Where have you been for the past decade. Console games grew up with their players bunky.
There's blood and it's red.
And you don't have to play a game with cute characters unless you want to. And you might actually want to because a good game is a good game no matter what the character is.
Almost all of the online games use the USB ports for the keyboard or the headset. That includes the first online capable game: Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3.
Many of the PS2's FPS"s also support the USB ports for mouse and keyboard. Half Life and Deus Ex do, unreal Tournament, I'm not for certain about Quake III Arena.
Various other games support them, RPG Maker does. Karaoke Revolution does, and the Linux kit does, of course.
Firewire support: The only games that I personally know of that have it are Gran Turismo 3 A-spec and one of the Timesplitter games does. I also think Monster Rancher 3 does too.
HD support is limited currently to SOCOM II and FFXI, (and the Linux kit) but that's just in the US. In Japan many more games support the HD, like FFX and Xenosaga.
I can't think of a single game genre that absolutely requires a hard drive or that couldn't be done without one. Not even MMORPG's (EQOA for the PS2 doesn't use the HD)
Ahh, the Linux kit, the joys of posting to/. using Firefox, watching that "Developers, Developers, Developers" using mplayer and playing Nethack all on a Playstation 2.
So releasing a console after a competitors allowing one to use more powerful hardware is innovative? In what way?
When the PS2 was released, no other console had an expansion bay to put a hard drive in. No other console had USB AND Firewire ports. No other console used a controller designe exactly the same as the previous one.
SCEA began selling the Linux kit in the US in 2002. You could pre-order it in March of that year. Kits began arriving in late May of that year.I've had my kit for over 2 years.:-)
They just recently sold the last of their NTSC U/C kit inventory. There are still kits available in other territories like the UK and AU
The keyboard and mouse only occupy one of the USB ports since the keyboard has a port on it's side for the mouse. I have a USB hub plugged into the second port.for my printer, USB CD drive and, Jumpdrive Trio.
I couldn't stand the guy and his Street Fighter obseesion/I'm more hardcore than you because I can play imports/I use the japanese words for fighting game attacks because I am more hardcore than you.
Give me a break. He'd have fit right in at GameFan with their 2D/SNK worship/Fighting game worship/we liked anime before anyone else did attitude.
And worse, all of EGM was a bit like that. They gave Samurai Showdown game of the year honors. A game for a system that no one other than editors and writers of video game magazines actually owned. I think they did it just to prove how "hardcore" they were.
I'm glad that era is over and I'm glad Sushi is gone. Good riddance to him and all that blasted Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat letter art.
Oh I agree. Haven't seen a "totally awful in every way" game in years.
Recently I went back and played some oldies, some of them held up, some of them didn't. Some games just "work" even if they aren't perfect. And that applies to games of any era.
My Opinions:
It's a rare platform game that works well in 3D. Super Mario 64 doesn't, but the Spyro games did.
3D seems to be working better for adventure games.
RPG's and adventure games age better than other games
1 hit and you're dead shooters not fun: Zanac
Shooter with energy meter and similar gameplay, fun: The Guardian Legend.
Free roaming and exploring helps a game it's why Super Metroid has aged so well. (Still my favorite SNES game)
Hack n' Slash dungeon games never grow old and they have found their true audience on the consoles.
Music is an important part of the game experience. Catchy memorable music can make a good game, great.
Analog sticks are a good thing as are 100% remappable controls.
Final Fantasy VII is the best FF overall, pay no attention to those "the older ones are better" fanboys. However VI, IX, and X are right behind it.
Ports of games are not necessarily bad things. The NES version of Might and Magic: Secret of the Inner Sanctum is an excellent game.
Sequels can be better than the originals. I liked Dark Cloud but hit a brick wall in character advancement and the game became tedius. I was having to spend all my money on water, healing foods and repair powder. I was also having to sell weapon upgrade gems to help pay for stuff. The UI also needed work, with some very small and hard to read fonts. Dark Cloud 2 does not have these problems and is simply a much better game. I've actually told people to ignore the first game and just play the second.
UI is VERY important. If a game is hard to read and or too complex for it's own good it is less fun: Saga Frontier or to a lesser extent Final Fantasy XI
But we are all adults so scheduling time to actually play together is almost impossible. We have jobs and responsibilities. We aren't "neighborhood" kids who can pop over to Timmy's house and play Mario Kart after school. We aren't college kids in the dorms who can have their roomie or the guys next door to play.
Lack of online play and gimmicks to make me buy a GBA are why I don't own a GC.
With online play I can play when I have the time. A little bit here, a little bit there. If I don't go to church on Sunday mornings but my offline friends do I can still play. I can play if I can't sleep. I have choices.
That Linux kit is for ordinary PS2's not the PSX's which already have hard drives. I haven't been able to find any info on whether someone has used the Linux kit's discs to install on a PSX. It "should" work, thought it might render it useless for PVR purposes. Might have to install Linux in the way that those who want Linux and FFXI on the same HD do.
The Xbox may have superior stats in some ways but that does not make it the "better" gaming machine.
PS2's can also have hard drives,bigger ones than X-boxes. Both of my PS2's have hard drives installed.
IMHO Gameplay is more important than resolution and the PS2 has a better and larger variety of games.
Most PS2's you can buy nowadays have the Network adapter included, so Ethernet right out of the box.
Last I heard Sony was going to release a music application for the PS2 allowing one to rip and listen to music.
I've always wondered why a console with built in networking needs 4 controller ports. Shouldn't you be playing muitliplayer online?
The reason the X-box has those 4 ports is because it's aimed at the "dorm room" market in the same way the Gamecube is aimed at the "after school" market. I'm 37, arranging some in house multiplayer with friends is almost impossible due to schedules. I don't need 4 ports and if I did hooking up a muititap is not that hard. On top of those two ports a PS2 has USB ports. Don't need special adaptor or special X-box only keyboard, all you need is any ole USB one. That goes for mice too. Did you know that most PS2 FPS's support keyboard and mouse input?
I figured I had the lowest system specs of any of the article readers.
Playstation 2 with Linux kit 294 MHz, 32MB RDRAM, 40GB HD.
Posting with FireFox running under Fluxbox. I've followed lots of the usual window manager/app advice. I used to run KDE1 then switched to fvwm2 and now fluxbox. Recently I've been using the Rox Filer as my graphical file manager when I need one. I try to run only one RAM intensive app at a time, either Firefox or Thunderbird but not both. I have dillo 0.8.1 but I haven't found an SSL patch for it yet.
I've ran an older gnome on it but it's way too slow even slower than KDE2 is on it. I can't stand windowmaker, which is the default GUI on an out of the box kit.
I've listened to streaming mp3 with xmms.
I am no Linux guru either, I am not a programmer and the kit was my first exposure to Linux. I had it useable for what I wanted to do within a week tops. My first compile was AbiWord.97 IIRC,
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Since quite a few LCD monitors have composite or S-video in that's what console gamers who LAN party use.
Or else they just use those little "mobile monitors" designed to make your console semi-portable.
Gamer who judge game on graphics is foolish gamer.
Which games did you play
How did you friend have his PS2 hooked up to his TV, RF, composite, S-Video, component?
How old is your friends TV?
>Console games seem to be geared more towards the computer illiterate or beginner
I guess you've never played a tactical RPG on a console.
Huh?
The first console to have internet multiplayer was the Saturn, years ago.
PS2 and Xbox have many games with internet multiplayer. I take it you don't own one.
Where have you been for the past decade. Console games grew up with their players bunky.
There's blood and it's red.
And you don't have to play a game with cute characters unless you want to. And you might actually want to because a good game is a good game no matter what the character is.
Or Ogre Battle, Tactics Ogre, Final Fantasy Tactics, the Persona games, Carnage Heart, Final Fantasy XI or either RPG Maker.
Almost all of the online games use the USB ports for the keyboard or the headset. That includes the first online capable game: Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3.
Many of the PS2's FPS"s also support the USB ports for mouse and keyboard. Half Life and Deus Ex do, unreal Tournament, I'm not for certain about Quake III Arena.
Various other games support them, RPG Maker does. Karaoke Revolution does, and the Linux kit does, of course.
Firewire support: The only games that I personally know of that have it are Gran Turismo 3 A-spec and one of the Timesplitter games does. I also think Monster Rancher 3 does too.
HD support is limited currently to SOCOM II and FFXI, (and the Linux kit) but that's just in the US. In Japan many more games support the HD, like FFX and Xenosaga.
I can't think of a single game genre that absolutely requires a hard drive or that couldn't be done without one. Not even MMORPG's (EQOA for the PS2 doesn't use the HD)
That's what I was thinking. Even a non-programmer, like myself could probably get it working on a 'nix system that way.
If I remember correctly Nethack WAS ported to BSD on the DC though I don't think it has X11 tiles support
Ahh, the Linux kit, the joys of posting to /. using Firefox, watching that "Developers, Developers, Developers" using mplayer and playing Nethack all on a Playstation 2.
.
So releasing a console after a competitors allowing one to use more powerful hardware is innovative? In what way?
When the PS2 was released, no other console had an expansion bay to put a hard drive in. No other console had USB AND Firewire ports. No other console used a controller designe exactly the same as the previous one.
Isn't this innovative?
>It was about getting around certain tax laws in >Europe, by classifying the PS2 as a "computer".
They did that with the Yabasic discs they threw in, not with the Linux kit, which came much later.
1: The sony folks say you CAN do a commercial quality game.
2: How is the Xbox scene bigger? Can you prove that?
SCEA began selling the Linux kit in the US in 2002. You could pre-order it in March of that year. Kits began arriving in late May of that year.I've had my kit for over 2 years. :-)
They just recently sold the last of their NTSC U/C kit inventory. There are still kits available in other territories like the UK and AU
The keyboard and mouse only occupy one of the USB ports since the keyboard has a port on it's side for the mouse. I have a USB hub plugged into the second port.for my printer, USB CD drive and, Jumpdrive Trio.
Obviously you don't own a Playstation 2, which does have USB ports.
That's where the keyboard and mouse plug into, supported by several FPS, online games and the Linux kit.
The USB headset used for voice communication plugs in there too.
As does the Eye Toy USB camera
The Logitech wheel designed for Gran Turismo 3 is also USB.
The HD slides into the espansion bay and does not need USB.
Printers work just fine with the Linux kit.
Why the heck do the Brazilians use PAL of any sort. I thought the Western Hemisphere was pretty much all NTSC?
of a game that wasn't a fighting game.
I couldn't stand the guy and his Street Fighter obseesion/I'm more hardcore than you because I can play imports/I use the japanese words for fighting game attacks because I am more hardcore than you.
Give me a break. He'd have fit right in at GameFan with their 2D/SNK worship/Fighting game worship/we liked anime before anyone else did attitude.
And worse, all of EGM was a bit like that. They gave Samurai Showdown game of the year honors. A game for a system that no one other than editors and writers of video game magazines actually owned. I think they did it just to prove how "hardcore" they were.
I'm glad that era is over and I'm glad Sushi is gone. Good riddance to him and all that blasted Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat letter art.
Oh I agree. Haven't seen a "totally awful in every way" game in years.
Recently I went back and played some oldies, some of them held up, some of them didn't. Some games just "work" even if they aren't perfect. And that applies to games of any era.
My Opinions:
It's a rare platform game that works well in 3D. Super Mario 64 doesn't, but the Spyro games did.
3D seems to be working better for adventure games.
RPG's and adventure games age better than other games
1 hit and you're dead shooters not fun: Zanac
Shooter with energy meter and similar gameplay, fun: The Guardian Legend.
Free roaming and exploring helps a game it's why Super Metroid has aged so well. (Still my favorite SNES game)
Hack n' Slash dungeon games never grow old and they have found their true audience on the consoles.
Music is an important part of the game experience. Catchy memorable music can make a good game, great.
Analog sticks are a good thing as are 100% remappable controls.
Final Fantasy VII is the best FF overall, pay no attention to those "the older ones are better" fanboys. However VI, IX, and X are right behind it.
Ports of games are not necessarily bad things. The NES version of Might and Magic: Secret of the Inner Sanctum is an excellent game.
Sequels can be better than the originals. I liked Dark Cloud but hit a brick wall in character advancement and the game became tedius. I was having to spend all my money on water, healing foods and repair powder. I was also having to sell weapon upgrade gems to help pay for stuff. The UI also needed work, with some very small and hard to read fonts. Dark Cloud 2 does not have these problems and is simply a much better game. I've actually told people to ignore the first game and just play the second.
UI is VERY important. If a game is hard to read and or too complex for it's own good it is less fun: Saga Frontier or to a lesser extent Final Fantasy XI
There you have it.
On the Playstation 2 playing online is free, except for the two MMORPG's: FFXI and EQOA
I likw Final Fantasy
I have friends who like Final Fantasy.
But we are all adults so scheduling time to actually play together is almost impossible. We have jobs and responsibilities. We aren't "neighborhood" kids who can pop over to Timmy's house and play Mario Kart after school. We aren't college kids in the dorms who can have their roomie or the guys next door to play.
Lack of online play and gimmicks to make me buy a GBA are why I don't own a GC.
With online play I can play when I have the time. A little bit here, a little bit there. If I don't go to church on Sunday mornings but my offline friends do I can still play. I can play if I can't sleep. I have choices.
Nintendo doesn't give me those.
What console costs $500? Even at launch none of the current generation of consoles cost $500.
That Linux kit is for ordinary PS2's not the PSX's which already have hard drives. I haven't been able to find any info on whether someone has used the Linux kit's discs to install on a PSX. It "should" work, thought it might render it useless for PVR purposes. Might have to install Linux in the way that those who want Linux and FFXI on the same HD do.
The story was referring to a drop in PS2 hardware sales. Not hardware sales in general.
Ok so you buy upgrades every year. People don't buy new consoles every year. Usually it's about every 5 years unless you're a gaming enthusiast.
What? You don't have a couch and TV already?
I don't know where you got the idea that console games "last much less in terms of playability" because it most certainly isn't the case.
The Xbox may have superior stats in some ways but that does not make it the "better" gaming machine.
PS2's can also have hard drives,bigger ones than X-boxes. Both of my PS2's have hard drives installed.
IMHO Gameplay is more important than resolution and the PS2 has a better and larger variety of games.
Most PS2's you can buy nowadays have the Network adapter included, so Ethernet right out of the box.
Last I heard Sony was going to release a music application for the PS2 allowing one to rip and listen to music.
I've always wondered why a console with built in networking needs 4 controller ports. Shouldn't you be playing muitliplayer online?
The reason the X-box has those 4 ports is because it's aimed at the "dorm room" market in the same way the Gamecube is aimed at the "after school" market. I'm 37, arranging some in house multiplayer with friends is almost impossible due to schedules. I don't need 4 ports and if I did hooking up a muititap is not that hard. On top of those two ports a PS2 has USB ports. Don't need special adaptor or special X-box only keyboard, all you need is any ole USB one. That goes for mice too. Did you know that most PS2 FPS's support keyboard and mouse input?
http://www.linux-mips.org
DYWYPI? (Do you want your posessions identified? Y/N)
floating eyes have caused many a YASD (yet another senseless death) until the player learns to use missle weapons on them.
Because when you put together Sony, Linux, 3d graphics and MIPS CPU, I think Playstation 2.
I figured I had the lowest system specs of any of the article readers.
.97 IIRC,
Playstation 2 with Linux kit 294 MHz, 32MB RDRAM, 40GB HD.
Posting with FireFox running under Fluxbox. I've followed lots of the usual window manager/app advice. I used to run KDE1 then switched to fvwm2 and now fluxbox. Recently I've been using the Rox Filer as my graphical file manager when I need one. I try to run only one RAM intensive app at a time, either Firefox or Thunderbird but not both. I have dillo 0.8.1 but I haven't found an SSL patch for it yet.
I've ran an older gnome on it but it's way too slow even slower than KDE2 is on it. I can't stand windowmaker, which is the default GUI on an out of the box kit.
I've listened to streaming mp3 with xmms.
I am no Linux guru either, I am not a programmer and the kit was my first exposure to Linux. I had it useable for what I wanted to do within a week tops. My first compile was AbiWord