Poll: Halo and stealing vehicles in midair-Yay or Nay?

[jamail77]

Dusted off my old Xbox 1...no, not the Xbone, but the original Xbox. I decided to play Halo 2 and chose the last level. Having some fun, mostly feeling very monotonous after a while though, and then I get to the part when you meet up with Sergeant Johnson and commandeer a Banshee. It's more fun now, but how is flying a military vehicle that shoots plasma and deploys fuel rod cannon bombs not fun?

I really got in the groove though when my Banshee was on the verge of destruction and in come enemy banshees. I take a gamble, fly as close as I can get over an enemy Banshee, get out, and successfully board it. I got a brand spanking new Banshee and the satisfaction of hearing that annoying Brute with his killer aim fall to his death! Now, I'm smiling! This was always my favorite part of Halo 2 (I should probably mention it's the latest game I have in the franchise since I don't have a 360 though I did play 4 at a friend's house). I have not played a game since that lets me steal vehicles. And, forget any game that lets me do this in midair! To top it all off, I managed to board multiple enemy Banshees in midair after this without having to fire that many shots at all. This is impressive because when I got the game at release I was terrible at this and would have fallen to my death many times before even managing to steal one in midair let alone multiple. There's a reason it's a gamble after all.

For those who played Halo 2 onward, as I assume the boarding feature was never removed in later games, what did all of you think about stealing vehicles in midair?

Update: Did a bit of research on this move. Apparently, boarding like this is called "skyjacking" to differentiate from doing it on the ground to a land-based vehicle or to a flying vehicle coming at you.

Also, just to make sure it's clear what I mean due to some possible confusion from the first response here is what I'm talking about

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I love it. Nothing better in multiplayer than someone going for a cheeky little splatter on you with their banshee only for you to surprise them and steal it out from under them and proceed to wreck shop. It made the game more fun and made getting close to enemies a risk vs. reward scenario with all vehicles. You could attempt to splatter someone and get an instant kill on them, but this left you open to losing your vehicle to the enemy if they were ready for it. It helped to keep vehicles from being too overpowering unlike most games, and it was damn fun and incredibly satisfying.

It was even better in Halo Reach and Halo 4 thanks to the addition of the jetpack, which allowed you to take to the skies for a moment and get on their level. It's really too bad that the maps in Halo Reach and 4 were terrible because the gameplay was damn fun.

 

[jamail77]

I love it. Nothing better in multiplayer than someone going for a cheeky little splatter on you with their banshee only for you to surprise them and steal it out from under them and proceed to wreck shop.

As great as it is to steal a Banshee from the ground as someone attempts to run you over from the air, I am talking about literally stealing them in midair. As in, you're in a flying vehicle while flying (Actually, are there any flying vehicles you can pilot besides Banshees?), get out, and steal the enemy Banshee below you. Though I wouldn't mind talking about scenarios like yours either! Those are definitely fun too!

As someone who never played much of the multiplayer (never had Xbox Live, didn't have that many friends who played the game for local multiplayer either) I doubt "skyjacking" worked as well in multiplayer. I mean, seeing as how players usually aren't as stupid as AIs I'd imagine they'd do air tricks like barrel rolls to shake you off, boost right before you do it so you fall to your death, or try to reboard right before they fall to their own uncontrollable deaths because no jetpacks in the days of Halo 2

and it was damn fun and incredibly satisfying.

Damn right!

It's really too bad that the maps in Halo Reach and 4 were terrible because the gameplay was damn fun.

What made them so terrible? I've only played those games at a friend's house and we didn't try out the multiplayer. Also, did the boarding animation look different when doing it from a jetpack? I can't help wondering.

 

[Spudgun Man]

It's not abusing it, it's in the game, don't tell microsoft or they'll slap a tag on it

 

[Aerosteam]

You're asking if people like doing one of the most coolest gameplay mechanics in any FPS ever?

[small]No one will disagree with you on this is what I'm getting at.[/small]

 

[Mezahmay]

Oh man, mid-air skyjacking is the best thing ever if for no other reason then how hard it is to pull off. Although I've never played any Battlefield game, I'm curious how satisfying it is compared to zooking.

 

[LostCrusader]

I love it. Nothing better in multiplayer than someone going for a cheeky little splatter on you with their banshee only for you to surprise them and steal it out from under them and proceed to wreck shop.

As great as it is to steal a Banshee from the ground as someone attempts to run you over from the air, I am talking about literally stealing them in midair. As in, you're in a flying vehicle while flying (Actually, are there any flying vehicles you can pilot besides Banshees?), get out, and steal the enemy Banshee below you. Though I wouldn't mind talking about scenarios like yours either! Those are definitely fun too!

It wasn't really doable in multiplayer to do banshee to banshee skyjacks just because the maps almost never had more than one banshee. They added a human flyer in Halo 3 I think but it wasn't nearly maneuverable enough to pull skyjacks off.

That said I loved that you could do it in singleplayer and just wished that I could actually do it instead of just falling to my death.

 

[Foolery]

I used to load up Metropolis, the level with the huge bridge, for the sole purpose of hijacking banshees for fun. It was really entertaining.

 

[Hero of Lime]

It was pretty fun in my opinion. There was always something incredibly satisfying about hijacking vehicles in Halo games, doing it in midair multiplies the coolness factor.

I feel like the game gave you good ways to defend yourself from being hijacked. For example, I remember tricking so many enemy players into thinking I was going to ram them with a vehicle. They would just jump up hoping to hijack my vehicle, only to have me pull the brakes and gun them down for their hubris!

 

[C F]

It was even better in Halo Reach and Halo 4 thanks to the addition of the jetpack, which allowed you to take to the skies for a moment and get on their level. It's really too bad that the maps in Halo Reach and 4 were terrible because the gameplay was damn fun.

Speaking of map design, in the Reach campaign mission New Alexandria (aka the Falcon one), it's actually not that difficult to use sprint and leap off of the skyscrapers to jack the Covenant banshees below. The campaign mission programs them to fly relatively close to buildings for this purpose if you spawn there without a vehicle and both falcons are already occupied elsewhere.
It'll take you a few tries to do, but it's easily possible if you're skilled enough.

And then there's that one invasion multiplayer map with the spire, where you could just camp at the top and jump off to claim the players using falcons/banshees circling below. The height ceiling is not very uniform on that map if I recall, forcing most aircraft to be either on a y-level below, or else uncomfortably close to, the top of the spire.

But if you've got a friend who's flying the falcon, it's wide enough to stand atop and use as a mobile air platform for jacking maneuvers in just about any instance. Just make sure he keeps it level for you.

<img src="http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130409224516/halo/images/f/fc/Halo_Reach_Skyjack_Render.png" width="50" /img>

Actually, I think Reach was the easiest game to skyjack in, not even counting the EMP stuns or the idiots flying low enough to splatter people.

What made them so terrible? I've only played those games at a friend's house and we didn't try out the multiplayer. Also, did the boarding animation look different when doing it from a jetpack? I can't help wondering.

No, there wasn't a unique boarding animation for the jetpack. It just proceeded like a normal mid-air grab on the vehicle, forcing the canopy open and tossing out the other pilot. The only difference is that your spartan/elite is wearing a jetpack while doing it.

And as for the map design? Man, I can't remember. Not balanced/symmetrical enough? Awkward movement and flow around the battlefield? Too much emphasis on realistic or canonical locales instead of fun shooting arena layouts?
The forge world maps were alright, but a lot of those were based on older Halo maps anyway.

 

[Bad Jim]

You can do that in Just 'Cause 2 IIRC. Planes are a bit tricky, but it's not hard to hookshot onto a helicopter and jack it mid-air. You can even do it from the ground.

 

[spartan231490]

I love it, it fairly rewards skill and encourages more cautious flying.

 

[jamail77]

It's not abusing it, it's in the game, don't tell microsoft or they'll slap a tag on it

Haha, that's kind of funny. It's just a turn of phrase for using a feature a lot more than you'd use the others, not actual abusing of it. Good point though, Microsoft might take that literally. I'll keep my mouth shut.

You're asking if people like doing one of the most coolest gameplay mechanics in any FPS ever?

[small]No one will disagree with you on this is what I'm getting at.[/small]

Honestly, I just added the poll and question for the heck of it. I'm more interested in discussing how fun it was. I do find it funny that people actually have voted for "You could do that?". I didn't think there would be anyone who didn't know about it. Though, I kind of discovered it on accident, so it's not out of line that some people just don't know about it. It's not like the game tells you it's possible to skyjack. It only teaches you ground boarding. Either way, those people can't call it "one of the most coolest gameplay mechanics ever". They didn't even know it existed!

It wasn't really doable in multiplayer to do banshee to banshee skyjacks just because the maps almost never had more than one banshee. They added a human flyer in Halo 3 I think but it wasn't nearly maneuverable enough to pull skyjacks off.

That said I loved that you could do it in singleplayer and just wished that I could actually do it instead of just falling to my death.

Keyword there is "almost". There was 1 map in Halo 2 that had 2 Banshees. This was awfully impractical though since it's just 2 people and the other person is probably smart enough to not let you do it versus the stupid AI. The solution should obviously be to make a map with as many Banshees as there are players allowed to be on a server. That way everyone could get in an intense skyjacking frenzy. And, when you're kicked out you just try to steal 1 of the other Banshees flying around you and it'll just turn into this but with Banshees. [small]I need to stop watching clips and actually get this game.[/small]

As for falling to your death, how often did you practice? Did you ever manage to do it? It'd be easier if the game was centered around the mechanic, but, assuming skyjacking wasn't an intentional feature, it's just a side effect of the land boarding. Of course, my map idea with nothing but Banshees would solve the skyjacking difficulty problem as there'd be nothing but Banshees!

Oh man, mid-air skyjacking is the best thing ever if for no other reason then how hard it is to pull off.

It was pretty fun in my opinion. There was always something incredibly satisfying about hijacking vehicles in Halo games, doing it in midair multiplies the coolness factor.

I feel like the game gave you good ways to defend yourself from being hijacked. For example, I remember tricking so many enemy players into thinking I was going to ram them with a vehicle. They would just jump up hoping to hijack my vehicle, only to have me pull the brakes and gun them down for their hubris!

Yep, being hard to pull off was definitely part of the charm.

I couldn't describe the feeling better myself Hero of Lime. You're right about the defense part too. There's even more ways than the one you're pointing out. It's so easy for the person/AI you're trying to midair skyjack to use their boost or an air trick right before you do it or to just not move in a straight line. Heck, if you do a "backflip" air trick at the right time as someone skyjacks you, it's possible to be launched in the air above the aircraft and reboard the jerk. It might be possible to reboard right before you're about to fall, but I've never tried due to never having been skyjacked. Unfortunately, the AI isn't smart enough to midair skyjack and I don't know anyone who skyjacks to play multiplayer with, not that original Xbox Live exists anymore nor do I have an interest in getting a 360 or the Xbone.

 

[Evonisia]

I quite liked it, but when I play Halo I much prefer jumping on my rock bouncy castles and smashing B until everyone falls over.

Edit: Also doing the hijack glitch on Halo 3: ODST to get the AA Wraith was the shit, but they patched it. You can still do it in Halo 3 though IIRC so woot!

 

[jamail77]

But if you've got a friend who's flying the falcon, it's wide enough to stand atop and use as a mobile air platform for jacking maneuvers in just about any instance. Just make sure he keeps it level for you.

Now, I'm curious. I'm wondering how the state of your Falcon changes when you skyjack it from your friend. What I mean is, you know how you have your own rechargeable shield that acts as a kind of/kind of not health bar, right? If your friend is about to die and you skyjack from him will your shield transfer over when you board? I don't mean the physical state of the Falcon will be repaired, obviously not, but, as I'm sure you know, your shield acts as the health bar for the aircraft you're piloting as well. That is, unless you're playing the original Halo, in which vehicles had their own health bar IIRC.

I quite liked it, but when I play Halo I much prefer jumping on my rock bouncy castles and smashing B until everyone falls over.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by this, but I get the feeling it's supposed to be funny. [small]I'll just pretend I understand what you're referring to and laugh.[/small] Ha. Haha. Hahaha.

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

Halo 3 onwards expanded on it a little bit (assuming you hadn't played it from your post)

In newer halo games vehicles can be temporarily disabled with a fully charged blast from the plasma pistol. Honestly one of the best vehicle balances I've ever seen in games. Gives the "weakest" weapon in the game a purpose in counterplay and coupled with the skyjack can lead to awesome moments like this
Halo 3 was so god damn fun

Edit: also very much this

It was even better in Halo Reach and Halo 4 thanks to the addition of the jetpack, which allowed you to take to the skies for a moment and get on their level. It's really too bad that the maps in Halo Reach and 4 were terrible because the gameplay was damn fun.

 

[Evonisia]

I quite liked it, but when I play Halo I much prefer jumping on my rock bouncy castles and smashing B until everyone falls over.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by this, but I get the feeling it's supposed to be funny. [small]I'll just pretend I understand what you're referring to and laugh.[/small] Ha. Haha. Hahaha.

Meleeing will always be more fun, because Halo's melee system is incredibly bizarre to me. Plus those rocks are bouncy castles seeing as it's quite possible to jump off half of them before you slide down all the way.

 

[jamail77]

Halo 3 onwards expanded on it a little bit (assuming you hadn't played it from your post)

In newer halo games vehicles can be temporarily disabled with a fully charged blast from the plasma pistol. Honestly one of the best vehicle balances I've ever seen in games. Gives the "weakest" weapon in the game a purpose in counterplay and coupled with the skyjack can lead to awesome moments like this
Halo 3 was so god damn fun

That is pretty cool and makes me sort of tempted to get a 360 or Xbone just to get that game and do that, but there was no midair skyjacking, just a ground skyjacking, so C+. Just kidding. But, seriously, I'd be more impressed if they disabled the Banshee while falling in midair and then tried to board it as it was falling. They'd kill the player due to lowered shields from the charged blast and already be in the air. It'd look awesome. I know, I'm asking a lot.

Also, I know you said "weakest" in quotes, so you probably don't mean it literally, but wasn't a charged plasma pistol deadly, even before Halo 3? When the enemy player is dual wielding a plasma pistol and...any other weapon really you better watch out. Or, at least I assume you should. I never played much multiplayer due to never having Xbox Live nor that many friends who played Halo to locally game with, so maybe it's not as deadly as I've seen in singleplayer and seen in my limited multiplayer experience with limited (limited by availability to come over and limited in how few friends I have who play the series) Halo playing friends.

Meleeing will always be more fun, because Halo's melee system is incredibly bizarre to me. Plus those rocks are bouncy castles seeing as it's quite possible to jump off half of them before you slide down all the way.

Oh, I see what you meant now. I figured 'B' referred to melee, but I didn't understand the context. All I could think of when you said that was when Yahtzee reviewed Halo and talked about the organic-ness of nature's bouncy castle. You didn't try to jump into the air and melee Banshees in the air though, did you? I picture it and without the fail safe of skyjacking to fall back on or a rocket launcher or something, that'd be kind of suicide.

Eh, that's your opinion. The melee system was always just OK to me except when you got someone from behind and insta-killed them. That's lost its charm as I've gotten older, but at the time that aspect of melee was crazy fun. I will say though that jumping always felt very satisfying to me in Halo.

 

[LostCrusader]

As for falling to your death, how often did you practice? Did you ever manage to do it? It'd be easier if the game was centered around the mechanic, but, assuming skyjacking wasn't an intentional feature, it's just a side effect of the land boarding. Of course, my map idea with nothing but Banshees would solve the skyjacking difficulty problem as there'd be nothing but Banshees!

It wasn't the kind of thing that I wanted to go and practice by replaying the banshee missions over and over. I just viewed it as a desperate last save if I'm getting wrecked, and that made the times when it worked special.

 

[jamail77]

It wasn't the kind of thing that I wanted to go and practice by replaying the banshee missions over and over. I just viewed it as a desperate last save if I'm getting wrecked, and that made the times when it worked special.

Fair enough. I loved it so much I was happy to practice it for a couple hours whenever I played. It definitely is extra special when you're wrecked and do it successfully after failing so many times before. When something is hard it always feels more satisfying when you finally manage to do it.