steamednotfried said:
Uncompetative said:
Constructive Criticism.
Unlike many others in this forum I liked your review, and apart from your spelling of Master Chief, there were only two trouble-spots:
...
Otherwise the review morphs into an overly abstract ludological analysis.
Yay, what a refreshing comment to read. You clearly enjoy Halo in a way which is similar to the way in which i enjoy Halo. I'ts true that my delivery is a bit awkward, and could do with being a bit more humane and less abstract, perhaps relying on a little more intelligence on the part of the reader who may not need everything explained from first principle. Not sure about that though. Besides, the review was very much a part of my own thought process; someones got to be working out these first principles in this smelly industry. Please do read and comment on my other threads, most of them are good. Finaly, I wonder what you think of Halo 2 and 3 in comparison with the original?
Ok. It is easiest to focus on the Campaigns:
1. In Combat Evolved there aren't enough Flood to warrant the name - other than that it is just about perfect.
2. Halo 2 obviously seeks an epic cinematic spectacle and contrives a dramatic pacing by placing significant encounters along an essentially linear path, whilst both disguising the fact that this content exists and ensuring that when it is first seen it is marveled at in relative safety in order to be properly appreciated (this is akin to narrative foreshadowing). In a game where you can look in any direction it is a testament to the skill of the level designers that they are, for example on Delta Halo, able to funnel your "free" navigation through a gap in the rocks and up and over the brow of a hill which affords you a perfect vantage over an installation and a Wraith, etc. If you play this 'consciously' it is apparent that it is statistically likely that you will not see the next hazard before it was intended (due to the hill) and when you emerge from the gap in the rocks your 'racing-line' determines your point of view of the next situation.
I personally disliked this greater linearity as I want a game to be a dynamic system with constant interactive feedback and dramatic stimulus. Halo: Combat Evolved had this in spades, because it focused on opening up tactical options with the limited 'cast of characters' it had, mainly by inter-relating their behavioral dynamics (e.g. the Grunts are bold until you kill their lead Elite). In contrast, Halo 2 added some more characters that I didn't much like (i.e. Brutes are stupid and therefore no fun to fight) and in trying to put more enemies on the screen at once tampered with the graphics engine so it now looked worse than its precursor (i.e. texture "pop-in" was evident as you got closer to a surface). You see I don't want my interactive entertainment to be trying to impress me twice every hour (like an overblown movie in need of an edit), but twice every minute - even if it impresses me
less. Maybe that is why I still play Goldeneye 007 and Robotron 64.
3. Halo 3 ended satisfactorily and I felt that it was an improvement on Halo 2 - although, considering that I was disappointed by Halo 2 it didn't have to do much to seem better. That said, still not as good as the original. The only level where I felt I was on familiar ground was the beginning of The Ark (I think), where you have to disable a Covenant anti-aircraft gun - that was back to being non-linear navigation and multiple ways to tactically approach it. Being driven by AI didn't work, I managed to be underneath the broken down Bridge on the way to Voi when the big Covenant ship screamed overhead... I looked up... saw the underside of the bridge and didn't know what I'd missed... Other than that I suppose I found I missed fighting Elites, they had mucked-up the appearance of the Hunters and the game was too short.
However, mild disappointment with the Campaign was soon forgotten when I got into its Multiplayer. I'm not very good at it, but after over 2000 matches I'm still keen on it and will be getting the Mystic Map Pack DLC in February.
As a matter of curiosity I subsequently tried out Halo 2's Multiplayer (I didn't have Broadband back then) and didn't like it as much.
I've tried COD4's Multiplayer, but the controls are dire, the maps depressing and the waypoints confusing. Battlefield: Bad Company has some nice maps, but the grenade launcher just ruins any concept of "level navigation" as you can blast your way into a room instantly - if only they had made it a "progressive incremental demolition" then the person inside the room would get some fair warning. Far Cry 2's MP looks promising, but the server seems to be badly behaved (or I'm getting kicked off it), I don't know which. I'm currently deep into its open Campaign despite its many bad design flaws - mainly, because the ever-changing scenery, lighting and weather keep drawing me back as I like game worlds that are colourful and escapist.
