This is of some relevance to me as I was trying to find this out the other day possibly influencing a Ninja Gaiden Black purchase. Anyway, I looked into the issue and there was something of relevance that somewhat counters those people on here claiming it to be 'impossible' or 'requiring an entire rewrite of code' which would 'cost a fortune' etc. and so on.

From the interview I read, Halo 2 was reworked to include Gamerpoints (for PC I believe), and the interview spoke to the people that were responsible for the update about the time/effort involved. From what they said it was not particularly difficult, and only 2 people were tasked to implement achievements in the game. A simple system of opening the game files and including lines to check whether certain parameters have been met, then contacting the server. Not exhaustive at all.

Microsoft's response was along the lines that they had never intended to include GS within Xbox Originals, they wanted them to be 'pure' representations of classic games, and that was that. It very much came across as a dogmatic adherence to principle for the sake of it, rather than any particular technical difficulty or financial reason.

I believe I found the link through Kotaku, will edit if I can find it again and put it on here. EDIT: Here

I'm just chipping in here from the point of view of an owner of neither atm, but a prospective buyer getting ready to buy a system in the next few days. I have no loyalty to either side, had a PS2 but am not sticking with them just for the sake of it, just trying to weigh up the pros and cons and games library is pretty much the deciding factor for me.

PS3 - the only thing I can think I will miss from the system will be MGS4. Never been an FF fan so that's a moot point, and was so unenthralled by the 'same game, new graphics' of GT4 that I don't think I will miss GT5 terribly.

X360 - not only do I get to play what I view to be the top-notch multi-platform games such as GTA4, COD4, Assassin's Creed etc., but the exclusives I get somewhat (though not completely) fill the void left by the PS3 exclusives: I'm quite happy to give Forza a try instead of sticking to GT, I can be playing Mass Effect as opposed to FF (and I love BioWare's RPGs), I can try NG rather than God of War. Similar takes on the genre and I imagine similarly enjoyable.

Maybe I'm forgetting a few here, but the availability of many games I view to be top-notch on both systems, and the chance to play some X360 exclusives as well, for less money, is a biggy for me as a prospective buyer. I've been waiting since launch of both systems to decide, but I can't *keep* waiting for PS3 to release enough for me to feel I'm getting good value from the box. The more games I want to own, the lower the average price of the hardware becomes and that seems to work out much better on the X360 to me, though of course it's bound to be a personal thing. To me, the PS3 is a more expensive way of playing fewer games (and I'm here to have fun after all) even though I don't doubt the box is a better unit, both in power and reliability.

I just can't continue waiting in the hope that a PS3 purchase will be validated, all the while enjoying no next-gen console at all.

I don't think you'd go far wrong in working you way through Bioware's back catalogue if you say you already like Baldur's Gate. So that would be any of the following:

Baldur's Gate 2

Planescape: Torment - very good!!!

Neverwinter Nights

Neverwinter Nights 2

Or from their newer stuff, and if you fancy a change from the Dungeons & Dragons setting:

Knights of the Old Republic - highly recommended

Knights of the Old Republic 2

Jade Empire - haven't played it myself

Then there's always Diablo/Diablo 2, much more hack & slash, less engrossing story-wise, but good fun nonetheles.

I haven't played the new one, but I had the original GTR and it is by far the most 'accurate' simulation that I have played, at least in terms of recent releases (Grand Prix Legends is older but also very tough).

 The sheer variety of options is impressive, graphics are great and the learning curve can be as steep as you want.  Don't imagine you could do wrong with the new one tbh.

I'd agree with the comment above mentioning the RPGs, they often revolve heavily around engaging storylines.

The best games I've ever played have all been ones where I've been fascinated by the story and they would be:

* Baldur's Gate 1 & 2

* Deus Ex

* Morrowind (so Oblivion would count as well)

Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy, depending on your region, is also a great game.