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So...what is Halo to you?

SOR5

Member
Halo is one of those IP's that continues to divide and divide and divide, and that chasm has got even worse since the release of H4. Nearly everybody here has an argument about 343i's direction of the series for better or worse

But what were the things that made Halo "Halo" to you?

Was it gameplay, art, atmosphere? A story? A certain character? Three year olds screaming online?

To me its the big pine trees, gorgeous skyboxes and the music

Halo-3-pine-trees.jpg
 

Jawmuncher

Member
Halo to me is a big shooter that allows you to use your imagination to overcome things.
Halo 2 was all for this. If you could shove a vehicle through, or manage to get on top of something. You could use it to your advantage. Later games really started taking this away, mainly with Halo 3 where invisible walls or barriers for vehicles was presented. That's a big reason why I haven't enjoyed the later games as much. But can go back to Halo 1 and 2 any time and still have a good time, trying things I didn't even think of doing all those years ago.
 

UKUMI0

Member
Fun.

It's something to boot up after work to let off some steam.

Used to be able to enjoy it with friends but they've all gone off to CoD or Destiny.

But its still fun for me.
 

UraMallas

Member
Huge open vistas, incredible music, fun vehicular combat, smart and challenging gunplay/AI.

And Chief and Cortana.

I guess some people like to play online with it.
 
Big team battle one bomb,capture the flag or objective. Running away in a warthog with the enemy teams flag while being chased by the enemy. Halo 4/5 fucked this aspect and lost me as a player.
 

eXistor

Member
I loved Halo CE for its single player. The shooting mechanics felt right, the world was linear but gave players enogh freedom to go about it their own way. The difficulties seemed just right. It was just a very solid shooter, but I can't say I was ever that big a fan. I hated Halo 2, I thought it was a cheap sequel that failed to recapture the magic of the first. Halo 3 was boring and very restricting (in my mind at least I played through it once at release and never touched it again). Halo Reach was a return to form and I thought it was the best since 1. Halo 4 was shit, didn't like a thing about it. Never played Halo 5 and will never play another again, my interest in the series is completely gone.

I don't give a hoot about mp, it's all about sp for me and they just became worse and worse with almost every iteration except Reach.
 

Trace

Banned
An awesome multiplayer FPS that had a great custom game scene for awhile in Halo 3, a mediocre story that is lauded more than it deserves and a failing franchise because everyone moved on to Destiny.
 

dolce

Banned
It a series that had amazing console MP and amazing SP as well. It was the sole reason to own an Xbox for me. Sadly, 343's Halos aren't even in the same universe.
 

Stevey

Member
The first 3 SP campaigns and MP.
The Xbox One entries dont do it for me like the Xbox/360 ones did.
 

Kadin

Member
It's a game that really stood out at the time it was launched. I really thought there was nothing else like it. It was incredibly fun to play and many hours were spent enjoying it.

Today it's a game that I fell no longer competes with others and sadly is one I've lost a lot of interest in. With that said I do own MCC and Halo 5 so I'm still a fan, but it's slowly fading more and more each day.
 

Skel1ingt0n

I can't *believe* these lazy developers keep making file sizes so damn large. Btw, how does technology work?
Distilled to its core, Halo is:

Large team skirmishes, utilizing vehicles, with an emphasis on pure skill over luck, outside of just "first to pull the trigger."

What that means, in more detail, is that Halo has always had an emphasis in skill trumps luck. Just cause you happen to see someone first or have the "better weapon" for the situation or have the drop... whatever... your enemy ALWAYS has a move. There's few, if any, "well fuck, no point in fighting or running" moments.

It's a mixture of a perfect balance between TTK and the weapons at your disposal, aligned with vehciles and maps that lend to impromptu skirmishes. Slow, methodical thinking prevails - not just SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT.
 
I remember going over to my friend's house during the summer to play the second one. Was never any good at the game, but it was fun.
 

Stopdoor

Member
The AI and scenarios. I'm not sure what made me first try Halo 3 on Legendary, but only after that and reading some interesting analysis did I truly realize how well-crafted the scenarios were.
 

Rymuth

Member
What Halo *was* to me: A (seemingly) open world with incredible music and minimalist approach to the story that can still pack a punch.

Played Halo 4 aka MC and Cortana stop the gameplay every 5 minutes for a cutscene that's essentially(John, Curtana, Jaaaaaahn, Curtnaaaa, Jaaaaaaaaahn) and I realized it's not for me anymore. The less said about how dudebro 343i made the world (see: that Spartan who keeps saying 'eggheads') the better.
 

daffy

Banned
Just a really solid tight FPS experience with an awesome community. That being said, if Halo 6 was the last one I'd be fine with that. I feel like once Destiny comes into its own Halo will become an also ran
 

nekkid

It doesn't matter who we are, what matters is our plan.
What's with all the Xbox-related question or concern threads, this weekend?
 
Big team battles and custom games infection.

With Warzone and the custom game browser I still play halo 5. Honestly my favorite halo despite its huge problems with the campaign.
 
It's an idea that had its day. The characters, setting and story were not interesting enough to carry it past H3.
If they never made another one most people would not care or notice.
 
It's actually too hard to pin down, because Halo is a very very specific thing for me. Unfortunately 343 hasn't really nailed it, aside from a few great levels in Halo 4/5 with a few fun weapons.

My bullet list:
-Marty style music (I think he has established his own brand by now)
-High skill gap, but with an appealing simple core
-Tight controls (not overly complicated)
-Not super fast, but responsive and great combat pacing
-A beautiful art style with a minimalistic alien architecture style (forerunner)
-A simple, but balanced sandbox of weapons that play off each other well
-Great utility weapon to fall back on (halo 1 pistol, halo 2/3 BR)
-A mixture of space epic adventure with high stakes tension sprinkled in with horror elements at times (very important imo)
-A fun campy sense of humor appropriately mixed in with serious contexts

I could go on and on...

Honestly, the original trilogy just established such a great blend of things that you would think are contradictory, but made it work. For example, grunts are charming and hilarious (even cute) in the original trilogy, but they can be dangerous, yet easily taken out. On paper, that doesn't make much sense, but it works so well and feels alien as a result.
 

DrD

Member
It was the king of console FPS for me and what made me get the original Xbox. It showed me that FPS could be amazing on consoles too.

Can't speak much for the direction 343i's taking the series since I haven't played 5.
 

Marvel

could never
A beloved francise that has lost it's way a bit. I hope the next games improve lore and writing wise.
 
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