What have the Halo games done for us?

[Rodrigo Girao]

All the "Halo proved FPS works on consoles" people: would you kindly shut your mouths? There's ignorance spewing from them.

Faceball 2000 - Gameboy, 1991 / SNES, 1992
Corporation (aka Cyber-Cop) - Mega Drive, 1992
Wolfenstein 3D - SNES, 1994
Zero Tolerance - Mega Drive, 1994
Battle Frenzy (aka Blood Shot) - Mega Drive, 1994
Doom - SNES, 1995

If a single game is to get credit for the "proved FPS works on consoles" thing, it must be Zero Tolerance. It was a Mega Drive exclusive with excellent graphics (for the time), very complex maps, and rather solid gameplay.

 

[Jetsetneo]

......aaaannnnddd only two of those are noteworthy, oh and they had much superior versions on PC. And they didn't kick off the revolution on CONSOLES. Wasn't until goldeneye that the genre really took place, and even then HALO brought in thousands and really made people look at the genre and take hold of it on consoles.

Edit: I'm a little confused about people complaining that it was dull, boring, what not...Can you give another console FPS peer that did anything as well as it did? I can forgive you if you've played recent versions, and thus compare them to say, MW, TF2, or the like? Or are we just upset that Halo got more attention than the latest (Mario or your favorite franchise) at the time?

 

[Sandernista]

It brought me and my brother closer together. Some of the greatest multiplayer experiences ever.

The entire reason I ever bought an xbox.

The reason I started getting xbox live.

So many memories. So many good times with my little bro. We were a boss doubles team.

 

[ResonanceGames]

All the "Halo proved FPS works on consoles" people: would you kindly shut your mouths? There's ignorance spewing from them.

Chill out.

Just showing up isn't the same as "working"...especially when you list a bunch of games that existed pre-freelook and pre-true 3d. You could have picked Goldeneye or Forsaken and made a much better point.

 

[Zantos]

Damn double post

 

[Zantos]

They've provided me with many, many hours of entertainment and fun with my friends.

... That's about it, really, and that's all I was looking for.

Just, yeah. I can't really add to what this nice person said. Just this.

Special mention to very regular rocket launcher on energy sword duels with my mate.

 

[Terminate421]

For the history of games or recently?

Either way, a lot.

Halo pretty much made console first person shooters a thing. If you play any FPS on the 360 or PS3 today, you have Halo to thank for proving it was something that could be done, because prior to Halo, people were unsure if first person shooters could even be done on a console, much less be successful.

Bungie, who made Halo up until now, are also the model of fan interactivity. They have always been very caring about their fan base, far and above most other developers. They have also used fan input in making changes and fixes to the games numerous times.

The Halo multiplayer also has more pieces to it than a lot of people seem to think, and it takes more than just having the best gun and position. There is a skill level to this game, despite what some people say about it.

It;s also the reason the Xbox had the reception it did. Halo was the game that made the console, just like Mario makes Nintendos years ago.

Aside from that, the two weapon inventory, Red vs Blue, regeneration, forge (which brought some amazing custom games that kept me up late many times).

It's done a lot really, it's just that in this day and age people seem more interested in this whole 'modern war' thing not to mention Halo has been around for awhile and now seems to be falling a bit in some peoples eyes. I still love it though, I thought Reach was a return to form, but that was just me it seems.

*Sheds a tear of agreement*

Trust me when I see alot more in the franchise than most people. You and I are quite on the same level.

 

[Some_weirdGuy]

it has the doom marine in it.
http://www.videogamelookalikes.com/pics/doom-guy-master-chief-halo-02.jpg


honestly I don't have much to add, never owned halo, only ever played it a couple of times.

 

[Gromril]

To date it's the only shooter game that allows me and up to three friends to go online on the same account and the same screen, making it the best thing since sliced fucking bread.

 

[JayDig]

Co-op.

The Halo series didn't invent it or anything, but co-op features get better with every title.
If other games copy from Halo, let them copy splitscreen and/or four player campaign.

 

[Takoshake]

Combat Evolved brought friends together and that game play needs to be top on the priority list. A good story is nice but if the game is no fun to play.... story won't help.

 

[ultrachicken]

They've kept the traditional couch co-op shooter alive, produced varied and beautiful environments with cool architecture, an addictive multiplayer formula, and they've kept a large contingent of gamers away from the faux-realism that's been sweeping the markets. It's given map-editing to consoles, and is one of the few games that puts a lot of time and effort into making each match balanced.

 

[Arkley]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this so far - I only briefly read the previous pages - but Halo gave us two very, very good (and important) gameplay additions to the genre. No, I'm not talking regenerating health and the two-weapon-limit, those are clearly important additions, but highly divisive in recent years.

Halo was the first game to ever use dedicated buttons for melee attacks and grenade use. In every game prior to Halo, grenades and melee attacks required you to switch to your grenades or fists/melee weapon. Those two seemingly small additions drastically streamlined play and allowed some greater, swifter tactical decisions.

Halo also popularised non-linear, open-world levels with multiple ways to approach a situation, along with vehicles the player could enter, use and exit at will (as opposed to scripted vehicle sections). Halo wasn't the first game to allow this style of play (Tribes 2 had aspects of freedom of approach and vehicle use), but it was the first to implement them so effectively.

Then there's online co-op from Halo 2, the success of which was nothing less than the harbinger of modern online console play.

All in all, love it or hate it, the Halo franchise is one of the most important and influential in video gaming history.

 

[Dansen]

Thanks to Halo I made a really good friend who I might not have met otherwise.

 

[Danny 6Speed]

I have yet to this day been able to think of anything positive Halo has done for the FPS Genre, aside from bring it to the forefront for a larger audience. Regenerating health and the two weapon limit as seen in most FPS games today, I have Halo to thank for that.

Hey I like the weapon limit it gives you that moment of decision of "Will I take the rocket-launcher that is out in 4 shots or the assault rifle that can hold tons of spare ammo." but in some other games it makes little to no sense. It makes the combat more intense when you picked the wrong weapon and have to sacrifice combat flexibility for having that rocket-launcher followed by a panic when you need something else for your current situation. (The Silent Cartographer level from Halo C.E anyone?) Bungie put in there for a reason... to fit THEIR GAME



Can people stop ripping on shooters please?

However It may be just that Halo was a Huge part of my childhood and I grew up with the chief but whatever... call be biased.

 

[Nieroshai]

I think it did two things
1. It made multiplayer shooters more accessible to the console market, as opposed to the Counter Strike crowd. Before you cite Goldeneye, I speak of the online multiplayer world.
2. For the time, its production quality and atmosphere, combined with its aforementioned multiplayer, pretty much saved a dying console. Halo became a sort of flagship game after that, not to the extent of Mario or Mickey Mouse but similar.

I like the games both for their atmosphere and their simplicity. Some of the best games I've ever played focused specifically on those qualities. Sure, there are more realistic games with shinier features, but did you stop eating vanilla ice cream altogether when you discovered chocolate, or did you go find some strawberry and make neapolitan? I likes me some Call of Duty, then there's Halo, but I top that off with a nostalgic romp through Doom. Then again, I'm the most varied gamer I know. If it has buttons and a plot, I've at least given it a run.

 

[Greatjusticeman]

It proved shooters could work on a console.

The Xbox would not have been successful without it.

It became the template for the modern FPS.

It has provided us with many hours of entertainment.

So yes, it has done quite a lot for us.

 

[Joby Baumann]

Popularized online console gaming, other than that, its a good party game

 

[kommando367]

They've collectively give me a few months of entertainment.

 

[Rodrigo Girao]

Fools insist on calling Halo a shooter...