Particle systems Or Not

Question:

I have been looking at a few particle systems and they all seem to produce pretty cool effects.

Now, should I consider coding particle effects into games from scratch or do I use Animated textures (Image Strips) to generate the effect in the game.

These effects can make a game a lot more professional but I am stuck as to how best to implement them into games with the minimal amount of coding.

Any suggestions or examples greatfully accepted...

I'd go with the former route.

Ultimately, it's a lot more customizeable and you don't have the pain that is making the animated image.

And really, a basic particle system should be about a days worth of work or so (you can add features over time, but the basics should be up and running pretty quick). Plus, they're fun to write. I say go with a particle system...