Halo 2 on Vista
polycounter lvl 19
It's looking pretty damn nice, actually. Vista only, of course. But still, looks good. Might be a fun experience to go through again on the PC.
http://www.gamespot.com/features/6169711/index.html
http://www.gamespot.com/features/6169711/index.html
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i have been waitng for halo2 to ship sicne getting the pc verison of halo 1
- but wait, they had to do it with vista...
did they really need to? is their any spec/requirments that utilises vista over xp???
did they really need to? is their any spec/requirments that utilises vista over xp???
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I seriously doubt it. I'm sure MS just did this to help sell their new OS, which really isn't such a bad idea. I mean, I doubt the PC sells of the Halo franchise even come close to how well it sells on their consoles, so why not use it to push their new OS?
I strongly support the Microsoft Domination of our world.
You can't honestly tell me that if you owned Microsoft that you wouldn't try to push your own products. I mean that is just smart business right?
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Umm... yeah, that's why I said, "which really isn't such a bad idea." My post wasn't meant to be sarcastic, if that's how you read it.
so uh, it looks to me like increasing the resolution just makes it more obvious how boxy the models are, and how little the normal maps are adding to the textures...
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Yeah totally. They all look distinctly flat. Generated from maps as opposed to models by the looks of things.
It's a bit of a non article. Typically Gamespot. 'mouse over the image to see that there are more, um...pixels'. So ok, some textures have been uprezzed and re-compressed. The originals probably existed in higher resolution anyway. Looks like a typically lazy port. There's absolutely no reason why they didn't make an XP version apart from the obvious. Lame.
There's absolutely no reason why they didn't make an XP version apart from the obvious. Lame
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Meh? Read up on it, Daz
It's part of Vista's "Games for Windows" system. Halo2 on Vista has extra content & achievements, which contribute to your XboxLive account. For those who cherish the points, that's more than reason enough. Games for Windows Live is a huge undertaking, and it's built into the Vista OS. It's not exactly something that could just be 'added' to XP. Could they have made a non-GFWL version for XP? Absolutely. But just as consoles have system-sellers, they're hoping this will help boost Vista sales. Nothing new here.
Take the game, Battle for Middle earth, for instance. It's great on Xbox360. Very fun. But on the PC, it's an ENTIRELY new experience. Better frame rate, mouse & keyboard - there's no comparison, really. And Vista is adding gamerscore, and a few other goodies to the bag. It's not a horrible deal, and certainly not a 'lazy' port.
It might not graphically be up to par with today's games, but it's still fun. Hell, it's still like #2 on Xbox Live.
Like Daz said; "wow the image is sharper on PC than on tv!" I'm not going to upgrade to vista and pay the full price of $50 for a quick port of a 3 year old game.
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Do you actually think thats what MS is trying for? To woo the public with updated Halo 2 for Vista?
No. Well, I'd hope not.
They're trying to get Games for Windows off the ground and what better game to kickstart it than the #1 title on Xbox?
I reaaaaaally doubt there's a suit somewhere in MS's offices going, "Now that Halo 2 is out there people will see how awesome Vista is and will upgrade to this OS." We're not dumb, not even 13 year old Timmy McHalo is THAT naive.**
**I hope! =D
Absolutely. But just as consoles have system-sellers, they're hoping this will help boost Vista sales. Nothing new here.
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They should be thinking Gears of War or some other more recent hit, not trash from 3 years ago. Why dig up old wounds? Most of the PC gamer crowd remember getting the steaming shaft of MS's "Xbox only" lable, when they bought Bungie. Thanks for the 3 year old left overs but if you want to WOO me to vista give me something solid.
Why would anyone buy new tech to play low tech/old tech games from 3 years ago, that even back then didn't push the graphical boundaries much past what they did 5 years ago? It's not going to bring anyone to vista, if anything it will make them think the PC is a weak ass piece of machinery that can only run old X-Box games.
Sorry MS but after you royally dicked the PC market you can't make it up to them by spreading around 3 year old sushi. All that does is make people sick.
Is Halo alone going to make anyone make the jump to Windows Vista? Probably not, but it'll certainly help when people see the other games being released.
I'm personally really looking forward to how GFWL pans out. It's about damn time someone took the initiative to reinvigorate the PC gaming industry.
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There's absolutely no reason why they didn't make an XP version apart from the obvious. Lame
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Meh? Read up on it, Daz
It's part of Vista's "Games for Windows" system. Halo2 on Vista has extra content & achievements, which contribute to your XboxLive account. For those who cherish the points, that's more than reason enough. Games for Windows Live is a huge undertaking, and it's built into the Vista OS. It's not exactly something that could just be 'added' to XP. Could they have made a non-GFWL version for XP? Absolutely. But just as consoles have system-sellers, they're hoping this will help boost Vista sales. Nothing new here.
Take the game, Battle for Middle earth, for instance. It's great on Xbox360. Very fun. But on the PC, it's an ENTIRELY new experience. Better frame rate, mouse & keyboard - there's no comparison, really. And Vista is adding gamerscore, and a few other goodies to the bag. It's not a horrible deal, and certainly not a 'lazy' port.
It might not graphically be up to par with today's games, but it's still fun. Hell, it's still like #2 on Xbox Live.
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Yes you're right. I was looking at it entirely from a graphics only standpoint. I wont deny that