Did anyone try out the Prey Demo?

[Kid Kamikaze10]

It was quite fun! It setup the story as a whole, while leaving some stuff in question. Not to mention, it gives a pretty accurate portrayal of modern Native American life through the eyes of a man who wants to leave the reservation.

Gameplay wise, it felt like Area 51 on drugs. Portals, Dimension shifting, Spiritwalking (leaving your body as a spirit), strange guns and enemies, etc.
it feature a bunch of puzzles of some sorts.

I recommend it for anyone who likes Deus EX and Half-Life 2.

[BlairH]

It was awesome. I loved the portals and the gravity walkways and stuff. I'm still dizzy.

Definately buying this when it comes out (but should I go for the PC or the 360 version?)

[Xero Kaiser]

bah....I'm stuck with dial-up at the moment, so no demo for me. Glad to hear the positive impressions though. I need to justify buying a new video card, so it's the PC version for me

[BlairH]

bah....I'm stuck with dial-up at the moment, so no demo for me. Glad to hear the positive impressions though. I need to justify buying a new video card, so it's the PC version for me

If Doom3/Quake4 runs well on your computer, you'll be able to cope with Prey quite admirably as they use the same engine.

[Astonishing X-Fan]

360 version for me. Hate PC gaming.

[Serik]

360 version for me. Hate PC gaming.

Why? Have an aversion to superior products or something? :D

[Astonishing X-Fan]

I hate the fact that you can tweak and upgrade your PC constantly and still not have a game run the way it's supposed to. I hate having to worry about cards and drivers and RAM. I hate slouching over a desk. I hate having a tiny screen. I hate gaming in my cramped bedroom. I hate the lack of support for playing multiplayer with people in the same room on the same system.

I love how if I buy a 360 game, I can put it in any XBOX 360 and have it work as well as it's supposed to. I love how I just buy a console, and that's it. No upgrading, no tweaking, no endless struggle to make things work properly. I love sitting back on a couch with a controller. I love gaming on my big screen HDTV. I love being able to easily hook four controllers up, fill the living room with friends, and go at it.

Comfort + ease of use + nice entertainment center FTW.

The only games I actually prefer to play on PC are strategy games...with the mouse and all. We'll see with the new LOTR strategy game how well they can be adapted for a console.

[BlairH]

I hate the fact that you can tweak and upgrade your PC constantly and still not have a game run the way it's supposed to. I hate having to worry about cards and drivers and RAM. I hate slouching over a desk. I hate having a tiny screen. I hate gaming in my cramped bedroom. I hate the lack of support for playing multiplayer with people in the same room on the same system.

I love how if I buy a 360 game, I can put it in any XBOX 360 and have it work as well as it's supposed to. I love how I just buy a console, and that's it. No upgrading, no tweaking, no endless struggle to make things work properly. I love sitting back on a couch with a controller. I love gaming on my big screen HDTV. I love being able to easily hook four controllers up, fill the living room with friends, and go at it.

Comfort + ease of use + nice entertainment center FTW.

The only games I actually prefer to play on PC are strategy games...with the mouse and all. We'll see with the new LOTR strategy game how well they can be adapted for a console.

You do know that you can have your PC hooked up to your entertainment center, right? No reason to have your PC confined to the ol' "tiny monitor".

[Astonishing X-Fan]

Except then I lose all privacy when working on my PC because it'll be smack dab in the living room.

Meaning I'd have to constantly be moving my PC, back and forth between living room and bedroom, upstairs and downstairs.

Or buy two PCs, one just for gaming and one for other stuff.

Both options suck ass.

Again, console gaming provides convenience and comfort. PC gaming does not.

It's not worth all the trouble for slightly better graphics and games that aren't any more fun than console games.

[BlairH]

Except then I lose all privacy when working on my PC because it'll be smack dab in the living room.
Not at all mate. Most modern graphics cards have 2 DVI outputs (one for your standard display, one for an additional display/HDTV). You can simply buy a long DVI>DVI cable and connect it in this manner. Use a standard digital audio cable for your sound.

For your games, you can use a wireless PC controller (or a wireless keyboard and mouse for FPS games. You know it makes sense!)

Again, console gaming provides convenience and comfort. PC gaming does not.
You are mistaken. Your curent console gaming setup provides a convinient and comfortable setup than your current PC setup. There's nothing to say that PC gaming has to be uncomfortable.

It's not worth all the trouble for slightly better graphics
Don't forget superior sound, better frame rates, faster loading times, greater potential for extra mods/maps/levels etc.

[Urusai Wrangler]

I hate to say it, but most of these points such as better sound and framerates are really only important to a small percentage of high-end technophiles. PC game configurations and other associated annoyances are only decipherable by the same small percentage of people who can figure them out; this is in large part the reason that consoles have been so successful. Ease of use is a major contributor to console resilience in the marketplace.

Another roadblock to PC gaming...why is my laptop getting ignored? I wouldn't mind running stuff on my laptop, but laptops are rarely supported by either software or video card companies.

[Xero Kaiser]

Some people don't want to go throught the hassle of PC gaming, and make no mistake, it can be a hassle. I didn't really get into PC gaming myself until about 2 years ago and my brother still won't touch a keyboard+mouse setup. He hates the idea of upgrading computers, installing games and all that. I know I've been screwed over several times because of the copy protection programs, stupid crap like Steam or a lack of a CD-Key with my game. There are a lot of benefits to PC gaming but it can just as easily be a pain in the ass.

I love my PC, I just hope my Radeon X1600 holds out for a while, because I'm not looking foward to replacing my motherboard 'cuz I'm lazy

Another roadblock to PC gaming...why is my laptop getting ignored? I wouldn't mind running stuff on my laptop, but laptops are rarely supported by either software or video card companies.

Don't they make laptop versions of video cards? Like the GeForce Go series? A bigger pain in the ass is the surprising lack of widescreen support

[BlairH]

I'm definately going for the PC version. The 360 demo is extremely "jaggy", I don't have this problem with the PC demo, as I can turn on the anti-aliasing. I personally don't see why I should pay more for an inferior product (The 360 version of the game is 50 quid, the PC version is 25)

Some games just belong on the PC I guess. Prey is one of them.

stupid crap like Steam
I love steam, it keeps all of my Valve games bang up to date, prevents people cheating online, and hampers piracy efforts.

[Kid Kamikaze10]

Personally, I would much rather get the PC version (because, as Blair has been advocating, it is much better), but I would have to use my laptop (much more powerful than my desktop PC)....

And I hate using FPS games on my laptop.

[BlairH]

And I hate using FPS games on my laptop.
What sort of Laptop are you using? I play most of my games on my desktop, but whenever I'm away at a LAN party or my girlfriend's house, the Alienware does the job nicely.

http://file003.bebo.com/large/2006/01/07/23/11330704a174329318b670098536l.jpg
http://file003.bebo.com/large/2006/01/06/22/11330704a170993323b167361192l.jpg

[Xero Kaiser]

I love steam, it keeps all of my Valve games bang up to date, prevents people cheating online, and hampers piracy efforts.

I hate it. The only thing it hampers is my ability to play Half-Life 2. I gotta download a patch and have the damn thing verified online everyday just to play an offline game? I expect this with online games but not single-player FPS games. Steam is the reason I had to stop playing Half-life 2 a year ago. Steam is the reason I can't play Half-Life 2 now. And Steam is the reason Valve gets no more of my money. I spend 15 minutes staring at the verification screen only to get hit with an 8 hour patch? Screw Steam and Valve

[BlairH]

I hate it. The only thing it hampers is my ability to play Half-Life 2. I gotta download a patch and have the damn thing verified online everyday just to play an offline game? I expect this with online games but not single-player FPS games. Steam is the reason I had to stop playing Half-life 2 a year ago. Steam is the reason I can't play Half-Life 2 now. And Steam is the reason Valve gets no more of my money. I spend 15 minutes staring at the verification screen only to get hit with an 8 hour patch? Screw Steam and Valve

Just start steam in offline mode?

[Xero Kaiser]

....don't I have to connect? I haven't been able to play offline before. Even episode 1 says you need an internet connection to play.

Lemme check...

EDIT: Nope, "not ready to be played in offline mode"

[BlairH]

....don't I have to connect? I haven't been able to play offline before. Even episode 1 says you need an internet connection to play.

Lemme check...

EDIT: Nope, "not ready to be played in offline mode"

You only need an internet connection to validate your copy of HL2. After it's validated you shoule be able to play HL2 in the Steam offline mode.

It sounds like a rather strange problem you're having. It sounds like the game isn't validating at all. You should probably phone up Valve and tell them what's wrong.

[cactusmaac]

You only need an internet connection to validate your copy of HL2. After it's validated you shoule be able to play HL2 in the Steam offline mode.

It sounds like a rather strange problem you're having. It sounds like the game isn't validating at all. You should probably phone up Valve and tell them what's wrong.

See Blair?

Stuff like this is why PC gaming is a pain in the ass.

[BlairH]

See Blair?

Stuff like this is why PC gaming is a pain in the ass.

Most folks don't have this problem. Steam not working "as advertised" is as common as heat-related graphical corruption on the XBox 360 in that it only happens in very rare cases.

Personally, I've had Steam installed on my computer for about 2 years (since the launch of CS: Source) and I haven't experienced any problems.

[cactusmaac]

Yeah but like Astonishing X-Fan said, hardware and software snafus on the PC like that are far more common than anything on the typical console.

[BlairH]

Yeah but like Astonishing X-Fan said, hardware and software snafus on the PC like that are far more common than anything on the typical console.
It doesn't sound like a software or hardware fualt. It sounds like a registration fualt on Valve's end.

[cactusmaac]

Get some sleep mate :)

[Xero Kaiser]

No, Steam is working as intended. It's just an incredible pain in the ass if you don't have a broadband connection. And needing my game validated every damn time I want to play is ridiculous