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Best ver. of games during the Gamecube, PS2 and X-Box era

outsidah

Member
Well, maybe it was HD - but it was based on the inferior PS2 version and retained the low-poly models. Also, the Wii version has Wiimote support which is absolutely fucking amazing.

The best version is the Wii one played in 1080p via Dolphin. No fucking contest.

I hated the Wiimote "features". It always found them to be more like gimmicks after the initial hype.
 

Rich!

Member
Are there comparison shots between the PS360 HD version and Wii version on Dolphin? RE4 always felt right with a normal controller, does the Wii version have GC controller support? Can't imagine playing it with a motion controller.

Indeed it does. Once you're past the screen that asks you to plug the Nunchuck into the Wii Remote, unplug the Nunchuck and plug in the GameCube controller. It then plays identically to the original version, laser sight and all.
 

televator

Member
Well, maybe it was HD - but it was based on the inferior PS2 version and retained the low-poly models. Also, the Wii version has Wiimote support which is absolutely fucking amazing.

The best version is the Wii one played in 1080p via Dolphin. No fucking contest.

You gotta source on that?
 
"The thing" suffered from the same problems that splinter cell did going from Xbox to PS2- the game was massively downgraded, lighting in particular.
 

FyreWulff

Member
I generally went with either the GC version or the Xbox version. On games with a lot of resetting and segmentation, the GameCube version's blazingly fast load times overcame the Xbox version's slightly less muddy picture.

If it had online functionality that was worth the time or a level editor, I got the Xbox version so I could more easily share my custom content.

ie I preferred the GameCube controller for Tony Hawk and played THPS3 and THPS4 to death on that platform, but got Underground for Xbox because all of the custom sprays and stuff were easier to have a ton of for that platform.

GameCube was also my choice for SSX3.
 

Castef

Banned
Also, as a general indication, any game which made extensive use of 8 buttons was better on Ps2 or Xbox due to the lack of a button on the GCN pad.

For instance, playing NBA Strret on GCN was less confortable.
 
The PlayStation 2 version of Star Wars Battlefront 2 was superior to the Xbox version for the sole fact that it had user-hostable dedicated servers.
 

Castef

Banned
Also:

Vexx -> Xbox (PS2 edition suffers from severe slowdown in certain areas)
Sphinx -> GCN/XBox (see above)
Timesplitters 2/Future Perfect -> Xbox
MGS2 -> PS2 (the Xbox conversion was quite awful...)
 

Ramune

Member
How was Viewtiful Joe 2? I heard the GC version was a port of the PS2 version and thus, never picked it up since I figured it would lead to disappointing performance problems.
 

b3b0p

Member
Everything I played was best looking and smoothest on GameCube using component cables to my eyes.

I know it's exclusive, but F-Zero GX using component cables is glorious! Glorious!!!
 

Shaneus

Member
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 was a rare superior PS2 game.
Technically, different game:
Different versions of the game were produced for each game platform; the Xbox, GameCube and PC versions were developed in EA Seattle, a subsidiary of EA Canada, while the PS2 version was developed by EA Black Box in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. Also, it did not feature a career mode allowing car personalization.
 

Jarmel

Banned
Yeah, Splinter Cell was the 'same' game but jesus the difference. This pic isn't as big as it should be but you get the idea.
GC PS2
93QiJ6E.jpg

PC Xbox

That's the same room? Wow. That's like a minigenerational leap right there.
 

nordique

Member
To be fair to the Gamecube in this thread however, most gamecube ports were not done well and were simply "souped up" PS2 ports

I'm sure if for instance with the Splinter Cell games more love went into the GC ports, we'd have seen better graphics than what we received.

GC wasn't well treated by third parties, especially most western third parties.

RE4 was an example of pushing the GC and I remember the lighting & particles, never mind textures, in that game looking much superior (like a great deal superior) than the PS2 version.

But with say the Splinter Cell games, they just looked like straight ports from the PS2 versions.


edit: ah yes, this

GC (L) - PS2 (R)

RE4%20comp%2005%20vid.jpg


RE4%20comp%2009%20vid.jpg


Personally, I especially remember the lightning part in the beginning of the game. That was the first time I was able to tell a huge difference between the two versions. Didn't make the PS2 version unplayable by any means, just meant the game should have been played on the Gamecube the way it was meant to be :)
 
I remember Phantasy Star Online Ep. 1 and 2 having a slight graphic upgrade on GameCube. So much fun~

IIRC the Xbox version had better textures but worse shaders due to the GPU in the Gamecube. A lot of the areas in Episode 2 with heavy fog and water effects suffered on the Xbox version because of it.
 
To be fair to the Gamecube in this thread however, most gamecube ports were not done well and were simply "souped up" PS2 ports

That could also be said about the Xbox. The majority of multiplats were developed with PS2 as the lead platform and then ported to GCN and Xbox, rarely with any changes taking advantage of the GCN and Xbox's superior hardware.

I remember playing this Spongebob game and Dave Mirra BMX 2 on Gamecube and the Y button (top face button) was used to back out of menus instead of B like it usual is. They didn't even change the button layout from the PS2 versions.
 
I remember reading about Burnout 3 being visually best on PS2.

It has more particle effects and different reflections. The reflections in the Xbox version didn't have the simple lighting from the sparks or something, but the Xbox version had far better car/city/environment detail and resolution. So it depends on how far up you place sparks on your list of graphical oomph. Myself, I'd rate the higher resolution as a huge upgrade rather than sparks

Literally down the line the Xbox got superior versions of almost everything. No contest. The Hard Drive usually meant load times were down there with Gamecube or faster. There's literally no reason to get any other version of any game unless there was extra content on other consoles not available on the Xbox version.
 

Xav

Member
I recall the SSX and Tony Hawk's games running best on PS2 but it's been so many years so I could be wrong.
 

Elija2

Member
I recall Max Payne 2 looking like shit on the PS2 compared to the Xbox version. Max's model especially looked really wonky on the PS2.

How did True Crime: Streets of LA compare on all three platforms? I recall that game being the only decent GTA clone on Gamecube so I wonder how that version compared to the others.
 
Anyone play both the Wii and PS2 versions of Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity? I'm curious if the PS2 version ran in 30 or 60fps, it runs in flawless 60fps on Wii during gameplay AND cutscenes as well.

Some effects are missing on PS2 and the water in the water course is missing its reflection. Not sure if it supported 480p and 16:9 on PS2, both are yes on Wii.

The original Riders on GC ran in 60fps and had uber blocky textures (as if no filtering was used), textures are much better in ZG on Wii which of course uses texture filtering at least. So jarring when I played the original Riders on GC and saw that. o_O

Also models on Wii ditched the Sonic Heroes shine which I THINK were used still but maybe subdued on PS2 of ZG.
 
For the vast majority?
Xbox>GC>PS2.

There were outliers as there always are, but in terms of raw power that was basically the way it ran and most multiplatform games kind of bore that out.

Nailed it.

The only game I played between two consoles and noticed graphical difference was RE4 between GC and PS2. I like GC more because of the controller and graphics, but that extra content on the PS2 was sweet. Thank goodness for the Wii version with GC controller support. HD version was rad too.

I also purchased Soul Calibur II on the GC because of Link. I read that Heihachi was the console exclusive character on PS2 and his ultimate weapon was
Tekken, his bare fists, after taking off his gauntlets, the man blocks blades with his bare flesh!
Maybe I chose the wrong version of SCII...
 
Resident Evil 4 was first released on the Gamecube before Capcom released it on the PS2, afterwards there were games Capcom, for example, released on both PS2 and Gamecube.
I'm curious to know what games that got a release on 2 or more systems at the time is considered the best version of that game, and would like some insight on them please.

It would be super awesome if you would collate the data gleaned from this thread and edit it back into your OP.

as well, I seem to recall the Xbox PAL version of Alien Hominid being superior to the Gamecube, though I don't recall why. a quick trip to google did not jog my memory or provide the answer...

double edit: and though not strictly what you're asking (but my memory has been jogged by the PAL thing), I believe both ICO and Odin Sphere received superior PAL PS2 versions of their NTSC originals...

ICO having additional content and an extended ending perhaps, while OS had a better framerate and no slowdown?
 
Generally the Xbox had higher texture res and draw distance, but the PS2 excelled at visual effects like rain due to its Cell architecture.

Fatal Frame II was better objectively on Xbox because it had a first-person mode, survival mode, higher-res graphics, and more unlockables.
 
Generally the Xbox had higher texture res and draw distance, but the PS2 excelled at visual effects like rain due to its Cell architecture

what

Yeah, Splinter Cell was the 'same' game but jesus the difference. This pic isn't as big as it should be but you get the idea.
GC PS2
93QiJ6E.jpg

PC Xbox

I played the original Splinter Cell on GC first, and had no idea what the fuss was about. I saw the Xbox version a year later and I was blown away.
 

HTupolev

Member
Generally the Xbox had higher texture res and draw distance, but the PS2 excelled at visual effects like rain due to its Cell architecture.
CELL is PS3's awesomeness/burden.

The PS2's advantage with some visual effects was likely a result of the, uh, "GPU" architecture. It had garbage shading capabilities, but the theoretical peak throughputs were absurdly high in some respects, particularly with framebuffer access. The console probably had solid performance with transparencies and such.
 
games like Marvel vs Capcom 2 and Capcom vs SNK 2 were, and still are, better on the Dreamcast. they were perfect arcade ports after all.
3s is better on PS2 than Dreamcast. Dreamcast version has glitches where some combos didn't work. Can't remember which ones but some of Ken's afair
 
One game where the PS2 ver > GC ver was Tales of Symphonia. Some said that there were some issues with it like framerate, but after seeing all the content they added to it, I would always choose the PS2 ver
 
CELL is PS3's awesomeness/burden.

The PS2's advantage with some visual effects was likely a result of the, uh, "GPU" architecture. It had garbage shading capabilities, but the theoretical peak throughputs were absurdly high in some respects, particularly with framebuffer access. The console probably had solid performance with transparencies and such.

Yeah, whoops, I meant the "Kutaragi Emotion Engine". Yeah, it's been a long time since I've delved into PS2 hardware details, but I remember reading something about being able to do insane amounts of pixel layering per frame to create effects.
 
How was Viewtiful Joe 2? I heard the GC version was a port of the PS2 version and thus, never picked it up since I figured it would lead to disappointing performance problems.

Who ever told you that was wrong. I believe the GC version was in production before the PS2 one, so it being a port of the PS2 game just isn't possible, nor would it make any sense. Why would you take a working engine (the one from VJ1) and throw it away to take a version of that engine ported to PS2, and then port it back to GC.


Remember the first Viewtiful Joe game was a late port, that showed up like 12 - 14 months after the first game, and just like 3 months before the sequel hit.

I don't even think they'd have the time to scrap everything they did with VJ1 on GC, make the sequel on PS2 and then port it to GC in the 15 - 18 months between the release of VJ1 and 2.

VJ2 on GC had no performance issues at all, game ran great.
 
For the vast majority?
Xbox>GC>PS2.

There were outliers as there always are, but in terms of raw power that was basically the way it ran and most multiplatform games kind of bore that out.
Correct. I would always choose what system to buy my games for in that order. The only exception was Soul Caliber 2 which I got on GC for obvious reasons.
 

Bydobob

Member
I'm sure if for instance with the Splinter Cell games more love went into the GC ports, we'd have seen better graphics than what we received.

True to an extent but Splinter Cell was a perfect showcase for the Xbox's lighting capabilities, the GC version was always going to look like a poor relation.

It's an interesting OP because as much is made out of the differences between PS4 and Xbox One, there were more telling differences between these 3 consoles. There was also a ton of great exclusives for each platform giving them real market separation and identity. Definitely one of my favourite generations.
 
I remember playing half of San Andreas on PS2, only to start over on Xbox for the aspect ratio/resolution/performance upgrade... then came the time to shoot while driving and I wanted to cry. I never ended up finishing the damn game.
 

nkarafo

Member
I didn't know RE4 looked so inferior on PS2 compared to GC... I thought the differences were more subtle, considering some reviews and impressions of friends who had this game on PS2.

I had it on GC, thankfully.
 

HTupolev

Member
It's an interesting OP because as much is made out of the differences between PS4 and Xbox One, there were more telling differences between these 3 consoles.
Well, there were strong qualitative differences in the overall capabilities and featuresets in the sixth gen. In addition to the core performance, you had things like Xbox HDD and Gamecube disc speed.

It's nothing compared to fifth-gen, though. If Xbox/GC/PS2 is grannysmith/braeburn/golden, PSX/Saturn/N64 is potato/airplane/octopus.
 
I didn't know RE4 looked so inferior on PS2 compared to GC... I thought the differences were more subtle, considering some reviews and impressions of friends who had this game on PS2.

I had it on GC, thankfully.
I've played through both versions extensively and I never really noticed a huge graphical difference while I was playing through them until I saw the side-by-side comparisons. The game definitely looks better on GC, but it still looks pretty good on PS2.
 

rjc571

Banned
Does anyone know of multiplatform games that ran at 30 fps on PS2 but were 60 on the Xbox and/or Gamecube? I believe this is the case for the following:
Prince of Persia games (60 fps on Xbox only)
Tomb Raider Legend (60 on Xbox and Gamecube)
Sonic Heroes (60 on Xbox and Gamecube)
Vexx (60 on Xbox and Gamecube)
Mercenaries (60 on Xbox)
(I'm going by what I've read, since I don't own multiple versions of any of these games)

On the other side of the coin, Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions ran at 60 fps on the PS2 but only 30 on the Xbox. Of course, the Xbox version had some of the best graphics on the entire system but the PS2 port looked like a glorified PS1 game.
 

NeoGash

Member
Just Cause

Basically a generational difference. This was the first video I saw where I was like 'WOW' @ the difference between Xbox/PS2. Didn't know what I was missing that entire generation *sigh*

EDIT: Fixed link.
 
Does anyone know of multiplatform games that ran at 30 fps on PS2 but were 60 on the Xbox and/or Gamecube? I believe this is the case for the following:
Prince of Persia games (60 fps on Xbox only)
Tomb Raider Legend (60 on Xbox and Gamecube)
Sonic Heroes (60 on Xbox and Gamecube)
Vexx (60 on Xbox and Gamecube)
Mercenaries (60 on Xbox)
(I'm going by what I've read, since I don't own multiple versions of any of these games)

On the other side of the coin, Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions ran at 60 fps on the PS2 but only 30 on the Xbox. Of course, the Xbox version had some of the best graphics on the entire system but the PS2 port looked like a glorified PS1 game.

Red Dead Revolver was 60 on Xbox and 30 on PS2.
 

rjc571

Banned
Red Dead Revolver was 60 on Xbox and 30 on PS2.

Interesting... one review I'm reading says that the Xbox version's framerate jumped all over the place though, while the PS2 version was stable. (scratch that, another review said that the PS2 version has slowdown too)

Any other examples?
 

jooey

The Motorcycle That Wouldn't Slow Down
The built-in scaler on the Xbox meant,
that almost no 50hz PAL game had "PAL-bars".


The later we got in that generation,
the less work seemed to be done on the GCN versions,
and so they often were the worst one,
at least among the games I read comparsions back then.

On the other hand:

I read that
Need For Speed Underground (1)
ran best on GCN,
because it could load the next track segment without major hickups.

The GCN version had no online though.



Didn't the first game have more content on PS2 and GCN?
(plus streamlined controls on GCN and the GBA gimmick)

your poetry sucks
 

Ty4on

Member
Just Cause

Basically a generational difference. This was the first video I saw where I was like 'WOW' @ the difference between Xbox/PS2. Didn't know what I was missing that entire generation *sigh*

Your link is broken, but I found this.

Damn at how underpowered the PS2 was compared to the competition. The 2560-bit bus proves why HW shouldn't be made of numbers :p
I wonder how the third party games at the time would look had the Xbox or GC been used as lead platforms most of the time. It totally explains why GTA III games were so ugly. PS2 graphics almost look PSPish without knowing why.
 
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