, they read the cdrs faster and break the whole thing (games end up not booting or reading correctly). Sometimes the lazer passes twice instead of once, creating a ring effect, othertimes the cdr make create inaccurate results. The standard cdr by your drives manufacturer work best. Beware of cheap manufactured cdrs (usually with no labels) which create film tear as well. For instance, TDK for tdk drives, and Memorex for Memorex ones. fujifilm cdrs are easily the best universal cdr company you can find, durable, long lasting, and hard plastic make the film not deteriorate so easily, the same goes for rewritable dvdrs (which never work out too great anyways eg akward copy write errors such as for making rar files or back ups). CDRs can easily deteriote as well. Because of these flaws, and the ones formentioned well made Cdrs are reccomended ONLY for unreleased games such as Halflife and propeller online. The settings have always been Raw Tao at the lowest writing speed, except it can burn at a high one too. Burn n' try instead of earn and buy is what I always say ala disc juggler, a120, nero or imageburn. Programs without these settings are not reccomended. 800 meg cdrs dont work too great either in terms of readibility for the Dreamcast at least (most often over use leads to rings ala xbox 360). Gdroms can hold games like soa 2 easily. Upgrades and homebrew were very much so reccomended. Sometimes mvc2 conversions in music are most fun to play, othertimes you got faulty features but games like quake III were online ready and in tact. Usually dc copying results in laser lens reduction, because it puts a strain on the optical lens and motor. This is seen in most psone systems where the lens drops into the bay gradually until the cd is unreadable although the number one cause is age and moving the consoles. New consoles arent meant for mobility. Dreamcast copying is useful for games to be tested, played briefly, or backed up. What most people don't know is that it takes experience to notice problems with the Dreamcast. Its a really well built console actually. The laser lens screws are usually supposed to be fitted loosely in order to not hold the lens down. Fanboys who open up there console probably notice it does not create the upside down effect as its supposed to this way. The best solution is to print out the case design and line up the sticker with the printers as well. The end result will be advantageous to any game.