Halo and CoD are fun

[TheRightToArmBears]

I never really got into Halo (that's more through thefact that I don't have an Xbox), but I've played some matches split-screen of Halo 3 and it was pretty fun.

However, I do really like CoD, especially playing WaW online. It gets everything just right, there's just enough customisation, but not so much that the players with the best perks and gear can instantly dick on everyone. The maps are great, and the tanks aren't to overpowered (and not to weak either), but they add a lot to some of the maps. None of the killstreaks are too awful either.

I do also love that on MW2 all the options for customisation avaliable online are also avaliable for split-screen mode. When you live in a house with three other gamers this really makes a lot of sense; there just aren't any other games where you can do that. I think MW2 did go a bit overboard with the customisation, but when you're in the same room with the people you're playing with it's very easy to reach agreements about which perk or killstreak is a dick move and shouldn't be used.

To be honest, some of the complaints aimed at CoD are ridiculous. For example, CoD does not try to be realistic. It tries to look realistic, which adds to the badass fantasy. If it tried to be realistic there wouldn't be a perk in MW2 that means you have no body temperature.

I wouldn't ever say that it's a perticularly deep or engaging experience but it's pretty much the purest, most mindless fun I can ever get out of gaming that's not Conker's Bad Fur Day.

 

[Trivun]

Never played CoD, but Halo has probably the best storyline I've seen in an FPS for a very long time, and I've played quite a few FPSs in my time. Yes, I'm going there. Fine, the story isn't massively great, especially compared to most non-FPS games, and is improved mainly through the books and graphic novels and anime. But nevertheless, it's pretty immersive, does a great job in the first few games of building a really interesting world and characters, and then expanding on that and including elements from the books in the later games, something that not a lot of games do nowadays. I enjoyed it greatly, and it has characters that you genuinely care about and want to know more of. As far as FPSs go, Halo is pretty damn awesome...

if you thought halo had a good story, i bet half life would blow your mind.

i really liked forge mode in halo 3 and reach, i never actual made any levels but it was fun to fuck around with a few buddies, basically greifing the hell out of each other.
i also really liked the enemy design, i remember when i first played halo three and killed a brute, and i ran up and just stared at all the detail in its corpse. awesome.
halo's ai kicked ass as well.

Yeah, I have Half Life, and HL2 and the episodes. Maybe I should clarify, I meant 'one of the best' rather than the exact best, though there are some moments where Halo manages to even out-trump Half Life for sheer awesome storytelling. For example, I cared much more about Sgt. Johnson, and what happens to him in Halo 3, than I did about Eli Vance, though both were great characters and it was sad to see what happened in both games. I guess it's all just subjective at the end of the day...

 

[ultratog1028]

It's totally subjective. Honestly they both have thier goods and bads. Doesn't mean you've got to hate someone for liking the one you don't like. What if that kind of mentality has applied in everyday life?

You would see people screaming at each other over if Vanilla or Chocolate Ice cream was better.

 

[Waaghpowa]

I for one loved the first Halo game, to me it was different at the time and I played it a lot. Halo 2 came along, dual weapons yeah! ended up being kinda "meh". Halo 3 was absolutely bloody terrible, too much emphasis on MP, not enough SP. It's been a while since I played it, so I can't remember the details as to why I hated 3.

Basically my problem with Halo is that it's shifted it's priorities from Single player to multi-player, not to say multiplayer isn't good, but why should I pay full price for the game if it's only half good?

Cod fails, for me at least, for similar reasons as Halo. Full price for half a game, that and some people are just waaaay too obsessed with it. Also the fact that CoD is turning into an EA sports franchise, releasing a new game every year with minor changes for full price. yeah, not for me.

 

[Varitel]

I've played all the original Halo trilogy. I enjoyed Halo 1 which had a very good story. I thought Halo 2 had a good story until the middle where it just got stupid, and I personally thought that Halo 3 was poorly designed and frustrating. None of them were "spectacular" as far as FPS's go, at least in terms of the single player (multiplayer was still fun as hell though). As for CoD, I thought CoD 4 was awesome. It was challenging, well designed, and well written.

You are correct though in saying that they were all fun (except for the end of Halo 3).

 

[fragerific]

Halo 2

Unfortunately, you have picked what is quite possibly the WORST of the Halo games as an example. Halo Wars was better. And I've played all the Halo games, so I think I would know about that.

I know friends who absolutely wrote off this game, but honestly I think it was one of the best (having played through all of them as well...and a level or two of Halo Wars). The reason I like it so much is because of the plot. The very first cut scene where the Arbiter is on trial gives me goosebumps every time I watch it. It picks up where CE left off and delved deeper into the Covenant hierarchy and history. Sure it was hacked together in a year due to poor planning and execution...and the ending is a little more to be desired due to the fact they ran out of time to do another level. But the environments are still stunning and the soundtrack is better than CE IMHO. Subsequent games have never quite matched the magic of the first two. The jungle-romping first half of Halo 3 is somewhat forgettable, and the rest of it seemed anti-climactic. I liked the film noir feeling of the music and environments in Halo 3: ODST, but the weapon set and random, shallow plot were disappointing. And don't get me started on Reach. It was stunning visually, but the plot seemed like an afterthought. It wouldn't have upset me as much if they went against the grain of the books to make a compelling story. But all it ended up being was, "Go shoot aliens in a bunch of random places for random reasons, all the while listening to horribly written dialogue...and then die."

As others have mentioned, which games you like depends on your interests. Since it's obvious I enjoy a good story, Halo: CE and Halo 2 are at the top of my favorite list.

 

[DazBurger]

Good for you, but I still hate the fuck out of the obsession with realism they inspire.

You do realize that Halo revolves around a collection of purple, pink and orange aliens, trying to eradicate humanity, with the only standing in their way, being a 2.3m tall bio-enhanced super soldier wearing a power armor and aided by a hot purple hologram?

Halo 2

Unfortunately, you have picked what is quite possibly the WORST of the Halo games as an example. Halo Wars was better. And I've played all the Halo games, so I think I would know about that.

Halo 2 just happens to be my favorite Halo game

+ The best soundtrack of the series!
+ Fun enemies!
+ Varied gameplay!
+ A lack of invisible walls, making you able to get just about everywhere!.. Even where you aren't supposed to be.
+ ... Double Needler!
+ A look into the world of the Covenant!

.
.
.
- Playing as The Arbiter.

[Edit: +Being against Elites the most of the time! Brutes just gotta be ones of the most boring enemies of all time.]

 

[Uber Waddles]

If its a Triple A FPS, most people on the Escapist will claim to hate it because it lacks a certain 'sophistication'. It doesnt have any overall sophisticated mechanics, its just run and gun. Run and Gun. Check point, cutscene, run and gun.

However, Id rather have a fun, simple game than a pretentious boring one.

I enjoyed Halo, not Call of Duty. I liked the guns, the setting, the gameplay. Its just me.

Im also a person who thinks Half Life 2 can eat an ass. It seemed to flaunt its physics more than anything else, and got really annoying.

Vanilla and Chocolate though.

 

[fragerific]

You do realize that Halo revolves around a collection of purple, pink and orange aliens, trying to eradicate humanity, with the only standing in their way, being a 2.3m tall bio-enhanced super soldier wearing a power armor and aided by a hot purple hologram?

They don't call him the "demon" for nothing...

 

[Jester00]

i never played halo, i just don't like the whole alien stuff, but the cods are awesome.
singleplayer is just great, it's like a film with it's epic goosebump moments.
the multiplayer is the best i've ever played, awesome maps (mw1 and 2, bo not really, nuketown is an exeption), awesome weapons, awesome class / perk system, full of action and speed.

(<- mw2 fanboi, i played mw2 mp nearly 800 hours)

 

[Fallen-Angel Risen-Demon]

Halo is fun, definitely, I enjoyed all the Halo games. CoD however... Blarg. CoD 4 was a good game, the others however I believe are not.

 

[TheScottishFella]

I used to like CoD, but then it became about the multiplayer. I am sure many people will disagree with me and send me a hate filled inbox about this but, the single player is good but is crippling short and a lot of the focus is on multiplayer, which is about people competing to be at the top. Now my problem is that someone HAS to lose no matter what and that's the problem once a game makes losing common place people get frustrated, and the object of the game is ruined because it is supposed to be all about fun. not to mention what about people who still don't have that much internet they buy a game for a 5 hour campaign! I am not saying we should abolish multiplayer but I think multiplayer and singleplayer should be evenly balanced I am sick of a game saying it's redeeming factor is the multiplayer while the single player is an afterthought. You should either market yourself as singleplayer or multiplayer or, if you go for both, then make them feel like that if you buy it for the singleplayer it was worth the money and vice versa with the multiplayer.

Remember when ZP said that an 10 hour campaign was short! Now it is considered a decent running time, also I feel games are starting to become movies length wise but that is for a different time.

Disagree with me? I encourage an debate. I will try to reply but not if it is something like "You suck CoD is awesome!"

OT:I don't think I hate it for something like multiplayer it is pretty good but there are some game breaking stuff in there.

 

[SamStar42]

Call of Duty 4 and Modern Warfare 2 are easily in my top 25 games of all time - I had far too much fun on the single player to not include them. Multiplayer was amazing and despite MW2 having problems, I still had a blast. World at War was a bit dull [which Black Ops took to ridiculous levels of boredom] so Treyarch don't get good marks in my book.

Grown up with Halo mostly - Halo 3 must be my most played game. Halo: Reach is one of my favourite multiplayer games on the 360, and Halo 2 and 1 I have many fond memories of. I love them both, oh so much.

 

[michael87cn]

They are good games. But they are also bad games. How can that be? Well simple my friend, the people are different.

Instead of getting your panties in a twist because some people express their dislike for a game you love, you should instead accept that people will like different things.

I personally recognize that Halo and Call of Duty are good games, but I do not enjoy playing them. Not at all, and I have been following the games since they first came out. My brother loves them to death, and has purchased every Halo and every CoD game. He even used to host LAN parties for Halo matches.

I just do not enjoy multiplayer on consoles. The last multiplayer games I enjoyed were StarCraft and Team Fortress Classic/Counter-Strike, some 9+ years ago on the PC. I don't enjoy aiming at people jumping around like crack addicts with my thumbs. I'm not bad, I just don't enjoy the experience. It feels like I'm crippling myself when it's so much more precise and easy on a PC, that said I do not have a modern gaming PC so I do game on consoles, just not multiplayer.

I do love FPS games but with the introduction of brag-fest voice chat and thumbsticks (with no option for mouse and keyboard support on the console, even though the software COULD support them) I have had no interest in Xbox Live gaming for almost a decade now.

I'm the perfect example of someone who hates what you love, OP. Instead of being boggled by that you should just accept that I'm different than you.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Halo was actually the first FPS game that I actually tried out, not counting Medal of Honor Frontline. Things I loved about Halo are:

Hey, look! I'm NOT THE ONLY ONE fighting these enemies.
Oh my God! My allies can actually HIT, AND KILL, the other enemies.
Story? Wait, FPS games can have a story? AWESOME!
Oh, this is creepy. What killed all of these marines? What are those little thing? WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?! IT'S HUGE AND KILLING ME!!!
Halo 2 and Halo 3 didn't have the same feeling of amazing, but I still like them.

I have played every Call of Duty game since Call of Duty: Finest Hour. Once again, it was great to not be the only person on the field fighting an insane amount of Nazis. Some of them were worse than others (Call of Duty 3), but I like them all. Campaign Co-op in World at War was a blast, Spec Ops was a blast to play (anyone need help on the PS3 getting all the stars? I'm more than happy to give you a hand), and the Nazi zombies. Oh, the Nazi zombies. I'm still waiting for them to make a game solely devoted to this storyline. Left 4 Dead style or something. Please.

 

[Dfskelleton]

I used to freaking be obsessed with Halo, but nowadays I don't care for it much. However, I must say that the music is badass even to this day. I would like Halo more if 1/2 of the people online weren't complete and total morons.
And while this sounds like trolling, I swear it's not, but I can't think of anything I do enjoy about Call of Duty. I'm serious! I've played through the entire fourth game and I was completely bored. I play MW2 at my friends house sometimes and troll everyone online, which is the most fun I've ever had with the game. Call me a troll, but I'm serious, it truly did not appeal to me one bit. I'm sorry that my oppinion is different than yours.

 

[Coranico]

I have no problem with people who don't like certain games and they have the right to express their opinion.
What pisses me off is when someone hasn't played it but is dead set on saying it is the worst game ever. Too many CoD haters havn't even touched it.


...Fuggin' hipsters...

Halo 2

Unfortunately, you have picked what is quite possibly the WORST of the Halo games as an example. Halo Wars was better. And I've played all the Halo games, so I think I would know about that.

Also opinions are a subjective thing.
I too have played all of them and have my own opinion on which game is the worst, but that doesn't mean other people have to agree with me because it doesn't make me a professional Halo critic.

But that's just my opinion on opinions...

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

Not only are you right, I consider Halo to be the best series ever made.

 

[ukkopucko]

I've never tried playing Halo but I do tried for the first time playing COD games, Black Ops..Yeah, I do enjoy the single player but I'm not having fun with the multiplayer so at the end I'm not really satisfied with my 59 euro...


I would still prefer the Battlefield games which multiplayer games is amazing....

 

[Westaway]

CoD is fun for about a week but then is really not fun to play, so I don't think they are good games. They are just really flawed. Halo, on the other hand, is not AS flawed so I don't think there is a reason to dislike the game unless it's just not your cup of tea. It's easy to hate CoD because it used to be good also.