Evening Reading

Last night I grabbed the Xbox 360-exclusive Crysis 2 demo and played it for a couple hours. That proved to be plenty of time for me to see some of the struggles developer Crytek faces in bringing their technology to consoles. Much like the original Crysis overwhelmed the PCs of its day; this latest version of the engine seems to be pushing the limits of its intended hardware. While mostly running at a "locked" 30 frames per second, response to the controls felt sluggish in a way that left the impression that the 360 was having a tough time keeping up with the game.

With this generation of consoles lasting a while--Xbox 360 launched in late 2005, PS3 a year later--the passage of time gives PC gaming hardware an increasingly substantial advantage. At something like say $1000, a modern entry-level gaming rig can be had that packs an awful lot of power. And with so many multiplatform games including PC in the mix, wouldn't it be funny if the PC wound up being the best place to play them after so much energy went to making them console-friendly.

Here are the highlights from today's video game news on the Shack:

From The Chatty
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    January 26, 2011 5:01 PM

    [deleted]

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      January 26, 2011 5:04 PM

      [deleted]

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        January 26, 2011 5:10 PM

        All the entitled pricks (me included) play on PC if that helps.

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        January 26, 2011 5:24 PM

        The coolest kids play both. If you have to choose at this point I would recommend the PC version, as it's much easier for the developer to update. Which is extremely important in a multiplayer-focused game such as this. Both run extremely well however, and you can't go wrong with either.

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          January 26, 2011 5:32 PM

          [deleted]

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            January 26, 2011 5:39 PM

            In that case I would probably recommended the 360 version, as I believe Khan has mentioned that it boasts some pretty impressive kinect support.

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              January 26, 2011 5:43 PM

              [deleted]

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                January 26, 2011 5:51 PM

                Wait, you mean the kinnect isn't thought controlled? How is it any better than a stupid Wii then?

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            January 26, 2011 5:39 PM

            Headbutt your keyboard

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      January 26, 2011 5:14 PM

      Wish the default loadouts for the classes weren't so bad.

      Assault is particularly bad.

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        January 26, 2011 5:16 PM

        Funny, i think they are pretty good. You probably think that because you are bad.

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          January 26, 2011 5:18 PM

          There only appears to be a few actually good endorsements: Armor and Rate of Fire are so far better than everything pretty much, and accuracy and clip sizes depending on class.

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          January 26, 2011 5:18 PM

          [deleted]

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        January 26, 2011 5:17 PM

        [deleted]

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        January 26, 2011 5:19 PM

        Seems like you've done nothing but complain about the game in every post you make about it...

        Maybe the game just isn't your cup of tea :)

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      January 26, 2011 5:39 PM

      I'm going back in with my ninja star spamming abilities!!

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      January 26, 2011 5:41 PM

      [deleted]

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        January 26, 2011 6:09 PM

        Dammit, I should be studying for MCITP but instead you're dragging me into playing videogames. Curses!

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        January 26, 2011 6:23 PM

        Did I get booted or did the server crash? It's not even showing up in the server list anymore.

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      January 26, 2011 5:43 PM

      Is there a PC demo of this game?

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      January 26, 2011 6:16 PM

      First time trying to play with you people and I get kicked? Do I need to sign up somewhere?

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      January 26, 2011 6:19 PM

      [deleted]

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        January 26, 2011 6:29 PM

        joining you now. i'll have to drop off for dinner right about the time the real deal starts.

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      January 26, 2011 6:20 PM

      So, I guess I should buy this?

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        January 26, 2011 9:59 PM

        Its taking CS:S away from us :(

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          January 26, 2011 10:00 PM

          cs:source has come and gone over the past 8 years, it'll swing around again

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      January 26, 2011 7:26 PM

      New Patch

      PC Product Update 1

      Fixes
      • Fixed some achievements from being awarded at the wrong time or not being awarded at all
      • Fix juice "roar" animation not playing on dedicated servers.
      • Fixed Several Patcher Issues that caused crashes
      • Fixed PhysX version related crash issues
      • Fixed ServerBrowser sorting incorrectly disabling servers
      • Focus issues in ServerBrowser fixed
      • Fixed some map loading problems in different languages

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        January 26, 2011 7:33 PM

        Can't join any servers now :(

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        January 26, 2011 9:09 PM

        crabbs should give the game another spin, they fixed the resolution drop down menu, and its scrollable. and i can run the game in my monitors native res finally! :D

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      January 26, 2011 7:27 PM

      [deleted]

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      January 26, 2011 7:48 PM

      wish it was easier to set up your team and create games. damn ports! why is valve so good at this?

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      January 26, 2011 7:54 PM

      [deleted]

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      January 26, 2011 8:23 PM

      [deleted]

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        January 26, 2011 8:29 PM

        A ye, excellent games. I still think Steel Peel is the worst map, because it's all too easy to bottle up a team in their spawn.

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      January 26, 2011 8:32 PM

      ATTN : Anybody needing a free pass? I don't know how much time it will grant you though.

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      January 26, 2011 9:19 PM

      Great games everyone! Even though it had too many buttons i to plug in an NES controller, HIIIYYOOOO

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        January 26, 2011 10:17 PM

        Does MNC natively support an NES controller on the PC or did you do that using 3rd party software? Do you have a link to a good NES controller that can be used on modern systems?

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      January 26, 2011 9:24 PM

      GGs, next time I need to be drunk to avoid all that rage. Also FUCK Steel Peel. Never had a good time on that map. Too many ways to fucking abuse the other team.

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        January 26, 2011 9:37 PM

        [deleted]

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          January 26, 2011 9:50 PM

          This is it. So it always goes to overtime even when you're fucking getting hosed and dying 6 seconds out of spawn. That amount of rape should lead to a quick loss not a full game plus full OT.

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        January 26, 2011 9:58 PM

        You have to control middle, and do a coordinated Annihilator plus juice run right after to break a defense.

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      January 26, 2011 9:33 PM

      Good games everyone!

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      January 26, 2011 9:34 PM

      GGs everyone!

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      January 26, 2011 9:37 PM

      Great games everyone, I'm in love with the support bomb :P

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      January 26, 2011 9:41 PM

      did the sniper get a nerf from the xbox version because theres no way I could play sniper on a gamepad. so they must have done somethign to it or else its underpowered on xbox or overpowered on pc

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        January 26, 2011 9:43 PM

        Trap freeze duration and sniper rifle magazine size have been reduced on the PC version, actually.

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        January 26, 2011 9:43 PM

        Much easier to aim and very slow targets in MNC means M+KB is vastly superior.

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        January 26, 2011 10:12 PM

        Yeah it's nerfed. I think it's quite well balanced at this point. A good sniper can run up his K/D ratio, but that's how it should be since his primary objective is to dispatch pros while avoiding bots. The sniper still can't do much to push bot lanes or harm the moneyball.

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