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State Of PC Gaming In 2003 Probed 57

Posted by simoniker from the mouse-based-renaissance dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Netjak has just published an overview of the past year in PC gaming. Unlike all the doomsayers, it was very enthusiastic about the console ports that flooded the market, because, for the author, they indicated the beginning of a renaissance in PC gaming. However, there's also some perceived negative developments. They were surprised to see Electronic Arts lose its last spark of innovative spirit, and unhappy to see a growth in false advertising, especially the usage of established franchise names to support the sales of unrelated games." What were your PC highlights and lowlights for the year?
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State Of PC Gaming In 2003 Probed More

State Of PC Gaming In 2003 Probed

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  • Lowlights (Score:5, Funny)

    by daeley ( 126313 ) * on Tuesday January 27, 2004 @06:40PM (#8106120) Homepage
    What were your PC highlights and lowlights for the year?

    I'm on a Mac. Our gaming highlights and lowlights are the same thing. ;)

  • Personal PC highlights and lowlights (Score:4, Interesting)

    by MMaestro ( 585010 ) on Tuesday January 27, 2004 @06:46PM (#8106203)
    Highlights :

    Savage
    Max Payne 2
    Final Fantasy XI
    Warcraft III Frozen Throne
    Knights of the Old Republic (yes it came out on Xbox first, but I don't mind the extra wait)

    Lowlights :

    A cheap attempt to save C&C:Generals from EA Games with an expansion of what it should've been. (Read up on the reports before the original came out))
    MOO 3 sucked, went back to playing MOO 2.
    Halo PC's multiplayer is insanely laggy even with all broadband players.
    No news about future RTS games I should get excited about.
    Half-Life 2 delay. End of list.

    • Re:Personal PC highlights and lowlights (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      no new good RTS this year? I beg to differ...

      Dawn of War [relic.com]

      or,

      Eschaton [eschaton-online.com]
      • Actually, I didn't say there were no good RTS games this year. I just said there was no news about future ones and how the expansion for C&C:Generals was a "should've been".

        Wasn't Starcraft based off the Warhammer 40,000 universe? Eschaton is basicly doing the same thing as Savage already did (and Natural Selection but I haven't played it so no comment). The game play information page even makes reference to those two games.

        Eschaton: Chain of Command joins the growing number of multiplayer games such

  • Renaissance in PC gaming? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Pluvius ( 734915 ) <pluvius3NO@SPAMgmail.com> on Tuesday January 27, 2004 @06:50PM (#8106270) Journal
    Unlike all the doomsayers, it was very enthusiastic about the console ports that flooded the market, because, for the author, they indicated the beginning of a renaissance in PC gaming.

    I'm not sure if this is a good thing, and it's definitely not a renaissance in PC gaming. For a renaissance in PC gaming to occur, there would have to be a resurgence of PC games, not console ports. I always liked the fact that PC games were different from console games; I hope the fact that consoles are becoming more like PCs doesn't destroy the diversity that video games have thus far enjoyed. Unfortunately, with the "consolification" of various PC franchises, that may be wishful thinking.

    BTW, to answer the question posed in the submission, the comment about "false advertising" dovetails nicely with my personal PC gaming lowlight of the year, Final Fantasy XI. As for my highlight, well, it's hard to say, since I've only recently upgraded my computer, and thus haven't played the big hits that came out over the holidays yet. I expect KOTOR will be my favorite out of them all, though.

    Rob
    • Honest question - why was FFXI your lowlight?

      As a MMORPG junkie, my 2003 highlight was FFXI. The lowlight was Star Wars Galaxies.

      The non-Asian market saw the release of the polished and stable FFXI, bringing with it a dynamic player-run economy, an interesting and intruiging world, and a fun combat system with new twists.

      Yes, the keyboard controls take some getting used to, and PvP isn't due until March (last projection - and the reason I've gone back to DAOC currently), but why was it the lowlight ou
      • Well, I hate MMORPGs. Treadmilling isn't my idea of fun, especially when you have to pay monthly fees to do it. Even if I didn't hate them, though, I'd have a problem with the fact that it's called "Final Fantasy XI" instead of "Final Fantasy Online." Put that together with the fact that I've been a fan of the franchise since the beginning (I even post to alt.games.final-fantasy), and you can see why FFXI particularly annoys me.

        Rob (I'll sign up for the World of Warcraft beta anyway, because, hey, it's

    • I always liked the fact that PC games were different from console games; I hope the fact that consoles are becoming more like PCs doesn't destroy the diversity that video games have thus far enjoyed. Unfortunately, with the "consolification" of various PC franchises, that may be wishful thinking.

      It's not a case of one becoming another - it's a case of moving to common ground. Console games are not only becoming more PC-like in hardware, but also in games. Games like Gran Turismo are the kind of simulati

  • A Renaissance? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by ivan256 ( 17499 ) * on Tuesday January 27, 2004 @06:53PM (#8106296)
    [console ports] ... they indicated the beginning of a renaissance in PC gaming

    A what? Console ports on the PC is as much of a renaissance as PS2 backports to the original Playstation (Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 anyone?) represented a Playstation rennissance in some bizzaro world where the Playstation is more powerful than the PS2.

    Remember 1994? Apogee, Id, Epic, 3dRealms, Sierra... That was a Renaissance. A year of console ports is more like a depression.

    • Re:A Renaissance? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Colazar ( 707548 ) on Tuesday January 27, 2004 @07:23PM (#8106736)
      RTA

      The prediction is that as the PC gaming market gets flooded with increasingly lousy console ports, that there will be a backlash against them, which will lead to a renaissance in PC gaming in a few years.

      In other words--like everything else--console-port hell is cyclical.

  • kotor(needs no explaining).

    unreal 2(really, short but it still was good, they could have added some repetition and more levels though). max payne 2 to the same category, good but short. actually add jedi knight: academy to this too.

    vietcong(had the best multiplayer fun of the year with this, with the few coop multiplayer maps, are there any 3rd party maps with coop out there???).

    I'm pretty sure I'm missing some game here though(call of duty was not that special imho)..

    I'll not even bother with the low's
    • well yeah, I of course forgot GTA: Vice City, a quite wonderful game as well(but even this goes to the 'good game, but a bit short' as it took only 2 days to finish up the missions.)

  • Gaming Lowlights (Score:4, Funny)

    by bigman2003 ( 671309 ) on Tuesday January 27, 2004 @06:56PM (#8106343) Homepage
    A real 'low-light'- Buying the ATI Half-Life 2 bundle.

    (tap)...(tap)...(tap)...still waiting...
    • Hah. I bought my ATI card right before the bundle started to get offered. Now 3 of my friends - all with bundles - like to yank my chain about it. I guess it's a little consoling that the game might not even make it to copy before 2005 though.

  • The Good and the Bad (Score:5, Interesting)

    by swat_r2 ( 586705 ) on Tuesday January 27, 2004 @07:13PM (#8106599)
    The Good:

    Max Payne 2
    Completely outdoes the original in every way, loads of fun and had amazing graphics, physics to die for and a campy, dark story.

    Enemy Territory
    I'm quite sure this was 2003, correct me if I'm wrong. Free? Fun? Free?? You bet.

    Halo PC
    Finally playing Halo without resorting to bad net-code and Xbconnect. I can actually join 16 player games in an instant. Hard to beat the keyb/mouse combo. People complaining about lag? Find a better server, I have no problems.

    Call of Duty
    Hooked me in an instant, yeah it's scripted like MOH, but it felt like the real thing!


    The Bad:

    Deus Ex
    Wtf?

    Upgrading
    Spent $1000 upgrading last year to play Halo and the like, and yet I still went back to console gaming.

    PC Gaming in General
    I figured out with my gaming habits, the only real reason I hop on the PC for gaming is to play Online FPS. You will never beat the keyboard/mouse combo - period. Yes I play Socom II and you do get used to the PS2 controller, but sometimes you just want to curse non-stop at how innaccurate it is. Bottom line, gaming from my living room is more comfortable, enjoyable and more immersive on a whole - if console Online gaming really takes off and the next generation means every game is 1080i, I just might find myself spending less and less on the yearly PC upgrades.

    • Max payne was great, but it was way too short. Halo PC is ball-busting but good. Call of Duty was the best game of 2003 IMHO. Nothing beats it. But can all the manufacturers please make something other than WWII shooters?
    • Enemy Territory: I prefer RtCW. It's pure and fun. Tram rulez. However, ET is *good*, I just happen to think RtCW is great.

      Call of Duty: I'll take good scripted over mediocre AI any day. This is a good game (not done yet, the Russian levels might suck :-) a seriously good single-player game. I will be replaying it on harder levels.

      IL-2: Forgotten Battles [il2sturmovik.com]: This is a solid sim covering East, North and Western fronts in WW2. Lots of aircraft to fly, plenty of campaign missions to tackle, good community a
  • Microsoft also scored another moderate hit with Freelancer, the sequel to Starlancer. Unfortunately, this multiplayer-only game suffered from low replay value.

    What?

    EA is only a shadow of its past self and unless it's willing to invest into new, innovative products, in a few years it may follow 3DO's footsteps.

    What!?

    Excuse me, waiter. Could I have some of what that guy's smoking? Thanks.

    Rob
    • Freelancer: My bad; I meant mouse-only, but my head was already a few paragraphs ahead. I still can't forgive Microsoft for releasing a decent space combat game with that dreaded WASD interface...

      Electronic Arts: When I purchased Might & Magic VI, Might and Magic VII, Heroes of Might and Magic III and the first Army Men, I thought 3DO would be here forever. That was 3-4 years ago...

    • The EA remark is way off-base. EA contributed more of the highest-grossing titles on the top 10 PC and top 10 console games list than any other company. Madden 2004 is making a killing on the consoles, and the Sims and its perpetual expansions continue to be a best seller for the PC.

      Sure, they are rehashing old ideas, but to claim EA is going the way of 3DO is simply absurd.

  • DN!!! (Score:2, Funny)

    by Cosmik ( 730707 )
    2003 highlight:

    Duke Nukem Forev...oh, wait.

  • Lowlights (Score:3, Funny)

    by wowbagger ( 69688 ) on Tuesday January 27, 2004 @08:49PM (#8107739) Homepage Journal
    Steam.

    The unlikelyhood of running HL2 under anything that isn't Windows.

    The idea that games need to be "monetized" into a subscription mode - in other words, Steam.
    • Why does everyone insist steam is subscription based? Here's the low down in case someone told you something else.

      You can use steam with any retail valve product you bought, it's yours forever once you buy it. You can also purchase online and its yours for good. Now there IS a subscription OPTION, where you pay 10$ per month and you have access to all games valve has released. If they release more games you instantly get those too.

      So say they started this right now, and then released HL2 and TF2, I ha
      • Not only that, but speaking for myself, sometimes you get little gifts. I just had HL:GotY edition, but once I ran it through Steam, I had access to Opposing Force as well.

        Thanks!

  • The Good, the bad, the ugly (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Good:
    Halo For PC (at last!)
    BF1942 and all the new DC (still going VERY strong)
    Splinter Cell
    GTA Vice City

    Well, that's kinda sad. I can't think of much.

    The Bad:
    Command and Conquer Generals
    -read anything about it. It's fun for about 3 hours, and then you realize the game sucks. Westwood should still be around.
    Upgrades. I spent quite a bit of cash on a new system to play everything.

    The Ugly:
    Halo PC is ungodly slow, even on a new pc.
    No future for RTS games.
    No future for PSO.
    Video Card Drivers (ATI and NVidi
    • I have to disagree,

      we haven't been playing anything but Command and Conquer Generals for the past 2 or 3 months. And we haven't got the expansion pack yet. Its a hell of a lot of fun with 3-4 people on a LAN. (although the LAN lobby server code must have been written by a blind rabbit with its paws tied behind its back, its so flakey)

      And before that it was BF1942, Road2Rome or DesertCombat or Eve of Destruction.
      • we haven't been playing anything but Command and Conquer Generals for the past 2 or 3 months. And we haven't got the expansion pack yet. Its a hell of a lot of fun with 3-4 people on a LAN. (although the LAN lobby server code must have been written by a blind rabbit with its paws tied behind its back, its so flakey)

        Get the expansion, seriously. Overall, C&C:Generals has the best skirmish mode (and probably multiplayer given the skirmish, but I haven't played it multiplayer) of any C&C game, and ea
  • The highlight:
    Finding out Fallout 3 was in development

    The lowlight:
    Finding out Fallout 3 was cancelled

  • Another alternative (Score:5, Insightful)

    by obeythefist ( 719316 ) on Tuesday January 27, 2004 @10:39PM (#8108815) Journal
    An alternative that the author didn't contemplate:

    PC gaming is being marginalised by the game production houses. There isn't really a huge growth in new PC game development by the big players. Independants are making a few small games, true, but the majority of the work is being done in the modding community. This will only last as long as new games are released for PC in a moddable format (which means the games are developed for PC, again a diminishing trend). It will also only last for as long as mods aren't available on consoles. The Xbox already has an internet connection and a hard drive. All that needs to happen is that Xbox games get downloadable mods and game fixing patches, just like PC's, and game houses will be able to code exclusively for consoles, seeing no advantage of releasing games for the "uncontrolled" DRM free PC.

    Furthermore, as you can see, console ports are continually on the rise and they're continually failing on the PC. Yes, this is because PC gamers bathe, have haircuts, and are generally distinguishing. But the gaming industry will just interpret the low sales as a lack of demand rather than product inferiority, and further reduce efforts to develop for PC.

    This is where the so-called rennaissance comes in. Independent houses don't have the resources to produce a game with the same content as the big houses. Games developed in the "first cycle" that the author mentioned could have been achieved (and often were) by a small handful of talented staff. I know iD wasn't huge when they made Wolfenstein! But Wolfenstein won't cut it anymore. An independent rennaissance cannot be.

    One factor for contemplation, however, is the PC hardware industry. Despite the lack of growth in the PC gaming sector, the PC hardware sector is skyrocketing. AMD and Intel both need a stong gaming community to push product like the AthlonFX and the Xeon^H^H^H^HPentium EE. ATI doesn't need PC gaming anymore thanks to Xbox2, but nVidia doesn't have a console anymore (not that they made money on Xbox anyway). So nVidia needs PC gaming to stay alive (they also need a competitive graphics architecture, but that's another story). Will these companies have any influence over the console-pushers and big gaming houses? Will they be able to turn the tide away from consoles?

    Console gaming killed the arcade machine, because the console game had better graphics, sound, and you could play it at home. But will the console kill the PC? The only advantages that the console has on PC is the low entry cost, and the vast industry backing. Arcades died because that was what customers wanted - but will the PC game die because Namco and Sony and Activision want it to?
    • Thanks for the insightful comment. I'm ashamed to admit that I completely forgot the modding scene. NOw that you mention it, I'd go even farther - there were cases when gamers released fixes for games, whether it was Temple of Elemental Evil, or Falcon 4.0. However, I see here a possible problem - copyright issues. Just look at the problem Marvel had with a mod for Freedom Force, and I've caught something about other publishers not being too happy with total conversions of Morrowind and NWN to resemble
      • It also helps to consider that the game press goes through the same cycle with every generation of consoles (at least since I started paying attention about 15 years ago). At a certain point in a console's lifetime, developers start putting out some really strong titles on the platform, really taking advantage of what it can offer, while on the PC side you continue to get games developed for the highest spec machine the developer thinks everyone has, which is usually something about 4 years old. Only a hand
  • HIGHLIGHTS :-

    call of duty - predictable but fun
    vice city - except i struggle with the heli controls on pc
    rise of nations - finally, something new to RTS
    need for speed underground - who said racing games have to be even remotely serious?
    neverwinter nights - expansions just keep making this game better and better
    jedi academy - i thought they were never going to get it right
    vietcong - hey SOF2, this is how jungle fighting is done

    LOWLIGHTS :-

    people that seem to think that online gaming is all tha
    • Need for Speed Underground is awesome fun. I have it from Gamefly.com right now and will probably keep it. If you like fast games of any sort, at least rent this. It's a treat. I expected to *hate* drag racing, but it's actually awesome fun despite the whole going-in-a-straight-line thing. The sensation of speed is vivid, and they throw traffic at you... head-on and crosstraffic both. I'm very pleased that I didn't flinch the first time a van pulled out in front of me at 90 MPH and accelerating.

      It's well w
    • its a fucking awesome game. and people who dont like it because its overly gross or violent are, as usual, missing the point entirely. and also missing out on an incredibly fun experience.
    • I totally agree with you on Halo. I don't have an XBox so I was anxious to see what all the fuss was about over Halo when it came out on the PC. Complete letdown. I was totally unimpressed.
  • Call me a pessimist but I have very high expectations of games (it's the 21st bleedin' century here). We've seen some really awesome titles this year, but some of the best ones have a common problem.

    Call of Duty - amazing game, perfect control, secondary fire mode (barrel aiming) revolutionalizes FPS... but I finished it in 2 days and the levels are almost totally unrelated.

    Max Payne 2 - excellent control, very nice sharp texturing, runs at a better frame rate than some 4 year old games... but I fini
    • I apologize - Postal 2 uses the Unreal Warfare engine. And sorry about the bold.. didn't close my tag right.
    • I am on the completely opposite side of this issue-

      #1- I don't understand how people can finish games in a single day. I have never played the 3 you mention, but I have played plenty of games where people say 'I beat it in one day'. The same game will take me weeks. I guess I'm just not very good at them or something. But games can take me weeks, or months to beat. Metal Arms, which was considered a fairly long game, took me about 2 months. I'm still working on Deus Ex from Christmas- and people said
      • Some people use cheats to get through games quickly. I usually don't, but I found the Unlimited Ammo cheat for Enter the Matrix in an Italian newsgroup (gotta love Google) so I used that for about half of the game (just to get out of the goram sewers). The cheat code users are often, in the console arena anyway, renters who want to see the whole thing but don't have a lot of time. Or warez kiddies who don't value the game :-)

        And a number of games these days are just short. Max Payne wasn't a long game. Ca
  • Highlights: Day of Defeat, don't have the computer specs for Call of Duty, at least by the demo. However, I don't really miss it, having such an exceptional game such as DoD. Simple graphics, relativly speaking, but having more atmosphere than most other games. It's just great. Sure, it was just released, but throw in Natural Selection 3.0. A good idea that was never fully realized, in my eyes, hits the big time with an amazing Combat mode. A great mix between RPG and FPS. Steam started off rocky, but I l
    • No FFXI in Canada yet. WTF?

      Why not either go across the border to buy it, or if that's more than a half day trip, buy it online?

      I live in Australia, and although FFXI will most likely not come out here (no idea why not), I've been playing it for a few months now.
  • Knights of the Old Republic was by far the highlight of the year for me. I played through as the light side and then dark side, and frankly I feel bad about some of the things I did while falling to the dark side, so maybe another trip through is in the cards.

    Lowlights:
    Fallout 3 cancellation
    no more Black Isle
    delays

  • Being an avid PC gamer, this year has been very mixed. On one hand the production value of titles has continued to increase. Voice acting, musical score, sound effects etc. have made for a more "cinematic" feel to games in general (Call of Duty, Max Payne 2..) and some pretty submersive moments, like the tank attack by the church early in Call Of Duty. On the other hand however, we have seen little new in terms of gameplay. I dont play games to be an actor in some scripted movie, and thats what I felt like
  • In no particular order Highs: Splinter Cell Knights of the Old Republic Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Call of Duty CS 1.6 Jedi Academy GTA3: Vice City Broken Sword 3: The Sleeping Dragon Lows: Lack of Half Life 2 Halo Worms 3D In fact I'd say given my tastes its been a pretty good year, gaming wise. I personally have no complaints with console conversions so long as effort is made to get them right - Splinter Cell and KOTOR were flawess conversions for my money, and the only issue I took with GTA at al
  • My top PC games
    1.) wolfenstein ET
    2.) call of duty

    My top console games
    1.) WWE smackdown SYM and HCTP
    2.) Sega ESPN basketball 2004

    My biggest disappointment for 2003...
    1.) Battlefield 1942
    2.) Sims Online
    3.) All-star Baseball 2004
    • My biggest disappointment for 2003...
      1.) Battlefield 1942

      Really? You must not like FPS in the war genre!

      BF1942 is great, the DesertCombat mod makes it even better. BF1942 is the second most played online FPS, behind CS, and it's been that way for almost all of 2003.

      BF1942 Rawks!

      My fav for the year, ahead of -

      2) RTCW
      3) AoM (Imma sucka for the series)

      No dissapointments really, because I don't buy anything I haven't already played and like.

    • I disagree that Battlefield 1942 is a disappointment, unless you count the dismal AI, but of course your supposed to be fighting people! Not silly bots!

      Also it came out in 2002 so it doesn't qualify for your list...

      BTW my biggest highlight for 2003 is Desert Combat, a free BF1942 mod that is about the best mod since Counter Strike. Expect to see more BF1942-like games in the next year, including Star Wars Battlefront and UT2004. That, to me, qualifies '42 as at least a trend setter, if not a true innov

  • I just had to respond to this bashing of C&C Generals. This is the best most innovative chapter in the franchise since the original. I can only assume said posters above got their asses kicked online and just said "screw it, this game sucks." In fact its visually amazing, the sound rocks and the gameplay is outstanding.

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