Poll: Which Halo game is the best?

Recommended Videos

OpiateChicken

New member
Jul 2, 2009
346
0
0
Yes, this is search-bar approved. No, surprisingly, nobody has made a thread about it yet. I'm interested to see what people have to say now that the Halo franchise is fully matured.

For those of you who don't want to read all this, there is a tl;dr at the bottom. Enjoy.

There are 6 Halo games in all, 5 of them by Bungie (I will be surprised if anyone picks Halo Wars on the poll, just watching Yahtzee's review of it made me cringe and almost poo my pants in laughter and disgust). I would rate them as the following:

1. Halo 2
2. Halo: Reach
3. Halo: CE
4. Halo 3
5. Halo: ODST
6. Halo Wars (to be fair I haven't played this, but still. For the purposes of this review I won't be mentioning it past this point, both because of the above reason and because it is not an FPS and isn't easily comparable, except in terms of storyline and canon, where it fucks up).

Let me tell you why I think Halo 2 is the best, and then I want to hear your response.

***Removing the Nostalgia Factor***
Because 2004's Halo 2 was my introduction to the series, some may think that I am blinded by nostalgia in my comparisons. I want to assure you that this is not the case, as, with very few exceptions, I will be outlining specific aspects of the game and not just saying "it was the best cuz i pwned at it and i loev it!!1!"


Gameplay (general)
Halo 2's gameplay was innovative and original. Well, not as original as Halo: CE, but there was a big change from that game to this one, and not much from this one to Halo 3. It was still the basic shoot-em-up linear FPS, but the level design was much more complex and the layout of weapons and enemies far more appropriate. I will use the example of the Delta Halo level. The temple that you eventually assault has enemies that spawn very far away from where you are, and magically you somehow have a sniper rifle, picking off Elites as they run through the corridors, frantically trying to shoot you with plasma rifles. Halo: CE was much more haphazard in its design in this sense, and Halo 3 was too linear. Reach seems to be a blend of CE and 2. ODST... well, you just march through an entire pre-loaded city. "Sandbox".

I also want to talk about the health systems. Reach brought back the health system from CE, where your shield is your 1st line of defense, and your health the last, and it can dwindle down. Personally I am not a fan of this--it seems fairly pointless, as health is depleted very quickly from any weapon when you have no shield, and you are always looking for a health pack--it just seems like a useless gameplay mechanic. However, this did not factor into my decision, because it is a personal preference.

Also, Elites are scarier in Halo 2 than other games, and there are very limited amounts of flood/brute fighting. Halo 3/ODST sucked for this reason alone, many will say.

The level design was also much better for Halo 2, I find. Much more varied. You start off in a space station orbiting Earth, the cradle of civilization, then move to a city, a new Halo, an ancient Forerunner structure, a Heretic stronghold, and some temples. CE had it right, too, with varied level designs. 3/ODST feel lazy because either the level is too big, or too small, with not a lot in between points in the big maps--just walking. In Reach, this is corrected, but Halo 2 was still better.

Weapons and Vehicles
Halo 2, quite simply, has the best weapons. Both the Human and Covenant arsenals are much more balanced than in other games. You might say the weapons are weaker, but at least they are equally weak. The removal of the assault rifle for the dual-wieldable SMG changed how you played, because in CE the main weapons for the Chief were usually the AR and the Pistol (which owned in that game). Sure, they took away the awesome pistol for Halo 2, but they brought in the awesome Battle Rifle. So now your main weapon combo was BR and Pistol/SMG (Forget about the noob combo for now). Also, rocket launchers locked on to their vehicular targets, but didn't always hit, requiring some skill and timing to hit a moving vehicle.

In Halo 3, Bungie brought in--and kept--the Spartan Laser. I think this ruined the game for a lot of people. It requires almost no skill to use and is a one-hit-kill whether on foot or in a vehicle. Rockets were demoted to primarily anti-infantry weapons because they could no longer lock onto vehicles and they moved fairly slow. No more epic, wild explosions everywhere, just a laser and a single explosion. And it was the worst feeling getting lasered, too; you always felt you could avoid it, and when killed on foot, you just fell down. With rockets at least you got to witness your corpse flying around with ragdoll physics. Same story in ODST. In Reach, the rocket launchers lock on again, but Bungie added the T52 GML/E (the Covenant grenade launcher). This again kind of made the rockets moot, unless your target was standing in one place.

Grenades and shotguns suffered power reductions in Halo 2 after the patch, and melee gained power. This is where the Halo 3 strategy of "shoot while running up then press B" came from, but it was done better in Halo 2. To say a bit more about the rifles, the BR was (I think) much more fun to play games with in types like SWAT online than the DMR is. Sure, the DMR requires skill to use, but I will never forget the feeling of getting three quick bullets into an unshielded body with the BR. The DMR, in comparison, just feels kind of clunky to me (Again, a personal preference). Also, the Covenant sniper rifle is nowhere to be found in Reach, barely in 3, the non-reloading feature with overheating gave it a distinct feel compared to the Human sniper.

As for vehicles... Halo 2 has the only functioning Banshee. And in the Scorpion you can shoot artillery and MGs, which I guess is the only instance of an imbalance. But the Ghost owned infantry. The only other game with good vehicles IMO is Reach, because you get a Falcon. BTW, why can't there be hornets in multiplayer in Halo 3? And where was the massive Pelican we were promised, to transport a team of 8 to their destination?

Graphics (and physics)
Alright, I will admit, Reach wins out in the graphics category. But it was made in 2010, 6 years after Halo 2. And 2 still wins out over CE (whose graphics were average for its time), 3 and ODST (so... much... bright purple). Halo 2 just had solid, awesome-coloured graphics. If you zoomed in with a sniper rifle, it wasn't fuzzy or anything. A bit unrealistic but I found it worked very well with the gameplay.

Halo 2's graphics work better with the Havok physics engine than other titles did, simply put. In Halo 3 they improved the graphics and made it so that when looking at moving objects they appear to be soft/fuzzy, as they would IRL. But IRL sucks, this is a game. You want to be able to turn quickly (with your 1337 10-look sensitivity) and shoot at a part of an object. Overall, Halo 3's and ODST's graphics and physics just seemed sort of lazy and dull to me. CE was awesome because physics were exaggerated, 2 was a bit more realistic, and onwards they kind of sucked, except Reach.


Music
Halo 2 wins this by a mile. I will go through each of Martin O'Donnell's albums here chronologically:

-CE (2000): Lots of electronic music, lots of synthesizer and artificial choir voices. Pretty good tracks though, to fit with the gameplay; in particular "Brothers in Arms" on the Pillar of Autumn, "Under Cover of Night" when assaulting the Covenant carrier, and the "Covenant Dance." Also features some songs that were redone--well--in Halo 2.

-2 (2004): Essentially, Halo 2's music is a series of songs redone from Halo: CE, and some original tracks. Nobody will forget the epic guitar solo that plays while you take down the Scarab in New Mombasa. A couple other memorable tracks include "Peril" while you are shooting Jackals in a forest area; "Impend"--possibly the best mix of music and gameplay in the Halo series--plays a repeating, urgent bass on top of a space-y treble while you snipe Elites stealthily in a far-away structure; "Ghosts of Reach" and "High Charity" contribute to the emotional aspect of the game.

The most important thing to remember about these two games so far is that O'Donnell tried to retain the epic feeling of discovering Halo, battling the Covenant for humanity's fate, and uncovering ancient Forerunner secrets. They retains the huge, futuristic feel with the electric and choir music. Halo: CE started it, and 2 was an improvement on that basis. Then...

-3 (2007): Halo 3 marked the start of O'Donnell's newly acquired real symphony-orchestra. Now he made songs with actual instruments instead of computer programs. The percussion is the best of the series, for sure. The problem is that the games lost the emotional feel of the others with the music. Halo 3 took a totally new direction, using none of the old melodies from the other games. As the ending to a series, I believe it is a mistake to ignore the foundations the other games set, even musically; there was no reference whatsoever. The new E-minor piano chords fit alright, but the game's score is quite different in tone and scale, and does not fit as well with the story. There is a a lot of bass reduction and muffled percussion, which I found annoying, as it continued to be a trend into Reach.

-ODST (2009): ODST has a score like something you would find from a film-noir. It fits the game at times, emulating the loneliness the rookie feels, wandering around alone at night in the rain in a dangerous, destroyed New Mombasa. This is the good part.

The bad part is when you play as the other team members and the music switches to heavy power chords on guitars. This seems to be an attempt, along with the story (in Reach too) to emphasize the brotherly, gung-ho relationships the crew shares, as maybe it is IRL. Listening to heavy rock music while killing Covenant, fuck yeah. No. The vast, epic feel is gone completely. I think O'Donnell made this switch to appeal to the more casual gamers Microsoft was trying to attract, rather than fanboys... like myself. Whatever though.

-Reach (2010): Same story as ODST, but replace the film-noir with an epic score on the Long Night of Solace and last missions. There is still some heavy guitar chords (in fact, one of the songs is copied exactly from Mick's mission in ODST) but overall it is a better track than 3 or ODST, as it tries to mix CE/2 with the new types of music.

Conclusion: all the scores are different, but Halo 2 seems to have it nailed down, improving upon a great, creative musical formula set in CE.


Multiplayer
Alright, well I've covered the gameplay and the weapons, so all there is left to talk about for Multiplayer is innovation, maps and other stuff.

Innovation: Halo 2 was the leader in making online multiplayer games what they are today. It was one of the first to do it, and the first to do it well.

Maps: Halo 2's multiplayer maps were... amazing. They were pretty much all classics. Coagulation (an improvement on Blood Gulch), Midship, Lockout, Ascension, Ivory Tower, Beaver Creek (from CE), Zanzibar, Waterworks, Headlong, Tombstone (Hang 'em High from CE), Relic, Foundation, Sanctuary, Turf, Terminal, ... most of the good maps from Halo 3/Reach are re-creations of these maps. They still have yet to bring back some of the best, but I know that reading this list here, a lot of people will wish you could still play Halo 2 online. So many epic CTF matches.

other stuff: Halo 2 lacks armor abilities/equipment, so those points go to Reach/3. Still, armor lock is damn annoying...


Story
Halo 2 maybe isn't the strongest in this area (stupid ending) but it isn't the weakest either. (This section will be short because nobody will have the same opinion). Halo 2's story was epic but ultimately unfulfilling, it gave you blue balls at the end. But Halo 3 gave me blue balls the whole way though. Halo 2, though, did introduce the Arbiter, which is a plus. CE's story was epic, and the best, while ODST was completely irrelevant to the storyline. Reach was a good prequel.

But here is my biggest complaint about the story of Halo: Reach, which some of you will say is the best.

Maybe you'll call me a fanboy, but I've read all the Halo books. Well, almost, I am on the Cole Protocol. But Eric Nylund set and followed a canon for the Halo universe, and Reach only half-follows it (Halo Wars blatantly disregards it, he sucks cocks, but I digress). I was thrilled to see Dr. Halsey as a character in the game, and to have her journal with the Ltd. Ed. But there was no Kurt Ambrose, no mention of the other SPARTAN II's fighting elsewhere on the planet, no Master Chief. I did like the ending, but I was hoping that the Chief would make a cameo, or something, like Cortana did (it would have been awesome to have Cortana in your head for the last few levels).

That said, I am still confused about the ending to Halo 3. Is that supposed to be Onyx he is orbiting? If not, what is it? Why was there no mention of any other SPARTAN II'S through the series? Why didn't we ever get to walk around in the streets of High Charity? It seems like there is so much more that could have been done with the whole universe. I felt the same way about Star Wars, but for that there are hundreds of games, books and comics you can look at that delve into the universe; other than the books and games, I don't know if Halo's rich universe will be expanded upon. Same with Mass Effect.

Oh well.


Conclusion/tl;dr
Halo 2 is not the best game in all categories, but it wins out overall, especially in multiplayer, weapons/vehicles and music.


EDIT: I would like to share this video with all of you. Just because.



EDIT: sorry mods, somehow I made a double copy of this thread. If you could close the other one that would be great. Thanks
 

Armored Prayer

New member
Mar 10, 2009
5,319
0
0
If I had to choose I'd say Halo CE. When I first witnessed the game, I was blown out of my mind. The graphics, the gameplay, the enemies, it was something I've never felt in a game. Multiplayer was fun and I loved the games soundtrack. Overall it was a near perfect game for me.

Reach comes close second with amazing gameplay and addicting multiplayer.
Then Halo 3.
Then ODST.
Then Halo 2.(ending slightly ruined it)
Then Wars.
 

Soviet Heavy

New member
Jan 22, 2010
12,218
0
0
I too admit that my first experience of Halo was #2. It is still the best in my mind, but ODST is a very close second. It was so different that I loved it. Much more refined than #3
 

OniSuika

New member
Jul 11, 2009
284
0
0
A very tough call between Reach and ODST. I'm not keen on Halo's 1 through to 3, and while I appreciate what Combat Evolved did to the FPS, I think the games after that never made any new leaps, with a (flame shield on) meiocre, at best, story. Then along came ODST with, shock horror, some solid characterisation and an atmospheric setting. While Reach didn't quite capture the same depth of character, it was still present, and it's also one of the most polished and streamlined games I've played to date.

Oh, and
the last stand, Lone Wolf? Loved it. More games need endings that fitting and effective.
 

Terminate421

New member
Jul 21, 2010
5,773
0
0
I gotta say that reach was the best. It just perfected everything, I love all of the Halo games, but Reach comes first

Than I got a tie between CE and 3
Its 3's map editor mainly is why I like it so much. (The newer forge mode is better though)
Then comes Halo 2 (Which was my first Halo game by the way)
Then Comes ODST

I love them all but it goes in that order.
 

Dravda

New member
Sep 20, 2010
5
0
0
Halo: Reach brings something to the table I honestly haven't felt in a Halo game before: fun single-player. I enjoy playing the campaign mode, not to unlock armor pieces (awesome feature, by the way), but just for fun (and armor pieces).

You make a lot of valid points, and Halo 2 certainly wins on paper. But I honestly didn't enjoy playing Halo 2. I don't know what it is and I can't quantify it, but as a matter of personal taste, Reach is for me.
 

yankeefan19

New member
Mar 20, 2009
663
0
0
I spent a lot of time thinking, but I have to choose Halo: CE. Mostly because I find the story a little better (but just barely). Even though Reach has a good story it also fucked up the official halo story and had parts that made no sense. For example, why didn't anyone notice a covenant fleet if Reach is the Humans' most defended planet (besides earth).
 

Drakmeire

Elite Member
Jun 27, 2009
2,590
0
41
Country
United States
Halo CE. before the series became the bane of my existence and made people think faceless, emotionless one-dimensional, walking suits of armor could be characters.
but to every rule there is an exception

http://www.fullmetal-alchemist.com/images/content/synopsis/char-alphonse2.jpg
this literal walking suit of armor has more personality than everyone in halo

Note: I think Halo is a decent game but by no means great.
 

Tanis

The Last Albino
Aug 30, 2010
5,264
0
0
I'm not a big fan of the series, as a whole, but H2 I had some really fun times with friends with.

TimeSplitters 3 was better, but the multiplayer didn't have online...which kind of killed it.
:(
 

rabidmidget

New member
Apr 18, 2008
2,117
0
0
Hmm, either halo 2 or Reach, reach has very refined gameplay and features, but halo 2 definitely had the best maps (Reach is severely lacking with maps, it may have firefight maps but most maps, firefight and normal, are pulled straight out of the campaign)
 

CowboyfromHell666

New member
Jan 14, 2010
332
0
0
I've played every Halo game, and I gotta say, Reach is the best. To me it perfected what a Halo game can be. It is just such a mind blowing game to me, I'm so happy that even though it was Bungie's last Halo game, it is their best achievement in the series, apart from the first of course. The first is close behind though.
 

King Yayap

New member
May 24, 2009
82
0
0
In my opinion, I really liked ODST. A different viewpoint of the Covenant invasion, clearing the streets as said ODST. A brilliant storyline, perfect setting, music, characterisation etc. Pity the it was only an expansion, would have been good as a full length game. But that is contradicted by the Firefight and Multiplayer Map Disc, made it worth the money i spent.

At a close second, I would place Reach. A very good all-round game, very user-friendly, so many modes, which have been polished and perfected. Campaign isn't the strongest point, but it is a very good send off for the series.

I will always have soft spots for the main trilogy though. It really did make my teenage years.

Bungie have a knack of making very VERY good games. I can't actually say which I like least, because they all have too many pros and not enough cons!
 

Snarky Username

Elite Member
Apr 4, 2010
1,528
0
41
Vault Citizen said:
Wait, you mean there are people who find the Elites scary?
From what I've heard, everyone does when you start playing on Legendary. I've never played, but apparently no one can ever kill them when it's on the hardest difficulty.
 

Cynical skeptic

New member
Apr 19, 2010
799
0
0
... Thats a pretty big post. Kinda pointless though, since the answer seems to invariably be [the one you played first].

[the one you played first]'s proximity to [the first game you ever played] seems to be a big factor on whether or not were impressed at all.