Sonic Adventure 1. Sure, it's showing its age, and it has some '90s 3D jank, but it was an ambitious and interesting take on the series, and I feel that it captured the essence of 2D Sonic better than any game since then. (SA2 was good, but it took two steps forward, and two steps back.)
The modern "boost" gameplay of Generations, etc., is slick and polished, but it's so limited. It's like the Call of Duty to Sonic Adventure's Goldeneye.
PS: If you want to play SA1 now, make sure to get the Steam version and install the mod launcher. That way, you can get the superior Dreamcast version's graphics, without giving up the technical and quality-of-life improvements from later releases.
I actually like the idea of an optional 1080p cap, as it could offer better performance in some games, with no noticeable downsides to those of us with plain old HD screens. No way would I accept having this stuff turned on automatically, though (also see: Texas thermostat fiasco).
Also, turning down the graphics on our games to save a bit of power might feel good, but it isn't realistically going to help the earth in any way. And if you live in a region with a broken billing system on electricity usage, it might not save you money, either!
Really glad to see that they're considering this, and that they're gathering feedback so intentionally.
I'm curious to hear what you guys thought about the questions regarding inspiration from other media: that is, which other games/movies/etc. have the kind of tone or gameplay style we want to see from the Legacy of Kain series.
PS: I know it's not on modern Xbox consoles, but the whole series can be had for a few bucks on PC- minus Soul Reaver at the moment, which has been temporarily delisted to allow for "some important updates", interestingly enough.
@blockfight Sounds like you've got some catching up to do, then! Unless you really don't care for older games. The N64-era stuff is arguably the big highlight of Rare Replay, and of Rare itself.
@NoLifeDGenerate Clunky controls are a game design matter, and have nothing to do with the underlying tech (RE Engine, UE4, etc.). Unless you're talking about poor performance, which I hear is an issue in some versions of RE2/3 and especially DR4.
That said, Platinum has made an engine that can pull off 60fps on potato hardware, so that is something worth licensing out. Imagine if Game Freak borrowed a high-performing rendering engine like that, for example!
@BartoxTharglod There's noticeable slowdown in FZX, seriously? Think it might be worse than on the real N64? (I remember the performance on original hardware being pretty consistent most of the time, and it hasn't been all that long since I last played it.)
It's difficult to perfectly mimic the original console's performance, so emulators usually run a little better than the original, and that includes Goldeneye... so I would've expected that you'll see a small improvement on Switch. But then, this is Switch Online, and your mention of FZX doesn't bode well. Maybe GE will manage to run worse than the original. (And you're almost definitely right that they won't put in the small effort it'd take to get a consistent 60fps.)
I've found that using the 1.2 Solitaire scheme with the N64's main stick mapped to the Xbox's right stick works pretty well, though menus are a bit weird to navigate that way... I'd hope that they'll make some tweaks, but we'll see!
@Banjo- Oof. Almost every N64 emulator in existence supports 1080p, and Goldeneye itself supports 16:9 even on a real N64, so maybe, hopefully, it'll turn out well (fingers crossed)... but I guess I shouldn't underestimate Nintendo's ability to botch this!
@Banjo- In fairness, even a straightforward emulation of Goldeneye is practically guaranteed to display in HD, and will offer somewhat better performance than a real N64.
I expect that the Switch version will offer full 1080p (that's what they've been using for Switch Online, right?) and improved performance... but they probably won't bother overclocking for a consistent 60fps. But if they do overclock, and also remap the controls to make more sense, it should be pretty much on par with the Xbox release.
@Spaceman-Spiff Yep, Goldeneye was uncapped, and could occasionally hit 60fps if you put your guns away. (Try looking around from the starting platform in the Cradle mission.)
Emulators have already been running this game at a perfect 60fps, simply by overclocking- setting the virtual N64 to run at a higher speed. That's with an unaltered ROM, I'd add, so there's nothing stopping Microsoft or even Nintendo from offering the same... nothing except apathy, maybe.
As an owner of the original N64 cart, I'm on the fence with this one. Judging by the screenshots, this seems to just be an emulated ROM. ("Remaster" can mean a lot of things!) But if the controls and timings are tweaked a little, it could still be worth it. (Mapping the C buttons to the left stick in an emulator has always felt just a little off, and the vanilla game has a bug where the firing rate of all the guns is dependent on the current framerate.)
Regardless, I'm glad that this classic is available again, and that so many more people will be able to experience it! On principle, I'm in favour of as many older games as possible coming back- and ideally, remaining available indefinitely.
Comments 311
Re: Pick One: Which Is The Best 3D Sonic Game To Date?
Sonic Adventure 1. Sure, it's showing its age, and it has some '90s 3D jank, but it was an ambitious and interesting take on the series, and I feel that it captured the essence of 2D Sonic better than any game since then. (SA2 was good, but it took two steps forward, and two steps back.)
The modern "boost" gameplay of Generations, etc., is slick and polished, but it's so limited. It's like the Call of Duty to Sonic Adventure's Goldeneye.
PS: If you want to play SA1 now, make sure to get the Steam version and install the mod launcher. That way, you can get the superior Dreamcast version's graphics, without giving up the technical and quality-of-life improvements from later releases.
Re: Microsoft Exploring New Graphics Options To Reduce Power Consumption On Xbox
I actually like the idea of an optional 1080p cap, as it could offer better performance in some games, with no noticeable downsides to those of us with plain old HD screens.
No way would I accept having this stuff turned on automatically, though (also see: Texas thermostat fiasco).
Also, turning down the graphics on our games to save a bit of power might feel good, but it isn't realistically going to help the earth in any way. And if you live in a region with a broken billing system on electricity usage, it might not save you money, either!
Re: 'Evil West' Looks Like The Cowboy Vampire Mashup We Didn't Know We Needed
"The Cowboy Vampire Mashup We Didn't Know We Needed"
So basically, a modern Darkwatch?
(@ZYDIO, I see you noticed the similarity as well!)
Re: 'Legacy Of Kain' Survey Quizzes Fans About Potential Franchise Return
Really glad to see that they're considering this, and that they're gathering feedback so intentionally.
I'm curious to hear what you guys thought about the questions regarding inspiration from other media: that is, which other games/movies/etc. have the kind of tone or gameplay style we want to see from the Legacy of Kain series.
PS: I know it's not on modern Xbox consoles, but the whole series can be had for a few bucks on PC- minus Soul Reaver at the moment, which has been temporarily delisted to allow for "some important updates", interestingly enough.
Re: Pick One: Including GoldenEye 007, Which Is Your Favourite Rare Replay Game?
@blockfight Sounds like you've got some catching up to do, then!
Unless you really don't care for older games. The N64-era stuff is arguably the big highlight of Rare Replay, and of Rare itself.
Re: Microsoft Is Looking To Bring More Original Japanese Titles To Xbox
@NoLifeDGenerate Clunky controls are a game design matter, and have nothing to do with the underlying tech (RE Engine, UE4, etc.). Unless you're talking about poor performance, which I hear is an issue in some versions of RE2/3 and especially DR4.
That said, Platinum has made an engine that can pull off 60fps on potato hardware, so that is something worth licensing out. Imagine if Game Freak borrowed a high-performing rendering engine like that, for example!
Re: Reaction: GoldenEye Is Finally Coming To Xbox, But It's A Rare Whiffed Shot For 007
@BartoxTharglod There's noticeable slowdown in FZX, seriously? Think it might be worse than on the real N64? (I remember the performance on original hardware being pretty consistent most of the time, and it hasn't been all that long since I last played it.)
It's difficult to perfectly mimic the original console's performance, so emulators usually run a little better than the original, and that includes Goldeneye... so I would've expected that you'll see a small improvement on Switch. But then, this is Switch Online, and your mention of FZX doesn't bode well. Maybe GE will manage to run worse than the original. (And you're almost definitely right that they won't put in the small effort it'd take to get a consistent 60fps.)
I've found that using the 1.2 Solitaire scheme with the N64's main stick mapped to the Xbox's right stick works pretty well, though menus are a bit weird to navigate that way... I'd hope that they'll make some tweaks, but we'll see!
Re: Reaction: GoldenEye Is Finally Coming To Xbox, But It's A Rare Whiffed Shot For 007
@Banjo- Oof. Almost every N64 emulator in existence supports 1080p, and Goldeneye itself supports 16:9 even on a real N64, so maybe, hopefully, it'll turn out well (fingers crossed)... but I guess I shouldn't underestimate Nintendo's ability to botch this!
Re: Reaction: GoldenEye Is Finally Coming To Xbox, But It's A Rare Whiffed Shot For 007
@Banjo- In fairness, even a straightforward emulation of Goldeneye is practically guaranteed to display in HD, and will offer somewhat better performance than a real N64.
I expect that the Switch version will offer full 1080p (that's what they've been using for Switch Online, right?) and improved performance... but they probably won't bother overclocking for a consistent 60fps. But if they do overclock, and also remap the controls to make more sense, it should be pretty much on par with the Xbox release.
Re: Reaction: GoldenEye Is Finally Coming To Xbox, But It's A Rare Whiffed Shot For 007
@Spaceman-Spiff Yep, Goldeneye was uncapped, and could occasionally hit 60fps if you put your guns away. (Try looking around from the starting platform in the Cradle mission.)
Emulators have already been running this game at a perfect 60fps, simply by overclocking- setting the virtual N64 to run at a higher speed. That's with an unaltered ROM, I'd add, so there's nothing stopping Microsoft or even Nintendo from offering the same... nothing except apathy, maybe.
Re: GoldenEye 007 Officially Announced For Xbox Game Pass
As an owner of the original N64 cart, I'm on the fence with this one. Judging by the screenshots, this seems to just be an emulated ROM. ("Remaster" can mean a lot of things!)
But if the controls and timings are tweaked a little, it could still be worth it. (Mapping the C buttons to the left stick in an emulator has always felt just a little off, and the vanilla game has a bug where the firing rate of all the guns is dependent on the current framerate.)
Regardless, I'm glad that this classic is available again, and that so many more people will be able to experience it!
On principle, I'm in favour of as many older games as possible coming back- and ideally, remaining available indefinitely.