Halo: Combat Evolved

[shadowlight]

The mouse is far better for long distance aiming, especially with the sniper rifle. That said,the X-Box controller was actually much better than I thought it would be.

I keep hearing this, but I haven't found it to be the case. I've found if much more difficult to snipe on the PC version than on the XBox.

 

[Ristamar]

I keep hearing this, but I haven't found it to be the case. I've found if much more difficult to snipe on the PC version than on the XBox.

Not to call you out and question your skills or anything, but how good are you with a mouse/keyboard?

I like console shooters. Heck, Goldeneye is what turned me on to the genre (I never could stomach Quake, and I used to be terrible with a mouse). I really enjoyed TimeSplitters 2, as well. I also understand that the choice of a controller over a mouse is a matter of personal preference. Some games just feel right with a controller. However, overall, the controller is an inferior tool for FPS.

That's not to say that you suck if you use a controller, but if you would pit the most skilled controller users in the world versus the most skilled players that use a mouse in any given FPS, I'd bet a large chunk of change that the mouse users would wipe the floor with them. Essentially, controllers can put an artificial cap on one's maximum skill level.

NOTE: This argument assumes that auto-aim is OFF, as it enormously artificially inflates the accuracy of controllers.

 

[Goodsport]

Thanks for all the info, everyone!

I heard that in the PC version, the voices in the cutscenes sometimes "skip" (i.e. goes from talking to silent to talking again, when the character is supposed to be talking the whole time), and that it's distracting since a lot of the backstory and mission objectives are conveyed from what the characters say.

Is this true, and if so, is there a fix for it or will it be addressed in the next patch?


-G

 

[shadowlight]

Thanks for all the info, everyone!

I heard that in the PC version, the voices in the cutscenes sometimes "skip" (i.e. goes from talking to silent to talking again, when the character is supposed to be talking the whole time), and that it's distracting since a lot of the backstory and mission objectives are conveyed from what the characters say.

Is this true, and if so, is there a fix for it or will it be addressed in the next patch?


-G

I haven't seen this problem at all... probably dependent on you system though. I've got a P4 2.8 GHz, 800MHz FSB, 1GB DDR400 RAM, and an ATI AiW Radeon 9800 Pro...

 

[shadowlight]

Not to call you out and question your skills or anything, but how good are you with a mouse/keyboard?

Well, I must be OK as I seem to mop up most people I play with online...

However, overall, the controller is an inferior tool for FPS.

I disagree. It's just a different tool. Kb/Mouse is much better for rotation but much worse at translation. In my opinion, this means that Kb/Mouse is better suited for distance combat and the controller for close combat.

That said, it's still more difficult for me to snipe in Halo with the Kb/Mouse... this could be because of the mysterious Auto Aim though...

Essentially, controllers can put an artificial cap on one's maximum skill level.

I think this can be true but it really depends on your play style -- and your choice of input device can force you down a certain play style path.

 

[Lazybones]

I have only played the game SP thus far, but I've found it very immersive and fun. You cannot change the difficulty once you start the game, or select where you save (though the save "checkpoints" are fairly frequent). I am a FPS vet and so picked the second-from-hardest difficulty; for the most part it's been just right, but there's a few places where I've essentially have to memorize the level (restarting 50 times or more) in order to win through. Everything is scripted so it will be exactly the same each time.

Graphically, I was surprised that I had to turn down my settings several times to get a good frame rate; ultimately I settled with 800x600 with most of the special effects turned off. I have a 1.8Ghz P4 processor with 768mb of RDRAM, and a FX5600 256mb video card.

The sound FX are very good, the story moderately interesting, and there's some humor (especially the enemy grunt soldiers). The vehicles are cool, and you even get to utilize some alien technology. Some levels are repetitive (I'm thinking of the alien tower level, where you have to go through ten gates and about a thousand monsters to get to the end), but overall the designs are quite creative.

 

[Welverin]

With the analog sticks on the XBox controller, you can move slowly when you need to while with the PC version, the movement is either on or off -- full speed run or stand still.

While I can't know, since I don't have the game, based on my experience with other FPS on PC I rater suspect there is a walk key somewhere in there.

 

[Goodsport]

I haven't seen this problem at all... probably dependent on you system though. I've got a P4 2.8 GHz, 800MHz FSB, 1GB DDR400 RAM, and an ATI AiW Radeon 9800 Pro...

As it turns out, the dialogue "skipping" in the cutscenes has something to do with the way the game currently interacts with Audigy 2 soundcards (although it may be doing that with other soundcards as well). The only way to fix it is to turn the Hardware Acceleration option off, although that then dumps more work onto the CPU.

Hopefully this will be corrected in the next patch (v1.03).


-G