Fed up with PC games not working thinking of buying an xbox

[requiem_for_a_starfury]

So it's New Years day, not much to do except recover from the excesses of yesterday, too early to go online so I decide to reload Severance Blade of Darkness. I played it quite a lot last year until my pc developed a fault and I had to reformat my hard drive. Since then I've not been able to find the right drivers for my graphics card that the game would work with, but recently I've downloaded the latest ones out and I thought that I'd give the game another go. And it worked! So I play for a few hours until I'm feeling a bit more human and decide I feel up to going around the sales. Come home a few hours later empty handed and decide to play some more... and it no longer works!

To cut a long story short (too late I hear you say) I got a nice rebate from the Tax man yesterday so I'm thinking of buying a new PC, but the above incident reminded me that I had to return 6 games last year because I couldn't get them working on my system. If I do buy a new computer it will be out of date by the time it arrives from the factory. Plus with so many graphics/sound cards available I'm bound to end up with one that will have issues with half the games I want to buy this year and even if I do have the right hardware and all the necessary requirements the game asks for, Murphy's law and recent experience says 75% of the games I buy will plain not work, at least until patch no. 13 comes out.

I really used to think that the PC is superior to any console. Most of the genres I like work best or are only available on the PC anyway, but I am so fed up not being able to play the games I want with out having to keep upgrading my machine or downloading the latest patch.

So do I buy a new PC and hope that the industry introduces some form of quality control and improved customer support, or do I pretend I'm 14 and buy the big flashy console and put compatability problems and originality behind me?

Hell they're bound to bring Fallout 3 out on the Xbox before the PC anyway.

[Stainless]

Had the same problems....but I WAS running a 486.

I'd get a new comp, although if you get a new one, get a GOOD one.

[Killzig]

The last PC game I bought was arcanum. I'm currently playing Splinter Cell, Unreal Championship (on Live) and NFL 2k3 (on Live) ...

I really don't regret it. My PC has been turned into something I use to play Fallout, chat on the net, play music and surf the net. That's just fine with me. There hasn't really been a PC game that's drawn me in a while. True, a Fallout 3 would be great and I'd spring for a new PC just for it. Though really I'm going to get all the enjoyment I can out of my x box. The nifty thing about games like splinter cell is that you can download new levels off of live.

It's also smoother with multiplayer. The only "cheating" i've encountered on live is people disconnecting from NFL 2k3 games when they're getting their asses handed to them. Aside from that there isn't the same crap that goes with the whole multiplayer FPS scene in Unreal. I can just take off the headset and I dont even have to listen to these idiots just kill em.

You'll never get the same amount of customizability/control comfort with a console game that you'd get with a pc game. For instance, the splinter cell controls only configuration is inverted look or not and this sucks for me being a lefty... thankfully the pace of splinter cell is much slower than something like...metal gear solid. So the whole righty controls don't slow me down too much.

The only bug/game killer type deal I've had on the x box was while playing halo co op. My teammate died and I was flying a banshee so the screen froze with a "waiting to respawn, teammate moving too fast"... kind of frustrating but that was the one and only. Another thing is that if you have one of the older x boxes when the games get too much action going on the screen you might slow down a bit. I fixed this up with a dvd cleaning kit. voila. With the price of the x box having gone down to ~200 its worth picking up considering now I think you get 2 free sega games with the purchase and the dvd kit is another 30. One complaint about the new controller S is that the button sensitivity isn't as good as the big original controllers. Which is why i've stuck with the moldy oldy controller. The cordless is also utter shite as far as i'm concerned so don't bother with that.

Fallout 3 on the x box is a topic that interests me, though that discussion would belong in the FO3 forum.

[Kreegle]

Buy my Xbox! :badteeth:

Console, 2 controllers and 7 games for $550 AUD... which is 192 pounds. It's PAL, not NTSC, so you're set!

Barrrrrrrrrgain.

Originality not present in consoles though? That's a bit of a harsh statement... the same can be said about PC games, you know. The PC games this year... huh... If wasn't a ww2 first-person shooter or an old real-time strategy game reincarnated in 3d, it was still the same shit we played 2-3 years ago - just with a different coat of paint.

[Mad Max RW]

There's some really damn good PC games coming out this year. The last couple years sucked big time. If you don't want to deal with the headache of building a computer, order the new Alienware PC.

[the guardian]

Buy a gamecube?

[This is Gonna Hurt]

Gamecube Makes me happy.....Although I guess I have been playing the port of dead to rights from Xbox more than most of my other games...but it works better on the gamecube, cuz I said so..yeah.

It depends on what you want out of a game...

If you want graphical prettiness with little effort, go for a console...

If you want the max in customization and all the new features that come out for games before everyone else, stick with a PC.

Now, a few notes on consoles...

Xbox seems to be coming up a day late and a dollar short on most products and features (even the 3 console ports), and the controller still bites. I would avoid it.

Gamecube will have EVERY Resident Evil game coming for quite far into the forseeable future, along with their own set of titles, and seems to be getting more and more impressive as time passes. I'm still waiting for their huge online experience (Aside from PSO 1 and 2), but I doubt it's long coming. And the controller is very easy to pick up and use (a big plus with the party games). It's also pretty much the leader in the market in the unique features. Along with the gameboy advance link system, which is slowly being made use of (from the insane dev. time and rumors, I believe Golden Sun 2 will be the first game to really make use of this option in a way that is significant to the game), Gamecube just got it's own fully portable screen/battery system, A la PS1. It also has what every reviewer agrees is the single best wireless controller available on the market.

PS2 is the reason the creator of the Resident Evil series spazzed out, got pissed, and dropped Sony. You should also plan on getting a seperate DVD player, I don't care what the ads say. That aside, it is a pretty competent system with a bunch of good titles. The online features pretty much nothing but SOCOM at the moment, but EQ is in beta testing, and more is always on the way. If I had to choose a console right now of the three and have only access to it, I'd be fairly torn between PS2 and Gamecube.


Basically you need to evaluate what you want for games, and go from there. Also if you want to be able to watch TV while you play games or not

(A quick note on all the consoles..if you want any online gameplay at all you'll also have to either find a broadband service compliant with the needs of the console or drop $100 or so for a decent router and know how to program it. As of right now this is relatively complicated, almost akin to the compatibility issues with PC games).

[requiem_for_a_starfury]

Had the same problems....but I WAS running a 486.

I'd get a new comp, although if you get a new one, get a GOOD one.

Trouble is no guarentee that a good one will play the games I want, I always check the reqs before buying a game and if possible try to get hold of a playable demo first. Of the six games I had to return only one had a known compatability issue with my graphics card, and that fact was buried deep in the read me. The other five should have worked fine but they didn't and I had better than required specs.

Buy my Xbox!

Console, 2 controllers and 7 games for $550 AUD... which is 192 pounds. It's PAL, not NTSC, so you're set!

Barrrrrrrrrgain.

Can I ask why are you wanting to sell it : Thanks anyway but that's almost the same offer my local electronics store has, and if I do decide to buy one I'll be able to pick up the same day.

Originality not present in consoles though?

I was thinking more along the lines of shareware and fan created mods rather than games in general.

It depends on what you want out of a game...

If you want graphical prettiness with little effort, go for a console...

If you want the max in customization and all the new features that come out for games before everyone else, stick with a PC.

I don't care about the graphics, I still play Elite on my C64 when the mood takes me, but I do want stability and reliability. The only game on the PS2 that interests me is Silent Hill 2 but that's coming out on the PC this year anyway. I already have 2 DVD players, one on this computer plus a seperate one so that aspect doesn't worry me. Totally not interested in Multiplayer, If I want to play against real people it's more fun to invite them round and get some beers in.

I guess I'll have to think about it some more, I need to do some shopping around for prices anyway, plus I have to wait for the cheque from the Taxman to clear.

Cheers

Requiem

[Snake]

Lets see I have an xbox and my old PC mentioned in the relevant thread
I don't have a VCR or standalone DVD player
I have a DVD-ROM on my PC but the PC is too slow to render DVD's
I got the xbox so I could play xbox games and DVD's
Once I get it chipped I can put in a bigger hard drive and play multi-region DVD's and VCD's
You can copy games to the hard drive
Doom and Quake II are being ported over, what next?
Emulators are being ported over too and are getting better all the time
Some PD games are being made/ported, Pacman, etc but maybe better games soon
Trainers for xbox games are being made, if you are into that sort of thing that it is
It has a NIC so you can move files between your PC and back
Cuz its related to the PC things like Office 2000 can run on it so the skys the limit
You can put linux on it
I have a 56k modem so when I'm downloading something big I can play the xbox or watch a DVD

So it depends on your needs
The only other console I've ever bought was my Amiga CD32 which is to the Amiga what the xbox is to the PC
Here are a few sites you might want to look at
http://www.xbox-scene.com/ - The best site for overall info related to the xbox
http://www.emuxbox.com/ - Emulation software for the xbox

Some of the games are really good
Buffy is grat, Blade 2 is ok, Terminator Dawn of Fate is ok, Project Gotham City Racing Rocks
Deathrow and Robocop for the xbox might be good also

[Megatron]

I have a ps2 and a goodish pc. I mostly use my pc to play games, download music and films and go on the internet. I use my ps2 for a dvd player and sometimes play one of the few games.

Looking back, I'd rather have not bought a ps2 but got a dvd player and had £100 to spare.

Personally I'd upgrade your pc. An x-box is good if you like sport games, and almost every pc game gets ported to the console anyway, but the consoles will die out in 3 or so years. The only problem with the pc is that you have to upgrade every few months and sometimes your games can fuck up more.

I'd wait for a month or two then get a cutting-edge pc. It might not be as pick-up-and-play as consoles are, but personally I think pcs are able to do more in the long run.

Or something.

[Kreegle]

Can I ask why are you wanting to sell it :

I play with my turntables at least two hours a days - I play with my xbox maybe two hours a month. And new records are expensive!

Thanks anyway but that's almost the same offer my local electronics store has, and if I do decide to buy one I'll be able to pick up the same day.

Really? In that case, get the new one from the shop - that's a good deal. Over here, the 'special christmas deal' was an xbox with 1 controller and 3 games (two of which are on the same disc) for $430 AUD.

[Doyle]

I haven't purchased a lot of PC games lately, but that sounds to me like bad luck as much as anything. In my experience, compatability problems that severe aren't that common.

[Kashluk]

I suggest you stick with the PC and forget 'bout consoles. Why? Well after a while you'll gather enough experience to know which works/which is shit. Then you'll be a computer guru, who holds the knowledge of all personal computers inside his head. Then you don't need to worry about consoles or compatibility problems anymore.

Oh, and http://maddox.xmission.com/xbox_suckit.html

[requiem_for_a_starfury]

*sigh*I'm going to need to get a new pc, it started to make some horrible ratcheting sounds this morning. When I opened it up there was a slight smell of burning and several bits of melted plastic dropped out from where the case fan is. The burning smell has now gone and it's not making anymore strange noises, but I don't know how much longer it will hold up. Anyone got any suggestions on motherboards/graphics cards etc to get?

[Megatron]

My last computer started loudly humming. When I finally got a new one, the guy who was looking over my old one was suprised my computer didn't set on fire.

You could just compare the specs from games in 2001-2002. Look how most of the games decided to upgrade in system specs then make a choice based on that.

Or just get an athlon 1800+ and a geforce 4. If you get a good graphics card, you can salvage it for your next computer (I'm happy with my geforce 2 wich I've had for 3 years). it matters what games you'll be playing really. If you want to play strategy games and rpgs you usually can have slower machines with a large hard-drive. If you want fps or other games with good graphics you'd need a newer system.

But I know very little about computers, as shown as above.

[Spazmo]

If you know little about computers, I'll forgive the naming of the GF4 as a high-end graphics card.

If you're going top-of-the-line with your new computer, it's best to go with high-end Intel and ATI stuff.

[BlackDog]

i suggest you save your money and wait a few months. the new athlons will be out, the new intels with HT will be out as well as the new geforce FX cards. Prices will drop (as long as we don't go to war with North Korea as well as the war with Iraq we are about to be in). Do some research on games coming out for the next 2 years on each system and see which ones you would prefer to play often and not just finish and never play again like so many newbs these days. Replayability is key in decisions.

[requiem_for_a_starfury]

i suggest you save your money and wait a few months. the new athlons will be out, the new intels with HT will be out as well as the new geforce FX cards. Prices will drop (as long as we don't go to war with North Korea as well as the war with Iraq we are about to be in). Do some research on games coming out for the next 2 years on each system and see which ones you would prefer to play often and not just finish and never play again like so many newbs these days. Replayability is key in decisions.

Well unless this one totally ups and dies on me beforehand I was going to wait until the autumn anyway. But to be honest looking at what are specs required, reading reviews of hardware etc tends to make my eyelids droop and basically send me to sleep. More boring than being in a room full of trekies:) Which is why I don't tend to upgrade very often.

[Kashluk]

A free tip: When it comes to computer markets, NEVER wait for the prices to get lower!

You will only end up buying cheap, but out-of-date hardware. If you want to have useful lil' plastic plates 'n' screws inside your 'puter, buy as new and good as your financial situation allows.

Though, no one ever said that spending money on computer hardware would be a great investment :) If car's price drops when it's been driven out of the store, well then computer's price drops as soon as it's been risen from the selling counter.

[Mr Carrot]

talking from an adult perspective, consoles are so fucking cheap its worth getting them for the "lads around drunken gaming exploits"... thats what i bought all of mine for and found some cool stuff to play sp as well.

Fuck power, fuck originality, go for fun. and theres nothing wrong with the xbox pad! a few hours of halo and it feels natural and doesnt give you cramp like smaller pads (e.g. cube)