Likes - reliable system, cheap, attractive enough for new users to want to try it

Dislikes - piss poor online structure, few online games, lack of serious plot-driven games, awkward controls for several games

If they weren't complaining about it, it seems you've reopened this wound. Your argument could be said of Halo, Madden, Tekken, so on and so on.

It's a Zelda game. It has a barely sensible plot, molded with the same, "You must save the world" plot that Nintendo keeps hashing. The thrill are the dungeons and I suppose a remembrance of past games.

Scores are opinions. Some people give Tony Hawks 10s and Gears of Wars 1.0. And they can.

Live has so many things over Wii Connect. Medal of Honor Heroes 2, which sports 32 players on the Wii had less than 100 players total when I logged into it yesterday, compared to thousands I play on CoD4. Live has voice communication, friend notifications and so on. It also has more games that are online. Of course, who knows what will happen when SSBB is released.

As for PSN... never tried it. I suppose the top 3 are Warhawk, Resistance and CoD4. I'd love to try Warhawk.

To those who read this thread, Killer7 must be played. Style, story and characters, amazing.

Anyway, I'm going to get this game, despite me not owning a Wii. That's where friends come in.

I consider this an odd futuristic interpretation of Shadow of the Colossus.

Actually, if you try to illegally enter Mexico, THEIR guards will shoot you.

CoD5? What's wrong with 4? If anything, expand multiplayer some more with more perks, counters to perks, blah, blah. Perhaps use a country that's fighting against America for once.

There's Arcade for $270, Premium for $350 and Elite for $450. The premium and elite will come with 2 free games: forza 2 and marvel ultimate alliance.

There are still problems with the xbox, but so far, the one I bought on Oct. 30 is fine. It was manufactured on august 24.

As for feeling comfortable... I do feel comfortable. It's not as precise as a mouse, but you have to remember that EVERYONE uses the controller.

Happy family games? Guitar Hero, Viva Pinata (although that would scare some people), Katamari something, Scene it, bomberman live... I'll be honest, the 360 is not really a family machine. Go for the Wii, if that's the top priority.

I assume it's between Xbox 360 and Wii.

My friend has a Wii and the only game that amazes me right now is Mario Galaxy. The online is piss poor and the game with the "best" online features, medal of honor 2, is extremely hard to control.

I have an xbox, no breakdowns. I got the 2 free games, picked up chrome hounds and got bioshock and call of duty. Call of duty is an amazing multiplayer game. Bioshock has a great story. With the Xbox, you are getting mature plots and the best online gaming.

Wii: new people who are curious

Xbox: games with deep plots and robust online structure

If this is really a family gift, go for a wii. It's really open to anyone. It's just that because it's so easy and such, it's shallow. Deep stories like Bioshock or Mass Effect? Eh. Intense CoD4 multiplayer? Blah.

You know what actually? If your parents are those types who just say "this is neat" and never play the system again, you might as well get a 360, because you know you will play it. If you want to play with parents, perhaps try board games. It's a lot more social and it includes everyone.

Imprecise control scheme? I guess RE4 fixed that. Oh wait, RE4 ALSO uses tank controls. So what was that again?

The aiming changed, but I wouldn't say improved. It changed to fit the game style that RE4 has. REmake focuses on dealing with the enemy and moving on. That's why there's only 3 areas of the enemy to aim at: head, torso or legs. RE4 is manual because that's the entire point of the game: combat.

Camera angles... this is the key difference. Backgrounds hide enemies at times and areas as well. However the trade-off is that RE1 looks much better than RE4 with its scenary. I'm fine with either way.

It all comes down to preference. Do we want a game where you solve carefully planned puzzles? Or do we want a game where we spend our time mowing down hordes of stupid and easy enemies? One of these styles currently floods the market.

You said you wanted both a solid single and multiplayer game...

I know games that excel in one of the two aspects. However, one game that does well in both, that was recently released is The Orange Box.

On the singleplayer front, you have 4 games. Half-Life 2, Episode 1, Ep2 and Portal. These should keep your singleplayer satisfied. The Half-Lifes are about you as a scientist trying to liberate a city that's controlled by aliens. You mainly play by yourself, without CPU allies. If you've played HL1, you'll understand. Portal is a puzzle game that has you figure things out by using the portal. So you get adventure games and a puzzle game.

For multiplayer, there is Team Fortress 2. In this game, you choose between 9 classes to kill the other team, or steal their flag. You'll spend time mastering each class, working out combos and figuring the maps out. It's deeper than some other shooters, because each class has a weakness and strength.

So for a complete package, I'd say Orange Box fits the bill.

However, if you are me, I'd rather get games that focus on one of the aspects than both. I got the 360 for Live and the top game is CoD4 at the moment. So if you'd rather just get multiplayer, I highly suggest CoD4.