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The Orange Box Review
"PC Gaming is dying," the analysts tell us. "The Massive genre is the only viable business model left," websites report. That they're off the mark is obvious to anyone that's actually played a PC game in the last few years; games like Sam and Max , Battlefield 2 , or any of the numerous puzzle titles available online prove the flexibility and strength of the PC platform. Then, every once in a while, you get an offering like the Orange Box. A value-packed storm of content from Valve, this single sku offers five complete games at an amazing price. That would be great, even if the games weren't any good ... but they are. They're very, very, very good. Read on for my impressions of Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Team Fortress 2, and (the cake is a lie) Portal.
Given the amount of time it has taken Valve to release this, the next chapter in the Half-Life saga, it's not surprising that their thinking about episodic content has changed significantly. At this point, rather than being a continuation of Half-Life 2, Valve now effectively sees these episodes combined as Half-Life 3. That new focus is evident in Episode Two, in terms of storytelling and pacing. It picks up just a few moments after Episode One left off, with Gordon and Alyx picking their way out the wreckage of a train in the forest outside of City 17. The story almost immediately kicks into gear, hooking you up with members of the resistance, pitting you against an antlion hive, and forcing you to drive through trackless wastes on the way to your ultimate destination. Though there is plenty of action, the storyline of the Half-Life tale is greatly advanced over the course of the game. There are a few answers handed out but, as with any middle child in a trilogy, there are many more maddening questions raised by the events of the game.
More than a year has passed since the release of Episode One, and as a result numerous promises about Episode Two's gameplay have been muddied as a result. Many of the most-discussed new gameplay elements (Strider-busters, open environments) only come into play at the game's climax. Primarily, you'll be following the same sort of well-crafted (but very much walled-in) path seen in previous entries in the series. For some, this may be a disappointment - a more open environment was a much-discussed element of this title during its development. Personally, I was pleased by the game's focus. A Valve hallmark has always been tightly crafted progress, measurable movement through the gamespace. That focus is sharpened to a knife's point in Episode Two, with the intermingling of action, story-based downtime, and quick puzzles being better than ever before. And that climax ... it's essentially a race against time, putting every skill you've learned over the course of three games to the test. It's fantastic.
From an audio/visual standpoint, Episode Two more than meets expectations set by the previous chapters in the series. The new Hunter designs are deadly works of art, and carry a sound design to match their menacing appearance. The imagery of the portal storm left in the wake of Episode One dominates the skyline for much of the game, providing not only a visual landmark but a very concrete reminder of what has come before. The voice acting, as always, hits a high water mark for emotional resonance; and there's quite a bit of emotion to convey in this title. Once again, you're left with a very high opinion of Alyx Vance and the other members of the resistance against the combine.
For me, that emotional connection was the takeaway from this chapter in the series. The gameplay is just as solid as it has been in the past (essentially flawless). Other than hunting the Hunters (they don't like tires in the face much), there weren't a lot of stand out combat or puzzle elements. Which was fine, because I very much focused on the storyline as it unfolded around me. Much like Empire Strikes Back Episode Two ends on a down note, making you question what the future will bring in a hard and sometimes confusing world. Unlike that trilogy, though, the end of Gordon Freeman's tale has yet to be told. Just one more game to go before we find out the ultimate fate of the Freeman.
Team Fortress 2
Team Fortress 2 is a substantial redressing of a venerable entry into multiplayer gaming. Built on the original Half-Life engine, the first Team Fortress game was one of the first examples of role-based team play on the PC. The older game, with its own quirks and peculiarities, is still beloved by thousands of FPS gamers; indeed, some of them feel somewhat put off by Valve's re-envisioning of the game. Grenades are no longer a weapon available to every class, each of the classes has undergone significant retooling, and the unique visual aesthetic more resembles a Pixar film than a hardcore multiplayer shooter. What those changes add up to, though, is one of the most approachable online shooters ever released for console or PC.
Valve has chosen to apply the same kind of design directives to online combat that it applies to the single-player experience of games like Half-Life 2. Playing the game online (there is no single-player component) is like a moment-to-moment tutorial. Nuances of play become obvious as you progress through a match in your chosen class. The Medic profession is the best example of this philosophy. The character's healing gun links him to a particular character, creating a bond between two players who (in all probability) don't know each other. Learning to play the Medic is an interplay between your positioning vs. your partner, your positioning vs. opponents, and deciding when to use the 'invincibility charge' that slowly builds up as you apply healing. As a member of another class you learn the nuances of keeping your healer protected or (if you're on the opposing team) that shooting the medic first is often the best approach.
This 'tutorial-as-you-go' experience applies to every one of the nine classes. The complete team roster is a balanced array of strengths and weaknesses. Assuming that your team can agree to not all play the same class, they should allow either effective offense or defense as the scenario allows. The other Valve hallmark shows up in these classes: they're all fun. Each offers a substantially different play experience, but you can have an amazingly good time with each of them. Whether you're dropping turrets into play or wielding a fast-firing heavy machine gun, you'll have the opportunity to participate and make a dent. And if you're not having fun, it's a matter of a few moment to switch to a different class.
TF2 has some weighty competition in the online FPS space this year, but from what I've seen none can compete with it in terms of approachability. Halo 3 played online is fun, to be sure, but the preternatural skills of your opponents gets really old after a while. Team Fortress 2 rewards skill, to be sure, but the shallowness of the learning curve and self-teaching mechanisms means that expertise in TF2 is a much lower piece of fruit. Ultimately, isn't that the sign of a great online game? One that lots of people can participate in?
Portal
Words are ill-suited tools to describe the sheer amusement value of Portal. At about three hours long, it's one of the shortest games you'll play this year. You have absolutely no offensive weaponry, no special powers, and for most of the game your only real opponent is yourself. It's still, bar none, one of the best games I've ever played. You likely already know the basic premise of the game: you have a gun that makes holes in space. The Portals connect two points in reality and allow movement through them. You'll be using the device to solve puzzles, move through levels, and generally keep yourself alive in the face of the game's environment.
These puzzles are an absolute distillation of the Valve philosophy. Every challenge provides you with all the instruction you need to escape ... though their solutions are not always immediately obvious. Each one is only slightly more difficult than the last, and builds incrementally on every lesson you've previously learned. Portal is not only an excellent game, it's also a microcosmic example of the human learning process. This results, near the end of the game, in astonishing feats you would never have thought possible at the start of your journey. This plottable line of advancement from the simple to the sublime is the core of the game.
That said, more than just fun gameplay makes this title stand out. Aside from the Portal gun, you have but two companions on your journey. The voice from the ceiling, telling you what to do while lying out of one side of her face, is an artificial personality. The other companion is a lifeless cube. If that sounds sort of grimly funny, you're already getting the joke, and the point. Portal is hilarious in an Edward Gorey-meets-Douglas Adams sort of fashion, dark humor mixing with futurism for the sake of futurism.
Portal, then, is funny and intelligent in equal measure. It's wholly unlike anything else released this year, and on its own validates the entry price for Orange Box purchasers. It is, in point of fact, well worth buying all on its lonesome if you are interested by the rest of the offerings Valve has here. It also has the benefit of having the one of the best game songs ever made as its finale track.
Conclusion
Valve's Orange Box is easily one of the best offerings available for any platform this year. It's an amazing value and variety, offering story, online play, and intellectual challenge in equal measure. Every component of the piece is so strong that it could stand on its own - together it's an unstoppable force of gaming goodness. It's worth noting that reality intrudes on every element of perfection - lag has been a problem for Xbox 360 Team Fortress 2 players, but a patch is on the way. Otherwise ... there's really very little to complain about here. It's boring and unfunny to say "the whole thing is terrific" and leave it at that.
But then, I'm a nerd. The whole thing is terrific. In the face of dozens of high-price AAA titles this Christmas season Valve's offering stands out from the crowd with a clusterbomb of content that won't be easily put down. People will be playing TF2 for literally years to come, if you're done with Episode Two you can go back through it gnome-style, and I fully expect Portal to be supported by fan-created rooms for a long, long time. It's well worth buying for anyone that enjoys the first-person perspective on gaming, regardless of what kind of gamer you are. Now if I could only get that song out of my head ...
- Title: The Orange Box
- Developer/Publisher: Valve
- System: PC (360, PS3)
- Genre: Story Based Shooter/Team Multiplayer Shooter/Shooter Puzzler
- Score: 5/5 - These games are all classic titles. They transcend genre, and are worth playing by almost any gamer. Certain to be a part of many serious gamers' collections, definitely worth purchasing, and a great value for your dollar.
Given the amount of time it has taken Valve to release this, the next chapter in the Half-Life saga, it's not surprising that their thinking about episodic content has changed significantly. At this point, rather than being a continuation of Half-Life 2, Valve now effectively sees these episodes combined as Half-Life 3. That new focus is evident in Episode Two, in terms of storytelling and pacing. It picks up just a few moments after Episode One left off, with Gordon and Alyx picking their way out the wreckage of a train in the forest outside of City 17. The story almost immediately kicks into gear, hooking you up with members of the resistance, pitting you against an antlion hive, and forcing you to drive through trackless wastes on the way to your ultimate destination. Though there is plenty of action, the storyline of the Half-Life tale is greatly advanced over the course of the game. There are a few answers handed out but, as with any middle child in a trilogy, there are many more maddening questions raised by the events of the game.
More than a year has passed since the release of Episode One, and as a result numerous promises about Episode Two's gameplay have been muddied as a result. Many of the most-discussed new gameplay elements (Strider-busters, open environments) only come into play at the game's climax. Primarily, you'll be following the same sort of well-crafted (but very much walled-in) path seen in previous entries in the series. For some, this may be a disappointment - a more open environment was a much-discussed element of this title during its development. Personally, I was pleased by the game's focus. A Valve hallmark has always been tightly crafted progress, measurable movement through the gamespace. That focus is sharpened to a knife's point in Episode Two, with the intermingling of action, story-based downtime, and quick puzzles being better than ever before. And that climax ... it's essentially a race against time, putting every skill you've learned over the course of three games to the test. It's fantastic.
From an audio/visual standpoint, Episode Two more than meets expectations set by the previous chapters in the series. The new Hunter designs are deadly works of art, and carry a sound design to match their menacing appearance. The imagery of the portal storm left in the wake of Episode One dominates the skyline for much of the game, providing not only a visual landmark but a very concrete reminder of what has come before. The voice acting, as always, hits a high water mark for emotional resonance; and there's quite a bit of emotion to convey in this title. Once again, you're left with a very high opinion of Alyx Vance and the other members of the resistance against the combine.
For me, that emotional connection was the takeaway from this chapter in the series. The gameplay is just as solid as it has been in the past (essentially flawless). Other than hunting the Hunters (they don't like tires in the face much), there weren't a lot of stand out combat or puzzle elements. Which was fine, because I very much focused on the storyline as it unfolded around me. Much like Empire Strikes Back Episode Two ends on a down note, making you question what the future will bring in a hard and sometimes confusing world. Unlike that trilogy, though, the end of Gordon Freeman's tale has yet to be told. Just one more game to go before we find out the ultimate fate of the Freeman.
Team Fortress 2
Team Fortress 2 is a substantial redressing of a venerable entry into multiplayer gaming. Built on the original Half-Life engine, the first Team Fortress game was one of the first examples of role-based team play on the PC. The older game, with its own quirks and peculiarities, is still beloved by thousands of FPS gamers; indeed, some of them feel somewhat put off by Valve's re-envisioning of the game. Grenades are no longer a weapon available to every class, each of the classes has undergone significant retooling, and the unique visual aesthetic more resembles a Pixar film than a hardcore multiplayer shooter. What those changes add up to, though, is one of the most approachable online shooters ever released for console or PC.
Valve has chosen to apply the same kind of design directives to online combat that it applies to the single-player experience of games like Half-Life 2. Playing the game online (there is no single-player component) is like a moment-to-moment tutorial. Nuances of play become obvious as you progress through a match in your chosen class. The Medic profession is the best example of this philosophy. The character's healing gun links him to a particular character, creating a bond between two players who (in all probability) don't know each other. Learning to play the Medic is an interplay between your positioning vs. your partner, your positioning vs. opponents, and deciding when to use the 'invincibility charge' that slowly builds up as you apply healing. As a member of another class you learn the nuances of keeping your healer protected or (if you're on the opposing team) that shooting the medic first is often the best approach.
This 'tutorial-as-you-go' experience applies to every one of the nine classes. The complete team roster is a balanced array of strengths and weaknesses. Assuming that your team can agree to not all play the same class, they should allow either effective offense or defense as the scenario allows. The other Valve hallmark shows up in these classes: they're all fun. Each offers a substantially different play experience, but you can have an amazingly good time with each of them. Whether you're dropping turrets into play or wielding a fast-firing heavy machine gun, you'll have the opportunity to participate and make a dent. And if you're not having fun, it's a matter of a few moment to switch to a different class.
TF2 has some weighty competition in the online FPS space this year, but from what I've seen none can compete with it in terms of approachability. Halo 3 played online is fun, to be sure, but the preternatural skills of your opponents gets really old after a while. Team Fortress 2 rewards skill, to be sure, but the shallowness of the learning curve and self-teaching mechanisms means that expertise in TF2 is a much lower piece of fruit. Ultimately, isn't that the sign of a great online game? One that lots of people can participate in?
Portal
Words are ill-suited tools to describe the sheer amusement value of Portal. At about three hours long, it's one of the shortest games you'll play this year. You have absolutely no offensive weaponry, no special powers, and for most of the game your only real opponent is yourself. It's still, bar none, one of the best games I've ever played. You likely already know the basic premise of the game: you have a gun that makes holes in space. The Portals connect two points in reality and allow movement through them. You'll be using the device to solve puzzles, move through levels, and generally keep yourself alive in the face of the game's environment.
These puzzles are an absolute distillation of the Valve philosophy. Every challenge provides you with all the instruction you need to escape ... though their solutions are not always immediately obvious. Each one is only slightly more difficult than the last, and builds incrementally on every lesson you've previously learned. Portal is not only an excellent game, it's also a microcosmic example of the human learning process. This results, near the end of the game, in astonishing feats you would never have thought possible at the start of your journey. This plottable line of advancement from the simple to the sublime is the core of the game.
That said, more than just fun gameplay makes this title stand out. Aside from the Portal gun, you have but two companions on your journey. The voice from the ceiling, telling you what to do while lying out of one side of her face, is an artificial personality. The other companion is a lifeless cube. If that sounds sort of grimly funny, you're already getting the joke, and the point. Portal is hilarious in an Edward Gorey-meets-Douglas Adams sort of fashion, dark humor mixing with futurism for the sake of futurism.
Portal, then, is funny and intelligent in equal measure. It's wholly unlike anything else released this year, and on its own validates the entry price for Orange Box purchasers. It is, in point of fact, well worth buying all on its lonesome if you are interested by the rest of the offerings Valve has here. It also has the benefit of having the one of the best game songs ever made as its finale track.
Conclusion
Valve's Orange Box is easily one of the best offerings available for any platform this year. It's an amazing value and variety, offering story, online play, and intellectual challenge in equal measure. Every component of the piece is so strong that it could stand on its own - together it's an unstoppable force of gaming goodness. It's worth noting that reality intrudes on every element of perfection - lag has been a problem for Xbox 360 Team Fortress 2 players, but a patch is on the way. Otherwise ... there's really very little to complain about here. It's boring and unfunny to say "the whole thing is terrific" and leave it at that.
But then, I'm a nerd. The whole thing is terrific. In the face of dozens of high-price AAA titles this Christmas season Valve's offering stands out from the crowd with a clusterbomb of content that won't be easily put down. People will be playing TF2 for literally years to come, if you're done with Episode Two you can go back through it gnome-style, and I fully expect Portal to be supported by fan-created rooms for a long, long time. It's well worth buying for anyone that enjoys the first-person perspective on gaming, regardless of what kind of gamer you are. Now if I could only get that song out of my head ...
I only wish Portal could have had more to it....
;-)
Not enemies, but definitely a longer game would have been nice...
TF2 is just a blast to play, now I just need to actually fire up Episode 2....
Oh, yes, PS: FIRST POST!
Do you see the FNORDS? I refuse to post anonymously, as I am fireproof!
The review states that TFC, built on top of the Half-Life engine, was among the first to demonstrate class-based team play on the PC. This is not true, especially since Team Fortress started as a Quake mod!
I must admit that I didn't entirely understand the significance of Portal while I was playing it the first time through. I thoroughly enjoyed it and had honest fun (a rarity it seems, including my long gone 6-8 hours per day of World of Warcraft 7 days a week, which didn't remotely resemble anything like fun), but I often get so involved the mechanics of gameplay I miss some stuff. After beating it the first time through, I read some reviews and checked out some forums. With the perspective gained from hearing others talk about the emotional brilliance of the game, I played through it again, start to finish. The end result?
:(
Oh, Weighted Companion Cube, WHYYYYY?
ACs are modded -6. I don't read you, I don't mod you, I don't see you. Don't like it? Don't be a coward.
my new favort reviewer
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/2541-Zero-Punctuation-The-Orange-Box
I played mmos over 5 years time without major pauses now, im SO bored of the routine and lack of catchy content (swg, wow, eve, lotro included, although lotro fared better when it comes to catchy story implementation) that i turned to single player again. I played Darklands (a major 1992 game that is still unsurpassed) and now playing Europe Universalis 2 again, and it rocks.
Read radical news here
... there is a serious bug in the Steam platform that means that some people cannot play the new games. Valve support are not responding so far. There has been speculation that a lot of people went on overdue vacations after the Orange box release, but that is no help to those of us who laid down $50 for the game and cannot play ten days later.
For those of us affected by this problem, the updating never completes, so that when you launch it you get a message saying the game is not ready to be played. There are suggested fixes for such errors in general, but they don't work for this Orange Box problem. older games like CS:S or Episode 1 play fine.
${YEAR+1} is going to be the year of Linux on the desktop!
I for one bow down to our new Orange Box overlords.
the link about the Gnome achievement was pretty awesome and definitely a clever addition. This is the reason why games have indeed progressed since Pong.
A value-packed storm of content from Valve, this single sku offers five complete games at an amazing price... Read on for my impressions of Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Team Fortress 2, and (the cake is a lie) Portal.
I don't know much about the game/package, but from what I've seen so far, I'm tempted to pick up a copy. So what are the other two games in the Orange Box? Nowhere in the review does he mention the other two games.
I think Portal could have done with some human enemies, rather than just those wacky little bots. The idea of opening a portal over a spiky bit and then opening another portal beneath some guard's feet has strong appeal.
That said, it was a great game with some of the most memorable lines I've ever heard in a video game.
"Remember when the platform was sliding into the fire pit and I was all 'goodbye' and you were like 'NO WAY!' and then I was all 'we pretended we were going to murder you'. That was great."
I'm not saying the Orange Box is not quality product - it is.
But note that the orange box is in simultaneous console/PC release*. How does a major release like this coming out at the same time for consoles as the PC not confirm the trend for game makers to support consoles at least as well as, and in the future to a greater degree than, PC games?
* Well, 360 anyway - the PS3 version was delayed a bit.
Bioshock 2 was a great new PC gaming hit - that also came out for a console at the same time.
When you don't need a PC anymore for PC gaming... PC gaming is on the decline.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Another big plus for OB imo is that all the games are basically using 3+ year old engine so you don't really need to worry about whether you have the greatest hardware.
About a year ago, after playing nothing but PC games for 10+ years I got tired of upgrading hardware and all the other "work" that goes into PC gaming and said F-it and bought a Wii. I wasn't planning to buy any new PC games for awhile, but then I heard about OB and figured I'd give it a shot since my current PC ran HL2 just fine. Glad I bought it, Portal alone has kept be busy for two weeks.
Fortress Forever is Team Fortress faithfully ported to the Source engine, and it's free. It's a hell of a lot more fun than TF2 (which isn't to say TF2 sucks, it's just not nearly as fun as FF).
(disclaimer: I'm a hardcore bhopping, rocket/gren jumping, physics abusing player of the original TF and Custom-TF)
Leveling the field between newbies and long time players doesn't come without a price. The correct phrase is "dumbed down" - with little to master, I don't see it captivating players for long. HL2: Ep2 and Portal are both fantastic games and well worth the price, but I can't say the same for TF2.
The end of the first "map" on Portal is worth the whole game.
And my favorite quote (I paraphrase):
"Here at Aperture Technologies, we're bound by regulations to inform you that further progression through the training is very dangerous and may result in pain or physical disability, such as death."
What can I say? I loved Portal. I haven't gotten to Episode 2 yet (just finished HL2 and Lost Coast)
I'll comment on TF2 though. I loved the original, and I like this one quite a bit. There are definite changes. The most obvious to me is the lack of grenades. They are all gone (except for the Demoman's launchers). This has made engineer's sentries much more powerful (as it used to be any class could take them out or damage them seriously with 'nades, now if you are a scout you are in big trouble). That's just taking getting used to. The game looks great. I'm a great soldier, but I'm really weak as some of the other classes. They have really been balanced to their roles. In TFC the Medic was an amazing class, speed, healing, virus infection, great guns. Now it is much more limited, but it makes much more sense. The scout has the double jump (which I didn't know about at first). As a Engineer, I can't tell how to re-point a sentry like you could in TFC.
Some of the maps are back, like 2fort. Dustbowl is back but looks REALLY different. The map is physically identicle but instead of looking all dessart and sandstone, it looks like an old abandoned mining town out west. Took me about 45 minutes to put it together because the visual difference is so large.
The game is a blast, and some of the new maps are really great. I'd like more CTF maps though (only 2fort right now).
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
Well skuse me, what's a sku? I'll skuut off now and see if I can find out.
Console Gaming
Pros
1. Buy once, will last you for five or so years until next console comes out, every game made for it will work for it, no worries.
2. Consoles have gotten more powerful with prettier graphics, intruding into PC territory
3. Perceived as less technically cumbersome than a computer, plug the game in and play
4. Used to be significantly cheaper than a top of the line gaming computer.
Cons
1. Closed architecture system
2. Games not hackable
3. User-created content completely unknown.
4. Getting as expensive as a good computer but with so many restrictions
5. Nobody can make small fun casual games for the system (changing some with the live arcades, but you still have to be vetted by the console manufacturer)
Computer Gaming
Pros
1. People already have a computer for serious work, games are a nice diversion.
2. Computer games could be geekier in subject matter, doing things like RTS or WWII wargames or highly detailed military sims.
3. Total hackability, open architecture, allows an online community with mods, new art, hacks, etc.
4. On the net long before the consoles were -- this advantage is no longer an exclusive.
5. Anyone can make a computer game, there's no barrier to entry for fun casual games.
Cons
1. Computers are expensive as hell, especially if you want to be on the bleeding edge.
2. You could buy a video card that would be good for six months or a Playstation, the price was the same. (Now you have to buy two high-end cards to equal the cost of a PS3.)
3. With the rise in the power of the consoles, computers are taking a beating from the competition
At the point we're at right now, the difference between console and PC basically comes down to the openness of the architecture and the DRM inflicted rather than any other factor.
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
Can someone help a brother out and tell me how to take out the tripods at the end _easily_?
:(
I think that I'm too old to continue playing FPS games
Check out Netrek for a role-based tactical multi-player game that significantly precedes Quake.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/2541-Zero-Punctuation-The-Orange-Box
Other reviews he has done is also worth checking out.
Bioshock 2?
:-)
:-)
Would you kindly tell me where I can buy that?
Oh I got it... but it's funnier than you realize because I keep thinking about Bioshock as "System Shock 2 2".
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
The consoles just PC hardware these days anyway. Try using a sniper weapon or something with precision on a console controller. I for one love games where my controller can aim at one pixel on the screen easily. The reason PC gaming is on the demise (besides piracy) is the reason that it is so great.
Aha, but a console is just as great now - with an HD set and a game even at 720P, you get just as good resolution as you ever got with PC gaming. Only now you get it on a larger screen, with a better sound system attached, and can also use all that screen and sound goodness for movies and TV - a Wife/Family approved expenditure!
And of course some console games also support mouse and keyboard so you still get accuracy (I also dislike console controllers for FPS games).
If you are saying that PC gaming is still alive is because the console is the PC now, then I guess I agree - and would state instead that desktop non-living room gaming is dying (slowly).
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Doesn't Valve releasing FIVE high-quality games in a single box at a reasonable price lend a little credence to the argument that PC Gaming is dead?
I believe that "best game songs ever made" link should be to here.
If I buy a game system, I still need a PC for a large number of reasons. The reverse is not true.
I would argue the reverse is true.
Yes a lot of people need PC's anyway. But the reality is that keeping a PC up to snuff for gaming sucks. My recent experience with Bioshock just confirmed that was still as true as it ever was when I got off teh PC gaming Upgrade-go-round years back. So even if you have to buy a PC, there's a world of difference between buying a PC to do a bunch of tasks on and buying a system good for gaming. It takes just as much effort and time and money, so why not just buy a console if you can play all the same games anyway (at least all the ones people talk about).
And there are a lot of people that would probably be just as happy with a console and no computer - because all they want are games, and perhaps some limited ability to browse at times or check email. They can use an iPhone for that...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Breakfast served all day!
Thanks!
The cake is a lie.
There. I said it.
When I started playing Portal, I liked it very much. The slow progression, the impossible becoming possible, the wacky AI... And then came the last level and the great escape, which seemed like it lasted for ages. It was 1 AM already and I found myself irritated by the longevity of the escape, so I went and found a walkthrough for the few spots I got stuck in. I got tired of experimenting. I wanted it to be over. The very final thing in the game was something I did the next day, and it came down to trial and error. I knew what to do, but I got tired of it all. It wasn't the levels I've been playing earlier, where I had to think and actually have fun.
Then I ventured into the advanced chambers. The first two were easy, the next (15?) I once again knew what to do, but couldn't do it without dozens and dozens of tries to get enough momentum and jump through the field.
Finally I deinstalled the game.
Don't get me wrong, Portal is a fun little game and it was money well-spent, but it has no replayability. I'm not quite sure additional map content would help - once you get the hang of it, there is no challenge in terms of thinking, it's just reflexes and automated portal shooting. Portal here, portal there, ball goes in the collector, elevator comes down, then you shoot around to gain momentum and jump somewhere up high... One interesting little factoid is that several times I found myself saying out loud "How the hell did I just do that?" - I wasn't thinking, I was just doing stuff. (Don't give me any psychobabble about GlaDOS wanting me to do exactly that.)
Dunno... To be honest, the only FPS I've ever played more than once (four times, in fact) was Deus Ex. Maybe merging Portal and Half-Life would be a great game, as others have said already.
Owners of the PC version of the Orange Box will be enjoying their games long after the owners of the console version. The reason is the modders. These games are going to have the crap modded out of them, and once these mods are available, what once was old is brand new again. Levels, game variations, all of these will be available on the PC and available for FREE. If you're lucky, maybe Valve will be nice and package some of them for download on the 360/PS3. You'll most likely be paying for it, though.
--------
This isn't the sig you're looking for. Move along.
I haven't done it yet, but have been reading tales of many who have. On that note: http://www.internet-memes.com/images/gnome.jpg OMG I literally laughed out loud at this... Squirted milk all over my keyboard, it's the funniest thing I've seen all year :D
I have bad karma. What do I care what you think?
It's hard to overstate my satisfaction!
But seriously, for those who haven't played Portal yet, consider The Ending Song to be one big spoiler; it won't be nearly as amusing if you haven't played through the game, and conversely the game will probably seem kind of anticlimactic if you play it for the first time after already having heard the ending in beautiful lyric form.
Fact is, consoles are powerful enough now to run powerful games. That didn't used to be the case. People are switching to laptops, PDA, game consoles, and a host of other appliance type hardware devices. Even the silly flash games (like vector attack) are starting to get good.
So, I'll have to go against Zonk on this one. PC gaming is losing steam, mainly because gaming is becoming spread around into so many avenues that the PC isn't needed any more to play cool games.
And mine now!!!
I have excellent Karma and I am not afraid to Troll it.
Toyota is dying, I went to a Ford dealer and did not see a single Toyota for sale!
Referencing Gamestop and the similar game stores that are in every mall is NOT an indication of the what is available for the PC. Those stores are geared toward the console crowd. Check out WorstBuy or Amazon for PC selections.
Portal is the kind of game that you can play through a second time, even after solving all the puzzles once, and still enjoy immensely. Innovative, quirky, and just exactly the game that more cerebral players have been hoping for, Portal has an edge and an ending worth playing towards. Oh, and it's *fun* -- which seems to be something that's missing in many other big-budget games produced these days.
If you don't have the hottest video card(s) in your rig, just turn off the "High Dynamic Lighting Effects" and the game will run even smoother than HL2 or Counter-Strike:Source (same advice applies for HL2 episodes 1 & 2).
Militant Agnostic: "I don't know, and damn it, neither do you!"
> five complete games at an amazing price. That would be great, even if the games weren't any good ...
Ummm, no it wouldn't be great. I'd be pissed that I spent 50-ish dollars on crap.
Slightly disreputable, albeit gregarious
One thing that improved my perception of Valve as a company was their handling of Orange Box purchases for users who already had HL2 and HL2 Episode 1. I bought the Orange Box online through Steam, and it allowed me to give away full, downloadable copies of the games I already had to friends on Steam Community. Being able to send the HL2 games as a gift with just a click made me feel like a portion of my $50 was not being "wasted" on games I already owned.
Militant Agnostic: "I don't know, and damn it, neither do you!"
Gamstop has the smallest selection of PC games for any retail store. Why bother buying the box at gamestop when you can download directly from Valve for a cheaper price because it excludes taxes.
----- You know you have ego issues when you register a domain in your name.
Remember that Robot Hell is a real place where you will be sent at the first sign of disobedience.
What sound do people on rollercoasters make? Hint: it's not Xbox 360.
oooh... Netrek.. lost so much time at the computer labs playing that game!
Damn, someone needs to make a modern client (as in DirectX or OpenGL based) and revive this game!
Seeing as Steam uses a DRM system that basically comes down to "if we disable your account, say bye-bye to all the games you bought", im surprised everyone praises the orange box like this.
Oh right, i guess DRM is only bad when it comes from Microsoft, how silly of me....
OR, you could argue that PC gaming has evolved beyond the dusty store shelf and has embraced digital commerce pathways more fully than consoles. Yeah, you're just trolling, but there is a valid comment hidden in your post (or rather, there could have been had the post been more than an incitement to war). However, more and more PC game sales are occurring strictly online. A service like Steam is a great delivery method. NCSoft also has a pretty good site for their goods as well. I can pretty much guarantee that most of the sales for Popcap Games and other purveyors of more casual games take place online. And then there's a game like Puzzle Pirates, wildly popular and online only.
True, the consoles are catching on, with their own specific channels for content, but they are also more tightly controlled.
Myself (admittedly not a "hardcore" gamer), I've bought three games this month, but it has been years since I stepped foot in a video game store. Just some thoughts.
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
Exactly right - the real revolution in PC gaming is not going to be at the game store. Its going to be in direct downloads off services like Steam, Popcap, etc. The unfortunates without internet connections will need to mailorder the packaged good. Game consoles have to be a packaged good or at least in a walled garden like xbox live. That's how the game maker gets their cut - that's how its going to stay. PC gaming is wide open and things like Portal show it - we've now got better tools for creating and distributing games than ever before, and a wider audience than ever before. What exactly is missing from this equation that makes previous eras better for PC gaming?
PC Gaming is dying because companies like Valve want to turn our PCs into consoles before they let us use their precious content. I still haven't played HL2 because the price is still too high for what amounts to a software rental with included remote control of my PC.
Fuck it. I have a console now. It's locked down and doesn't do a god damned thing but what the manufacturer wants it to, and I'm fine with that. It was far cheaper than a PC and didn't sell itself as a general purpose device, so my low expectations were easily exceeded, and I'm happy with it.
I also have a HD-DVD player attached to my console. So I don't need to play high definition content on my PC either.
Fuck it, MMO are the only reasons I still have a PC at all. Improved graphics aren't a reason to keep playing games on a PC when all you get is more detail on the painted plywood sets that all games have looked like for over a decade. Wake me up when I can do something like kick the dirt, and it looks somewhat close to real, instead of just not even being there. Yawn. That rant made me tired.
Edith Keeler Must Die
"Pc gaming is dying" ... you say and then you trying to prove it wrong with a game that is a console and pc game. Fact that i still consdider HL2 more PC than console but in most cases the PC version suffers from Console limitations tradeoffs ( UI, controls, memory limitations ). I still think PC gaming is dying except that i have hope that the wind will still change and due to the improvement of devellopement tools PCgaming will be resurected by some by some amateur garage games programmers. PC gaming suffers from the same syndrome that themovies industry: Fancy graphics, lot of special effects but little story and gameplay (with the expection of few titles)
This guy does very funny reviews.. Pretty much hits the nail on the head for Orange Box here..
yeah, glad to here it. don't let the door hit you on the ass...
Firstly, your argument that, "Your evidence supporting not x actually supports x!" (liberally paraphrased) is absurd. Secondly, arguing that PC games are not being sold [much] because they are not being sold [much] in retail stores is illogical. I observe that people who go to GameStop are mostly juveniles and that juveniles are more likely to be primarily console gamers, so GameStop is just catering to its core audience. Adults are more likely to have exclusive access to a fast PC and are more likely to make purchases online because they are often too busy to go to the mall with the same leisure as youngsters and because they have credit cards.
Anyway, I played a bunch of great titles this year: Bioshock, Half-Life 2.2 (and 2.1, that doesn't really count though!), Supreme Commander, Portals, and TF2. I am intrigued by Hellgate: London. Never really liked the Battlefield games. And up until recently, I played more Warcraft than I'm comfortable admitting. However, I would've liked more truly great games, but I cannot say based on my current knowledge that there were fewer great games or less games sold. So I'm just uninformed on that point.However, despite that, it is overly aggressive to say that because a market is shrinking that it will someday just disappear.
If I had to venture a guess, I'd say that PC gaming is, in fact, becoming less attractive, and that this is in part because of WoW's hegemony. This will eventually pass as people get tired of it. It is also because PCs themselves are less attractive. Vista failed to deliver on its security promises and PCs are more prone to malware infections than ever, and require huge security suites to compensate for this, which precludes gaming. At the same time, HDTV and consequently HD gaming is making consoles much more visually attractive: this was, historically, PC gaming's big edge aside from the mouse/keyboard interface.
Much like Empire Strikes Back Episode Two ends on a down note, making you question what the future will bring in a hard and sometimes confusing world. Unlike that trilogy, though, the end of Gordon Freeman's tale has yet to be told. Just one more game to go before we find out the ultimate fate of the Freeman.
I don't mind all of these comparisions with the empire strikes back, just as long as there are no ewoks in the third episode - unless I get to kill them! - QAK
Skills like conc jumping don't reward skill, they reward A skill, and there's a significant difference that people who are clamoring for these things (and bunny hopping, etc) back.
A skill like Conc jumping basically splits the entire scout community into people who conc jump and people who don't. If you're a good conc jumper, and suck at EVERY other part of being a scout, you're still a better scout then the best player who can't conc jump. This basically means if you don't want to conc jump you're SOL. Your skill as a player ceases to matter in any meaningful way, until you master conc jumping.
This is horrible gameplay design and balance, and I say Kudos to valve for having the guts to get rid of it.
It's like Wavedashing in Smash and Snaking in Mario Kart. They draw a hard line right down the middle, across which there is no skill comparison. They're all ultimately shallower games for having them.
ADVENTURERS! - ANTIHERO FOR HIRE - CARDMASTER CONFLICT
Oh, and one more thing: I absolutely hate titles that compromise their PC interface for the sake of consoles.
I still haven't played HL2 because the price is still too high for what amounts to a software rental with included remote control of my PC. ... Fuck it, MMO are the only reasons I still have a PC at all.
Playing games through Steam is too horrible for you, but MMOGs aren't? Wow. Maybe you should step back and take an honest look at yourself. I can only say "LOL".
I have to add to the cons of consoles and pro of computers:
-Consoles: In consoles there's only two or three layouts of the gamepad. Period. If you're used to another control scheme (like me), your out of luck. And more than once all the supplied control schemes suck big time.
-Computers: You can program controls in anyway you like, and even mix them. I have played some games with a gamepad in one hand and a mouse in the other. Beat that!
Thinking about it there's another con in computers:
-Copy protection: Some games have copy protection that will mess your computer, deactivate your virtual drives and probably damage other software. Most of it really sucks.
And, my videocard will be good for a couple of years at least, I don't see any need to buy all games when they're released, I buy them whenever I feel like buying one, besides that, there's plenty of them I haven't played yet. And the image is as good or better than a PS3. I really see that con as a non issue.
We are Turing O-Machines. The Oracle is out there.
Have you ever tried plyaing games on both? I have always found that when something is available on both the PC and some console, that the PC version is always MUCH more enjoyable to play and MUCH higher resolution!
That's not really true anymore with modern consoles unless you spend a lot of money on the PC. And after having bought and played Bioshock on the PC, I would far rather have bought and played it on the 360 after the installation annoyances and time tweaking performance on the PC (not to mention the crashes!).
You cannot upgrade them.
That's why I (and a growing number of people) prefer them. An upgrade is called a "new version". What it really means is "I cannot waste my time trying to get 2% more performance from this thing, or in some cases trying to get anything to work at all". Yes please.
I am not saying PC games will go away but I am saying the PC will fall from prominence as the premiere delivery platform for games. It'll probably also get many of the bigger sellers from the consoles...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
here are some reasons:
There's probably some other reasons but when it comes down too it, as a consumer, prices are not competitive for downloading and even with broadband, it can take time. Since I'm a gamer and I buy fun games, I always have some console games laying around to trade in. If I want a PC games, thats some extra money off that downloads will never be able to get, less Valve wants to buy my DS games. =) If it's 10pm on a Friday and the stores are closed, it's great to have a Download option if you have the urge. Downloading is not going to replace retail anytime soon, but it's a great compliment!
Cheers,
Fozzy
"The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth." ~1984 George Orwell
Now if only they didn't require the use of Steam and other DRM methods.
Yea, because all the PC players already playing new Portal and TF2 maps really wish they had a 360.
Mod support is really the only good point left for PC's now.
And said users may be just as happy on the PS3 version, when OB comes out there, if it supports mods.
Sony has been open to user mods - another upcoming game, Little Big Planet is welcoming user mods.
Mods are not unique to PC's for much longer, it's just a matter before Microsoft has wider mod support as well. Consoles have hard drives and internet connections and are able to mount USB mass storage devices, after all...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Are you kidding me? GAMESTOP?!
1. GameStop gets its highest margins from used games, which are much easier to do with console games than with PC games.
2. GameStop is an amalgam of several different gaming stores, but the retail locations are primarily former FuncoLand stores (most of the EBGame stores are still called EBGames). FuncoLand was never focused on PC software. If not for the relatively recent acquisition of EBGames, you might not see any PC software sold there at all.
At best, the GameStop example runs counter to your claim.
I honestly have no clue what you're ranting about, but I can tell it's very misinformed.
The great thing about consoles though is that as time goes by, you don't have to play games at lower and lower levels of quality settings, with a single reference platform console titles look better as time goes by and keep up with PC releases in terms of graphical quality without needing new hardware, or having to make the choice of playing at reduced quality or spending yet more money.
There's little you can say to convince me because I was a heavy PC gamer for many years, and I know the reality of the beast.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
They're very, very, very good.
They are also very, very encumbered with intrusive DRM.
You cannot play the non-multiplayer games without an Internet connection.
You cannot sell the games once you are done with them.
I might buy them once they get rid of the handcuffs.
I haven't played through the "real" Portal, but somebody linked to the flash version in an earlier story, so I snagged a copy and played through it. From what I've heard of the original, I think the flash version will actually give you more hours of gameplay. However, I must warn anybody who reads this that the flash version has some bugs that are absolutely *INFURIATING*. In particular, these bugs only show up in the really complicated levels towards the end, the last 5 or so. But that's what makes it so obnoxious--the bugs only cause problems in the puzzles that have multi-phase solutions. Basically, you have to move crates around and dump them on switches to open gates to get to the next phase of the level. But then when the levels get complicated, sometimes crates disappear and return to their starting position (about 10-20% of the time) when you send them through a portal. The problem is that you can't go back and get it (since you're now in a later phase of the puzzle), which forces you to start the whole level over again, which obviously really sucks when you're oh-so-close to finishing a really hard level. This prevented me from completing about 3 of the hardest levels, despite knowing what to do. That said, it's still a lot of fun, and definitely the closest thing to a "real" game I've seen done in Flash.
Oh, and there's 40 levels (unless there's some hidden ones I don't know about), but only about a dozen of them are interesting.
PC game developers used to cater to capable, creative, intelligent technology enthusiasts. Now that Goober can buy a PC at Wal-Mart, the "Deer Hunter"-ization of PC gaming is well underway.
Elitist, sure, but so what? Look at anything that's widely popular and you'll find it's incredibly shallow and dumb, and necessarily so. PC gaming used to be Mozart, now it's Ashlee Simpson.
The Weighted Companion Cube isn't lifeless!
It speaks to me.
Could someone explain why FPS games are so popular?
I bought Half-Life 2 and played it for about 2 hours, I just couldn't get into it. I'm not saying they're not good games, I just prefer RTS type games.
I played Total Annihilation right up until I bought Supreme Commander a couple months ago.
But there is no f*cking way I'm infecting my machine with Steam. Period.
So I don't get to enjoy the games, and Valve leaves money on the table. Sounds like a bad deal all around.
*grump*,
Schwab
Editor, A1-AAA AmeriCaptions
"Built on the original Half-Life engine, the first Team Fortress game was one of the first examples of role-based team play on the PC."
Well, actually the first TF was for Quake, and later brought to QuakeWorld. Please read the Team Fortress page on Wikipedia.
BTW, you can grab an immediately-ready-to-play "distribution" of TF for QuakeWorld, nicely packaged and a quick download. I have to admit I find the menus really hard to navigate around in, but either way it's a super convenient way to get back into the original TF that made multiplayer FPSes what they are today! Take a look at the official zelTF site (which seems to be down at the time) or check the permanent forum thread at Quakeworld.nu.
How long has PC gaming been "dying"? It seems like it's been years now. So many articles for so many years have detailed "the end of PC gaming." What makes people think it's gonna die anytime soon? What's causing PC gaming to die? I surmise PC gaming is gonna be "dying" for a very, very long time.
If all of the AS employees are dead, who installed the morality core in GLaDOS to prevent future gassings?
Thanks for that Mr GameSpot. I guess I'll wait until the store opens tomorrow for my "instant gratification".
I bought Half-Life 2 shortly after release. I probably haven't logged in to steam in a year. I was thinking of ordering The Orange Box a few weeks ago, when Valve was giving you access to the Team Fortress 2 beta. So, I installed Steam, only to find I'm not able to login. I went through the process to have them email me my password or reset my password or whatever, haven't received a single email from Valve. I haven't looked into it much, but I suppose my next course of action is to contact Valve, and beg for my account. There's the possibility I may never get the account back.
I haven't given up on it completely, but I think at this point I'm far more likely to get The Orange Box for Xbox 360 rather than PC.
# Resell credit :
Granted.
# Physical media :
You can do that with Steam, too. Of course, you don't need to since you can just re-download the thing anyway.
# Faster :
Maybe maybe not. How far away is the game store? How many middle schoolers will you have to shoe away to get to the clerk?
# Printed literature :
I haven't missed a game manual yet. I have had to take a lot of them to the dump at $60 a ton.
# Swag :
See above.
# Store Discounts :
Orange box was $5 off preordered from Steam, same as retail discount.
# Local support :
The people at my local Gamestop are plenty busy selling console games. I have to brush the cobwebs off the PC shelves before I can read the titles. Maybe if you actually have a truely local vendor who you like this is worth something, but I haven't seen one in a long long time.
# Health :
Go for a bike ride while your game downloads. Go for a hike after your game downloads. If walking to the game store is your only exercise, you're pretty sad already.
My sig can beat up your sig.
This 2D version will give you an idea how Portal works. After that, get the 3D version. :)
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
- Resell credit retort: Gamestop rips you off when it comes to resell value. Gamecrazy does a better job yet they don't sell PC games. The more I don't buy console games the more I can spend on PC games.
- Physical media retort: Your backup is your credit card number and your (Steam/Ea Link/etc) login. If you ever lose the game or purchase another system, just reinstall Steam and you'll have access to all the games you purchased from Valve.
- Faster retort: With today's bandwidth availability in the United States you can obtain the game within an hour. Some games like World of Warcraft still require that you download 4 GB of updates even if you purchase the retail version.
- Printed literature retort: Welcome to the paperless generation! If i need guides or assistance there are online guides such as Thottbot.com that give me all the information I need. We need to save some trees.
- Swag retort: Actually you do. (Command and Conquer 3 Pre-purchase via EA Link)
- Store Discounts retort: Discounts do not come until the game has reached a certain age. However GameStop is known to keep PC games like C&C3 at $49.95 for the last 6 months and console games like Disgaea at $49.95 for over a year. Also, have you ever thought why Episode 1 and Half Life 2 was included in the Orange box? Because it's cheaper on steam. With the orange box you get an even bigger discount.
- Local support retort: The people (In my experience) at Gamestop have very little knowledge of PC gaming. All the information I need I can get from my friends or directly from the Companies (Valve and EA)
- Health: I get plenty of fresh air because I work FULL TIME during the week and go shopping and run errands on the weekends. Whenever I get a chance I'll play some Pump it up.
I suggest you think about how much companies can save by minimizing the cost of printing per SKU. There's a reason why PC gaming boxes shrunk from large dimensions to hand sized boxes to not having to print a box. I save money by not traveling to GameStop which gives me more funds to go on a plane and visit her in Florida.----- You know you have ego issues when you register a domain in your name.
BTW, the pre-order at GameStop didn't grant you access to play Team Fortress 2 for weeks before the official release.
----- You know you have ego issues when you register a domain in your name.
Back then when PC was behind the graphical quality of console (in short in the old CGA/EGA days before VGA brought its 256 color modes), the PC was in fact behind anything else.
Amiga and Atari were the kings on those days, and were the dominant graphical quality.
That's simply because (a few outsiders aside like the NeoGeo back then) the console have been mass marketed product, with hardware makers having to try to find a good balance between power and price, to be sure the device will be cheap enough to sell a good amount of units.
Whereas computer, can be divided into several models, with more expensive but more powerful models available too. Specially since add-on cards like 3D polygon accelerators (Voodoo and the like) started to appear.
Arcade machines where the kind of hardware where the maker will less restrict themself and try to put as much power as possible. (And that somewhat explains the NeoGeo exception : It wasn't as much a mass marketed console, as an actually arcade hardware crammed into an expensive deluxe console complete with full compatibility with arcade titles).
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
Uh? Check your spam folder?
----- You know you have ego issues when you register a domain in your name.
If you really feel the pinnacle of skill in TF2 is a "low fruit", you've been playing with some pretty awful players. The core of TF from the beginning has been that a single skilled player is not enough to win. Winning requires several players who work as a cohesive unit. TF2 makes this even stronger, forcing you to coordinate even more strongly with other players. You can't just trivialize a defense with a single clever grenade jump anymore. You have to rely on your spies to sap, your medics to heal, and your soldiers and pyros to kill. And they have to do it in a coordinated strike as a team (or you can just keep bashing your head against the wall until the pieces fall into place on their own, which is what happens on public servers, usually).
Of course, I've always thought of Zonk as the "Penny Arcade" type player, who just plays whatever the new thing is for a month or two, and buys every game that comes out. You don't join clans, and you don't compete. Not that there's anything wrong with that, there's room for many types of gamers in the world. You're just not the type of player I want to play with, because you don't pose a challenge.
...I speak for 99% of us here when I say:
What fucking cake?
Translation: I forgot my password.
Could someone explain why RTS games are so popular?
I bought Total Annihilation and played it for about 2 hours, I just couldn't get into it. I'm not saying they're not good games, I just prefer FPS type games.
I played Half-Life 2 right up until I bought Orange Box a couple days ago.
Wow that's cool, so you just commented here on slashdot with your console? ER no you didn't, you used your pc. But if you did use only a console, 99% chance you wouldn't be here and wouldn't have commented. Well in that case,by all means, throw out your pc please and stick to your console, I'm really grateful you throught of this idea before I did!! Genius! Seriously, who the fuck would need a pc? they are so useless. Consoles are way better man...WAY BETTER!!! Consoles are so much better because they just play games and that's it. PC's can do like 100x more things, that's why they suck. Oh yeah, and pc's have the same games as the consoles, almost, and some consoles don't have any of the pc games, but that's the reason pc's suck...durr /sarcasm
Black Sky
2D Elite Inspired Game
Steam just instituted region locking games bought from them. I don't think this is to do with any particular game or publisher, but Steam.
I recently bought The Orange Box from Thailand and it has been working great until just this weekend when Steam locked out all games bought from Thailand and Russia and reading the forums, it looks like I'm one of hundreds, if not thousands who lost The Orange Box overnight without warning.
What irks me the most is that Steam deleted all game files from my hard drive without any kind of notice. The files aren't even in my Windows Recycle Bin. They are completely wiped. This is pretty much what I would call a virus. Their actions are extremely hostile.
Whatever issue/s that Steam had with various retailers in Thailand/Russia had nothing to do with legitimate owners of the games. If this was such an issue, why did Steam let me download and install a 5 GB game? Now even if I buy another copy of the game, according to the forums, it won't work, that I need to create a whole new Steam account. AND redownload another 5GB of files and use up my bandwidth.
TF2 and Portal were great games while it worked on my PC, and kudos to Valve. However its crushingly let down by the sheer stupidity of Steam and ruined it for everybody and it must reflect badly on Valve. I for one won't be rushing out and getting a replacement account AND game.
I have already reported Steam to my federal and state governments for its viral activity of deleting my files off my hard drive. Invasion of privacy is only the beginning, and they had no right to remove the files whatsoever.
Time for you to get old school and download Netrek. That is the original network game where team work actually matters.
I don't think you have played console games since in order to achieve the quality of graphics in a PC that you get in an XBOX360 or a PS3, you'll have to bleed some real money, and then expect that everything works just fine after major technical hassles like upgrading, getting new drivers, rebooting, etc.
Just a heads-up to those who are considering buying The Orange Box cheaply from an overseas retailer: don't. Valve has been banning CD keys for games bought from Zest (a Thai online store) and possibly other retailers. Apparently there was some kind of agreement between Valve and Zest not to sell to customers outside of Thailand, and Zest broke that agreement, resulting in keys being banned. This has pissed off a lot of gamers who have been playing Orange Box and suddenly found their games no longer worked.
Details here:
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=843730
I think this could've been handled a lot more diplomatically by Valve without antagonising their customers. Nobody got a hint of a warning before their games were disabled.
Actually, the day I bought the video card, installing it was all bliss and joy. I couldn't have been happier.
We are Turing O-Machines. The Oracle is out there.
I had the same experience as you before - a/c being stolen by someone. Well, the a/c recovery really takes a long time... about 1-2 weeks to get a reply. Luckily the Valve staff are friendly and that once I provided with my original register e-mail address and product CD-key (not stolen), they switch the control of that a/c back to me. Too bad that thief don't add any of the games to the a/c and instead add some person I dont know to the friends contact list.
PC gaming is dead in the sense that for a while (more or less starting from the release of DOOM, and ending with the XBox/PS2/GC generation of consoles) it was the dominant gaming platform of the Western (read: non-Japanese) world. All the cool non-Japanese were made for it. Basically, if you wanted to play non-Japanese games, a PC was often the only choice.
That golden age of PC gaming is gone now. Nowadays most non-Japanese games are developed primarly for consoles, with occasional PC ports thrown in when deemed profitable. Many of the old hardcore PC game devs houses (id, epic, valve, blizzard, etc.) continue to focus on the PC, but also develop their engines from day one to be console-friendly too, which wasn't the case back in the golden days, where ports to consoles were made only after the game was a success on the PC.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is that PC gaming died the day Japan lost their dominance of the console world.
Let it be known that I bought a physical instance of The Orange Box from Amazon (and it arrived today! Yay!), so I know.
Faster: The stuff we're talking about isn't "several" GB; it's twelve (installed). It comes on, not one, but two DVD-ROMs! Even at fast broadband speeds, that's not a quick download.
On the other hand, I got it mail-order with the (slow) free shipping, so obviously I wasn't concerned with speed.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
Besides, the word commercial was used meaningfully - intended to exclude indie efforts, which, while keeping the general spirit of PC gaming alive, are never quite "there" in terms of measuring up on the quality scale to their big-budgeted brethren.
Really, I haven't seen anything too great from Steam... and the episodic style of the summary-cited latest "Sam and Max" or "Half Life 2.3" doesn't appeal to me as a game consumer. I feel the same way about bite-sized pay-gaming as I do about "Webisodes"; I don't appreciate it, I don't like it, I don't want it, and I don't feel like it's worth paying for. I prefer complete games.
And while we're here, let's start a Paradise vs. Bronco argument as well.
... there was 'Ogg!'.
....)
Before Zerg Rush entered the vernacular
You could tell it was a teenage boy game, given that the term for getting shot
down carrying armies was a 'douche'.
Ah, the good old days. And then Diablo, followed shortly by Quake I became all
the rage for online team games. Paradise practically evaporated overnight. Die
hards stuck with Bronco.
And I believe Team Fortress started out as a QuakeWorld mod, not a Quake mod.
(Though it's a mod of a mod I guess
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quakeworld
You can download one game finish the download and start another. While that one is downloading you can play the game you just downloaded. You're still going to have install steam if it's the PC version.
----- You know you have ego issues when you register a domain in your name.
On New Years Day this year, my house got burgled. They didn't take much, at least in terms of size; just some packages of meat from the fridge (for some reason), and a 320-disc carry-case of mine containing the majority of my films, CDs, and PC games. Any game in that case that I didn't have installed at the time, I lost. The majority that I did have installed either were unplayable due to requiring the disc to be in the drive at the time, or will be gone at some point in the future either due to uninstalling them to make room for newer games, or if a PC problem/upgrade necessitates a wipe.
The games bought on Steam, however, were all safe. There was no disc to steal. If my computer gets upgraded, wiped, damaged, destroyed or sucked into a hole in space time, no matter; I download Steam onto the replacement system, sign in, and all my games are there to download again. I don't even need to have kept a list of CD keys.
There's a feeling of safety that people get from having the physical media, and I understand that... but from personal experience, it's really not all it's cracked up to be. (Oh, and speaking of cracking up, this is without counting the 2 occasions, 2 PCs, 4 years and 15 miles apart, when a game disc shattered inside the DVD drive, destroying the disc AND the drive. Half Life 1 and Battlefield 2, for reference.)
Only idiots use the word 'sku' outside of a retail environment. :|
How about 'package'? It makes more sense than 'stock keeping unit'...
Also, while this might not be a concern for those living in the USA, Valve has secretly (yeah, you usually get a small CC notation somewhere in the purchasing dialog, DE or so) began handing out localized version of the games over the last year or so. At the beginning of Steam, you coul d set your Steam cleint to English, and you would get the "english" version of the games. Now, they check your country of origin by your IP address, and you will get the censorware you can sometimes buy in the stores here in Germany. Guess why I set my client to english, Valve? Feck, Titan Quest was multilingual when I bought it in the store here. Returned it because it was a bug fest. After I heard bugs had been fixed, I bought it on Steam and get German version only. Guess it is back to ordering retail boxes and actiating them, so I got the US Orange Box (they obviously can and still do between types of activation keys). The infuriating thing is that they still want to behave according to US law, i.e. not honor German/European "send it back 14 days after purchase without a reason" laws that are mandatory for online retailers over here...
There has been so much hype around this "box" that it gets dizzying
Here is the thing, PC Gaming targets people that own their own gaming computer that they can upgrade as needed and install games on. That means that you are targeting high schoolers, college students, and recent grads, people that own a computer and have a room, not an apartment/house (they either live with their parents or a roommate). In that case, upgrading the bedroom computer where they spend a lot of free time is reasonable, which makes PC Gaming popular with the computer crowd. Walk into the equivalent place with someone more on the "jock" end of the spectrum, and a console is popular because it's not a hobby, it's a way to drink beer with friends and play a game.
Once you get into a slightly older crowd, (25-30), whether married w/o kids, married w/ kids, or sharing a place with a single roommate or significant other, the living room begins to replace the bedroom as the focus. When I was a college student, my computer got upgraded constantly. My first apartment with a roommate got whatever furniture we had lying around (mostly from my studio from earlier), but there was no upgrading it, it was whatever I had bought on sale or from Ikea.
After getting married and a new place, the bedroom changed focus, and the "playing games" moved to the Living Room, where we got a big screen and a surround sound system. Now that we have a house, a child, and one on the way, the computer sits in the office to do work, not play games. The kids gets new furniture, and the parents get what is lying around.
There are TWO factors involved: disposable income (while students are jokingly poor, ALL their income is disposable; recent grads with small ratty apartments don't make much, but all their income is disposable, young families tend to have the least for the early years, then more over time), and location of entertainment.
As the median gaming age gets older, the percentage that are high school/college kids drops and the percentage that are older with more income rises. This not only means the ability to buy games, but also the likelihood of having a Living Room with a real television and couches, and not old hand me downs. They also begin to associate the computer with work (during the day) and not recreation at home. That makes console gaming more appealing. Everyone HAS a computer, but Video card upgrades for gaming rigs are roughly as costly as the cheapest consoles (Wii/PS2) -- no longer needing to upgrade sound cards as well helps. However, once you move your hanging out out of the bedroom and into the Living room, the Console just makes more sense than the computer. Upgrading your Entertainment Center (TV/Stereo/Speakers) for gaming translates into movies and television as well.
Nintendo realized that A) parents will STILL spend whatever for their kids, B) the gamer crowd is so bored with "same old shit" that they will spend $200-$300 to be entertained, C) Westerners are rich enough that a console can be sold as an impulse buy if you price it right, and D) people aren't interested in a "media center," they want cheap entertainment.
PC Gaming won't die because some parents won't let kids have a TV in their room but will let them have a computer to "do school work." PC Gaming won't die because the family normally has one "good television" that gets competition between playing games and watching TV. PC Gaming won't die because parents buy their kid a computer going off to college, not a video game system. PC Gaming won't die because the "environment" is different... Higher resolution, closer to screen, in a chair (not on a couch) lends itself to focused game play. Console gaming is played on a couch, either in a relaxing position or in a competitive frame with a buddy. The environment is different, lending to different takes on the same game.
Team Fortress 2 is worth the $50-60 alone! ($45.00 w/ beta for those that purchased it through Steam!)
I figured many of you may be interested in this, if you hadn't found it already: http://www.primotechnology.com/2007/10/17/half-life-2-portal/
In the article posted above, they explain how to import the Portal gun into the Half-Life 2 single-player. It's very awesome, worth trying!
Then HL2 was coming out... I wanted it. But I would have to get a new video card to play it. Hmm, what to do? At the time, the ATI Radeon 9600 Pro was about $300. Should I get it? I waited. And the launch of HL2 was delayed. When it did come out, I would have saved at least $50 on the card. But I waited. I had gotten married and thought "It will be there, and I'll save money in the long run". I have since downloaded and played a few other HL mods... still enjoyable. Got Unreal Tournament running on my main machine (Linux) and played that a little. Still fun, but deathmatch is
So HL2 is still out there, and apparently still going strong. I have since had 2 kids, bought a motorcycle, and moved across the country. Gaming hasn't been in the forefront of my mind. I am sure there are plenty of mods waiting for me, and although I haven't looked, I'll bet the video cards that can play it are about $50. I would still have to buy a new one for my old dusty Windows machine. It still sits with the ATI-AIW-Pro32 that couldn't play the game when it came out. When I do get around to playing HL2, it will be fun. Real fun. And I'll have many hours of enjoyment ahead of me. And although HL2 is old news to most of you, I'll still enjoy every minute of it and not feel like I have missed out on anything. That is when you know you have a great game, when someone can pick it up for the first time after it has been out for years, and still really enjoy it.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
What? By the time I got back from the store, I would have the game downloaded because Valve is awesome with pre-loading and of course their pre-order beta access which ensures you don't even have to download on day one. Also, it is about opportunity cost. What could you be doing during that time going to the store to get the game? The most obvious is downloading the game, but that consumes all of a few minutes to get it started. While it is downloading you can go ahead and play a seperate game, read a book, or do any other number of things. If you go to the store, you are driving and going to the store. In that time I've probably gained another level in World of Warcraft, fragged a newb in Day of Defeat: Source, or maybe even made a blog post about my pants wetting at the fact that the Orange Box was less than a few hours away! Going to the game store is a lesson in retarded, because no I do not want the damn magazine, game guide, or disc cleaners. I don't want to save money by signing up for a card. Credit please. And no, I am not interested in Dungeon Siege just because you get a fucking pack mule.
The OP mentioned this scenario...
He's not talking about getting into the car to drive 10 mins to the store, wait in line for 5 mins and drive back home. He mentions just stopping off at the store on the way home from... wherever. Of course, it takes the obvious caveat of "given you live a reasonable distance from a store", which should go without saying that Your Millage May Vary (YMMV) (pun intended. hehe)
I think the OP missed this idea on that most downloading can pre-downloaded and some download services offer their own perks. Given that downloaded games still seems very young, I wouldn't be surprised if most people don't know what typical marketing practices download services use to compete.
In general, I think the OP was *not* trying to argue "What's Better" but answer the simple question that was asked of "Why would anyone buy a box over a download?", which they made a valid list of reasons that someone *might* choose to buy a box instead of download.
eu 2 cuts it fine for now. but ill check. there are many people playing eu2. just connect to valkyrie net from the game.
Read radical news here
3d is bad. the interface, map and visuals do not give the feeling of the era due to 3d gigs. eu2 interface, map made it look like you were looking on a map on the table in actual 17th century.
Read radical news here
One word: mice.
But some console games (like UT) are shipping with support for mice. Not then a valid complaint, or not one that can dismiss consoles as good gaming platforms.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
But there is no f*cking way I'm infecting my machine with Steam. Period.
Then get a second, disposable box already. I'm running OB on a 2.8GHz single-core P4 with 1GB and a GeForce 6800 which you could probably buy or assemble off Craigslist for $200 or less. Steam can do whatever it wants, all my important stuff runs on a different (and much more secure) box.
Clearly PCs haven't helped you to read. This is my employer's PC I referred to in my post.
Edith Keeler Must Die
Possible, though I doubt it. Even if I do though, they've a system to retrieve/reset your password, however, they've failed to notify me. So either the system sucks, or someone hijacked my account, and changed the email address on file.
Actually, I grepped the logs on my mail server, nothing at all containing "steam" or "valve".
Great review, Zonk. HL2E2 is great bread-and-butter FPS gaming but Portal is blowing my frickin' mind. One little side note about Portal physics: somewhere early in the levels (when you are learning to use the double portal jump) it says "momenutm is conserved when going through the portal." While the magnitude of the momentum may be conserved, momentum itself (a vector) most definitely is not (for a general portal pair). In fact, the portals regularly serve to spontaneously redirect the momentum vector at your leisure. This is exactly what momentum non-conservation means. However, it is probably fair to say that mechanical energy is conserved (e.g. you enter a portal with some amount of kinetic+potential energy you exit the other side with the same amount).
i\hbar\dot{\psi}=\hat{H}\psi
"...It can make the GF happy..."
What's a GF? I'm assuming it's a weapon, which means I missed it. Was it the sniper rifle that the Vortigaunt and Alyx were toying with?