Release Date's for PC - XBox360 & PS3 , Wii

[inedibleshoe]

Currently playing Farcry 2, before that Crysis. Jump into Team Fortress 2 ocasionally and Counter Strike with gun-game mod.

Really tried to get into COD. Really tried, just didn't really get it (the ham-handedness story is actually based on true story (well, maybe except for the rocket launcher part)). Crysis was good because you could go invisible, and it gave you time to line things up before starting a epic battle. It also allowed you to slow things down when they were getting too far out of hand.

I think what killed COD for me was how so scripted it was/is. Guys come running from exactly the same place every time. And if you found a scenario that was difficult, it was simply a case of using death as a way to figure out the right way (as there was only one way through the level).
Maybe that's different now in COD 4? I bought it, but didn't get far, (there's a greenhouse by night. It's after the helicopter gunner level near the start).


Any comments on GRID? Is it comparable to say, Forza or Gran Turismo?

[daboggeyman]

Currently playing Farcry 2, before that Crysis. Jump into Team Fortress 2 ocasionally and Counter Strike with gun-game mod.

Really tried to get into COD. Really tried, just didn't really get it (the ham-handedness story is actually based on true story (well, maybe except for the rocket launcher part)). Crysis was good because you could go invisible, and it gave you time to line things up before starting a epic battle. It also allowed you to slow things down when they were getting too far out of hand.

I think what killed COD for me was how so scripted it was/is. Guys come running from exactly the same place every time. And if you found a scenario that was difficult, it was simply a case of using death as a way to figure out the right way (as there was only one way through the level).
Maybe that's different now in COD 4? I bought it, but didn't get far, (there's a greenhouse by night. It's after the helicopter gunner level near the start).


Any comments on GRID? Is it comparable to say, Forza or Gran Turismo?

My self I really like Grid its a challenge for sure from what I have read it,s pretty much like Forza , I play Dirt a lot and the two to me are the best racing games I have ever played. I guess one thing that makes them enjoyable as well is that I have a system were I can max everything out and makes them look like they were meant to look. But the game play is fantastic in both Grid and Dirt.
 I want to get Farcry2 it looks cool but kinda waiting to see how most feel about it. CS & TF 2 I enjoy a lot as well.

[hugh]

Gid is a fantastic game. it's a good ol fun arcade racer with sim thrown in, wouldn't really call it a challenge though, once you've sorted out the acceleration then it's pretty straight foward and such

[daboggeyman]

Gid is a fantastic game. it's a good ol fun arcade racer with sim thrown in, wouldn't really call it a challenge though, once you've sorted out the acceleration then it's pretty straight foward and such

What games do you consider the most challenging in your opinion hugh?

[hugh]

for me, it's when realism comes heavily into play that i start to struggle, for instance games like il2, the flying game, so detailed that i tire ed quickkly and got lost. i find fps pretty simple, just point and click, i've got good hand eye coords and such, but company of heroes, now i just fail, i can't keep track of so many upgrades defences resources and stay active and moving in the thing

grid with a keyboard, now that is HARD, 360 controller makes a world of a difference, keyboard you just spin out all the time

[daboggeyman]

LOL I have a buddy that's into IL2 big time and has been for a long time, I never try Company of Heros, FPS I get into but not worth a crap at them. Guess its the fact I to old to be play games but hey what a pass time. I play Grid with a key board and do pretty good at it, getting the cars to slid just right some times gets me in trouble if I happen to be in a pack of cars. I think I liked Dirt just a tad better.

[daboggeyman]

Hey inedibleshoe here s something that may interest you,

 {Lord of the Rings Online Developer Working on Console MMOs}
http://www.pcworld.com/article/153559/lord_of_the_rings_online_developer_working_on_console_mmos.html/

[inedibleshoe]

Interesting. Because consoles are just as every bit capable as most average PCs out there.

I wonder how targetting would work?

PS3 and Xbox both have chatpads. The article also talks of keeping consoles and PCs apart for fairness. But if the MMO is a small one, that cuts up an already small userbase. Actually the better thing would be to code keyboard support in, like Unreal Tournament 3 does on PS3.

Or, change the PC version. Have two stances, combative and defensive, offensive and counterspell etc. A button switches between the two stances. Both have 4 weapon/spell slots. Or, have the two stances as combative and non-combative. The digital arrow keys on the left control defensive, the buttons on the right control offensive. Outside of combat stance the buttons do completely different things. Actually the second way could work really well..

The ideas are endless!

[daboggeyman]

Actually the second way could work really well..

Yea your probably right.  ;-) I don't really have a preference so both ways would be great

[hugh]

ha, why not just plug a ps3 controller into your pc? i don't think that a pc user should have his game cut down and such just to amke it fair and such. if they can't afford a nice computer then stop whining about the fairness and have fun on your thrill-to-the-bone controller and i'll have fun with my laser mouse

i personally don't see them as competing products, i mean consoles are "cheap" but on the whole, games are a rip off, and you're stuck with a controller, i'm happy to pay more for my pc as there is just so much more you can do with it and code for and such, no way would i want my big odl qwerty keyboard being limited to functioning as an overly large gamepad, what's the point..

i say plug em all up, get all the console fans online with the pc fans and let the games begin don't try and penalise me just for your consoles shortcomings

[inedibleshoe]

Maybe.

Shadowrun was supposed to be a glowing example of PCs and Consoles gaming together. The trick was in the Auto Aiming. You couldn't have pin-point precision but you weren't guaranteed to miss if your crosshair wasn't perfectly on them either. Too bad the game was so criminally lacking in content with an alienated fanbase of the original (and completely different) game that it killed itself before it had a chance.

For all intents and purposes, a console is a PC. It's like Dell having, what is it-their XPS line of laptops? They all have standardised hardware. All you'd need is for Sony to mandate mouse and keyboard support for all new games. The barrier is the mindset that consoles are meant solely for the couch potato. That's mostly because you can't operate keyboard and mouse when you're sprawled out on the couch. But put that PS3 on a desk instead of in a cinema cabinet with a keyboard/mouse combo and there's no difference.

Let's improve on Shadowrun. Let's have the likes of Team Fortress 2, that can be played by PC and PS3 and Xbox together, but only when a keyboard/mouse is plugged in. If the keyboard/mouse is not plugged in, then console players have to just play in the console only club.

Agreed Hugh, I'd rather have a PC too but you can't beat consoles for complete ease of use or cost of ticket to entry. No complicated instructions, no CD-Keys, no having to search for patches, just stick the disc in the box and the console will do the rest. My PS3 takes all of 20 seconds to boot, my PC all of 2-3 minutes. Big deal, but if you're dealing with somebody who a. doesn't have the time or b. has fleeting moments of wanting to play you remove as many of the barriers to get them in.
That and generally PC versions of games are scrutinised harder.
As for cost, I spent $5000 on my PC and am still not happy. The difference is I know the PS3 can't be upgraded or changed in any way. Try as you might it's not possible to take that concept to PC land.

[hugh]

tha's a lot of money for a pc, i spent £600 n mine and it hasn't been defeated by a game to date. as to cost of ticket, whie the console is cheaper than some graphics cards, each game sets you back around £50 which is a hell of a lot of money.

and i could be wrong but don't ps3 and 360 games get patched online? maybe some certain games?

[Doomzilla]

tha's a lot of money for a pc, i spent £600 n mine and it hasn't been defeated by a game to date. as to cost of ticket, whie the console is cheaper than some graphics cards, each game sets you back around £50 which is a hell of a lot of money.

and i could be wrong but don't ps3 and 360 games get patched online? maybe some certain games?

Yep, 360 has Title updates that come out for various games, depending on whether they need bugs fixed or adding new features.  When you go to start the game it checks for the update and if one is available if notifies you to download it.  PS3 has updates too, but I am unaware of the process involved.  I assume its fairly straightforward, similar to the 360.

[inedibleshoe]

5000 Australian Biscuits / ~2100 quid. Mac Pro.

The monitor is 1920x1200, which makes things look bad at anything below native resolution. Unfortunately I can't put anything bigger than an 8800GT inside it else MacOS won't work anymore.  Or I can spend roughly 10% of that on a PS3 that runs just as good.

What I meant by the patching is that the patches come to you. Steam does the same thing, but that's not how all games work. Battlefield has its own method of updating, Need for Speed does its own thing. Far Cry another way again. Most times you have to either run an update downloader program from each game developer for each game or download them manually from a website. Compare to console, where it checks everytime you run the game, and downloads+installs with one button press. No website hunting, no email address to signup to some website so you can get bombarded with advertising while you 'wait' for download slots.

Far Cry was $70, Fallout 3 was $90. It's not such a big difference between platforms (although it has been much much worse).

[hugh]

5000 Australian Biscuits / ~2100 quid. Mac Pro.

The monitor is 1920x1200, which makes things look bad at anything below native resolution. Unfortunately I can't put anything bigger than an 8800GT inside it else MacOS won't work anymore.  Or I can spend roughly 10% of that on a PS3 that runs just as good.

What I meant by the patching is that the patches come to you. Steam does the same thing, but that's not how all games work. Battlefield has its own method of updating, Need for Speed does its own thing. Far Cry another way again. Most times you have to either run an update downloader program from each game developer for each game or download them manually from a website. Compare to console, where it checks everytime you run the game, and downloads+installs with one button press. No website hunting, no email address to signup to some website so you can get bombarded with advertising while you 'wait' for download slots.

Far Cry was $70, Fallout 3 was $90. It's not such a big difference between platforms (although it has been much much worse).

lol, mac pro, great comparison.... i can equally say my pc cost near nothing, can fit any graphics card, any resolution looking just perfect blah blah. mac was not really designed with hardcore gaming gaming and gaming in mind.. more, oh i don't know, itunes and safari?

that aside though, i can see where automated pathcing is useful, means you're always upto date without having to read up to make sure you're upto scratch. handy and easy, granted, and as you say, some games do this also, most ubisoft games download and install patches automatically when you run the game, but can be cancelled. but i like the ability to patch at my leisure, when i play random games i don't bother patching or waiting around to patch if i just want to play a game and see what it's like, or there is simply no need to patch, far cry being a great example, i'm playing single player just peachy and although there is a new patch out for it i wouldn't bother installing it and havn't as it's predominantly a multiplayer patch with few single player changes. i don't need it so i won't waste my time downlaoding it. from all my experience in game shopping (not a lot ) ps3 games have been sitting in virgin megastores or whoever they sold out to, for £50 and pc games are typically £24.99 --> 34.99. i have NEVER seen a standard game (we're not talking gold box etc) sell for more than £35 a piece.

[inedibleshoe]

OK. So the Mac comparison isn't the greatest. I could still spend $5000 for a soaked-in-oil-deepfried-generating-enough-heat-to-warm-a-household-of-6 PC and not be happy with it. And it would be noisy as hell not to mention just as ugly as said place.
I've tried Linux and it's too difficult as well as hard to find games for that will work. Mac is the best option out there that allows you to go down all three paths of Windows Linux and Mac. It's just that you can't stick SLi in there.

50/115AUD Ouch. Then again that includes VAT. About 3 months ago they were going for anywhere up to 130/55. Kotaku seems clued up on how to beat the system.

Far Cry 2 does something before the game launches (too quick to read). There was something about Windows 7 keeping all games up to date too.

[hugh]

OK. So the Mac comparison isn't the greatest. I could still spend $5000 for a soaked-in-oil-deepfried-generating-enough-heat-to-warm-a-household-of-6 PC and not be happy with it. And it would be noisy as hell not to mention just as ugly as said place.
I've tried Linux and it's too difficult as well as hard to find games for that will work. Mac is the best option out there that allows you to go down all three paths of Windows Linux and Mac. It's just that you can't stick SLi in there.

50/115AUD Ouch. Then again that includes VAT. About 3 months ago they were going for anywhere up to 130/55. Kotaku seems clued up on how to beat the system.

Far Cry 2 does something before the game launches (too quick to read). There was something about Windows 7 keeping all games up to date too.

well all i can say is i spent a LOT less than $5000 and my computer satisfies every need, uses a single 120mm fan (read as quiiiet) looks the bomb and uses very little power as to linux, what you say is very true, it's a REALLY steep leaning curve but saying that i've been having great sucsess with ubuntu's recent offereings and have fou/nd games to run quite easily get games working (yet to see to what extent though)

as to far cry 2, it performs an update prior to launch, same as the 2 vegas games did, sometimes useful other times annoying (you get 2 computers up and running only to find one's auto patched the other hasn't so you can't play lan etc

oh, and my shuttle seems to do all 3, linux windows and osx, just peachy, and can play all games and perform all functions so i'd personally say a pc is the way forward (how quickly this went to mac vs pc :lol:)

[inedibleshoe]

Yeah but I mean legally. And after a stint with SuSE and trying desperately to get Gentoo working I decided that you shouldn't have to work at your computer just to keep the thing running. I mean basic things like sound and/or video. A modern day operating system should do that stuff automatically or at least tell you in plain easy to understand language that the sound isn't working because there is no driver support.

Small text to prevent distraction from the main topic but feel free to jump in.

What is also good is games are starting to be advertised on prime time TV. Saw the short for Fallout and felt that while it nearly isn't enough for people to get the idea of what the game is about that it is a start. My parents know I play 'those video games' but don't understand anything about what they are or what they do. They don't see it as a story being told from the first person. Bioshock was the same, although that was only in cinemas. A collegue saw the short for Fallout and while has never played a video game was intrigued by the concept of a post-apocalyptic world that you could explore.

[Doomzilla]

This conversation reminds me of this spoof that was made quite awhile back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0byal1bDUtA

[hugh]

i agree on suse, it's just a 24/7 chore unti you really know exactly what you're doing. my install crashed and burned hugely. as stated though, ubunut is moving towards this "modern OS" we're used to and it installed literally everything on it's own which was very nice to see. as to pirating games, aside from it being the cause of all wars, recessions and gun crimes, i see it as kind of a pro for pc gamers. consoles may be cheap, but games are expensive, wheras pc's are typically expensive (although prices for a great pc are now funny low ) but games are either much cheaper or you can simply and easily download a copy, something which you can't do for a console, unless you buy a moc chiop, cracked games, or download the gaes using one of those cray expensive computer machines. just my opinion, it's all swings and roundabouts really, they've all got their pro's and cons (mouse vs gamepad vs genre)

first game trailor i reember, was for Black on the PS2, now that REALLY made the game look good, it was the first game of a breed on ps2 which had surprisingly great graphics and looked intense, other than that i havn't seen too many. one thing i don't like is in-game ads, old story really, but you see adverts and buy a product as a result, not buy a product to get you hands on the shiny ads held within.

anyone played world of goo yet? :lol: now that is a silly little game that get's very addictive when you're with friends, ratehr a laugh and interesting and "educational" at the same tie (believe me, i've had to sit down and explain the finer points of physics to friends who just couldn't understand why it kept falling in the hole )

[daboggeyman]

OK here's the final update till after he 1st. of the year for PC game's due for release, there should be at least one more for the console before the 1st. of the year.
Keep in mind that there can be cancellation's  and  postponements.

 Left 4 Dead         PC       Shooter       November 17, 2008
Need for Speed Undercover     PC     Racing Action     November 17, 2008
Sims 2: Mansion & Garden Stuff, The     PC     Simulation     November 17, 2008
Spore: Creepy & Cute Parts Pack     PC     Simulation     November 17, 2008
Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People -- Episode 4: Dangeresque 3     PC     Adventure     November 17, 2008
Bolt     PC     Platformer     November 18, 2008
CSI: NY - The Game     PC     Adventure     November 18, 2008
Dynasty Warriors 6     PC     Action     November 18, 2008
EverQuest II: The Shadow Odyssey     PC     RPG     November 18, 2008
EverQuest II: The Shadow Odyssey -- Collectible Figurine Edition     PC     RPG     November 18, 2008
Gothic 3: Forsaken Gods     PC     Action RPG     November 18, 2008
Gothic 3: Forsaken Gods: Collector's Edition     PC     Action RPG     November 18, 2008
Legendary     PC     Shooter     November 18, 2008
Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria (Collector's Edition), The     PC     RPG     November 18, 2008
Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria (Complete Edition), The     PC     RPG     November 18, 2008
Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria, The     PC     RPG     November 18, 2008
Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir     PC     RPG     November 18, 2008
Spore: Creepy & Cute Parts Pack     Mac     Simulation     November 18, 2008
Tomb Raider Underworld     PC     Action     November 18, 2008
Worldwide Soccer Manager 2009     PC     Sports Simulation     November 18, 2008
Worldwide Soccer Manager 2009     Mac     Sports Simulation     November 18, 2008
War Plan Pacific     PC     Strategy     November 20, 2008
Neopets Puzzle Adventure     PC     Puzzle     November 25, 2008
Vampyre Story, A     PC     Adventure     November 25, 2008
Call of Atlantis     PC     Puzzle Adventure     November 26, 2008
Emergency Hospital     PC     Simulation     November 26, 2008
Chronicles of Spellborn, The     PC     RPG     November 27, 2008
Puzzlegeddon     PC     Puzzle     November 27, 2008
DQ Tycoon     Mac     Strategy     December 1, 2008
DQ Tycoon     PC     Strategy     December 2, 2008
Grand Theft Auto IV     PC     Action Adventure     December 2, 2008
Prince of Persia     PC     Platformer     December 2, 2008
Shaun White Snowboarding     PC     Sports     December 2, 2008
Tale of Despereaux, The     PC     Action     December 2, 2008
Runes of Magic     PC     RPG     December 9, 2008
Gravity     PC     Puzzle     December 29, 2008
Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall     Mac     RPG     Q4 2008
X-Blades     PC     Action     December 30, 2008

[inedibleshoe]

The Left 4 Dead demo didn't really do it for me. Especially when if you've worked yourself into a dead end and the zombies are barrelling forwards to you. Just keep spamming Right Click and it smacks them all back while your teammates blast them to kingdom come.

Great concept though. Maybe it works better with human players.


...and maybe they could integrate it into HL2:Ep3?
"Zombies have attacked Alyx! You must save her!"
"....I think I'll pass.... "

[daboggeyman]

From what I see  nothing in this list really gets my attention. But maybe something I'll may give a second look at  later.

[lightprocess]

L4D did't do it for me either. Less-than-stellar graphics on an aging engine, repetative gameplay. Sounds like a perfect game for consoles. Looks like I'll be Team Fortressing until Starcraft 2. Maybe Dawn of War 2 and/or Diablo 3.

[hugh]

L4D did't do it for me either. Less-than-stellar graphics on an aging engine, repetative gameplay. Sounds like a perfect game for consoles. Looks like I'll be Team Fortressing.

lol, kind of hypocritical i enjoy left 4 dead but am not too much of a fortress fan, that's just me though

edit: and yes, it's a LOT more fun with real players. it's like counter strike with bots, sure iot's 5v5 or whatnot, but at the end of the day they're boring ass predictable bots. get some teamspeak going and you will have a riot