140°

Portal 2: Interactive comparison between Minimum and Maximum Settings

Though Portal 2's Source Engine is a few years old, it's still more than able to portray atmospheric scenes never seen before. Check this Slider Comparison between the Maximum and Minimum Settings of the game - drag the sliders to start or click on the links underneath each picture.

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gamesaktuell.de
Ducky4767d ago

I like the glass in the minimum version better for some reason.

bozebo4767d ago (Edited 4767d ago )

same. But I think its just because the minimum version doesn't render the dirt and smudges on them - it will affect shader complexity/detail too. Maby close-up in full res it would be a different story :P

bozebo4767d ago

Almost as clear as the difference between 360 and ps3!

But I troll, obviously PC on minimum looks better than either of those :@

/joke...

Those minimum settings can't be the actual minimum. Maby with a nooby option dropdown box selection, yes. But I am sure the settings go far lower than that.

Still, Valve always do a good job optimising, I played Hl2 fine when it came out on fairly decent settings on a non-gaming laptop with a basic intel graphics chip, 256MB RAM and a 1.5GHz single core amd cpu. For those low settings, the game still looks nice.

F4sterTh4nFTL4767d ago (Edited 4767d ago )

..maximum of 10 years old. So don't expect Crysis level graphics from Portal 2 but I fully expect Half-Life 3 to go all out in the graphics department or else there will be hell to pay from us loyal PC fans that have supported Valve for the last 14 years.

bozebo4767d ago (Edited 4767d ago )

tbph. Nearly any game could be developed with that goal in mind. The source engine makes that job particularly easy though. There isn't any real reason why every 2011 game couldn't run on a 2001 graphics card - as long as the rendering can be simplified enough through the options (ie, removal of most/all shaders and a wider range of level of detail options). Obviously though, somebody with a 2001 gpu won't be interested in playing bf3 etc. :D

I think their main objective is having the game run really well on new intel graphics chips which are in what seems to be about 90% of laptops (because they are built into the cpu now). That also catches 10 year old machines in the same target market by coincidence.

More PC devs need to think about that market, the potential sales would increase a lot.

Ducky4766d ago (Edited 4766d ago )

"or else there will be hell to pay from us loyal PC fans that have supported Valve for the last 14 years."

O.o?
Valve isn't known for graphics.
They have their hardware surveys for a reason; they want to find which hardware to target.

Edit:
Aye, Portal2 and TeamFortress2 have a good thing going as far as the style goes.

distorted_reality4766d ago

Exactly.

Majority (read just about all) PC gamers will be so happy when Ep3/HL3 comes out, they won't care if it looks exactly the same as HL2.

Having said that, P2 looks great from an aesthetic sense if not a technical one.

BlackKnight4766d ago (Edited 4766d ago )

While Valve isn't know for graphics RIGHT NOW, when HL2 trailers were shown and the game came out, it was mind blowing at the time. That only lasted for about a year and since then we have seen great looking games, but nothing that is pushing the boundaries, just highly polished compared to most other games these days.

120°

Steam's highest-rated game is now less than a dollar in the Spring Sale

Jack writes: "Yet again browsing the latest offers in the Steam Spring Sale has led us to track down the very best. In terms of price to quality, we don’t think that it gets much better than this. Portal 2 is now less than a dollar, and if you haven’t got it already, now is the time to pick it up."

TheEroica49d ago

Portal deserves to be one of steams highest rated games... It's almost tetris levels of perfect game design.

TheEnigma31349d ago

It's a great game, but highly overrated. But for $1, it's an amazon deal.

Friendlygamer49d ago

Valve should bring their games to ps5

Kados48d ago (Edited 48d ago )

Gotta love Steam. Just got Portal 2 for .97 cents CAD. Should have been $1.29, selected the bundle with Portal 1 and 2, which gets a 25% discount, already have Portal 1, so it removes the cost of that, and still applies the full 25% bundle discount to Portal 2. 90% + 25% discount.

Friendlygamer48d ago

That's sweet, I've been thinking about building a modest pc to play some oldies

230°

All the Essential Video Games Everyone Needs To Play At Least Once

Given the medium's wild diversity, this primer of the essential video games everyone should try is a good place to start.

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wealthofgeeks.com
thorstein56d ago

.... from the 2000s (mostly).

shinoff218356d ago

I can't fk with this list. They missed on alot of games probably before the writers times. Also I know people loved some portal but I was never a fan.

Cacabunga56d ago

Tomb Raider 1
Driver 1
Abe’s Odyssey
FF6
King of Fighters 94
Mortal Kombat OG
LINK 2 the past
Street Fighter 2
Resident Evil 1

Inverno56d ago

Infinite but not the first two games? Witcher 3 but not the first two games?? GTA V but not literally any of the games before it??? Portal 2 but not the first? Also if you're going to play Shadow of The Colossus play the remaster and not the remake. Can't say I disagree with the list but my man it's all over the place.

Name Last Name56d ago

I mean some sequels are objectively better and you don’t need to play the whole series.

Inverno56d ago

But most of these games have a story to follow, sure you can catch up with a YouTube vid but where's the fun in that?

LucasRuinedChildhood56d ago (Edited 56d ago )

A list like this isn't telling you not to play the previous games if you want to. It's just giving you legendary games to play.

But tbh, you don't always have to force yourself to play every entry in a franchise to get to the better ones.

- The vast majority of Witcher 3 players never played the first 2 and had a great time. The first 2 games aren't in the same league.
- The GTA games are self-contained with the odd fun reference. You can easily jump into any of them.
- The Shadow Of The Colossus remake looks and controls better than the original (plus it has a 60fps option while the remaster is just 30fps). New players will enjoy it more.
- Portal 2 is a lot better than Portal 1 and takes the concept much further gameplay-wise. Storywise, Portal 1 is fairly light too. Not that you shouldn't play it but realistically ... you'd love Portal 2 whether you play it or not (at lot of Portal 2 players have never played 1).

Bioshock 1 is the only one I agree with you on simply because it's one the best games of all time and arguably better than Infinite. No other setting like Rapture.

Looking at the list, I'd recommend playing Uncharted 1 before 2 but no doubt, 2 is the legendary one you have to play.

Inverno56d ago

I get it, but that's just my opinion on his opinion. I just think that before you play a sequel you should still play what came before it. Maybe it's just me but i find it fascinating playing through the first game in a series and seeing how it has evolved through its sequels. Like I said I don't disagree with the list, other than SoTC which I strongly believe the remaster of the original should be played above the remake.

AuraAbjure56d ago

Awesome list! Hot take on Fear (and it's hard af expansion Persaus Mandate!) Bioshock Infinite is stellar, so is the Witcher 3 and you nailed it by having Ocarina of Time. So many fantastic games! Gotta play 'em all! Next one on my list is Prey after I beat Dead Space 2 and Splinter Cell Conviction.

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60°

The story behind Portal: Revolution — A fan-made prequel to Portal 2

Chris Brandrick, writing for overkill, speaks to Stefan Heinz, the lead developer on Portal: Revolution, a new fan-made campaign prequel to Portal 2.

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overkill.wtf
StalinSupremacy107d ago (Edited 107d ago )

valve suck so much at making games now, opting just to smaug on top of an enormous pile of money,
that fans got so desperate that they have to make their own games.
this industry is fucking over.