Orange Box - 360 or PC?

SiD the Turtle

SiD the Turtle

SiD the Turtle

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Now I understand this is a silly question to ask in the consoles forums, but you guys are on the whole more accepting that those weirdos in PC gaming :p

PC Orange Box is £15 cheaper, and has the benefit of mouse controls. So a question for you: why get the console version?

How do the graphics compare? Are they washed out at all or at any lower level of detail? How well does it control?

Keep in mind I played HL2 on the PC so I would be quite a hard critic to please when I boot it up.
 
My input on this:

Not played HL2 on a PC with a modern spec, but played it when it came out on an excellent spec then (1Gb RAM, TI4600, P4 2500).

Personally, I don't think the controller has any bad impact, it feels so naturel now and the BRILLIANT thing of the console is that your speed is reflected on analog rather than a digital keyboard.

Graphics wise now, I thought the 360 is as good, if not better than some FPS's that are on the 360 already. It knocks spots off FarCry, Prey, Just Cause, etc. I think it's better than The Darkness (but then again it's a totally different 'style), but perhaps not as good as Bioshock in terms of 'effects'.

Sound is excellent, no issues whatsoever.

I personally thought loading times between levels was fast, but again, it would depend on your harddrive setup on a PC (seek times, RAID, etc).

I got the console version because I don't play games anymore on a PC. The advantage of laying on a beanbag or settee while I battle it out on TF2 or have a nice 'think' of Portal is far more relaxing and rewarding than sat at a desk playing it.

I too was like you on this one. I had some reservations as HL2 is up there in my best ever games, so I was gonna be a hard one to convince. But it's been an absolute joy to play (would still be doing it again if the damn 360 hadn't packed in), and I can easily guarantee it'll be the first title to go back in when the console comes back.

Even if it is £15 more than the PC version, you're owning a gorgeous piece of software which I would SERIOUSLY pay double for.

It's certainly proved to me that anything, providing it's done right, is possible on the console.
 
~J~ said:
The advantage of laying on a beanbag or settee while I battle it out on TF2 or have a nice 'think' of Portal is far more relaxing and rewarding than sat at a desk playing it.
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I don't intend to turn this into a PC vs. console argument, but for this particular title the choice is obvious.

The whole "can sit on a beanbag/sofa instead of at a desk" argument is completely moot these days as I can do this on my PC too, and the PC version of the Orange Box games even support the Xbox 360 pad. :)

In the end, it's £15 cheaper and you get keyboard and mouse support along with the ability to play it as if it were on a console. You also don't need to use a service like Xbox Live to play Team Fortress 2 online, and you still get achievements if you're "into" that sort of thing (as you can see from my gamerscore, I am not.)

It's a no-brainer really and I can't see a single sensible argument otherwise, apart from not having a PC.
 
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Half-Life 2 is brilliant on the PC and I was worried about its translation to Console, thankfully it's been ported brilliantly (in terms of controls), infact, it's up there with the best. It's not quite Call of Duty 2, but it's not far off.

If you've got the set-up for it, then it has to be on the console. However, it works excellently well on both.
 
Stanners said:
I would say PC just for TF2 on its own.
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Is Team Fortress 2 not in the 360 version? :confused:

If it's not then definitely buy the PC version, Orange Box wouldn't be the same without it.

Edit: NM just checked and it does come with the 360 version, but I'd still rather play that on the PC.
 
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Sorry did not mean to confuse, it is on the 360 version aswell, its just as a age old fortress player i would not touch a fortress game with a pad.
 
if anyone says 360 they are nieve.

Its PC... at the mo TF2 has majot lag issues on the 360, also the way you change weapons on all 5 games is terrible!

Just doesnt feel right.

Hey it still loosk good though but thats besides the point.
 
Shep_Cobain said:
if anyone says 360 they are nieve.

Its PC... at the mo TF2 has majot lag issues on the 360, also the way you change weapons on all 5 games is terrible!

Just doesnt feel right.

Hey it still loosk good though but thats besides the point.
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Whatever it is, this part of the OCUK forums know how to spell naive matey, so use the spell checker on your PC before you post. :p
 
~J~ said:
Not obvious otherwise Sid wouldn't have asked the question would he!! ;)
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Well, what he asked was "PC Orange Box is £15 cheaper, and has the benefit of mouse controls. So a question for you: why get the console version?"

I've not seen a reason except "you can play it on your sofa" and I said the PC version can do this too with superior online play, so it's a moot point. Depending on his rig, not only could he play it on his HDTV, but also he could also add huge lashings of AA/AF as well. You need to come up with something better. ;) :p

I wouldn't play The Orange Box on my Xbox 360 for the same reason I suspect I won't play Assassin's Creed on my PC. Some games are simply better suited to certain platforms due to differences in playstyle and features.
 
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Ulfhedjinn said:
Well, what he asked was "PC Orange Box is £15 cheaper, and has the benefit of mouse controls. So a question for you: why get the console version?"

I've not seen a reason except "you can play it on your sofa", and I said the PC version can do this too (with huge lashings of AA/AF, depending on his rig, and superior online play) so it's a moot point.

You need to come up with something better. ;)

I wouldn't play The Orange Box on my Xbox 360 for the same reason I suspect I won't play Assassin's Creed on my PC. Some games are simply better suited to certain platforms due to differences in playstyle and features.
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Can't speak for others, but just a handful of my reasons are:

Universal hardware. I know that what's on my console here will be exactly the same as Jin Ching in China or Chuck Buckshot Branson in Texas. I also know that, unlike the PC, a headshot will be achieved using skill of the controller rather than knowing if someone has a Logitech OoooSexy Laser wireless bluetooth heatseeking mouse or a Genius mouse with no middle scrolly.

As to the above, I don't have to wait for the poor kid in Bangladesh while his Stickleback 100Mb harddrive with 1Mb Cache and USB1.1 connection whirs around loading UberMap.

During my gaming sessions, it's nice to simply "OK, hang fire guys, pee-break, coffee break, fag break" and simply put the controller down, check emails, post a taunt on a forum, check out the latest porn without having to quit or ATL+TAB the game.

I don't have to mess about with any hardware, drivers, settings or the like.

I don't have to worry about a windows update suddenly stopping my play with a "Reboot in 15 seconds" message

Updates to games (which are far and few between) are absolutely effortless on the console; tells me there's an update, does the update, 30seconds later I'm playing an updated copy. Likewise I know that people I'm playing also probably have the latest update.

Don't have to worry about someone having "Super Fortress Castle Pack" maps and waiting 20mins while it downloads (but stopping after 15 because the host is now playing on "Exhanced Fortress Castle Pack 2")




There's so many more that I'd end up ruining the thread, but for me, while I agree without question, a PC would show off the game (package) a hell of a lot more, I just think the console would (and does) give a better 'gaming' experience. Which is, afterall, what it is - a game. Not a fancy bit of software to show off graphics and framerate.

You gonna let me go now!! :p
 
PC users "having an advantage" over other PC users is also a moot point because playing in low detail is usually actually advantageous. Not to mention that online play with the Xbox 360 has the exact same issues with internet ping/latency that PC gaming has, so someone with a lower ping than you will technically have an advantage. Console gaming is not "100% fair," 100% fair does not exist.

Also on this point, what do you make of people on Project Gotham 4 having an advantage with the steering wheel over people who use the gamepad? I use the gamepad but I don't complain about it.

Hardware, drivers etc. is also a moot point as you need them set up to operate your PC in the first place. I don't have to worry about Windows Update either because I set it to only download/install updates I select. :p

What you just said about updates/patches is also irrelevent as we're talking about a Steam game. ;)

Like I said, if we were talking about something like Assassin's Creed which will probably be a crap port on the PC, or something like a racing/football game that is simply more natural on consoles, then I would probably be reversing my view. But we're talking about Half Life, an iconic PC gaming series, and I just can't see how it can be better on a console never mind worth an extra £15.
 
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I have a pretty good PC and screen to match. I assume it would look better maxed out on a PC at 1920x1080 than the 360 at 1280x720. Perhaps I'm wrong though?
 
Duel said:
I have a pretty good PC and screen to match. I assume it would look better maxed out on a PC at 1920x1080 than the 360 at 1280x720. Perhaps I'm wrong though?
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Yes it would look much better in 1920x1080 on your PC than 720p on your TV, unless screen size is more important to you. But you do need the hardware to keep up with it (which you say you have so never mind.)

Also need to keep in mind that if you want to see it on the big screen then you can use your PC version with your TV in 720p and lash on the AA/AF, it'd look miles better than the Xbox 360 version then too.
 
Heheh I knew asking this question would bring back some heated replies :D

I play both the PC and 360 on my Sammy R73 so resolution-wise they'd be neck and neck. My PC is getting on a bit in power however (P4 3.2GHz, 2Gb, 7800GT) which is reasonably powerful I suppose but still.

I'll wait for some more opinions before deciding.
 
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