What is it about the games for the 360.

[+remowilliams]

Of course there's a difference. But really.. composite is fine & Hi Def is still overrated.

You can't be serious. Composite doesn't cut it for my Genesis. I wouldn't even hook up my 360 to my 1084 13" CRTs in jest. Hell I wouldn't even hook up the Wii that way.

 

[+Random Terrain]

I don't have an Xbox 360 yet, but the games have to look better than GTA: SA. There is a lot of room for improvement there. When you can no longer tell that you are seeing textures wrapped around polygons and you can walk up to something and see more detail instead of less, then I'll be happy. When objects in the game world become more realistic, such as a brick wall crumbling like a real brick wall would if you smashed a tank into it (instead of getting a canned reaction), then I'll be happy.

[NE146]

Of course there's a difference. But really.. composite is fine & Hi Def is still overrated.

You can't be serious. Composite doesn't cut it for my Genesis. I wouldn't even hook up my 360 to my 1084 13" CRTs in jest. Hell I wouldn't even hook up the Wii that way.

 

 

Don't get me wrong.. I like hi def. But to me it still has a long way to go. I keep up with my stuff, but I'm certainly not a pixel counting snob like so many people are out there. At the end of the day a lot of supposedly "low res" stuff like composite and low quality xvids are friggin fine enough. And that's the truth.

 

And yes, I'm very serious. 360 on my office tv, and the 360 on one of my three hi-def sets. Guess which out of the 4 sets is my preferred one? YES.. the 13" babeey.

 

 

And again, don't get me wrong, of course I do play on the HD sets.. whenever the heck I feel like it. But, the 13" is fine for the 360 and pwnz

[+remowilliams]

My mother (who doesn't know a byte from a bite and has never picked up a game controller until the Wii) commenting on the visual difference between the 360 the Xbox (Halo Edition EmuBox! ) and the Wii. My sister recently bought them an HDTV so they've entered the 21st century.

 

Why does the bowling game and that green one look so much worse than the white one?

So really anyone who has eyes and has opened them should be able to easily tell last generation from this one.

[Atari5200]

i have to admit, when I got my 360 at first i thought there wasn't a huge difference, playing on a SD tv, then I got GOW, there is a huge difference there, then i got my HD tv and figured out how to turn on the HD switch and there is a huge difference between last gen and this gen, I really find it hard to believe that there are people that think there isn't, unless they are only playing the Wii and in that case there is no difference.

[NE146]

they are only playing the Wii and in that case there is no difference.

 

'Course there is a difference.. playing Super Mario Galaxy via component cables on a hi-def is definitely better than any Gamecube games I've seen. But like it is for the 360 vs. xbox, etc. The graphical upgrade is incremental.

 

But yeah I see what you guys mean by "good graphics" now.. you all just mean hi-def resolution! i.e. Although both gen consoles can have a decent animation & 3d renderings, one is jaggier and one has smooth lines on the new tv's eh. Yep. As I said.. incremental.

 

After this gen, when 1080p resolutions become the new bottom line standard, we'll see what the standards for good graphics are in the new generation rather than the soon-to-be-dated "hi-def support" notion. And yes I am definitely looking forward to it. I love new console launches

[Scumdogg]

But yeah I see what you guys mean by "good graphics" now.. you all just mean hi-def resolution! i.e. Although both gen consoles can have a decent animation & 3d renderings, one is jaggier and one has smooth lines on the new tv's eh. Yep. As I said.. incremental.

 

 

The upgrade in graphics has nothing to do with what tv you're playing it on. Last gen consoles simply would not have been capable of producing visuals like those seen in say, Gears of War. I've got my Xbox hooked up via component cables, and the difference between a high-end game for that (say, Ninja Gaiden), and a high-end visual game on the 360 is pretty immense. The only difference the tv makes is on the side of people going "I can't see the difference!". The upgrade in the capabilities of the Wii was incremental if it exists at all (have you ever hooked your cube up via component? It's identical.), but the 360 and PS3 can handle far more visually than their predecessors.

[AtariRocks]

I still remember paying $70 for Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure for the Genesis in 1994 which translates to around $98 now.

[Hyper_Eye]

And yes, I'm very serious. 360 on my office tv, and the 360 on one of my three hi-def sets. Guess which out of the 4 sets is my preferred one? YES.. the 13" babeey.

 

 

Is the television on the right supposed to be your HDTV? If so you either have the 360 settings wrong or the television isn't that great quality. The text in the picture should not be jagged like that. That looks like some bad scaling is going on. One of the things you really notice on an HD set that is running at native resolution (or has an excellent scaler) is that text looks excellent. That text looks jaggy like 480p on a 720p set would. Considering what it does for text I am never surprised at the clarity of my HD picture. And mine is at 80" so it is quite a bit more blown up then that but still it looks fantastic.

[NE146]

Is the television on the right supposed to be your HDTV?

One of them yes.. They're all variations of the Panasonic TH50PX60U (I think) 720p tv's (aka.. the "costco" brand )

 

If so you either have the 360 settings wrong

Possible.. I always fudge with it since it's constantly being transferred between the tiny tv & one of the hd ones. Sometimes I even forget and leave it on regular tv output when playing it on the hdtv.. it aint unheard of

 

Considering what it does for text I am never surprised at the clarity of my HD picture. And mine is at 80" so it is quite a bit more blown up then that but still it looks fantastic.

Cool man, 80" must be awesome. I'd be interested in checking out what you mean by the excellent text.. Lets see it

[FastRobPlus]

I think his image looks okay... Hard to tell since he's posting a reduced-resolution picture of a picture. But that HDTV is a nice model.

He's obviously a hardcore gamer 'cause you can see a charging station (rather than that play/charge cable) in the first picture

 

Back on topic - there is a feeling of a more complete and satisfying game experience than I felt with the V1 console (or any other last gen design.) I don't think it's any one thing. There is the clarity of HD as has been mentioned. Since there is more horsepower, there are fewer subtle tricks being employed to make the game worlds seem realistic. As a result, the environments seem more immersive. The wireless controller helps a lot on the immersion front too. Little touches like custom soundtracks in nearly every game, online presence, achievements and a really straightforward UI with no "tricks" like earlier consoles did (Xbox had a cool alien technology UI, but it was gimmicky.) Not that other consoles do not have this, but with 360 it feels like it was tweaked until it was done exactly right. While the 360 does a bunch of "extra stuff" like pictures and Live marketplace, DVD playback, etc., it really does feel like it's at its heart a purpose-oriented game playing console that does not lose sight of its primary function. No "extra" that the system has - including everything listed above - gets in your way if you don't want it.

 

That's what the press always say about the Playstation and Xbox right? They always call these 7th gen consoles a "stealth attempt" to get a device in your living room. I hear that said a lot, but it isn't really a "stealth attempt" when the device seems to want to be a media center or HD video player more than it wants to be a gaming console.

I think while NE1 calls 360 a 1.5 gen upgrade and says e prefers to play it in SD, I think that's actually part of it's strength. It plays the way you make it play and does not try to override you.

[Lord Helmet]

It certainly feels to me that the 360 is a polished and complete console, from a user experience anyway. The original Xbox didn't feel like that at all. I'm not really sure why either.

[Video]

The consoles have finely gotten good enough that your not seeing much improvement graphically over the last generation (a lot of my friends are pretty dissappointed in how little the 360 added over the original)

No matter how many times I see that sentiment, I really don't get it. The 360 and PS3 are huge improvements graphically over their predecessors.

 

I agree, I go back and play PS2 games now and it's hard to believe how crappy and jaggy they look to me. I saw Lego Star Wars for the PS2 on display at Best Buys shortly after completing the game on 360, and I was like...What the hell, why does that look so crappy, then I saw what system it was on. There really is a big difference to me.

 

 

Uh....you are aware I was refering to the X-box, not the PS2 when I said it's not much improvement graphically. Sure, the poly count is higher, but even the PS2 had reached the point of "no vanishing point" so the only real thing to improve on is characture models, well, the X-box improved quiet a bit over the PS2 in that department.

 

Of course, the X-box had a schitload of built in effects (bump mapping, sparking, lighting) that the previous consoles, including the PS2 didn't have (though could do if the programmers tried) It's just that the 360 is so much more powerful, but people aren't really makeing any graphical improvements. It's easier to do the same effects, but they are over all, still the same effects.

 

The most extreme example of a difference I can think of, is actually Elderscrolls, I never understood why the shit draw distance on Morrowind, it's not graphically particularly demanding on the system in any way, but look at oblivion, the charactures, buildings, treees, all of it, exactly the same. The only real difference is draw distance.

 

But take a racer, PGR for example, it's a different game, but it's so...generic feeling, that it's actually pretty painful to play. I liked the first one, but it did have a slight edge over the PS2. The 360 one? Well, it's....well. ?? Not sure I see any difference at all

 

Look at Quake 4, over say Doom 3, not much (none that I can notice) difference there either.

 

I won't bring up Halo, because of the problem of them useing 480 as it's native resolution (so I've heard) and the exact game engine as the previous game (is it just me, or is the franchies getting more and more limited as new sequels come out? I seem to be able to go anywhere on one, and 3's the most limiting, nearly leading you by the nose, so to speak)

 

And yes, I am useing the console on an HD (not to be confused with hd compatible, but not working 'hdready') TV to play the system on. It's an older TV, to be sure, but it's still pretty good, when I hook an HD movie player (or computer) up to it. But 360? Every game I played, is, well, for some reason obviously NOT improved on when played in HD. Actually, I play the thing in 480, just to get the proper aspect ratio (why no option to view HD in 3/4?) That's how much I thought of it. And yes, I am useing the RGB composite cables, set on HD (the reason I bought the er...premium as opposed to the core Maybe eventually I'll have to use the Hdd, the only other reason to get it over the core)

 

As I said, there are improvements overe the X-box, that a trained eye can see (not necessairly will, but can) but average joe blow isn't going to notice the difference. (and average joe blow probably will use an SD anyways, so there goes even the higher res comment) And I find it hillarious that everybody is always dissing Nintendo for useing "last gens hardware" when of the current gen, the PS3 is the only improvement over it's predecessor, and only because the PS2 was in relation so week in comparrision to the last gen of consoles anyways.

 

Maybe my X-box is broken. Maybe the TV just hates it. Maybe the games I've played are just the 'wrong' ones (I tend to play what I like, not what necessairly looks good) Or maybe, the difference just isn't as noticeable as the pixel counters claim. But the fact is, there is no noticeable difference between the thing set in HD, and SD (though I did view both over the RGB cable, maybe it really is exactly the same over the composites)

[moycon]

Uh....you are aware I was refering to the X-box, not the PS2 when I said it's not much improvement graphically.

 

Yes I have an Xbox with about 50 games so I know exactly the console you were refering to very well.

 

As I said, there are improvements overe the X-box, that a trained eye can see (not necessairly will, but can) but average joe blow isn't going to notice the difference.

 

I dunno what to say to this. The phrase "Wow this guy is koo-koo comes to mind.

So your telling me you cant see a difference playing Far Cry on the 360 and Far Cry on the Xbox? Keep in mind Far Cry was a VERY early 360 game at that. I can't even think of a game that compares to Kameo (A 360 launch title) on the Xbox. The game is gorgeous and one of the best launch titles of all time IMO. Maybe some of the first games released and some of the budget KOEI games and the like would be indistinguishable from an Xbox game, but I’m guessing it’s because they WERE for the most part Xbox games. Even games like Burnout Revenge were noticeably sharper, with sweeter lighting effects etc...even if game play hadn't really changed much. So far as I know, I've never been trained to spot these differences and yet, it was blatantly obvious even to my untrained joe blow eye.

 

I will admit some of the older 360 are already starting to look dated. I played Dead Rising a few weeks back and was suprised how unpolished it was compared to newer 360 games. (Not that I think Dead Rising could have been pulled off on the Xbox without looking way worse) Maybe you just need to update your 360 collection.

 

Maybe my X-box is broken. Maybe the TV just hates it. Maybe the games I've played are just the 'wrong' ones (I tend to play what I like, not what necessairly looks good) Or maybe, the difference just isn't as noticeable as the pixel counters claim. But the fact is, there is no noticeable difference between the thing set in HD, and SD (though I did view both over the RGB cable, maybe it really is exactly the same over the composites)

 

Yeah I'd say your doing something wrong. Couldn't tell you what it is though. Sorry.

Edited December 10, 2007 by moycon

[Metal Ghost]

I got to say that I personally love the Hi-Def experience, in all it's glory. By that I mean the Hi-Def visuals and full surround sound. Granted, most of the time I can't have the volumn up on our surround system downstairs because my little girl is too close and sleeping by the time I get to game, but nonetheless. Those times when I can crank up the volumn and see the Hi-Def goodness on the 360....I'm lovin' it.

 

I don't know, I guess I just can't see it when people say they don't see a huge leap between the previous generation and this one. Play Gears of War and tell me that it's 'Xbox 1.5'. I simply don't agree. Graphically, that may be the best game ever made. Ever.

 

Of course I could perhaps sort of understand people not seeing the jump if they weren't playing on a Hi-Def TV. But hell, even then: a game like Gears of War doesn't come across as a huge graphical jump, even on SDTV?

 

Just my personal opinion though. To each their own.

 

I think more importantly though if the 'next-gen jump' in story telling. That's in the forefront of my mind right now likely simply because I'm currently playing Mass Effect, and the story itself and the way it is being told is simply wonderful. That game has really taken story telling to the next level. Now THAT'S next gen!

[DragonmasterDan]

There's a big difference in any game on an HDTV. Hell some games like Dead Rising have unreadable text otherwise.

[NE146]

Oh yeah of course.. like when playing Domination mode in COD4 on a regular tv, I cant tell whats point "A", "B", or "C". It's not all that serious though... but there are definitely some clarity issues here and there in any game.

[Metal Ghost]

Gotta' agree with you on that one Dragon. I have to admit that I honestly got the feeling that Capcom REALLY just didn't think to test the game on SDTV before release....as opposed to how some people were going off on them about that situation. I mean hell, we're talking about a development studio here. They're looking at the game for 12 hours a day on computer monitors. And when they do finally perform testing on TV's I think there's little doubt that a bunch of tech guys (and girls?) would spring for some high-class HDTVs.

 

But in any event, that's a good example.