The Bad Guy
Member
Says it not bait, but hides that part it in spoiler tags.
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So...what is Halo to you?
- Thread starter SOR5
- Start date
Says it not bait, but hides that part it in spoiler tags.
Easton Dark
Member
"Halo" aka the second level in Combat Evolved. Large vistas, warthog full of marines, pine trees sinking into alien installations and relaxing music. That's my image of Halo, so I'd say it's the gameplay and atmosphere of the single player that makes Halo what it is to me.
Halo is an FPS where you fight weird looking muppets who have better AI than the enemy soldiers in COD
In a brightly colored world, with brightly colored enemies that have actual personality
Where you have a handful of vehicles that are never around as often as you'd like
With a campaign that offers more variety than most shooter campaigns do
And a story that sits right around where Predator 1 is in terms of how serious it takes itself
It is slower paced than PC shooters, but purposefully so, like how Dark Souls is slower than DMC
It has Keith David as the Player 2 character (I know this isn't technically accurate usually)
and it is not
a deeply self serious story about politics, holo-girlfriends, and ancient killer pregenitor races
In a brightly colored world, with brightly colored enemies that have actual personality
Where you have a handful of vehicles that are never around as often as you'd like
With a campaign that offers more variety than most shooter campaigns do
And a story that sits right around where Predator 1 is in terms of how serious it takes itself
It is slower paced than PC shooters, but purposefully so, like how Dark Souls is slower than DMC
It has Keith David as the Player 2 character (I know this isn't technically accurate usually)
and it is not
a deeply self serious story about politics, holo-girlfriends, and ancient killer pregenitor races
Crayon
Member
Halo is like gta3 for me. It came out, everyone was playing it so I play it for like 2 weeks. I find it a good game. Then the rest of the world considers it one of the greatest ever and it establishes a dynasty and I have years to observe and ponder why.
Both Halo and grand theft auto 3 are like this to me. Really good games. Revolutionary, even. But I have to use my imagination to understand what makes them so great because maybe I am out of touch with normal gamers. You could say I appreciate these games from afar.
Halo to me is:
Great controls and great performance. At the time, fps on console were not great. They could be fun on a console but could only be great on pc. This was down to the controls and the performance of the 3d world viewed so closely from the first person perspective. Halo had controls that made the player really confident. On the level confidence of the best pc fps. Not speed and accuracy, but the perception of it. Confidence.
On the performance front; you could build a similar shooter on the ps2, but if you walked face up to a big redwood tree and just be looking at the texture real close, you may not know what the fuck you were looking at. Just a brown blurry mess. With the xbox's larger textures and shader functions, you could do the same and say "I know what this is. This is tree bark." It was an appreciable difference and was important to the game.
Then the multiplayer. It was like mario kart for grownups. Everybody just had fun. It was just fun. The removal of the split screen these days is just.... I don't know what the fuck they are thinking.
After that, it had heart. The original game had a lot of heart. The sequel maybe less so. But the original Halo I think was a real expressive work of art and was blessed with a certain emotional content.
Both Halo and grand theft auto 3 are like this to me. Really good games. Revolutionary, even. But I have to use my imagination to understand what makes them so great because maybe I am out of touch with normal gamers. You could say I appreciate these games from afar.
Halo to me is:
Great controls and great performance. At the time, fps on console were not great. They could be fun on a console but could only be great on pc. This was down to the controls and the performance of the 3d world viewed so closely from the first person perspective. Halo had controls that made the player really confident. On the level confidence of the best pc fps. Not speed and accuracy, but the perception of it. Confidence.
On the performance front; you could build a similar shooter on the ps2, but if you walked face up to a big redwood tree and just be looking at the texture real close, you may not know what the fuck you were looking at. Just a brown blurry mess. With the xbox's larger textures and shader functions, you could do the same and say "I know what this is. This is tree bark." It was an appreciable difference and was important to the game.
Then the multiplayer. It was like mario kart for grownups. Everybody just had fun. It was just fun. The removal of the split screen these days is just.... I don't know what the fuck they are thinking.
After that, it had heart. The original game had a lot of heart. The sequel maybe less so. But the original Halo I think was a real expressive work of art and was blessed with a certain emotional content.
Forerunner
Member
Kaji AF16
Member
Playing primarily on PC until 2010, Halo meant little to me until I played Reach. It blew me away and I became very invested in the universe.
That said, I consider H2 and H3 to be vastly overrated. I do like H4 and H5 and I am looking forward to the franchise´s future after the latter´s dissapointing campaign. I am relatively worried about 343´s capabilities to improve the saga´s relevance in a post-Destiny world.
My main memories are from playing LAN Reach-H4 tournaments with RL friends the last Friday night of each month.
That said, I consider H2 and H3 to be vastly overrated. I do like H4 and H5 and I am looking forward to the franchise´s future after the latter´s dissapointing campaign. I am relatively worried about 343´s capabilities to improve the saga´s relevance in a post-Destiny world.
My main memories are from playing LAN Reach-H4 tournaments with RL friends the last Friday night of each month.
Wesley-Sigma
Member
A pure, competitive FPS bound by only its skilled players.
So basically, nothing post Halo 3.
So basically, nothing post Halo 3.
BlazeHedgehog
Member
Halo to me is Halo 1. Exclusively.
The way the weapons sound, the voices of the Elites and Grunts, the northern climates (snow, forests). Halo 1 is the way I think of the Halo franchise. But I suppose more than anything, it is the sound design for me.
Honestly it was really off putting when Halo 2 changed so much of the way Halo "felt." I'm a big proponent of "iconic" sounds, and a lot of Halo 1's sound design is very iconic... which was then almost entirely thrown out for subsequent games. I didn't like that, and I continue not to like that in every Halo game to follow.
Grunts sound like different people, in different tones of voice. Even if it's the same gun, weapons in later Halo games sound 100% different from the way they do in Halo 1. It's like if you played Doom 2 and everything had different, more bland sound effects. And then those became the standard.
The way the weapons sound, the voices of the Elites and Grunts, the northern climates (snow, forests). Halo 1 is the way I think of the Halo franchise. But I suppose more than anything, it is the sound design for me.
Honestly it was really off putting when Halo 2 changed so much of the way Halo "felt." I'm a big proponent of "iconic" sounds, and a lot of Halo 1's sound design is very iconic... which was then almost entirely thrown out for subsequent games. I didn't like that, and I continue not to like that in every Halo game to follow.
Grunts sound like different people, in different tones of voice. Even if it's the same gun, weapons in later Halo games sound 100% different from the way they do in Halo 1. It's like if you played Doom 2 and everything had different, more bland sound effects. And then those became the standard.
H3rTz DoNuT
Member
Sadly nothing anymore. Played and loved all of them till 4, never bought 5, it just not as fun as it was I think or maybe I'm just tired of fps in general.
Dee Dah Dave
Member
Washed up has been that doesn't put the needed effort in to stand out anymore.
Muffdraul
Member
Halo was the game that taught me how to love FPSs again in spring 2002, after completely burning out on them in 1998, largely thanks to a herculean task of a game called Turok 2. From Doom 1 on, I had played pretty much every FPS that came down the pike, on just about every platform, including Mac. Halo seemed to do just about everything right. And if it did something that any previous FPS had done, it did it better. The original Halo is still my favorite, with Reach being in 2nd place. Eh, maybe it and Halo 3 are tied. I kept an open mind when Bungie passed the torch to 343, but Halo 4 and 5 are definitely missing something. I'll play Halo 6 whenever it comes out, but I won't be very hyped about it, unless previews make it obvious that it's going to be a lot better than the last two.
Halo to me is a great multiplayer, a great single player, a great cooperative experience, and a great community wrapped into a single game.
Recently, mainline installments have failed at all four to different degrees, be it 4's multiplayer or 5's content issues and singleplayer, which is why these are failures as Halo games in my eyes. (But still have their positives)
If all parts of Halo aren't great, then it's failed at being Halo. Sorry 343, but that's the position your in.
Recently, mainline installments have failed at all four to different degrees, be it 4's multiplayer or 5's content issues and singleplayer, which is why these are failures as Halo games in my eyes. (But still have their positives)
If all parts of Halo aren't great, then it's failed at being Halo. Sorry 343, but that's the position your in.
pixelation
Member
The game that saved Microsoft's gaming venture.
Ryouji Gunblade
Member
Halo is a universe that features the UNSC, Insurrectionists, the Covenant, Forerunner Sentinels, and the Flood.
The gameplay is fast arena action on small maps for 4v4, and large vehicle warfare in 8v8.
You can play as battle-hardened Spartans, or noble alien Elites.
The gameplay is fast arena action on small maps for 4v4, and large vehicle warfare in 8v8.
You can play as battle-hardened Spartans, or noble alien Elites.
Munch Poke
Member
Energy swords and motion trackers. Bliss.
FUNKNOWN iXi
Member
Halo is everything. It is all-encompassing, ever-changing.
With the addition of a Custom Games Browser and Forge, along with 343's willingness to keep fans happy, I'm sure Halo 6's multiplayer will be fine. As for the campaign, I want them to try something fresh, something new with Halo's gameplay, perhaps taking cues from Metroid Prime's design or just more open-ended exploration.
With the addition of a Custom Games Browser and Forge, along with 343's willingness to keep fans happy, I'm sure Halo 6's multiplayer will be fine. As for the campaign, I want them to try something fresh, something new with Halo's gameplay, perhaps taking cues from Metroid Prime's design or just more open-ended exploration.
boneyjangles
Member
Green bmx helmets, little goofy triangular umpa-lumpa guys attacking you, crappy theme music, fun vehicles, cool multiplayer, no longer bungie so little interest.
ElRenoRaven
Member
Halo 1,2,3 are prime examples of Halo to me. While I like 4&5 I don't like a lot of the changes 343 made. I miss a campaign focusing on just playing as Master Chief. I miss Forerunners being mysterious beings who were hinted to be ancient humans. I miss the exploration of these long forgotten forerunner structures. The books and extended stuff is so much more interesting then the main series. Even Halo Wars 2 was more interesting.
Gameplay wise I liked Halo's lack of things like armor abilities etc. I wish they'd just get rid of everything but sprint and clamber. If they did that then the multiplayer would feel perfect again.
Gameplay wise I liked Halo's lack of things like armor abilities etc. I wish they'd just get rid of everything but sprint and clamber. If they did that then the multiplayer would feel perfect again.
Halo 3 was an enjoyable game when I got back into gaming after a long hiatus although overshadowed by Call of Duty 4 that fall. I enjoyed Reach a fair bit as well.
Halo is partly the reason I sold my Xbox One. The MCC and Halo 5 should've been the most compelling exclusives on the platform not yet playable on PC. I got bored of Halo CE at the cartographer stage and I was like WTF at the first level of Halo 5, so figured with play anywhere I would sell the console and play gears 4 and forza horizon 3 on PC.
Halo is partly the reason I sold my Xbox One. The MCC and Halo 5 should've been the most compelling exclusives on the platform not yet playable on PC. I got bored of Halo CE at the cartographer stage and I was like WTF at the first level of Halo 5, so figured with play anywhere I would sell the console and play gears 4 and forza horizon 3 on PC.
The Bungie titles will hold a place in my heart forever. Some of the greatest online (and offline) experiences to be had in an FPS, in my opinion. Reminiscing on their greatness only brings me crushing sadness when I snap back to reality and remember what 343 has done to the franchise, though.
A once-great franchise held hostage by the self-appointed """"stewards"""" of Halo who named themselves after a main villain in the series and who continue to mishandle the older games (MCC) while putting out new ones that still misunderstand what made Halo great in the first place or why people liked it.
Reptars Revenge
Member
1 2 and 3
Aye... I think that 343 could do a lot in rebuilding trust with fans if they made a serious effort to fix the MCC. It's easier to find a game on Halo PC than it is on the MCC, and that's just fucking pathetic.
(Granted, that's part of the magic of server browsers... May they forever rest in peace.)
To me is was revolutionary. Proof that console FPS could not just match the gameplay of the best PC FPS of the time, but in many areas exceed them. It was the totally fresh, alien/Iceland aesthetic. It was the organic, unpredictable AI skirmishes of Half Life taken to the Nth degree. The recharging shields/bar health system that changed the way you approached combat. It was the two weapon swap in/swap out system. It was vehicles, both ground and aerial. It was the covenant then the flood then all three sides thrown together. It was the goddam Master Chief. And it was ALL about Legendary difficulty.
Jack The Nipper
Banned
Bungie did this shit on purpose imo
I doubt anything will ever change my mind. I still think they were some folks upset at the Halo situation and having to give it up to get out.
The music and it seemed like the games just wanted to be fun. Halo 5 could be a just fun game but they tried to hard to make an esport which killed it for me.
Just make a good game. If its good then ppl will come to your tournaments. Designing the game as an esport hurt the fun factor for me.
I think halo 5 has a good balance between old and new halo gameplay but everything else suffers because of the esport/competitive focus. The maps are boring looking, pretty much symmetrical. Graphics suffer because certian things (shadows) will effect visibility. Most of the fun modes weren't in at launch because they wanted the competitive stuff to be the focus.
I couldn't get on solo and just have fun because everything was ranked so eventually every match became a sweaty (same thing that killed destiny for me). You can have ranked modes but don't force us to always play ranked. Games are supposed to be fun first.
I can play the shitty halo 5 forge PC port with a controller and still have way more fun than I did being forced into sweaty matches on xbox.
Just bring back the fun
Idk how they can fix the story mess though
Just make a good game. If its good then ppl will come to your tournaments. Designing the game as an esport hurt the fun factor for me.
I think halo 5 has a good balance between old and new halo gameplay but everything else suffers because of the esport/competitive focus. The maps are boring looking, pretty much symmetrical. Graphics suffer because certian things (shadows) will effect visibility. Most of the fun modes weren't in at launch because they wanted the competitive stuff to be the focus.
I couldn't get on solo and just have fun because everything was ranked so eventually every match became a sweaty (same thing that killed destiny for me). You can have ranked modes but don't force us to always play ranked. Games are supposed to be fun first.
I can play the shitty halo 5 forge PC port with a controller and still have way more fun than I did being forced into sweaty matches on xbox.
Just bring back the fun
Idk how they can fix the story mess though
Halo is '80's sci-fi. Goofy puppet aliens and low-fi space military tech from Aliens.
Halo combat is like dancing. It has a rhythm you just won't feel in "modern" shooters.
Halo has a satisfying, frustration-free "risk-die-repeat" gameplay loop. It makes dying and having to replay a checkpoint not feel like a waste of time because there are so many variables, so many unexpected things that could happen every time you respawn.
...yeah, 343 kinda broke Halo.
Halo combat is like dancing. It has a rhythm you just won't feel in "modern" shooters.
Halo has a satisfying, frustration-free "risk-die-repeat" gameplay loop. It makes dying and having to replay a checkpoint not feel like a waste of time because there are so many variables, so many unexpected things that could happen every time you respawn.
...yeah, 343 kinda broke Halo.
Pure cinematic atmosphere - the stakes, the setting, the scope, and above all the music. The feeling that you're doing something BIG/EPIC - honestly, so few games are ever able to conjure that up - Titanfall 2 was the first game in long time for me to feel like Halo.
The other iconic aspect is of course multiplayer - for me this always takes the form of 4 v 4 Team Slayer on Blood Gulch with system linked Xboxes during Christmas family reunion. No game has ever invested the family like that did for its 2 year peak.
The other iconic aspect is of course multiplayer - for me this always takes the form of 4 v 4 Team Slayer on Blood Gulch with system linked Xboxes during Christmas family reunion. No game has ever invested the family like that did for its 2 year peak.
At this point, I'd rather they just release Halo 1, 2, and 3 (separately) on Steam with full modding/workshop support. Those games can live forever on PC and then I won't have to worry about what nonsense direction 343 is taking Halo in.
Jonneh3003
Banned
A masterful trilogy that rethought the conventions of first person shooters. I still buy every Halo game because of my attachment to the series but I don't love anything after ODST.
Something that was small, feature lacking, restrictive, and outdated before it even released. I and 63 other people were flying around gigantic maps in 3-man bombers, painting targets for 2-man tanks and Juggernauts to mortar, and skiing up and down hills at 70mph in Tribes 2 before Halo ever released. I never understood the appeal for something so inferior.
Khalifa Jayy
Banned
A franchise run into the ground.
Jonneh3003
Banned
I actually see Halo as a slow paced arena game. I think 343's insistence to speed up the gameplay has hindered it in several areas.
Ryo Hazuki
Member
Holy shit, lol. First post nails it.
Played this game all the time at the end of school. Used to hook up multiple Xboxes and TV's and do multiplayer all night. Some of the best gaming memories of my life.
- A distinct art style that so far only Bungie seems to be able to produce
- Health bar regeneration
- An open-world quality to the levels, where environments are expansive and beckon to be explored, any vehicle or weapon can be used and swapped out, etc
- A very specific sound design that is unique to Halo
- *cue choral theme*
- The jumping is intentionally floaty and has a low-gravity feel that enhances gameplay
- Health bar regeneration
- An open-world quality to the levels, where environments are expansive and beckon to be explored, any vehicle or weapon can be used and swapped out, etc
- A very specific sound design that is unique to Halo
- *cue choral theme*
- The jumping is intentionally floaty and has a low-gravity feel that enhances gameplay