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Halo 2 Goes Gold
schmiddy writes "This just in -- Halo 2 has officially gone gold as of today. Bungie has confirmed the story with an announcement on their front page. Trailers and such available here ."
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Some people poll Slashdot a dozen times a day and expect a larger quanity of news, be it trivial or not.
Lure of console games?
1) Not having to wonder if you system can handle said game...it just works
2) Not having to upgrade your system to play said game...it just works
3) Not having to know your system inside and out.
It's gaming for the masses.
Controllers, I love the Xbox and GC controllers (PS2 can suck it) because of the placement of the dual analogs. Your argument "freelook with the mouse" is done with one analog, and the other is movement and strafe, just like any PC setup. Besides that, many games offer custom controller setups (Halo did) if you don't like the default.
The original Xbox controllers were big, they were big enough to be comfortable like a pillow in your hands after a few hours of gaming. Initially I thought they sucked as well, until I used one for a while and realized how well it was layed out.
It's hot in here..I forgot where I was going with this (if anywhere)
What you're failing to see, is that console games can be custom tailored to the respective game pad. The halo controls suit the xbox controller perfectly, there are exactly as many functions as their are buttons by design. Extreme customization isn't really required, since every function is mapped somewhere logical. But, you can remap the buttons if you wish.
This makes it easy for someone who hasn't played to just jump right in. The draw back is poor aim.
Other plusses for consoles:
-cheap hardware, don't have to upgrade regularly.
-no fooling around setting up games for you and 3 buddies.
-little fooling around for setting up games for you and 4+ of your buddies.
For these reasons and more(games etc),I've almost entirely ditched my pc for gaming purposes and moved to the xbox.
-Reid
Duh! Honestly, this is going to sound a like a troll, but it really isn't: how can you be an UT2K4 fan (which includes some diehard FPS-lovers like myself) and not know Halo 2 is coming out for Xbox first? Where have you been the past 3 years?
That's 2 comments comparing it to watching TV, which is just wrongheaded.
There's a major difference. When watching TV, one focuses on the picture as a whole and every frame is not important. If I blink for an extra sec or rub my eyes, I don't miss anything.
In a game, one has to pay close attention to small subsections of the screen, focusing on individual sprites which may not be bigger than a few pixels if the object is far away. Blinking at the wrong moment or for a slightly extended period can be fatal.
In other words a much higher concentration level is required to play games. The easier it is on my eyes, the better. I spend 12+ hours per day in front of a monitor - my eyes don't need additional stress.
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Indeed.. which is a crying shame considering what a piece of shit the XBox is compared to recent gaming PC's. 3.4 Ghz with a gig and a half of ram and a GeForce 6800 anyone?
Please point me to where I can get one of those setups for $149, or $100 used.
Hell, for the price of just the FX6800 I can get *3* X-Boxes and games and plug them in around the house for network head-2-head play!
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
Well- I like the fact that it is up here.
Because any time you see ANYTHING about Halo, it ends up in a 'This was a Mac game first' (Have you SEEN the original game, before it was ported to the Xbox? What a steaming pile THAT was...)
After the Mac people get involved, you've got the PC people, who will tell you how crappy the game is on the Xbox. It's better on a PC. Of course, it really isn't that good anyway, but the Xbox controller sucks compared to a keyboard and mouse. You should only play FPS on a PC.
Late in the game, the RPG fans will step in- they'll just tell you how crappy FPSs are. And how the levels are sooo repetitive. It's a brainless game, without any real depth.
Even with the detractors, the game still chugs on. This will be a huge seller. But I will NOT say that anyone will be proven wrong. The detractors will still have their opinions, and that won't change.
But when you give something this much attention, we start to wonder why you hate it so much...
No reason to lie.
It's easy for me.
On the PC I played a lot of FPS, and a few RTS. I didn't like anything else. I'd sit there with headphones on, staring at the screen, and not talking to anyone.
On a console I play a lot of other types of games- platformers, 3rd person shooters (different beast than an FPS) sports, driving, flying, etc.
Try playing Burnout 3 on a PC. First of all- it doesn't exist. Secondly, driving games such big time on a PC, unless you buy a wheel. I had a racing wheel, and I still didn't really like it.
My Xbox controller has some really nice force-feedback. That can add so much to a game that you don't get with a keyboard and mouse.
4 people can all play together on one console. That's far, far, far more fun than playing online on a PC. I can ALSO play online- and when I do, I can voice chat with everyone else in the game. Oh...and they can't cheat.
I bought Sims 2 for my daughter about a week ago. Of COURSE I had to upgrade her computer to make it run well. So that $40 game ended up costing me about $150- and a trip to the computer store.
No reason to lie.
Wrong. The Mac. And let it go.
One of the problems with the XBox is the lack of quality games. Sure the racks are filled with games for XBox but have you really closely inspected them?
Copying an old post I made elsewhere on this topic, here was a list of "hot games" for the beginning of Sept 8, 2004:
-------
Here is what they claim is hot for XBox:
- ESPN NFL 2K5
- Madden NFL 2005
- MLB SlugFest: Loaded
- NCAA Football 2005
- NASCAR 2005
- Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow
- Sudeki
- Spider-Man 2
Here is what they claim is hot on PS2:
- Dog's Life
- Ghosthunter
- Hot Shots Golf Fore!
- NASCAR 2005
- Phantom Brave
- Street Fighter Anniversary Collection
- Star Ocean: Till The End of Time
- Viewtiful Joe
And for laughs, Gamecube:
- NCAA Football 2005
- Madden NFL 2005
- Pikmin 2
- Puyo Pop Fever
- Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
- Tales of Symphonia
- WWE Day of Reckoning
-------
Notice something a bit odd about the XBox game selection? Now it could have been the timing of it but unless you are into sports games (many of which where available on other systems too) the XBox seems to have very little to offer. Both PS2 and GC have multiple games "epic" games while XBox has <insert org> <insert sport> <insert year> games.
I would rather spend the money on a good video card than 3 games for the XBox given their "massive" selection.
The "you don't really have a girlfriend" comments are getting funnier every time, I swear.
I agree, the REAL problem isn't the price though, it's the controls. Keyboards (or keypads) and mice should come default. Why the hell would I, as a computer gamer of umpteen years, want to start aiming with an extremely sensitive thumbstick when a mouse/keyboard combination should easily cost the same?
I'd be surprised if Halo 1 didn't account for most XBox sales.
Think about that. Bungie weren't far off releasing Halo for PC when M$ bought them. We then had to wait 18 months for the XBox port, and another 24 months for the more-or-less identical PC version.
*cough* lousy player *cough*
Seriously, since when did "sniping" mean "stopping in the middle of battle and firing off a shot in half a second"? You can snipe someone in five or six seconds, if they're not moving all that fast - three seconds or so if they're not moving at all. Even that is horribly unrealistic compared to reality, but, hey.
If they're dodging, of course, you have basically no chance of sniping them unless you get really lucky. Which is how it should be.
Breaking Into the Industry - A development log about starting a game studio.
I don't think this one deserves a reward, especially if it's repeated every time the same subject comes up (see the Halo 2 ready for release Thread).