What's So Great About Handheld Consoles?

A long, long time ago, my mother bought me copy of Pokemon Blue and a Gameboy Color. I spent countless hours catching monsters and battling gym leaders. I was even able to battle with friends through a cable link cord. Eventually, I began to build my library of games up with instant classics like the Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX and Super Mario Land 2. When the time came to upgrade, I bought myself a Gameboy Advance. Great games like Golden Sun and Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced were developed for this system and thrown into my giant library of videogames. Fast forward to today and now I own both a Nintendo 3DS XL and a Playstation Vita. I love playing on the both of them as well.

What made handheld consoles great and what makes them still great? For one, they are accessible no matter where you are located. When it comes to accessibility, that one is an easy answer. I can bring these bad boys with me and play. I don't care with what my friends playing on his Xbox? Fine, I can just reach for my 3DS and play Fire Emblem: Awakening or turn on my Vita and play some MLB: The Show '13. I am going from New York City to Washington, D.C. and staring out the window bores me. Not a problem with handheld games because I can play them right on that train for four hours. Yup, they are pretty awesome like that.

Believe it or not, handheld consoles have a pretty awesome game library. I mean, you get the Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, Monster Hunter,...and you get the point. These games are some of the best you will play too! Take for example Pokemon. Yeah, that sums up the greatness of portable systems. Even Persona 4: Golden on Playstation Vita was one of the best games put out last year. I could continue to name games all night, but I think everyone gets the point.

Lastly, they are affordable. That's right, they are affordable (see my last blog post). One thing I have always found convenient is the fact that I don't need to pay $300.00 for a videogame system to get the same quality. I can pay much less. I also don't need to spend money for extra controllers, adapters, wotcha-ma-callits, and miscellaneous things. Also, game are far cheaper and they can be just as entertaining. So I hope that answers my own question.

My Top 4 XBOX360 Games

Microsoft's prodigy child, the Xbox 360, has graced us with great games for the last 8 years. I think it is only fair to make a top game list for this system with the advent of a new system this year. So, here are my top five you need to play.  P.S. I am aware these games appeared on other platforms so shh.

1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
I don't care if this game has been released on multiple systems, this is one of Xbox's best games. It is an open world game that let's you shape your own destiny. You are the dragonborn and are destined to battle the evil dragon. It's almost a typical rpg story that you cannot help but love. My favorite aspect of this game has to be the fact I can be anything I want. I can be a Nord who runs around with a battle axe and slay monsters or an Elf that can go around a burn pedestrians.

2. Halo 3
This game is what pushed me to buy an Xbox 360. Not one game can compare to Halo and its ability to sell a system. With that being said, Halo 3 was the best of the series. This game was a basic FPS but that was a good thing. It was your typical run-and-gun shooter with the added benefit of pissing people off with teabagging. Regretfully, the newer Halo games have taken that aspect out with their CoD style of play. Actually, that is what made Halo 3 great, it was an alternative to Call of Duty for people who wanted to have fun. Maybe one day, we will get back to the way Halo used to play.

3. Assassin's Creed II
I think you can make an argument that this game defined free roam and epic story telling. You control Ezio and seek revenge for your father's murder. You become an assassin and do assassin stuff. A pretty basic but fulfilling game. The graphics in the game were gorgeous and the movement for the most part was smoothed. I enjoyed jumping from rooftop-to-rooftop and I really enjoyed cutting my foes down with hidden bladed. In all fairness, if it were not for this game, we would have seen the end of the series.

4. Borderlands 2
If any game can get my friends interested in RPG's, it would be this game. Borderlands combines rpg elements with FPS game play and by God, it works. I have spent 70+ hours of senseless killing in this game and I enjoyed every second. You take control of 5--soon to be 6--Vault Hunters and chase down Captain Jack. I want to state that Jack is a ridiculous character. The dialogue in this game is hilarious and disturbing and the graphics are colorful and bloody. Yeah, go play this if you haven't.

Well, that is all I have for today. SO GO PLAY