There’s a very clear distinction between PC games and console games.  PCs are absolutely superior in a number of respects: upgradability, graphics power (until the Xbox 360 comes out, anyway), freedom, and modding.  Consoles have the disadvantage in all those areas, but they’ve still got their strong points: affordability, ease of use, and platforming awesomeness.  Don’t argue with me on the last point.  Platformers are infinitely better with a controller.  It’s a known fact.

The line between the two rival platforms has always been very clear.  With the next generation of consoles, it may become a much less distinct separation, but we’re not to that point yet.  We’ve got a whole month before we get to that point.

In the meantime, there is one thing that has started a slide into PC territory.  Those of you who have played Far Cry Instincts probably know what I’m talking about already.  It’s custom content.  Far Cry Instincts is not the first game to do this.  I know Pariah had a level editor.  I never heard much about it, and wasn’t very involved in the game, but I remember it being something of a Big Deal when it hit.  Far Cry is the first game I’ve got my clammy hands on that allows me to make my own maps.  Frankly, it’s a bit of a shock.  A good shock, but still a shock.  Who ever heard of your own custom map on an Xbox game?  It’s an outrage!

I think the community is taking to it like fish to water.  Since the first day I hopped on Live to get a little Far Cry Instincts going, I’ve been thrown totally off stride.  Not only can I not find games with my favorite maps (warehouse, solarium, alter of anger, and forsaken temple - I do much better on small maps), I can’t find games with standard maps at all!  Everyone, and I mean everyone, has gone crazy with this new freedom of expression.

Map quality ranges, as you might expect, from obvious first attempts to solid offerings.  I’ve played both.  My tinkerings have ranged much closer to the former.  I still want to see an all knife-fighting underwater map.  But since that’s terribly complicated (read: practically default) maybe I’ll throw one together and play it next time I host a game.

DO YOU SEE HOW CRAZY IT IS THAT I CAN DO THAT?

I hear there’s a group who’s taken it upon themselves to port all the Halo 2 maps over to Far Cry, insofar as they can.  I haven’t seen these maps myself, but I’m intrigued.  Tropical Lockout? Huh?  Someone at MLG LA this last weekend mentioned wanting to do the same thing.

It makes me wonder what’s waiting for us in the next generation.  Will mod support be easily attainable?  At a 360 press event last Monday, I talked to a Bethesda guy about whether the 360 version of Oblivion would support mods the same way the PC version of Morrowind did.  He said there was nothing in place (yet), but that they would like to do it.  While it confirmed my decision to go with the PC version - I don’t want to have to wait and hope - the fact that he seemed optimistic was heartening.  Bethesda, I loved your mods, but it was the players who made the golden ones.

In the future, maybe we’ll see more of that.  More of the developers letting players pour their love into the games to make them so much more than they were.  I certainly hope so.

- jinx

asking questions like children often do