So, this isn’t the Halo-themed Wingnut game, right? I wonder what that is…
While I think shooters are still greatly preferred on PCs by most people with access to both platforms, I think the console shooter has gained some kind of legitimacy. I found myself playing Prey on the 360 instead of my PC just because I could Gamefly the 360 version. I know it would have played better on my PC, but I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything significant by playing it on a console. While I played and enjoyed Goldeneye on the N64, pre-Halo I would’ve told you that playing a shooter on a console if you had the choice between that and a PC version, was like snowboarding on styrofoam popcorn - it may or may not work, but it ain’t gonna compare to the real thing either way.
These days, all things being equal I’ll still pick the PC version over the console version, but I have no qualms at all about playing a shooter on a console.
After playing BFME2 on the 360, I don’t think RTS’ are down a similar path, but not quite the same one. BFME2 showed me that while you can get a working control scheme for an RTS on a console, you can’t really effectively use that control scheme on a PC RTS. I think to really work on a console, the RTS genre will need to take some more drastic turns than shooters had to. That could be the for the best, or the worst, or I could be full of shit. But I think the good console RTS’ that are to come in the next several years are going to look significantly different than what the genre looks like on the PC now.
Edit to add: I don’t mean to say that I think the console RTS is going to become a completely different genre, but that things like pacing or scale at the very least are going to have to take a very significant shift.
According to the FAQ on the webpage, it takes place pre-Halo 1, around the time Humans and Covenant first meet (aka just as the Spartan 2’s were entering service).
I’m glad people were able to play and enjoy BFME2 on the 360. But having played both I feel quite confident in saying Halo Wars (interface and the game mechanics themselves) is designed for the console in a much more fundamental way.
(edit for minor grammar)
Good to hear.
This is also why I don’t think a PC port should happen, although it probably will.
…and I think most people are still saying it.
Yeah, but with a lot less conviction than before. And I don’t think it was Halo 1 that did it… it was Goldeneye. Either way, there’s FPS’s coming out for consoles, where before that they were few and far between. A really good RTS with a control scheme designed for a console would go a long way.
The real question is: how many Xbox 360s were sold in South Korea?
- Alan
Dude nothing is going to move those guys off Starcraft except Starcraft 2.
And even that might not do it, as there will be those that swear by the old game and that the new one doesn’t match it.
I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop and for MS to announce that SC2 will be Xbox 360 exclusive.
And that’s when I retire gaming.
Seriously though, it’s a shame that Ensemble, one of the premier RTS developers for the PC decide to make such a great RTS property X360 exclusive. And it’s not like RTS games for consoles have taken off massively or something. Oh well, we’ll see how well it does I guess, perhaps it’s a good thing that Age 3 was not as strong as some of the other recently released RTS games so hopefully Ensemble won’t leave that much of a gap.
Hopefully Blizzard retains their senses. I’m in mourning until they announce their next PC RTS.
It’s like the dev team went through designs until they had a AAA worty design. And it’s like that the Stupenderifously proven designers contributed. And it’s all come together in some kind of mutually beneficial reference.
That trailer was pretty amazing. Makes me want the Halo movie.
Blizzard started as a console game company, so if they began doing console exclusives, they’d just be getting back to their roots.
Suck it, PC snobs!
I think MS mandates the platform decisions here, not Ensemble.
Another reason why people play multiplatform games on consoles is because when you put it in, it actually works (not including defects).
I mean really, what percentage of PCs can run oblivion on high settings? and what percentage of 360s can? 100%?
Also, you can’t rent PC games.
Minus the ones that overheat and break down, yes. Hey I love the 360, but it’s not exactly the poster child for console reliability.
Also, you can’t rent PC games.
Well, over here you can.
-Julian
The big console benefit for me is that if I play some “next generation” hardware punishing game on the PC I need to spend like an hour or more tweaking every option in the game to get a good balance between playability/performance and good image quality. If I play the same game on the Xbox 360, this work has already been done for me by the developer. I like that.