"There's no going back. You changed things."

[CIA]

I'm really stunned that mentioning the word "Halo" Brought to me such a harsh lash back

I personally like halo, go ahead and burn me for my opinion differing from Yahtzee... I can feel your hatred from here

but you're right, the PC wasn't affected by halo nearly as much as the consoles were

You still didn't explained how halo changed things.

That's explain.

Halo is fun and that is all that matters in a game. Fun games change things because everyone copies them. I honestly have no idea if that's good or bad.

 

[stompy]

Firstly I must clarify a few things:

- Halo did not have online multiplayer
- Halo did not invent regenerating health
- Halo did not invent large open areas
- Halo did not invent the melee attack
- Gears of War did not invent the cover system

The OP isn't asking whether a game invented something or not, just that it influenced the genre with said addition. In that light, Halo made console FPSs popular, introduced recovering health and hotkeys for both grenades and melee, while Gears of War made the cover system popular in 3PS/shooter genre. Halo and Gears influenced their respective genres to include these additions, but did not create them.

As for my list, I'm going to say the aforementioned, Half Life, Battlefield 2 and Warcraft 3.

 

[RufusMcLaser]

I have to agree, BF1942 really changed online play for me. It was a big evolutionary step- though not actually revolutionary.
Let's see...
Battlezone (the original arcade version), Wolfenstein 3D, and Doom all had major impacts on the FPS genre. Wolf3D and Doom moreso than BZ, of course.
Baldur's Gate is credited with reviving and revolutionizing the computer RPG.
Everquest was clearly an epoch-maker for MMOs. Yes, there was Ultima first, but that brings me to my next one-
Command & Conquer (original). The gameplay was pioneered in Dune, but this was the game that really gave us the RTS. Therein lies the point of my previous statement; Ultima Oline was to Evercrack as Dune was to C&C. Yes, I know about MUDs, MOOs, and so on. UO and Dune did it first, but every game since then hasn't much altered the mechanics of the second game.
...anyway.
You can't say that CounterStrike didn't leave a mark. Here was a mod that all but overshadowed the original game.
Yeah, I was underawed by Halo, too. The single-player campaign was bunk. Fortunately for the fratboy demographic, it had good multiplay. Almost as good as we were already used to on the PC. (I preferred Tribes.)

 

[Good morning blues]

Half-Life brought complex storytelling to the first-person shooter genre. Before Half-Life, though there was the occasional Jedi Knight, most FPS games were content to be simple point-and-shoot affairs like Doom and Quake. Half-Life brought immersion and unique storytelling to the table; it was more than a level punctuated with cutscenes at either end.

Halo changed things, because before Halo, vehicles were rare, regenerating health was nowhere to be seen, and grenades were that hard-to-reach key that nobody ever used.

 

[Landslide]

I'd say the original Doom, without question. It pioneered the genre of first person shooters. With the shareware release, it became widespread and popular cementing its success. It also brought along a multiplayer play style that is still in use today. That's a big triple threat.

 

[Caliostro]

Firstly I must clarify a few things:

- Halo did not have online multiplayer
- Halo did not invent regenerating health
- Halo did not invent large open areas
- Halo did not invent the melee attack
- Gears of War did not invent the cover system

The OP isn't asking whether a game invented something or not, just that it influenced the genre with said addition. In that light, Halo made console FPSs popular, introduced recovering health and hotkeys for both grenades and melee, while Gears of War made the cover system popular in 3PS/shooter genre. Halo and Gears influenced their respective genres to include these additions, but did not create them.

As for my list, I'm going to say the aforementioned, Half Life, Battlefield 2 and Warcraft 3.

As much as I hate the Halo fanbase, and that Bungiee basically pulled an "EA tactic" with Halo 2 and 3, the original Halo was, imo, greatly influential to the FPS industry. It's not that Halo invented something never done before, it was the way it did it. Considering the original was done in 2001, it was groundbreaking for all it accomplished, for what it brought together.

And I think it goes without mentioning the excessive amount of "Halo wannabes" nowadays.

 

[Gotham Soul]

Starcraft. Most if not all of Blizzard's games have been vastly popular, but it was this scifi strategy game that really set the prints for a lot of RTS games afterwards.

 

[alwaysrockon]

age of empire. there were few enough rts before it.
starcraft and warcraft.
mortal combat.
doom
battlefeild 2

 

[stompy]

As much as I hate the Halo fanbase, and that Bungiee basically pulled an "EA tactic" with Halo 2 and 3, the original Halo was, imo, greatly influential to the FPS industry. It's not that Halo invented something never done before, it was the way it did it. Considering the original was done in 2001, it was groundbreaking for all it accomplished, for what it brought together.

And I think it goes without mentioning the excessive amount of "Halo wannabes" nowadays.

I'm not arguing whether Halo is a good game (in my opinion it is, but that's a personal choice), but whether or not it's an influential game. I'm glad that you can see where I'm coming from, and why I say Halo was influential. It's not what it invented, but how all those used features were put together. Maybe nothing special for PC gamers, but it pioneered console FPSs.

The same thing happened with Gears of War. Yes, most of the game places it in the "pure action, and nothing else" category, but it introduced the cover mechanic to the mainstream audience, and look what's happened now. Gears, like Halo, didn't invent something new, but it polished something already existent, and made it extremely popular. That in itself influenced their genres.

Nice to see someone can look past their perspective, and see it from someone else's. Thanks.

 

[Bulletinmybrain]

Ratchet and Clank has my nomination for most imaginative/varied weapons.

Also, Fallout for best TB-RPG.

 

[Eldritch Warlord]

We're talking about innovation not kicks you get out of the game.

If you're referring to your statement about every shooter trying to be a copy of halo,
well then halo did brought innovation for the worse.
But lets see it this way.
Aliens in games, was done before. A lot.
Space marines...need i say star craft?
Being a hero that is hard to kill...well play other games on easy and you'll get that effect.

So really what did Halo change?

Your arguing about the story elements mostly. Why not mention vehicles, limited weapons, regenerating health? It didn't invent any but it certainly popularized them, and I believe if your going to be debunking claims that a game was innovative maybe you should delve into the actual gameplay instead of the premise in which that gameplay takes place.

So, a few games I consider to be influential:

Doom - It carved out a new genre (although Wolfenstein 3D invented it) and brought about Deathmatch and LAN parties.

Super Mario Brothers - This game basically defines the fundamentals of platforming.

The Legend of Zelda - Save system, duh right?

Grand Theft Auto III - Open world

Halo - Brought FPS to consoles in a big way, finally besting "Platformer" as the most popular console genre.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

Halo did not pioneer [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pioneer] anything.

You've lost track of what the thread is about, Harhol.

I was wondering... I think you'd all agree some games were more influential to gaming history than others. While some games merely fade away into oblivion (no pun intended there), others become iconic landmarks that completely changed games as we know them. What games would you say completely changed the face of the industry? Which games just changed everything in your opinion?

This isn't about what games were "furst!" with a feature. This is about the games that influenced the industry; and frankly the industry is copying Halo even according to the game's harshest critics. If that's not influence, what is?

-- Steve

 

[Eldritch Warlord]

GTA III changed the face of the industry (unfortunately...)
Final Fantasy VII changed the face of the industry.
Metal Gear Solid changed the face of the industry.
Halo did not.

OK, name 10 console shooters that predate Halo. Now name 10 that have come since.

Which was the easier list? If nothing else Halo made shooters huge on consoles.

 

[Chickenlittle]

Halo was a great game, and still is, but it has also spawned dozens if not hundreds of stale copy-cats.

Any why are you even arguing? It is possible that multiple games changed the face of the industry. Halo defined FPS on consoles to even today, and Half-Life made PC Shooters.

I also think that while Civilizations may have started the strategy craze on PCs, but Command & Conquer drastically improved by making it simpler and Real-Time, which is how "most" RTSs are today, while TBSs follow Civ.

 

[stompy]

So in order for something to be considered 'influential' it has to reach a mainstream audience?

Surely you both jest.

Halo did not pioneer [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pioneer] anything. It was a decent (if highly derivative) FPS which was unceremoniously shunted into the front line by an efficient marketing drive and generous review scores (something which always happens at the launch of a new console: see Motorstorm). Its only notable achievement is that it introduced a lot of inexperienced gamers to a thriving genre which they previously knew very little about.

Gears of War "polished something already existent, and made it extremely popular"? So did Tokio Hotel.

I'm not saying that an influential game needs to meet the mainstream audience. I'm trying to say that, should the game change the genre, add features that become staples in the genre, then it becomes influential. It influences the games in its genre, regardless of whether it becomes mainstream. Being mainstream, however, just means that it's a lot easier to be seen among the many video games out there.

As per your second point, what about regenerating health, what about vehicle sections, what about weapon management, what about hotkeys for grenades for melee weapons? If you can think of games that introduced those things well (on consoles, no less), does the same game put them together well as well (again, on consoles)?

For your last point, if Tokio Hotel did so, then that's nice. Regardless, Gears made cover systems extremely popular, and now, it's found in many games. I'm not going to be stupid enough to say that Gears invented the cover system, but because it brought it into the limelight and made it an immensely popular, it's influential to its genre.

Actually, by your own admittance, Halo do something for its genre (well, I'd say sub-genre, but that's me):Its only notable achievement is that it introduced a lot of inexperienced gamers to a thriving genre which they previously knew very little about. It brought the FPS to the consoles, something that definitely influenced the market. In today's game line-up, it's very hard not to see a FPS for consoles. Just because you "don't think Halo did anything of the sort", doesn't automatically make it true.

Edit:

Any why are you even arguing? It is possible that multiple games changed the face of the industry. Halo defined FPS on consoles to even today, and Half-Life made PC Shooters.

This is what I'm trying to say. Half Life did wonders for the PC. It showed that CGI, or even cutscenes, weren't needed for an engrossing narrative. It showed how a permanent first person perspective could add so much to the story-telling of a game. Most importantly (for this thread), it became a staple for the genre, used in games like Halo and Gears, to name a couple. But, you've also got Gears and Halo changing the console 3PS and FPS respectively (well, Halo's regenerating health is present in quite a few games now). All the games changed their genres.

Edit Edit: My verbose post is pretty much summed up in this little bit:

This isn't about what games were "furst!" with a feature. This is about the games that influenced the industry; and frankly the industry is copying Halo even according to the game's harshest critics. If that's not influence, what is?

Damn Anton, why are you so succinct?! **shakes fist**