Nobody is saying its impossible, its just much much easier to do with a mouse than with a controler. With enough practice you could write with your feet too, that doesn’t mean using your hands isn’t a much better option.
Edit: also most console shooters make it a lot easier to aim to correct this problem which leads people to think they are better shots than they actually are.
I forgot about something that pretty much clinches it for the PC.
Mods and updates.
Valve is a PC publisher and developer first and it shows. Updates that are available for the PC are NOT available for the xbox 360 yet (And may never be).
Also, mods. There already numerous maps and other mods for the PC version of TF2 and portal. There’s even a prequel for portal which is very well done and popular: Portal: Prelude - Download the game And there are others. The online community for the orange box games thrives on the PC and will continue to do so.
That’s another plus for multi-player games on PC. 2 years from now I doubt you’ll be able to find people to play TF2 on the xbox, but people will be playing it in large numbers on the PC for years to come.
And yes, I’d definitely go for the whole orange box deal, and not just get portal all by its lonesome.
I have portal on PS3 and it seems to work fine. However I’m stuck at about the same place I was stuck on the Mac. Level 15 (yes I have been promised cake!!!), were you have to hit two switches in two different rooms and then shoot two portals to get the fire ball to hit the other switch. I’m just not fast enough. GRRRR.
I just finished half-life two on the ps3 and liked the controller way better than the keyboard I used for all the tomb raiders.
I like mods in theory, but I hate having to download it, put it in a certain place, rename a file or two, or whatever hoops they have. I wish game designers would get mods and officially incorporate them into official patches.
The one I mentioned for portal specifically involves downloading and running the install file. Shouldn’t take more than a few seconds after downloading.
heck, it’s probably more of a hassle logging on to this board. I don’t think anyone can make it easier than that.
Also, the devs can’t incorporate user created content into official anything, due to legal concerns.
I have played Portal on my laptop and loved it.
I still bought Portal:Still alive for my XBox as I wanted to play it sitting in my recliner listening to 5.1 stereo on my big ass LCD TV. Love it on that as well.
I’d make this decision based on your setup and what you’re happiest with.
Meh. Usually not worth the trouble.
Mods usually aren’t. When was the last time a good one came out?
Maybe DOTA in 2003?
The Total Realism patch for Rome: Total War was great. It was like getting a brand new, almost better, game.
Well I don’t know how that would work in game like Rainbow Six. I don’t notice any ‘click-in’ of the aiming. When I aim I aim precisely. It’s easy to miss by shooting right over someone’s shoulder.
When there is an auto-aim option I turn it off.
DigitalC How disappointing to find out that Rainbow Six Vegas 2 has auto-aim. It would seem the first one does not. This would explain greatly the different styles of game play there. Anyway, I was pulling off headshots in Vegas also, but it was a much harder game.
Were you playing multiplayer? Auto-aim is in multiplayer because of lag and combating it.
No I don’t really play multiplayer on X-Box games.
Too bad. It’s often the real game you’re paying for.
You keep saying that, but aside from Left 4 Dead and MMORPGs, I can’t think of a single game where the online portion was the true draw and not a bonus feature. Can you explain this to someone who doesn’t play a bunch online what I’m doing wrong?
Are you serious?
How long have you been playing games for? 
Almost 25 years. Why? Online gaming has only been a serious force in console gaming for the last few years and my parents had no interest in springing for the Internet at home when I was into PC games.
I ask again, why is this attitude so crazy? Beyond an MMORPG, can you name a single game that doesn’t have a lengthy single player portion?
Sorry, this came off a little nastier than I intended and the edit window’s expired. Allow me to clarify.
I get the feeling that LOUNE is, like myself, primarily a FPS gamer. Shooter games, in particular, are driven in a large part by multiplayer communities. Call of Duty (all of them,) Team Fortress 2, every half-life modification ever made, Tribes, Soul Calibur, Starcraft, Gears of War, Warcraft 3, Diablo II, Halo, Worms, Tekken and Hellgate: London are all examples of games who exist primarily to provide an excellent muliplayer experience. Sure, there are also well-scripted singleplayer storylines to accompany these titles, but they’re more of a secondary feature than the primary draw. You could probably toss the Command and Conquer franchise in there too. It’s just too long of a list to even formulate - the list of games without multiplayer would be much, much shorter.
The most popular games in the world are all multiplayer.
In fact, I’d say the only games where multiplayer isn’t at least a significant portion of the gameplay are RPGs. Playing online affords unlimited replay value, a strategic depth the most advanced AI can’t hold a candle to, and the infinite satisfaction of knowing that nasty headshot really ruined somebody’s night.
Look, there’s nothing wrong with single-player gaming. But to claim that the online portion of many, if not most, games isn’t the main draw is just completely untrue.
ETA: Ah, yes. You’re a console gamer. Of course you aren’t going have played online for most of your career. The PC online gaming community has been thriving for years - and look at the rate at which XBL proliferated.
Oh I used to be able to pick people off with a railgun out of the air in Quake II. It’s just that I don’t really care. I played Team Fortress, my copy of Orange Box is for the PC, it just doesn’t thrill me that much. I’d rather play Rainbow Six Vegas by myself.
Why would you say that. Aside from Soul Caibur and Tekken, you listed a bunch of PC titles. Gears of War has a strong co-op/deathmatch mode, but it’s single player is not an afterthought and Epic went and beefed up the story to number 2 specifically because of games like Call of Duty 4. I’d also question Halo’s inclusion as the first game didn’t even have an online mode and the story of Halo is such a draw that six bestselling novels have been written in the universe.
Soul Calibur and Tekken have only gone online in the last year or two.
2 of the last 3 games I’ve played don’t even have a multiplayer option, let alone an online multiplayer option. I just don’t see it.