To Video Game Connoisseurs: Love Halo

[mParadox]

Halo does the same thing as Starcraft, GTA except from a different camera angle. ;-)

You could also say that we should love Doom since it was the one which introduced the world to the true FPS violence, (Yeah i know that Wolfenstein came out first..but still...).

Unfortunately fanboyism ultimately dictates which game series or companies people(i.e. angry 13-yr olds) will hold in high regard therefore it's only logical to respect every genre and sub-genre equally since this will make you neutral in front of the fanboys and save you from rape threats.

Halo is by no means a bad series but as said by the above poster a very simplified version of FPSs. Sure all FPS games(incl. Halo) have sometimes out-of-this-world stories(ok most of the time), they still make up a fantastic and memorable experience of tension and fun. Therefore, by this logic, love Halo and every god damn FPS out there!

While the argument is valid of the OP, the case against the games is overall very..... stupid.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

They did the same thing to comics. Books have caught their fair share of flack as well. It's just video games' turn. People will yell and scream, parents will get angry, some laws MIGHT pass, be enforced for a year or two, then be broken until they no longer work. Personally, I don't see a problem with saying you're not allowed to buy an M-rated game without a parent's permission if you're under age. My store already does that, and from what I gather, most retail stores do too.

 

[clockout]

@cynical skeptic

Whats oversimplified fps?

 

[Sacman]

I'm going to love a game based on how much I enjoyed it. Not on your word. I did not enjoy Halo, therefore I shall not love it. Good day.

This, but also even though I didn't enjoy it I openly bash it for several other reasons...

 

[BlindMessiah94]

I have no problem with Halo existing. In fact, I think it should exists for the very reasons you stated.

I do have a problem with almost everyone that plays it, because the majority of them are teabagging, foul-mouthed, annoying tweens (on XBLA anyway) and not to mention all the fanboys.

So in short:
game = allowed to exist
everyone who plays it = death
???

Even I don't know what I'm talking about.

 

[Naota_391]

I don't think people give Halo the credit it deserves. It accomplishes a LOT as a single game, and it'll definitely go down in gaming history for its accomplishments. I honestly don't see how people can argue it's a bad game. I'm not saying you gotta like it, but at least show some respect for the things it accomplishes.

For example, I don't like the MGS series for its hour long cut scenes or its ridiculous universe, and I don't like the tank controls need to control Snake for most of the series, but I can respect its success and the inspiration its created for other games like Assassin's Creed and Splinter Cell to be made.

 

[00slash00]

You love innovation and hate clones. You consider Bioshock, Braid, the Half-Life series, and/or the Final Fantasy series to be the pinnacle of gaming design.

i dont think elitists or connoisseurs would pick bioshock or final fantasy as examples of great game design. bioshock is essentially and updated version of system shock 2 and as for final fantasy...does anyone really respect that franchise anymore? seems like your describing is more a retro gamer.

i would consider myself a gaming snob. before a buy a game my first question is whether or not the story is good. if it has a good story and the gameplay isnt completely unbearable, i will probably buy it. if its just fun to play but has no substantial story, i will probably wait until i can find it for under $15. i know what your thinking, and i agree, i do sound like kind of a douche right now. but a lot of people say games are basically interactive movies, which i agree with. in a movie, i value story above all else, so why wouldnt i do the same for an interactive movie. of course sometimes i will buy a game that is just stupid and fun, but i will be far more willing to shell out big bucks for a game that has, what i would consider to be, and important message.

anyway, i have tried playing halo. i never enjoyed the single player or the multiplayer. it all just kinda felt generic. also i blame halo for that whole "shit im almost dead, better crouch behind this rock for 15 seconds so i can heal completely" mechanic. i cannot be the only one who misses having health packs in shooters. nothing was more tense in a shooter, than being down to like 2% health and desperately trying to survive long enough to find another health pack.

but anyway, i dont enjoy games where multiplayer is the focus. maybe im a minority but i vastly prefer a single player experience to multiplayer (which shouldnt be surprising since i just talked about how important story is to me). it seems like more and more online play is getting pushed forward and what i look for in a game is getting pushed to the back...but im getting off topic.

but im not sure i understand your point. are you saying we should support violent games? if so then why single out halo? or are you saying we should support non-violent games? if so then we certainly should not be playing halo. its by no means the most violent but a game where your an emotionless killing machine isnt exactly a golden example of non-violent video games

 

[JWW]

I don't think people give Halo the credit it deserves. It accomplishes a LOT as a single game, and it'll definitely go down in gaming history for its accomplishments. I honestly don't see how people can argue it's a bad game. I'm not saying you gotta like it, but at least show some respect for the things it accomplishes.

http://dasboschitt.blogspot.com/2009/03/whats-so-bad-about-halo.html

 

[JWW]

So, thank halo? Love halo? Fuck no. Halo slammed the industry into the mainstream likely a decade before it was ready. Now games are under fire mainly because they're trapped between what the 'core' demographics want and what the mainstream demographics would like. If halo hadn't happened, there would've been more time for the core demographics to steadily become the mainstream. Instead, it opened gaming to frat boys and tweens who, before then, had nothing even resembling a definition of "video game."

This. So much.

On top of that, Halo is like the Avatar of video games in all the worst ways possible. It cribbed from other sources everything in its foundation, added shiny new layers to it and dumbed down all aspects with such spectacular accuracy that even the most hyper fratboy could (and would) play it and suddenly every company out there was following suit. What followed was a seemingly endless stream of more and more inane writing, empty characters and hollow gameplay that had the depth of a Saturday morning special.

It's an empty game series of bright colors, created for the lowest common denominator that, while opening the eyes of the mainstream population, hasn't made videogames into something acceptable, but brought them further towards the conclusion that they are loud, bright and shallow entertainment for folks who just don't know or care for better.

 

[Signa]

I get the point of this argument, but there is one glaring flaw. I liked games because they were complex and not mainstream (Well, I couldn't care less how many people liked or didn't like them, but the point is that I liked them before Halo). Halo didn't just bring games to the mainstream, it made ALL games mainstream. That's where my problem with Halo is. After 8 years, we are finally seeing some games add in features that were just starting to emerge before Halo.

Gaming didn't need to go mainstream, and there are a lot of games that should have been the tipping point for the "casual" users. Games like Bejeweled allowed bored housewives to call themselves gamers and the Wii brought consoles to Grandpa's house. The fact is, if some one wanted to get into gaming, they only needed to start with it's roots to enjoy it. Those who chose Halo over Quake probably never tried Doom either. However, Doom is the perfect introductory FPS, and yet everyone today just ignores it. It seems to me that if they wanted to make gaming more mainstream, they should have just cloned Doom so that newcomers could start with that while the rest of us long-timers could still enjoy the Systemshocks and Deus Exs that were coming out before Halo brought everything down.