![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Just been playing the new demo of Splinter Cell with was lovingly attached to this month's PC Zone Magazine. I have got to say that it is the best game I have played on the PC in a long time! It's what the magazine would describe it as a 'stealth-em-up'. I've never properly played Metal Gear Solid or it's sequel, nor have I played the X-Box version of Splinter Cell so I guess I'm coming into this genre from a fresh perspective...
In the game, you play this covert bloke from the NSA and in the demo you have to find some associates of yours who have been taken captive. To do so you have to shoot out lights so people cant see you, use nightvision to see once you knocked out the lights, stick optical cable cameras under doors to see who's behind it, grab people and interrorgate them, use computers to gain info, choot out security cameras, use civillians as human shields, hide bodies of those you knockout/kill to avoid detection, sneak past people quietly, use nightvision goggles to see people you couldn't normally see... and all this done with the finest graphics I've seen in a game (On my PC). It's simply fantastic, I'm definitley gonna buy this one when it comes out on the 31st.
The game itself REQUIRES at least an 800mhz processor with a hefty graphics card. I'm just barely hanging in there with my 1ghz AMD and Geforce4 Ti4200. I guess I may have to get a hefty upgrade once Doom 3 comes out but I'm skint so I doubt I'll be upgrading in a hurry (Unless it's really cheap to upgrade by then... who knows).
I'm glad that I've not bought any of these next gen consoles. PCs by far have the best deal. They get all the best games (Bar the Nintendo ones) such as Splinter Cell, Halo (Admittedly muchly delayed) and GTA3: Vice City (Out March/April apparantly) and at the same time completely kicks the crap out of the console originals. Not just through the sheer graphics power (You have to pay much more than what you do for a console to get the top end graphics however), but the number of ways in which you interact with the games like with GTA3 and Splinter Cell allowing you to use the mouse, making aiming a much easier thing but still having the gamepad as an option should you wish to play it that way. Also they tend to make PC specific extras such as network play or extra levels. It's all going in the PC owner's favour!
The only console that I own which is still having games made for it is the Gameboy Advance. Totally great for gaming on the train or in the car or whatever or maybe when you just want to get away from a TV or monitor and just want to play some classic gaming. Shame the games cost so much still but the quality of some of these games really does make up for the price. I see that Nintendo are finally releasing a new model of the Gameboy Advance, the "SP". Take a look at the photo of the new gizmo here: http://www.orange-today.co.uk/news/story/sm_736997.html . It had back lighting and a nice contemporary design going for it but I'm rather skeptical about the return to the old controls-below-the-screen idea. The controls are best placed where they are already in my opinion. Ah well I won't be getting one, I have an afterburner (backlighting) anyways. And it's not as if I can afford to spend on such gadgets ;)
In the game, you play this covert bloke from the NSA and in the demo you have to find some associates of yours who have been taken captive. To do so you have to shoot out lights so people cant see you, use nightvision to see once you knocked out the lights, stick optical cable cameras under doors to see who's behind it, grab people and interrorgate them, use computers to gain info, choot out security cameras, use civillians as human shields, hide bodies of those you knockout/kill to avoid detection, sneak past people quietly, use nightvision goggles to see people you couldn't normally see... and all this done with the finest graphics I've seen in a game (On my PC). It's simply fantastic, I'm definitley gonna buy this one when it comes out on the 31st.
The game itself REQUIRES at least an 800mhz processor with a hefty graphics card. I'm just barely hanging in there with my 1ghz AMD and Geforce4 Ti4200. I guess I may have to get a hefty upgrade once Doom 3 comes out but I'm skint so I doubt I'll be upgrading in a hurry (Unless it's really cheap to upgrade by then... who knows).
I'm glad that I've not bought any of these next gen consoles. PCs by far have the best deal. They get all the best games (Bar the Nintendo ones) such as Splinter Cell, Halo (Admittedly muchly delayed) and GTA3: Vice City (Out March/April apparantly) and at the same time completely kicks the crap out of the console originals. Not just through the sheer graphics power (You have to pay much more than what you do for a console to get the top end graphics however), but the number of ways in which you interact with the games like with GTA3 and Splinter Cell allowing you to use the mouse, making aiming a much easier thing but still having the gamepad as an option should you wish to play it that way. Also they tend to make PC specific extras such as network play or extra levels. It's all going in the PC owner's favour!
The only console that I own which is still having games made for it is the Gameboy Advance. Totally great for gaming on the train or in the car or whatever or maybe when you just want to get away from a TV or monitor and just want to play some classic gaming. Shame the games cost so much still but the quality of some of these games really does make up for the price. I see that Nintendo are finally releasing a new model of the Gameboy Advance, the "SP". Take a look at the photo of the new gizmo here: http://www.orange-today.co.uk/news/story/sm_736997.html . It had back lighting and a nice contemporary design going for it but I'm rather skeptical about the return to the old controls-below-the-screen idea. The controls are best placed where they are already in my opinion. Ah well I won't be getting one, I have an afterburner (backlighting) anyways. And it's not as if I can afford to spend on such gadgets ;)
