Handheld vs Consoles

As most of you know and some care about, Halo 3 came out this tuesday. My excitement for the final segment of the Master Chiefs epic tale has only been tempered by my memories of Halo 2, (pesky nerfed pistol!) A bigger problem than a grossly underpowered hand gun stymies my ability to play this game -- higher education. With school now in session I've been limited in my total console playing time to a pathetic 8 hours a week, entirely on the weekend. Leaving me in the unenviable position of having to wait five days with Halo 3 in my possession before I can begin to play this game in the epic setting it (hopefully) deserves. Whereas next Monday I'll grace GameStop with my presence and snag The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, playing that at work immediately.

Despite Halo 3 sucking me into the hype, Zelda will be finished first. With a back story from the series of novels (seriously you should give the Eric Nylund Halo novels a go, they're decent, inexpensive Sci-Fi), I have an ernest desire to save the universe; defeating both the Covenant and Flood threats to my humble little planet. What does Zelda have? The same story we've had for the last 20 years, (save the cheerleader princess, save the world) with variations in the surrounding characters. All because it's on a handheld, thus having greater range of availability. One shouldn't go off half-cocked and proclaim handhelds are obviously a superior choice, therefore forsaking your $400.00 (plus) portable heater. It's a matter of context as well. Take for instance Metroid Prime: Hunters for the DS. Wanna know why I haven't played it? Because I was uncomfortable with the control scheme of a FPS with a touch-screen. Many games don't do well on the small screens, just as some experiences are meant for Surround Sound and High Definition.

So which is better? Neither really, unless you really hate specific types of games. That's your prerogative, and I frankly don't care to argue any point. Of course, this could be a natural extension into the console vs. PC fiasco, and I don't want to bring that out until later, when I can bring forth the greatest PC fan boy alive, I just have to find one willing to deal with a Console boy like me. Allow me to end this post with a simple axiom; the cheaper the hardware the greater popular-potential the games have. Case in point, the NPD numbers for the Hannah Montana DS game (oh god the link-pain, it burns) making it one of the highest selling DS titles late last year and early 2007.

I'm gonna grab a stiff drink and wish away that link... I suggest you do the same.