Which next-gen console should you buy?

NINTENDO REVOLUTION
Nintendo's Revolution is undoubtedly the most exciting console of the three next generation machines.

While PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 can offer improved graphics and sound, Nintendo, with its new controller, is promising to change the way you actually play games forever.

The Revolution controller may look like a TV remote but, with its built-in motion-sensor, it is perhaps the most radical innovation in console history. Players will hold the new freehand unit in one hand and control the action onscreen by pointing it at their television and waving it around.

With other consoles, you will be playing better looking versions of the games you have already got. Sure, the games will be smoother, prettier and offer levels of realism that have yet to be seen in videogames.

But when you are paying more than £200 for some new hardware you should expect a great deal more than shinier cars and realistic grass that moves in the wind. Revolution's technology should, like the other consoles, be cutting edge, but it is the only console that will actually offer you new experiences.

While we have yet to see any actual games running on Revolution, Nintendo has produced a video that hints at the many ways the controller can be used. We have seen a man using it as a light-gun in a first-person shooter, a child using it as a fishing rod even old people conducting an orchestra.

And that is just the new games - you will also be able to download classic Nintendo games online to play on Revolution.

With Revolution, Nintendo has been keen to emphasise that their new controller will be so easy to use that it will not only appeal to their hardcore fans, but also people who have never played on a games console before.

The message is - similar to DS - it does not matter if you are young or old, male or female, you will have fun playing games on Revolution.