HigherLevel
Member
Whenever you read about the elite developers in the industry you typically see names like Valve, Blizzard, and some of the Nintendo EAD teams. A developer I think belongs in that category but does not receive enough credit is Bungie. Everyone knows that the Xbox wouldn't even exist today without Halo: Combat Evolved. We all bought an Xbox just for that game. It showed FPSs could actually be fun on consoles and control well.
Three years later they took it a step further. Halo 2, the first truly great online game for consoles. I know the campaign had its issues, but a lot of that was because Bungie was so ambitious. The multiplayer was were it truly shined. It wasn't just the gameplay though, the system they created to join and invite friends was amazingly simple and quick. From what I know, Bungie worked really closely with Microsoft on Xbox Live. It definitely shows, because even today the guide and friend's list is very similar to the online menu used in Halo 2.
With Halo 3, Bungie took things to another level. Yeah the gameplay was similar to Halo 2(and why should it change? It was incredibly fun) but the features they added made the game even that more time consuming. 4 player online co-op, Theater mode, and Forge mode were all things never done in a console game before. All of those features were simple and easy to use. They also added things like File Share which allowed you to swap gametypes, maps, screenshots, and videos with your friends. I don't even know how much I used that, it was really cool.
Whether or not you like the gameplay in Reach, I think everyone can agree it is the most complete and refined game of the series. They took everything from the previous games, including Firefight mode from ODST, and brought it up a notch. The customization is incredible compared to every other console game.
With all that said, Bungie has brought a lot of new things to the table over the past 10 years. You might think Halo is too dudebro, or you don't like shooters. But Bungie has definitely been an innovator and helped push gaming forward. I cannot wait to see their next game because I know it's going to wow me whenever I get my first glimpse of it. I'd like to hear other's thoughts on this subject.
Three years later they took it a step further. Halo 2, the first truly great online game for consoles. I know the campaign had its issues, but a lot of that was because Bungie was so ambitious. The multiplayer was were it truly shined. It wasn't just the gameplay though, the system they created to join and invite friends was amazingly simple and quick. From what I know, Bungie worked really closely with Microsoft on Xbox Live. It definitely shows, because even today the guide and friend's list is very similar to the online menu used in Halo 2.
With Halo 3, Bungie took things to another level. Yeah the gameplay was similar to Halo 2(and why should it change? It was incredibly fun) but the features they added made the game even that more time consuming. 4 player online co-op, Theater mode, and Forge mode were all things never done in a console game before. All of those features were simple and easy to use. They also added things like File Share which allowed you to swap gametypes, maps, screenshots, and videos with your friends. I don't even know how much I used that, it was really cool.
Whether or not you like the gameplay in Reach, I think everyone can agree it is the most complete and refined game of the series. They took everything from the previous games, including Firefight mode from ODST, and brought it up a notch. The customization is incredible compared to every other console game.
With all that said, Bungie has brought a lot of new things to the table over the past 10 years. You might think Halo is too dudebro, or you don't like shooters. But Bungie has definitely been an innovator and helped push gaming forward. I cannot wait to see their next game because I know it's going to wow me whenever I get my first glimpse of it. I'd like to hear other's thoughts on this subject.
