Halo Hype

[Azure79]

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but what exactly makes Halo so popular?

 

I've played through the PC version and while it was good enough for me to play all the way through, I wasn't blown away by any particular portion.

 

A lot of the levels were repetitive, similar looking corridors with the same enemies. I did have fun in the open areas but they weren't anything special.

 

Is it popular because it was one of the first major console FPS games, or is there some gameplay that I missed? I admit I'm not the greatest FPS fan, but I have played most major FPS titles on the PC.

[Volourn]

"while it was good enough for me to play all the way through"

 

Game over.

 

 

P.S. I have personally never played Halo; but I believe you nailed it.

Edited April 20, 2007 by Volourn

[Calax]

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but what exactly makes Halo so popular?

 

I've played through the PC version and while it was good enough for me to play all the way through, I wasn't blown away by any particular portion.

 

A lot of the levels were repetitive, similar looking corridors with the same enemies. I did have fun in the open areas but they weren't anything special.

 

Is it popular because it was one of the first major console FPS games, or is there some gameplay that I missed? I admit I'm not the greatest FPS fan, but I have played most major FPS titles on the PC.

It was the best and first of it's kind on the consoles. It also allowed the jocks to get online and see how well they do against an opponent who could think (ie it had a large scale multiplayer) instead of just two or four.

 

It also revived FPS story telling from a small dark corner that was titled half life.

[Azure79]

"while it was good enough for me to play all the way through"

 

Game over.

 

 

P.S. I have personally never played Halo; but I believe you nailed it.

 

I didn't mean to imply that it was a bad game. I just don't understand why the mass media seems so enamored with it.

Edited April 20, 2007 by Azure79

[Azure79]

Yes, I think it was story elements that kept me going rather than the gameplay.

[Tale]

"while it was good enough for me to play all the way through"

 

Game over.

 

 

P.S. I have personally never played Halo; but I believe you nailed it.

 

I didn't mean to imply that it was a bad game. I just don't understand why the mass media seems to hold it in such high regard.

I've never heard anything about the mass media holding it in overly high regard. However, it is a popular game and lots of players want to know about it. Coverage is just giving the audience what they want.

[Musopticon?]

Co-op, bitches.

 

It is about the best entertainment in company one can get so cheaply.

[Pidesco]

Co-op, bitches.

 

It is about the best entertainment in company one can get so cheaply.

 

Go play Bubble Bobble, then. Or Secret Of Mana. Or whatever with co-op. What puts Halo above any previous game with co-op?

[Hurlshort]

The original Halo on the Xbox really was the first game to give an excellent FPS experience, co-op and multiplayer included, to console gamers. PC gamers have had solid FPS games for years, but Halo was the first to make it very attractive on a console. I played a few console FPSers, such as Goldeneye, and many were good, but I always felt they could be better on a PC. Halo was the first game that didn't make me think that.

[Musopticon?]

Co-op, bitches.

 

It is about the best entertainment in company one can get so cheaply.

 

Go play Bubble Bobble, then. Or Secret Of Mana. Or whatever with co-op. What puts Halo above any previous game with co-op?

It was a scifistic first person shooter in a fresh universe(with rideable vehicles) that was the first of its kind in quality and dynamity on Xbox.

 

I point it out yet again; it's pointless to play Halo on PC, since it is missing its best feature.

[metadigital]

The original Halo on the Xbox really was the first game to give an excellent FPS experience, co-op and multiplayer included, to console gamers. PC gamers have had solid FPS games for years, but Halo was the first to make it very attractive on a console. I played a few console FPSers, such as Goldeneye, and many were good, but I always felt they could be better on a PC. Halo was the first game that didn't make me think that.

Yes, I thought it was tied up with the Xbox, too.

[Llyranor]

Halo as a 'game' in and of itself is perhaps overrated (putting both games side by side, I'd easily say HL2 is the 'better' game, for example).

 

But coop + legendary mode = best FPS experience I've had so far. HL2 doesn't even remotely come close. It was 'okay' at normal or hard, but legendary mode having me and my brother fight for our dear lives (and dying over and over again) against overwhelming odds and numbers pretty much *defines* the meaning of coop.

 

I don't even care about the conventional FPS genre anymore, and yet Halo3 is pretty high up on my anticipated games list. I'm a convert.

 

The fact of the matter is, you played a horrible horrible horribly pathetic port.

 

/xbot

[Shryke]

PC Halo = *yawn*

 

XBOX Halo = messing around with mates seeing who can sneak up on the most sleeping grunts and smack them on the head with their pistol

[Azure79]

Looks like I played the wrong version of Halo

[Pop]

It also revived FPS story telling from a small dark corner that was titled half life.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Oh man, that's rich. You know what Half-Life really needs, is Gordon Freeman doing more backflips, add some one-liners too, and the Combine soldiers need to turn on their alien overlords at the last minute. Let's make those Alien overlords monkeys with hammers.

 

If they made a Danielle Steel novel into a game it would have better narrative than Halo. With better plot twists, too.

 

"Permission to leave the ship, sir."

"Why, Master Chief?"

"To give the Covenant back their bomb."

*pauses to ponder Master Chief's total radness*

"Permission Granted."

 

Epic. It's Fire Down Below in space.

 

So why do people love Halo? Three reasons. One, people will consume that which they know is safe. See: Wild Hogs. Two, it's got a rather intuitive and (up until the second game) reasonably balanced competitive multiplayer mode. Three, big, loud and dumb equals awesome in the eyes of the demographic that game companies court. See: Anything Michael Bay has ever done.

 

I've never heard anything about the mass media holding it in overly high regard.

You didn't happen to see Halo 2 topping all the "best of the year" lists? It [defecated] all over what made Halo 1 reasonably exciting, then took that [scatological result] and sold it as a sequel. Like any company looking to break bank, Bungie looked at Halo's greatest strength, multiplayer, and thought "what we really need is to make it bigger", without realizing that doing so would water down that which made Halo multiplayer fun in the first place. And that's not even touching on the single player aspect of the game. Saturday morning cartoon shows have more respect for their audience than to have the protagonist and antagonist team up to fight a greater threat. Every time somebody says that Halo or, god forbid, Gears of War has a "compelling story", I'm reminded of why "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" is going to make $10 billion dollars at the box office, despite it being a one-trick "gay lol" submovie. I'm reminded of why Dan Brown is the great American novelist.

 

Oh, Halo. One day, they'll realize what a polished [poopy] you are.

Edited April 20, 2007 by metadigital
a bit rude

[Llyranor]

Both HL and Halo have pathetic stories.

[Calax]

Well one of the reasons people loved halo is because it had a whole story too it that was backed up, rather than the pos that's most fps's (this is the universe, this is what your doing... that's all) whereas halo had a backround for everything and it's cousin.

[Musopticon?]

Does anyone actually think that HL 1 has a great story? My, its narrative and pacing were extraordinaire, but without the sequel and expansions, it isn't all that great.

[metadigital]

Yeah, I liked it. (Though Xen can go to a special hell.)

[Pidesco]

HL's story was only good when compared to the stories of previous mainstream FPSs (Doom, Quake, Duke Nukem 3D, and the like). For some reason, that prompted gaming journalists to say that HL had a great story.

Edited April 20, 2007 by Pidesco

[metadigital]

I liked the story of λ.

[Musopticon?]

I liked it too and thought that was what made it stand out.

[WITHTEETH]

I agree mainly with the thread starter. I found it a bit boring and repetitive half the time. I think the only thing that kept me going was the hot sounding computer telling me to hurry. haw haw

 

I tried Halo Multiplayer for the PC... crap, i thought at least, i have a schweet puter, and cable internet and it lagged like a anorexic at a buffet. Very disappointed. The levels look... ehhh, the weapons were actaully very cool i thought, i really thought that was the coolest part of the game personally.

 

fps that i liked? No One Lives Forever 1 and 2. Its more complex than your average shooter, albeit not as complex as System Shock 2. I like games were i can customize and tweak things to perfectly suit the next situation im going into. That and the humor in NOLF was awesome! The russian jokes were hilarious i thought, everytime i went to read a report on a russian desk they were talking about either a friend getting shot about complaining about only eating cabbage, or how they hate the cabbage. haw haw! I really reccomend this game guys! No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy In Harms Way

[GreasyDogMeat]

I've only ever played Halo on PC, and I'm eagerly awaiting # 2, though I hope some sort of 'XP hack' comes out so those of us not interested in 'upgrading' to vista can play it.

 

What I like so much about Halo... well... a great musical score, dynamic battles that change every time, the marines that help you out and shout funny/helpful things, the vehles and physics.

 

While Halo did have some repetitive sections, combat was just fun. It is not often that a game does so many things right that potentially crippling flaws like the same repetitive rooms over and over didn't hurt that much. Atleast for me.

[Pidesco]

I liked the story of λ.

 

 

I liked it too and thought that was what made it stand out.

 

 

I thought the story in itself wasn't particularly good. What made it stand out was the way the narrative was integrated into the game, instead of being developed through a cutscene or just written in the readme. It made you feel part of the story.