Multi-platform games

kennebell347

kennebell347

Member
I have had Left 4 Dead on Xbox since it came out. I haven't really enjoyed it and could never understand why so many people love it. On the Xbox the controls are horrible, the graphics aren't great and the menus are odd.

Well, Steam had a sale going on for Left 4 Dead on the PC so I snatched it up for the hell of it. Wow, the difference between the Xbox 360 version and the PC version is unreal. The graphics are far better, the controls are simple and work great, there's more maps, more modes, menus are a breeze and loading is far quicker. Its almost like its another game all together.

Anyways, back to my question. Are there any other multi-platform games out there that are far superior on one system versus the other? I'm thinking i missed out on a lot by buying games for Xbox that also have a PC version.
 
COD4 on the PC is much better than on the Xbox I think. The controls on MS's console just seem stodgy and the multiplayer seems weak compared to the PC version...
 
I'd say it really comes down to personally preference. I just about all of my friends hate PC games (especially FPS) and they spend hours on Halo, COD4, and L4D for xbox. I, on the other hand, cannot stand playing FPS with a controller but love COD4 on PC.

Occasionally, games will be buggier on PC but that usually ends up getting fixed in patches.
 
epidemik said:
I'd say it really comes down to personally preference. I just about all of my friends hate PC games (especially FPS) and they spend hours on Halo, COD4, and L4D for xbox. I, on the other hand, cannot stand playing FPS with a controller but love COD4 on PC.

Occasionally, games will be buggier on PC but that usually ends up getting fixed in patches.
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I would honestly love to know how consoles run so smoothly. My Xbox never lags, skips, freezes or doesnt load textures. How are these consoles more powerful than most gaming computers in terms of stability? I know a good gaming PC can crush it graphically but it'll still stutter.

I have played a few games on an Alienware and even it stuttered a few times. Id love to have a stutter free gaming experience on a computer.

I really enjoy Call of Duty on the Xbox but I have it for both. Another game I enjoy on the PC more is Fallout 3. The modding scene is ridiculous and it makes the Xbox version a paperweight.
 
kennebell347 said:
I would honestly love to know how consoles run so smoothly. My Xbox never lags, skips, freezes or doesnt load textures. How are these consoles more powerful than most gaming computers in terms of stability? I know a good gaming PC can crush it graphically but it'll still stutter.

I have played a few games on an Alienware and even it stuttered a few times. Id love to have a stutter free gaming experience on a computer.

I really enjoy Call of Duty on the Xbox but I have it for both. Another game I enjoy on the PC more is Fallout 3. The modding scene is ridiculous and it makes the Xbox version a paperweight.
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I remember back when the PS2 was still big I picked up a copy of Star Trek Voyager Elite force cause I had it for the PC and wanted to see what the PS2 version was like. The graphics were horrible and the controls were crappy. Ported games are not that great.

I usually get only a stutter or two during an auto-save. Otherwise I can run COD4 without any problems at all. That or I'm not that picky and don't notice it :D

and I prefer PC gaming over console gaming because the graphics are always 100 times better and I prefer a mouse and keyboard to a controller (unless I'm playing a racing game, then I can stand a controller. I'd prefer to have a wheel and pedals but I'm a poor college student :))
 
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epidemik said:
I, on the other hand, cannot stand playing FPS with a controller but love COD4 on PC.

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I'm learning COD4 online right now. I thought I was good - playing solo on my PC - but I'm getting my butt kicked playing on live fire with fellow gamers on the net. Shredded like swiss cheese.

I find a guy - pump him full of lead - and somehow - he stays alive and is able to kill me while I'm hitting him with my artilleary. Then there's those dogs who will probably keep me up at night ... :eek:.

Hate those things.

Hopefully I'll get better with time - I'm under 2 hours of gaming experience online - I figure I'll have to get better.
 
kennebell347 said:
I would honestly love to know how consoles run so smoothly. My Xbox never lags, skips, freezes or doesnt load textures. How are these consoles more powerful than most gaming computers in terms of stability? I know a good gaming PC can crush it graphically but it'll still stutter.
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I've read that because console games are designed for one specific system, they can perfectly optimize the game for the specific (console) hardware. Developers can then design the games to perfectly utilize the hardware. On PCs however, there is no one setup. The game needs to be able to be played on millions of different combinations of hardware (CPUs and GPUs etc).

While this (to me) isnt an extremely satisfactory answer, it does make sense that in the case of consoles, they dont have to worry about compatibility and can design their game knowing exactly what hardware its going to be played on.

The other big thing is that consoles dont run a major OS in the background. Your computer has to split up its power. Part of it goes to playing the game while another large chunk goes to running windows and all the gunk that comes with it in the background.


Also, not so much the case anymore (now that HD has come along) but typically, a PC has to produce a much higher resolution image (monitor res tends to be greater than TV res) which takes more power.


Disclaimer: Im not a software developer and im getting tired. The combination of those two should make you cautious and take what I just said with a grain of salt ;)
 
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epidemik said:
I've read that because console games are designed for one specific system, they can perfectly optimize the game for the specific (console) hardware. Developers can then design the games to perfectly utilize the hardware. On PCs however, there is no one setup. The game needs to be able to be played on millions of different combinations of hardware (CPUs and GPUs etc).

While this (to me) isnt an extremely satisfactory answer, it does make sense that in the case of consoles, they dont have to worry about compatibility and can design their game knowing exactly what hardware its going to be played on.

The other big thing is that consoles dont run a major OS in the background. Your computer has to split up its power. Part of it goes to playing the game while another large chunk goes to running windows and all the gunk that comes with it in the background.


Also, not so much the case anymore (now that HD has come along) but typically, a PC has to produce a much higher resolution image (monitor res tends to be greater than TV res) which takes more power.


Disclaimer: Im not a software developer and im getting tired. The combination of those two should make you cautious and take what I just said with a grain of salt ;)
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Id say alot of that makes sense.
 
Jamin43 said:
I'm learning COD4 online right now. I thought I was good - playing solo on my PC - but I'm getting my butt kicked playing on live fire with fellow gamers on the net. Shredded like swiss cheese.

I find a guy - pump him full of lead - and somehow - he stays alive and is able to kill me while I'm hitting him with my artilleary. Then there's those dogs who will probably keep me up at night ... :eek:.

Hate those things.

Hopefully I'll get better with time - I'm under 2 hours of gaming experience online - I figure I'll have to get better.
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that is WaW, but still you are probably on a normal server, they are so unrealistic as far as damage, rathter than a bullet or two to kill someone you are looking at maybe half a magazine
 
FPS on a console are inferior in everyway. i've yet to play a game that i can't aim and shoot faster with a mouse than i can with a controller. now if we're talking about a third person game that doesn't involve aiming but locking targets, than i might lean towards the controller.
 
mightymilk said:
FPS on a console are inferior in everyway. i've yet to play a game that i can't aim and shoot faster with a mouse than i can with a controller. now if we're talking about a third person game that doesn't involve aiming but locking targets, than i might lean towards the controller.
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I can snipe crazy fast on world at war and cod4 on xbox. I have cod4 for pc and im no good at all. So i guess its what you are used to
 
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