Posts by Thrik

Yeah, it's really not that bad at all. Granted, to kit yourself out with high-end components like I tend to can be hard on the wallet (although I don't care since I do work after all -- might as well spend it on stuff I enjoy), but you can get a perfectly competent machine by just going for slightly lesser hardware.

One thing to note (unless you're a filthy warezing bastard) is that in the long run you do save in various areas on the PC. While most people don't count things like this when adding together costs, peripherals can be expensive on consoles, including the proprietary cables they all love to use for hooking up to HD televisions and such, and of course controllers.

Critically, almost all current-generation console games are around £10 to £20 more expensive than their PC counterparts in the shops, which adds up very rapidly.

I guess it comes largely down to taste, though. I simply cannot enjoy consoles as much as the PC due to my enduring love for FPS and RTS games, which still just don't work that well on consoles. If I played more third-person and racing games then I'd probably see a lot more value in a console. No console, Wii included, can match the tactility you get from a mouse when it comes to controlling a battlefield in an RTS and aiming in an FPS.

I was kind of impressed by the general concepts demonstrated rather than purely the graphics, though they were of course superb.

The jelly is obviously one thing I found really cool from a purely gameplay perspective, and I thought that vehicle that's actually just a ball with spider legs was great too.

But yes, I think we all know what the deathmatch side of the game will pretty much play like. I'm looking forward to seeing how much fun that new Onslaught-esque game mode will be though.

'Discordant' is definitely a word I'd be tempted to use here.

It's very, erm... similar.

As someone who doesn't own a PSP, I don't think I'd immediately notice this is a significantly different design from the original other than the colour (and even with a photo to compare it still doesn't seem too different). Seems weird to put what was presumably some hefty development costs into what is quite a minor refresh.

I mean with the DS it was understandable because the original seriously looked like total ass and it was affecting sales a lot, but I'm not sure what the motive is here considering how long the PSP's been out.

Unreal Engine 3 has proven itself to be pretty good at scaling to lots of hardware in the PC games it's been used in thus far, including hot topic of the moment: BioShock. In fact, the Unreal engine in general has been like this.

Thanks though, my NASA computer is truly something.

Looks absolutely excellent.

Can't imagine playing it with that PS* controller, though. PC version, clearly.

That is an inspired logo!

Great stuff.

Also good to see the gear and box MapCore logo being used on sites.

Bleh, 1.4gb. Demos are so huge these days.

It wouldn't be a problem if the servers you download them from weren't invariably absolute shite.

Looks good.

As for that music Sentura, I'm pretty sure that's an original composition and is the game's theme; it's used in a variety of ways in different trailers.

I'd just use my own piss.

I think the HD 650 is probably beyond the scope of the author as they are pretty much the most expensive headphones Sennheiser do. Pretty much any pair in the Sennheiser HD line is going to be excellent though, and even the HD 212 pair I had a few years ago absolutely pissed all over any in the same price range.

Although there is a pattern emerging in this thread with the recommendation of Sennheiser (HD) headphones, I think it's probably worth reiterating: they are very good headphones! And since they have a huge range of price levels that all deliver increasingly good quality, starting low will still provide excellent sound.

The Sennheiser brand itself is very well respected, and considered one of the main audiophile brands. As I said above, the higher up the HD range you go, the more incredible detail you can hear (the breath between singers' lyrics example is not an exaggeration).

Yeah, even in Mansfield something like a girl pissing in the street would be seen by all as an act of gross indecency and would be seen as little pieces of shit immediately.

You don't really seem to see guys doing it much either, although that's probably because the streets are saturated with police during the clubbing times and they arrest your face off if caught.

I think the only problem with games that hit the PC and consoles is that the developers just seem to not understand the way a PC game should fundamentally feel. It's usually really obvious stuff like the mouse acceleration (this is a problem with BioShock and Lost Planet) and basic stuff that just makes it feel a bit iffy.

Otherwise a lot of them are pretty good titles, and many developers have finally started dedicating teams properly to making the transition work well. Command & Conquer 3 is a great recent example, which has a very different feel (and HUD) on the 360 that works better than most console RTS games ever have, but retains its traditional PC feel in the PC version.

There're quite a few 360/PC transitions coming this year, so it'll be interesting to see how they go. Gears of War, Assassin's Creed, Viva Piñata, Kane & Lynch, and Call of Duty 4 spring to mind, but there may be more.

In the past, console/PC games have been been a bit shit. I think times are changing though and they're tending to become very good experiences on both as more time is spent making them so.

Of course, games like GRAW (2) approached it a little wrong IMO and actually developed two completely different games (one for 360, one for PC), yet kept the same name for both. Sure, the games work their best on each platform, but it's kind of confusing.

Wtf? Girls what pissing on the wall in a populated area?

What kind of crazy (or arguably superb) country is this??

But it'll be the publisher who sees their income fall, and make the decision to stop supporting development for PC games altogether.

By all means though, if you want to see them making games for consoles only then that strategy would be fine if everyone did it.

They might be comic-like, but they do have actual texture to them.

I don't know if you ever played a game on 1920x1200, but I can assure you most textures start to look quite blurry once you get near them in the majority of games. Having them remain sharper for that bit longer rather than becoming fuzzy is a much appreciated change.

I'm still not feeling this soft-faced guy as Hitman much, but I have to admit that trailer was otherwise pretty solid. I couldn't really point at any particular part and say it was bad, and if there was a more aged-looking head on Hitman himself it'd be a superb translation.

I think we've all realised by now that, just like has been the case with books throughout the entirety history of film, it's very unlikely a game's story will make the transition untouched, or even lightly touched. If you somehow haven't yet realised this... well, it's time.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating the invasive protection at all. I'm just commenting on the fact that I think PC publishers have been pushed into a particularly tight spot due to the rampant piracy, which is far more widespread than it is for consoles.

It seems so bad to me that the people who green light the funds could very well be demanding that protection be included, or they just won't support a PC release as they don't want to take the risk of swimming in the El Warez Resort's pool.

While I think the protection absolutely needs to be pushed back, I also think consumers need to in general stop being absolute knob heads and warezing games they could easily get a demo for and then buy if they like the demo. It's those fuckers who've forced these funders' hands, and have ultimately gotten this shit rained on us -- not the publishers themselves.

Last I heard the music industry was in a lot of trouble financially, which might seem insane but I'm pretty sure I read this is true and there was evidence backing it up. However, they also tried the aggressive DRM and got so much consumer backlash they had to retract it.

The same will probably happen for games, especially considering the huge press BioShock's has gotten, but the fact remains it's hurting the PC platform. Maybe someone knows more about this than me, but I really think it's likely publishers/funders would prefer to just not release on the PC at all and focus on the PS3/360, where warez is infinitely less prevalent.

That sucks for any PC gamer. Anyone who frequently downloads warez should be ashamed.

Yeah, indeed. It might not look like it at a glance but there's a lot of lighting passes and shit going on, and Valve said in an older interview that they're including gigantic textures so owners of 768mb GeForce 8800 GTXs and stuff can enjoy ultra-sharpness.