Gaming The 3 FPS beasts: Doom3, HL2, Halo2

[Guest ScirosDarkblade]

Every time I pick up a magazine or go online to some gaming site, my opinion of either Halo 2, Half-Life 2, or Doom 3 changes. Well, lately it's not been HL2 as much, seeing as there's been nothing new about the game for a while. Anyway, the reason I'm bunching all three of these games together is that they are my top 3 most wanted FPSs for X-box.

But just recently it's been declared that Doom 3's hotly anticipated co-op mode (X-Box exclusive) is going to be solely X-box Live. Not split-screen. Which totally, undeniably sucks. Split-screen co-op was gonna be a major selling point for me. Oh well. Anyway, Vicarious Visions does keep reminding everyone that the X-Box Doom 3 is not a port but rather developed pretty much from the ground up, which means that it's highly optimized for X-Box, as well as differently paced. I'm thinking less monsters (or at least spaced out differently), etc. Last I read about the multiplayer, there will be THREE WHOLE MODES (all versions of deathmatch it seems), with four or five levels to play on. Nothing to write home about. So nothing but dissapointing news lately.

Halo 2, on the other hand, keeps sounding better and better. XBM's latest issue talks about the multiple levels of physical damage the vehicles will display as they get hit by gunfire, as well as loads of other cool additions. The Warthog's controls are going to be tweaked to be more responsive, and the jeep's physics overall are going to be much improved. Let's hope that's true. As for enemies, besides the grunts/scouts/elites, there's gonna be Prophets and Brutes. Both will be heavy-hitters. I don't remember hunters being mentioned, though I'm sure they'll be there as well.

Anyway, my MOST WANTED is, at this point Halo 2. It was gonna be Doom 3, but because its co-op mode won't be split-screen, it no longer is. So Doom 3 is my second-most-wanted. Half-Life 2 hasn't showed me much more than crazy graphics and unbelievable interactivity. I have no clue what the whole package will look like yet, so I'm not anticipating it as much as the other two. But still much more than even Unreal Championship 2 or Time Splitters 3 (I forget its tentative title).

[Shiguru]

Well it kinda sucks about all those X-Box ports as the full games won't be the best they can be. FPS games on the PC have had the all powerful (since Half-Life) MOD community.

Half-Life 2 looks simply amazing and has better physics, more interactivity, and cool new levels than the other two. It also has what looks like the most interesting and twisting plot of the three.

Not only that but some of the Mods already started for it look simply AWESOME! Now if only I could find my old PC Gamers to update me on thier progress. Sadly, we can't enjoy it because of the stolen code (it should have been released in April).

DOOM 3 looks really cool as it seems to have the best lighting system and easily the most frightening single player game... but it is said to be short and sweet. Now Multiplayer doesn't look like much now but soon there will be some Capture the Flag patches and Mods out as well as some other multiplayer game Mods and online upgrades. Sadly, we might not get Co-op mode though.

Halo 2. Now this is wierd as it will most certainly be released on the PC... the question is when. Will it be at the same time as the X-Box version (which would be a bad marketing choice seeing as how many people enjoyed the PC version of Halo more. And some of the mods are pretty sweet right now.) or will it be a few months afterward (the best choice) or even over a year?

It it easily the most action oriented of the single player games, and perhaps the quickest. But with cool new vehicles and weapons as well as the huge stages short single player games are acceptable. It's multiplayer will rule dorm rooms and parties for a while. Halo is already the best Console FPS ever, and Halo 2 seems to be about ready to crush the original in terms of multiplayer. Hell, I'm horrible with an X-Box controller (I can't aim like a Mouse and Keyboard.) and I still have a ball with the original. Halo 2 MIGHT just convince me to buy and X-Box like CvS2: EO did until I realized I don't have broadband.


I still love Half-Life 2 more than anything else right now, as I think the first one is still the best FPS of all time. Will Half-Life 2 beat it? Probably not, but I do think it's going to be one hell of a ride I'll enjoy for years to come.

[Guest ScirosDarkblade]

[QUOTE=Shiguru]Well it kinda sucks about all those X-Box ports as the full games won't be the best they can be. FPS games on the PC have had the all powerful (since Half-Life) MOD community.
...Sadly, we can't enjoy it because of the stolen code (it should have been released in April).
... Halo 2. Now this is wierd as it will most certainly be released on the PC... the question is when. Will it be at the same time as the X-Box version (which would be a bad marketing choice seeing as how many people enjoyed the PC version of Halo more. And some of the mods are pretty sweet right now.) or will it be a few months afterward (the best choice) or even over a year?
[/QUOTE]

Like I said in the first post, Doom 3 isn't a "port." It will play differently from the PC version altogether, or so I hear. The reason it won't be the best it can be is because it won't have split-screen co-op, really.

I don't know how much weight I should put on the mod community. Sometimes mods can totally make a game, sometimes they don't matter (with JK2 they mattered, with Morrowind they didn't). I'm sure there will be some pretty sweet mods for Half-Life 2, but Doom 3... I'm not entirely sure. Anyway, if a game isn't awesome to begin with, mods most likely won't fix that too much.

Anyway, I'm getting all these games for the X-box rather than PC, even though I have three pretty badass PCs at my house with a wireless LAN. Why? Because I prefer split-screen multiplayer to LAN multiplayer, and because I have a big TV with surround sound and my X-box hooked up via component cable. I think the experience of playing Doom 3 and HL2 will be more immersive like that than on PC. Also I'm pretty good with a controller (better than with keyboard/mouse), probably because I played Goldeneye/Perfect Dark like a crazyman, and more recently Halo. While I don't have the precision of a mouse, I have ten times the mobility of a keyboard. And I prefer mobility.

Also, I see the X-box version of Halo as vastly superior to the PC version. Why? Because it has mission mode co-op, which I think is the game's best feature. The PC version is missing it, which is just BS. I'd never trade that for just higher resolution.

Oh, and delaying HL2 because of the stolen code was also bullcrap. First of all, so what if the code was stolen? Big deal! They want a modding community, so what's their problem?! I think it was just an excuse to delay the game, honestly. I mean, it came as no surprise that it was delayed (as a gamer you've gotta get used to publishers announcing ridiculous release dates and then going back on their word about 5 times before the end) at all. The only thing I was surprised about was the excuse. I think it's stupid.

EDIT: I also think Halo2 will come out on PC a pretty long time after the X-box version does. Maybe a year.

[Shiguru]

I must agree about the co-op mode, it did suck that it wasn't in the PC version. But the Banshee and the MOD community really helped.

As for the MOD community, Morrowind didn't need it or use it because it would be hard to do a TC for a game that frekin HUGE! JKII had a couple of cool TC's (the Zelda one comes to mind.) and JKIII has a cool Rurouni Kenshin one comming up as well as a new Kill Bill based one I've heard of.. but I have yet to see proof of. And your right, it relies on the strength of the game. But all three of those game will probably kick *** anyway so that issue isn't really relevent now.

I simply perfer my PC because I like the mobility I get with it (controller aiming is too difficult, so I use a shotgun half the time in Halo.) and the added aiming of a mouse. I play better with a mouse and keyboard as I was raised on the same basic configuration since Duke Nukem 3D (awesome game!). Sadly, my internet connection is stuck at 56k because I'm poor, so I don't play online much. But I do go to LAN parties a lot and show off my skills at Quake III and Unreal Tournament ( I didn't like 2003, but 2004 is supposed to be nice.)


[QUOTE] Oh, and delaying HL2 because of the stolen code was also bullcrap. First of all, so what if the code was stolen? Big deal! They want a modding community, so what's their problem?! I think it was just an excuse to delay the game, honestly. I mean, it came as no surprise that it was delayed (as a gamer you've gotta get used to publishers announcing ridiculous release dates and then going back on their word about 5 times before the end) at all. The only thing I was surprised about was the excuse. I think it's stupid.
[/QUOTE]

I don't think the game was finished when the code was STOLEN. Not copied, just GONE. So the delay had to come. Now as for why it wasn't very secure... I dunno.

[Guest ScirosDarkblade]

[quote name='Shiguru'] I don't think the game was finished when the code was STOLEN. Not copied, just GONE. So the delay had to come. Now as for why it wasn't very secure... I dunno.[/quote]

It wasn't "stolen" it really was pretty much copied. There's no way Valve didn't have the code backed up. The reason it caused a delay is because they felt like rewriting the code to prevent cheating and stuff, or at least that's what it said in the articles and message boards I looked at.

The code was probably as secure as any other game's. But this hacking was very methodical; keystroke detectors were installed on several of the developers' machines, etc. There was some serious planning involved in this caper as far as I know.

[NorykoAngelcry]

[COLOR=darkred][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1]I am personally looking forward to HALO 2 . . No, I am not a huge fan of the single player game, though I am hoping for some real intense levels. I am instead looking for more multi-player levels. . The only reason why I enjoy Halo right now is the fact that I can get a bunch of friends together and just go crazy. .

Other then that, I suppose that I am looking forward to the single-player modes of Half-Life 2 and Doom 3. . but it's not really that important, since I don't know when I will have A) a computer that can run either, or B) enough time to play Doom 3 on X-Box. . *shrug* Whatever though, lol. [/SIZE][/COLOR][/FONT]

[Semjaza]

I'm looking forward to Halo 2. Not massively, mind you, as I am not very fond of the original. However, last years E3 video of the game was absolutely amazing. If they can keep events like that happen over the course of the game I'll be really impressed. I'd buy it the day it came out.

Doom 3... I can't say I care. I'm not too fond of the graphical style (everything looks like latex) and I think the creature designs are pretty lame overall. The game could be fun, but I don't know yet.

In my mind, id makes better engines than they do games. I'm more excited to see what other teams can do with this engine than what id can do with Doom3. That's me though.

Half Life 2 is my most anticipated of all of these games. Mostly just because I really loved the first.

I'd just get the second two for my PC though. My graphics card and computer can handle them both well. The Xbox port of Doom 3 is looking pretty scaled back so far.

[Guest ScirosDarkblade]

[QUOTE=Semjaza Azazel]Doom 3... I can't say I care. I'm not too fond of the graphical style (everything looks like latex) and I think the creature designs are pretty lame overall. The game could be fun, but I don't know yet.

In my mind, id makes better engines than they do games. I'm more excited to see what other teams can do with this engine than what id can do with Doom3. That's me though.
[/QUOTE]

I've always thought the Doom creatures were pretty creepy. The new hell knights look really badass, and I can't wait to see the new and improved Cyberdemon...
But yeah, I like "demonic"-looking creatures a lot. So Doom monsters fit my personal tastes.

But I'd agree that recently (since Doom 2...) id's engines have been much more solid than the games. Though it's exciting to think about even Quake 4 running on the Doom 3 engine.

[DeathBug]

[color=indigo][size=1][font=comic sans ms]Doom 3 all the way. I'm a huge fan of the original Doom; it's my favorite video game of all time.

I'm planning to buy a new PC soon, and I'm making especially sure that it's D3 compatable. I want to see Imps, CyberDemons, Arch Viles, zombies, the works.

I am pscyched beyond all possible measure for this game...[/color][/size][/font]

[Ryan]

[font=Franklin Gothic Medium][color=gray][/color][/font][font=Franklin Gothic Medium][size=2][color=gray]Halo 2, easily, just because on weekends, me and 7 other people all go to a friends house and all play the original at once. It is pretty boring, in my opinion, on single player, but it is much, much more fun with a bunch of others. Add surround sound, hd plasma televisions and your set.[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Franklin Gothic Medium][size=2][color=#808080][/color][/size][/font]
[font=Franklin Gothic Medium][size=2][color=#808080]-ry[/color][/size][/font]

[Semjaza]

[url]http://pcmovies.ign.com/pc/video/doom3d/doom3_051004_qthigh.mov[/url]

Despite where the link is, this is Xbox footage of Doom 3. The video even says so at the start and end. Looks decent, but I'm still just getting the PC version if anything.

It's about 75 MBs. Download is free, no Insider nonsense.