> -----Original Message----- > From: James Smith [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Thursday, December 30, 2004 5:52 AM > To: CF-Community > Subject: RE: Got a PS2 SlimLine for my Biiirthddaaayyy ^_^ > > True, but there are no levels, puzzles or other gameplay elements that can > be done on an Xbox but not on a PSOne (or an N64, or a Sega Master System > for that matter), the only point in upgrading consoles is for better > graphics, that's it, nothing else, graphics, graphics, graphics. > > That being said, Xbox rules as it's graphics kick the PS2s butt.
Well - as I've said, if that's the way you feel then you deserve an XBox - it does have the best visual quality on the console marketplace today. Some of us have other measures of "quality" however. > > To illustrate imagine trying to do "Splinter Cell" on the > > original PS, Saturn or N64. You could do a version of it, > > sure - but gameplay elements would need to be sacrificed to > > do so. You simply couldn't do the same game on those > > consoles. The game would PLAY differently because of the > > console capabilities (anybody remember "Doom" for the consoles?) > > The game would play exactly the same, it would just look s**t. Doom sucked > on consoles because it wasn't designed for a gamepad, people with a chip > in > there Xbox will tell you that Doom sucks on that platform too and it has > nothing to do with the console! You simply could not do "Splinter Cell" on the last generation of consoles. The game would NOT play the same. So much of that game's PLAY is directly a result of its lighting and physics engine. So much of its play is also a direct result of the graphical prowess. You have to see whether Sam is in the shadows to play properly. You have to support a certain level of transparency quality and lighting. This can be done on all the current generation consoles, but not on the last. "Ico" could not have the immense emotional impact it has without a certain minimum of graphical quality and, more importantly for that game, audio clarity. You needed to clearly hear the lost echoes and wind in that game - the last generation couldn't do that. Physics-based weapons like the Bouncer or the Lava Gun in "Ratchet and Clank" couldn't be done until this generation - the older systems just didn't have the juice to do that AND control two or three dozen enemies on screen. The giant, fully realized bosses in games like "Prince of Persion: The Warrior Within" and many others could not have been done in the last generation. Two or three dozen enemies on screen at once, like you often see in "Ratchet and Clank" would itself be nearly impossible for previous generations to pull off unless (as you often saw) their AI was crippled to the point of utter stupidity (thus inhibiting gameplay). Moving to hardware you couldn't do "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" on the previous generation because of storage and memory limitations. This is not about graphics, but about draw distance and the number of agents (pedestrians and cars) the console can track at once - the last generation couldn't do it. Many of the more enjoyable experiences on the modern consoles can't be done without pressure sensitive controller buttons, and built in analog sticks - both things the previous generation were either lacking completely or never took full advantage of. A gadget like the Eyetoy wasn't possible on previous consoles due to both the lack of high-speed peripheral report and the simple lack of the processing power needed to do motion capture and analysis. The level of realism in "Silent Hill 2" along with many other factors Take a look at the games you play and eliminate the graphics from consideration. I think you'll find that the actual reason you like the games has very little to do with the graphics (there's a reason it's called "eye candy"). Don't the vastly improved AI, realistic physics, multi-channel sound, improved controller, content quantity, and all these other things play any role? To say that any game from today done on an older console would "play the same" shows a remarkable misunderstanding of what makes great games truly great. Jim Davis ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Special thanks to the CF Community Suite Silver Sponsor - RUWebby http://www.ruwebby.com Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:141212 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
