So I had been totally falling behind in the gameplay department when it came to big titles. Indie titles I was becoming the guru, much like Judgeman is our fighting guru and the GamingShogun himself is the sim stud, we could review anything asked of us but there were specialties developing. We have a well defined sports department with infighting over which was more of a sport: Nascar or Soccer (playful rivalries with neither camp touching the other’s games). So when things got quiet for many of the other styles, my plate filled up and stayed full for a while. When a game that appeals to everyone like Skyrim comes along I keep saying I’ll get to it. Well I finally realized I was alone in the “I’ll get to it” camp on Skyrim so I asked the team “which system should I get it for? PC or console?” Turned out no one on the team had touched it on PC, were we all just playing console jockey favorites or was there a reason? I decided to find out.
Skyrim, which I grabbed on an insane deal on Steam, and Dawnguard, which the reps provided to me for this test (thanks again guys!), downloaded over a couple days while I played other games and read our own review of Skyrim. The review had me salivating as did the near daily calls from our MMORPG guy had who updated me through his playtime on Skyrim and let me know I would LOVE Dawnguard. The question was would I find the same love of the game everyone else had if I played it on a different platform?
Control Differences:
Ok this would seem to be one of the most obvious of differences considering one would use a keyboard and mouse and the other would use a controller. That is half right, the PC version had gamepad support which made it so that you could use the keyboard and mouse and play it just like a first person or third person shooter depending on preferred viewpoint but you could also pick up your controller and go to work with that which actually give the PC player more options.. Some people question the gamepad, feeling that if you want to play it with a controller then why not play it on a console? That brings up the next point…
Style of Immersion:
When playing on a console players generally, I know this varies, sit about 6 feet at least from a large television set. The argument for this is that they have this huge window into the world right across the room from them which can be extremely immersive with their controls virtually or completely out of their view. It pulls them in much like watching a movie but with interactive suspension of disbelief. The argument from console players is they wouldn’t want to play on a little screen with their controls in front of them. The counter to that is most computer gamers lean forward in their chairs and can’t see their keyboard unless they want to lean back and see it. They are really close to the monitors with their faces and argue at least nobody can walk through the room and interrupt their game. So far these arguments seem to be the standard between the two with everything coming down to personal preference and most of the arguments are and always have been between the two. Instead of continuing the same old arguments I will show where they are particularly solid points…
Family Experience:
Unless you plug your computer into your large screen television (which does cause a loss in clarity generally) console gaming can actually be a family experience, especially story driven ones like Skyrim. I have read plenty of articles of whole families sitting together with one person on the controller watching the game like a movie and taking turns making the decisions that make up the storyline. It is technically being played single player but everyone is involved which for the most part isn’t the case with the computer player who usually has to call someone over or have them hover over their shoulder to participate.
Building:
Steam is a HUGE supporter of community built content and Skyrim: Dawnguard is no exception. On boards where people were discussing the pros and cons between PC vs. console this point almost always came up and there was no strong answer back about it. When it comes to building you want a PC, Steam especially to get the most out of the game, if you just want to play the game they are pretty even ground but builders and potential developers want the tools and community of Steam. Modding seems to be one of the few places where there really is no competition.
Graphics/Lag
Because Dawnguard had to work within a set software system the consoles have very similar resolution which particularly during battle shows less detail and generally more lag (Bethesda was flat out unhappy about how it played on the PS3). I double checked this with multiple sources and it is the consensus, if the PC owner has a decent rig. If the PC owner is running with minimum requirements the graphics don’t improve that much. In my case I have a pretty good graphics card, plenty of RAM and a monitor that was state-of-the-art- when I got it (instead of standard 30,000-1 contrast mine has 5,000,000-1) so when I set my graphics on ultra the detail difference not just on objects but on the background, literally a couple tree becomes a forest, is astounding. My system cost more than the two consoles combined though so we are talking more money for better graphics and if I was across the room I would notice a difference because of actual additions to the environment. Graphically and lag issues considered the PC wins out again.
Last Call:
It really depends on what you want to do with the game and if you care how it looks that much. It looks really nice on the console, can be a family experience, and it is more affordable than a gaming rig. If it isn’t just a game to you, if it is a chance to work on building mods, items, weapons, or you HAVE to have the most detailed environment and most content possible, the PC is your way. So did we really decide anything? Or does this still go down like the debate between Mac vs. PC, Bud vs. Coors, religion, politics… I guess it still always comes down to taste and your faith in yours.
