My takes XB360 demo...

Cygnus · 11-14-2005, 11:44 AM

I played the 360 demo at Best Buy yesterday for about 30 minutes.

CoD2: Graphically and sonically pretty nice, great smoke effects when using the smoke grenade. I think I noticed some slight slowdown during due to the smoke. Level design is nice but it seemed pretty linear, esp since the guy on your squad waits to show you the proper path. I noticed that some of the objects were not destroyable. I shot at vases and they did not shatter. CoD2 is good but I was not overly impressed. Its just another war FPS. It really needs vehicles.

King Kong: Great visuals and sound. The FPS takes time getting used to. It would be nice if the full version supported 3rd person view since it probably will be easier to tell the distance of the dinosaur from the character. The fighter mode between Kong and the dinosaur seemed like a useless add on.

Kameo: By far the most impressive playable demo. Its a platform/beat-em up game with basic shooter element, and marble madness: one of the creatures you can morph into can become a rolling ball. I give Rare credit for trying to push the platform genre to another level. I liked how the game seamlessly linked cut scenes into the game.

I wished the 360 was hooked up to a bigger TV. Hopefully innovation comes with the next-gen consoles instead of just improved grafix and sound.

cetme42in · 11-14-2005, 12:04 PM

Was it hooked up to a 20" or so samsung? The one at my local best buy was and the screen was too dark. I seen cod2 at a EB and it looked pretty sweet. Looks like they actually took the time to set the tv correctly. I never rate a console on the first or second batch of games, specially demos.

On the tv, I have no idea if its HD or not.

Cygnus · 11-14-2005, 03:24 PM

Yeah it was samsung, I think it was HD. I think M$ and samsung has some joint marketing program. It makes no sense buying a 20" HDTV.

I have a 360 preordered. I am thinking about selling it on ebay.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cetme42in

Was it hooked up to a 20" or so samsung? The one at my local best buy was and the screen was too dark. I seen cod2 at a EB and it looked pretty sweet. Looks like they actually took the time to set the tv correctly. I never rate a console on the first or second batch of games, specially demos.

On the tv, I have no idea if its HD or not.

biglami · 11-15-2005, 06:01 AM

i wasnt impressed either with COD2, didnt play the other demos. im a shooter/ nba/ nfl guy, and i think the shooers t launch r weak, but nba 2k6 and madden oughta be aight, plyus lets not forget that xbox 360 will be upconverting 480p signals on halo 2 and half life 2 up to 720p, so those shooters in their new looks oughta hold us over til ghost recon advanced warfighter and halo 3

Cygnus · 11-15-2005, 11:43 AM

Meh...EA will just continue to make millions off milking the madden franchise. With their exclusivity to NFL games, they have an even greate incentive not to be innovative. 2K Sports are superior to EA's rehashed crappy sports games. The upconverting of Halo/2 is a great feature.

Its too bad M$ charges to play online. Will M$ have the promotion that when buying XBL games, it comes with 3 months XBL service? I just don't like the fact that M$ charges for something that is free for PC and PS2. Online gaming will never be mainstream on 360 as long as there are fees.

Razor05 · 11-22-2005, 10:57 PM

IMO, MS should charge for online play. For the amount of people that play online, their servers do a great job. I will gladly pay a modest fee for a reliable and fast service. No one comes close...not when your dealing with a million plus users.

slcsnkman · 11-23-2005, 07:08 AM

PHP Code:


			
IMO, MS should charge for online play. For 

the amount of people that play online, their servers

 do a great job. I will gladly pay a modest fee for a

 reliable and fast service. No one comes close...not

 when your dealing with a million plus users

MS DOES charge for online play. The silver xbox live kit only allows you to go online and download patches, levels, weapons, visit marketplace etc. If you want to play online then you have to pay the yearly fee. If you dont pay the yearly fee they will run promotions, similar to HBO where for a certain weekend those who dont have the gold package can play for free.

PHP Code:


			
Online gaming will never be mainstream on 360 as long as there are fees

Are you Kidding..HA HA it's mainstream right now and with the new xbox live setup it will be more popular than ever.

Razor05 · 11-23-2005, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slcsnkman

MS DOES charge for online play. The silver xbox live kit only allows you to go online and download patches, levels, weapons, visit marketplace etc. If you want to play online then you have to pay the yearly fee. If you dont pay the yearly fee they will run promotions, similar to HBO where for a certain weekend those who dont have the gold package can play for free.

Yes I know they charge. I was just backing up MS for charging a fee for online play.

Cygnus · 11-24-2005, 02:03 AM

Wow, I thought the ppl here would be more educated on networking. The majority of XBL games are peer-to-peer, e.g. *no* servers. For games with 20+ players, there is a need for servers. A central server is used for logging in, email, buddy list, etc, but for gaming its p2p since a broadband connection is more than fast enough to process the data packets for games with 2-16 players. So there really is no need for an annual fee, except for greed of course. I can understand a one-time fee but annual is ridiculous. Take a look at online PC games, they have better online features than XBL and they are free to play online, even for client/server games like Unreal Tournie 2K4. There are millions of online PC gamers, and its free. Notice how M$ does not charge fees for their Internet Game Zone site, except for MMO games of course.

Razor05 · 11-27-2005, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cygnus

Wow, I thought the ppl here would be more educated on networking. The majority of XBL games are peer-to-peer, e.g. *no* servers. For games with 20+ players, there is a need for servers. A central server is used for logging in, email, buddy list, etc, but for gaming its p2p since a broadband connection is more than fast enough to process the data packets for games with 2-16 players. So there really is no need for an annual fee, except for greed of course. I can understand a one-time fee but annual is ridiculous. Take a look at online PC games, they have better online features than XBL and they are free to play online, even for client/server games like Unreal Tournie 2K4. There are millions of online PC gamers, and its free. Notice how M$ does not charge fees for their Internet Game Zone site, except for MMO games of course.

Have you ever played on Xbox Live? Where else can you log in and see where your buddies are, and what they are playing? Not to mention live chat. Usually on the PC you will have to message or email them ahead of time to line up a game. You are paying for this service that MS provides...and it's a good one at that.

Cygnus · 11-27-2005, 10:35 PM

Yes XBL is nice but its not worth an annual fee. A one time fee is fine but not annual. Kali, www.kali.net, has the XBL features and it has a one time cost $20. Kali has central login, email, buddy list, chat servers, supports any PC game, you know where your friends are too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Razor05

Have you ever played on Xbox Live? Where else can you log in and see where your buddies are, and what they are playing? Not to mention live chat. Usually on the PC you will have to message or email them ahead of time to line up a game. You are paying for this service that MS provides...and it's a good one at that.

11-14-2005, 11:44 AM	#1
Cygnus The Bringer of Balance Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 6,832	My takes XB360 demo... I played the 360 demo at Best Buy yesterday for about 30 minutes. CoD2: Graphically and sonically pretty nice, great smoke effects when using the smoke grenade. I think I noticed some slight slowdown during due to the smoke. Level design is nice but it seemed pretty linear, esp since the guy on your squad waits to show you the proper path. I noticed that some of the objects were not destroyable. I shot at vases and they did not shatter. CoD2 is good but I was not overly impressed. Its just another war FPS. It really needs vehicles. King Kong: Great visuals and sound. The FPS takes time getting used to. It would be nice if the full version supported 3rd person view since it probably will be easier to tell the distance of the dinosaur from the character. The fighter mode between Kong and the dinosaur seemed like a useless add on. Kameo: By far the most impressive playable demo. Its a platform/beat-em up game with basic shooter element, and marble madness: one of the creatures you can morph into can become a rolling ball. I give Rare credit for trying to push the platform genre to another level. I liked how the game seamlessly linked cut scenes into the game. I wished the 360 was hooked up to a bigger TV. Hopefully innovation comes with the next-gen consoles instead of just improved grafix and sound.

11-22-2005, 10:57 PM	#6
Razor05 HD = 65 beautiful inches Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 3,296	IMO, MS should charge for online play. For the amount of people that play online, their servers do a great job. I will gladly pay a modest fee for a reliable and fast service. No one comes close...not when your dealing with a million plus users. __________________ Panasonic TH-65PZ850U Sony KDL37XBR6 Panasonic TH-37PX50U Cambridge Audio Azur 640R & 740C Paradigm Studio 60's, 20's, CC-590 & Seismic 12 Panasonic DMP-BD35 Toshiba HD-XA2 & A35 Motorola VIP1200 Monster HTFS1000, PB2100 AA 1154a MW2 LE Xbox 360 & Halo3 LE + HD-DVD GT: Razor59 Sony PS3 slim GT:Razor_59 Sony PSP

11-23-2005, 07:08 AM	#7
slcsnkman Gettin HD from the SLC Join Date: Jun 2005 Age: 34 Posts: 361	PHP Code: `IMO, MS should charge for online play. For the amount of people that play online, their servers do a great job. I will gladly pay a modest fee for a reliable and fast service. No one comes close...not when your dealing with a million plus users` MS DOES charge for online play. The silver xbox live kit only allows you to go online and download patches, levels, weapons, visit marketplace etc. If you want to play online then you have to pay the yearly fee. If you dont pay the yearly fee they will run promotions, similar to HBO where for a certain weekend those who dont have the gold package can play for free. PHP Code: `Online gaming will never be mainstream on 360 as long as there are fees` Are you Kidding..HA HA it's mainstream right now and with the new xbox live setup it will be more popular than ever.

11-24-2005, 02:03 AM	#9
Cygnus The Bringer of Balance Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 6,832	Wow, I thought the ppl here would be more educated on networking. The majority of XBL games are peer-to-peer, e.g. no servers. For games with 20+ players, there is a need for servers. A central server is used for logging in, email, buddy list, etc, but for gaming its p2p since a broadband connection is more than fast enough to process the data packets for games with 2-16 players. So there really is no need for an annual fee, except for greed of course. I can understand a one-time fee but annual is ridiculous. Take a look at online PC games, they have better online features than XBL and they are free to play online, even for client/server games like Unreal Tournie 2K4. There are millions of online PC gamers, and its free. Notice how M$ does not charge fees for their Internet Game Zone site, except for MMO games of course. Last edited by Cygnus; 11-24-2005 at 02:10 AM.

11-14-2005, 12:04 PM	#2
cetme42in Proud A10 Owner. Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: IA Posts: 39	Was it hooked up to a 20" or so samsung? The one at my local best buy was and the screen was too dark. I seen cod2 at a EB and it looked pretty sweet. Looks like they actually took the time to set the tv correctly. I never rate a console on the first or second batch of games, specially demos. On the tv, I have no idea if its HD or not.

11-15-2005, 06:01 AM	#4
biglami High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 33	i wasnt impressed either with COD2, didnt play the other demos. im a shooter/ nba/ nfl guy, and i think the shooers t launch r weak, but nba 2k6 and madden oughta be aight, plyus lets not forget that xbox 360 will be upconverting 480p signals on halo 2 and half life 2 up to 720p, so those shooters in their new looks oughta hold us over til ghost recon advanced warfighter and halo 3

11-15-2005, 11:43 AM	#5
Cygnus The Bringer of Balance Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 6,832	Meh...EA will just continue to make millions off milking the madden franchise. With their exclusivity to NFL games, they have an even greate incentive not to be innovative. 2K Sports are superior to EA's rehashed crappy sports games. The upconverting of Halo/2 is a great feature. Its too bad M$ charges to play online. Will M$ have the promotion that when buying XBL games, it comes with 3 months XBL service? I just don't like the fact that M$ charges for something that is free for PC and PS2. Online gaming will never be mainstream on 360 as long as there are fees.