Halo, what a waste of time?

[DanJW]

I remember drooling over the original plans for Halo on the PC. It was going to be huge, almost like a single-player Planetside, with an NPC squad at your command. They talked about the seamless halo landscape, working your way along it on foot and in a variety of vehicels. Much more sandbox like, almost like Mercenaries.

I see Halo/Halo 2 has the best console FPS, but the hardware limits and lack of mouse/keyboard control system means that console FPS will never be as good as PC FPS. It's just more available to the masses.

Oh, and I played both the X-box version and PC version of Halo. The PC port was the most goddawful thing ever. Yuck.

[Dingo Chavez]

Halo has nearly every Video game stereotype that I could think of. It's a terrible game in my opinion.

Mr. T: Halo's bitching, fool!

[Redwall]

Halo has nearly every Video game stereotype that I could think of.

Female lead that exists merely for sex appeal?

Bulky action here with sarcastic, cliche one-liners in the face of extreme danger?

Ridiculously overpowered weapon that makes all others pointless?

Ridiculously overpowered bosses?

It has its fair share, but you certainly didn't think very hard.

[jokemaster]

NOTE: I am referring to both Halo and Halo 2 when I say "Halo" because these particular points I am making I think apply to both.

I disagree completely about Halo being a PC FPS ported to console. I don't think it's ANYTHING like a PC FPS. PC FPS games are by a million percent way more about twitch gameplay. Great PC FPS games are things like Quake, Unreal Tournament, and so forth, which honestly have very little in common with Halo other than being FPSes. Even the Half Life series, while clearly an astonishing watershed in gaming, in terms of gameplay has more in common with its PC brethren. The thing that's so good about Halo is its unique style of play. The weapons have far more individuality than in any other FPS I've played. PC gamers complain about only getting two weapons, but that's the point. You only need two weapons, because the weapons in that game are so diverse and versatile that there's ALWAYS a strategy to use one how you need it. There really aren't "weak" weapons, with the possible exception of the assault rifle/SMG but even that has plenty of uses if you know what you're doing. There's none of the traditional PC business of weapons being very much similar in character while only different in terms of damage done. The battles too feel very different. Halo has a much slower than a PC FPS. I mean yes it's still an action packed game, but you really have to invest way more time into planning out all your options and tactics before you run in guns blazing, assuming at least you're playing on one of the highest two difficult modes (and it practically isn't worth playing any other way). Sure, quick reflexes will save you to a point, but not nearly as much as they will in a PC game. The closest comparison I can think of in this specific regard is Far Cry, but even that is a far cry (...ha) from Halo. Far Cry is much more of a long range sniper sort of thing while Halo has some of that but is for the most part more of a short-mid range game. I loved Far Cry by the way, and I love Quake and UT. I'm not passing value judgments here, I'm just trying to explain how different Halo in fact is. PC gamers give it a lot of crap but I think it's unfair and inaccurate to try and compare it to PC FPS games. Had it ended up on PCs (or Macs) first, I still think it would have been very different from other PC FPS games.

Also, jokemaster: Lots of people played HL2. That and WoW were (possibly still are) at or near the top of the PC charts from the time of their release. The thing is, the PC market is much niche than the console market. It's unreasonable to assume that tons of people without gaming PCs are going to go out and upgrade just so they can play one game.

I don't believe that PC games are mostly twitch. Two of your examples (unreal Tournament and quake) are simply run-and-gun MP games. If you played System Shock, No One Lives Forever, Deus Ex, and a lot of other games you'd see that it's actually more and more dominated by more 'thinking' FPS

2: I meant the general public. I mean every time I turned around at school and work, someone was talking about Halo 2, I'd bring up HL2, and most hadn't heard of it, and proceded to rave about Halo 2 and saying that HL2 'sucks', etc. even though seconds before they admitted never having played it.

3: Are you kiddin' about the weapons? I mean, c'mon most of the guns in HALO ARE the same generic weapons from PC FPS, the only things that were new to me was a scope on a pistol, and that was about it. I saw no actual new weapons, and many where just plain useless, to be traded at first change. I mean, I honsetly didn't care if I used the Assault Gun or the Plasma Rifle or the Needler, all worked the same for me!

4. Halo is by no means the most tactical game I've ever seen. Not even close, play the SWAT games, NO one lives forever, Deus Ex, Rainbow Six, Thief, etc.

EDIT: Cliches supposedly missing:

1.Silent, mysterious, ultra-powerful hero. You can't have all three in one can you?

2. The overpowered weapons and bosses are cliches from games like Doom, Quake, and their ilk. Try playing some more modern FPSs, like the ones I've already mentioned.

3: What FPS did you get the 'female lead for pure sex appeal' one from?

[JoeX111]

I remember drooling over the original plans for Halo on the PC. It was going to be huge, almost like a single-player Planetside, with an NPC squad at your command. They talked about the seamless halo landscape, working your way along it on foot and in a variety of vehicels. Much more sandbox like, almost like Mercenaries.

I remember being really excited about Halo back when people were still calling it a sequel to Marathon. Everyone on the Marathon Story pages was all abuzz, trying to figure out the connections between the two.

Then we find out Marathon's grandiose plot has been replaced with something toilet paper thin instead. I mean, really, what all happened in the game itself? Oh, you land on this ring. Shoot shoot shoot. Gotta save commander keyes. Shoot shoot shoot. Saved him. Gotta get to the control room. Shoot shoot shoot. Flood? Flood! Shoot shoot shoot. Blow everything up. The end.

The multiplayer is a blast, but minimal story, repeated levels, and rather repetitive gameplay doesn't equal "7H3 B3zT ga@/\/\e EV0RZ!!!" that everyone says it is. Decent game, but not the bread and butter it is made out to be.

And the PC Port is absolutely atrocious. That game continues to run like hell on my computer, while Doom 3, Far Cry, and Half-Life 2 can run in high graphics mode with no slow-down at all. Way to go, Gearbox.

[Aussie Ben]

3: What FPS did you get the 'female lead for pure sex appeal' one from?

Geez, I've ignored First Person Shooters for most of my life and even I can tell you that one:

Aida from Unreal II.

[SoccerDude28]

And the PC Port is absolutely atrocious. That game continues to run like hell on my computer, while Doom 3, Far Cry, and Half-Life 2 can run in high graphics mode with no slow-down at all. Way to go, Gearbox.

If there is one thing I don't get is why everyone is complaining about the PC port being so awful. Okay suppose that you have the machine to play it (which I have, and it ran like a dream on mine), and suppose you don't care about coop (which I'm not really into), how does the XBOX version of Halo differ from its PC counterpart? I'm just asking because I never played it on an XBOX.

[DanJW]

If there is one thing I don't get is why everyone is complaining about the PC port being so awful. Okay suppose that you have the machine to play it (which I have, and it ran like a dream on mine), and suppose you don't care about coop (which I'm not really into), how does the XBOX version of Halo differ from its PC counterpart? I'm just asking because I never played it on an XBOX.

If it runs like a dream on your kit, then you are in the vast minority. It tends to run like a slug even on high end kits. And the graphics aren't that great even on top-end kit, some of us do care about co-op, and the multiplayer system was pretty archaic for PC internet standards. Oh, and the physics. On x-box you don't notice the dodgy physics because you don't have as much control when using analogue sticks. But with a mouse and keyboard the game feels really odd.

[TMCB]

Personally I loved Halo and Halo2.

I went around to a friends house and it was the first time I'd played on an X-box and they had set up a four x-box, four tv and sixteen player game.

Being a noob they let me play a bit.

There were no gimmicks, nothing special, well, nothing special I could put my finger on. It just made sense. Which was amazing for me, because I'd never been much of an FPS man, and much less believed that you could put one on a console.

Halo, to me, is a game that is greater than the sum of its parts. It shouldn't be a good game, but somehow it is.

I fully appreciate why people hate it, but I never much cared for computers so being able to play a more-than-competent version of a genre often screwed up (timesplitters and red faction are perfect examples) on consoles is fine by me.

[SoccerDude28]

If it runs like a dream on your kit, then you are in the vast minority. It tends to run like a slug even on high end kits. And the graphics aren't that great even on top-end kit, some of us do care about co-op, and the multiplayer system was pretty archaic for PC internet standards. Oh, and the physics. On x-box you don't notice the dodgy physics because you don't have as much control when using analogue sticks. But with a mouse and keyboard the game feels really odd.

Yeah it ran pretty smooth all throughout. The graphics are not great, but they're not bad either. And co-op? well how many PC games support that? By the way what graphics card do you have? Maybe it requires a higher end graphics card to run smooth. I ran it on an NVIDIA 6800 GT with a gig of RAM.

[BigJKO]

And co-op? well how many PC games support that? By the way what graphics card do you have?

Too few. But when the X-Box version has it, and the PC version doesn't, then that's something to complain about.

[SoccerDude28]

Too few. But when the X-Box version has it, and the PC version doesn't, then that's something to complain about.

You got a point... How come the XBOX folks get coop in DOOM 3? Shame on you Micro$oft

[JoeX111]

Pr'bly because it came out later than the PC version and the dev's had time to add new stuff. Expect similar things to happen with the Far Cry port.

[SoccerDude28]

Pr'bly because it came out later than the PC version and the dev's had time to add new stuff. Expect similar things to happen with the Far Cry port.

Halo for the PC came out in 2003. The original Halo came out in 2001. That's 2 YEARS

[JoeX111]

I was talking about Doom 3.

[Redwall]

2. The overpowered weapons and bosses are cliches from games like Doom, Quake, and their ilk. Try playing some more modern FPSs, like the ones I've already mentioned.

Like, say, Half-Life and its sequel? Far Cry? I don't consider most of the games you mentioned FPSs... seriously, Thief?

BTW, it's not the image of the weapons, but the way each is designed to be useful and unique. Plasma is better against shields and slows enemies, plasma pistol sucks but has overcharge, needler is useful for hit and run only, bullets are better against unshielded targets, etc. . . oh, and grenades. Halo is one of the few FPSs to do grenades right.

Halo's not a great game by any means (HL1/2 are much, much better), but it's not terrible either.

[SoccerDude28]

Like, say, Half-Life and its sequel? Far Cry? I don't consider most of the games you mentioned FPSs... seriously, Thief?

BTW, it's not the image of the weapons, but the way each is designed to be useful and unique. Plasma is better against shields and slows enemies, plasma pistol sucks but has overcharge, needler is useful for hit and run only, bullets are better against unshielded targets, etc. . . oh, and grenades. Halo is one of the few FPSs to do grenades right.

Halo's not a great game by any means (HL1/2 are much, much better), but it's not terrible either.

Let's see. There is a needler in HL1 (you pick it from the big alien). Grenades are similar to the grenades in HL1. Assault rifle is similar to any other machine gun in any game. Rocket launcher is like the rocket launcher in DOOM or quake or Half life. the plasma blaster is similar to that in DOOM. The only weapon that I think is original is the plasma pistol, only when you overcharge it, because it can blast into shields. So ummm yeah original. And you are right Deus Ex and Thief are not FPS'es but No one lives forever, Swat 4, and System shock 2 are. And they are darn good ones too.

[JoeX111]

Let's see. There is a needler in HL1 (you pick it from the big alien). Grenades are similar to the grenades in HL1. Assault rifle is similar to any other machine gun in any game. Rocket launcher is like the rocket launcher in DOOM or quake or Half life. the plasma blaster is similar to that in DOOM. The only weapon that I think is original is the plasma pistol, only when you overcharge it, because it can blast into shields. So ummm yeah original. And you are right Deus Ex and Thief are not FPS'es but No one lives forever, Swat 4, and System shock 2 are. And they are darn good ones too.

What do you want them to do, make all of their weapons entirely 100% original and unlike anything you've seen before? Oh my god! Doom, Far Cry, Half Life 1 & 2, Halo, Deus Ex, and No One Lives Forever all have a pistol! And a shotgun! RIP OFF! ;iljgfklajm;klasjldkgjal;skdgf.

And contrary to what you say, no, not all of those guns are exactly the same. For instance: The Doom and Quake rocket launcher functions quite differently to the one in Half Life. Every tried moving while firing that thing?

[SoccerDude28]

What do you want them to do, make all of their weapons entirely 100% original and unlike anything you've seen before? Oh my god! Doom, Far Cry, Half Life 1 & 2, Halo, Deus Ex, and No One Lives Forever all have a pistol! And a shotgun! RIP OFF! ;iljgfklajm;klasjldkgjal;skdgf.

And contrary to what you say, no, not all of those guns are exactly the same. For instance: The Doom and Quake rocket launcher functions quite differently to the one in Half Life. Every tried moving while firing that thing?

I was just replying to how "unique" the weapons in Halo were Relax...

[Redwall]

Grenades are similar to the grenades in HL1.

Uh, no.

I was just replying to how "unique" the weapons in Halo were.

I meant they are unique to each other in the game, i.e. they are balanced, each has its own uses, no weapon is useless, there is no super-weapon that owns all.

[jokemaster]

Halo's not a great game by any means (HL1/2 are much, much better), but it's not terrible either.

THAT'S WHAT I'M ARGUING! IT'S A GOOD GAME BUT OVERRATED!

Also, I agree with the grenedes, I think that and the melee attack were what most wowed me when it came out.

EDIT: And, all right I may be stretching it with thief, but I'm pretty sure Deus Ex still qualifies as an FPS.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

EDIT: And, all right I may be stretching it with thief, but I'm pretty sure Deus Ex still qualifies as an FPS.

Yes and no. It's a hybrid. It's plays in the heat of the moment as a FPS, but it advances through the story and game as an RPG. Exquisitely.

[jokemaster]

Yes and no. It's a hybrid. It's plays in the heat of the moment as a FPS, but it advances through the story and game as an RPG. Exquisitely.

I almost always considered it more of an FPS w/ RPG elements. I know it's a hybrid more than anything but still.....