Support NeoGAF

[Lord British]

I have recently acquired a 360 and Every Halo. I never played this series before and I have started with Halo Anniversary. I've been doing, basically, a mission a night and last night I finished The Silent Cartographer, which was excellent.

I'm struck by the quality of this for a 15 year-old FPS - there's a great sense of urgency, and a fantastic feeling of leading a squad, as well as the AI on the Covenant beasties being impressive. It's challenging but not unfair (normal mode) and the sense of freedom is really nice.

If I can criticise anything, there's a tendency towards similar-looking interiors, but in a way that actually improves my immersion because, yeah, an alien ship probably would be built this way!

Also it seems as though, switching back and forth between original and Anniversary graphics, that the new graphics lose a little of the otherworldliness of the Xbox version.

Anyway it's great, and when I finish this I've got 2, 3, Wars, ODST, Reach and 4 to play. I might skip Wars, unless it's super good. I normally dislike RTS.

 

[mnemonicj]

I'm stuck on Halo 4, I haven't continued playing it for a while now. It has been difficult for me to like Halo games. I keep trying though.

 

[T-0800]

Halo Anniversary was ugly. I much prefer the way it looked originally.

 

[BigTnaples]

I'm stuck on Halo 4, I haven't continued playing it for a while now. It has been difficult for me to like Halo games. I keep trying though.

Which ones did you finish?

 

[MauroNL]

Enjoy OP! Hell of a series.

3>1>Reach>ODST>2>4

 

[Azzawon]

God help you when you reach The Library (Halo 1). Probably my least favourite level in any Halo game.

Like T-0800 said, Anniversary is pretty ugly. If you ever get an Xbox One I highly recommend The Master Chief Collection however, because H2A is an incredible experience.

 

[mnemonicj]

Which ones did you finish?

I think I finished the first one, I can't remember if it was that or the second one. Still though, I always thought those little enemies with shell-like backs were so lame. The story in general is very meh in my opinion, and the gameplay always seems to be playing catch up.

 

[nekkid]

Halo Anniversary was ugly. I much prefer the way it looked originally.

Agreed. The title screen is awful with the overly-designed Halo ring. Way too much detail - needs to be monolithic and imposing:

CE

Anniversary

 

[jizzlobber]

Halo 2 will be rough, it looks like complete shit these days.
the anniversary edition which is part of MCC is fantastic though.

 

[HTupolev]

Also it seems as though, switching back and forth between original and Anniversary graphics, that the new graphics lose a little of the otherworldliness of the Xbox version.

I definitely prefer the classic version, but especially played native. Classic Mode is based on Halo PC which has a lot of graphical issues (lighting generally looks weird, lots of strange asset replacements, missing fog effects, etc), and the original audio isn't available.

God help you when you reach The Library (Halo 1). Probably my least favourite level in any Halo game.

Library is awesome. It's a sort of spiritual successor to the classic Marathon 2 level If I Had a Rocket Launcher I'd Make Somebody Pay, with some Doom flavour thrown in. Halo 1's shotgun dancing is good stuff.

 

[nekkid]

Library is awesome. It's a sort of spiritual successor to the classic Marathon 2 level If I Had a Rocket Launcher I'd Make Somebody Pay, with some Doom flavour thrown in. Halo 1's shotgun dancing is good stuff.

*fist bump*

The Library is a great level.

 

[Monocle]

OP's lucky to experience this brilliant series for the first time. Glad to hear you're playing with the original graphics sometimes. They're much better and more characteristic of the series' style.

Halo Anniversary was ugly. I much prefer the way it looked originally.

Yeah they totally borked the art style. What a pity.

God help you when you reach The Library (Halo 1). Probably my least favourite level in any Halo game.

Like T-0800 said, Anniversary is pretty ugly. If you ever get an Xbox One I highly recommend The Master Chief Collection however, because H2A is an incredible experience.

I've come to see The Library as a refreshing gauntlet that's placed at exactly the right point in the campaign. No other Halo level provides quite the same experience. It's loads of fun in Legendary co-op. A desperate fight for survival that really puts your skills to the test.

 

[Ein Bear]

The Library is a great level when played on Legendary co-op. It's like playing Doom or something, great fun just blasting hordes.

 

[nekkid]

I've come to see The Library as a refreshing gauntlet that's placed at exactly the right point in the campaign. No other Halo level provides quite the same experience. It's loads of fun in Legendary co-op. A desperate fight for survival that really puts your skills to the test.

Calling it "too hard" would be disingenuous. It's tactically challenging, and not all that tough even on solo legendary if you have the right weapons combo and use power weapons when available, and never stand still.

 

[SuperEpicMan]

I got the Halo MCC recently, and I'm up to the last level of Halo 1. As someone who hasn't played any of them before, I am really enjoying the game, the general gameplay is pretty fun and seems to hold up really well, although I feel the last few levels have had a horrible habit of copy and pasting rooms over and over again.

Also, I keep seeing these terminals all over the place, is it necessary for me to use them to understand the story? or will the dialogue and cut scenes be enough?

 

[Zvonimir Boban]

Fuck the haters, Library + shotgun is bliss.

 

[nekkid]

I got the Halo MCC recently, and I'm up to the last level of Halo 1. As someone who hasn't played any of them before, I am really enjoying the game, the general gameplay is pretty fun and seems to hold up really well, although I feel the last few levels have had a horrible habit of copy and pasting rooms over and over again.

Also, I keep seeing these terminals all over the place, is it necessary for me to use them to understand the story? or will the dialogue and cut scenes be enough?

Yeah it gets a bit samey, but it's worth it for the Maw which is hands down my favourite closing level of all time.

You don't need to view the terminals (they weren't in the original - only added in the anniversary release), but they are fun animated shorts that tell you a bit more about 343 Guilty Spark.

 

[Auto-Reply]

I liked the flood in the older Halo games, I know many people don't.

At first you have the covenant and their strategic behaviour with all the different enemy types. Then everything gets shaken up by the flood, wave based storm of enemies that sometimes still use weapons. And then later they both are combined and three factions fight against each other and you are in the middle.

That was the reason why I loved playing the Halo series. I never seen this style of gameplay in other fps games, it was all extremely dynamic and atmospheric. Turn on some skulls to increase the power of grenade explosions and the one that makes enemies throw them all the time, hilarity ensues when they stick em to their own comrades by accident or waves of explosion happen due to chain reactions of too many grenades on the ground because every enemy drops them like crazy.

I'm not part of the audience any longer and will probably never play Halo 5 and future games but looking back, Halo will always be my favorite fps gameplay wise.

 

[Azzawon]

I've come to see The Library as a refreshing gauntlet that's placed at exactly the right point in the campaign. No other Halo level provides quite the same experience. It's loads of fun in Legendary co-op. A desperate fight for survival that really puts your skills to the test.

I think the thing I dislike the most about it is how it's just rinse and repeat waves of enemies with little variation, along with an annoyingly similar looking areas throughout. Funnily enough I played it in legendary co-op with a friend last night and it wasn't as terrible as I remember, but it did get boring pretty quickly for me and my friend and we were glad to see the end of it, unlike a lot of previous missions.

 

[Monocle]

Calling it "too hard" would be disingenuous. It's tactically challenging, and not all that tough even on solo legendary if you have the right weapons combo and use power weapons when available, and never stand still.

Yeah, exactly. That's why I can't get on board with the calls of "worst level ever!" The Library's design is straightforward: you're repeated funneled past groups of enemies that force you to shoot carefully and keep moving. It's a fair challenge that tests your ability to handle direct encounters.

 

[Novocaine]

Enjoy mate. I had played the first two when I had the original Xbox but never the rest. Did a marathon of 1-4 + ODST a couple of years back and had a blast. ODST and 3 are my favorite.

 

[Monocle]

I think the thing I dislike the most about it is how it's just rinse and repeat waves of enemies with little variation, along with an annoyingly similar looking areas throughout. Funnily enough I played it in legendary co-op with a friend last night and it wasn't as terrible as I remember, but it did get boring pretty quickly for me and my friend and we were glad to see the end of it, unlike a lot of previous missions.

I mean yeah, it's pretty much a retro throwback in that way. A gauntlet of enemies that force you to adopt effective tactics. Halo CE would have a real problem if multiple missions were designed like The Library, but it's unique within the game, and I think it works. Halo's mechanics shine even when your options are whittled down to fight or flight.

Sometimes a simple and direct challenge can be a nice change of pace from expansive levels with endless possible approaches.

 

[Miggytronz]

Halo Wars is simple and good quick filler. The cutscenes are pretty fantastic.

 

[Lord British]

Looking forward to The Library now. Next mission for me is Assault On The Control Room, so I'm not sure how far away I am.

The Silent Cartographer was a fantastic mission, incidentally - it seemed so open-ended, and felt so rewarding to explore before descending to the map room. Wonderful mission and I can see myself replaying it over and over.

 

[Waaghals]

AotCR Is the second last unique level in the game.
Most of the other levels are the old ones recycled, but it is actually more fun and interesting than I make it sound.

The Library is not a good level. It is possible to have fun playing it, but that is due to H1's godlike combat loop, not the level itself.

 

[Trup1aya]

I'll never understand the defense of the Library. The enemies aren't the problem, the difficulty isn't the problem....

The level design is problematic.

Five floors of nearly identical combat spaces and nearly identical encounters is not good level design.

I love the IDEA of the library. With more interesting and varied floor layouts it could have been perfect. Instead it loses its brilliance before you reach the half way mark, and overstays is welcome.

Great atmosphere
Great challenge
Terrible level design

 

[Trup1aya]

Looking forward to The Library now. Next mission for me is Assault On The Control Room, so I'm not sure how far away I am.

The Silent Cartographer was a fantastic mission, incidentally - it seemed so open-ended, and felt so rewarding to explore before descending to the map room. Wonderful mission and I can see myself replaying it over and over.

Silent cartographer is the best level I've ever played in any video game. Before my parents bought halo for me, my brother and i relayed the demo over 100 times. I'm sad that Bungie/ 343 never served seemed interested in recapturing that magic

 

[SilentRob]

Library is awesome. It's a sort of spiritual successor to the classic Marathon 2 level If I Had a Rocket Launcher I'd Make Somebody Pay, with some Doom flavour thrown in. Halo 1's shotgun dancing is good stuff.

*fist bump*

The Library is a great level.

You run along the exact same hallway for 20minutes or something, while exactly the same enemies keep spawning on you. It's so bad they actually had to draw in arrows in the Remaster so you don't get turned around and lose your orientation because, again, everything looks 100% exactly the same. It's one corridor repeated again and again and again.

I, too, like the atmosphere. But from a level design standpoint it's bottom of the barrel.

 

[Monocle]

Play the ones Bungie developed, because the games touched by 343i are ass! They need to give themselves an uppercut.

Firefight in ODST is one of the best things to happen, EVER!

Halo 4 is seriously flawed. Halo 5 is great, and directly addresses Halo 4's major problems.

 

[Fata1moose]

Play the ones Bungie developed, because the games touched by 343i are ass! They need to give themselves an uppercut.

Firefight in ODST is one of the best things to happen, EVER!

Halo 5 has the best multiplayer in the series, so no it's not ass.

Halo 1 has aged extremely well though, it's still a fun game, the same can't be said for a lot of other shooters released at the time.

Halo 4 is seriously flawed. Halo 5 is great, and directly addresses Halo 4's major problems.

I don't like the campaigns in Halo 4 or 5 really, they're not bad overall though. 5 has a bad story with pretty great level design (though it's missing the grander scale moments). 4 is just kind of mediocre.

 

[ElRenoRaven]

I have recently acquired a 360 and Every Halo. I never played this series before and I have started with Halo Anniversary. I've been doing, basically, a mission a night and last night I finished The Silent Cartographer, which was excellent.

I'm struck by the quality of this for a 15 year-old FPS - there's a great sense of urgency, and a fantastic feeling of leading a squad, as well as the AI on the Covenant beasties being impressive. It's challenging but not unfair (normal mode) and the sense of freedom is really nice.

If I can criticise anything, there's a tendency towards similar-looking interiors, but in a way that actually improves my immersion because, yeah, an alien ship probably would be built this way!

Also it seems as though, switching back and forth between original and Anniversary graphics, that the new graphics lose a little of the otherworldliness of the Xbox version.

Anyway it's great, and when I finish this I've got 2, 3, Wars, ODST, Reach and 4 to play. I might skip Wars, unless it's super good. I normally dislike RTS.

Oh you're in for a treat. It sounds like you're going in with an open mind which is good. I would play Halo Wars without a doubt. I'm not a huge RTS fan but I enjoyed the hell out of it. It's a very streamlined RTS.

 

[EBE]

Halo CEA went overboard with the redesigns,on top of offering the gimped PC version of the original. Only positive I can give the visual overhaul is how the team approached The Library, adding little graphical markers that help break up the architectural sameness of the environment.

Halo 2 expands on the story universe in some interesting ways buy none of the levels ever grabbed me, and the brutes were shit enemies (AI took a hit across the board, really). Dual wielding was a novelty, nothing more.

Halo 3 has the best vehicle segments of the original trilogy (and in the entire series) but the final two levels are poop. I still adore how it looks though. Some great lighting and effects works. The brutes were improved bit I still don't think they work as well as they should have or (or as well as bungie would have liked). The weakest told story of the three.

Halo 4 lacks the open areas of the original and the great vehicle segments of 3, but it's story easily tops anything before it. Focusing on the Chiefs relationship with Cortana was great and lent some weight to the series for once. Unfortunately the Didact and Promethean threat was left a bit underdeveloped, much like the Promethean enemy designs themselves, which just suck. I know people say the story is impossible to follow without having read the books but I would have to disagree. The Librarians info dump, while clumsy, does everything it needs to do in explaining the games larger back story. The levels aren't anything special, being mostly linear affairs, but they aren't terrible either.

It's a solid series with some obvious flaws but I think you'll have fun OP

 

[Lord British]

Played through Assault on the Control Room. Man! That level's kind of long, huh? I'm tempted to call it samey, but again that really kind of helps with a sense of scale and lends an arduousness to your mission. Breaking out into the pyramid area made it all worth it anyway.

A friend told me I have to do that whole mission backwards soon. I hope that isn't true.

 

[WhiteRabbitEXE]

Enjoy OP! Hell of a series.

3>1>Reach>ODST>2>4

This is the weirdest order I've ever seen.

 

[TheYanger]

I think I finished the first one, I can't remember if it was that or the second one. Still though, I always thought those little enemies with shell-like backs were so lame. The story in general is very meh in my opinion, and the gameplay always seems to be playing catch up.

How is the gameplay of probably the most influential console shooter of all time playing 'catch up' ?

Like, what an odd statement. Everyone else was playing catch up with halo for YEARS.

 

[Fahzgoolin]

I definitely prefer the classic version, but especially played native. Classic Mode is based on Halo PC which has a lot of graphical issues (lighting generally looks weird, lots of strange asset replacements, missing fog effects, etc), and the original audio isn't available.

Library is awesome. It's a sort of spiritual successor to the classic Marathon 2 level If I Had a Rocket Launcher I'd Make Somebody Pay, with some Doom flavour thrown in. Halo 1's shotgun dancing is good stuff.

again. ur posts freaking rock.

btw, when playing Halo CE on the OG Xbox was the campaign frequently mired by low framerates and stuttering? I wonder if it's just my scratched up disk.

 

[TheYanger]

I wouldn't say frequently but it was certainly capable of doing more than it could handle. Depended on what was going on. Like firing point blank into a dude would hose it with all of the blood effects and stuff, similarly lots of explosions can definitely slow it down.

 

[SuperEpicMan]

Finished the last mission of Halo CE yesterday. I really liked it overall, but goddamn that last segment can be frustrating.

Spoiler

I tried the Warthog run about 2 times before I managed it. The first time, I didn't make the trench jump and had to start again. The second time I managed to get to the final stretch where you have to get out of the Warthog and run for the ship, I had about 15 seconds to get there. Then after belting it, I was about 2 meters from getting into the ship when some grunt comes out of nowhere and shoots me in the back.

Spoiler

 

[Theorry]

Played Halo 1 with MCC not so long ago. It was more nostalgic overall. Because the game really didnt age well haha. The Library was just horrible. It just doesnt end. And its the same room all over again. So glad it finally ended lol.

 

[Fat4all]

I truly loved how the original Halo looked on XBOriginal, and Anniversary was fine, but not the same. I didn't play it much at all, really.

I loved 3, tho. Loved it a lot.

 

[TheYanger]

Finished the last mission of Halo CE yesterday. I really liked it overall, but goddamn that last segment can be frustrating.

Spoiler

I tried the Warthog run about 2 times before I managed it. The first time, I didn't make the trench jump and had to start again. The second time I managed to get to the final stretch where you have to get out of the Warthog and run for the ship, I had about 15 seconds to get there. Then after belting it, I was about 2 meters from getting into the ship when some grunt comes out of nowhere and shoots me in the back.

Spoiler

I think I failed the warthog run once or twice back in the day, I don't think I could ever consider it frustrating though, to me the warthog run is iconic as fuck, Halo doesn't generally do boss battles well, so a warthog run is a much more appropriate setpiece to me, a nice release of tension to a fantastic setpiece after the last major combat encounter in the game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSHYFQ_LUIk

Chills still. I can picture that shit exploding around me as I plow down hordes of flood.

 

[Belakor]

You are in for a treat OP. Halo campaigns are monumental.

I suggest playing them in release order,that's how they are meant to be played.Have fun

PS:Such a shame that there is no Halo 2 Anniversary in 360.My biggest disappointment as a 360 owner.

 

[SuperEpicMan]

I think I failed the warthog run once or twice back in the day, I don't think I could ever consider it frustrating though, to me the warthog run is iconic as fuck, Halo doesn't generally do boss battles well, so a warthog run is a much more appropriate setpiece to me, a nice release of tension to a fantastic setpiece after the last major combat encounter in the game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSHYFQ_LUIk

Chills still. I can picture that shit exploding around me as I plow down hordes of flood.

Despite me failing it a couple of times, I do agree it was a great set piece. It is pretty impressive given how old the game is, it kinda did cinematic gaming before games like Uncharted popularised the idea.

 

[horkrux]

Starting up Halo CEA in the MCC made me realize just bad the remake looks. I didn't even notice back when I played it on 360, but the game looks like some weird cross gen title coupled with the fact that it's not that faithful to the original design in many places. I think for my next playthroughs I'll be switching over to the classic look..

Funny thing is that I used to find the Halo games really boring until I picked ODST back up (of all games it had to be this one..) after I hadn't played it in months, and finished it. Had such a blast with the chapters set in the past, that I did a complete mental 180 in my stance towards the series. Since then I've been enjoying them for some weird reason. Well, except for Halo 4. I don't think there is any saving that.

 

[Stopdoor]

Repetitive level design is an obvious problem with Halo CE, but Halo 2 is a lot better in that regard and Halo 3 absolutely knocks it out of the park with variety, so you don't have to worry about that.

 

[nekkid]

Finished the last mission of Halo CE yesterday. I really liked it overall, but goddamn that last segment can be frustrating.

Spoiler

I tried the Warthog run about 2 times before I managed it. The first time, I didn't make the trench jump and had to start again. The second time I managed to get to the final stretch where you have to get out of the Warthog and run for the ship, I had about 15 seconds to get there. Then after belting it, I was about 2 meters from getting into the ship when some grunt comes out of nowhere and shoots me in the back.

Spoiler

Awesome, right?

I love The Maw so much. So so much.

 

[Barrow Roll]

I definitely prefer the classic version, but especially played native. Classic Mode is based on Halo PC which has a lot of graphical issues (lighting generally looks weird, lots of strange asset replacements, missing fog effects, etc), and the original audio isn't available.

*snip*

This is why I want DF Retro to do a Halo CE episode. Paging dark10x!

 

[mcz117chief]

Enjoy OP! Hell of a series.

3>1>Reach>ODST>2>4

Wow, that's my tier list too when it comes to campaign.

 

[DesertFox]

OP, I humbly recommend that you finish 1-3, and possibly the offshoots you mentioned (ODST, Reach) but stop there. Halo 4 and onward really aren't doing the franchise any justice, and you'd probably be better off just leaving the series at the conclusion of 3.

 

[Lord British]

Reached the mission "Keyes" tonight. Stopping 'cos it's bedtime.

I... honestly didn't find The Library as bad as Assault on the Control Room, which lasts forever and repeats the same rooms over and over. At least The Library was a change of pace, and 343 Guilty Spark made me chuckle.