Will Halo 2’s crown tarnish with Vista?

The first time I ran Halo: Combat Evolved for the PC wasn’t a very pleasant experience. The game is terrific, but it didn’t perform that well in the hardware department. Yes, I had to tone down a lot of the eye candy to get a decent framerate despite being over the recommended specs.

Reading about the latest on Halo 2 didn’t come as a surprise. The system requirements are: A 2GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, and a fairly decent DirectX 9 video card. Microsoft is requiring you this kind of hardware to run a port originally released for the Xbox in 2004. Sure, it would have a higher resolution, but the game doesn’t even use DirectX 10.

I’m willing to bet that the game would stutter in current systems.

Halo 2 for the PC will have everything the Xbox version came with, including the single player and multiplayer content, and all the downloadable maps that were subsequently released. The belated sequel’s controls will be placed on keyboard and mouse, as how all shooters should be played. You can also plug in an Xbox 360 controller, but why would you want to make it harder for yourself?

The most intriguing feature of Halo 2’s PC version is the ability to play the game while it installs in the background—a feature that is said to be enabled by Windows Vista.

Microsoft is also merging the Xbox Live with the Games for Windows Live. That means if you have a Gold membership at Xbox Live, you don’t have to sign up for a separate service. It works the other way around as well. A GFW Live account lets you set up an Xbox Live account. This feature’s success is yet to be determined though, because PC users aren’t used to paying for multiplayer, unless it’s an MMORPG.

The only feature added in the PC version is the map editor, which lets you design new maps and share them over the service. Could this be an avenue for the world’s next Counter-Strike?

The biggest obstacle for Halo 2 is its required use of Vista. By the time more people start using the new OS, Halo 2 won’t look as purdy anymore. Not that its visuals are comparable with those jaw-dropping DirectX 10 graphics in Crysis.

M$ has some nice ideas going for Halo 2, but its PC version might not cause the same mania as its console cousin back in 2004.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. in eight days!

 

After years of wait (it’s beginning to feel like the Half-Life 2 vigil, actually), S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is going to hit store shelves in eight days. In fact, there was news earlier this month that the long-awaited first-person shooter/survival action game has been released to manufacturing.

In case you’ve been staying away from civilization, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: The Shadow of Chernobyl took six years to develop, and has been generating a lot of buzz for its massive game world that’s set in an alternate reality. As the game’s story goes, a second nuclear disaster happened at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, and it caused a lot of grotesque mutations in the area.

You take on the role of a “Stalker” or illegal explorer, and it’s your job to scavenge through this zone for artifacts. Progress in the game is non-linear, so you’ll be able to roam about at your own pace. Interestingly, the game comes with role-playing and economic elements. The game’s X-ray Engine promises cutting-edge visuals and non-scripted AI, which is said to develop even when not in contact with the player.

If that were as good as advertised, then wow.

There were many promises that came out in a span of six years, and many times in between, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. has actually been considered as vaporware (**cough Duke Nukem Forever cough**). It’s just amazing to think what this game has gone through, and in eight days, we’ll find out if S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is worth the hype.

The last time I was this excited about an FPS for the PC was 2004 when Doom III and Half-Life 2 came out. I’m hoping that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. will fill those marquee shoes. Well, the gaming deities have smiled upon us, because S.T.A.L.K.E.R. will retail at a mere $39.99.

Now if only Gears of War would land on the PC, that would make my year complete.