What do you see in halo?

[axelmaxima]

just the joy of killing friends with alien and space marine weapons.

 

[Charli]

If you're like me and dislike listening to f-wads all day long, Halo is indeed going to a very mediocre game. My friend, a scary grindathon twitchy must-be-the-best, rare member of the female of the speices, enjoys it, and taped my hands to an xbox controller to help her play.

It just...and then I watched the online version being played, within minutes we were accused of the following:

Being a prepubesant boy
Putting on my accent
HaxOrz
Being a noob
Being cheap


...The list of insults would continue but frankly I have little time for people who feel that swearing and acting like a caged rabid chimp is the way to accomplish anything in life, so I just walked off to go play somthing fun instead. Insults don't effect me, because I can come up with 101 more clever and scathing comments off the top of my head without thinking but the case in point is that the target audience is just to mentally dead to actually understand anything I'd say... at the very least I might get them to brain freeze for a second in utter confusion before getting a reply along the lines of 'lol nub, ur mom'.

The game itself is Good, graphics shiny, controls easy to manage, and soundtrack and story fairly solid. It's just... it's not worth the hype unless you are lucky enough to play with people that aren't only capable of their holy net-lingo and think that 'lol i fuked ur mom last night' is a translation of the the term 'hi, you killed me and I am rather displeased about that'

 

[irishdelinquent]

What I love about Halo is the amount of freedom you're given in choosing how to tackle a battle, take for example the battles with the scarab tanks in Halo 3, there are so many ways to take them down you can just have fun experimenting, unlike other more linear games where there is only ever one way to defeat an enemy. Also the way vehicles are implemented in the games is unlike any other I've played.
I love Halo's story and how effortlessly epic it all feels, the multiplayer is also great although I'm not a big fan of any multiplayer games.

I remember the battles against the Scarabs from Halo 3, and I remember you take all of them down the same bloody way; shoot out the legs, climb onboard, blow up the power generator, retreat and watch "epic explosion", repeat as necessary. While the game may allow you to take down the Scarab without using a specific gun, that's pretty much it as far as choosing how to take down an enemy.

a ring

Ba dump tish

 

[beddo]

I have to say, I have played all the halo games, and I admit, they're good, controls are nice, the game smooth and polished, and I had fun playing it. That said, I thought it was good, not great like everyone else. The game play is monotonous, the atmosphere is uninteresting, The graphics are..... Well lets put it this way: If I hold up a lump of shit, its not pretty, now if I made a 3D model of that shit, no matter how good I make it, its still ugly. I mean, the graphics are good, but still ugly and boring. The story line, or lack there of, is what really put me off this game though. If you've read my past posts, you'll know I like story.... a lot...... Metal gear solid.......

So what am I missing in this? Some hidden gem I'm not seeing?

You like story and you like Metal Gear Solid, well, that's a bit of an oxymoron.

Stop judging a 2002 game by 2008-2009 standards.

The graphics in Halo CE were cutting edge at the time. Being a release game for the most powerful console in its generation. It was very impressive graphically speaking, running at a solid 30 fps it had Cubic mapping, Bump mapping, high polygon characters, facial animation, glow effects, special effects, animated weapon textures that showed ammo states, water textures. It was the best looking console games at the time by far.

Halo 2, implemented Normal maps and higher polygon characters as well as more advanced lighting.

Halo 3 implemented high resolution Normal Maps, parallax mapping, High Dynamic Range lighting, motion blur, depth of field and fur shaders.

So when yu talk about graphics you should really know what you're talking about before criticising.

I'm not trying to counter your argument that the graphics were good, but you completely misunderstood what he said and got angry about something that you're implying he said that he really didn't actually say.

I'm not angry! People can think what they want, tbh I only scanned it rather than read it so I didn't pay attention to the fact he was talking about aesthetics over graphical capability.

Read this part again please (comprehension test time!):

If I hold up a lump of shit, its not pretty, now if I made a 3D model of that shit, no matter how good I make it, its still ugly. I mean, the graphics are good, but still ugly and boring.

Okay so he's saying the graphics are good, but sometimes even if you make the graphics as good as you possibly can they're still not appealing because of what in particular you are rendering. I see this more of an argument of maybe boring environments, or something samey within the game. I wouldn't know I havent played halo enough, but he isnt saying the graphics are bad, so don't tell him to know what he's talking about before criticizing when its clearly you who needs to understand what you're countering before you tell someone they don't know what they're talking about.

So now you know, and knowing is half the battle! [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AjcDW7zIY8&feature=channel_page]

Again, I only skimmed the post so I didn't read it properly but you're right, he's talking about aesthetics. I think that the aesthetics and feeling in the first game were mostly good, with wide ranging environments.

Halo 2 and 3 were less inspired but they still had some decent settings. Better than a lot of games such as Gears of War and Half Life 2 imo.

 

[SmilingKitsune]

What I love about Halo is the amount of freedom you're given in choosing how to tackle a battle, take for example the battles with the scarab tanks in Halo 3, there are so many ways to take them down you can just have fun experimenting, unlike other more linear games where there is only ever one way to defeat an enemy. Also the way vehicles are implemented in the games is unlike any other I've played.
I love Halo's story and how effortlessly epic it all feels, the multiplayer is also great although I'm not a big fan of any multiplayer games.

I remember the battles against the Scarabs from Halo 3, and I remember you take all of them down the same bloody way; shoot out the legs, climb onboard, blow up the power generator, retreat and watch "epic explosion", repeat as necessary. While the game may allow you to take down the Scarab without using a specific gun, that's pretty much it as far as choosing how to take down an enemy.

a ring

Ba dump tish

Well I once took the first one you meet out by driving a mongoose up a ramp and jumping out landing on the scarab, you can also just shoot out their back armour so it's not actually necessary to climb on-board them at all. So no there aren't an infinite number of ways to take them down but there are more than for most "bosses".

 

[gunluva]

What I love about Halo is the amount of freedom you're given in choosing how to tackle a battle, take for example the battles with the scarab tanks in Halo 3, there are so many ways to take them down you can just have fun experimenting, unlike other more linear games where there is only ever one way to defeat an enemy. Also the way vehicles are implemented in the games is unlike any other I've played.
I love Halo's story and how effortlessly epic it all feels, the multiplayer is also great although I'm not a big fan of any multiplayer games.

I remember the battles against the Scarabs from Halo 3, and I remember you take all of them down the same bloody way; shoot out the legs, climb onboard, blow up the power generator, retreat and watch "epic explosion", repeat as necessary. While the game may allow you to take down the Scarab without using a specific gun, that's pretty much it as far as choosing how to take down an enemy.

I've:
-ridden on an NPC-controlled Hornet as it touched down on a Scarab. I got out, hit the generator, it went critical, and when I got to the top of the Scarab, the Marine flew the Hornet back to me and landed on the Scarab to pick me up. I swear, the Marine driving AI is crap, but this seriously impressed me.

-flown a Hornet around and took out the Scarab generator without chopping down the legs. Just a few accurate missile launches.

-taken it out with the Scorpion's cannon acting as a giant sniper rifle.

-jumped onto it from the crane in "The Storm", taken it out from the inside.

-jumped onto it with the Gauss 'hog, then taken it out from inside.

So really, they'll always end with taking out the generator, but there are a ton of ways to do it besides simply crippling it and getting inside.

 

[Cymbal Monkey]

I have to say, I have played all the halo games, and I admit, they're good, controls are nice, the game smooth and polished, and I had fun playing it. That said, I thought it was good, not great like everyone else. The game play is monotonous, the atmosphere is uninteresting, The graphics are..... Well lets put it this way: If I hold up a lump of shit, its not pretty, now if I made a 3D model of that shit, no matter how good I make it, its still ugly. I mean, the graphics are good, but still ugly and boring. The story line, or lack there of, is what really put me off this game though. If you've read my past posts, you'll know I like story.... a lot...... Metal gear solid.......

So what am I missing in this? Some hidden gem I'm not seeing?

You like story and you like Metal Gear Solid, well, that's a bit of an oxymoron.

Stop judging a 2002 game by 2008-2009 standards.

The graphics in Halo CE were cutting edge at the time. Being a release game for the most powerful console in its generation. It was very impressive graphically speaking, running at a solid 30 fps it had Cubic mapping, Bump mapping, high polygon characters, facial animation, glow effects, special effects, animated weapon textures that showed ammo states, water textures. It was the best looking console games at the time by far.

Halo 2, implemented Normal maps and higher polygon characters as well as more advanced lighting.

Halo 3 implemented high resolution Normal Maps, parallax mapping, High Dynamic Range lighting, motion blur, depth of field and fur shaders.

So when yu talk about graphics you should really know what you're talking about before criticising.

I'm not trying to counter your argument that the graphics were good, but you completely misunderstood what he said and got angry about something that you're implying he said that he really didn't actually say.

I'm not angry! People can think what they want, tbh I only scanned it rather than read it so I didn't pay attention to the fact he was talking about aesthetics over graphical capability.

Read this part again please (comprehension test time!):

If I hold up a lump of shit, its not pretty, now if I made a 3D model of that shit, no matter how good I make it, its still ugly. I mean, the graphics are good, but still ugly and boring.

Okay so he's saying the graphics are good, but sometimes even if you make the graphics as good as you possibly can they're still not appealing because of what in particular you are rendering. I see this more of an argument of maybe boring environments, or something samey within the game. I wouldn't know I havent played halo enough, but he isnt saying the graphics are bad, so don't tell him to know what he's talking about before criticizing when its clearly you who needs to understand what you're countering before you tell someone they don't know what they're talking about.

So now you know, and knowing is half the battle! [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AjcDW7zIY8&feature=channel_page]

Again, I only skimmed the post so I didn't read it properly but you're right, he's talking about aesthetics. I think that the aesthetics and feeling in the first game were mostly good, with wide ranging environments.

Halo 2 and 3 were less inspired but they still had some decent settings. Better than a lot of games such as Gears of War and Half Life 2 imo.

Thank you for understanding, Like I said, the graphics, for the time, are AMAZINGLY GOOD, that said, I don't like what the good graphics are of. MGS1: shit graphics, but I liked what they were showing.

You like story and you like Metal Gear Solid, well, that's a bit of an oxymoron.

Are you kidding? THAT GAME IS PLOT DRIVEN! MGS3 mabie less so, but the others are massively ploty.


On to me hating halo, I don't, I can't understand how people can hate it. Thats why I started this thread, every other thread like this is bashing halo, but I don't hate it, I have enjoyed my time playing it, but I don't hold it up as one of the greatest games ever made.

 

[chapmanite]

One thing that makes Halo stand out is the vehicles. I can make a map with over 10 different types of vehicles. I can not think of another FPS that does the same. I can't think of another FPS that has a Spartan Laser that can destroy a vehicle with a boom.

Far cry 2? GTA 4? ever heard of these games? i know gta isnt an fps but it does what it says on the tin, i.e over ten different types of vehicle and can destroy a vehicle with a boom. in fact you can destroy a vehicle with a much more impressive boom on gta. i also wanted to say, halo 3 didnt live up to the hype in my opinion, it was simplistic, easy to get into, whatever you want to say, but it doesnt feel as tactical to me, i like tactical shooters like RSV and CoD because of the tactical approach involved, halo was seen as "The biggest game of the year" when it came out, sure when it came out, it may have been the biggest game of the year, all in all, i dont hate halo, good fun games, but no real tactics involved in vegas you put a silencer on to make your approach more stealthy, MGS you use a tranq gun, halo 3 you...run in shooting, its like chuck norris running into a room full of bad guys firing his guns in the air randomly, no real tactics but a bit of fun, as a serious game i'd rate halo as a 8 out of ten, still areas where it could be improved as a fun game ten out of ten but not my personal cup of tea and slice of cake

 

[gunluva]

Raise the difficulty a bit, and you'll get your challenge.

 

[Sixties Spidey]

I see it as the first FPS game I have ever played in my life, and also the first game that launched me face-first into the world of Hard-core gaming.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

What I love about Halo is the amount of freedom you're given in choosing how to tackle a battle, take for example the battles with the scarab tanks in Halo 3, there are so many ways to take them down you can just have fun experimenting, unlike other more linear games where there is only ever one way to defeat an enemy.

I remember the battles against the Scarabs from Halo 3, and I remember you take all of them down the same bloody way; shoot out the legs, climb onboard, blow up the power generator, retreat and watch "epic explosion", repeat as necessary. While the game may allow you to take down the Scarab without using a specific gun, that's pretty much it as far as choosing how to take down an enemy.

Other ways I have defeated Scarabs:

- blown off the rear armour with a tank and then shot the generator from outside, all from long range
- kneecapped it with missiles from a VTOL and then swung around to kill it from the rear with point-blank cannon fire
- freefall from above (VTOL, or jumping from a derrick) onto the upper deck and slaughtered the crew in close quarters
- popped a power drainer onto it, causing it to stall out so that I could board it without taking out the knees

When playing co-op, even more options open up.

The rest of the game also rewards mixing things up. It may seem like the "strike weak point for MASSIVE DAMAGE" to an observer, but it plays out very much differently.

-- Steve

 

[Eldritch Warlord]

Finally the Arbiter, now I reckon if they ever did a remake of Halo one then the Arbiter should be made into a major character in the story somehow because he's great.

Well, he was the Fleet Master of the Covenant forces at Alpha Halo. Should make integrating him into the story easier. In fact I read a rather good fan-made movie script that had him as one of the primary characters.

I really like Halo, it's one of my favorite series (I guess if forced to choose I would call it my favorite overall). And one thing I can't stand about the hate for it is the criticism.

I'll paraphrase one of the most reasoned discussions I've had on why Halo sucks:

"It's generic."

"Why?"

"Well, bad ass space marine shooting aliens. What's new about that?"

"A few things in this case, but that's plot/setting anyway. Why is the game generic?"

"You know; run at people, shoot, punch, repeat. It's all been done before and better."

"I'd disagree on many points. However, point out one action game that handles vehicles better than Halo and you win."

"..."

Now there are valid criticisms, but most anyone with a valid point is not a hater and will at least say that the game is decent.

And Halo is a generally distinctive franchise (yes it is, the range of colors and meaningful use of vehicles make it almost unique in the modern shooter market).

 

[Chickenlittle]

I see...guns, aliens, incompetent Marines, vehicles, environments, yada yada yada, etc.

And decent Campaigns.

 

[darkeldar1]

your missing nothing. Its a fun game, but nothing more

 

[irishdelinquent]

Obviously I must defend my previous post somewhat. While there are a variety of means to the end, the truth is simple; the Scarab is always killed by blowing up the reactor on the rear. Regardless of which clever strategy you employ, or what vehicle you utilise to do things the easy way, it is killed in the same manor. This is no different from, say, fighting Gohma in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. You can use the z-targeting to make things easy, or you can try and freehand it. You can only shoot it on the ground, or you can pick it off while it's on the ceiling too. You can beat to death with a Deku stick, using your sword, or simply spam jump-attacks. The end result is the same; you hit her in the eye (the reactor), do damage, and she dies.

My point was to prove that although there are many different means to achieve a single end, this is not a ground-breaking feature of Halo.

 

[podhob]

Multiplayer. Xbox Live. very fun, but sometimes annoying.

soooooooooo true

 

[Same River New Water]

The story line, or lack there of, is what really put me off this game though. If you've read my past posts, you'll know I like story.... a lot...... Metal gear solid.......

So what am I missing in this? Some hidden gem I'm not seeing?

Multiplayer. Halo is not a game you play for the story. Apparently some of the books demonstrate that the story is actually interesting, but the overarching plot was so poorly told through the games that it just doesn't count (unlike the point-to-point action of the games themselves, which was handled competently). Overally, the single player is above-average, nothing more: the controls are good, the Covenant AI has a decent amount of personality, the guns are fun to mess around with. But you can tell the single-player is designed to be powered through in a week and then forgotten about; if it was supposed to be the focus of the games, the campaign in both Halo 2 and Halo 3 wouldn't have been so short.

Halo multiplayer, though, just never gets old. No matter what kind of day I'm having, and whether I last played Halo earlier that morning or three months ago, I can always fire up a Team Slayer match and have a blast.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

My point was to prove that although there are many different means to achieve a single end, this is not a ground-breaking feature of Halo.

To take your point to its obvious conclusion, chess is always the same because you can only win by checkmating the king. There may be many different ways to achieve that single end, but in the end it comes down to pinning down one piece of your opponent's.

Chess has been entertaining people for well over a thousand years. It may or may not be your thing, but it has endured and prospered. I fail to see this as a strike against Halo's gameplay.

-- Steve