JL> Thanks for the suggestion, but no thanks, I will stick
 JL> with the PSX version, that may not be technically as
 JL> "good" but it beats the PC version hands down in our
 JL> situation because the PSX is designed for family
 JL> entertainment. If I played the games by myself, all alone,
 JL> in a room with my head 12 inches away from
 JL> the screen, I would probably prefer
 JL> the PC version, but in our household,
 JL> we like to have the entire family join in and that makes
 JL> the family entertainment system the best choice for
 JL> us. Of course having "backseat drivers" and/or cheerleaders
 JL> can be added distractions at times 
 JL> a PC that would be bigger and better for us
 JL> than just using the home entertainment system,
 JL> but playing games, or using a computer isn't
 JL> my family's main priority in life. As a matter
 JL> of fact, buying expensive things for the
 JL> computer are not very high on the priority
 JL> list at our house, and we don't do pirated
 JL> software .
  I can see your point, so I won't bug you.  However, the PC version is 
certainly better in the technical department.  And of course, you CAN have 
people gather some seats around the computer to watch.
 JL> I still prefer going to movie theaters, even though
 JL> these days you can actually get better quality
 JL> sound and video on your home entertainment system.
  Not necessarily true!  Take the new South Keys "megaplex" theatre that just 
opened up yesterday (I went to see Alien: Ressurection, BTW; Titanic and 
Tomorrow Never Dies were sold out).  12 big, curved screens ("poor man's 
IMAX," it's been called), full digital sound, stadium seating.  Pretty nice!  
Oh, and there was an arcade (with SF Rush!  Yes!), and the floors were 
totally clean, too.  :-)
 JL> I think it has something to do with sharing the experience
 JL> with many other people that makes going to the theater
 JL> better experience for me. However, I can say that
 JL> a really good movie is good regardless of where I
 JL> view it, once drawn into the story it is really
 JL> hard to think about other things, the same is
 JL> of gameplay, if you really enjoy a game, you don't
 JL> worry so much about the technical aspects of the
 JL> hardware you are playing it on.
  Not necessarily (again).  I would say that Quake II is considerably more 
dramatic once you're using a 3D card, as opposed to the software version.  
But generally, you're right.
 JL> That is exactly how we feel, if you have time to analyse
 JL> every detail to "tell" your friends, then you really are
 JL> not enjoying the game as much as you would like to have
 JL> people think. Of course it may be is easier to
 JL> describe hardware and technical quality of the game
 JL> to others than the feelings you may have experienced
 JL> while playing a game, especially if you are playing alone.
  That's correct - it's all too easy to say "hey look, it has real-time 
shadows, coloured lighting, and 700 polys per character, all at 60 FPS!"  
Than it is to describe how it feels to play.  A good game should inspire 
semi-religious descriptions, however.  :-)
--- Maximus 3.01
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