There are still games that only release on PC, but they are not as abundant as they once were. Go further in the past, though, and there are tons of games that were never really intended to make it to consoles. That did not stop all games from being ported, however.
The port jobs below are not necessarily bad, they just omitted huge features because of memory constraints or for other reasons. Gamers of the day had to enjoy what they got if they did not have a PC. Ignorance is bliss, though, and many of these games were still perfectly enjoyable even in their different console states.
Deus Exwas the next step foward in immersive simsafter games likeSystem ShockandThief. Players can interact with almost everything in the world and approach objectives in a variety of ways. Organizing all this is a lot easier with a keyboard and mouse, so translating these controls to the PS2’s Dualshock 2 was the first challenge.
The bigger changes come from the differing level designs.Because of the PS2’s smaller memory, many larger levels were split up into smaller areas. In addition, the player character’s health is different. Instead of damage being assigned to individual body parts that affect certain stats when the limb is too damaged, players just have one health bar to worry about.
In 1998,Half-Liferevolutionized the first-person shooter genre with its impressive approach to storytelling. The game’s technical prowess was also astounding, so it took a while before consoles could run it. The game finally made its way to the PS2 in 2001 with a decent port.
The graphics are slightly different here, but that is not what puts it on the list. Included in this version of the game is acooperative campaigncalledDecayin which two players go through a series of missions as two other Black Mesa scientists duringHalf-Life’sevents.
Decaycan also be played solo, though players still need to switch between the two leads to complete certain objectives and solve puzzles.
These days, it’s easy to imagineDiabloon consoles. The third game was ported shortly after it came out, and evenDiablo 2was remastered and put on almost every modern console. Before the prior decade, though, it seemed like that would never happen. However, people forget that the first game in the series made its way to theoriginal PlayStation all the way back in 1998.
The biggest change that fundamentally influences the way people play is the lack of point-and-click controls.InDiabloand all of its sequels on consoles,players directly control the character and attack using button inputs. Online play is obviously a no-go on the PS1, but local co-op was added. Finally, there is a new narration to better explain the story instead of the various tomes that dole out plot details.
Team Fortress 2came packed in withThe Orange Boxas its multiplayer component. As time went on, the PC version underwent massive changes, becoming a free-to-play title and adding numerous cosmetics along with items to change players' stats.
To some, this might take away some of the game’s charm. These players are in luck for the time being, because they can still go back to the Xbox 360 for some vanillaTeam Fortress 2action. While the PC game has not received an update for years, the Xbox 360 version has not been updated for well over a decade, almost since its 2007 release. The servers are still running on the Xbox 360, while the PS3 port’s servers closed down in 2023.
Take a quick look atDuke Nukem 3D’srelease history, and it reveals a complex web of different versions, each with different features. It is difficult to determine where to start explaining the differences from the PC release depending on the version. The PlayStation release,Total Meltdown,has a new episode exclusive to that release,while the N64 releasetook out all the music during gameplay.
Though this is a step back, the N64 also features some polygonal models in place of the sprites, such as the Cycloid Emperor boss in the football field. Lastly, there is the bizarre afterthought that is the Sega Genesis port that was released in South America. It features heavily downgraded visuals and only has the game’s second episode, Lunar Eclipse. This episode is also barely recognizable here with the older graphics and simplified level geometry.
Quake 2is not the only game to have a completely different version on the Nintendo 64, but it earns a place on this list because there is not anything indicating this differentiation in the title. At leastDoom 64has the “64” to hint that it is a new title.
Here, an uninformed consumer cannot be blamed if they think they are getting the tried-and-trueQuake 2that PC gamers got. However,Quake 2is basically an entirely different game with different levels. On the surface, it looks like a straightforward port, but playing the two back to back would reveal that these are not the same areas players go through in the PC game.
