AmplifiedJ

I play TF2 almost every day (Boot Camp on late '08 Macbook Pro), and finally cracked into the busy servers last night to try it out on OSX. Here are my thoughts:

1. There is a tremendous amount of stutter in-game whenever the action picks up (for TF2 heads you know what I mean....22 people firing at one another). I'll leave it to others to argue whether this is a Mac/PC issue. I know Valve has been working on this for a while, but it obviously needs to be patched. I'll still play it regardless, but for now the PC version is obviously more stable.
2. The new menu isn't bad, but I guess I just need to get used to it. Here to stay, as they say...
3. Did anyone else notice the change in font style in the menus? It looks more "squished" now and it seems less readable when I pull up the server list.

Other than that, everything is the same. Haven't tried bots yet. Your personal settings like fast weapon switch, etc. carry over to the Mac version.

P.S. I'm a member of the 'Stiq group, but anyone who wants to play send me a friend request (AmplifiedJ). I have 71.8 hours logged as Medic and 50.6 hours logged as Engie. Clearly I don't have preferred classes :)

@darwiniandude Plus one more for the battery lasting a while. Today I kept mine on with WiFi all day from 1pm until now (11:04 pm) and my battery is in yellow. Have periodic usage throughout the day plus some poker.

This is my first smartphone and I have been thoroughly pleased so far.

@AmplifiedJ Yeah and sorry for the bad experiences some of you had.....yech

Picked mine up today, so far a cool device. It's sitting on my desk charging while powered off right now, but once it's done I'll be all over it. Here's my experience.

So I live in Washington, DC. I went to the "main" DC Sprint store in south Dupont today (there are only two corporate stores in DC, this was the larger one). Got there at 12:30 p.m., was told to come back in an hour. Apparently line was much larger earlier in the day. Came back, got everything set up in terms of the account. Picked up a case and screen protectors, because the store was running a promotion for 20% off the purchase of two EVO accessories. At the time, the sales rep had told me a. they only had 48 EVOs left (this was around 2:15 p.m.), and apparently all the Sprint stores in DC-Metro Virginia and Gaithersburg, MD were COMPLETELY sold out of them. He also said they were getting in a large shipment tomorrow. I expect them to be sold out by now (7 p.m.).

So got home around 2:30, and it took a little bit of time before the calling/voice portion of the account went live. I was still having trouble activating the data, though (no internet), so I called Sprint CS and they had me reset the data profile, etc. Actually had to go through the manual-typing-number-code-to-reset step. After that, the internet took off. The advanced CS lady told me they were definitely having issues on the network today, but was happy that my stuff got working.

So that's my experience...now for some hot DoubleTwist action. First smartphone ahoy!

QFT to RyanLN's comments.

Sony is in a bad position right now, surely, relative to it's competitors in the field. I mean, we've been reading news reports about the hits their shares have taken even BEFORE the economic crap from the last year. Unfortunately, I'd say the inherent disconnect and/or conflict between East and West management will likely forestall any kind of radical reform that is needed to the company's structure.

As for the "by our powers combined with Microsoft" comment...HAHAHAHAno. The market's purity of competition and success or failure of companies that can offer the best product at the best price point would be a better remedy. If all of these factors lead to Sony restructuring and making a better product, PS3 included, it would be good for all of us. Microsoft would be bending us over the table even more if Sony just gave up and wanted to be the leg of the Console Megazord.

Mastadon!

(you know...because the PS3 is black...yeah moving on now)

Okay, I just have to speak up about this AA/jaggy issue. Yes, it is noticeable in HD. Yes, I have noticed it and wish it wasn't there.

BUT.

Have you guys ever actually walked around and looked at all the insane amount of detail in Halo 3? I mean, the everything from the differing degrees of texture on surfaces to colors to the effects of sunlight and what not? It's clearly got a touch of polish and a whole lot of love and work put into it. Here's a fun exercise. Go to Ghost Town, grab a sword or some other light source, and walk up to the blue barrels over by the overshield. Mmmm bumpy. Now hypothetically, you figure that your average MP map has instances like this all over the place that you're not accounting for while you're running around trying to find someone to shoot. Heck, your own armor has varying degrees of detail that you don't even see until you look at pictures of yourself you've saved.

So, while the jags are a bit jarring sometimes (especially when it's on your main weapon like the AR and you are standing in light), I will say that it's probably one of the most detailed games in terms of graphics I have personally seen on the 360. Yes, that is above Call of Duty (which just runs smoothly, which helps out things immensely) and Gears. I recently came back to Halo after months of Call of Duty and just the graphical fidelity is eye-opening, to say the least. One thing about Call of Duty is that almost every map has a dominant color scheme permeating everywhere (which is probably true to real life). I just appreciate the variances in Halo, I guess.

However, I will say that Gears 2 looks f-ing ridic.

Count me in for the anti-Obama Halo 3 group. GT: AmplifiedJ

To JPJ - Palin has more "experience" than Obama could ever hope to achieve at this stage in his life. You people pissing on her time spent as governor and what not probably don't really understand exactly what a mayor and governor actually does on a daily basis. Gingrich had it right: All I've ever seen Obama do is talk and write. The man's done nothing to challenge the people in his party or those around him, and he has not put forth an original idea that wasn't tried (and subsequently has been shown to have failed) thirty years ago. He is a snake oil salesman of the worst sort, and Hillary would have won the general election if she were the nominee right now (and I'm very much in the McCain/Palin camp). People like Putin and Ahmadinejad will eat him for lunch while Joe Biden puts forth his plan to divide Iraq into three separate provinces and ignites the entire Middle East into a widespread, uncontainable conflict.
Happy days! :)

So, um, is it wrong for me to think that that picture makes him look like Serious Cat?

http://www.jasonfinley.com/SeriousCat.jpg

Just compare the two of them side by side and tell me it doesn't make you laugh.

Am I the only one who really doesn't give a shit if this game will be something like 4 discs? WHO CARES. You will probably pour 10-12 hours of playtime just for one disc, let alone more than one. If we have become THAT lazy that getting up off the couch and switching a disc is THAT big of a deal, I really don't even know what to say.

But yeah, it's a great day for 360 owners. :) Consider that this is only the third year of the console's lifespan in an average of 4-5 years per console (which is up in the air now as it is...the new dashboard looks like something that came with a new system as opposed to an update), with more bombshells probably coming, it looks like Microsoft's money has definitely been well spent. For all of you crying about MS "buying" companies or "sell outs" or whatever, consider that just the revenue generated alone from software sales, Live subscriptions, and over 1 billion pieces of content bought on XBLM have contributed to this ability aside from the massive amounts of revenue the company already commands. In other words, we, the 360 gaming community, have had a part to play in this. Just sayin'.

Okay, first off, I really wish everyone would stop tossing around completely subjective terms like "hardcore" and "casual" gamers, simply because everyone disagrees as to what exactly falls into these two groups. When I see the word "hardcore," I think of some 13 year old stuck in front of a computer 20 hours a day playing WoW. Like crazy kids cursing at TV on YouTube hardcore. Or thinking the Legend of Zelda theme is simply ORGASMIC hardcore. Sorry, I just do. Likewise,just because you don't necessarily play for long stretches of time and you don't read every single article on Joystiq, IGN, etc. doesn't necessarily mean you are the casual-beyond-casual-play-Wii-sports-for-5-minutes "casual gamer."

As for the man's comments, you guys bring up salient points, but keep in mind that while some of you are giving him shit for having high expectations for games that R* makes (translated into large budgets), it isn't like his company hasn't, and pardon the phrase, put its money where its mouth is.

GTA is not only known to be a groundbreaking franchise since III, but the scope of every one in the series has expanded to the point where it has continued to impress, and has culminated in a magnum opus. Yes, lots of money doesn't necessarily equate to best product. Yet with ambition, creativity, and passion, it doesn't matter how much you spend if it is done in the right way. I mean, do you think "Saving Private Ryan" was made on the cheap?

By now we've all pretty much interpreted that he wasn't saying "fuck the Wii!" I would at least give the man some props for having extraordinarily high expectations for himself and his company as well as the fact that that company has more often than not fulfilled said expectations. Not many game companies, film companies, or television studios do that anymore.