Halo's PC Upgrades Explored

Thanks to GameSpot for posting a new hands-on preview of Halo:Combat Evolved for the PC. This long-awaited title is making a "conservative" but professional transition from Xbox to Windows, courtesy Gearbox Software, and the enhancements are sparse but notable: "..the [in-game] resolution can be turned all the way up to 1600x1200, and the game's textures look much sharper and more defined than they ever did on the Xbox.. zooming in close to a grunt, we noted specular-mapping and bump-mapping effects on the grunt's gold-colored armor." Also discussed in more detail are the six brand-new PC multiplayer maps, plus mention of "..editing tools that will let creative players create new maps and significantly modify the game" - is there enough time for player-constructed maps to make it into Halo 2?

Comments

Sell well? Yes. Sell great? Not so sure.

[unclethursday]

While I enjoyed Halo on my Xbox, I don't know how well it will now do on the PC.

When we consider there are newer titles coming out like Deus Ex 2, Half-Life 2, and Doom III that people are really eager for... well, I just can't see Halo doing as well on the PC/Mac as it could have done.

By the time it comes out on the PC, it'll be around 2 years old on the Xbox. How many PC gamers actually cared after it took over a year to get a true answer as to whether it was coming or not?

I think by then, most had gotten an Xbox and played it, or played on the Xbox of someone they knew.

Of course, you could say this was Microsoft's plan all along...to string the PC gamers along, promising the PC version...but never letting them get any info for a long time; all in the hopes that they would give in and buy an Xbox and the game.

It may have backfired in a way though....for those who still held out, most probably don't care about Halo anymore and are looking at the other games I mentioned above.

Thursdæ