Comments

Consoles will always have there place for some great games like Top Spin, Soul Calibre 2, NFS underground, etc.

Consoles are great for ease of use and playing with mates infront of the TV, and now even for playing with people online.

That being said, do not kid yourself, some games are simply not suited to consoles and are best played on PC's. It's an expensive past time but ultimately you can do much more and with greater flexibility.

There will always be a place for consoles and PC's in the gaming market. For now I'm happy playing Call of Duty, Lock On Modern Air Combat and Ravenshield. Doom 3 and Halflife 2 on the horizon.

BTW if consoles really did kill the PC market, then it's game over for flight sims and non mainstream mass market games.

Posted by: trauma on December 8, 2003 11:58 AM

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Agreed (some games don't port well) but for example I am enjoying playing Raven Shield (R6:3) more on Xbox than I do on the PC.
Why? Because of the level playing field, plus I think it looks better than on PC, plus the whole 'plug and play' scenario I mention in my original post.

Both Doom3 and HL2 are coming to Xbox (in fact HL2 is XB-only at this stage) and I intend to buy them for the console before even thinking about getting them for the PC.

I agree in terms of flight-sims.. that simply cant be done on a console. Along with a couple of other genres perhaps though, they are the exceptions to the rule.

And of course you can do much more on a PC - that's why I own so many of them and would never be caught without one. But here, I'm talking purely about getting online and playing with others.

Hey - I've been a hardcore PC-gamer thru and thru since 1988. I wouldn't turn my back on the thing for no good reason.
I've had infinitely more funtime (as opposed to downtime or shithouse time) on Xbox live since I can ever remember. The entire community feel is so very different and positive in compare to the PC online community.

I'm going head-first into XBLive.. that's where my money's going from now on.

Posted by: SaMbO on December 8, 2003 12:09 PM

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HL2 is definitly not Xbox only, in fact it will even be available to download in full via steam upon its release.

The xbox version is being made by a different group of people, similar to the way gearbox ported Halo to the PC.

I cannot see Doom3 for the xbox as being much compared to the PC, the limited RAM will mean that levels will need to be loaded more often and the game like HL2 does not run very well on Nvidia based chipsets at this stage.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Xbox as wel...

Posted by: trauma on December 8, 2003 12:59 PM

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Not to mention the wealth of Mods that will be available for HL2 on the PC, it even comes bundled with a HL1 mod to HL2 mod convertor, Day of Defeat 2 is currently in development within Valve.

Posted by: trauam on December 8, 2003 01:06 PM

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(Oh - just to clarify - I meant HL2 isn't planned for GCN or PS2...)

And absolutely - again I agree totally re the value-adds with a PC system, but that's not my point here.

I'm talking about the fundamental issue of purchasing a game and playing it. Period.
NOT about the extras and artifacts inherent via the PC platform.
In fact, I have even found myself pondering in the past about the fact I spent more time trying to fiddle with extras and addons and mods et al at the EXPENSE of not actually playing the original game.
Xbox circumnavigates that nicely..

Doom3 will of course be a different experience on XB than PC, but as I originally mentioned, I'm looking forward to playing it on XB more. (Hmm let's see - no install of 5 squillion GB, no confige hassles, no hardware upgrades, onstant multiplayer, etc)

Re HL2 - I'd have to be a ninny not to buy it on the PC for sure, but I'm looking fwd to PLAYING IT on Xbox..

And no - I don't think your XB-bashing ;p

Posted by: SaMbO on December 8, 2003 01:55 PM

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The majority of the time a game can be purchased for th PC, installed and played with a minimal amount of setting up.

I think where you and I differ is that you prefer the ease of being able to pop it into an xbox, sit on the couch and you are away. Where as for games like Doom3 i would prefer to have the best playing experience possible, not a dumbed down version that is made to operate on 64MB of unified memory on a Geforce 3/4.

When friends are over I much prefer using the xbox for games, many games can be played multiplayer that are great fun like Top Spin.

Posted by: trauma on December 8, 2003 02:01 PM

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Yip - once things are up and running on the PC is can be smooth sailing for sure...
however one look at forums like http://steampowered.com/forums/ give indications that things can be equally as bad. (One new complaint post per 3 mins for the last 4 months...)

I have no aversion to putting the time 'in' on my PC - configuring and tweaking to gain maximum hardware benefit - but for the majority of the time it really amounts to a benefit vs gain deficit.
I've found I get 'used' to certain graphics no matter how good or bad they are, and at the end of the day I am now finding things like ease of use, consistant and equal online playing fields, and lounge comfort more appealing to me.

I now have three titles on Xbox that I play(ed) regularly online on my PC, and without doubt I categorically state that the Xbox versions 'look' better. Yes yes, I know they are technically not better, but the overall outcome LOOKS better - and imho PLAYS better. And YES, mouse&kb is waaay more responsive, but everybody on Live is also using a controller so it doesn't matter.

I've really just found a zone where I'm comfortable, and where I enjoy playing/chatting with others, and where it's my skill (or lack thereof) that is the determining factor.

No going back for moi :-)

Posted by: SaMbO on December 8, 2003 02:21 PM

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I am glad you have found a place where everyone has been equally crippled down to one standard platform and input device.

Welcome to the world of uniformity ;)

Xbox Live does sound like a lot of fun for games like Top Spin but I really couldn't be bothered playing a FPS with a controller.

Steam is certainly a good example of problems that can be involved in getting a game to work. Personally i havent really had any problems but many people have.

I gues it comes down to whether you want to have the ability to play Mods like Day of Deafeat, Natural Selection, etc. or a standardised version with your only options being what Microsoft want you to have.

Theres a place for the PC and many consoles on the market and they can all co-exist, I still love many of the games for the Sega Dreamcast :)

Posted by: trauma on December 8, 2003 02:31 PM

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Hehe - well the title of my post is all about conformity! ;p

IMHO, it's the uniformity that is actually SO appealing. I'm just so sick and tired of all the variables inherent within a PC title (online I mean) that I'm glad to be standardised.

And I was the same re FPS's with a controller - but one get's used to it pretty quickly.
And yes indeed - MODs will always have a place in my heart, but again I'm more talking about the core aspects of online gaming facilities here. I'll always own a PC, but my primary online fix will be sought on XBLive. Only after a period of time has passed in order to demonstrate a healthy community would I then dive in and go for the PC MOD of a game. But meh - that's just me. :-)

And yes - DC was way ahead of it's time and STILL cuts it as a nextgen box imo.
/me sheds a tear as he thinks of his sitting in a 40ft container in Wellington, NZ...

Posted by: SaMbO on December 8, 2003 02:39 PM

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and here I was thinking after seeing the title you were going to do a review of the band LIVE live in concert!!! Ha! Pft!

Posted by: b on December 10, 2003 05:44 PM

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I'm pleased to report my XBox and I have gotten along quite well in the past 12 months.

I'm pleased to report my XBox, ADSL & I have gotten along even better over the past 2 months.

Bring on Halo 2.

PLEASE.

Posted by: Moby on December 10, 2003 11:11 PM

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awww.. soz b! :D
And 'hear hear' Moby. Not entirely sure exactly what made Halo so fooking fantastic for me other than the sum of a great many parts. But whatever it was, it certainly also left an anxious taste in my mouth for the sequel.
Nothing like a simple but effective story/purpose huh?

:-)

Posted by: SaMbO on December 11, 2003 01:08 AM

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... And even if you get tired of getting your ass wupped by others, you can always insert Need For Speed Underground into the Xbox for some solo entertainment... and get a purple haired 14, I mean, 23yo chick to do up your car so you get some decent reputation ...

Sorry ... had to take a stab at you ;)

Posted by: purple brain on December 11, 2003 08:59 PM

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Ahh.. yes... well..
(OK! So I'm a loser with no reputation in NFS:U cos I had a dorky car setup that had to be rescued by someone with a sense of style!!)

waaaaaaaaaaaaaa :-(

But on a side note, gotta say Project Gotham Racing 2 online ROCKS. (There's even a perfectly detailed Sydney section.)
Counter-Strike wasn't a patch of Rainbow6:3 imho (although it could be argued they are slightly different styles), so I took it back and got the RTCW/SOF2 double pack instead.
Both online, both absolutely brilliant, especially after such a long hiatus from both on the PC.

And, in a strange deja-vu moment akin to two years ago when I found out about the 9/11 WTC while playing CS online, the same happened tonight with Saddam's capture.
Was racing around Sydney with 7 others (who were FROM Sydney - slight advantage there don't you think?) in PGR2 when one of them tells us all to flik to Sky News..
..I wonder if I'll ever find out about a significant realworld event whilst ACTUALLY IN the real world myself?

/me reminds himself which way around it should be...

Posted by: SaMbO on December 15, 2003 01:40 AM

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