Why it is loved.
The halo franchise began for some people as an announcement at MacWorld 1999 of an FPS shooter that implemented the two thumb-stick system as well as revolutionary gameplay like the two gun system and the best vehicle gameplay any console FPS had ever seen. For others Halo began as hearing a wild party in the dorm across the hall and stumbling in to four guys having the time of their lives. Then there were others (like me) who found Halo through Halo 2' revolutionary console multiplayer experience. First the first time a major console shooter could maintain a population that could compete with the PC dominated gaming generation. Halo 3 brought it all mainstream popularizing the game to levels that rivaled the best video games across the board.
Like it or not, Halo inspired every console FPS on the market today and EVERY fps dev out there looks at it's gameplay model to build their game around. So what exactly did Halo do to make it so popular? Here are the top 5
5. Vehicle Combat. In most console FPS of the past, Vehicles either did not exist, were highly unbalanced, or did not truly enhance gameplay. Halo vehicles focused on being easy to drive and not exploding after they were shot by one round from a pistol. This created the fun environment that players loved.
4. Non-Competitive focus. The goal of Halo's gameplay is not to win (initially at least) it was to have as much fun as humanly possible. This meant that players would need each tool at their disposal to serve a unique purpose. Players would have more health and faster movement speed. This friendly casual environment allowed new players to have fun as well as hardcore players to destroy the competition at the level that best suits the player.
3. The Trifecta. Although it was not revolutionary in design, the way Bungie balanced Halo, allowing players to decide between shooting, meleeing, or throwing a frag. This is because Halo's battles last much longer than other shooters like the Call of Duty franchise. In that time your strategies and which aspect of the trifecta you use will change more times and lead to a more successful experience.
2. Caring for the Community. The reason most people still support Bungie the way they do is because they have the hands down best community support of any Dev in gaming history. Through Bungie.net, responding to community feedback, and the grandest meme collection since well... nowhere.
1. BALANCE! It is the single aspect that sinks the Call of Duty franchise and it is what really makes halo great. When Bungie grants the Rocket Launcher the lock on ability and fans complain it's overpowered, sage swoops in and nerfs it! The balancing of weapons and abilities, the owrk of one great beard, is THE reason why Halo gameplay is loved.
Now for an abrupt shift.
Why it is Hated.
lets face it in the 1990's PC gaming was THE option with the exception of the n64 bursting onto the scene towards the end. That decade didn't want change and Bungie forced it down there starcraft loving gullets (no hate on starcraft here). When thousands upon thousand of users hopped onto the Xbox Live bandwagon in 2004 just for halo 2 that many less people were playing WoW. When Halo 3 won countless awards including, Gphoria's coveted GOTY, It resulted in a massive shift for gamers. Console FPS was now the most dominant genre. Not the most populated perhaps, but no doubt the most dominant.
Let's be honest Halo made video games cool. It was a media smash and If you need proof of the halo universe fictional prowess, check out a site called Halopedia. Soon Halo was stealing fanboys from other consoles like no game in history and nearly everyone who has ever held a controller knows the master chiefs name. To conclude this point, when my I had my ipod on shuffle the other day the monastic Halo music started over our speakers for not more than three seconds and my MOM knew it was the Halo soundtrack. Halo is clearly the popular game it's accused of being.
With popularity "spawns" hatred. Listen to this list and say out loud the first thing that comes to your head.
Jersey Shore
Justin Beiber
Call of Duty
NASCAR
Sarah Palin
Farmville
Everything in that list had two things in common. They are popular and they are despised by PC gamers. (perhaps with the exception of Palin and CoD).
I'll add one more.
The Halo franchise.
You've already made up your mind so i'll leave you with this.
If you think Halo is bland and mediocre do you think that because you actually never have fun with it's gameplay or because it's "cool" to think so. Hint* one very fast speaking aussie on this site agrees with the latter.
The halo franchise began for some people as an announcement at MacWorld 1999 of an FPS shooter that implemented the two thumb-stick system as well as revolutionary gameplay like the two gun system and the best vehicle gameplay any console FPS had ever seen. For others Halo began as hearing a wild party in the dorm across the hall and stumbling in to four guys having the time of their lives. Then there were others (like me) who found Halo through Halo 2' revolutionary console multiplayer experience. First the first time a major console shooter could maintain a population that could compete with the PC dominated gaming generation. Halo 3 brought it all mainstream popularizing the game to levels that rivaled the best video games across the board.
Like it or not, Halo inspired every console FPS on the market today and EVERY fps dev out there looks at it's gameplay model to build their game around. So what exactly did Halo do to make it so popular? Here are the top 5
5. Vehicle Combat. In most console FPS of the past, Vehicles either did not exist, were highly unbalanced, or did not truly enhance gameplay. Halo vehicles focused on being easy to drive and not exploding after they were shot by one round from a pistol. This created the fun environment that players loved.
4. Non-Competitive focus. The goal of Halo's gameplay is not to win (initially at least) it was to have as much fun as humanly possible. This meant that players would need each tool at their disposal to serve a unique purpose. Players would have more health and faster movement speed. This friendly casual environment allowed new players to have fun as well as hardcore players to destroy the competition at the level that best suits the player.
3. The Trifecta. Although it was not revolutionary in design, the way Bungie balanced Halo, allowing players to decide between shooting, meleeing, or throwing a frag. This is because Halo's battles last much longer than other shooters like the Call of Duty franchise. In that time your strategies and which aspect of the trifecta you use will change more times and lead to a more successful experience.
2. Caring for the Community. The reason most people still support Bungie the way they do is because they have the hands down best community support of any Dev in gaming history. Through Bungie.net, responding to community feedback, and the grandest meme collection since well... nowhere.
1. BALANCE! It is the single aspect that sinks the Call of Duty franchise and it is what really makes halo great. When Bungie grants the Rocket Launcher the lock on ability and fans complain it's overpowered, sage swoops in and nerfs it! The balancing of weapons and abilities, the owrk of one great beard, is THE reason why Halo gameplay is loved.
Now for an abrupt shift.
Why it is Hated.
lets face it in the 1990's PC gaming was THE option with the exception of the n64 bursting onto the scene towards the end. That decade didn't want change and Bungie forced it down there starcraft loving gullets (no hate on starcraft here). When thousands upon thousand of users hopped onto the Xbox Live bandwagon in 2004 just for halo 2 that many less people were playing WoW. When Halo 3 won countless awards including, Gphoria's coveted GOTY, It resulted in a massive shift for gamers. Console FPS was now the most dominant genre. Not the most populated perhaps, but no doubt the most dominant.
Let's be honest Halo made video games cool. It was a media smash and If you need proof of the halo universe fictional prowess, check out a site called Halopedia. Soon Halo was stealing fanboys from other consoles like no game in history and nearly everyone who has ever held a controller knows the master chiefs name. To conclude this point, when my I had my ipod on shuffle the other day the monastic Halo music started over our speakers for not more than three seconds and my MOM knew it was the Halo soundtrack. Halo is clearly the popular game it's accused of being.
With popularity "spawns" hatred. Listen to this list and say out loud the first thing that comes to your head.
Jersey Shore
Justin Beiber
Call of Duty
NASCAR
Sarah Palin
Farmville
Everything in that list had two things in common. They are popular and they are despised by PC gamers. (perhaps with the exception of Palin and CoD).
I'll add one more.
The Halo franchise.
You've already made up your mind so i'll leave you with this.
If you think Halo is bland and mediocre do you think that because you actually never have fun with it's gameplay or because it's "cool" to think so. Hint* one very fast speaking aussie on this site agrees with the latter.
