16th July 2004, 1:18 PM
Indeed, plus that KOTOR update only added in the PC exclusive content, and they will NOT add in any more content. Also, no bugs were fixed at all, not a one. Finally, that content update is only for the English version. I think you speak French natively asm, so you don't get it.
FF7 and FF8 did indeed get PC releases. Why didn't I go for them? Well, I could point out that my PC at the time SUCKED (though now I COULD play KOTOR for PC and make it look better), but I'll also point out that even if my PC could play those games (which had much higher requirements than they should have), I wouldn't get them for a few reasons.
First off, as ABF pointed out, the higher resolutions actually HURT those games. In some ways they look better, but in some ways, FF8 in particular here, they look worse. Then comes the actual games. Both of them are horribly glitchy. It's as though Eidos (the porters) only tried ONE computer setup, and when it worked they said "okay that's enough" and sent it off. You have to have a VERY specific setup for either to work at all. Patches have been released though. Not by Eidos mind you, but unofficial ones. They not only fix the games, but they have a few special updates. However, I'll go ahead and base this purely on what is officially available. Anyway, FF7 did get one bonus, a lot of translation errors were fixed. FF7 had a decent enough translation anyway, but it did have a lot of stupid errors like the whole "that's how you fooled 'em" "that's how you fool them eh?" thing. At least no spoony bards :D. This isn't enough to make up for the skippy music and videos (they used some outdated compression method that does NOT work with the faster CD-ROMS we use today), the occasional missing textures, and the glaring texture problems that are revealed by the boosted resolution combined with the PC moniter's superior sharpness anyway. Also, there are the controls. They basically just mapped the console controls to keyboard, so it's still a 1st person control method (not first person view, first person control :D) which is awkward with a keyboard. A little mouse support would have been greatly appreciated for things like menu navigation. Anyway, while one can use a PC controller, it just doesn't feel right... Though, I'm sure some won't care.
Overall, I'd say the console versions of these two really are better than the PC ports. I'd attribute that to Eidos' failings at that job myself. I don't own either port as you might imagine, but I've seen all I need to see. Now, I have only read a few things about the MMX ports. I downloaded the MMX demo, and found it VERY blocky in appearence, and thus inferior to the SNES version. Now, maybe they did some anti-aliasing for the full version or something, but the demo certainly didn't. I imagine similar things might be wrong with the other X games that made it to PC, but I don't know enough to be certain.
However, other PC ports get it right. FFXI for example from all accounts is exactly what a port should be. Graphically, if you have a powerful enough machine, it looks better, though the only improvement is the higher resolutions (and things that result from that, like the menus are smaller and thus more out of the way), the point is the higher resolutions actually make it look GOOD. Aside from that, not a single difference, but since both versions can play with each other on the same servers, they HAVE to be identical (hence why the PS2 version NEEDS the HDD). Anyway, since those types of RPGs are generally played with keyboard and mouse, and there's the higher resolution, the PC version really is the better pick I think. The reason one might not get the PS2 version would be purely because they want to get the HDD and as of yet it's ONLY sold with that game packed in, and they don't want to waste money on a second version of a game they already got. Considering that as far as gameplay and all the OTHER graphical thing, both are exactly the same, that isn't really a bad decision if you really want that HDD.
Eh, anyway, what was I saying? Oh yes, in the case of KOTOR, it really seems like the PC version is in every way better. Not really a suprise. I mean, while the XBox version did come up with a nice targetting system and a pretty decent control method, it just doesn't match PC controls for this sort of game.
FF7 and FF8 did indeed get PC releases. Why didn't I go for them? Well, I could point out that my PC at the time SUCKED (though now I COULD play KOTOR for PC and make it look better), but I'll also point out that even if my PC could play those games (which had much higher requirements than they should have), I wouldn't get them for a few reasons.
First off, as ABF pointed out, the higher resolutions actually HURT those games. In some ways they look better, but in some ways, FF8 in particular here, they look worse. Then comes the actual games. Both of them are horribly glitchy. It's as though Eidos (the porters) only tried ONE computer setup, and when it worked they said "okay that's enough" and sent it off. You have to have a VERY specific setup for either to work at all. Patches have been released though. Not by Eidos mind you, but unofficial ones. They not only fix the games, but they have a few special updates. However, I'll go ahead and base this purely on what is officially available. Anyway, FF7 did get one bonus, a lot of translation errors were fixed. FF7 had a decent enough translation anyway, but it did have a lot of stupid errors like the whole "that's how you fooled 'em" "that's how you fool them eh?" thing. At least no spoony bards :D. This isn't enough to make up for the skippy music and videos (they used some outdated compression method that does NOT work with the faster CD-ROMS we use today), the occasional missing textures, and the glaring texture problems that are revealed by the boosted resolution combined with the PC moniter's superior sharpness anyway. Also, there are the controls. They basically just mapped the console controls to keyboard, so it's still a 1st person control method (not first person view, first person control :D) which is awkward with a keyboard. A little mouse support would have been greatly appreciated for things like menu navigation. Anyway, while one can use a PC controller, it just doesn't feel right... Though, I'm sure some won't care.
Overall, I'd say the console versions of these two really are better than the PC ports. I'd attribute that to Eidos' failings at that job myself. I don't own either port as you might imagine, but I've seen all I need to see. Now, I have only read a few things about the MMX ports. I downloaded the MMX demo, and found it VERY blocky in appearence, and thus inferior to the SNES version. Now, maybe they did some anti-aliasing for the full version or something, but the demo certainly didn't. I imagine similar things might be wrong with the other X games that made it to PC, but I don't know enough to be certain.
However, other PC ports get it right. FFXI for example from all accounts is exactly what a port should be. Graphically, if you have a powerful enough machine, it looks better, though the only improvement is the higher resolutions (and things that result from that, like the menus are smaller and thus more out of the way), the point is the higher resolutions actually make it look GOOD. Aside from that, not a single difference, but since both versions can play with each other on the same servers, they HAVE to be identical (hence why the PS2 version NEEDS the HDD). Anyway, since those types of RPGs are generally played with keyboard and mouse, and there's the higher resolution, the PC version really is the better pick I think. The reason one might not get the PS2 version would be purely because they want to get the HDD and as of yet it's ONLY sold with that game packed in, and they don't want to waste money on a second version of a game they already got. Considering that as far as gameplay and all the OTHER graphical thing, both are exactly the same, that isn't really a bad decision if you really want that HDD.
Eh, anyway, what was I saying? Oh yes, in the case of KOTOR, it really seems like the PC version is in every way better. Not really a suprise. I mean, while the XBox version did come up with a nice targetting system and a pretty decent control method, it just doesn't match PC controls for this sort of game.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)