May 02, 4:03 pm
What’s better than playing Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2? Playing Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 in high-definition! MWA HA HA!
Yes, the other week I became one of those annoying people who prattle on endlessly about their new HD tellies. I picked up a Panasonic 32” and, gosh, is it pretty.
My new TV! The photo doesn’t do it justice
My desire to join the HD club began when playing Phantasy Star Universe. Like so many games these days, Phantasy Star Universe was clearly designed with an HD TV in mind. Often I would find myself squinting into my standard definition screen, desperately trying to read the small, blurry text. On GRAW 2 it was the same - my team mates on Campaign would call out grid references, only for me to stare at the map, confused and bewildered by those indistinguishable digits.
There were other instances too - not quite as blantant, but still noticable. The dust in MotorStorm on the Playstation 3 wasn’t quite, well, dusty; the forestry in Just Cause not to the requisite level of leafiness. Eventually something within me snapped, and I knew that drastic action had to be taken.
So am I pleased with my purchase? You betcha. Granted, it does make standard terrestrial television look like it’s been thrown into a dusty bag and plouged though a mincing machine (though not as horribly as some AV experts would have you believe). But for gaming, you can’t beat HD. Xbox Live looks postively gleaming, and the PS3 XMB seems to have been engraved on screen by angels. Nice, sharp text, clarified images (I can actually *see* my gamercard photograph!). And, well… It just looks bloody pretty, okay? Finally I feel I am giving these next generation games the treatment they deserve. My MotorStorm dust has never looked so dusty; my Just Cause leafy goodness brimming with, er… leaves!
It might not sound much, but speaking from a gamer’s perspective - and I’m sure many can empathise - I needed to do my gaming collection justice. I needed to give it the tools to show itself off.
Of course, there are downsides. Though I can now read the text in Phantasy Star Universe, the rest of the game now looks so jaggy it could have been mauled by an angry hedgehog brandishing shards of glass. But hey, now I can finally shout out GRAW 2 grid references like the best of them.
