Poll: what was wrong with halo?

[Trilby]

Let's talk about the first Halo game, because this is where it all really starts, and we really need to look at this from the separate perspectives of PC and Console gaming.

From a PC point of view, there was nothing really wrong with it. It was a perfectly competent FPS, with a few problems regarding bugs and copy-pasted levels later in the game, but not bad. The vehicle sections were fun. It was average. There was nothing exceptional about it, nothing to make it really stand out. It wasn't as innovative or story-driven as Half Life, or as brutally fun as Quake, but it was OK. Nothing more.

However, the console has a very different story. There hadn't really been many good FPSs on consoles for some time, and Halo launched at the front of a new generation of people gaming on the XBox for the first time. While it sounds snobby and elitist, the standards for an FPS on a PC were simply higher than for that on a Console, because there was more competition. And so what was really just mediocrity personified was praised as genius.

Seeing how much money and critical acclaim Halo made its creators, other companies took note and began systematically copying every aspect of Halo's insipid design, creating a scourge of power-suited space marines with regenerating health fighting aliens in repetitive environments that for a long time dominated the AAA release charts before being replaced with the current run of CoD clones. That earned it a lot of ire.

In addition, Halo 2 brought multiplayer gaming to the console in a big way for the first time through the XBox Live system, and the 8-year old teabagger quickly became an easily identified and hated icon of the franchise. Add to that the fact that the sequels seemed more like money-grabbing than actual innovation, and you can see why, at least for people who were used to better games, the franchise has attracted more than its fair share of criticism.

 

[Folio]

I played Combat Evolved way after it was released. I liked it a lot! I really felt immersed and it was a hoot on Legendary.

But then I played Halo 2 with that crapfest Games for Windows Live. -_-
It was a lot of the same and the good parts were gone.
The guns didn't felt powerful anymore. Earth isn't just a friggin' city. Cortana looked like a grumpy *****.
The alien guns were replicas of Earth guns, which doesn't make it more special in the least.
The flood created that plant from Little Shop of Horrors? Really? And it rhymes? What?

It was dissapointing. The fact that Halo didn't have boss battles made it so it didn't break the flow of gameplay. Now it's just for multiplayer alone. :'(

 

[MikeOfThunder]

-Gameplay is good
-Story is excellent in my opinion, simple yet engaging

Everything about the game I enjoyed, I wasn't a particular fan of ODST though.

Halo: Reach was decent but didn't have the same effect that the previous installments had


I think most negative players fall under two catagories although some generally just don't like the game.

First, some just want to appear different. 'Going against the grain', they rebel against a popular game because it makes them feel special. I am NOT saying this is everyone, but some people are like this.

Secondly, I think most don't actually have a big problem with the game itself, their problem is more with the fans. It's like: Twilight wouldn't actually bug so many people if it weren't for the really anoying fan base, same with halo really (although twilights story/writing also inspires hatred). Those that class halo as the best game in the world, that can never be beat - well they're the same as COD fans, WOW fans... Hell I like the halo series and some fans bug me!

 

[Ruagh]

Personally, I've always enjoyed any Halo game I've played, even Halo Wars. They're fun games with an okay story and an awesome soundtrack.

I think the problem is that they're over-hyped. They're sometimes treated like the be-all and end all of shooters, which creates a backlash when it fails to live up to this.

 

[Jegsimmons]

Eh, it started a trend I guess. It never really 'evolved', much unlike the namesake.

"evolve" only came out of microsofts brain so it could sell better in japan...it doesnt make sense but then again neither does japan.

and didnt evolve? each game brought revolutionary ideas for console shooters!

 

[MercurySteam]

I personally think Halo 1 + 2 are two of the best games ever. However, with Halo 3 onwards something was a little off and it was never really the same again and by the time you realize that Halo 3, ODST and Reach are barely anything like the Halo games that got you into the series, it's too late and you've already wasted your money.

Still, it's always been a favourite for local co-op/verses.

 

[MrGFunk]

What was wrong for me - console exclusive.

Having a PS2 meant I missed the boat that one set of friends were enjoying. I did try to play it but couldn't do the 6 hour marathon sessions without major cramps as my hands weren't accustomed to the Megadrive sized Xbox controller. Man that controller sucked.

 

[MrGFunk]

The multiplayer is flat out awesome though, it's still the best 4-player splitscreen game since Goldeneye on the N64 in my mind. With tons of extras like theatre mode and Forge, theres something for everyone.. except those who suck at shooters in general or just plain don't like them at all.

Judge ruling - Timesplitters 2 multiplayer was amazing and should be noted as the best 4-player splitscreen since Goldeneye (Halo:CE).

Sooo, I checked and Halo:CE came out almost a year before TS2. So until October 2002 I would have agreed with you.
Come on though how genius was the thief [http://editthis.info/timesplitterswiki/TimeSplitters_2] mode...?

 

[Netrigan]

Biggest problem I have with it is the meh level design (it's neither interesting to look at or interesting to explore and doesn't have great flow) and the slow mid-range combat. Way too much wearing down of enemy shields for an assault rifle to be fun to use in single player. Combat is also a bit death-matchy in that it encourages very aggressive close-range tactics (or sniping)... I'm a mid-range combat guy. First look at the Halo was breath-taking but no real sense of beauty beyond that, just more of the same.

Reminds me Unreal which had the same sort of problems.

 

[Kungfu_Teddybear]

There's nothing wrong with Halo other than the community but that's not a problem with the game itself. In my opinion they're great games, they're fun and I loved the story.

I've never gotten why ODST was the most hated in the series. It had Nathan fucking Fillion in it for christ's sake.

 

[Luthir Fontaine]

This like COD and any other big ticket fps..its not really the game i hate( the game it self is quite fun for a time)
The community however drags it down....

 

[Oly J]

I just wasn't really into shooters back when I had the opportunity to play it I guess, (I'm still not really although I do play Team Fortress 2 now and then) and also my older brother absolutely loved it, and wanted me to play it with him ALL the time. and when someone nags and nags you nonstop to play a game with them you tend to like it less,

EDIT: also I never really liked Mastercheif...I found him really boring, and there weren't any other characters I liked either

to be honest the most fun I had with a Halo game was the PC version of Halo 1, years ago

someone at school put it on the computer system and everyone played it, and we got this map-mod thing that put a stage from Mario Kart on the game as a playable map, and we would have races and jousts with Warthogs....and fights to the death of course

 

[funguy2121]

People are always telling me why they hate halo but I want to know why and ill be very dissapointed if all of the complaints are the douches on the XBL (the douche comment is aimed at the 8 year old teabagers and people who rage and say what are you doing give me the sniper rifle and get out of the tank why did you shoot me) sorry to those who where offended

I'm sorry but what exactly does this have to do with Glenn Beck?

 

[Summy]

Disliking stuff alot of other people do like makes you look cool. Seeing everyone and their mothers like halo its cool to hate it and be a pro gamer and not a bro gamer.

 

[Tsaba]

The worst part about Halo is with its Fanboys.

oh no no no no no, the worst part about Halo, are the fanboys who didn't play the first halo.

on a side note:

Spoiler: Waffles

 

[Anchupom]

I respect it, but like it? No.

I respect it because it is pretty genre-defining. It made the whole sci-fi shooter thing popular again, and made the "faceless hero" a real cult hit. (Yes, I know Half-Life did it first but Halo enjoyed a lot more success with it.)

I dislike it, however, because it never really developed. It stagnated and the mechanics didn't even tighten up much between the original and the third (I can't comment on ODST or Reach, seeing as I haven't played them). I also don't like it because I don't like first person shooters, so obviously it isn't going to float my boat.