Games that 'show off' surround sound??

[Super Monkey Balls]

That plane flying over in Burnout 2 is awesome

CM is blatantly wrong Sega screwed up F Zero GX's sound effects. The jet sounds are weak. Could've been better

Halo is the daddy

Xbox World Series Baseballs have an awesome atmosphere with the levels are tweaked. Sounds like you're there. 2K3 makes a nice demo with 16:9 720p too.

Metroid and Zelda are indeed great adverts for DPLII.

CMR 3 & 4 5.1 is nice. I always liked the way Sega GT 2002 sounds too.

KOTOR isn't bad at all either.

[Typhoon Thompson]

Hmmm I was looking for a cheap (ish) 5.1 setup myself, may have to pop down to Cambridge Audio

Infact I could make it to the Cambridge store before 6 today.

[the shape]

Another vote for Rainbow Six 3 on Xbox. The resolution of the gun samples is gorgeous. (I found Halo's weapons quiet/weak). On RSix3 you can pinpoint something as teeny as a dripping pipe on screen, then walk past it, spin around etc and the sound follows with great precision. It's also a lifesaver online; many's a time I get the upper hand from distant feet on gravel or floorboards. They'll say in the lobby, "are you playing in surround sound or summink?"

I generally don't find that car games show off surround very well, but in PGR2 if you knack the exhausts on the Porsche GT2, you can hear them scraping along the ground behind you. Love that.

Also, although it's not cool to like it anymore, Medal Of Honor Frontline has breathtaking sound, even via DPLII on PS2. I mean *incredibly* well produced. Never have I heard beefier explosions with simultaneous top end debris falling. Guns sound great too.

I advise tooling up with the TMP in Rainbow, really bringing up the volume, and going to town. One of my favorite sounds, that. If anyone complains, remember that speakers and amps require breaking in to lose their harshness. It's science, innit.

[Typhoon Thompson]

Quick question. Do I need another special lead to get 5.1 out of my xbox?

I currently run all my systems through my stereo via a normal L and R lead from my tv.

Will this give me 5.1 if I just plug that into the amp?

[Darwock]

You will need a digital lead to get full 5.1. The best you can get with normal phono cables is DPLII

[mid]

The official RGB Scart lead and Component lead both have optical out ports on them. So while you can't get 5.1 from your current L and R phono connections, I'd hope you already had the right lead to get the optical port anyway

[Typhoon Thompson]

I have the official RGB Xbox lead currently.

Does that have ports on it I can use?

[112]

Star wars Rogue Squadron baby! Get the starwars fell with them tie fighter surround soundin yah ears!

A must!

Oh eternal darknes aint bad neither!

112

[Commander Marklar]

I have the official RGB Xbox lead currently.

Does that have ports on it I can use?

Yep -- you see the box towards the Xbox end of the cable? It has an optical out on it, just grab a TOSLINK cable and away you go

[the shape]

I have the official RGB Xbox lead currently.

Does that have ports on it I can use?

Remarkably, the one that says "Digital Audio."

It's a little like a cat flap. See it? Get an optical cable, plug one end in there, the other in your surround amp's Optical In, and you're off.

Might want to enable Surround Sound in the dashboard, can't remember if that's on by default or not.

[Typhoon Thompson]

Rock on!

[winky]

Full spectrum warrior is bloody good on surround sound,

Rogue squadron for the sound test, which was the right way round for me.

[RLench]

REZ!!!!


Ahem...I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned Rez. The surround is good, but if any game can show you why you bought a surround setup, it's going to be Rez

Most of the best choices have already been said though. I'd add 1080: Avalanche to the list ...some great surround sound and loads of steering effects (in every direction) There's also some scary bass during the avalanches

[superkully]

Rez does Surround Sound?

My PAL PS2 version doesn't.

[RLench]

No it's stereo but stereo sound through Pro Logic 2 decoding = 5.1 surround

In most cases, stereo sound > Pro Logic 2 is just as impressive as Pro Logic 2-encoded games.