I recently had a discussion with a friend about whether or not I thought the Wii was any better/not better then the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

His main argument revolved around the Wii being more of a novelty then a serious game machine, because when he sits and plays games, he would rather SIT and play games then have to move around, and most "Hardcore" gamers would feel the same way.

I have a different theory (warning: Random thought processes ahead.)

There are two types of "Hardcore" gamers

1). The gamer who enjoys playing alot of games and trying out different things to keep themselves interested. Usually spends alot of time playing, but takes a long time to finish an individual game because he/she can't stay interested long enough in one sitting.

2). The gamer who gets so entranced by one game that he/she can't pull themselves away from the screen for anything, including but not limited to eating and bathroom breaks (Fox news reported on a couple guilty of this. This person usually beats the game quickly, then beats it 7 more times to find every secret in the game.

If you don't fit into either of these catagories, you're probably not a "Hardcore" gamer. Sorry.

I think the Wii caters more to the first type of hardcore, which might be considered more "Casual Hardcore". The Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 cater more to the second type of player.

If anyone else has better definitions, or has an opinion about any of this, I want to hear it.

I've played World of Warcraft for a couple years now, but not very often. Which is probably why I don't have any maxed out characters right now. But hopefully that's going to change, because today a new patch (patch 2.3 for those who care) is going to lower the experience needed for each level by a good amount and raise the amount of experiance gained for turning in quests by another good amount. Yippee! Maybe I can actually pay attention to this game long enough to level to 70 now (so many games, so little time). I'll have to write about the changes after I've actually seen them. Anyone else playing WOW right now that has an opinion about this, good or bad?

It's almost that time of year again. After we're all done stuffing ourselves in typical Thanksgiving fashion, it's time to start thinking towards the next big occasion....Christmas. For the non-gamers out there looking for gift ideas for the gamer in their life, I've made a list of some games to look for:

The Simpsons Game (Wii, Xbox360, Playstation 3 and 2)
This game looks like a lot of fun. Some reviews I’ve read say the gameplay isn’t anything to write home about, but the storyline and graphics are enough to make me want to play it. The Simpsons game looks like an all around fun game for anyone.

Guitar hero 3 (Wii, Xbox360, Playstation 3 and 2)
Guitar Hero has been a favorite of mine for a while now, and part 3 has a very good tracklist, with some awesome rock songs such as Metallica’s “One” and KISS’s “I wanna Rock’n Roll all Night” . If you’ve never played it but would like to, keep in mind you’re going to need to buy the guitar bundle, which runs around one hundred dollars for all systems.

Rock Band (Xbox360, Playstation 3 and 2)
Same game as Guitar hero, but with a drumset and microphone. This game looks like it’ll be fun long after Guitar Hero leaves my hands broken and useless. The track list is pretty extensive, and the xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions are going to downloadable tracks available shortly after the game is released, which means there should always be something new out there for the diehard Rock band fanatics!

Call of Duty 4 (Xbox and PS3)
The cinematic trailers and gameplay vids I’ve seen make this game seem really enticing. I would think twice before buying a game like this for any child under 16, but for those who like realistic action and fast paced war games, this is gonna be a winner.

Super Mario galaxy (Wii)
Every Nintendo system made has had it’s “Mario” game, and anyone who has played through those should remember them as some of the best games made for it’s system. This game should be great for gamers any age, thought from the looks of gameplay videos I’ve seen it may be a bit confusing for the really young. I defently need this game.

Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction (Playstation 3)
The Ratchet and Clank series has been good in the past, and this one seems to be just as fun. More of a cartoon style game, smaller children usually enjoy this game for awhile, but the puzzles could be a bit challenging for that age group (of course, that depends on the child).

On a budget, or don’t need the latest and greatest? These past games received really good reviews and are a sure fire hit.

Halo 3 (Xbox 360): if the Xbox360 owner of the house doesn’t already have this game, he/she needs it.

BioShock (Xbox 360): This game is a very fasted paced shootemup game, a bit gory, but you are fighting mutants, so what’d you expect?

Mario Strikers Charged (Wii): Strikers is a souped up Soccer game where each member of your team comes from various Mario games, and each have special mega kicks to get that ball past your opponents goalie. Fast paced mario-kart-esque action at it’s finest.

Picture this:

You’ve just fought your way through an entire army of aliens, destoyed a huge Ape with a sledgehammer, and saved all lfe in the universe from destruction by a strange machine made thousands of years ago by some unknown alien race. Yahoo! I won the game! No, you didn’t, say’s a computer hologram woman who pops up on your screen. And then the credits roll and the game ends. That was the end of Halo 2, so it makes sense that I wanted to know the ending. 2 years after finishing Halo 2, I finally got the chance on October 24, when Halo 3 came out.

It was pretty cool actually having a second player who made sense in the co-op campagn, instead of a magical clone of myself. The multiplayer is just as much fun as part two, with a couple extra toys thrown in to switch it up a bit, and the story mode actually brought an end to the series.

Pros: Tight controls, really good graphics (on a HD tv especially), Fun multiplayer.

Cons: Story would have been great, except I waited so long to see the ending that it did not live up to my expectations. Also, after losing alot on xbox live due to lag older players might experience shortness of breath from yelling and heart failure.

All in all, a pretty good finale to a game the roomies and I have followed since it’s inception. There are even some people willing to spend time in a correctional facility to play this game (read this Story )

Concerning Multiplayer (Rant):

This is the only game that really allows multiplayer playing for the Xbox 360 I’ve played yet (no, one player per system is not multiplayer, thanks for the input though) Just because the 360 has increased internet connectivity and whatnot does not mean that I would rather play with strangers or have to buy two tvs, systems and copies of the game to play with a friend.

To read more about Halo 3, visit the game's developers website at http://www.bungie.net/