Keep Calm And Discuss Retro Generally!

Dr Bob

EnterNow wrote: »

If CoD & Halo make you not enjoy Half Life, it's without a doubt a 'your doing it wrong' thing.

no... repeated box jumping puzzles made me hate the half life franchise!
Always had a softspot for HL_Deathmatches and TFC classic though.(The only two good multiplayer games back then that used the half life engine.)

Halo is just a series of generic FPS's , the only reason its a big franchise is because it came out at the right time on a console , and the consolekidzzz hadn't really played a decent fps before (tbh a similar argument could be made for Goldeneye, although I do like Goldeneye , even in single player).COD is another case in point.
In fact the more I think of it , the Microsoft and the Xbox/360 have done horrible damage to the FPS genre

johnny_ultimate

As we were briefly discussing at beers the other night, the one thing Halo does have going for it is an absolutely fantastic multiplayer mode. It's when the maps, the weapons and the physics come together to create something that's thoroughly enjoyable - whether online or splitscreen. Always enjoyed a good few weeks of fun with a new Halo's MP mode. The problem is that the singleplayer was rarely as interesting. Very occasionally the Bungie level designers crafted something epic or thrilling, but all too often it was a glorified corridor shooter with infuriating enemy types (****ing Flood!). Add to that a story that is simply a **** sandwich - have no idea how anyone could read a Halo novel - and a lazy sci-fi setting. We'll see what a new team can bring to the table with the incoming sequel.

Retr0gamer

Dr Bob wrote: »

(tbh a similar argument could be made for Goldeneye, although I do like Goldeneye , even in single player).COD is another case in point.

Well who'd have thunk it, I'm jumping in to the defense of Goldeneye. I actually think goldeneye was very different to the FPS games on the PC and brought a lot of new things to the genre as well as a more realistic rather than fantastical setting for the FPS games outside of military sims. It was way ahead of it's time. My one complaint as you all know since I repeat it ad nauseum is that time hasn't been kind to it and it's forgivable flaws back then really let it down.

The first CoD game was amazing on release as well, as was CoD 4. It's just the Activision annual churn our machine has ruined that series.

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

As we were briefly discussing at beers the other night, the one thing Halo does have going for it is an absolutely fantastic multiplayer mode. It's when the maps, the weapons and the physics come together to create something that's thoroughly enjoyable - whether online or splitscreen. Always enjoyed a good few weeks of fun with a new Halo's MP mode.

Hmm, I wouldn't call Halo's multiplayer fantastic, it's always felt like a slow paced version of unreal tournament to me, fun but nothing special. What I like about it however is Bungie's dedication to split screen where increasingly if you want to play multiplayer you play it by yourself against randomers online. 4-player split screen co-op and even better yet, 4-player split screen and online makes Halo far better than the majority of FPS games in multiplayer not because it's anything special but the addition of interacting with real people in close proximity to you trumps any lonely FPS experience. Horde mode works pretty damn well in split screen.

The lose of split screen gaming is a lamentable effect of online gaming.

DinoRex

Anyone remember Sin? It brought a lot of what Golden Eye did well to the PC only with better graphics and controls.

It was unfortunately overshadowed by Half Life which came out around the same time. Also it was bugged to hell on release as well. When I got it it came with a whole extra CD with the patch on it.

Dr Bob

DinoRex wrote: »

Anyone remember Sin? It brought a lot of what Golden Eye did well to the PC only with better graphics and controls.

It was unfortunately overshadowed by Half Life which came out around the same time. Also it was bugged to hell on release as well. When I got it it came with a whole extra CD with the patch on it.

All I can remember about sin was the main bad guy (er girl I guess) with the huge..er personality

CiDeRmAn

So, you wait for a Beers without me to discuss Halo?
Is that like not discussing Boulder Dash until Sparks is out of the way?

Re Half Life/HL2 Vs Halo/COD, there is no competition.
While I have enjoyed every Halo game, exclusively in single player, Half Life and it's sequels have been the true north of single player FPS since their release.

They are about pacing, story telling, rewriting the use of the cut scene, making a character with no voice feel like a hero, creating tragedy and comedy, probably one of the first female npcs who is not a love interest or an objectified female outside of BG&E.

Black Mesa only confirms this, with changes to visuals but relatively few changes to the game itself Half Life proves to be just as relevant and enjoyable today, on todays machines.

The Orange Box is the MUST HAVE game on any format it was released.

Looking past the HL series, and remembering that Portal was released at the same time as the last HL2 Ep, and since then we have had Portal 2, they have reset the bar, actually, walked away from that competition and made a whole new genre.

The Portal games are logic/spatial in nature and have a clever clinical setting, with all sorts of the really interesting things going on in the cracks between wall and floor plates.
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" might as well be the by line for Portal, but in particular with Portal 2 when you discover, courtesy of JK Simmons, that the man is a particularly mental wizard, and the humour of the fates of the unfortunates that went before you.

If you haven't played Portal you owe it to yourself to get The Orange Box or download the standalone Portal game from XBL.

If you haven't played Portal 2 you are possibly missing the most essential videogame since Super Mario World.
I know that sounds like hyperbole but trust me, it really is that good, that innovative, that important.

So, play Portal, finish it in a couple of days, savouring it like a good wine and wonder what on earth could they possibly add to this magical, perfect recipe, then buy Portal 2 and see yourself grin from ear to ear and be very very happy.

And keep track of any identifying marks on your skin, in case you need to pick it out of a pile later on....

Retr0gamer

I loved SIN... for about a month. It was a nice cross between goldeneye and the Build engine games. And then Half Life came along and made every FPS game before it (and a long time after it) obsolete.

The Sin expansion Wages of Sin was much better and funnily enough made by the team that would end up making MoH Allied Assault and Call of Duty.

As an aside I much preferred the orginal MoH on the PS1 to Goldeneye in single player. Found it a much better game, multiplayer was a bit **** and only 2 player. That game hasn't aged well either but the soundtrack is still great.

James Howlett

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

The Orange Box is the MUST HAVE game on any format it was released.

Looking past the HL series, and remembering that Portal was released at the same time as the last HL2 Ep, and since then we have had Portal 2, they have reset the bar, actually, walked away from that competition and made a whole new genre.

The Portal games are logic/spatial in nature and have a clever clinical setting, with all sorts of the really interesting things going on in the cracks between wall and floor plates.
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" might as well be the by line for Portal, but in particular with Portal 2 when you discover, courtesy of JK Simmons, that the man is a particularly mental wizard, and the humour of the fates of the unfortunates that went before you.

If you haven't played Portal you owe it to yourself to get The Orange Box or download the standalone Portal game from XBL.

If you haven't played Portal 2 you are possibly missing the most essential videogame since Super Mario World.
I know that sounds like hyperbole but trust me, it really is that good, that innovative, that important.

So, play Portal, finish it in a couple of days, savouring it like a good wine and wonder what on earth could they possibly add to this magical, perfect recipe, then buy Portal 2 and see yourself grin from ear to ear and be very very happy.

And keep track of any identifying marks on your skin, in case you need to pick it out of a pile later on....

I just have it in my head that you might like this Christmas card, can't for the life of me think why...



Just saw this set today:
http://www.gamerprint.co.uk/collections/all-products/products/video-game-christmas-cards

CiDeRmAn

Dude, you are forever bemoaning the visual in Goldeneye, have you tried to play MoH on the PS lately? It's dreadful!
I played it at the time but I don't think it compares well to Goldeneye at all, either then or now.
The controls alone are a complete pig, but then they were mapped onto a regular digital PS controller so what would one expect.
I played a bit of the follow up but it left me cold as well.

You have said it yourself, the 32bit FPS legacy is pretty p1ss poor, they look and control bery badly, lets not forget the excrement that is AvP on the Jaguar and all the poor deluded fools who thought it was the business (apart from you Alphaeagle, of course)

Oddly enough, the one that looks the best is Aliens Resurrection on the PS, compatible with the PS mouse of course, it still scare the beejabers out of me...

Steve X2

So it's starting to look like the SD card looking port on the NeoGeoX is not for SD cards after all. It's for "NEOGEO X Game Cards" which will be released after the console is out.
Bad times

http://neogeox.com/FAQ

Retr0gamer

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Dude, you are forever bemoaning the visual in Goldeneye, have you tried to play MoH on the PS lately? It's dreadful!
I played it at the time but I don't think it compares well to Goldeneye at all, either then or now.
The controls alone are a complete pig, but then they were mapped onto a regular digital PS controller so what would one expect.
I played a bit of the follow up but it left me cold as well.

Visuals don't matter, they don't affect gameplay. Framerate however massively affects framerate and I'd rather take MoHs 'wall o' fog' over goldeneyes epileptic framerate any day.

Also playing MoH with the digital pad is doing it wrong since it fully supports analog pads and you can change the controls to a dual analog control scheme and it plays an awful lot better than goldeneye.

CiDeRmAn

And there the dreams end... back to common sense and a CFW'd PSP for some sensibly priced NeoGeo gaming on the go!

Steve X2

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

And there the dreams end... back to common sense and a CFW'd PSP for some sensibly priced NeoGeo gaming on the go!

The screen on the NeoGeoX is 16:9 but you can switch back to 4:3 if you prefer that. So exactly the same as the NeoGeo emu's on the PSP.
The only thing the NeoGeoX has going for it at the moment is the controls, and they have yet to be tested.

Retr0gamer

For the price you could probably get a MVS system.

Myrddin

Steve SI wrote: »

The screen on the NeoGeoX is 16:9 but you can switch back to 4:3 if you prefer that. So exactly the same as the NeoGeo emu's on the PSP.

Sure its essentially an emulator on a chip solution anyway, & now that its using proprietary cards for games? Pfft, yeah, good luck with that....being built by Blaze is the final nail in its coffin for me.

CiDeRmAn

Retr0gamer wrote: »

For the price you could probably get a MVS system.

Exact-a-mundo, why on earth would some sap who purports to love the games of the Neo Geo would buy an overpriced piece of tat from a company who makes little other than overpriced pieces of tat.
With the money real Neo Geo gaming is within one's grasp.

But people are saps, and people will buy one and convince themselves to overlook all the shortcomings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qeUoS7THok

Retr0gamer

I can see the green blood in that video it gets worse.

Also with a MVS you can wire up your own custom joystick to a supergun because the Neo Geo AES controller really isn't great for fighting games.

CiDeRmAn

Yup, the longer I look at it, the less I like it.
Perhaps the finished device can be hacked and made more "useful".
We shall wait til it falls flat on it's face and it's being sold off for peanuts before we buy and try!

Steve X2

I'm looking at the docking station and thinking of what things I could hack in there. Raspberry Pi? MVS MV-1B? Super Small PC for emulation?
In that video above when they show the close up of the screen and a game playing it just doesn't look right at all to me.
I wonder are the using some nasty filtering or is it just bad emulation?

Dr Bob

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

If you haven't played Portal you owe it to yourself to get The Orange Box or download the standalone Portal game from XBL.
..

You misspelled Steam
Seriously , you need it on a decent PC , not an xcube 720 or whatever
because: mouse and keyboard .Also its tends to be a hell of a lot cheaper most of the time (I nabbed a copy for P2 for a fiver a little while back).

johnny_ultimate

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

As we were briefly discussing at beers the other night, the one thing Halo does have going for it is an absolutely fantastic multiplayer mode. It's when the maps, the weapons and the physics come together to create something that's thoroughly enjoyable - whether online or splitscreen.

I agree. Ive had some of my very funnest moments in gaming in halo multiplayer modes. The team modes on the right map, with the right team (hopefully one with a grasp of tactics and teamwork) can be nothing short of epic. I particularly love the level playing field that the games pre Halo reach set, where the weapons were already placed, and everybody drops in with a single standard loadout, and the only thing that differentiated you was teamwork and tactics, and how you win control of the power weapons and key strategic points on the map, rather than what ability or perk you spawn with. Halo 2 and in particular Halo 3 really are high points in multiplayer FPS gaming.

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

We'll see what a new team can bring to the table with the incoming sequel.

I watched a preview somewhere recently, i think it was on one of the big review sites, where the reviewer talked about how 343 had made a conscious decision to switch the game universe and enemies, weapons, tactics, etc completely away from what you had been used to in the particular games. He made the point that, over the last 10 or so years of playing multiple halo games, you forgot how to think about approaching a certain enemy, or group of enemies, or using a certain weapon, you got so used to dealing with everything the game threw at you that you approached each situation almost on autopilot. By changing everything up, 343 have completely done away with that, and you have to think again, which makes the game seem like a newer fresher experience than if they had tacked on a new title in the same universe.

I would have bought it either way. I'm not a halo fanboy by any stretch, but it's a day 1 purchase for me. Halo 2 was one of those big moments in gaming where you figure out that something new was happening to a hobby you loved. I've played every game extensively since then, and don't intend to stop now. Come on microshaft, take my money already.....

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

If you haven't played Portal you owe it to yourself to get The Orange Box or download the standalone Portal game from XBL.

If you haven't played Portal 2 you are possibly missing the most essential videogame since Super Mario World.

OK, with that i'm sold. I'll get on XBL and grab it, once i've finished playing the ACTUAL super mario world that is. I'm in underground world at the minute, enjoying it thoroughly. Still not as good as mario 3 though.....

Steve SI wrote: »

The screen on the NeoGeoX is 16:9 but you can switch back to 4:3 if you prefer that. So exactly the same as the NeoGeo emu's on the PSP.

I really fail to see the point of owning one of these. There are a load of different ways to play Neo Geo games on portable units that are way less expensive/more useful than this is. A cracked PSP, a netbook with a control pad (my current retro gaming rig), and all made by better more reliable manufacturers.

Andrew76

Steve SI wrote: »

I'm looking at the docking station and thinking of what things I could hack in there. Raspberry Pi? MVS MV-1B? Super Small PC for emulation?

Only just looked at the pics of the docking station, if flips open and you put the handheld inside. I had presumed you'd sit it on top in the fake cartridge slot. Your money would be better spent buying a cornflakes box and sticking a Pi inside that instead.



Reading that FAQ:

- Can't use an original NeoGeo controller.
- No SD card support.

This device is clearly aimed at fools and their money... :rolleyes:

CiDeRmAn

Steve SI wrote: »

I'm looking at the docking station and thinking of what things I could hack in there. Raspberry Pi? MVS MV-1B? Super Small PC for emulation?
In that video above when they show the close up of the screen and a game playing it just doesn't look right at all to me.
I wonder are the using some nasty filtering or is it just bad emulation?

Bad emulation and a Journo too ignorant and jacked up on COD to know what a Neo Geo game is to begin with.

CiDeRmAn

Andrew76 wrote: »

This device is clearly aimed at fools and their money... :rolleyes:

So, Steve will be buying two of them then?

Steve X2

Andrew76 wrote: »

Only just looked at the pics of the docking station, if flips open and you put the handheld inside. I had presumed you'd sit it on top in the fake cartridge slot. Your money would be better spent buying a cornflakes box and sticking a Pi inside that instead.



Reading that FAQ:

- Can't use an original NeoGeo controller.
- No SD card support.

This device is clearly aimed at fools and their money... :rolleyes:

Clearly this is my time to shine
Seriously though, I'm not afraid to spend a few quid on stuff even if its a bit risky but this is looking worse every time I look at it.

CiDeRmAn

No, if this turns out to be great it'll be the biggest surprise since the end reveal in The Crying Game.

And, no, The Crying Game isn't a documentary film about Retr0 trying to play through Phantasy Star IV on his MD via RF!

CiDeRmAn

A picture, from 3 months into the future, of Steve's "The Revenge of the Post Here When You Get Something New thread" post....



As you can see, he has two NeoGeo X's. while the rest of us have none.... (to paraphrase Loading Ready Run)

Myrddin

I want to like it, I want it to be good, I want to have an excuse to buy it...Blaze though, can offer none of it seemingly

CiDeRmAn

It's a bit like a situation where your dream console is being revived for a new generation but it's being handled by incompetents....
Actually, scratch the first part, it's exactly the situation we find ourselves in!

o1s1n

WTF, it doesnt dock into the cart slot?

Docking station looks like a briefcase?

No SD card support?

No original stick support?

What a pile of ****e.