Is anyone else kinda getting tired of Halo?

[wages of sin]

@Kona,

You make some valid points that I can get behind in your response, mainly the issues with Halo2.

For me, I didn't have a problem with the story as much as I did with the overall gameplay and technical qualities of the game. I completely agree that MS is to blame for the mishaps of Halo2 and had Bungie had more time, it would've turned out better.

That being said, Halo2 was still better than most shooters that came out in the same timeframe and none of the others held my attention nearly as long.

Now with Halo3 i'm going to have to go against the grain and disagree with alot of gamers and say the only problem that I have with Halo3 is that by the end, I wanted more.

I'll start by saying that the biggest complaint i've heard from people about Halo3 are the graphics.

I'm playing on a 27inch Samsung widescreen HD CRT (1080i) and it, along with all my HD games, looks fantastic. I have friends that have uber tv's that have made similiar complaints and some that haven't.

Sometimes i'll notice little things here and there like in Sierra 117, when you escape from the underground bunker in a Warthog, will driving you come across the wreckage of an orbital lift that has some of it's cables dangling. I noticed some jaggies on the actual cable but nothing to rise too the overall cacophony of gamers complaints about the games graphics. I'm not saying that people are making stuff up, i'm saying that I don't see the big deal.

As beautiful as Cod4 is, I prefer the sci-fi visuals of Halo3.

Infinity Ward has a hard job to be sure. The newest craze in gaming the last few years is photorealism. I must applaud them on getting closer than most developers can even dream of. One could argue that they have the harder job of the two (Bungie and Infinity Ward) in creating a believable world.

We all know what the real world looks like and becuase of that, we as consumers, weither we be gaming or watching the latest Hollywood CGI masterpiece, naturally are going to have a more critical eye towards what we are looking at for we have a frame of reference from which to draw from. This however IMO, is a double edged sword.

Bungie has the harder job I would argue, in that they have to make you believe in what your seeing on screen. What would 7ft. of Mjolnir look like in reality? What would a Scarab look like? How would a Brute animate if it were real? These present just as equal a challenge for Bungie as Infinity Ward has, and I applaud both develolpers for pulling them off. I'm just more impressed with Bungies effort, call it preference if you will.

On a technical standpoint, I think this is where Halo3 really shines. From the lighting, explosions, water effects etc, I think Halo3 achieves more. Again, I go back to what both have to work with as source material. How would a plasma grenade look exploding in the snow, or better yet, stuck to someone (or somethings) back? How about a Scarab exploding, or the motor round from a Covenant Wraith?

As I stated the only issue I had with Halo3 is I wanted more from the single player, namely, I wanted more urban combat in densely populated cities, people fleeing fro their lives kinda stuff. For example, if you read the Marvel comics Halo Uprising comics, you get to see that. People screaming, running for dear life, bombed out buildings etc., thats the only thing I really would've wanted more.

The game play is excellent. As a Halo fan, I got exactly what I wanted, the premiere Halo experience in gameplay. For me, they didn't need to reinvent the wheel or go overboard trying to radically change things. They added just enough new stuff and tweaked and perfected the old. In doing so, Halo3 gameplay wise is the pinnacle of the series IMO, taking what worked from 1 & 2 anding a dash of newness and served it up hot.

In the end, most of all this boils down to preferences. Alot of people set their expectations unrealistically (and unfairly) high, putting Bungie in a damned if you do damned if you don't scenerio. As a hardcore Halo fan (just got my Kotobukiya last week!) I got mostly what I wanted with only a couple gripes here and there, wich is to be expected as nothing is perfect. I hope there is more Halo goodness coming our way as I don't think we've seen the end of the MC just yet.

[wages of sin]

Originally Posted by Spartan1127

Holy ****! I cannot believe you don't like the fact that Gordon Freeman doesn't speak throughout the whole game. He never talks because the developers wanted you (the player) to make up you own lines and responses. Like when Alyx is bull****ting about something it's really fun to just make up your own stuff instead, you talk as if you were Gordon Freeman. I really don't like main characters that have voices. This is why HL2 is truly unique. Fin.

I understand what Valve was trying to do by not making him talk. For me, it didn't work as I didn't care about what was going on around him, in his world. In order for me to make up my own lines and responses I needed to care what was going on in the first place.

This would've worked better if, again, there wasn't such a disconnect with character and objects around him, i.e., no feet, floating objects your supposed to be holding etc., it just didn't work for me. I do like main characters with voices if it's done well just like any other character. I'll use Halo as an example. The MC allthough he does it very little does talk and to a much higher degree of success, I connected with his character alot, vs not at all with Freeman. Bungie kinda pulls a "freeman" by not letting you ever see his face, allthough in the first book you get a child hood description of John.

Again, preference.

[Blasterpez]

Originally Posted by hollywood21639

Halflife good story? I hope you are talking about the first one only (never played it) since the second ones story was laughable.

Halo has a deeper story that requires the player to read the books to fully flesh out. I'm not totally obsolving H3 of all sins though......it did lack that certain something to make it truly epic.

Perhaps they had to write books to fill the story holes because it was just thrown together in the first place. When they made CE, did they already have book deals on the table, or was it more of, "Hey, this story didn't make much sense and even if you are paying attention, you still don't know what is going on, so let's write books for people who care."

you know, i'm just saying, that's all.

And spartan, are you talking to the people in the tv again? You know they aren't real, right?

[wages of sin]

@Blasterpez,

Lol, I have to admit, that was funny. I understand your point and agreed if your not particularly paying attention and are just playing the game then your right.

For me from the moment CE started, I was glued to my t.v. When Capt. Keyes gives you the pistol and tells you to get Cortana off of the ship, I was the MC, the tention of the situation thus far really made you feal that your mission was important but more importantly, I felt like I was the chief and in all honesty, regardless of what game or genre, don't you want to feel that you are your character?

I don't know how the story didn't make sense to you, it was explained well and the rest was either obvious or where left on purpose to entice you into buying the next game. I had no problems following the story at all, in fact it's the story that kept me going (besides the awesome gameplay) and ended up asking more questions, but in a good way. Not becuase it was badly written/presented but becuase it was so well written/presented that I was hungry for new information.

[Kona Palangi]

Obviously we have differing views so I see no other alternative rather than call it a stalemate. However, I must commend you for formulating intelligent and articulate points rather than jumping on the "**** you halo iz teh uber l33t pwnage" bandwagon. You do bring up a great point which isn't necessarily confined to Halo 3. You stated,

For me, they didn't need to reinvent the wheel or go overboard trying to radically change things. They added just enough new stuff and tweaked and perfected the old. In doing so, Halo3 gameplay wise is the pinnacle of the series IMO, taking what worked from 1 & 2 anding a dash of newness and served it up hot.

As an original Halo CE fanatic (LAN Parties FTMFW!) I felt that with the release of Halo 2, Bungie deviated from the original version (which was nearly flawless) and rather than implementing minor tweaks to add the proverbial polish, they changed the entire dynamic of the game. When comparisons are made of CE and Halo 2 & 3, the contrasting characteristics are discernible. Some may argue they are trivial which is well within their rights but I feel Bungie screwed the pooch when they;

1. Eliminated the M6D Pistol
2. Gimped the M90 Boom Stick
3. Completely Reinvented (gimped) the S2 Sniper Rifle
4. Added Dual Wield Without Much Forethought
5. Destructible Scorpion Tanks

Some argued the Pistol would be unfair for Xbox LIVE play as its power was nearly unrivaled. Personally, I had the heat mastered and could lullaby you with 3 in the neck. In the process I ran into many others who had rugged Pistol skills as well which inevitably offset the imbalance. Rather than hate, they should have just swooped up a Pistol and handled their own. The piece of **** they called a shotty was absurd and the "new and improved" Sniper Rifle was a joke. I believe the Halo franchise reached its apex immediately following the release of CE. Everything thereafter was great fun but each could never fully duplicate the original Halo experience. If the OG black box was released with a fully operational Xbox LIVE which supported CE versus play, Halo: Combat Evolved would have gone down as the greatest FPS of all time and **** what Shane thinks he knows not of what he speaks.

The Halo 3 hype machine began the day the 360 was announced. Although not outright, MS and Bungie alluded the game would be nothing short of a masterpiece. For years this hype movement continued until the game was actually released. At first glance I must say the graphics were superior to the vast majority of all competing console FPS's. The game had been in development for nearly three years but they couldn't even provide us with a native 720p. The difference is negligible but if one is to go out with a bang, drop an ****ing A-bomb. The technology was there, the resources were there. I cannot find a legitimate reason as to why Bungie didn't go all out. I agree the game play was fun and the story entertaining for those who have read the novels but similar to you, I was left wanting more while completely cognizant there may never be another Halo as we currently know it. Spartan 117, John (Master Chief), has written his final memoir. With the split between Bungie and MS who is to know for sure what the brass in Redmond might do (IP holders) but Bungie made it clear Halo 3 would be the end of the "current story arc".

I am hopeful the Halo franchise may redeem itself with the release of Halo Chronicles. The premise of the game is not yet known but I have speculated it will involve another Spartan as the main protagonist, possibly via a novel such as Ghosts of Onyx. I for one wouldn't mind mobbin' around as Kurt but conversely, another Halo title with complete exclusion of all Spartans, a la Contact Harvest, would be a great change of pace as well. Johnson deserves his time to shine! In the end, all of what I have stated is a matter of personal opinion. I enjoyed Halo 3 and continue to believe it is a fun game but it never came through on any fronts, tangible (graphics) and non (promises) alike.

[axeman2008]

Sorry to go off topic regarding HL2 and H3 but i didn't mind the dual-wield in H2 however i noticed when you played as the Arbiter and you a gun in each hand when you meleed an enemy the Arbiter would drop a weapon. Why? The elites in your sqaud never did. That was a real pain.

[Spartan1127]

Originally Posted by wages of sin

@Kona,

You make some valid points that I can get behind in your response, mainly the issues with Halo2.

For me, I didn't have a problem with the story as much as I did with the overall gameplay and technical qualities of the game. I completely agree that MS is to blame for the mishaps of Halo2 and had Bungie had more time, it would've turned out better.

That being said, Halo2 was still better than most shooters that came out in the same timeframe and none of the others held my attention nearly as long.

Now with Halo3 i'm going to have to go against the grain and disagree with alot of gamers and say the only problem that I have with Halo3 is that by the end, I wanted more.

I'll start by saying that the biggest complaint i've heard from people about Halo3 are the graphics.

I'm playing on a 27inch Samsung widescreen HD CRT (1080i) and it, along with all my HD games, looks fantastic. I have friends that have uber tv's that have made similiar complaints and some that haven't.

Sometimes i'll notice little things here and there like in Sierra 117, when you escape from the underground bunker in a Warthog, will driving you come across the wreckage of an orbital lift that has some of it's cables dangling. I noticed some jaggies on the actual cable but nothing to rise too the overall cacophony of gamers complaints about the games graphics. I'm not saying that people are making stuff up, i'm saying that I don't see the big deal.

As beautiful as Cod4 is, I prefer the sci-fi visuals of Halo3.

Infinity Ward has a hard job to be sure. The newest craze in gaming the last few years is photorealism. I must applaud them on getting closer than most developers can even dream of. One could argue that they have the harder job of the two (Bungie and Infinity Ward) in creating a believable world.

We all know what the real world looks like and becuase of that, we as consumers, weither we be gaming or watching the latest Hollywood CGI masterpiece, naturally are going to have a more critical eye towards what we are looking at for we have a frame of reference from which to draw from. This however IMO, is a double edged sword.

Bungie has the harder job I would argue, in that they have to make you believe in what your seeing on screen. What would 7ft. of Mjolnir look like in reality? What would a Scarab look like? How would a Brute animate if it were real? These present just as equal a challenge for Bungie as Infinity Ward has, and I applaud both develolpers for pulling them off. I'm just more impressed with Bungies effort, call it preference if you will.

On a technical standpoint, I think this is where Halo3 really shines. From the lighting, explosions, water effects etc, I think Halo3 achieves more. Again, I go back to what both have to work with as source material. How would a plasma grenade look exploding in the snow, or better yet, stuck to someone (or somethings) back? How about a Scarab exploding, or the motor round from a Covenant Wraith?

As I stated the only issue I had with Halo3 is I wanted more from the single player, namely, I wanted more urban combat in densely populated cities, people fleeing fro their lives kinda stuff. For example, if you read the Marvel comics Halo Uprising comics, you get to see that. People screaming, running for dear life, bombed out buildings etc., thats the only thing I really would've wanted more.

The game play is excellent. As a Halo fan, I got exactly what I wanted, the premiere Halo experience in gameplay. For me, they didn't need to reinvent the wheel or go overboard trying to radically change things. They added just enough new stuff and tweaked and perfected the old. In doing so, Halo3 gameplay wise is the pinnacle of the series IMO, taking what worked from 1 & 2 anding a dash of newness and served it up hot.

In the end, most of all this boils down to preferences. Alot of people set their expectations unrealistically (and unfairly) high, putting Bungie in a damned if you do damned if you don't scenerio. As a hardcore Halo fan (just got my Kotobukiya last week!) I got mostly what I wanted with only a couple gripes here and there, wich is to be expected as nothing is perfect. I hope there is more Halo goodness coming our way as I don't think we've seen the end of the MC just yet.

Can you write my school essays?

[wages of sin]

I have a theory, and I think its a good one for what Bungie and MS do with the Halo series.

I think MS should pull an Activision. Infinity Ward does the "real" Cod games, and they have another group (forgot the name) do the ones in between, such as Cod3, Big Red One etc.

MS should have someone like Guerilla or another AAA publisher do at least 2 Halo:Chronicles games that covers the events from Halo 1-3 but from the perspective of the other spartans and marines. This would work well, especially since there are some awesome battles described in the books. Not to mention, players could meet Dr. Halsey, even play as the MC when the spartans were running raids on insurgents (the asteroid belt mission from the books) before there were covenant to worry about. A quick cameo if you will of John, but mainly focus the game on Kelly, Will, Fred etc.

In the meantime, MS pays Bungie a buttload of money to work on Halo4, just in time for the launch of the next Xbox. This should give Bungie plenty of time to do it.

Bungie stated that H3 was the end of this story arc, not necessarily the MC. At the end of H3, you see the MC drifting towards a planet and his last words were "wake me, when you need me".

I"m thinking that H4 will be about the MC discovering a new, more dangerous threat on said planet. It could be done kinda like Metroid were Samus is on this planet and has to solve the mystery there in. Having MC uncover a mysterious planet, maybe infested with flood or something like that, would be awesome. A forerunner home world with new enemies and the like, hell they could even make it so that the war isn't over, it's just beginning.

Suppose there are more races in the covenant that don't want an end to the war so they usurp the current heads of government, a coup de ta, if you will. Creating a new covenant with a mix of old and new enemies would be great, and once again the MC would be called to save the universe.

[Kona Palangi]

To be honest, I would much rather have another Halo FPS which does not involve Master Chief. You've read the books, there is at least a dozen candidates worthy of a protagonist role. Personally, I'd much rather prefer a novel translated into game play. This way, other Halo players who may not share our knowledge can be shown a completely different part of the Halo universe either concurrently, as with GoO, or a prequel such as CH. Master Chief is getting fairly tiresome. I hope Bungie doesn't saturate every Halo related IP with Spartan 117 story arcs. It's like the movie Police Academy. Yeah the first one was great and possibly the second but every sequel that followed was a **** bomb. I mean FFS look what happened to Steve Guttenberg's career. Dude has been relegated to a D list "Dancing with the Stars" celebrity status.

[hollywood21639]

I would like to see a new Halo game that's not an FPS (I don't care about that RTS game). I would like to see a third person action shooter (like Gears) but I do hope the Peter Jackson thing will be something special.

[Blasterpez]

i like the master chief character. he is like clint eastwood in all those man-with-no-name western movies. He is tough, and doesn't need to say much because everyone knows he's a badass.

like kona said, it would be cool if they mixed it up a bit and brought another main character into the story. or a prequel game; something that developed the story a bit before CE.

i wish they changed the way the game 'played.' i am not sure what i mean by that, but there is something about the way the game handles, and i think it just might be the weapons, that i just don't like; it isn't bad, i just like the way other games feel, better, like the cod games, and more recently, vegas 2. it is like some art, it looks good and some people like it, but others don't (i mean like vase of flower type picture, not obvious offensive 'art').
There is something i just don't like and it keeps me from enjoying the game. maybe, besides just the weapons, it also has to do with the way you can never fight just a few enemies; it's like you vs 50 enemies everytime, and it is never broken up...it is the same encounter again and again. and the flood, i think that just ruins the game...there is to much of it.

I got the story from the games fine, i just like the pre-story. halo is kind of like star wars iv, it just kind of starts in the middle of a war. there is a little back story, but not much about MC himself or other spartans. which, i hear, is where the books come in.