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State Of PC Gaming In 2003 Probed
An anonymous reader writes "Netjak has just published an overview of the past year in PC gaming. Unlike all the doomsayers, it was very enthusiastic about the console ports that flooded the market, because, for the author, they indicated the beginning of a renaissance in PC gaming. However, there's also some perceived negative developments. They were surprised to see Electronic Arts lose its last spark of innovative spirit, and unhappy to see a growth in false advertising, especially the usage of established franchise names to support the sales of unrelated games." What were your PC highlights and lowlights for the year?
Savage
Max Payne 2
Final Fantasy XI
Warcraft III Frozen Throne
Knights of the Old Republic (yes it came out on Xbox first, but I don't mind the extra wait)
Lowlights :
A cheap attempt to save C&C:Generals from EA Games with an expansion of what it should've been. (Read up on the reports before the original came out))
MOO 3 sucked, went back to playing MOO 2.
Halo PC's multiplayer is insanely laggy even with all broadband players.
No news about future RTS games I should get excited about.
Half-Life 2 delay. End of list.
Unlike all the doomsayers, it was very enthusiastic about the console ports that flooded the market, because, for the author, they indicated the beginning of a renaissance in PC gaming.
I'm not sure if this is a good thing, and it's definitely not a renaissance in PC gaming. For a renaissance in PC gaming to occur, there would have to be a resurgence of PC games, not console ports. I always liked the fact that PC games were different from console games; I hope the fact that consoles are becoming more like PCs doesn't destroy the diversity that video games have thus far enjoyed. Unfortunately, with the "consolification" of various PC franchises, that may be wishful thinking.
BTW, to answer the question posed in the submission, the comment about "false advertising" dovetails nicely with my personal PC gaming lowlight of the year, Final Fantasy XI. As for my highlight, well, it's hard to say, since I've only recently upgraded my computer, and thus haven't played the big hits that came out over the holidays yet. I expect KOTOR will be my favorite out of them all, though.
Rob
[console ports] ... they indicated the beginning of a renaissance in PC gaming
A what? Console ports on the PC is as much of a renaissance as PS2 backports to the original Playstation (Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 anyone?) represented a Playstation rennissance in some bizzaro world where the Playstation is more powerful than the PS2.
Remember 1994? Apogee, Id, Epic, 3dRealms, Sierra... That was a Renaissance. A year of console ports is more like a depression.
The Good:
Max Payne 2
Completely outdoes the original in every way, loads of fun and had amazing graphics, physics to die for and a campy, dark story.
Enemy Territory
I'm quite sure this was 2003, correct me if I'm wrong. Free? Fun? Free?? You bet.
Halo PC
Finally playing Halo without resorting to bad net-code and Xbconnect. I can actually join 16 player games in an instant. Hard to beat the keyb/mouse combo. People complaining about lag? Find a better server, I have no problems.
Call of Duty
Hooked me in an instant, yeah it's scripted like MOH, but it felt like the real thing!
The Bad:
Deus Ex
Wtf?
Upgrading
Spent $1000 upgrading last year to play Halo and the like, and yet I still went back to console gaming.
PC Gaming in General
I figured out with my gaming habits, the only real reason I hop on the PC for gaming is to play Online FPS. You will never beat the keyboard/mouse combo - period. Yes I play Socom II and you do get used to the PS2 controller, but sometimes you just want to curse non-stop at how innaccurate it is. Bottom line, gaming from my living room is more comfortable, enjoyable and more immersive on a whole - if console Online gaming really takes off and the next generation means every game is 1080i, I just might find myself spending less and less on the yearly PC upgrades.
HIGHLIGHTS :-
:-
:-
call of duty - predictable but fun
vice city - except i struggle with the heli controls on pc
rise of nations - finally, something new to RTS
need for speed underground - who said racing games have to be even remotely serious?
neverwinter nights - expansions just keep making this game better and better
jedi academy - i thought they were never going to get it right
vietcong - hey SOF2, this is how jungle fighting is done
LOWLIGHTS
people that seem to think that online gaming is all thats left on the pc nowadays
BLACK ISLE R.I.P.
halo - mouse and keyboard doesnt fix the atrocious level design and boring enemies/weapons
deus ex 2 - i want to like it, but it makes it so hard to
MOO3 - i like complication sure, but i also like to actually play games
fallout 3 - exactly.
IN BETWEENS
temple of elemental evil - an awesome game initially wrecked by release before it was ready
freelancer - i still cant see what people see in this
As for console ports, many of them were successful last year, but the big problem here is the interface. I don't see a solution here, other than attaching a keyboard to a console, but at that point it becomes a PC. However, I disagree with having to have large resources to produce good games. As you said, PC gamers bathe and are distinguished. I think that they are more likely than console gamers forgive poor production and concentrate on gameplay.
I am on the completely opposite side of this issue-
#1- I don't understand how people can finish games in a single day. I have never played the 3 you mention, but I have played plenty of games where people say 'I beat it in one day'. The same game will take me weeks. I guess I'm just not very good at them or something. But games can take me weeks, or months to beat. Metal Arms, which was considered a fairly long game, took me about 2 months. I'm still working on Deus Ex from Christmas- and people said that one was really short.
#2- If games took me any longer, I wouldn't like them any more. I *like* to finish my games. But, I guess it's just because they take me so damn long to actually finish.
I'm amazed that you can finish these things so quick. But I really don't want the games to be any longer than they are now.
No reason to lie.
Lowlights:
Fallout 3 cancellation
no more Black Isle
delays