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[Alf Hari]

For my money, I'd rather go with the PS3. I've got a PSX and PS2, so brand loyalty has something to do with it. I'm not sure if Microsoft has Halo 3 in the works, but I reckon the new Killzone title for the PS3 will seriosly compete with it.

Considering that the original Killzone is awesome, and there are rumours of another one on the PS2 before the jump to PS3, they should be able to step it up to make a really good game. I don't have online play for my PS2, but I heard that it was free compared to the X-Box Live. If they make PS3 online play free, and good, it will give another reason for buying that console.

As for PC games, I'll still play them. However, it can be costly to upgrade a whole computer as compared to buying a new console every five years. With a console, you get a set of games that you know will work perfectly on your hardware, and the games companies can spend lots of time optimising their code for the platform because they are all the same, creating a better game.

However, a PC is good for some games, and consoles for others. Crimson Skies is a good example of designing different games for different platforms. A while after the original Crimson Skies came out on PC, I bought it and played it to death. I think it is one of the most easily playable games on PC I've seen. This is because I have an old two-axis two-button joystick to play it with, and a whole set of keyboard buttons for throttle controls and weapons selections. This meant I could keep playing the game until I got really good at the complicated style to it.

When the Crimson Skies game was released on the X-Box, I played it and thought it was good, even though the game was completely changed. Practically, it was a different game. I still liked it though, but for different reasons. The gameplay was 'dumbed down' to make it more arcade, and to suit the X-Box controller, so the game ended up being a more action-packed console title. Anyway, since it was limited to a few buttons and two tiny joysticks, it played with more button-mashing and was the sort of game you could play with other people. The PC version was better single-player and had more in-depth controls like a flight-sim.

So it all depends on what sort of gameplay you prefer - there's nothing against having both a console and a PC (you probably need to have spare money to throw away though).