Is Halo slowly losing its steam?

[pulse2]

There was a time that Halo was "THE SHIT", it dominated the top of XBL activity for months and very few games if any could top it, it was a MUST BUY for any 360 owner, it sold better than any shooter before etc etc etc.

But I've noticed that Reach and ODST haven't had the same SHAZAM! It could be to do with the fact that Master Chief hasn't been around, or it could be that Call of Duty just kicks ass, but there are 3 Call of Duty's, MW2, BO and MW3 which are now dominating shooter heaven, never have I seen a game and two of its sequels dominate anything for this long :/

Also, quite a few people I knew or spoke to who once Halo fanatics have now converted to CoD, they seem less than enthusiastic about Halo 4 and haven't touched Reach in a while.

So my title isn't a statement, its a question and its directed at you, are you still "Halo to the end", or do you prefer CoD or other games these days? Are you waiting for Master Chief to return in Halo 4? Do you still love the Halo formula as much as you did the first game?

 

[King of the Sandbox]

As someone who enjoyed the Halo series with friends, avoiding online mp as much as possible, I'd say yes. But it's often hard to capture lightning in a bottle, so we learn to settle for a few lightning bugs in a jar that remind us of that original lightning instead. Still fun, not as much ZAP!

 

[ChupathingyX]

Yes it does seem to have died down a bit, most likely because now it's more cool to hate on CoD now, so people are ignoring Halo.

I don't own a Xbox or 360, so I never owned it, however, I never really hated Halo. It was a solid shooter that was extremely fun to play with friends. One thing I really didn't like was Master Chief and Cortana and it's a shame they're going to be the main characters once again in Halo 4. But I'm still curious to see what will happen.

Oh yeah and new Halo means new Red vs Blue, which is always a good thing.

 

[Erttheking]

It's mainly because Call of Duty have been drawing players like a lamp draws flys. Halo Reach was impressive, it sold 10 million copies and was the #1 played game on Xbox live for a solid year, how many other games can make that claim? People set their standards unreasonably high, Halo is still good and popular, more people just like Call of Duty is all.

 

[Robert Ewing]

Halo is slowly loosing it's steam? I'd say halo has lost it's steam, dried up, decomposed, became one with the calcium laden cave floor on which it died, crystallized, fossilized, Other things died upon it's eon year old remains, and is only being noticed because the tectonic plates on which it once stood have moved several times around the Earth enough for it's remains to be cracked slightly, so that- not steam, but powdery fragments of calcium can spurt out that may faintly resemble steam.

 

[Odd Owl]

IMHO, Halo games have moved away from what made the original such a great game: simplicity. The original was simple in many ways: simple story, fairly limited selection of weapons, comparatively limited environments, only a handful of vehicles. But what was there was as solid as a brick. The story had just enough twists to keep it interesting and the basic elements were there for a great sci-fi universe, the weapons were almost perfectly balanced, the vehicles were fun and well-placed in the levels, and the environments themselves made sense (even if they did repeat a bit).

The later Halo games have gotten too big for their own good, adding more weapons, more vehicles, more confusing and unnecessary plot twists, without really focusing on or improving what made the first so great. So, in the end, Halo has just become a generic shooter. And as far as generic shooters go, CoD is probably the better one.

 

[Von Strimmer]

No it doesn't have that same zap you speak of. However when I played the remastered original halo it was like being united with an old mate. Everything just looked and felt right. Halo is the grandparent who we pretend to ignore and have a chuckle at it. However when it is gone I think more people will be upset with its passing than not. I will miss it when its gone.

 

[Jim 028]

Halo Reach was a fun solid game, and while I was dissapointed with the story of the campaign I quite enjoyed the gameplay.

However Reach was the fifth game in the series and by that time I was getting tired of it all. It didn't help that I didn't like the implementation of armour abilities in multiplayer (I preferred the Halo 3 method of one use items) and so I found myself just wanting a change of pace. So I tried out CoD4 and MW2 and found them both to be alright, I wasn't that keen on World at War and Black Ops, but I am quite enjoying MW3.

No doubt after a couple more titles from the series I will be afflicted with the same malaise I had with Halo and venture on to another multiplayer series. Maybe Epic will have a new multiplayer based on the Gears engine, that could make for an interesting change.

 

[Dogstile]

Nah, I still love it. I played anniversary with my little brother (he's eight and loves it, so we got him it) and it just reminds me how good old shooters used to be. It also makes me laugh because while everyone was complaining about the worlds being too gray in games nowadays, i'm relatively sure Halo 3 was slated by our very own Yahtzee for "vomiting colour" or some such nonsense.

 

[wilsontheterrible]

It's not so much that the Halo series has lost steam as vitrolic hatred of it seems to have moved on to other games. The Halo games still sell more than ever and people still play the multiplayer in the tens of thousands, there just aren't as many debates about it on the internet anymore.

I've been playing Bungie games since Pathways into Darkness and I distinctly remember how excited I was that I wouldn't have to buy a Mac to play this new 'Halo' game they were coming out with (God I'm getting old). Now 343 has taken the reins and as long as they keep delivering the gameplay and rich story that I've come to expect from Bungie it's alright in my book.

As an avid reader of the Halo books I'm also really excited for what I think Halo 4 will deal with, especially with the fun little hints dropped in the Halo Anniversary edition.

 

[Korten12]

Not really, I personally can't wait for Halo 4 as with ties to the new books it still has a lot of steam left in it.

 

[trouble_gum]

Three direct sequels and one prequel now, plus ODST, Wars and the one in development? Personally I think that once a franchise hits that, its probably run out of steam.

I think it depends on what you mean by "steam," though. Has Halo reached the point where it'll no longer move units or generate hype? No, I really don't think so. Personally, as a pure PC gamer, I never really got into Halo all that much. I bought the first one more because it was Bungie, whom I loved for Marathon, than for the game itself. I've played Halo 2 a little but never felt an overwhelming urge to buy it.

Do I think Halo has run out of creative steam? Pretty much. Bungie have moved on, which I feel will result in the soul being lacking from any future Halo releases, leaving them feeling like Microsoft milking the cash cow long after it stopped giving. It's reached the "Anniversary Edition" stage. It'll be a set of godawful prequels next, you mark my words.

 

[Korten12]

Three direct sequels and one prequel now, plus ODST, Wars and the one in development? Personally I think that once a franchise hits that, its probably run out of steam.

I think it depends on what you mean by "steam," though. Has Halo reached the point where it'll no longer move units or generate hype? No, I really don't think so. Personally, as a pure PC gamer, I never really got into Halo all that much. I bought the first one more because it was Bungie, whom I loved for Marathon, than for the game itself. I've played Halo 2 a little but never felt an overwhelming urge to buy it.

Do I think Halo has run out of creative steam? Pretty much. Bungie have moved on, which I feel will result in the soul being lacking from any future Halo releases, leaving them feeling like Microsoft milking the cash cow long after it stopped giving. It's reached the "Anniversary Edition" stage. It'll be a set of godawful prequels next, you mark my words.

what a lot don't understand is that compared to bungie 343 is putting a lot more effort in the halo universe then bungie. They arent there just to make cash-ins as they're taking a lot of care and fixing plot holes made by halo reach. Plus why they said halo 4 feels like halo, they said they have also lots of new in it.

 

[Zhukov]

Well, yeah. Halo started losing steam the minute Modern Warfare hit the market.

 

[Hamish Durie]

yeah halo reach and halo ODST where definetly steps in the wrong direction (because ODST had no soul of it's own and reach......well the campaign sucked)
But im going to reserve my opinion on wether halo is losing it's steam when halo 4 comes out

 

[VanityGirl]

No. If you slapped any ole shooter with the Halo name, people are bound to buy it. It might not make quite as much money as Call of Duty, but the game's are always big sellers. The re-release of Halo1 (aka Anniversary) was a big success.

When you say lose steam, I think in terms of popularity. If you personally meant if you think the games have been taking a downhill turn... well then I'd also say no. Reach was one of the better Halo games to come out.

 

[saucecode]

Ill certainly support Halo to the end, but I would have prefered the End to be with Halo 3. I don't want anyone to screw with the future of the story.

Never really liked CoD...

 

[88chaz88]

Halo already lost it's steam for me. I've been a fan of the first 3 games but after Wars and ODST I just really couldn't give a damn any more.

Halo 3 is over, let the Master Chief die with some shred of dignity.

 

[Esotera]

I would say that less people are playing it, but that the games are better than ever. Can't say that I've played the latest one though, but Reach & ODST were some of the best in the series.