Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Review

By Tom Bramwell Published 27 January, 2003

Review - in another spell of January lull catch-up, Tom takes on the might of Clancy's Russians - Live!

Version tested: Xbox

With the greatest possible respect, we find Tom Clancy's books incredibly boring. A rich tapestry of military insight and clever storytelling they may be, but if we wanted long-winded descriptions of American weaponry and terrorist threats, we'd subscribe to bin Laden's newsletter. It's only thanks to the likes of Rainbow Six and Splinter Cell (which jostle competitively for position near the top of our All Time Greats list) that we can say we enjoy his work.

And as a result, the Xbox Live enabled Ghost Recon was quickly stolen (using our Splinter Cell super sleuth skills) and rapidly absorbed (using our Rainbow Six briefing mental assimilation technique), and now here we are ready to report.

Cold Wars Episode II

'Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon' Screenshot Sep022b

Set in 2008, Ghost Recon tackles the possibility of an ultra-nationalist group of Russians trying to rebuild the Soviet empire, by causing/influencing problems in nearby states and amalgamating them into a huge red bloc once more. You play the lead in a specialist team of US Green Berets nicknamed 'Ghosts', employed to counter any threats in their infancy, and with the utmost discretion. And violence.

But instead of plunging you into the midst of a big fancy maze full of scripted sequences and clumsily controlled AI squad mates, developer Red Storm has managed to build up a hugely cerebral tactical shooter. As well as leading the Ghosts, who come in two teams (Alpha and Bravo) and several flavours (Sniper, Rifleman, heavy weapons based Support and Demolitions), you can also switch from man to man at the touch of a button, organise their movements with waypoints using the in-game squad management system and effectively play co-operatively - with yourself.

The controls aren't as complicated as you might expect either. The keyboard/mouse FPS control scheme has been adapted to the Xbox pad with precision to rival Halo's, and GR-specific tricks have made the transition intelligently, like the ability to stand, crouch and crawl depending on the situation (D-pad) and pull up the map and team info overlay (left trigger). In short, whenever the interface calls for a PC approach, Red Storm has come up with a chunky, primary coloured console alternative of the same depth.

Sadly Red Storm's technical expertise did not stretch as far in the visuals department. Soldiers are amply detailed, but the game world looks merely adequate - more Operation Flashpoint than Halo - with big, poorly detailed open spaces (featuring lots of questionable foliage), a draw distance that isn't all it could be and an abundance of fog. Given a fairly saucy environment (with buildings, caves, etc), Red Storm can perform, but graphics whores won't be blown away. Audiophiles, on the other hand, will no doubt appreciate the 5.1 surround sound, accentuating every whistling bullet and Soviet yelp.

Training

'Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon' Screenshot Sep025b

Given the state of the tremendously shoddy training mode (with huge, half screen obscuring windows featuring one line of text, voiceovers which interrupt each other or fail to kick in at all and inadequate explanation of the controls), it's a good thing we're not too short tempered. Once you start playing it, the mood changes.

Campaign mode is the central preoccupation for single players, with a diverse range of missions - usually to do with rescuing hostages, taking out encampments or cleaning cave networks of Al Jazeerah film crews - and complicated tactics are the norm. Often the expansive environments play host to several key mission objectives, and it'll take some serious thought on your part to retrieve a prisoner without losing a single man from either squad - worth doing, because each picks up skill points after a successful mission, which go toward their Weapons, Endurance, Stealth and Leadership attributes.

Single player fun doesn't stop with campaign mode, either. There are also various Quick missions to complete in four modes (Firefight, Recon, Mission and Defend), and by finishing the game you unlock seriously beefy, experienced soldiers to lend the game a new slant. And finishing Ghost Recon on the highest skill level, Veteran, is a task that would certainly test Rambo's mettle.

The Real Thing

'Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon' Screenshot Sep028b

It's safe to say that Ghost Recon isn't going to last lonesome players forever, and beyond getting all your troops through alive and playing with your beefy super soldiers, replay value is almost negligible. However, taken online Ghost Recon has the sort of timeless lure of PC classic Counter-Strike, and versus the substandard Whacked!, the acquired, bittersweet taste of MechAssault and the efforts of MotoGP, it's the only proper co-operative game Live really has, where free-for-alls play second fiddle.

Sadly though, and despite a patch from Ubi, things still need a bit of fixing up, with the odd bug (and usually they are odd) popping up here and there in the oldest of FPS traditions. Otherwise though it's incredibly smooth and lag free, and completing missions in groups, outwitting AI or even human controlled enemies in the process, can be tremendous fun.

But there is a problem that blights Ghost Recon on Live, and it's nothing to do with the game itself. It's the players. We only hope that someone, somewhere compiles a list of the Gamertags of these bastards who go around shooting their teammates, just so we know who to ignore and ban. There are always servers to play on, and games in progress of every description, but if you plan to play co-operatively you're going to have to get used to people on your team shooting you in the head to get past you, shooting you in the head because it's "funny", and shooting you in the head because you're new and apparently everyone has to go from fresh meat to Dutch from Predator in the space of one game. Does it spoil the experience that much? Yes, it really does.

Stand to

Ghost Recon is a fantastic port - and unquestionably best on Xbox - but it suffers in part thanks to last century's tech and in part because pathetic team killing gits thrive in the current Live community. We would recommend it to fans of the PC game with Live access, because you deserve a decent online version of it, and it's definitely among the finest tactical blasters we've encountered. But if you enjoy scratching braindead insignia into train windows, hurling abuse at passers by and nutting your friends for a cheap laugh, then please go away and die instead.

8 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (68) Latest comment 9 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Xensor #1 9 years ago

    Sadly though, and despite a patch from Ubi, things still need a bit of fixing up, with the odd bug (and usually they are odd) popping up here and there in the oldest of FPS traditions.

    Headline - "Just released Xbox game in patch shocker!"
    Leader - '"Just like pc games", says spotty youth'

    If i was the Daily Mail (and this will be the ONLY time i'll ever compare myself to that god forsaken toilet paper) that would be my front page tomorrow. M$ have got to be dreading the backlash. People play consoles cos they are EASY TO USE. No patching, no configuring, no os rubbish, no blue screens, no pc crap at all. Not any more....

  • krudster #2 9 years ago

    Unreal Champ's been patched as well...god help us. Console gamers needing patches!!! Run to the hills

  • Whizzo #3 9 years ago

    It's starting to become a bit of a habit on the Xbox though isn't it.

  • Killerbee #4 9 years ago

    But there is a problem that blights Ghost Recon on Live, and it's nothing to do with the game itself. It's the players. We only hope that someone, somewhere compiles a list of the Gamertags of these bastards who go around shooting their teammates, just so we know who to ignore and ban. There are always servers to play on, and games in progress of every description, but if you plan to play co-operatively you're going to have to get used to people on your team shooting you in the head to get past you, shooting you in the head because it's "funny", and shooting you in the head because you're new and apparently everyone has to go from fresh meat to Dutch from Predator in the space of one game. Does it spoil the experience that much? Yes, it really does.

    This is exactly the reason I've never felt like playing online against total strangers. I agree multi-player gaming is a great experience, but I just know it's going to be more enjoyable if you can get some real mates over and just play on one machine (or a number of linked ones) in the same building.

    Then if one of them is being a cock you can bestow actual physical violence upon them until they stop.

  • Nemesis #5 9 years ago

    Team Killers should be shot and pi$$ed on IMO. They ruin practically every game of MOHAA team deathmatch (which I may of mentioned before).

    I must admit to being tempted by GR on Xbox, but I'm a bit too trigger happy and I'll be punished at every turn. It's no fun being bottom of the ladder.

  • Rusta #6 9 years ago

    Nothing wrong with a patch, IF it improves a game...

  • Whizzo #7 9 years ago

    Nothing wrong with a patch, IF it improves a game...
    Nothing wrong with releasing a game when it's actually finished either...

    TKers are a pain in any game that doesn't have either someone keeping a close eye on it or specific server rules to kick them when they crop up. Playing BF1942 with FF off is nowhere near the fun it is with it switched on. You have to be careful and you will end up killing team mates by accident on occasion but with it switched off it just doesn't feel right and you can toss grenades/fire arty without worrying which detracts some what.
    Edited by 1 at 27/01/03 @ 14:24

  • Tiitiz #8 9 years ago

    Nothing wrong with a patch, IF it improves a game...

    Damn straight! Aint gonna cause errors and such when it's all one spec etc... I'm all for patches mainly when it goes against cheaters.

    PS3 is next with the HD. Oh! the PS2 already did in Jap land for FF XI come to think of it

    Edit - Ill say again for those lamers who are looking to bash the Xbox for a couple of patches and blam M$. It gets patched cause it can. Blame the QA departments for the bugs etc... blame the cheaters for the need for online patches
    Edited by 1 at 27/01/03 @ 14:34

  • Xensor #9 9 years ago

    It's starting to become a bit of a habit on the Xbox though isn't it.

    I remember reading M$ press releases about how the addition of a hard disk would revolutionise console gaming and give programmers the opportunity to add never before seen features to console gaming. However they neglected to mention exactly what this 'brave new world' of hard disk tech is going to bring. Now we know. Half-finished games rushed out the door to meet marketing deadlines, because 'additional content' (bugfixes), 'enhanced gameplay experiences' (bugfixes), and whatever else the marketing drones can come up with can be used as an excuse to cover up shoddy code.

    I got a question for all the Xbox owners who read this place: Are u sure you bought a console?

  • Rusta #10 9 years ago

    Not a console? what is it then?

    is it a video? looks the size of one!

  • Tiitiz #11 9 years ago

    I got a question for all the Xbox owners who read this place: Are u sure you bought a console?

    How lame

  • #12 9 years ago

    heh. can't expect the standards of console-related jokes to go up though. you've all heard worse, and you know it. =)

  • WriterUK #13 9 years ago

    I bought a rather large black box that sits under my telly and plays games that come on DVDs, with a controller that's not quite perfect. Hold on, did I buy a PS2... no, I bought an Xbox. And it's a console. Numbskull.

  • Xensor #14 9 years ago

    How lame

    Is it really? Mutton dressed as lamb is still mutton. A wolf in sheeps clothing is still a wolf. A stripped down pc in a console box is still a stripped down pc. Get the picture?

  • Rusta #15 9 years ago

    Still lame

  • Rusta #16 9 years ago

    Patching is good, if only other consoles could benifit from this free upgrade

  • Tiitiz #17 9 years ago

    Xensor -

    Erm... you might wanna read up a bit more on the hardware used in your PS2 or GC. Whichever you might have.
    Just cause Xbox comes with a HD and Network adapter already installed don't make it a PC. PS2 and GC are more upgradable... oh! just like a PC.

    If a GC or PS2 was first with a hard drive then I bet you wouldn't even ask that question about them
    Edited by 1 at 27/01/03 @ 14:56

  • Super Stu #18 9 years ago

    Patching is good

    Fixing obvious problems before the game goes gold is even better.

  • Super Stu #19 9 years ago

    Just cause Xbox comes with a HD and Network adapter already installed don't make it a PC

    Actually, the underlying "PC-ness" of the Xbox is the very reason why homebrew modchips like Lpcmod are so easy to knock up.

    Standard architecture see. Those in the know have seen it all before and know how to exploit it.

    Notice, on the other hand, that the PS2 is a minor arsecake to mod.

  • Super Stu #20 9 years ago

    Problem is not all problems are obvious until they've been play tested extensively

    Indeed. It probably didn't occur to the developers of UC to switch off antialiasing to remedy the framerate issues until after they released the game.

    Still, framerate issues are devilish to detect, so we'll forgive them for that one.

  • Nemesis #21 9 years ago

    Patching games. It's a slippery slope. I, for one, would not be impressed shelling out 45 quid for a console game that had to be extensively patched.

    Get back to the testing room and get it right before pressing the final.

  • Blerk #22 9 years ago

    Heh heh - who'd have thought that this thread would descend into another 'Xbox is/isn't a PC, patches are good/evil' slanging match? ;-)

    My take:
    * Xbox isn't a PC
    * Patches are evil

    Take it outside, chaps!

  • Super Stu #23 9 years ago

    My take:
    * Xbox isn't a PC

    How come when I FTP into my Xbox I see C, D, E and F drives listed ;)

  • Xensor #24 9 years ago

    Erm... you might wanna read up a bit more on the hardware used in your PS2 or GC.

    I own a PS2 and i have read up on the tech specs. The PS2 has got a processor and graphics chip designed, from the ground up, for this console - alone. The underlying os was designed for this system alone. There is absolutely nothing about a PS2 that is similar to PC except perhaps the modular nature. The xbox however... intel p3 cpu, nvidia nv25 (or is it nv30) graphics, win 2k kernel and directx running the show.

    Expandability and the ability to upgrade is a spurious argument at best. If i add a new component to my separates system, does that make it more like a pc? If a car owner fits a bodykit and racing exhaust to his escort does that make it more like a pc? An awful lot of modern technology is expandable. Thats the nature of the beast. The PC may be more expandable than most, but is not exclusive - or should I say its microsoft exclusive (sorry but i couldn't help myself :p)

  • Xensor #25 9 years ago

    Still, framerate issues are devilish to detect, so we'll forgive them for that one.

    ROFL

  • Super Stu #26 9 years ago

    nvidia nv25 (or is it nv30)

    nv2a I think it was officially dubbed, an nv25 hybrid presumably.

    Re: PC - I would have thought it's the architecture that makes something PC-like. I suspect it should also be x86 compatible. Anyway, consoles don't have enough aluminium and neon tubes in the case to be considered PCs.

    Heh :)

  • Blerk #27 9 years ago

    How come when I FTP into my Xbox

    You want to be careful you don't electrocute yourself there, Stu... ;-)

  • Super Stu #28 9 years ago

    Matron

    :)

  • Tiitiz #29 9 years ago

    Xensor - If you plug the Japs HD into the PS2 and the broadband adaptor then it aint much different than the Xbox.

    PS2 was built from the ground up thats right, built by Sony themselves. I hope the modified components in the Xbox didnt appear out of thin air. It was all built up from the start dufus. GC comes with a IBM processor, ATI graphics card, ram by some other company and whatever else. We dont call that a PC do we? All consoles run on the basic ram, graphics chip, processor etc...

    If I remember rightly, Sony has a much higher record of Crashes than the Cube and PS2 put together.

    Not cussing Sony as I think Sony are aweseom. Just dont come out with some lame arse bash at console just cause you never got one for Christmas.

    This Xbox is a PC stuff is so old and already been debated a hundred times here. Why m I even spending time reply to this shit

  • Xensor #30 9 years ago

    BTW, just so i don't get permanently branded as M$/Xbox hater No. 1 (probably too late by now but i can always hope) I spent most of the weekend playing Toejam and Earl 3 (great fun when u and your mates are stoned), plus JSRF (not bad and nice looking, although the lack of and kind of skill element in the grinding is poor), Sega GT (err... GT3 it aint) and Sega Bass Fishing....

  • #31 9 years ago

    catch anything good then? ahh the day you can catch dinner from a fishing game .. uh. kill me.

  • Xensor #32 9 years ago

    If I remember rightly, Sony has a much higher record of Crashes than the Cube and PS2 put together.

    I guess you meant PS2 instead of Sony and xbox instead of PS2 :) The simple answer to that is Sony have sold over 50 million PS2's worldwide. How many times more is that than GC and Xbox combined?

    Just dont come out with some lame arse bash at console just cause you never got one for Christmas.

    You're absolutely right. I'm saying the same thing i've been saying since first hearing about the console 18 months ago because i didn't get one for Christmas. I don't know why i didn't see it before - thank you for pointing out this glaringly obvious point i sorely missed.
    Edited by 1 at 27/01/03 @ 16:01

  • BartonFink #33 9 years ago

    Ah this old 'PC in a box' argument again.

    First off didn't/don't Sony try to tout the PS2 as a 'PC in a box'?

    Second all the chips are custom built for the xbox same as Sony and Nintendo except Sony make them themselves. Just because the chips bear the names of Intel, nVidia etc doesn't make them PC components. If you take that approach then you could call your toaster a PC.

    Third if it were a 'PC in a box' where is the keyboard, mouse, monitor?

    It is not therefore a PC in a box it's a console.

  • BartonFink #34 9 years ago

    I guess you meant PS2 instead of Sony and xbox instead of PS2 :) The simple answer to that is Sony have sold over 50 million PS2's worldwide. How many times more is that than GC and Xbox combined?
    Not quite I think he was referring to the % hardware failure rate of the PS2 it's higher than the other two combined.

  • #35 9 years ago

    xbox have soon sold about 10mill and so have the gc. they're not that many miles behind.

    die sony!

  • Tiitiz #36 9 years ago

    If I remember rightly, Sony has a much higher record of Crashes than the Cube and PS2 put together.

    I guess you meant PS2 instead of Sony and xbox instead of PS2 :) The simple answer to that is Sony have sold over 50 million PS2's worldwide. How many times more is that than GC and Xbox combined?

    haha.. im a dufus. Thanks for pointing that out. I did mean GC and Xbox put together. Yes. I did mean %

  • Nemesis #37 9 years ago

    Toejam and Earl 3

    NO way, steer clear. The video intro was funny as hell, but the game.....gah. You can keep it.

    ...but I did replay the JSR:F demo and it was better than I remembered. I might have to pick that up.

  • Blerk #38 9 years ago

    First off didn't/don't Sony try to tout the PS2 as a 'PC in a box'?

    Yeah, but only as a tax dodge. Something about not paying import tax on computers but having to pay it on consoles? Nnnng. Can't remember.

  • Xensor #39 9 years ago

    catch anything good then? ahh the day you can catch dinner from a fishing game .. uh. kill me.

    My biggest catch was about 7500g. Now if only there was some way to link up Sega bass fishing into the Sims....

  • AnotherMartin #40 9 years ago

    First off didn't/don't Sony try to tout the PS2 as a 'PC in a box'?

    Yeah, but only as a tax dodge. Something about not paying import tax on computers but having to pay it on consoles? Nnnng. Can't remember.

    were'nt they using the fact that you could program in basic on it?

  • #41 9 years ago

    heh! .. or to sim city 4.. you could populate some oceans there! :D
    Edited by 1 at 27/01/03 @ 16:27

  • Xensor #42 9 years ago

    Toejam and Earl 3

    NO way, steer clear. The video intro was funny as hell, but the game.....gah. You can keep it.

    Sorry nem, gotta disagree with ya. TJ&E (the original megadrive version) was far and away the best stoners game of the 16bit era. Tell me any other game where you could relax in a hottub and drink lemonade :). This version is basically the same game with everything fans of the orignal wanted. If you like funky party games, then you'll like this.

  • #43 9 years ago

    relax in hottup and drink lemonade? wouldn't that be far more enjoyable, you know, in real life though?

  • Killerbee #44 9 years ago

    Just out of interest, how exactly does Microsoft suggest users get hold of these patches? Basically anything other than a free patch is (imho) unacceptable. Sure, you can use Xbox Live or official magazine coverdisks to circulate patches, but these things all cost the user additional money they wouldn't have had to pay if the programmers had got it right first time.

    I only stopped objecting to PC games getting patched when I got an unmetered internet connection to download them with - until then it cost me money to play something I'd already paid for (i.e. the fully featured, fully working "finished" game). With consoles it's doubly unfair because (a) Live costs you if you can get it and (b) not everyone has access to broadband.

  • Super Stu #45 9 years ago

    Xbox is a console with a PC architecture. Anyone who disagrees hasn't studied the hardware. Is it a "PC"? I assume "PC" still means IBM compatible, so as it lacks essential ingredients (monitor, keyboard, mouse, floppy etc), you can err on "no".

    Just think about it :) If you really need to, anyway.

    PS2 was built from the ground up thats right, built by Sony themselves. I hope the modified components in the Xbox didnt appear out of thin air. It was all built up from the start dufus. GC comes with a IBM processor, ATI graphics card, ram by some other company and whatever else. We dont call that a PC do we? All consoles run on the basic ram, graphics chip, processor etc...

    What he's saying is, the PS2 is custom from the ground up. The Xbox is off the shelf hardware sat on PC architecture.

    Cube's graphics processor is by ArtX. ATI rubber stamp their name on it.

    I don't know why everyone is so agreived for the Xbox to have a PC ancestry. For one it makes development easier, so we're more likely to see eye candy sooner. It also makes modding it easier, opening up the entire DC home brew scene all over again, plus it's cheaper to import games (if you didn't plump for import in the first instance).

    Relax guys, I'm glad my Xbox is technically a 'PC in a box'

    :)

  • Tiitiz #46 9 years ago

    Super Stu - Not quite of the shelf. Modified apparently :p

    I love it either way

  • Xensor #47 9 years ago

    Xbox is a console with a PC architecture. Anyone who disagrees hasn't studied the hardware. Is it a "PC"? I assume "PC" still means IBM compatible, so as it lacks essential ingredients (monitor, keyboard, mouse, floppy etc), you can err on "no".

    As i've always said Stu, it's a stripped down pc. It may not have all the appendages attached as you stated, but at it's heart, it is pc architecture. Now to be slightly fair to M$, the Xbox was probably the quickest was to get a powerful console to market - take what they know, strip out the unnecessary and brute force the issue. As i've said before i hope their next effort is a little more refined, efficient and stylish.

  • Nemesis #48 9 years ago

    Sorry nem, gotta disagree with ya.

    That's ok, if you enjoyed it more power to you! The characters are top notch, the video stuff cool, but the game, it's not for me. I'll take J&D.

  • prettyboytim #49 9 years ago

    Ghost Recon is to be my next purchase - Tom, what's your gamertag? Surely we can find some other Eurogamers who aren't all a bunch of farken eejits to play with? (Although looking at the level of the discussion above, that might be stretching things a bit...)

    Tim

    - Gamertag: PlanetTimmy

  • William #50 9 years ago

    Stu (good to see you around again):
    "Xbox is a console with a PC architecture"

    Except that few PC's have 64MB of DDR "unified" memory shared between graphics processor and main processor, just like the ZXSpectrum.
    PC's have separate main memory and video graphics card memory.

    Whether game developers can pull off special tricks because of this unified memory, I don't know.

    William (gamertag: WildCat NL)
    Edited by 1 at 27/01/03 @ 17:21

  • prettyboytim #51 9 years ago

    As for this "Xbox/Console or PC/Patching is bad thing" - I define the Xbox as a console becase it basically acts like a console.

    I plug it into a TV.
    I connect some controllers to it.
    I put a game disc in and turn it on.
    I play a game on it, sat in front of my TV.

    This is quite different from the PC experience where I have to work out if my PC is powerful enough to play the game, make sure I have enough disc space, install it, ensure I have all the right drivers etc...

    So far, then the interaction I've described for the Xbox is exactly the same as for any other console.

    The only patches that have been released for games on the Xbox so far are for multiplayer games, so for single player the Xbox experience is the same as for any other console.

    For online games, the only difference is that you occasionally might have to wait for about a minute while an update is downloaded.

    And that's it.

    I can't say that I can see what all the fuss is about.

  • Super Stu #52 9 years ago

    Absolutely true, and this is a road to refinement that I hope the PC takes. I suspect there is an issue of cost - I guess we all like our fancy 512'd machines, with no disk swapping etc. If we're to have unified memory, it would have to be quick (to keep the gpu happy). nVidia et al wouldn't have to worry so much about memory bandwidth then, something I'm sure they'd be happy about.

    Anyway, I guess we are taking tentative steps down that path: nForce.

    AGP - nice idea, utimately a bit shaite.

  • Super Stu #53 9 years ago

    For online games, the only difference is that you occasionally might have to wait for about a minute while an update is downloaded.


    And if said delay adds another school girl costume to Kasumi, that's fine. If it's to up a dodgy frame rate - well, I probably won't have bought the game in the first place.

  • Whizzo #54 9 years ago

    PC's have separate main memory and video graphics card memory.
    Depends on the chipset, i810/815 and lots of other cheapish integrated chipsets have unified memory for graphics and system.

    Who cares what the Xbox is, surely what matters is games being released when they bloody work properly not pushing them out the door with things unfinished. That should be the same no matter what platform, including the PC.

  • AnotherMartin #55 9 years ago

    What's the HD management like in the X-Box? Is it just as easy to remove these patches once they are installed?

  • Bill Gates is Evil #56 9 years ago

    it takes about 15 seconds to delete the patches after the xbox has booted up.

  • mal #57 9 years ago

    I did write a long comment on whether the box is a PC or not, but who cares? Certainly not anyone buying one - they care whether it has decent games or it's a hassle to use. The proper question is not 'is it a PC?', the question is 'is it a true console?' and the two are not mutually exclusive. The former is a question for flamewars only.

  • andywhy #58 9 years ago

    PS2 had a patching incident long before XBOX when the japanese had to patch the dvd drivers of the initial batch of PS2s.

  • Segaman #59 9 years ago

    wasn´t Socom patched by Sony, covermounts?

  • Khab #60 9 years ago

    I think the general worriedness is due to patching, or rather bugfixing is starting to seem like it will be a common occurence on the XBox. This is something M$ stressed would NOT ever, in any way, shape or form have any chance of possibly happening on the XBox. Some people on this board were rather doubtful about this, and got flamed quite intensively, IIRC.

    Anyway, releasing unfinished games is one of the two or three things that are really bad on the PC platform these days. I'm sure most of us DON'T want to see it moving onto other platforms, no matter what company built said platform.

  • BartonFink #61 9 years ago

    Agreed it is worrisome but as of yet there is very little evidence of patching on xbox. The two current suspects are UC and this but it seems to be patches for the network code and not the game proper. I would be more worried if this started happening with games in general. One thing I will say is that Xbox Live is currently in it's infancy (still in Beta here in Europe) so bugs glitches in the network code are not surprising.
    Do we really want the current PC patching mess on the consoles?
    One bright point is Xbox is the only console capable of patching it's network code.
    Edited by 1 at 28/01/03 @ 00:43

  • Khab #62 9 years ago

    Agreed it is worrisome but as of yet there is very little evidence of patching on xbox. The two current suspects are UC and this but it seems to be patches for the network code and not the game proper.

    I'm sorry, but bull shit. The most publicised of the things the patch fixes is the AA - which is definitely not a network thing.

  • Bill Gates is Evil #63 9 years ago

    well Khab, Unreal Championship was finished long before it was actually released. They had that game sitting in corporate offices waiting for Xbox Live's arrival.

  • Blerk #64 9 years ago

    Unreal Championship was finished long before it was actually released. They had that game sitting in corporate offices waiting for Xbox Live's arrival.

    Shame they were just sitting there and not actually testing it, then. They might have noticed the problems before it was released if they had...

  • andywhy #65 9 years ago

    hmmm its occured to me that maybe ide rather play a game i'd been waiting ages for with a couple of glitches and an eventual patch than watch the release date slip constantly. or maybe i wouldn't ... i just dont know.... is a bit a beta better that an anticipated alpha? (oh jeez this is turning into a musical)

  • jimbo #66 9 years ago

    rented the game and didn't like the tutorial, accidently killed the general guy in the cave in the first level and couldn't get over the graphics.... is there anything down the pipe like g.r. with better graphics? or should I give this a better look (later missionjs any good?), is counter strike better???

  • Super Stu #67 9 years ago

    Console patching = teh win (apparently)
    PC patching = spawn of satan (apparently)

    Therein lies your fuss.

  • BartonFink #68 9 years ago

    Final Fantasy XI First Patch
    PS2 was there first, what's the fuss about?
    Simple answer to that one is it's Xbox related.

  • Tipsy #69 9 years ago

    Bleh.

    Xbox a PC in a non-beige box? Yes. Does it matter? No.
    Games being stable before release? Good idea.
    Patches if the developers have screwed up and not realised until after release? To be encouraged. Anyone who criticises the wish of developers to make their games better (and thereby making them more playable, probably increasing sales..statistics on this, anyone? :) needs a good kicking.

  • Bill Gates is Evil #70 9 years ago

    You know, the Xbox would be considerably less in quality if it weren't so much like a PC.

  • LaundroMat #71 9 years ago

    BGiE, care to elaborate on that point?

  • Bill Gates is Evil #72 9 years ago

    Sure laundro.

    Take the refined PC coding and architecture and put it in the Xbox. Take refined PC components and put it in the Xbox. Take a harddrive and put it in an Xbox.

    Take all that other PC crap and throw it out the window and you've got a mutant wonder-console combining the leisure and comfort of a console with the technical advantages of a PC.

  • prettyboytim #73 9 years ago

    I bought this yesterday - not played very far yet, but enjoying it so far. Graphics could be better, though.

    Once I've got the hang of things I'll have a go on Xbox live - gamertag: planettimmy