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Topic: Anyone Playing Halo 2?

Wolff King Morrow
Master Film Handler

Posts: 490
From: Denton, TX, USA
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 11-14-2004 12:56 PM

quote: Joe Redifer
The two games that do DTS 4.0 (SSX 3 and Grand Theft Auto Vice City) do so respectably, but you'll be missing your center and subwoofer for sure.

Add SSX Tricky to that list.

But alas, I'm a total convert to XBox. I have a modded one w/ 80-gig HD that I put several other programs on, including media players and emulators. Awesome portable PC now!

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Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1865
From: Mondovi, WI, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 11-14-2004 02:00 PM

I'll third the RTCW endorsement, great game.

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 11-14-2004 04:17 PM

Wolff, can you absolutely 100% confirm that SSX Tricky is DTS? Do you have this game? It is listed as Pro Logic 2 over at HDTVArcade. If it is indeed DTS, I can post that info and they can get the list updated. They want the list to be as accurate as possible, and sometimes there are mistakes on the list (rarely).

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 11-14-2004 04:21 PM

quote: William Leland III
also bobby a friend of mine bought an x-box 2 controllers at a pawn shop for $134, also the x-box does have a hard drive, but if u wanted to play for character against your friends you would still need a memory card. just something to think about, but if i where you i would wait until the new x-box comes out.

??? Could you be more specific about this? Which game are you taking about? Although I'm not a huge X-Box-ophile, I haven't heard of any games requiring you to buy any added on memory cards or any stuff like that.

Joe already responded about the PS2 and it's lack of true, in-game positional 5.1 audio. The X-Box is the only console to ever have this feature. If I buy any gaming console currently on the market, I will buy an X-Box.

As to "X-Box Next" or whatever it is going to be called, from everything I've read on the subject the current X-Box seems to be a better deal.

The latest news seems to indicate Microsoft will have no fewer than three versions of X-Box2. One will lack a hard disc drive while another version will have it. You'll probably have to pay a hefty premium for that hard disc option. Those two systems are supposed to hit the market in late 2005. Then, to counter the PS3, Microsoft plans to feature a third version of X-Box2 in 2006. That one may have even more beefy hardware and will work as a fully functional PC. Of course, you can hack an existing X-Box to run Windows applications, Linux, MAME, etc. But this one will work as a fully functional PC right out of the box. That development really calls into question all the rumors of X-Box2 relying on a IBM G5 processor for the main CPU.

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William Leland III
Master Film Handler

Posts: 336
From: Charleston, SC,
Registered: Aug 2002

posted 11-14-2004 04:52 PM

bobby, when i create a team on my PS2 ESPN 2K5 Football, i can save my team to my memory card, take it to a friends house and play my created team against his. in order for you to do this on X-box you will need to buy a memory card, save it to the memory card.

i guess you could not buy a memory and bring your x-box and use the link cable. but im not sure about that.

here is a link about microsoft cracking down on modifed x-box users :
X-box Mod's

A Microsoft representative would not specify which additional security measures, if any, have been added to Xbox Live around the "Halo 2" launch. "Microsoft listens carefully to the Xbox Live community and reserves the right to take steps necessary to preserve the integrity of the user experience," the representative said in a statement. "Our goal is to provide our users with secure, consistent and fair online game play. Users are not permitted to manipulate the system to the detriment of others."
Microsoft appears to be using its smash "Halo 2" game as a vehicle to crack down on mod chips and other hacks of its Xbox video game console.

Hundreds of Xbox owners have reported in online forums in recent days that they were banned from Xbox Live, Microsoft's online gaming service, after trying to play "Halo 2" online with a modified console.

Mod chips," gray-market add-ons that allow game consoles to run imported discs, pirated games and homemade software, began circulating for the Xbox shortly after the game machine went on sale four years ago. Hackers who equip their Xboxes with mod chips and other upgrades, such as bigger hard drives, have gotten the consoles to perform all sorts of unauthorized tricks, including running Linux software and serving as digital media centers.

Microsoft and other hardware makers have long fought against mod chips, chiefly because those chips abet game piracy. The software giant's activities culminated in a Justice Department raid two years ago in which federal lawmakers took over a Web site used to sell mod chips and swap illegally copied games.

Billy Pidgeon, an analyst for research firm Zelos Group, said console makers have long used any means available to them to thwart mod chips and halt illegal copying of games. The advent of online gaming for consoles has raised the stakes, he said.

"They're worried not just about enabling casual piracy but also about cheating," Pidgeon said. "A modded Xbox can allow all sorts of new avenues for cheating online and ruining the experience for paying customers. I would argue that Xbox Live is a great experience for the end user precisely because it's a closed, controlled environment, and anything that threatens that is a real concern for Microsoft."

As first reported by CNET News.com, Microsoft has also used Xbox Live since its inception to crack down on mod chips and other hacks. The Xbox Live user agreement states that "Xbox Live may only be accessed with an unmodified, except for Microsoft-authorized repairs and upgrades, Xbox video game console. Any attempt to disassemble, decompile, create derivative works of, reverse engineer, modify, further sublicense, distribute or use for other purposes either the hardware or software of this system, is strictly prohibited and may result in termination of your account and/or your ability to access Xbox Live."

The agreement further gives Microsoft authority to "retrieve information from the Xbox used to log onto Xbox Live as necessary to operate and protect the security of Xbox Live and to enforce this agreement."

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Wolff King Morrow
Master Film Handler

Posts: 490
From: Denton, TX, USA
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 11-14-2004 06:12 PM

quote: Joe Redifer
Wolff, can you absolutely 100% confirm that SSX Tricky is DTS?

Indeed I can. I have the game right now and my Receiver shows it as "4.0". In fact, I remember bitching on the gamefaqs forums that I wanted sub-woofer support at the very least. This game was also marketed as being the first DTS surround PS2 game.

Edit: Confirmed on page 13 of the instruction booklet.

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 11-14-2004 09:08 PM

I remember the DTS press releases about SSX Tricky as well. Reviews of the process have not been nearly as good as the X-Box' hardware based method. While there may be twice as many PS2 gaming titles on the market, I'll bet there's a lot more DD 5.1 in-game X-Box titles than there are DTS 4.0 titles for PS2.

quote: William Leland III
A modded Xbox can allow all sorts of new avenues for cheating online and ruining the experience for paying customers.

This is the one area that has me weary about signing up for an X-Box Live account if I purchased an X-Box. I all but dropped out of Internet-based PC gaming years ago because of all the dishonest cheaters out there running aim-bot proxies and all sorts of other hinky shit. I loved playing games like Quake2 or QuakeIII Arena online, but I'd shut down the thing as soon as a cheater appeared. It's pretty obvious when someone is running an aim bot. It's too bad this kind of player fraud is starting to affect the X-Box online community as well.

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Adam Wilbert
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 590
From: Bellingham, WA, USA
Registered: Mar 2002

posted 11-14-2004 11:10 PM

I've always had a better game experience when playing only against people I knew. My brother and I ran cat-5 (or a serial cable back in the day) down our hallway and would spend all night playing Warcraft II or Duke Nukem or more recently RtCW. I can't stand playing for too long against people I'll never know. Whats the fun in that anyway?

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 11-14-2004 11:15 PM

It is nearly impossible to cheat on Xbox Live. However there are some players (many, actually) out there that are just really, really good. It is insane. I just got done playing a planned match wih members of a videogame forum I frequent. I started a thread telling them date and time, and we had 10 people playing. It was pretty cool, but there were a few problems coming from people with slower connections (DSL, etc).

Bobby, almost every Xbox game supports 5.1 Dolby Digital. Some of them go the 4.0 route and some of them even go to 2.0. But not too many at all. Go on over to HDTV Arcade and click on "XBOX" on the upper left of the screen. You can even sort the lists by your preference by clicking near the top of the lists. You can also see wich PS2 or Gamecube games offer things you like as well. The PS2 still lists SSX Tricky as PLII (Pro Logic 2) but that should change within a few days.

PS - I agree with Adam, LAN parties are really cool, especially when you've got people spread out all over the house with their own systems and TVs. ZERO lag!.

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Trevor Bailey
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 113
From: Woonsocket, RI
Registered: Jun 99

posted 11-15-2004 09:32 PM

In case you don't want to do the mod yourself, Friendtech will take care of you here.

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 11-15-2004 11:03 PM

Most new X-Box titles I've seen explicitly list Dolby Digital 5.1 support on the back of the case. But that wasn't so when the X-Box first hit the market. Some games, like the original "Halo" or "Dead or Alive 3" had the Dolby Digital logo on the back of the box while a good number of others didn't. I suspected many of those others were basic ports from other systems and not designed especially for X-Box. The DD 5.1 audio on some of those games is frighteningly impressive. Although I found the game "Prince of Persia" to be frustrating as hell, its DD 5.1 in game audio shook my friend's house.

The system link / LAN party thing is another enticing reason to buy an X-Box, although it would seem cumbersome to set up multiple TVs around a house. It would probably be worth it to go to the trouble if you had a serious gaming party planned. That's because it just sucks ass to have four people playing each other by dividing up the real estate of one TV screen.

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 11-16-2004 12:30 AM

Come on and get an Xbox along with Live, a broadband connection (if you don't already have one), and a few games and I will play online against you Bobby. I need someone I can actually win against. One of the best online games is Crimson Skies, and it has a great single player mode as well. It also has one of the best Dolby Digital presentations you will hear.

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Wolff King Morrow
Master Film Handler

Posts: 490
From: Denton, TX, USA
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 11-16-2004 12:37 AM

quote: Bobby Henderson
This is the one area that has me weary about signing up for an X-Box Live account if I purchased an X-Box.

Rest your fears as Joe said, it's VERY difficult to cheat on X-Box Live. I got my modded X-Box dirt-cheap because the previous owner wanted to start playing online, which you can't do normally with a modded X-Box unless you get a lockable HD and switch it for online playing.

quote:
PS - I agree with Adam, LAN parties are really cool, especially when you've got people spread out all over the house with their own systems and TVs. ZERO lag!.

Me and many of my co-workers do 16-man X-Box LANs all the time. It's a total blast, but we end up getting no sleep!

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 11-17-2004 06:18 PM

Well they finally patched Halo 2 for the HUD problems in 480p and also some of the Xbox Live problems (took forever in matchmaking and many people got "could not load map" errors).

According to MicroSoft, companies are not allowed to patch their games via Xbox Live. So this is an "update" that "enhances" the game. [Roll Eyes]

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