Half-Life 2 Xbox Hands On Preview

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IGN have managed to score some playtime with the Xbox version of Half-Life 2, which is due for release later this year. They also have a few screenshots and video footage to show off, as well as an interview with Jay Stelly of Valve.
The result, as we saw, is impressive. Half-Life 2 looks remarkably good on the Xbox. Which is to say, even at this early stage -- in the four areas we played -- Valve's title might be one of the best looking, if not the best looking, Xbox game on Microsoft's console. Players of the original PC version will notice a lack of detail compared to the original PC version, as well as some aliasing and resolution issues, but we played an early version, which lacked polish, optimization, and in all fairness, just isn't finished yet. So sure, the Xbox version will not match the highest resolution or the graphic superiority of its PC brethren, but for an Xbox game? As former editor Kaiser Hwang might say, it really does look amazing.
To view the article in full, click here.
 
Wow, compared to PC, just eww. I bet the Halo fanboys will say all crap about us exaggerating Source's graphics. But I know, it's on the XBox, so crappy textures and lack of AA will plague it. Oh well.
 
now,now!! for the Xbox its as good as it gets right there..so to me it says something about the somewhat surprising capabilities of the Xbox..

as well as the not so surprising capabilities of VALVe in being able to help get this game to work and look as good as it does on the Xbox!

Doom 3 doesn't look too shabby on the Xbox either

of course no console really can compare to a PC and its capabilities...unless its an older PC versus a Xbox/PS2 :)
 
Holy woah. Did you see when he used the primary fire on the propeller? It gave it enough speed to cut the zombie! I didn't know you could do that! Man, HL2 is amazing!

Looks pretty good for the XBox. I am eager to see the reacton of xbox users..
 
The graphics on the Xbox look as nice as a fat chick wearing a leather thong IMO.
 
KU_ said:
The graphics on the Xbox look as nice as a fat chick wearing a leather thong IMO.

Now if I hadn't seen the screens, I would've thought they would be super hot, but, oh you're obviously incorrect, mister.
 
vegeta897 said:
Holy woah. Did you see when he used the primary fire on the propeller? It gave it enough speed to cut the zombie! I didn't know you could do that! Man, HL2 is amazing!

Looks pretty good for the XBox. I am eager to see the reacton of xbox users..

It's not XBox, it's Xbox. RAWR.
 
Half-Life 2 is a NEXT GENERATION GAME! If you're gonna port it to a console then use a NEXT GENERATION CONSOLE. Such as the Xbox 2
 
I wouldn't go as far as to say that, I mean, you can see all the reflections and the bumpmapping and all that. Its just that the AA and the AF suck so much the visibility of such effects is greatly reduced. Also, models got a lower poly count.

Also, is the Xbox capable of doing the water in the source engine the way it is? Or is it going to use the DX 8.1 or maybe 8 version of the water?
 
Cons Himself said:
to all the twats and noobs rubbishing the xbox graphics:

im sorry retards, but how many FPS does your Pentium3-750, GeForce 3 rig get in HL2 again?

fags

It doesn't and I don't have one.

That's the whole point of our "rubbishing" they shouldn't even try!
 
rofl

...

Xboxers finally get a taste of the ...pure awesomeness of half-life2. Though not all games transfer well between gaming systems. I hate the GTA games on console, love them on PC. Hate racing games on PC, love them on console. Love FPS games on PC, never played any on console :|

gogogo half-life 2 xbox
 
to all the twats and noobs rubbishing the xbox graphics:

im sorry retards, but how many FPS does your Pentium3-750, GeForce 3 rig get in HL2 again?

fags

Err, not very many. Then again, I wouldn't continue buying games that only run on a Pentium 3 750, GeForce 3 knowing full well that it had been outdated for years and that updating my computer above the level of an Xbox 2 in the next year or so will be a whole lot cheaper than buying an Xbox 2 and paying for Live.

So, I'm sorry, what was your point? Yes, your Xbox sucks. That's why the graphics sucks, that's why we make fun of it. If our computers sucked too, your argument would be valid. Turns out, it's not! Oops!
 
wow they've done an awesome job converting it to the Xbox! Looks pretty damn good for an Xbox game, but I'll stick to the PC version.
 
Videos looks quite good, but I still can't imagine destroying manhacks with an Xbox-controller.
 
PC > Xbox =) Even though the latter is designed especially for gaming.
 
Feuyaino said:
Err, not very many. Then again, I wouldn't continue buying games that only run on a Pentium 3 750, GeForce 3 knowing full well that it had been outdated for years and that updating my computer above the level of an Xbox 2 in the next year or so will be a whole lot cheaper than buying an Xbox 2 and paying for Live.

So, I'm sorry, what was your point? Yes, your Xbox sucks. That's why the graphics sucks, that's why we make fun of it. If our computers sucked too, your argument would be valid. Turns out, it's not! Oops!

Sorry idiot, were you trying to make a point or something?

For the record I bought HL2 on the day it came out and run it on my killer rig at home, and my laptop when im on the move, so dont try and insinuate that im an XBOX gamer. Not that theres anything wrong with being one, anyway. Unless you happen to be a rabid PC fanboi which I suspect you are.

Oh I see - so Valve are trying to take HL2 to a wider audience with an XBOX conversion - good on them. More money for Valve means they keep making great games in the future.

My point was, that for its specs (P3-733 and Geforce 3) the XBOX does a darn good job of rendering HL2 - have you seen the videos? So stop saying "Xbox grfx sux0rs PC r0x0rs my b0x0rs". Of course the PC will run HL2 better - does that mean there cant be a slightly inferior Xbox conversion (graphically)? Of course not....

And anyway, the streaming loading seems to be an improvement over the PC loading times in any sane persons opinion...
 
Lose the attitude, please.
 
As I posted before here is a shot of the PC vs the Xbox and even cheap computers with DX8 cards look better due to more system memory. Also to answer your question on a P3 w/ a geforce 3 you would get 30Fps on low textures, low model detail, 640X480 with no AA/Af and high shader detail with some shaders removed/modified (just like the Xbox as it is the same hardware although you should compare an athlon XP at low clockspeeds because the xbox uses the Nforce chipset which has soundstorm to help out on the audio side). I still think the xbox version is fine it is just for those without computers. Besides if it is a sucess more money for maps and expansions for us!

PC.jpg


half-life-2-20050428060906381.jpg
 
I just watched the videos and they look quite good. The only problem I noticed was the dips in FPS and low textures. And another thing, I couldn't imagine aiming and shooting with an Xbox controller. Even in the vids it looked to be difficult.
 
The FPS in some of those spots look horrible.
 
As much as I cringe at the comparison of those two screenshots, it's kind of obvious why they're doing it. There are a lot of people who don't have $1500 to shell out for a brand new PC in order to GET PC level video quality, and an Xbox release will really open the market for the majority of video gamers; those who are poor =). I hope Valve makes some good money on this and is able to keep putting time and funding into their current and future projects.
 
wow valve is not shooting high. they probably should have made the game BETTER for the Xbox 2 instead of worse for the Xbox. Im sure fans wil understand a longer wait if the game has better graphics. Plus the reason they do not want to put in multiplayer is that it will take too long. WTF? the only time ive ever played my Xbox is with friends on multiplayer, playing Xbox by myself just isnt fun for me. Multiplayer should be included (at least deathmatch and maybe CS:Source).
 
Who cares if it doesn't look great, you already have HL2 on your pc. Besides graphics don't really matter when the gameplay rocks.
 
KU_ said:
The FPS in some of those spots look horrible.

What you talkin bout KU? The FPS looked terrible in all the spots. That's what the box was made for though, to have only 10 FPS in every game.
 
Cocoa Dart said:
wow valve is not shooting high. they probably should have made the game BETTER for the Xbox 2 instead of worse for the Xbox. Im sure fans wil understand a longer wait if the game has better graphics. Plus the reason they do not want to put in multiplayer is that it will take too long. WTF? the only time ive ever played my Xbox is with friends on multiplayer, playing Xbox by myself just isnt fun for me. Multiplayer should be included (at least deathmatch and maybe CS:Source).

Why, because the xbox has an already installed userbase of 10million people, who aint used to PC level graphics. And it will probably look better on a 640x480 screen.
 
Feuyaino said:
Err, not very many. Then again, I wouldn't continue buying games that only run on a Pentium 3 750, GeForce 3 knowing full well that it had been outdated for years and that updating my computer above the level of an Xbox 2 in the next year or so will be a whole lot cheaper than buying an Xbox 2 and paying for Live.

So, I'm sorry, what was your point? Yes, your Xbox sucks. That's why the graphics sucks, that's why we make fun of it. If our computers sucked too, your argument would be valid. Turns out, it's not! Oops!

a lot cheaper?

a price of a xbox2 will be 300$ maximun 400$ (right?) and a latest videocard cost like 500$ and the processor and RAM sure are close to the same price
so ist end up the oposite

"If our computers sucked too, your argument would be valid. Turns out, it's not!"

and you PC fanboys call yorself mature people :rolleyes:
 
there are no refraction shaders and the textures are on way low settings, but on a TV no one will be able to tell the difference, I just hope that Valve puts source on the xbox 360 so that the engine will be done justice.
 
On the upside... it sounds like Valve are doing a lot of work to make sure the Source engine is as efficient as possible. This can only be good news, as it's pretty likely those kinda optimisations will make it back into the PC version.
 
Realy nice and well build conversion, keep up the good work valve !
 
Looks pretty good considering what Valve is working with. Would've been a nice touch to be able to play HL2 Deathmatch on X-Box Live though.
 
I guess DOOM3 Xbox version looks better than HL2 Xbox version... :rolleyes:
 
I will play the game on the xbox just like i did on the pc i dont see why so many people on this site think consoles blow. They have advantages over a pc just like a pc has advantages over a console. I think its a good thing for games to cross over into other platforms. As for graphics, ha if thats what makes a game fun for you just watch the incredibles and pretend you playing it. Some of my favorite games didnt have insanes graphics, Just think of Doom, Ultima VII, Super Mario World, Starcraft, Wolfenstein, Smash TV, Pong :) The true test of a game is if it is fun not if it looks better than Eve Lawrence. But that just my two cents.

P.S. I love my pc and my xbox equally like a good parent should.
 
Doom 3 Xbox screens (from the PC Magazine review ):

0,1311,sz=1&i=94846,00.jpg

0,1311,sz=1&i=94847,00.jpg


Judging from the screens, I feel that the problem isn't in the Xbox, but must be on Valve's end.
 
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