I won't be able to afford an Xbox 360 anytime soon as well. But I'll be even less able to afford the kind of ninja PC needed to run the potential port.

Yea, I'm not sure if I want to spend my efforts on getting a 360 or a killer PC. I need to look into the exclusives for the Xbox (and a lot of their good games are both for 360 and PC) and the PC.

That's true. It would be kinda nice to have both. And a Wii. And maybe even a PS3. And a lot of free time. :)

oerhort, in brief, 'no'.
£400 for a console will buy me new ram and a graphics card. And consoles, next gen or not, don't hold a candle to PCs IMO. I mean, thinking of the amount of things I use my PC for, I can't justify NOT keeping an up to date PC =)

Sure, the 360 has Oblivion, but it's only half the experience compared to the PC version. Even on my non-elite PC it looked better than the 360 version due to me being able to tweek the ini files, high res landscape texture patches, better water patches, etc, etc.

Between myself, my wife and my kids, we have all the consoles except the 360. I've tried console gaming and on the whole it's just not the same. I found Halo to be just plain awful on every level. I was excited by Fable, until I actually got to play it and found that very shallow and simple. The most used consoles in our house are my kids DS's.

:) Just say it doesn't work for you personally and your lifestyle and needs.

For me I'm perfectly happy with my 360. I'm poor these days so it's a wise investment because I'll have it for the next 5 years and I needn't worry about stupid things like graphics cards and PhysX and new motherboards and all that crap, which would end up costing me a lot more than the $400 I spent for the console. Also I need a break from worrying about upgrading and whether my PC is up to date, etc. I'm just sick of that, really. I'm happy with my current HP Compaq laptop, it's fine for what I need, which is NOT necessarily gaming. Instead, I use it for typical PC stuff - writing, researching, organizing, email, browsing, etc.

So as far as feeling I'm missing out on PC games, screw that. I don't need the hassle at this point in my life and would just rather pop in a game in the console and chill into Oblivion or whatever game I have for a few hours.

But anyone who would like to upgrade to Vista (and most people want, I think) will probably have to send a lot of cash... even for reading the mail.

Back to Mass Effect, it's looking good, but what's up with the combat? the descriptions I've read make it look boring...

Can you provide a link about the combat system? It seems like I read an article that made me think it'd be more or less like BioWare proven combat system with the real-time with the ability to pause to make tactical decisions. I don't know for sure though.

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/rpg/...&mode=previews

Gamespot preview makes its sound like some kind of tactical shooter.

And here are Tycho's thoughts on it:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/2006/05/24

I still think it's basically a new form of the same BioWare combat system (this "squad mode" doesn't sound any different from the usual pausing mechanic). The fact that it works like a hybrid-shooter now actually seems like fun.

http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/ima..._screen004.jpg

:) I like this shot, makes me feel the otherworldliness of the gameworld, how distant it all is and how I'm so far away from home.

This game makes making out with a fish chick look normal :crazy: Damn you Bioware Doctors for including hot fish chicks in your games.

I would have agreed with you one and a half years ago, but after buying my PS2, my perspective in gaming has changed. I have played some PS2 games that are not available on the PC, and some rank high up there with my favorite PC games.

Let's face it, PC gaming has seen better days, and it is the developer's 3rd (in some cases 4th) platform of choice. There are exceptions like Oblivion of course, but in most cases, the PC is getting the short end of the stick with shady ports with clunky controls.

There are still definitely a lot of great PC games out there that I look forward to, but limiting yourself to a single platform is like limiting yourself to a single fruit. Why eat only strawberries, when you can try bannanas, mangos, and pine apples? I am planning to get all 3 eventually.

Agreed. I think the most significant reason, for those who have seen the pleasures of console gaming, is price. Owning all systems, especially early on in their life cycles, is a tad expensive. Then again, you'll get all thre major systems for the price of a moderately-specced PC, so it's not like the PC is the cheap choice.

Except the PC games are at least twice as cheap as the console ones to begin with, and their prices get much more reduced much faster. (At least here.)

Not to mention that it's getting increasingly difficult to function in today's world without a PC anyway, regardless whether you are a gamer or not.

Ok, this is seriously off-topic, but my reasons for strongly favoring the PC platform...

1. Unlike consoles, the PC platform and PC games won't go obsolete in the foreseeable future. It might be take some effort to get some older games to work sometimes, though.
2. A PC can do everything a console can, plus a lot more.
3. PC games can look better than their console versions.
4. Many PC games can be modded.
5. Mouse and keyboard is the superior control mechanism in many cases...
6. ...and you CAN use a gamepad with your PC. I'm using an Xbox gamepad with a USB-adapter. Works great.

Stuff like having to upgrade my PC and PC gaming generally not being as easy as console gaming is not an issue for me personally. PC can be a nice hobby too. I, for example, am very much into "quiet computing" and I'm always trying to make the machine quieter and quieter.

I did buy an Xbox so I could play Jade Empire, but I'll never buy a console just to get to play one game again, because it's a waste of money. Either Bioware comes out with a ME PC port in the future or they won't, but I'm not getting a 360 just so I can play this game. The JE port is a good sign. :)

http://media.ign.com/thumb/149/14978...9536_thumb.jpg http://media.ign.com/thumb/149/14978...0739_thumb.jpg http://media.ign.com/thumb/149/14978...5145_thumb.jpg
All cutscenes are in-game, in-engine.


Has any other Xbox360 owner downloaded and viewed the HD gameplay video to Mass Effect? I lost count of how many times I watched it, I was mesmerized. I think this is one of the those few games whose graphics and technology are used to the best advantage possible in terms of gameplay and emotional immersiveness. The voice acting so far is very good. I can't see this one being experienced in older technology.

Nope, I watched it on not HD. :P But I loved the way the dialog system works, very interesting and the gameplay looks very intense, specially for a RPG, Im so used to turn based RPGs, a tactical shooting RPG will do us good. :) Watch out Oblivion!

I saw it.

It's the kind of graphics and conversation system I would dream of seeing in an adventure, but never will.

Mass Effect is on my "Must Buy" list of 360 games.

P.s Anyone without a 360 that wants to see it can see it here

http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?fs=1&id=2211

If I hadn't known I was watching it on an HDTV I would've sworn it was the actual game itself. That's how crisp and vivid it was. The real time dialog system looks promising. It seems, overall, to be what Bioware wanted KOTOR to be more like had the technology been on hand back then. I hope we'll have as much, if not more, freedom with this title.

;) That roguish looking character they created is f***ing hot.

;( Dream on, my friend. I got depressed just thinking how this engine would be perfect for the next Gabriel Knight game.

I'm dead in the water in terms of most PC gameplay anyway these days, being as the only resource I have at my disposal is my dell laptop, which can play stuff like KOTR and Dreamfall relatively nicely at 800x600...but in terms of anything better I'm basically missing out....
If I could afford a 360 and a high-definition widescreen monitor for my dorm room, believe me I'd rather just have that handy than anything else.

Yeah, that's pretty much where I am as well. A new, bleeding edge PC with the very latest graphics card and wotnots is out of the question, and at this point in my life I'm sick and tired of worrying if my setup can run a game. I also chose a laptop so I can take my writing and work anywhere. That's why I invested in a 360 (and a little HDTV), to liberate myself from having to constantly update a PC's guts.

:) As for whatever PC exclusive games are coming out, screw 'em! I don't care one way or another, I made my choice and stick to 'em. I refuse to be enslaved.

What specifically about the conversation system?

The options of what to say next come up while the person is speaking. You don't have to wait until they stop speaking, you can interupt them in mid sentance.

Which although rude could be kinda cool, but it also allows conversations to flow without breaks/pauses which to me seems more fluid and realistic.

:) According to the previews you have the option of interrupting characters speaking to you; however, if you do it frequently they'll become upset and refuse to talk further, and you risk not learning useful information.

*Eats hat* >_<

I'm so excited.

:P

You want fries with that hat?

In that case, I don't see why an adventure couldn't have it. It doesn't seem to need a giant leap, technologically nor designwise. In fact, I can think of several AGs which featured it, though only in brief sequences rather than in the whole game (think Grim Fandango in the hilarious getting-the-metal-detector scene, for one).

Regardless, cool feature for the game to have. :) (Of course, it will be even cooler if the conversation options/outcome actually change depending on the point in time. Otherwise, I don't see much use in interrupting the NPCs, realism or no. :D)

:) Another thing to notice - if you watch the gameplay demo - is the subtle eye movements of the NPCs (and your own character) as they speak. It's as if they're detecting any minute reactions in your character, evinced by the nearly negligible fluctuations of their eyeballs - exactly what happens in reality when someone is talking to you. It simply adds just that much more sweetness in the immersion factor.

Half-Life 2 also did this, but Mass Effect pushes it further using reflections of the environment in the eyes, including the multiple light sources in the gameworld. The eyes of the characters have that 'twinkle' about them! Combined with the subtle facial expressions (brow knitting, lip syncing, frowns, smiles, etc.) it pulls you in even more into that world. Because don't you instinctively look into people's eyes when you speak to each other to try and read them?

:9~ I will certainly vanish into this game for weeks when it finally launches.

http://media.ign.com/thumb/150/15004...5238_thumb.jpg
"Look, bitch, if I could pull
this awesome game out of my fly
right now I would, but as it stands
you'll just have to til early next year
like all those other whores.
Including The Trep, unfortunately."


Mass Effect Is Officially 2007 | IGN.com, 9/5/06

:) I can wait.

Haha! Yeah, for some reason the only xbox & xbox 360 games are RPGs, every other type of game gets pretty old fast.

Well, I still have Splinter Cell: Double Agent to look forward to, and Rainbow Six: Vegas. Mass Effect and Bioshock don't come til next year, though.

But, whatever happened to Alan Wake? :frown:

For some reason I thought Just Cause & Alan Wake were the same game. :P

WHAT?!!

Spazsilva

I'm also awaiting Gears of War. I haven't played an all out gorefest in a long time.

Alan Wake is still scheduled for next year, I think. Rare, Bizarre, Bungie and Tecmo are all rumored to be announcing new games at X06, and I believe it's due time we finaly learned something about Fallout 3, too. :)

They better make it 2D, turn and hex based. Or else... :pan: :pan: :pan: ;) Will Gothic3 come to the Box too this time? I'm sure enjoying myself in the second one right now. Wooooooh.

Nothing announced for now, those crazy Germons have always been so PC-centric. ;)

Here, you'll understand this better than I do.

Heheh, doesn't look like it. Maybe they'll port in one day.. Oh man, wasn't this the most stylish game intro ever? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRohwBBmE5g The ending, the music, so cute. :)