Being into games as much as we all are, I think most of you will understand what a sad, sad situation it is when one is torn between two games that look completely and utterly awesome. Especially when the purchase of aforementioned games means that one will have to choose not only between the games themselves, but the systems they run on (at least, for a time anyway).

Enter the Nintendo Wii, and the MS X-Box 360. The Wii looks to be a small box of fun, even if it’s not a small box of technological wonder. The little white box promises to revolutionize the control of future gaming, has the star power (a la Mario, Link, Samus, etc.) to back it up, and not hurt the wallet all that much. The 360, on the other hand, is a powerhouse, designed to push polygons to bounds they have not yet known. It’s gaming library is not very large yet, but it’s got some great titles out, and more son the way. Ah, decisions, decisions.

The games that act as the opposite ends of my virtual gaming torture rack are The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Gears of War. Both games that I am sure I’ll enjoy, and both that fill me with that nice, fuzzy gamer feeling when I check out their trailers and screenshots. Being a highly anticipated election night, I find it suitable to present both sides of my argument, and if you, the reader, would like to, you may add your vote (and hopefully a little persuasive reasoning along with it) in the comments section of this blog.

I’m excited about the Wii because of a few things. First and foremost, it looks like fun. Working my way through a reportedly 50-70+ hour game of Zelda and using my motions as Link’s cues to slash his sword sounds awesome, and every report I’ve read on the subject have been nothing but gushing praise and admiration for the scope and quality of this game, and others. There are quite a few other titles that look like they’ll be great, and the option of playing virtual console games and old Game Cube games (you can find used ones for dirt cheap at game stores) would be cool as well. On top of all that, you’ve got a price that clocks in much lower than any of the competition, and you’ve got a pretty good deal looking at you.

There are only two things that concern me about he Wii – that the controller could still become a gimmicky thing, and that the power of the system just won’t be able to keep up in developers’ eyes. I mostly don’t think the controller will become a gimmick, since Nintendo has been very dedicated to creating quality stylus experiences on the DS (a similar matter), and frankly, I don’t think they would have designed an entire system around a concept like the Wiimote without thinking it all the way through. Third party developer support is what most worries me, but Nintendo is heading out of the gate strong, so that is still very much in the hands of how consumers react to the product. Hopefully the lack of horsepower under the hood will not deter many as they enjoy themselves with the new control setup.

The 360 looks great to me for a much different reason than the Wii – I’ve played it! The system has CPU power to spare, and the games I’ve played for it look incredible, and are not a hollow, graphics-only experience. I really enjoyed the internal interface, and had a good time goofing around with X-Box Live, downloading and playing game trailers, demos, etc. The wireless controller with rumble is completely awesome, and everything is very easy to use and fun to play around with. Being able to interface the system with an existing computer network and exchange media between PC and 360is also a plus. Microsoft has really learned from their past mistakes, and it’s easy to say that I like what I see.

That said, there are things that concern me about the X-Box 360 as well. The system has been out for a full year now, and there still doesn’t seem to be all that many games out for it. I almost want to say that it seems that developers are waiting around for the other two consoles before they really start firing on all cylinders, but there is no truth to this, so far as I know. Perhaps it’s just that with bigger storage, and more processing power, games are taking longer to create for the “next-genâ€? systems? Regardless of the time it takes to develop a game, there is one thing I am sure that is increasing with the inclusion of higher definition content, and that is the price of games. Price is an issue for me with the 360 in general. $400 for the console (if I bother getting one, I’m getting a good one), $60 for games, and a small subscription fee for X-Box Live. That, versus the $250 for the Wii console, $50 for games, and no subscription fee, looks pretty weak. Hard to say though, because the production value is definitely there in the 360.

So why am I really writing this now? Why did I write up a huge blog that many of you out there will probably just skim through? Because I am largely considering getting a 360 tomorrow, with the release of Gears of War. I’ve got the day off, I’ve got an extra bit of money coming to me this month, and I’m dying for some entertainment. Should I get a 360? Should I hold out for a Wii? Should I just screw the whole thing and stick to my regiment of Counter-Strike: Source and various other games? You decide, ’06.

By the way, to everyone who read every last bit of this mess, I appreciate that, and any input you might leave for me! Thanks!