Comment by Dan

3/26/2005 @ 7:39 pm

No spoilers, but I would like to soften the blow for those of you who don’t already know. The end of Halo 2 is the video game equivalent of blue balls. It gets you as excited as you could possibly be, and then it just stops without resolution.

Foreknowledge of this does make it a little easier to stomach, although it still comes across as disconcerting. Nevertheless, the game is awesome, in both single and multiplayer modes, and given the clan functionality I think it’s time that TeamEMB got out there and started tearing up the rankings.

Comment by Jeff

3/28/2005 @ 11:11 am

I shall withhold my opinion until I’ve played the game for more than 20 minutes. So far it looks a lot like the first Halo but I expect it to get a whole lot better. More than anything I’m hoping to see the Marathon story line come back into play. I’ve been waiting since 1996 and there must be a reason for Bungie to hide the Marathon logo inside the Halo logo like they did.

Comment by Steve

3/28/2005 @ 12:37 pm

For me the only reason to buy an XBox would be to play Halo 2; I don’t think I’d play any other games on it. I’d rather save my money for the Playstation 3.

Comment by Jeff

3/28/2005 @ 2:08 pm

Now you’re just trying to start a fight Steve. Though Halo is what initially drew me to the XBox, enough titles have since been released to justify the purchase (read: Fable). And with the capabilities of the modded XBox it’s a no brainer.

Comment by Tim

3/28/2005 @ 8:26 pm

Some outstanding Xbox exclusives include Fable, Halo, Halo 2, Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2, Oddworld:Stranger’s Wrath, Doom 3, etc.

Some of these you can play on a PC also, but I’m guessing you don’t have one of those either, Steve.

While I admittedly envy some of the PS2 and Gamecube only titles, the Xbox has provided more than enough excellent gaming to warrant it’s purchase without even including the emulators.

Comment by Steve

3/29/2005 @ 11:42 pm

Aside from Halo 2, all of the games you guys have mentioned are or will soon be available for other platforms besides the Xbox.

Halo and Doom 3 are currently available for both Mac and Windows.

Oddworld Stranger’s Wrath is coming out for the PS2. Knights of the Old Republic I and II are available for Windows, and Fable: The Lost Chapters is coming out soon for Windows (perhaps they’ll fix some of the complaints that people had about the Xbox version of the game too).

Also, graphics on the PC and Mac versions of the games are much better than what you’d see on the Xbox, as well as the ability to use either a gamepad or the keyboard and mouse.

I’m not trying to start a fight, I honestly don’t believe the hype that the Xbox has been getting on these forums and elsewhere. There are very few exclusive games on the Xbox, and even fewer that are worth playing. Most of the games that are multi-platform I’d rather play on a Windows machine or a Mac.

There are hundreds of exclusive titles available for the PS2, which is why I’m thinking about purchasing the PS3 when it comes out–I’d be able to play all of the PS2 titles as well as new PS3 games.

Right now I’m pretty happy with my Gamecube–Nintendo games can’t be found on other platforms and they’re loads of fun to play.

As far as emulation goes, I have 5 computers that can do emulation quite well–no need for an Xbox for that.

Comment by Staque

3/29/2005 @ 11:53 pm

My 2 cents…

If it comes down between a PS2 version of a game and X-Box Version… I would go with the X-Box version… From my experience the X-Box ones always seem to play better, and I think the controller is easier on the hands.

Comment by Steve

3/30/2005 @ 10:38 pm

Of course you’d go with the Xbox version–you don’t own a PS2.

Comment by Tim

3/31/2005 @ 12:00 pm

You don’t own an Xbox Steve, so how are you able to judge better than Staque?

Listen, we all know you have a “Down with Microsoft” fetish that rules your opinions about platforms. We get it. You think Microsoft is evil. Well, Sony is fucking evil too. Mac and Nintendo are perhaps less evil or maybe better at hiding their evil doings. The mod capabilities of the Xbox are worth investing in without buying a single Xbox game. I have emulation on my Mac and PC, but far prefer playing through the Xbox,on my TV, sitting on my couch. The graphic capabilities of the Xbox are without a doubt superior to the PS2 and the Gamecube. I also don’t think it’s fair to compare desktop gaming with console gaming. Of course desktops have better graphics capabilities. They’re newer and upgradeable. They’re also at least a thousand dollars more, a bigger pain in the ass to play games on, not very portable, and a far worse investment of money.

I don’t know why I bother. You always just put on your agenda T-shirt and turn your brain off. Arguing with you about this is a waste of time.

I’m going to Starbucks.

Comment by Chris

3/31/2005 @ 3:30 pm

Not that I’m adding anything of value to this argument, but I bought a PS2 over an X-box because I felt that anything significantly profitable on the X-Box would eventually tempt Microsoft into a PC release. ‘Cause, you know, that’s what they do.

And the Starbuck’s is excellent.

Comment by EJ

4/1/2005 @ 3:31 pm

I hope you are playing Halo 2 in Widescreen with the Dolby Digital fired up… cause if you aren’t, you are missing out.

Comment by Tim

4/1/2005 @ 5:18 pm

I’ve got dolby digital, but no HDTV. I just sit really close to the TV. So close in fact that I kept getting nauseous whenever I had to slide down one of those tunnels!