Video Games Thread

[harv]

If they did decide to release a U SKU it would be the definitive version. I still think they're insane not to do so because their finances in between GTA releases aren't too clever. Even if you ignore the superior processing and graphical horsepower the touchscreen would be a huge advantage, setting waypoints without having to pause the game would be excellent.

Aliens Colonial Marines and Ninja Gaiden 3 will be the definitive versions, and there'll be plenty more where they come from.

I'm looking forward to the next Fallout game more than anything, a Pip-Boy in the palm of your hands is going to be seven shades of Awesome.

I really wasn't keen on the idea of a touchscreen on a controller when I first heard about it but I'm completely sold on the idea now. Going to be interesting to see if Sony and Microsoft 'borrow' the idea for their controllers next gen.

[Late]

I would imagine the next machines from Sony and Microsoft will have touchscreens. Doesn't mean they're copying Nintendo - touchscreen tech has become cheap and pretty much inevitable in the last couple of years - even the ouya will have it, and in the last couple years millions of people have purchased their first touchscreen devices (mainly ios and android, be they phone, tablet, or both). It also doesn't mean touchscreens on controllers will improve gaming like you think they will (though I can't put into words how cool the idea of the motion detector for Aliens is - but that's more the exception than the rule).

Even if you ignore the superior processing and graphical horsepower the touchscreen would be a huge advantage, setting waypoints without having to pause the game would be excellent.

To me, you've got your priorities completely backwards there.
I'd be impressed with the improved draw distances and increased flops, but I have no interest in being able to set map waypoints on the fly instead of pausing. If you're looking at the map you're not looking at the game, so what does it matter if the game's paused or not? I'm looking forward to next gen because games will look prettier and have more going on. Not because the controllers will have a new feature that'll be of limited use whilst making them less ergodynamic and more expensive...

[harv]

Well it's quite a big deal for me personally. Having to pause the game whenever you want to set waypoints in GTA, whenever you want to rearrange your inventory in Resident Evil and whenever you want to look at a full sized map in just about every game is a major bugbear for me personally, I've always found that doing so causes a slight loss in immersion.

And if you think the PS4 and 720 controllers would have touchscreens on them if Nintendo hadn't done it first then you're living in Cloud Cuckoo Land lol. Even if they do implement their own touchscreen solutions it remains to be seen whether they can do so without any lag. Not only do Nintendo have Ni-Fi patented they also have their method of streaming to the controller whilst adjusting to compensate for the telly's input lag patented too.

Mind you, at least you're not denying that both platform holders are going to implement their own touchscreen features - you were all refusing to believe that both would use motion controls when I said it would happen a fair few years ago.

[bealec]

So instead of pausing the game to set waypoints and look at your inventory you'd rather look away from the screen and duck about with a touchscreen whilst the game is still going on unaided?....that's a sure fire way to end up dead especially in survival horror games.

[harv]

It only takes a split second to flick your gaze down to the screen. You could quite easily do this whilst driving in GTA  without bashing into anything.

As for survival horror games ZombiU has demonstrated that more concentrated use of the touchscreen is excellent for increasing tension and even causing a certain amount of fear. There are some theories going around since the demo at E3 that the U is also using facial recognition so that the game knows whether you're looking at the screen or not.

[Late]

Pressing a button to bring up a menu takes about the same time as glancing down at the controller. As I've said repeatedly, there's no benefit in having the map on there instead of on the TV. In fact you're arguably better off having it on the tv because you can more easily scroll and zoom (assuming the controller screen is crappy resistive instead of capacitive).
If you think you'd be able to accurately set a waypoint on a touchscreen map of GTA in a split second whist glancing down from your telly then you've not thought it through. You're moving your hands away from the driving controls, you're evaluating a massive map on a small and relatively low resolution screen, and you're trying to pinpoint a specific location...

Lots of people already use touchscreen android devices (phones/tablets) to control their wifi-enabled tvs and peripherals. Technology's been moving toward that for a while, now, and it's long looked likely that the next gen consoles would incorporate it. It's not a Nintendo thing.
And there's no guarantee the next gen machines' controllers from Sony and Microsoft will have touchscreen built in. I perhaps worded it badly in my last post if I gave that impression. I meant their machines will support and interact with touchscreen devices. Whether their primary controllers will have touchscreens is another matter entirely, and I've no idea - nobody does.

I know nothing about Ni-Fi, but from a quick look around it seems to just be Nintendo's name for their wifi - which operates on exactly the same principle as all wi-fi. I can see no suggestion that "Ni-Fi" is faster. Fair enough - there's no reason why Nintendo's wifi tech would be better, faster, or more reliable than anyone else's.

Mind you, at least you're not denying that both platform holders are going to implement their own touchscreen features - you were all refusing to believe that both would use motion controls when I said it would happen a fair few years ago.

Touchscreen and motion control are the same thing now? 

[harv]

The same thing as being the main focus for Nintendo consoles of course. And as I've mentioned before, both Sony and Microsoft may 'borrow' the idea of touchscreen use next gen but they'll both more than likely suffer from the same problem that each of their motion control solutions have suffered from, namely lag.

[jman]

Actually harv, what you said was that Microsoft and Sony would release consoles which were both motion-control only.. instead of the optional system they both plumped for in the end... you were the only one who got that wrong Im afraid.  You also said (after they came out) that Kinect would be a massive failure.. *cough cough* fastest selling gadget in the history of the world *cough cough* ...  and both motion-controlled solutions needed to be more like the Wii solution to succeed... even though Wii sales have now totally dried up...

Maybe you should answer why the wii u is borrowing the 360's control system with the Pro Controller... surely as a progressive company nintendo are taking a step backwards there dont you think... 

[Late]

I previously said I can't see me reaching 55555 gamerscore before the nextbox arrives, but I passed 46k this week - so it's now looking like a distinct possibility.
Naturally the milestones of 50000 and 54321 should be bigger, but since I use fives in my gamertag that's the bigger milestone for me. (Not to mention the 54321 inevitably being a right tw@t to land on.)

[harv]

Actually harv, what you said was that Microsoft and Sony would release consoles which were both motion-control only.. instead of the optional system they both plumped for in the end... you were the only one who got that wrong Im afraid.  You also said (after they came out) that Kinect would be a massive failure.. *cough cough* fastest selling gadget in the history of the world *cough cough* ...  and both motion-controlled solutions needed to be more like the Wii solution to succeed... even though Wii sales have now totally dried up...

Maybe you should answer why the wii u is borrowing the 360's control system with the Pro Controller... surely as a progressive company nintendo are taking a step backwards there dont you think... 

I said no such thing. It was clear that I was talking about the current gen, not next gen. And you all were saying I was talking nonsense when I said that both Sony and Microsoft would jump on the motion control bandwagon. And Kinect as a device has sold a shitload, no surprise given the $500m ad campaign...software though is a different kettle of fish altogether. In terms of Kinect software sold for the most part it's been an absolute failure tbh.

The motion control solution from Sony has seen more implementations into hardcore games than Kinect and as a result is more popular amonst hardcore gamers, particularly when used in FPS and TPS games. I frequent plenty of forums and I haven't seen a single person that's actually tried pointer controls saying that they prefer dual analog sticks. Quite the opposite in fact.

If Microsoft hadn't decided to remove the CPU from Kinect (which is the cause of the half a second worth of lag) and implemented their own remote and nunchuck clones the way that Sony have then the best motion control solution would be on the 360.

There's a few bad decisions that Microsoft have made this gen, the first two I've outlined above but the third, and most important one that will have implications next gen, is not being the first platform holder to release a next gen console. They should have released the 720 last year with a CPU-enabled Kinect. They're not going to have the benefit of a year head start next gen and if they (and Sony) release the 720 for more than 400 dollars/pounds next year they haven't got a hope in hell of catching up to the U's installed userbase, and with Nintendo's choice of architecture you're going to see the U getting a SKU of multiplatform games next gen with only a slight graphical downgrade. The most powerful console of the three next gen is going to be the 720 and it's only going to be around three times more powerful than the U which in terms of processing power makes it a PS2->Xbox equivalent without it having the disadvantage that the PS2 had in terms of GPU feature sets.

The confirmation that the U is using a GPGPU is huge news that confirms that next gen all three consoles are not only in the same sort of ballpark in terms of power but also that all three will share a similar architecture, meaning porting between each of them will be easy as pie.

[jman]

You'd always been adamant that motion control was the future of gaming.. the fact that the wii died off and kinect/move software hasnt really shifted is proof that its not...

You dont half talk some bollocks though... "microsoft have made some mistakes this gen"... like releasing a gadget so terrible it became the fastest selling gadget in the history of the world... bet they were fucking gutted...    



Anyway.. back to games.. I started The Witcher 2 tonight.. its great... some annoying pop up in cut-scenes which are rendered in realtime.. and the combat seems a tad archaic.. they are the only negatives so far... the story is good though.. really good and in the first hour, I witnessed violence with blood and gore, profanity with usage of varied swear words and nudity with beaver and titty shots (NICE!) - I love 18 rated games - it feels like a adult fable type game.. mixed with a bit of skyrim lore....  Im still stuck on the prologue kind of level though so its a tad linear but its looking really promising for when I have time to delve further in..  Also I bought it preowned but its in great condition really... and the Enhanced edition comes with loads of little extras including a game guide - pretty chuffed with it overall!

[harv]

Like I've said, the gadget itself has sold great but the software is hardly selling at all. Move has been much more successful, Sony have done a much better job all round. Publishers will be dropping Kinect support soon whilst Move support is going to carry on going strong. It's mainly down to Microsoft limiting the system so much, if they hadn't removed the CPU and used their own remote and nunchuck clones you'd have both hardcore and casual gamers buying games for it in droves.

You'll see Microsoft ending up in third place next gen behind Sony with the U having the largest installed userbase. If they had released the 720 in 2011 with a CPU-enabled Kinect and remote and nunchuck clones they'd end up with the largest installed userbase before next next gen starts.

Now they've left Nintendo, of all companies, releasing their next gen console first leaving both Sony and Microsoft playing catch up for a couple of years. If Microsoft had continued to press their advantage that they had this gen they'd end up 'winning' each gen that follows this one by being the market leader as long as there isn't another sales phenomenon like the Wii, which is highly unlikely.

Nintendo are in that position now, and you can bet your bottom dollar that they're going to continue with the traditional 5-6 year lifespan for a console. 8 years between generations is ridiculous tbh.

[ancelotti]

I'm a proper pirate now. Decided to download a few emulators for Android and now I can't stop downloading ROMs! So far I've got the Atari, Amiga, Mega Drive, SNES, GBA and Playstation emulators! The games run perfectly on my Sensation XE. 

[harv]

I'm still waiting for someone to develop a PS2 emulator, the only console this gen powerful enough is the PS3. Am pretty peeved that the Homebrew scene was so short lived tbh. If those Homebrew geeks had the guts to go all the way to court there was only a slim chance that Sony would have won.

Silly sods should have taken steps to remain anonymous anyway tbh, very easy to do these days if their egos don't get in the way.

Going to be interesting to see how the U holds up, the 3DS hasn't been cracked yet which has surprised me tbh.

Edit: Bloody hell, I knew that the E3 show floor demo of ZombiU was an early build but these two latest trailers are a huge improvement. The lighting and shadows in particular are stunning, probably not pre-baked either. I'm about 70% certain that Nintendo have implemented fixed functions for HDR lighting and depth of field. If they have done this then the 720's GPU may only be three times more powerful than the GPU7 in terms of GFlops only with said fixed functions closing the gap a little because HDR lighting and shadows and depth of field will take up bugger all processing power.

Can't wait for someone to take one apart lol

[AVFCRoss]

MGS4 is finally getting a trophy patch...Strange given the fact Kojima said some time ago that it would never happen. Expected to land in august some time, so looking forward to that one.

I also saw that Angry Birds is getting an Ultimate Trilogy Collection HD release for consoles later this year too...That'll be an excellent package, and given the fact it's a retail release, some extra effort will have gone into it to make it much better than it's iOS version.