Poll: How do you view the Halo series?

[T5seconds]

Halo? I view it as my one way ticket to controlling the worlldddd! *Shakes fist*

OT: Mediocre, meh, run of the mill, regular, positively done with, ok, not too good but not too bad.

 

[sabotstarr]

the back story of the series is good, but it is poorly explained in the 3rd game, and the gameplay is decent when two normal people play (by that i mean two non-3 year old's that don't have a copy of the map taped to the side of their TV)

 

[Sacman]

I think it's bad not terrible not good just below average, but I hate the series for what it did to fps genre as a whole and that is basically create a standard for which u can make money. I mean for a while there it looked like fps' could go anywhere because the original standard(being Doom) is only slightly more technically advanced then a piece of graph paper. to me it seemed that before Halo came out fps was really a genre to experiment with story telling, concept and gamplay encompassing RPG, platforming, and cinematic elements that can turn out very well done and original ideas that both take huge leaps for the genre and medium as a whole by making an interactive intelligent experience that appeals to both adults and children being both fun and philosophical but then Halo came along and somehow became extremely popular and cutting out well told story and intelligent hybrid gameplay for straight forward kill everything that moves gameplay that really set the medium back both in the eyes of the media and in my heart because of it's simple badly written story and cookie cutter characters that might as well be a reunion of the cast from predator but after 100 years so only the unlikeable ones show up and even then they don't know whats happening...

Edit: damn it took me so long to write this 25 people posted before I did...

I kinda agree with this, even though Sacman's period and coma keys seem to be broken. It's nothing certain of course and no one can say for sure, but I do believe that Halo affected FPS gaming negatively, in general. I don't think it's a bad game because of it though. I still vote OK.

thank you finally someone can understand where I'm coming from most people take this as a condemning hate speech but I'm just saying that the genre would(in my opinion) be much more advanced, intelligent and maybe even looked at as more of an adult medium if Halo was never popular...

But can we really blame halo for that? I mean it's not like bungie decided "hey let's make every FPS developer copy our formula"

Besides i'm pretty sure that if Halo hadn't do it then some other franchise would have done something similar.

Personally i'm just glad we FINALLY left the WWII shooter-craze we had a few years ago, it was fun back in the PS1 days with medal of honour, but enough is enough

Personally I think that if Halo never became popular FPS' continue to thrive primarily on the PC and evolve in the format they had from the 95'-01' PC generation u know with the experimental hybrid formats like with Deus Ex, Half Life and System Shock where story telling and hybrid game play mechanics turned out intelligent, original games that are not only fun but give it a certain complexity, or in Deus Ex's case, cultural relevance to the game that make it easier to take games seriously in the eyes of the mass media and make it a more acceptable form of entertainment similar to movies or music...

 

[luke10123]

they're alright but CRIMINALLY overrated

 

[blankedboy]

See, all the fanboys have come to this topic.

Halo is for noobs who haven't played any good games yet.

http://sauerbraten.org

 

[StriderShinryu]

I voted Great.

The story and characters may not be the most imaginative at times, but it is very well told and keeps me more than interested. The gameplay is solid and very fun. Also, the music is very very good.

My only real complaint is the level design doesn't really hold up over the whole of each game even if there are always at least a few brilliant levels... oh, and the ending for 2 sucked arse.

 

[garo]

I thinks it's a bit stale now I'm fairly bored of it and hearing the overly competitive high pitch squeaks you hear in multiplayer

 

[Flames66]

I liked the first one. Alot.

After that it went downhill in my opinion. The second and third games had some improvements (duel wielding, deployable stuff), but the physics somehow felt wrong and only 2 came out on pc (only for vista as well which I refused to buy just for one game).

Halo wars was an RTS on a console. That's such a bad idea that I will discount it from the series and just look at the others.

From what I played of ODST it looked fairly good. still had the same engine as 3 i think so the physics still felt funny. I loved Firefly though so I couldn't dislike the characters.

I only really played the multiplayer for the first one so I can't judge the others. As that seems to be the only thing alot of people bought them for though, I think that not liking online shooting much and also not owning a console puts my in a minority.

 

[Sacman]

Very shallow. Too popular for its own good, and not nearly as brillant as others say it is. Dont flame me, im not trolling, its just my opinion. I'll say nothing more on the subject. (raises flame shields anyway)

Just out of curiosity, when did you play it? I've noticed that it's a very good example of "Seinfeld is Unfunny" [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SeinfeldIsUnfunny]

I think it's bad not terrible not good just below average, but I hate the series for what it did to fps genre as a whole and that is basically create a standard for which u can make money. I mean for a while there it looked like fps' could go anywhere because the original standard(being Doom) is only slightly more technically advanced then a piece of graph paper. to me it seemed that before Halo came out fps was really a genre to experiment with story telling, concept and gamplay encompassing RPG, platforming, and cinematic elements that can turn out very well done and original ideas that both take huge leaps for the genre and medium as a whole by making an interactive intelligent experience that appeals to both adults and children being both fun and philosophical but then Halo came along and somehow became extremely popular and cutting out well told story and intelligent hybrid gameplay for straight forward kill everything that moves gameplay that really set the medium back both in the eyes of the media and in my heart because of it's simple badly written story and cookie cutter characters that might as well be a reunion of the cast from predator but after 100 years so only the unlikeable ones show up and even then they don't know whats happening...

Edit: damn it took me so long to write this 25 people posted before I did...

I kinda agree with this, even though Sacman's period and coma keys seem to be broken. It's nothing certain of course and no one can say for sure, but I do believe that Halo affected FPS gaming negatively, in general. I don't think it's a bad game because of it though. I still vote OK.

thank you finally someone can understand where I'm coming from most people take this as a condemning hate speech but I'm just saying that the genre would(in my opinion) be much more advanced, intelligent and maybe even looked at as more of an adult medium if Halo was never popular...

Come on, you know some other game would have come along like this. While Halo's formula was relatively unique at the time, there's no way it would have gone too long past 2001 without being used by another game, it's too simple and accessible for that.

ur missing my point before Halo brought FPS' to consoles they were primarily a PC only genre and something as simple if released on the PC only at the time would have been overlooked for more complicated FPS' and wouldn't have the same kind of impact on the genre therefore never creating a standard in the console gaming and allowing fps' developers to refine the formula on the PC...

 

[stika]

Personally I think that if Halo never became popular FPS' continue to thrive primarily on the PC and evolve in the format they had from the 95'-01' PC generation u know with the experimental hybrid formats like with Deus Ex, Half Life and System Shock where story telling and hybrid game play mechanics turned out intelligent, original games that are not only fun but give it a certain complexity, or in Deus Ex's case, cultural relevance to the game that make it easier to take games seriously in the eyes of the mass media and make it a more acceptable form of entertainment similar to movies or music...

While I do love those games you really couldn't expect them to be the norm

They are too different and dificult for the casual joe gamer to get into.

If it wasn't halo to make the change into a more casualized and action centric change to the FPS then it would have been Call of duty, or Quake, or Unreal Tournament, or Medal of honour

The only FPS with depth that I can think of that achieved the popularity close to the games i'v mentioned is counter strike, but in my opinion CS was the exception, not the rule

 

[Souplex]

They are entertaining but flamebaitey.

 

[stika]

ur missing my point before Halo brought FPS' to consoles they were primarily a PC only genre and something as simple if released on the PC only at the time would have been overlooked for more complicated FPS' and wouldn't have the same kind of impact on the genre therefore never creating a standard in the console gaming and allowing fps' developers to refine the formula on the PC...

Actually Goldeneye did that

Halo just carried in Goldeneye's work

 

[x0ny]

Never played any halo except for about 20 mins on the first one. Do the later games take into account of gun recoil? Or is it just hold down the trigger until clip is empty?

 

[maddawg IAJI]

I always enjoyed the games for being decent FPS games and in one case a decent RTS.

There great games for everyone from 12 up because they don't emphasize gore or gritty realism and there great party games.

 

[Steppin Razor]

Good for a quick blast of multiplayer on my mate's 360, but apart from that it's a resounding meh for me. People loving it entirely for the multiplayer I have no problem with. I mean, it's fast and frantic and a whole lot of people find it fun. I personally prefer different FPS' such as UT2004 and Timesplitters, but I can see why people enjoy Halo more. I draw the line at the people that think the single player is a masterpiece, however. Anyone who loves the supposedly 'epic' tale of Master Chief against the... alien things I can't quite remember the name of... deserves a swift kick to the nuts followed by electro shock therapy. I just can't understand the people that think it's some form of classic that has brought up the standard of storytelling in games.

Edit
Forgot to mention Halo Wars. RTS without keyboard and mouse? I think I'll stick to Command and Conquer and Warcraft 3 on my computer thanks.

 

[Sacman]

ur missing my point before Halo brought FPS' to consoles they were primarily a PC only genre and something as simple if released on the PC only at the time would have been overlooked for more complicated FPS' and wouldn't have the same kind of impact on the genre therefore never creating a standard in the console gaming and allowing fps' developers to refine the formula on the PC...

Actually Goldeneye did that

Halo just carried in Goldeneye's work

Goldeneye was a popular game but it didn't create a standard for the fps' genre to follow on the consoles...

 

[Lullabye]

hmmm, my halo experience can be summed up in 2 words: Debris Kill.
good game, awesome story, terrible physics engine.

 

[TheDoctor455]

I'm in love with it. I'm not a fanboy though. I've read all the books too.

"I'm not a fanboy."
Yes you are.
You admit to having read all of the books for a series that is known to toss out its story in favor of multiplayer and mediocre gameplay.