The Great BD PC vs Console Debate

[divine]

Originally Posted by loki

I will post a full reply when I get home. Most points I agree with, three points I don't

I still don't think point about the latest hardware being essential is entirely correct. Yes if you want full AA and Anistropic Filtering along and really really high frame rate then you have to spend your wedge on card capable of doing that. However that will make it look better than the comparable console version.

The example of Crysis and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is valid bit certainly not representative of PC gaming in general. Crysis even on a £3000 pc will struggle to hit above 60 frames per second and have all the bells and whistles turned on at anything more than 1280x1024. No matter how much Crytek bleat on about piracy, it was a game that was poorly coded. STALKER on the other hand was over four years in production and went through a number of developers before it was released. Its biggest problem was that it came out at the same time as Vista, so the developers had problems from the outset getting it to run on that. As I say both valid examples but not representative of pc gaming in general.

Final point I take issue with is steam. Having used Live on PC, XBL and Steam, I would say Live on PC is the worst out of the three. Steam has come a long way, it's stable, easy to use and offers similar functionality to XBL and I genuinely don't see it being that bad from a user, developer or content perspective.

I was going to point out the same three things tbh

[cheets]

I am a massive console lover, I grew up with console and pc gaming but the last 3 years I have only played FM and Mafia on my PC, its just so disjointed, you have such a big spectrum of users that the developers dont know what to do, look at Crysis brilliant graphics but probably the worst gameplay of any major PC releases.

The console has taken on the PC in every area and its matching it, online play, patches, game content, demos. Now with the 360 NXE where you can install games and play off the hard drive, quiet and faster loading times shows how far the humble console has come. The price argument is flawed because you can spend £1000s on a console AV setup and vice versa.

Console games seem to have more thought and love put into the game, some of the games seem like epic movies and trilogies, GoW series, Halo, MGS, Killzone etc. these game can make more money for a developer than your blockbuster film for the year and for £40 you are getting months of enjoyment from SP and MP.

The thing that worries me for PC gaming is the amount of exclusives it has lost out on, even Alan Wake is on PC/360, I would love splash £500+ on a PC tower for gaming but I know that I would not use it and that the hassle I have had before with pc games will just make me press the 360 on button.

[Matblack]

Originally Posted by cheets

snip

I agree with a lot of this, I'm a recent convert to consoles as a sole gaming platform, there are a few things they don't do as well such as RPGs (I loved Guild Wars) and RTSs but they have so many pluses in their favor, not least of which is the investment too keep up with the latest game. I bought a 360 for half the price of a graphics card I would have needed to bring my PC up to a point where I'd have been able to play it on the PC and if I wanted to play Crysis there would have been another upgrade in between. These days I know I will get the same gaming experience as everyone else and my console will always play the latest games.

My PC is still a very very important part of my home media experience but not my gaming experience.

MB

[NokkonWud]

Originally Posted by divine

I was going to point out the same three things tbh

But he only pointed out 2. One of which is moot because I never slated Steam and just pointed its shortfalls and how LIVE is a whole system that does more as opposed to a gateway client.

[iCraig]

Originally Posted by Blighter

Again in response to iCraig... I think FPS might be better with a mouse, but there are some (GoW for eg) that I can't imagine using anything other then my pad

Is that a true FPS though? I've seen my flat mate play it and it seems, well, I don't know, gaitered into a set predetermined amount of movement. Duck, fire, duck, fire etc. Reminded me of Time Crisis, if you know what I mean?

[Daz]

Gears isn't an FPS, it's third person

[Admiral Huddy]

I've printed the OP off for a read on the train later. However, at this point I would like to add a few experiences I encountered this weekend alone:

I attempted to load Far Cry 2 on an upto date system, recent drivers. However, half way through the initial load it crashed. This was the preparation phase. Turns on that I needed the Nvidia Physics update. There was no mention of this. Then half way through the actual installation phase, I got a "un readable media” error message. I had to cope the exec file, apply a fix then run again. All this took over an hour or so of my valuable gaming time. I had problems with Hell's Highway too and was starting to doubt the credibility of the PC as a gaming platform.

I soon changed my mind when Pete and I played Vegas on his Xbox360. The slow unrealistic movement resembles puppet string physics. The moue keyboard combo wins.

However, with the price of PC hardware and its unreliable software set, it' no wonder soo many have turned to the consoles for their gaming fix.

[NokkonWud]

Originally Posted by Daz

Gears isn't an FPS, it's third person

Gears is a FPS in a 3PS shell. Aiming is entirely FPS. A 3PS is more traditionally seen as a Resident Evil or Tomb Raider.

[NokkonWud]

Originally Posted by Admiral Huddy

I've printed the OP off for a read on the train later. However, at this point I would like to add a few experiences I encountered this weekend alone:

I attempted to load Far Cry 2 on an upto date system, recent drivers. However, half way through the initial load it crashed. This was the preparation phase. Turns on that I needed the Nvidia Physics update. There was no mention of this. Then half way through the actual installation phase, I got a "un readable media? error message. I had to cope the exec file, apply a fix then run again. All this took over an hour or so of my valuable gaming time. I had problems with Hell's Highway too and was starting to doubt the credibility of the PC as a gaming platform.

I soon changed my mind when Pete and I played Vegas on his Xbox360. The slow unrealistic movement resembles puppet string physics. The moue keyboard combo wins.

However, with the price of PC hardware and its unreliable software set, it' no wonder soo many have turned to the consoles for their gaming fix.

lol, you just criticised the slowest FPS on Xbox360 for being to o slow!

[Daz]

Originally Posted by NokkonWud

Gears is a FPS in a 3PS shell. Aiming is entirely FPS. A 3PS is more traditionally seen as a Resident Evil or Tomb Raider.

At no point am I in Marcus' head :/