8 Strangest PC to Console Ports

The relationship between PC and console gaming has always been a bit of an odd one. Both at odds and working together sometimes, the different cultures between each platform have created a uniquely beneficial experience for both parties.

As a result of this bizarre relationship, ports of games that began as PC exclusives to consoles have ranged from straightforward translations to altogether strange, but equally compelling releases. This is something that has existed as far back as the 1990s, and is less common today, but it still does happen from time to time.

In a world where hardware prices are ballooning out of control, and gamers may find themselves with one console and a PC, multiplatform releases prevent these kinds of situations. Back in the day, however, you could find everything from a miracle port that shouldn't be able to exist all the way to a game that feels like some sort of science experiment.

8 Age of Empires II

Shockingly Great

The mere thought of translating a game that is as reliant on the form factor of a mouse and keyboard as Age of Empires II to a home console sounds utterly insane. As crazy as it is, however, Konami of all people stepped in to take up the challenge.

Age of Empires on the PS2 is such a random, completely off-the-wall game to bring to console. It was especially strange when you consider that the PS2 was competing with the Xbox, a console that was the closest you could get to a PC on the home console market in terms of its design architecture.

What's even more odd about the PS2 version of Age of Empires II is that it's genuinely pretty great. Konami was able to crack the code pretty efficiently, though sadly, the PS2 port did not come to North America. It has remained exclusive to Japan and Europe, but chances are, if you really want to play AoE II, you already have it on a PC. Even so, the PS2 version is a fascinating little oddity.

7 Max Payne

Payne to the Max

Max Payne has remained one of my favorite games of all time ever since I first played it on PC way back in the day. I have fond memories of playing it with my dad, and it's become something of a cherished title for me. This made discovering that a Game Boy Advance version of Max Payne existed several years ago somewhat amusing.

What's even funnier is that I played through the entire GBA port in a single sitting. It's genuinely one of the most outlandish, yet highly entertaining GBA games I've ever played. It plays from an isometric perspective as opposed to the PC version's third-person view, but it is still so satisfying. It still feels like the game we all know, just in its own weird way.

It's also incredibly impressive. Max Payne on the GBA chronicles the entire story of the PC game, with absolutely no missing content or scenes. It also has quite a bit of voice acting, which is an amazing achievement for the GBA.

6 Half-Life

It's Probably Not a Problem. Probably.

Half-Life changed everything we thought PC games could be when it was first released in 1998. Its focus on creating a world that felt real and believable was incredible, and no shooter from the 1990s had this level of world-building, this devotion to that cause.

It would find its way to the PlayStation 2 on November 15, 2001, just one day before the launch of Halo: Combat Evolved on the original Xbox. While it's easy to look at the PS2 release of Half-Life and think it's just a straight-up port, it's actually far more interesting than you might think.

The PS2 version of Half-Life features significantly higher resolution models and textures. There's a lot more detail in the lighting, and the levels manage to feel a little bigger. As strange as it is, Half-Life on PS2 is actually my favorite way to play the game today. There's something about the feel and look of it that's just brilliant to see in motion, and feels even better to play.

5 Daikatana

Somehow Worse Than the PC Version

After leaving id Software in 1996, John Romero took the success and knowledge he gained from working on Doom and Quake in order to form his own company, known as Ion Storm, with Tom Hall. One of their first projects was Daikatana, a game that suffered through one of the most arduous and controversial development cycles in the industry's history to that point.

Amidst studio interference and difficulties with the game's complex AI partner systems, it was finally released on PC in 2000, almost three years after the proposed date. A Nintendo 64 version was released a few months later, and proved to be one of the most infamous console ports of all time.

The AI partners, which caused enormous grief for both the developers and the players, were removed completely. It made the game a bit more manageable, but the rest of the game was a Frankenstein monster of bafflingly awkward MIDI music and a frame rate in the single digits. How a game could ship like this at all was staggering, but it proves just how much of a Wild West the 1990s were.

4 StarCraft 64

Yes, that StarCraft

If you were playing PC games back in the 1990s, chances are that you became rather fond of a variety of different games. It wasn't all shooters, as the real-time strategy game really found its footing during this era. StarCraft was chief among them, as its huge, expansive campaigns were absolutely stupendous.

This makes the fact that a version of StarCraft for the Nintendo 64 exists even stranger. Yet, despite the odds and limited hardware compared to higher-end PC's of the era, StarCraft 64 is a marvel of technical ingenuity and skill.

StarCraft 64 contains every mission from the PC version, as well as the Brood War expansion. It's a huge amount of content to fit into a cartridge, though it does require you to use an N64 controller to play an RTS. It's a bold task, but one that's actually quite enjoyable when you get into it.

3 Quake

Can it Run Quake?

I think it's safe to say one of the games that defined the PC gaming culture in the 1990s was Quake. It has become an icon for both the shooter and the wider gaming scene, and as a result, it saw ports to numerous consoles and systems. The most interesting one, however, was the Nintendo 64 version.

While the N64 version lacked the resolution and crispness that the PC offered, Quake 64 was actually rather impressive to look at. The dynamic lighting and colors are vibrant and fun to look at, creating a game that may be technically inferior, but is incredibly ambitious in what it was trying to do.

It's also quite enjoyable to play, which is obviously the most important aspect of this whole thing. Quake on the N64 feels surprisingly good, and maintains the speedy spirit of the PC original. It's not as rich or expansive as the one you can play on PC, or even the recent remaster, but it is a good bit of fun if you're a fan of Quake.

2 Half-Life 2

Unforeseen Consequences

Being around for the hype cycle of Half-Life 2 was pretty surreal in itself. From the reveal at E3 2003 to it being leaked online, all the way to being one of the first games to require Steam in order to play, it was a roller coaster.

Half-Life 2 is still one of the most revolutionary games of all time, raising the bar for every aspect of game design one could think of. The game felt like it would never work on a sixth-generation console, but Gordon Freeman's epic journey found its way to the original Xbox in 2005.

I didn't have a PC capable of running Half-Life 2 at the time, so being able to just pop something as cutting-edge into my Xbox and being able to play it was kind of outrageous. It's still a pretty entertaining way to experience Half-Life 2 today, and after numerous updates and patches on the PC, it remains the only way to play the game as it existed back in 2004.

1 The Sims

Get a Life

The Sims was far more than just a successful PC game. It eclipsed all that to become a cultural phenomenon, a game that transcended the hardcore gamer and attracted both casual gamers and new players. It was huge and is still one of the most successful video game franchises in the world.

Three years after the launch of the original game, The Sims would be ported to PS2. Even back then, there were a lot of doubts about getting a PC-centric game to work well on a console with a controller. As it turns out, there was nothing to worry about.

The Sims on PS2 was fabulous, and the most fascinating part of it was the story-based Get a Life mode. This was my first introduction to The Sims, and I found myself hopelessly addicted to it. There's something so oddly charming about the PS2 version of The Sims, and it remains one of the franchise's most unusual entries.