The Worst Ways To Play The Best Games

[@bartoltolic]

GTA Liberty City Stories running better on PSP than on PS2 was always a big enigma to me.

[@RFNY315]

The Ps2 version gets the dual analog stick though….is it worth the trade off?

[@sergeantsilly5239]

@@RFNY315 I would say no.

[@V1VISECT6]

It was a almost direct port without optimization tweaks. Vice City Stories on PS2 ran much better and had some extra content. Regardless what you play VCS on it's a great game.

[@RFNY315]

@@V1VISECT6 nice. I actually recently grabbed new copies for the ps2. I do have LCS for my psp/vita, but unfortunately VCS got pulled before I could buy it off the PSN.

[@AceD500]

ive finished storyline and few side missions on PS2 i never complain about framerate, its only little slow down when drive between islands

[@ojsimpin8346]

The amount of hours i put into Half Life 2 for xbox was criminal, but the hours i spent trying to find the non existent GMOD mode with in the game were deadly

[@FR4M3Sharma]

Lmao wut?

[@UrosStankovic-xf9uq]

Seems like something I would do

[@CaptainPerfect]

I loved Half life 2 on the og xbox. But I would never play it again.

[@PSEUDOSOPHER]

@@FR4M3Sharmahe said “The amount of hours i put into Half Life 2 for xbox was criminal, but the hours i spent trying to find the non existent GMOD mode with in the game were deadly”

[@zzodysseuszz]

Reminds me of that time I spent an ungodly amount of time playing the first red dead redemption looking for the werewolf in tall trees. I found some strange things like creepy audio cues I couldn’t replicate, a section of the map where every animal in the game spawns in a circle around you in this big empty field right at the edges of the forest, one or two animals with human models which was weird as hell etc etc but I NEVER FOUND THE WEREWOLF. to this day I still see a reason that a so called werewolf should exist, but it may as well be just a myth and yes this totally just cope Edit: I had no internet until way after rdr1 came out so I essentially had to go off rumours from word of mouth at school or at stores and couldn’t verify any of it which made it way easier to fall for these myths.

[@Interference22]

The reason that opening scene with the tanker runs so slowly on Xbox (and why some of the effects were removed on the PC version) is because Kojima wanted to show off when making the original PS2 version and "do something that could only be done on PS2." To that end, the dev team leveraged the system's ludicrously high fillrate (ie. it can render alpha transparent, layered particle effects REALLY fast) to produce the heavy rain effects on the deck of the tanker. On the PS2 it runs perfectly, but the ports experience crazy slowdown simply because they can't match the speed the PS2 is drawing all that rain at.

[@CaptainVKanth]

In other words, they didn't have the time and budget to use a different method on the PC and XBOX.

[@Interference22]

@@CaptainVKanth In fairness, I don't think there WAS another method at the time. The sheer amount of transparent elements would be really difficult to work around.

[@eponymous7910]

Kojima was also a Sony shill. Suited both parties to release a gimped Xbox port. Agree that ps2's fillrate was unrivalled but that didn't explain all the deficiencies

[@SammyCola]

The xbox version had reduced effects, and to help hide that some areas couldn’t run at 60, they added a frameskip to bring it down to 30. PC inherited all of the same changes. Funnily enough, you can also disable the frameskip to restore full 60 fps performance. Not sure how well the Xbox would handle, but on PC, it’ll run at full 60 (even fixing issues like the Tanker rope being glitchy).

[@user-ywh1y]

Own the xbox port of mgs2.The effects were the least of my worries.The controls SUCKED.

[@ThatGuy-nc6wg]

"A 19 year old pothead in 2005" bro you hitting a little too close to home.

[@fausthanos08]

I didn't expect him to be 38 years old

[@Joenvcr]

Dude I was 20

[@locky03]

​​@Joenvcr you're old as hell

[@Elvisbackpack]

RE4 on PS2 wasn't the worst, that would be the OG PC version, which was a compromised port of the PS2 version. I still prefer the PS2 version to the GameCube, but the Wii version is the best. I agree with pretty much everything else on this list, though.

[@alg7115]

I take it the steam version is not the same as the og pc port as that's pretty good. Not talking about the remake.

[@NoMooreMercyTV]

@@alg7115 It's not, I believe Capcom delisted the original PC port when the HD remasters came out.

[@alg7115]

@@NoMooreMercyTV yes that makes sense as looking at it. It's called hd

[@qu3becker]

If you think the PC or PS2 version of RE4 is the worst. You haven't played the Zeebo version. A home video game console running flip-phone hardware.

[@theceoofcrackcocaineandamp5961]

@@qu3beckerthat’s not a game. That’s a distraction from the 2000’s supposed to entertain you for 15 minutes max.

[@AvalancheReviews]

Dude, this is an inspired video idea and I'm furious I didn't think of it first.

[@David-nd4to]

@@gobbinsapply ointment directly to the burn

[@JJRodriguez]

You'll get them next, time, Jared

[@JJRodriguez]

You'll get 'em next time, Jared

[@lalalaLaFlex]

"piss poor ports" is the same vibe too

[@peterpeterpumpkineater7318]

​@@gobbinsReddit user found!

[@Mekkablood]

Doom on SNES was horrific too, even being a kid and used to the graphics of the day I couldn't stand it. Ruined my love for fps's till Goldeneye came around, then getting a pc with sli Voodoo 2's and Quake 2 changed my life forever.

[@Steelwaterfall1]

Every fuckin console tried their hardest but the only one that got it spot on without most of the nasty caveats was the PS1 port but even that was a radical departure from the PC version

[@laughingatbirds]

came here to say that. It cost me 50 quid when i was a kid struggling to save any money - that's equilvalent to 90 pounds today!

[@JoeCool7835]

Though the Saturn & SNES ports of Doom were mediocre, they were gold compared to the outright unplayable 3DO port.

[@tacticaljunk1608]

Doom Soundtrack on the SNES is so fucking good though. It's not the best incarnation but definitely worth checking that out at least.

[@coleredmond8459]

Sadly snes doom was done as a tech demo by its developers and was more of "see??? We can put doom on anything!"

[@Mace2.0]

There was a story about Saturn Doom about Jim Bagley managed to code a far more efficient version utilizing the Saturn's hardware, running at a better framerate & resolution... Then John Carmack rejected it, which he later regretted.

[@Cmdrbzrd]

I sure hope Mr. Bagley still has that faster version somewhere.

[@Mace2.0]

@@Cmdrbzrd Sadly, no he lost it.

[@Interference22]

Carmack's reasoning at the time was that the new engine degraded the quality of the textures too much; my guess is something involving affine texture warp, which causes surfaces to bend and twist at certain angles.

[@Vanity0666]

​@@Interference22this was a common issue on saturn games and can be seen in other fps games like Powerslave and Duke3D

[@deeplaysgaming4754]

@@Vanity0666 was powerslave based in an egyptian setting? because to me that game looked like "exhumed" a game i played on the ps1 in the UK.

[@kaneaquino8295]

Now the opposite: The Best Ways To Play The Worst Games

[@TarezpNg-wn7zd]

@kaneaquino8295 E.T on a military grade supercomputer was my first thought

[@josephlinden1630]

Doom on a Bluetooth pregnancy test

[@ghhn4505]

Ngl that's what I thought the title said at first and was confused when I saw Quake in the thumbnail

[@ayunoss]

Bubsy 3d in 4k 240fps?

[@2810Mad]

Makes no sense. It will end up being emulator after emulator on high settings. Bad games don't get ported or released on other platforms.

[@SammyCola]

A small correction for MGS2, Kojipro ported SoL to Xbox, with enhancements. They then back ported Substance to PS2, with a separate company contracted to port the Xbox version to PC. The code and assets for the PC 2003 version directly mention the Xbox version as coming before it.

[@VicariousNickk]

Man it really shows just how GOOD Max Payne was because I only have ever played the PS2 versions of Max Payne 1 and 2 and they are two of my favorite games of all time!

[@Xbob42]

It really is! Now go play it on the platform it was made for! You know, as a treat!

[@duke3250]

@@Xbob42 this is a good idea.

[@Crain1990]

@@Xbob42 Be prepared to get some mods for it to get it running best. It has some issues on modern hardware currently.

[@hamgobbler9160]

@@Crain1990yeah, recently bought max Payne one and two on pc and can’t get them running properly, if it doesn’t just fail to start from the get go it usually will crash at the very first intro cutscene, once I got it past the intro and got the game running for like 30 seconds before my whole pc ate shit and I had to restart it lmao. Still trying to figure out what to do.

[@poopsmith6853]

The pc demo was awesome. Had tons of hidden stuff and took place in the alley before the subway at the start

[@Stilkdog]

For Resident Evil 4, I'd say would be the original version on mouse and keyboard. Try playing a game where you can't use the mouse and it uses the number pad keys to look around but it also auto centers your crosshair. lol

[@bronzin1445]

I think the PS2 is on the same level as it’s what most people played first and they didn’t know what they were missing

[@joncarter3761]

The original PC port for RE4 had full controller support, it even said in the manual playing with a controller was the intended experience. I played it with a PS2 pad (using a PS2 to USB converter) and it played quite well, the only struggle was those fking QTE cutscenes because the prompts were for 'button 1' instead of 'X'. The original PC port though is disappointing considering how much more powerful the PC was than the consoles but like with most Japanese devs at the time the PC port was outsourced and not a priority.

[@Daxer2009]

dont forget the horrendous graphics. The game had several graphical features missing and needed to be patched to make it look better

[@Elver_Galinda1976]

​@@bronzin1445 That does not put it in the same level tho. And the PS2 port had more content so it could be said those who played the gamecube didnt know what they were missing either, its a zero sum comparison when truth is that most people owned a PS2 instead or a gamecube.

[@bronzin1445]

@@Elver_Galinda1976 the original PC port is based on the Ps2 port

[@TheMC1102]

Doom 3 has just turned 20. Do you feel old yet, Sonny Jim? *DO YOU FEEL OLD YET?*

[@aarongerard7277]

I sure as Hell do

[@vanillabeans32087]

(Luke Skywalker voice) That's not true...... THATS IMPOSSIBLE

[@CRCR0201]

Half-Life 2 will be 20 in 3 months

[@TheMC1102]

@@vanillabeans32087 Check your birth date, you know it to be true.

[@AlamoOriginal]

it doesnt affect me much since i was about the same age as the game and, but it probably would to people who are even teenagers back then playing it on release and seeing how time flies and how they are most likely 40 years old now, 2 decades is a long time come to think of it

[@papp1001]

Woah boy. If you think the PS2 version of RE4 is bad, try the first PC port. Yikes.

[@Alex.4847]

Ubisoft port too lol

[@elderleon1844]

or.... curse yourself with the zeebo and 2000s java version.....

[@STORM_oak]

He doesn't know about the Zeebo version 🤫

[@Echidneys]

I always see people slamming the ps2 version but to me it was just fine. I didn't notice anything weird then and I'm not sure I would now, i'd be curious to try it again.

[@derealized797]

I originally had it for GC. Then later on i came across the PC port... i had no idea at the time, i thought it would be an improved way to play it again. I just remember struggling to see because it was so completely dark and there was no way to fix it. One part especially you could see nothing, not a single thing, and i made it though anyway. Like playing blindfolded. I threw it in a box and forgot about it.

[@randybutternubs4647]

Warning: long comment. I can explain why the spectres in Doom on the Saturn look so bad. It's well known that the Saturn struggled to display transparencies. So developers often used a very interesting loophole that isn't as simple or lazy as many seem to think. Dithering on the Saturn can be fixed if you're playing on a CRT. This is how they wanted you to play it and how most experienced it back in the day since most had CRT TVs back then. And it wasn't until HD screens became the norm that the transparency issue became common knowlege. The Saturn is actually rendering those transparent objects on a separate plane. This really cool backdoor method of creating transparencies could only be achieved on a CRT. But considering the frame rate issues and weird fire rate due to issues related to NTSC and PAL framerate conversions, this definitely isn't the best version of Doom. But the 3DO version clearly takes the cake. Having a framerate so low it looks like a slide show. At least the Saturn version is still playable. As for Quake on the Saturn, I'm gonna have to strongly disagree with GmanLives on this one. This is FAR from being the worst port. In fact, with a bit of tweaking to the controls on an emulator, I'd say this becomes easily one of the best ports. Sure, it looks different. But it also shows off the most unique visual effects the Saturn had to offer. Effects not found on any other platform at the time. Both PS1 and Saturn could display gourauds, an early form of lighting simulation. The PS1's gourauds were pretty simple and straight foreward. They would mainly adjust the brightness of each polygon based on their distance from light sources. But the Saturn on the other hand would wrap each texture with a special gouraud Shader which not only allowed the lighting to have much better fading, but they also were far more dramatic. It also had a tendency to make Saturn games look notably shiny compared to PS1. Quake on the Saturn goes absolutely crazy with these gourauds and uses them to every advantage. Muzzle flashes from your guns will light up the entire room giving each fight a much more dire and gritty feel. While the surface of water looks pretty bad in this version, the underwater lighting effects tell a whole different story. The underwater refraction effects found on Quake and Tomb Raider for the Saturn are a sight to behold. The maps were made noticeably darker to help these gourauds stand out. The added colored lighting makes the rooms feel less samey like they did on the PC. The maps were rebuilt from scratch on Lobotomy's Slave driver engine and this version even replaces secret levels with completely different secret levels exclusive to this version. Which I'd say are far better than the originals. Purgatorium is my favorite. I'd highly recommend playing this version on an emulator with an actual Saturn controller plugged in via adapters, then swapping left and right on the D-pad with left and right triggers via emulator settings. This simple fix makes the game 10x more playable. If you're using retroarch, there are shaders that can simulate CRT TVs. The one I use is gtu-v050 with the Black Level parameter set to 0 and the Signal Resolution Y set to 176.

[@malevolentia28]

thank you so much for your insight. it was an interesting read!

[@AnthonyDark]

Actually a really interesting read! Thanks for sharing.

[@MattCalvert]

As soon as I saw the checkerboard enemies I knew someone was going to comment about transparencies and wanted to find the comment mentioning CRTs

[@user-zezezozodarkdomains]

tldr Doom was unique that in even early DirectX was bad at translating Doom's graphical quirks to the point the manual sarcasticly claims "to make up for the differences in rendering please close your eyes while encountering them Spectres".

[@ianrandolph6436]

Sheesh! Coulda warned us your comment was going to be this long!

[@RoseMarine]

Virgin PS2 Max Payne vs Chad GameBoyAdvance Max Payne(which also icludes VOICED lines on small cartridge)

[@PequodM4A1]

HELL YEAH

[@SomaCruz500]

Remedy can make hardware do things.

[@gamzillio]

​@@SomaCruz500it was developed by one of the Rockstar studios.

[@gearhead417]

My first time experiencing Max Payne was the GBA version on an emulator back in like 2006

[@sunsetman22]

​@@gamzillio in fact the same studio then went on to make the PSP GTA games

[@ultgamercw6759]

One thing that's also impressive about Half Life 2 on the xbox is the sound effects. The xbox had a really good sound chip which was better than many PC's at the time. As a result some aspects of the sounds are different and sound better than the PC version. The most noticeable thing is the Dr Breen Screens which now have an echo that reflects them playing in a big open area rather than sounding just like a normal voice line in the base game. I'm not saying this makes the port good, but it is something no one ever talks about and it's something I'd like to see a mod for on the PC version because it actually does make things slightly more immersive sound wise.

[@penguinsushi8442]

You have Sensaura to thank for the audio hardware. Underrated company who innovated 3D audio.

[@icravedeath.1200]

​@@penguinsushi8442is there a mod for it yet though

[@poopsmith6853]

I don't know what you're smoking, but nvidia sound cards don't have anything on creative labs. Might have been better than an onboard motherboard PC sound, but not an actual dedicated sound card.

[@InfiniteClouds]

​@@penguinsushi8442 and we have Creative to thank for setting audio back by buying and/or bankrupting their competition that actually innovated. Aureal Vortex A3D2 in Half Life 1 and Thief still impresses today with quality headphones. Microsoft also shares some blame killing off Hardware accelerated audio in Vista onward.

[@ethai1]

Check out Modern Vintage Gamer's video on Half Life 2 on the xbox. He also talks about this exact thing specifically, compares it to the pc version, and in general just knows better than this clown

[@SuperGhettoBob]

Worst ports of good games? My vote would go to the Wii version of Dead Rising.

[@ther0n1nnamed47]

Worse... but still good imo. For those who dont know about Dead Rising: Chop till you drop for the wii, It's dead rising 1: resident evil 4ish edition

[@gibberishdump1610]

Its not even a port, more like a reimagining

[@Seikatsu]

i consider that more of a weird remake since its a re4 reskin... and it rules for that

[@PequodM4A1]

I'd say the Wii ports of CoD games are bad. But for some reason I still enjoy them lol.

[@coleredmond8459]

Don't forget far cry for wii. Terrible, terrible port

[@JR-kx3jr]

Well, most parents aren’t going to buy every game console, so you just have to work with what you’ve got as a kid. I still think the PS2 was the best overall out of the 6th gen systems.

[@whoisprize]

gta sa alone makes it worth it.

[@user-zezezozodarkdomains]

it has the most diverse amount of games ever in history: -kids games? check -cartoon platformers? check -action games? check -sports games? check -RPG? check -racing games? check and all of them doesn't have microtransactions, if there's glitch then the score will be knocked down. nothing ever came close. even Wii didn't in terms of game diversity completion rate.

[@sdf434-pp8jd]

Games wise there's an argument for that (although personally I never found as many games on it that interested me as I did on the Gamecube). But specs wise, it was the worst. Which is fine, specs aren't the most important thing, but it's just really funny that Sony managed to convince an entire generation of kids that it was the most powerful on the market. And it's a shame how many people grew up with the worst versions of so many 3rd party games because of that, and they didn't even know. RE4 being one of the most unfortunate. That game was a work of art when it came out on Gamecube. The PS2 completely ruined it in so many ways (some ways that aren't even shown here in this video... you'd be shocked if you saw everything that was downgraded, in a few areas it was almost like a modern day PS5 to Switch port).

[@whoisprize]

@@sdf434-pp8jd Well as history has repeatedly shown. Power isnt the driving factor for sales. its the games that come to the platform and when you have a very powerful platform you have to develop games that justify buying the more expensive hardware. Nintendo realized long ago that less hardware means smaller games which in turn means more games can be developed. thats why the switch outsold ps5 and xbox by far. there are just way more games that justify buying this console. i couldnt care less about my ps5 even when it could push 8k resolution with raytracing. when there is only one game in existence that would justify such a console which is gta 6 of course and that isnt even out yet. The ps2 just happens to have the best collection of games out of all of them plus devs knew back then that after the ps1, everyone would want a ps2. so games got a head start you could say on the ps2 and because of this more devs were inclined to develop for ps2 as sale numbers are your indication of were you future customers will be.

[@sdf434-pp8jd]

@@whoisprize Well I mean I never mentioned sales lol. Just bad versions of 3rd party games. Which is like fine if the consumer knows up front what they're getting, like nobody's buying witcher 3 on switch thinking theyre gonna get amazing graphics, they just wanted witcher 3 on the go. But in PS2's case, Sony had all their fans pretty much convinced that they were the most powerful with their "emotion engine" hype, so people were duped into missing out on the real RE4 experience. It's not a huge deal or anything. Just kinda sad is all.

[@GamesAreGood-re3eq]

Another small example is Tales of Symphonia. It was originally released on the Gamecube but it got a PS2 port with some extra content later. That PS2 port was locked at 30 fps. And every remaster and port since then have been based on that PS2 port because it had the extra content. To this day the only way to play Tales of Symphonia at 60fps is the original GC release.

[@Ktjnn]

The PS2 version of RE4 had balance changes for drops. You get more money in drops, ammo drops more often, and TMP ammo specifically also drops more frequently. It's basically just an easier version than on GC.

[@asais1024]

Isn't that carried over from the PAL GameCube version?

[@tom13king]

@@asais1024 I don't know why, but they seemed to make the GC versions different in every region, most noticeably in NA where it was almost a full-on action game (ludicrous ammo drops, more enemies etc.)

[@White927]

​@@tom13kingThe game was always action heavy.

[@Elvisbackpack]

​@@White927Yeah, but in the US version, you almost never run out of ammo, enemies drop it like candy.

[@phycofox858]

Might just have been my kid brain but I don't remember the max Payne games being that bad on ps2 cuz that's how I played them

[@autoteleology]

1:03 This is the fruitiest way I've ever heard anyone pronounce Doom lol

[@ad8012]

DoOom

[@ifistedabear]

Certified Chills moment.

[@talpatv512]

Dyoomm 🎀💅

[@cabbage1701]

Duwum

[@SoggyMs]

DoUoom

[@Spikemonkey80]

George Costanza as Max Payne looks like Michael Madsen in the thumbnail.

[@V1VISECT6]

I'm not the only one who thought the same.

[@revvolutions]

I'm only here for George Payne

[@daltonpaulvideos]

I was one of those people who first played Half-Life 2 on the Xbox. It was one of the main reasons I bought a used Xbox when I was 13. But before that, the first time I ever beat the first Half-Life was on the PS2. No one else at my school played them, and as far as I could tell, they were just fine.

[@B1G_Dave]

The Saturn Quake port was a miracle at the time of release. It was considered impossible to port a cutting edge PC title to either the PS1 or SAT at the time. The fact that the Saturn ended up getting Duke 3D and Quake at all, is testimony to the geniuses at Lobotomy Software.

[@lunaranxiety4589]

I got MGS2 Substance and Konami's Evolution Skateboarding at the same time and could tell that mechanically the Substance skating was the same mechanics from Evolution, later found out that was the case.

[@PequodM4A1]

Doom also got a GBA port and it's actually somewhat fun. Speaking of the GBA, it also got a Duke Nukem game on that console.

[@skullspirit6472]

And serious sam

[@kamenanew9867]

Honestly i miss my long gone library of gba fps games. From eeks vs sever(close nuff ig) aka good to that muddy unseeable mess of a medal of honor bad.

[@PequodM4A1]

I'm honestly glad I'm not the only person who fondly remembers the fps GBA games.

[@PequodM4A1]

@@kamenanew9867 Duke Nukem Advance and Ice Nine were my favorites.

[@kamenanew9867]

@@PequodM4A1 ice nine...sounds so familiar

[@the_leathermushroom]

Doom on the Saturn would have been great if Carmack had just let Jim Bagley run with his custom engine rather than throw his toys out the pram and force them to redo it in software mode. Unfortunatly the "spectres" are just how the Saturn handles transparencies.

[@spooknukem1095]

Spiderman 2 had a PC port that was basically a different game. The open world was gutted, combat was simplified, and you could only web-swing from specific points that were just kinda floating in midair. It's essentially a worse version of its console counterparts. I only had the PC version as a kid, and I didn't learn about the superior console versions until I was in high school.

[@Down_Triangle]

Not technically a port. Just a different game with the same name. Pretty common before. I also don't consider for example max payne on gba a "port" because it's different game of its own.

[@adnanasif9538]

Skyrim on ps3 was a btch. The larger the save file got, the framerate started to drop harder than Gman's shorts after seeing the star wars outlaws video backlash.

[@160sharp]

Yeah i remember it being very laggy, i’m glad i started my first time with it on ps4 the game definitely played a lot better

[@Interference22]

My experience of Resident Evil: 1. Played some RE3 at a friends. "Oh god, I can't handle these controls" 2. Bought a GameCube years later. Got the RE1 remake on it. "Oh god, I STILL can't handle these controls" 3. Bought RE4. "This is GREAT! I can finally play one!" 4. Went back to RE1. Something finally clicks. "Oh. This is totally fine. What the hell was my problem?" 5. Go out and buy RE Zero, RE2, 3, and Code Veronica X versions for the GC. Finish all of them RE4 was my gateway into the series. Still got all those games on the GC. That was a great system for an RE fan.

[@blunderingfool]

I've never understood how people can struggle with tank controls, if you can shed any light on that then please let me know! =D

[@tom13king]

@@blunderingfool It's not the tank controls but the fact that the directions are based on the character's perspective, not yours (fixed camera angle games only). Especially when you're running towards the camera and pressing the right arrow causes you to turn left. However, I understand that a fixed camera angle game cannot work without this otherwise the control directions would change every time the camera angle changed.

[@DanWA]

@@tom13king " It's not the tank controls but the fact that the directions are based on the character's perspective" that is tank controls tho ?

[@White927]

Call Of Evil 4 disrespected the original games, controlling the old games wasn't a problem since 4 also uses tank controls.

[@Interference22]

@@DanWA No, he's right. Tank controls are simply character oriented movement, where up on the pad is always forward for the character's facing direction. The original three games pair that with a fixed camera, which can be confusing as forwards from your perspective isn't necessarily forwards for the character. RE4's camera is over-the-shoulder, so forwards is always forward for both the camera and the character.

[@MDPToaster]

What’s so bad about the Doom Saturn port is that it was originally running at a smooth 60fps but there was something that ID didn’t like about it and made them change it. Other games like Hexen on Saturn run good.

[@cacomeat7385]

John Carnack didn't like the affine texture warping, think of how PS1 games have warping on the textures when the camera moves

[@MDPToaster]

@@cacomeat7385 That’s probably true, but also consider consideration that Hexen runs leagues better than the doom port on Saturn somehow.

[@someguynamedmatt2907]

Love the AVGN reference in the intro

[@leftyfourguns]

The original Xbox controller actually had pressure sensitive analog buttons, so it's interesting they weren't used for the MGS ports

[@magita1991]

That controller was huge. I have small hands so it was a struggle at times to use

[@parkerdavidson5868]

I NEVER knew the Xbox had pressure sensitive buttons and had to look this up. I even booted up MGS 2 on the Xbox out of curiosity and sure enough yup, it uses the pressure sensitive buttons.

[@Down_Triangle]

Only the duke? Not the latter models?

[@parkerdavidson5868]

@@Down_Triangle my Xbox Controller S models have the pressure sensitive buttons

[@KingBongHogger]

God, the "Gentleman Strart Your Engines" screen unlocked some hidden memories. My mom was/is a gamer and she played the hell out of Daytona on her Saturn. It was one of the first video games I ever played. She taught me how to read when we did 2 player on Guardian Heroes!

[@elsienova4269]

The Half Life 2 port to the Xbox was actually a really passionate project. The devs behind it poured a lot of work to make it special for the hardware, including better sound mixing and DSP effects that wipe the floor with the og's sound, overhauled level streaming, and more. Yeah it runs badly but it is definetly a good port in terms of effort and changes. Also you have to compare these ports to the main version AT the time. HL2 on release ran like total dogshit on 2002-2003 PCs, running at the same framerates or worse as the Xbox version. The Xbox version was not a terrible way to play it compared to the PC version for most people at the time. The CPUs and GPUs that handled HL2 well not only came out around 2004-2005, but they were extremely expensive.

[@FR4M3Sharma]

Valve did the port themselves iirc.

[@73rmin8r]

And now integrated Intel Doritos run it perfectly fine.

[@Nein99x]

So 60fps+ on my ATI 9700Pro from 2002 was apparently dogshit. Good to know.

[@quinnmarchese6313]

the xbox port of hl2 reminds of Arkane's HL2 dev levels before they made Might and Magic and eventually Dishonored.

[@Cmdrbzrd]

lol high end 2002-3 computers could run half life 2 pretty well, but ig lower end stuff struggled.

[@Asaylum117]

I played Max Payne on PS2 and have fun playing the game. I haven't yet to finish the game, but over all I'm having a blast. Same for Resident Evil 4 on PS2 as well.

[@bronzin1445]

Honestly, it’s a miracle how Capcom was able to even port RE4 to the PS2. That game was pushing the GameCube to its absolute limits and to port it to a console that only has half the computing power is nothing short of black magic

[@rexetelectric3811]

Good luck once you get to the docks, after that point the games framerate drops so horrifically it's almost unplayable (I beat it on ps2 and loved it😂)

[@BriGuyIL1980]

Same here but I couldn't finish it. Damn nightmare levels. I do not like games where you have to take a leap of faith. It's a crap shoot is what it is.

[@jamiehamilton4602]

I've been playing RE4 on PS2 and haven't really found many issues.

[@alantaylorfc]

Max 1 on PS2 is as good as the console could have handled. Complaining about that port is absolutely pathetic. I played it years before ever trying the PC original and already considered it one of the best games of all time. It's only "bad" if you play it now, 20 years later for the first time.

[@ChaseMC215]

Oh well playing RE4 on PS2 could've been worse, like, playing the original PC release of RE4. Yeah, Ubisoft once released RE4 on PC in 2007, way before the Ultimate HD Edition, with the port being outsourced to SourceNext, containing even more problems than the PS2 version.

[@YoDz-117]

You should check out the Zeebo version. It’s a Brazil exclusive

[@lithogen6485]

He mentioned it in the video you're commenting on

[@blunderingfool]

And SourceNext did the really good port of RE3 so, yea, it's a wild one.

[@sdewey4152]

@@ChaseMC215 guessing you mean version 1.0, as by the time it was released in America (1.1) the graphical issues were rectified. 1.0 will always have a place in my heart. Just because seeing any room with lava was confusing and hilarious.

[@Lean_Baby]

If they didn't come out with a hd remake I would say resident evil 4 on PC is the worst way to play

[@thejackal007]

Splinter Cell was my first introduction to Michael Ironside, so there is always that.

[@xXCigarXx]

My first Ironside experience was the original Robocop. Then later in the 90's in Total Recall. "See you at the party,Rictor!"

[@munchlax633]

Not claiming Resident Evil 4's original mobile port as the worst one is genuinely criminal

[@NToniiiii]

MAKE THAT SPLINTER CELL FRANCHISE VIDEO SONNY JIM

[@sdewey4152]

Nearly all versions of RE4 have weird dead zones on movement. (A carryover of the GC analogue stick having that weird octagonal indentation)

[@coleredmond8459]

Lots of people dont know that Saturn doom was that the original version was a direct port of the pc version with one caveat: texture warping. Not sure of the exact wording, but when textures are viewed up close, coupled with the viewpoint, it will warp when looked at closely. ID software declined it, and the developers just did a rough port of ps1 doom on saturn.

[@MateusDrake]

RE4 on the Zeebo was a real nightmare... Doom on the Saturn didn't look so bad, until I remembered I was watching in 2x speed.

[@josephklause4869]

- Shadow Man on PS1 - Bayonetta on PS3 - Latest Mortal Combat on switch

[@magita1991]

What happened with Bayonetta?

[@josephklause4869]

@@magita1991 Bayonetta on PS3 was unfortunately not a good port. Framerate was having a lot of hiccups and the game also was presenting you with loading screens during certain gamplay sections.

[@dxtremecaliber]

@@josephklause4869thats not a port since it came out in the same time as X360 but its the worst version it has too many bugs and dropdowns its so unplayable rn

[@federicovesentini3719]

Mafia 2 on PS3

[@benjaminwainer4750]

The biggest reason you don’t play Max Payne on console is that the secret areas to discover are excised, I think the same is true of 2 as well. The original PC versions are very much the full experiences.

[@WH250398]

Max Payne 2 on ps2 is horrific. No autosave, and manual saving takes minutes.

[@reggaetonjones1988]

I actually do enjoy Quake on the Sega Saturn, and I even had the PC original growing up. Saturn Quake has a different feel because of the difference in engine and control method. The latter forces you to play at a slower, more deliberate pace. It kind of feels like playing Alien: Resurrection PS1 or Doom 3 as far as pacing goes. The only issue I have with the game is the framerate. Other than that, Saturn Quake isn't bad.

[@TheBotzo]

Totally. And you can tell the developers put in a lot of effort from a technical standpoint to get it working and looking like the PC version.(They do a bit of baking in the look of lighting into the textures) The N64 port by midway might have run better and played better with local multiplayer unlike the Saturn, but when you start to look at the little details between both the ports, the N64 version had lost something along the way along with sloppy texturing at points. Keep in mind, like you, I still enjoy the shit out of all the ID ports even if they had their share of issues. I find them interesting. TLDR: I've been getting into Saturn the last year and it's been fascinating seeing the ports. I was a 64 person growing up and my buddies had PS1.

[@reggaetonjones1988]

@@TheBotzo agreed.

[@elbubblydingus]

I remember Splinter Cell Double Agent had some differences between the 360 and OG Xbox, in terms of story presentation and gameplay. Some even prefer the Xbox version over the 360 version because it felt like old Splinter Cell.

[@mtgAzim]

Rainbow Six 3 is a really interesting one to look in to. You could do an entire video on just the versions of that one game. The PC version has huge maps, a planning system where you could essentially play the entire mission from there, way more characters in your mission that you can set up in multiple teams as well as switch between, weapon customization, many more weapons and gear to choose from. The console ports by comparison are almost totally different games. It's like they took the taco bell approach and used the same ingredients to make something different. The maps in the console ports are streamlined paths through the much larger PC maps. And the pathways are different on the xbox to the PS2/GC. So you could play both and have a slightly different experience. There's also the graphics. You'd expect me to say that the visuals on the PC are better all around, but that not true. Sure the PC boasts proper resolutions and performance, but the console ports make up for that with tons of baked lighting, a surprising amount of post effects and even environmental physics objects that are all absent in the PC release. So though the console ports perform worse, they actually look better than PC. There's much more to talk about, but this comment would turn into a full on tome if I were to even attempt it. In short, the console ports are really good, and I actually like them far more than the PC. Obviously the Xbox port fares best with graphics and performance. Between the PS2 and GC ports, the PS2 looks better but performs pretty badly. And the GC port performs much better, but looks far worse in many respects. It's really interesting to delve into Rainbow Six 3. Not to mention it being one of the absolute best and last tactical shooters.

[@vanillabeans32087]

I didn't realize RE4 was negatively regarded on PS2 - it was my first exposure to it and even when the HD versions came along it didn't diminish my appreciation for it. Visually it may not be great but I feel like they captured the core gameplay, and that's really all that matters.

[@Joshmsu45]

Same for me. I really enjoyed the PS2 version. The HD remakes never made me think the PS2 version looked bad.

[@faithlessberserker5921]

Great video concept.

[@alphawoolf5981]

Quake on Saturn is awesome, period. You overlook the fact the PC requirements for running the game were extremely high. I love it! Oh, and I got my copy for $15 at Funcoland :P

[@samroberts8313]

The thing with that PS2 Resi 4 port is that, at the time it was perfectly acceptable. On a CRT TV the difference wasn't as prominent and I found it fine to play through. Plus everyone had a PS2 and barely anyone in the UK had a GC, so I bet it sold way more units on PS2.

[@Evanz111]

Fantastic concept for a video. Glad to see it’s trending in gaming on KZbin!

[@Maxpain9]

0:30 avgn reference

[@AverageShyGuy]

He'd rather have a buffalo take a diarrhea dump in his ear

[@spiral1407]

The reason for the slowdown in MGS2 Xbox is actually quite interesting. While the Xbox is significantly stronger than the PS2 overall, it cant quite match the PS2s VRAM bandwidth and pixel fill rate, meaning it was unable to handle scenes with heavy particle/alpha effects as well.

[@AlexRoivas]

Limewire and Casa. Good times. One thing Gman forgot to mention is that the PC ports for Resident Evil 4 and Metal Gear Solid 2 are horrific. They got made for the PC by Japanese developers that had no idea about PC gaming. The controls are all wrong for MGS2 and there are so many bugs. On RE4, there is literally no light and shadows, everything looks static. So bad. We are lucky that today Japanese studios have rediscovered PC gaming and actuallg make decent to meh ports.

[@VGamingJunkieVT]

The sad thing is apparently a perfectly smooth Saturn port of Doom was presented to id Software. John Romero usually handles that, but he was out and Carmack rejected it because he didn't want the kind of warpy textures that were common at the time. The Saturn has a capable GPU, but he crippled it by forcing them to use software rendering, something the Saturn's CPU couldn't handle.

[@400PlusFilms]

It's funny how the PS2 is how I originally played Max Payne 1 and 2, Splinter Cell, and RE4, and I had no problem with them at the time. I guess I just always assumed that was how the games were supposed to play. Very interesting to see their shortcomings in the light of day. Good video!

[@joelolsson8201]

I think the blurry aspect with Resident Evil 4 on ps2 makes it scarier

[@sebastiankulche]

There also seems to be a red filter in some walls of the houses i think? Even if people call it a downgrade version in terms of visuals this game, Doom and many other classic games is one of the reasons as to why i replay this fun gems. Seiing the differences and exploring similar yet different enviroments in each version has a charm i cant describe.

[@CrispyChicken44]

Heh, Half-Life 2 on the OG Xbox. I remember playing HL2 on PC when it first came out. Then many years later when I had no internet and no PC, I still had my OG Xbox and bought Half-Life 2 for the Xbox. I had a tiny TV and I was playing the game. I actually enjoyed playing through it because I was amazing with what had been changed. Then, going back to the games when I had a PC again, they changed the whole Steam Pipline and upgraded the engine a bit (like, different fire textures and shadows behind objects when using a flashlight) that it felt like an even different game.

[@DaleErnieMichael]

"Doom on the 32X and the 3DO are by far the worst ways to play this." The SNES port would like a word.

[@Joshpox]

The SNES version has more levels than the 32X version, and you can strafe with the L and R buttons. Either way the 3DO version is definitely the worst, the framerate is virtually unplayable.

[@DaleErnieMichael]

@Joshpox I don't see how you can get less playable than the SNES' 5fps with a full second of input delay on a play screen a quarter the size of the actual screen running at such a low resolution you can't even see the imps up over the acid pit in e1m1. The SNES version might have more content and features but it's basically unplayable, maybe on an emulator with a boosted clock speed it's livable but on original hardware it's absolutely miserable despite being the most technically impressive game on the system.

[@TheBotzo]

I would like to see the SNES port get a rework like Doom 32X did with Doom Resurrection. It's crazy how much more they squeeze out of the Sega Mega drive/Genesis. And they fix the farty sound track. There's more to be said but it's impressive.

[@DaleErnieMichael]

@@TheBotzo I know there was a custom cart build that got it running on NES. I've been wanting to do something similar maybe by running a Raspberry Pi inside a cart that basically does all the work and spoon feeds it back into the SNES to run at a perfect framerate, but I have no idea where to even start with that. Definitely would be cool to see some homebrew wizard remaster SNES Doom some day.

[@TheBotzo]

@@DaleErnieMichael the funny thing is Limited Run just announced an enhanced SNES cart at Quakecon. I do say, buyer beware with Limited Run, but I do like the SIGIL 1 box they did despite it taking forever to ship. (Romero went with a different company for SIGIL 2 and that shipped far more quickly) I really hope they show it off more before they actually sell it, and their FOMO game and quality standards for some releases can make people angry. (Already a standard version of some unknown amount of copies, then the FOMO 666 copies special edition with a certificate of authenticity) There was some talk on Twitter about it using a superfx like chip and adds Nightmare along with other control enhancement. Sorry if this is something you already read about, just thought it was funny to see it get announced practically after I made a comment about an enhanced version.

[@hzvashelol9189]

12:53 Guys i never notice Mona`s nipple in that scene. My life changed today

[@Dinnizzel97]

You have no idea how much I love to see that Costanza meme still in rotation 🤣🤣🤣 truly legendary

[@kala1780]

0:30 epic AVGN reference 😁

[@mohammadnorkasim5712]

It made a big smile on my face

[@definitelynotmymain1808]

oh wow, I'm surprised how different the ps2 version of max payne is from the xbox version I grew up with. the xbox version is more like the pc version but with the levels still cut into loaded segments

[@memohdfromwwe_]

I owned Metal Gear Solid 2 Substance for XBOX (yeah it dropped in FPS at times) everyone in high school talked about it how the PS2 was better lol. Also owned Splinter cell for OG XBOX and it was a winner.

[@travis8106]

The AVGN shoutout at the beginning was appreciated

[@santiagomarchione329]

For the extended RE 4, in Separate ways you also get an additional boss fight against not fully transformed Saddler

[@umbasa01]

Resident evil 4 did have a weird adaptive difficultly so maybe thats why your loot drops might have been different.

[@mariorusinek5037]

RE4 for the PS2 IS an awsome Port. What they achieved in the much leeser ps2 graphics Power IS amazing. Also ITS the only Version with the Wii Version which dont have any weird porting Bugs. Every other Version, OG GameCube, ps3 xbox360, ps4, Xbox one and so on have all audio issues Missing effects wird frametate Bugs because of 60fps.... The PS2 has none expect the graphicals Detail are lesser which gives IT some Charm i think...

[@fromvault801]

My 1st experience with Half Life 2 was xbox. And i never thought anything of it running differently. After graduating Id wake up to watch Maury Povich and play Half Life 2

[@marleensrain]

IDK ABOUT THAT !!! the Blacktail is my favorite one and i go through the game with it specifically every time

[@xxxxxxDalexxxxxx]

Haven't seen the whole video yet, but Deus Ex on Playstation 2 certainly deserves a spot on this list

[@BiscuitXL]

On the current ports of Doom, i wish there was a soundtrack option so i can play with those ambient sounds from the doom/saturn ports. That intro was my childhood, my dad on his ps1.

[@kylemulkey9659]

You can with source ports. You just run GZDoom and then find the music WAD and swap it out. Its awesome

[@tyrus1235]

They did add a semi-official Quake N64 mod for the Quake Remastered release. Wonder if they'd do anything of the sort for DOOM...

[@BiscuitXL]

@@kylemulkey9659 Im on playstation 5 with the PS4 version at the moment but that is good to know for future reference. Thanks 👍

[@Simte]

I spent so much time playing HL2 in the Xbox along with Doom 3, upgrading my PC was impossible so I cheap Xbox had to be.

[@JosephWalker-ip7pd]

Same

[@plutosmash6068]

Not the two cops shooting the wall 😂 12:31

[@clydemarshall8095]

The PC port of Splinter Cell Double Agent was to date the most unstable, borderline unplayable game I’ve played. It would crash on load, it would crash on save, it would crash in the middle of gameplay, it would sometimes crash if you gave it the side eye. I have some nostalgia for it now, largely because I have a big soft spot for games from that time period, but it was the beginning of the downfall of Splinter Cell.

[@killer_samm]

nope

[@josephmotherheehee]

Im gonna acknowledge that angry bird sound effect you faintly hear in the background after crashing into that wooden structure on half life 2. Thats a good lil edit

[@eugeneturner7520]

The Blacktail (Springfield XD), is the best gun in Resident Evil 4. It's rapid firing, reloads fast, and fully uploaded, it kills in 2 to 3 shots with deadly headshot crits. Let me tell you, the only reason Ada's sucks is because you cannot fully upgrade it in her campaign so it comes off weaker than Leon's, but if you use a gameshark to play as Ada in the main game where you can fully upgrade it, the Blacktail is awesome.

[@bronzin1445]

This is objectively incorrect. the Red9 is the best one followed closely by the starter pistol; the latter’s exclusive upgrade increases the Crit damage 10-fold which makes it OP as hell. The catch is that you have to chain your headshots

[@Elver_Galinda1976]

​@@bronzin1445There is no real way to guess which one is "the best" in an objective manner, as both come down to personal preference. Red9 deals more damage, yet it has a slower firing speed and stores less ammo than the Blacktail and needs an attachment for better handling. In the end tho I personally believe the Red9 is better for its sheer damage, but it really depends on what you value more.

[@bronzin1445]

@@Elver_Galinda1976 wrong

[@Elver_Galinda1976]

@@bronzin1445 Having a preference over things that shine in different aspects is not wrong, take your L.

[@bronzin1445]

@@Elver_Galinda1976it’s wrong. You take your L

[@bosyogurtlight]

Konami releasing the worst ports possible for Xbox consoles is such a Japanese move

[@SomeOrangeCat]

Yup. Japanese developers hate Westerners, but love their money.

[@garretwoeller7669]

As a guy who played RE4 on his PS2 till the console broke its a pretty good port

[@bronzin1445]

“Pretty good” is being generous honestly. It’s not the worst thing ever but you feel betrayed

[@TheBIGLebowski-jhp9]

​@@bronzin1445 lol no one and I mean no one back in 2005 felt betrayed. I put probably over 100 hours into the ps2 port back then and I never knew or noticed or cared that the graphics were blurry, I was having fun not complaining

[@bronzin1445]

@@TheBIGLebowski-jhp9 that’s a lie

[@Elver_Galinda1976]

​@@bronzin1445What betrayal, I'd feel betrayed if the version of the game I own has less content than others, not if the game looks ever so slightly worse due to obvious hardware limitations.

[@bronzin1445]

@@Elver_Galinda1976 slightly worse is an understatement

[@BeefLettuceAndPotato]

I'm a big fan of "impossible" ports and many games I've only ever played on the worst way to play them. Borderlands 2 on PS Vita, Hogwarts Legacy on Switch, Half Life on Dreamcast, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory on PS2, GUN on PSP.. Still had a great time with each and every one of them. Goes to show good games are good, sometimes, no matter what.

[@StevenOyston]

Mate, your content is the best!

[@zentazym1]

Whenever I want to watch a great game played wrong, I watch “This is how you don’t play” with DarkSidePhil. If there’s a wrong way to play a game, he’ll find it

[@Flinch9000]

My personal favorite TIHYDP’s are Xenoverse 1, Resident Evil 4 (2005’s version), and both Fallout 3 and 4. One’s funny, one’s real creative, and the other two are a bit of a pain to endure, but are still funny.

[@King-ci8sk]

If it wasn't for the Xbox port of Half Life 2 I would have never played it. Didn't have a PC growing up

[@calebpribyl5152]

Dude yes I really LOVE the sega Saturn you got some of the most under appreciated games you have ever played! Heck I even got the arcade fighting sticks for the Saturn because of how much I love having that arcade experience!

[@ChrisGee-pc3dn]

@calebpribyl5162 You sound like a Saturn fan, can you tell me which game is shown at 1:26 ? Looks rather fun from the three seconds shown!

[@calebpribyl5152]

@@ChrisGee-pc3dn Looks like elevator action!

[@ChrisGee-pc3dn]

@@calebpribyl5152 awesome thank you kindly. You made my night! Just looking into this game now, some of these lifts remind me of those in Flashback. I’ll seek out Elevator Action. Thanks again!

[@thelastofus2872]

​@@ChrisGee-pc3dnI think there's a version on the switch and modern consoles now.

[@boomstick51]

Tera Patrick, questionable Limewire downloads and 2000’s video game ports. These all hit me in the nostalgia sweet spot. My man 👊🏻

[@kazeem6419]

I didn't have a pc growing up, this video is just gman taking a steamy dump on some quality childhood memories xD

[@nachsitzen_vg]

The dithered Demons probably looked awesome on a crt.

[@father042]

The worst play to Resident Evil 4 is easily the original PC port

[@andrybetancourt8142]

I agree. What a waste of port it was.

[@elitef40]

I love the AVGN reference

[@daniel26395]

this is my first time watching one of your videos and I really enjoy your personality and humor. the topic is also very fascinating as someone who grew up playing these inferior ports. then only once I got a job, bought a decent pc, and got to play these games at higher frame rates and better graphics; not to mention modding. that being said I think you need to turn up the gain on your microphone or something because I need to turn down the volume on my headphones or the sound hurts my ears.

[@Gggmanlives]

Thanks for the input! I'll definitely look into the microphone issue.

[@sithisdawnsend2730]

I really, really, really dig the XPlay style editing in this.

[@m4ssee]

I really mistook that video title. I thought this was about playing through games with the worst gameplay strategy. Like for example in RE4, not headshotting enemies and using the knife to finish them off or not picking up any valuable treasures.

[@SassyCassie89]

Same 😂

[@mondobizzzarro]

Still not a fan of these types a videos, I don't get why so much content revolves around purposefully covering "bad" things, but I watched it anyway. Not nearly as annoying or whiny as I had expected. It was alright. Still think most of the criquties are overblown, but I guess I'm not your typical "gamer".

[@SassyCassie89]

@@mondobizzzarro ....theres no such thing as a typical gamer, gaming has so much variety it can't be reduced to types really. Youre watching a video not playing a game here either, watching this doesn't determine what kind of gamer you are, you're not gaming youre watching 😅. Like making a sandwich decides what kind of driver i am haha.

[@mbogucki1]

Maybe its my millennial nostalgia glasses but I remember Doom on the 32X and I don't remember it being too bad all things considered.

[@eponymous7910]

Fans have recently released a port that reduces the letterboxing and greatly improves performance. Pretty cool

[@labenvenci1584]

Half Life 2 on Xbox was a alright port. They tried their best to port it to the original Xbox. What's worse is Orange Box on PS3. It had massive audio issues, stutters and terrible framerate. Also the audio was higher pitch for some reason and constantly crackled. It really struggled to run. Compared to HL2 Xbox, it looks and plays leagues better.

[@demonwind5030]

I played HL2 first on The Orange Box. Seemingly ran just fine. Edit: on the 360

[@ashleythomas4112]

The PS3 version is overall better though because it clearly looks better and does run better than the og Xbox port. You're right about that audio crackling glitch though, that was extremely annoying.

[@stepheng1523]

I played the orange box version on 360 years after having played it on og Xbox and it felt wrong. The gunplay was so visceral and punchy on og and its just flat on orange box. Og had particles on gunshots, so you get a "pink mist" effect, on orange box it literally looked like someone drew in blood splashes with a crayon

[@Fedor_Kisliakov]

I remember getting MP2 on PS2 after playing it on my friend's PC. It was shocking to see how terrible it looked compared to PC. Especially since the game manual had images from the PC version.

[@TedWilder]

I actually super support this. I'm building a 5th, 6th, and 7th gen library and I have no idea which ports to choose. I'd be down for this as a series :) (new subscriber)