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[kittens]

The Ark is cool, but it's a bit too vehicle heavy for me.

Attack on the Control Room is my fave. Truth and Reconciliation is up there, especially once you board the ship. As far as Halo 3 goes, Covenant is definitely my fave.

 

[Anjelus_]

This thread is killings me.

If you already have an amazing PC, a Wii U, and a PS4, is there any reason other than HALO MACHINE to get a X1? Desperately craving Halo here.

 

[REDSLATE]

This thread is killings me.

If you already have an amazing PC, a Wii U, and a PS4, is there any reason other than HALO MACHINE to get a X1? Desperately craving Halo here.

Probably not. If you need your Halo fix, go buy four Xboxes, 16 controllers, and four copies of Halo 2. You'll have a blast with LAN and still come out spending less than it would cost to play the "Master Chief Collection."

 

[Twilight Gap]

that moment when the Forward Unto Dawn descends and then drops the tanks though...

the music and vista is just brilliant.

I could tell you of a time long ago when Bungie created gorgeous set pieces...

 

[maneil99]

that moment when the Forward Unto Dawn descends and then drops the tanks though...

the music and vista is just brilliant.

I could tell you of a time long ago when Bungie created gorgeous set pieces...

nevermind

 

[Randolph Freelander]

There's 10 good campaign levels in the Halo series, and they're all in Combat Evolved.

 

[HTupolev]

There's 10 good campaign levels in the Halo series, and they're all in Combat Evolved.

"One of them is the Sumo minigame from the Fuzion Frenzy demo."

that moment when the Forward Unto Dawn descends and then drops the tanks though...

the music and vista is just brilliant.

I could tell you of a time long ago when Bungie created gorgeous set pieces...

As graphically-fancy as Halo 4's vignettes can get, it's so good that Bungie didn't separate off setpieces from gameplay to boost fidelity. They could still produce aesthetically gorgeous areas even if they weren't quite as graphically cranked-up, and if they felt like it, they could throw in a totally sweet epic battle to add pace to and punctuate the event.

I mean, this is a massive skybox reveal, it's a scarab setpiece moment, and it's a fight across a huge and complex battlefield (which even includes a small infantry section up the structure), all at the same time.

And a nice side-effect was that Bungie's Halos had good visual continuity.

It works. It just works.

Halo.

 

[bill.cosby]

Yeah The Ark is my favorite too, it flows perfectly and can be tackled alot of different ways.

Although I wouldn't put any levels from 4 in a top 5 Halo level list, I do think the 1st level Dawn was a great way to open the game and the Composer was a pretty great level too. Hopefully they build off those levels for Halo 5.

 

[ugh_the_boot]

Assault on the Control Room!! I always thought this stage in Halo Combat Evolved where you first get the tank was easily the best. At the time there was no other game that gave me that next gen feeling. When you get up to the part where there is a upside down warthog and a plasma tank in the distance firing artillery....wow the explosions and physics were out of this world. I would go around in the warthog with the marines and try and take out all the covenant without getting hit by the plasma tank (1 shot meant instant death usually). The AI on the marines was awesome and the guy on the gunner would rip shit up.

I also discovered a few hidden lines of dialogue here as well....as you went through if you killed most of the enemies in the whole area without getting any of your men killed your marines would say some stuff you don't normally hear, and then when you finally blow up the plasma tank you got another secret line of dialogue.

I played that level so many times I lost count. Some days I would sit for hours just replaying that part over and over again because it was so much fun (combination of the warthog controls, the marine AI and that awesome plasma tank). One of my fave memories in all gaming.


...then I found out there was a hidden banshee (which I think is the only time you get to use it in the whole game) which was really hard to get down with the rocket launcher. Damn, so many more hours lost after discovering this.

 

[Sai]

Another vote for The Covenant. It just has a bit of everything!

 

[zma1013]

There is a reason Assault on the Control Room is in a lot of the "best of" playlists in MCC.

Yes, it reuses environments, but that is Halo CE's gimmick. It has a little bit of everything - tanks, banshees, indoors fighting, outdoors fighting, rocket launcher, sniper rifle, etc.

My personal favorite is The Ark for reasons mentioned in this thread. Same with The Covenant. I actually think Silent Cartographer is a bit overrated although I do enjoy it.

Halo Reach still has the best campaign to me. The starfighter level and the level where you fly between skyscrapers are some of my favorites.

Yeah people want to use the repetitive rooms as an argument against Assault on Control Room but conviently leave out all the amazing outside areas with large battles and vehicle combat that are all very, very different. Even including the repeated rooms I find that the rooms and bridge sections are very well made from a gameplay standpoint and they have enough variation in enemy types and some structural changes between them so that they feel a little different each time but familiar enough so that you get better at playing in them each time you go into one. As you say, there's great variety to AotCR. Silent Cartographer is probably my top Halo level, but Assault on the Control Room is my 2nd favorite, then I'd put in The Ark and Covenant levels after that. On second thought, AotCR may be my top just for the simple fact that it's much better on replays than Silent Cartographer. Once you know exactly where to go and what to do, Silent Cartographer loses some of it's luster as you can complete it incredibly quickly and skip parts of it.

 

[BajiRav]

Silent Cartographer for me. I like Ark too but SC is just awesome.
343 Guilty Spark's intro is also a favorite.

 

[DarthWalden]

This thread is killings me.

If you already have an amazing PC, a Wii U, and a PS4, is there any reason other than HALO MACHINE to get a X1? Desperately craving Halo here.

Sunset overdrive man. I'm not alone when I say it's my GOTY.

Plus you'll get all the Halo for the whole generarion

 

[Twilight Gap]

i don't think reptitiveness is inherently bad. i'd probably like halo ce much more if it handled like the latter games. nostalgia can't save such a sluggish and unrefined shooter. silent cartographer blew my mind when i played it in 2001, but now when i step back in that brick of a warthog i'm thankful that halo's combat has actually evolved.

 

[HTupolev]

but now when i step back in that brick of a warthog i'm thankful that halo's combat has actually evolved.

Halo 1 warthog is awesome. It's awkward in terms of driving with directional precision, but it gives you silly control over angular momentum that makes it an absolute blast to handle within Halo's gameplay. It's all one glorious controlled fishtail, you can actually slide about in a very "continuous" way without catching on the dirt, or stabilize off huge jumps by pulling 360s, etc.

It feels imprecise and clunky going back to it after playing the other games, but it feels stiff going to the other games after driving CE's. When you have the hang of it, it's fantastic. Quirky, but fantastic.

 

[HK-47]

Anybody legitmately like the Library?

 

[AtticuSMT]

I liked alot of H1s levels, they stuck with me for years...2,3 and 4... not so much... But ODST has ones that i feel in love with (save one stage) I personally still think that ODST was the best halo game... plus a soundtrack that blew all the others out of the water.

 

[Bornstellar]

Anybody legitmately like the Library?

Yes.

 

[HTupolev]

Anybody legitmately like the Library?

Yes. It's mesmerizing and rhythmic, and carried by phenomenal upbeat maneuvering gameplay. It uses Halo 1's fluid Flood combat very well, even if encounter design isn't all that clever.

I think I spent a while thinking I wasn't fond of it, though. Took a long time to grow on me.

 

[Corronchilejano]

Anybody legitmately like the Library?

Stockholm syndrome.

 

[Twilight Gap]

Halo 1 warthog is awesome. It's awkward in terms of driving with directional precision, but it gives you silly control over angular momentum that makes it an absolute blast to handle within Halo's gameplay. It's all one glorious controlled fishtail, you can actually slide about in a very "continuous" way without catching on the dirt, or stabilize off huge jumps by pulling 360s, etc.

It feels imprecise and clunky going back to it after playing the other games, but it feels stiff going to the other games after driving CE's. When you have the hang of it, it's fantastic. Quirky, but fantastic.

don't get me wrong, i appreciate the physics. it's just that precision i'm craving. if the game was snappier it'd easily be a favorite, but it's a constant struggle and then a giant explosion picks me off when i don't momentum cancel or i'll miss a jump and fall to my death (from a pitifully low height). by then, i've made it to 343 Guilty Spark and i'd rather pop in the next game.

it is a shame what eventually became of the warthog. compared to Halo CE, Halo 4's hog feels (and sounds) like a helium balloon.

Anybody legitmately like the Library?

I'd like it if it wasn't in Halo CE.

I think I'll boot it up this weekend and give it another go.

 

[Tunavi]

Anybody legitmately like the Library?

I like it.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Anybody legitmately like the Library?

Yup. Rock it with the shotty and pistol, particularly in co-op, and it's a blast.

 

[Twilight Gap]

Yup. Rock it with the shotty and pistol, particularly in co-op, and it's a blast.

it's definitely more forgiving in co-op.

 

[boltz]

thiiiis

Will defend ODST to death.

I am aboard the ODST train as well. Love New Mombasa Streets. Combat-wise it doesn't do anything special, but the music, subdued lighting and colors, Superintendent, and sounds made it fantastically immerse and atmospheric.

The rest of the game's levels didn't do anything fancy either, but I loved the way the events of the team unfolded through the flashbacks and various beacons. Definitely worth a playthrough for any Halo fan.

 

[ResidentDante]

How about Long Night of Solace in Halo Reach? That's one of my favourites:

-You begin fighting on a beach, fairly open area.
-You fight your way into a building, with close combat inside.
-You launch yourself into fucking space with a really cool rocket start-up and launch sequence (including some nifty camera angles when exiting the atmosphere).
-You end up fighting in a spaceship in space.

So much variation in one mission!

 

[Snacks the sober sea lion]

Don't particularly like Halo 3's vehicle sections. Too many of them and they drag on for too long.

And as somebody who didn't have to pay for ODST, I don't understand the hate.

 

[Treechopper]

For best level, I agree with OP that it's the Ark. Bungie made great close quarters combat, open area combat, vehicular combat, sweeping vistas, and incredible set pieces in the desert. I agree the Covenant nailed so much, but Forward Unto Dawn's descent is unforgettable. Even better when fifteen minutes later you're in a warthog looking at a Scarab scale down a Forerunner structure coming after you.

OP, don't skip Reach. It's hard to pick a level from the campaign because it's incredibly varied in what it does, but it's also a consistent, solid experience. I'll defend that game any day.

Man, I miss when you didn't have to defend Bungie's game because it stood on its own.

Spoiler

I also miss Marathon

 

[TheUnsunghero26]

The Ark is up there for me, but The Covenant is by far my favourite Halo level.

 

[kittens]

Yes. It's mesmerizing and rhythmic, and carried by phenomenal upbeat maneuvering gameplay. It uses Halo 1's fluid Flood combat very well, even if encounter design isn't all that clever.

I think I spent a while thinking I wasn't fond of it, though. Took a long time to grow on me.

Well put. I didn't like The Library for a long time because it does the opposite of everything the earlier half of the game excelled at. Rather than giving you intelligent enemies in interesting set pieces it gave you space zombies and hallways. What the hell! But after I got over that I realized how fun it is in a run-and-gun sort of way.

 

[Snowblindvictim]

Anybody legitmately like the Library?

I loved the Library because it reminded me of old school Doom and Dark Forces.

That being said my favorite Halo level is still Assault on the Control Room. Especially once you figure out how to steal a banshee early on

 

[StoppedInTracks]

Anybody legitmately like the Library?

I dislike it very much. In general I hate every Flood encounter in the series. Flood is something out of Serious Sam (Headless). I'd rather it stayed there.

Covenant all the way, baby <3

Although the Cortana level in H3 reminded me so much of The Rickenbacker from System Shock 2... I forgive the series this one Flood level.

"One of them is the Sumo minigame from the Fuzion Frenzy demo."


As graphically-fancy as Halo 4's vignettes can get, it's so good that Bungie didn't separate off setpieces from gameplay to boost fidelity. They could still produce aesthetically gorgeous areas even if they weren't quite as graphically cranked-up, and if they felt like it, they could throw in a totally sweet epic battle to add pace to and punctuate the event.

I mean, this is a massive skybox reveal, it's a scarab setpiece moment, and it's a fight across a huge and complex battlefield (which even includes a small infantry section up the structure), all at the same time.

And a nice side-effect was that Bungie's Halos had good visual continuity.

It works. It just works.

Halo.

So much this. The fucking Scarab scales down the structure in the distance. It was a legit shook moment for me. In The Covenant the two Scarabs just drop down. The Ark has amazing gameplay design overall.

 

[ebullientprism]

All Ghillied Up.

Yeah, Call of Duty 4 was fantastic.

LOL nope. Not even in the same league as the best of Halo. Its a good setpiece and about it. The game breaks if you dont do exactly what you are told. At times even standing up is instant failure. As is walking slightly off the path. Or shooting when you arent supposed to.

Its a guided tour.

 

[StoppedInTracks]

LOL nope. Not even in the same league as the best of Halo. Its a good setpiece and about it. The game breaks if you dont do exactly what you are told. At times even standing up is instant failure. As is walking slightly off the path. Or shooting when you arent supposed to.

Its a guided tour.

Is it a memorable level? Yes it is.

 

[ResidentDante]

This thread is killings me.

If you already have an amazing PC, a Wii U, and a PS4, is there any reason other than HALO MACHINE to get a X1? Desperately craving Halo here.

Sunset overdrive man. I'm not alone when I say it's my GOTY.

Plus you'll get all the Halo for the whole generarion

Add Forza Horizon 2 to that list, game is amazing!

 

[Sojgat]

Anybody legitmately like the Library?

Yeah.

Honestly, I never understood what people were complaining about. I really love the music in that section, so that probably helps.

 

[leazo]

Id say gravemind from halo 2 but might just be because of how bloody difficult and long that level was.

 

[_13500]

Ooh Halo. You got everything before. Now you are a memory

 

[RSB]

Yes. It's mesmerizing and rhythmic, and carried by phenomenal upbeat maneuvering gameplay. It uses Halo 1's fluid Flood combat very well, even if encounter design isn't all that clever.

I think I spent a while thinking I wasn't fond of it, though. Took a long time to grow on me.

I'm the same. I hated the Library at first, but on repeated playthoughs I ended up liking it quite a bit. Halo CE still has the best combat, and the Flood were pretty fun to fight back then (not so much in the sequels) The gameplay definetly lacks the depth you can see in the encounters against the Covenant, but it is still fun. The level almost seems like a homage to old-school shooters, very hectic, pure non-stop run and gun action. I like it.

I am also a fan of the Halo CE warthog BTW. By far the best in the series.

LOL nope. Not even in the same league as the best of Halo. Its a good setpiece and about it. The game breaks if you dont do exactly what you are told. At times even standing up is instant failure. As is walking slightly off the path. Or shooting when you arent supposed to.

Its a guided tour.

Yep, COD campaigns are way too linear and scripted. As Reggie would say, meh.

i don't think reptitiveness is inherently bad. i'd probably like halo ce much more if it handled like the latter games. nostalgia can't save such a sluggish and unrefined shooter. silent cartographer blew my mind when i played it in 2001, but now when i step back in that brick of a warthog i'm thankful that halo's combat has actually evolved.

Sluggish and unrefined? Funny, for me Halo CE still has the most satisfying combat in the series. Hell, I'd say it still has the best combat in any FPS. I wish the sequels felt more like Halo CE...

 

[Glass]

Loved the Brute Chopper in the H3 campaign. I guess the only way we'd see them again is if the brutes made a return.

I feel like design wise, if they made the same leap they did from Halo 2 to 3, they'd be a lot more interesting. I liked the flamboyant Brute Chieftain armour, letting you know this guy was basically a mini boss. I'd rather fight them the Prometheans.

 

[Inuhanyou]

WRONGWRONGWRONG.

The Covenant. The Covenant then, The Covenant now, The Covenant forever.

That reference is in very bad taste.


Anyway its super vague, but my pick for best level in Halo is that level in Halo 3 where Spark sees alll of the satellites heading off into the distance, saying something like "they have a different priority task, to accomplish" and the cutscene ends off with Keys saying "until we stop truth nothing else matters"

I cant remember the life of me the name of the level, but it was my favorite one of all time.

 

[Dad]

That reference is in very bad taste.


Anyway its super vague, but my pick for best level in Halo is that level in Halo 3 where Spark sees alll of the satellites heading off into the distance, saying something like "they have a different priority task, to accomplish" and the cutscene ends off with Keys saying "until we stop truth nothing else matters"

I cant remember the life of me the name of the level, but it was my favorite one of all time.

You might want to check the OP.

Spoiler

The level you're thinking of is The Ark

Also, I don't understand what you think he's referencing.

 

[EarlyEarly]

In shooters I love when CPU enemies fight other CPU enemies so I rock with Two Betrayals. Love the variety.

 

[DocSeuss]

Ugh.

It's The Library, gawd.

 

[User 73706]

Attack on the Control Room

get out

I really have no idea which I hate...hate...more: H4 or CE

get out

Anybody legitmately like the Library?

I do! It's basically a Doom level modified to work in the Halo sandbox. I definitely appreciated it a lot more once I saw speedruns detailing easy ways to skip a good 60-70% of the entire level.

get out

 

[Photolysis]

I've come to consider The Ark to be the 2nd best H3 level, after Sierra 117. The Covenant is particularly overrated, as people seem to go crazy for 2 scarabs when it doesn't add anything particularly new. Sierra 117 has beautiful scenery and interesting encounters, with the main weakness being the limited sandbox. It's a shame Bungie don't allow repeat playthroughs or returning players to unlock more weapons.

What Halo 3 does have over other Halo games is consistency. Aside from Cortana which has got to go down as the worst level in the franchise, the quality of the maps is very good. It doesn't hit the same highs as elsewhere, but no other levels strike me as bad.

Assault on the Control Room gets a lot of stick for the repetitive use of environments, which is a weakness of H1, but the encounters are all different in their own way, and it's a huge romp where you have almost full access to the sandbox. Apparently Bungie never realised that being able to use weapons for more than a few minutes by allowing more than 3 magazines of spare ammo is actually a fun thing. There are so many ways you can replay the level to provide different playstyles.

The Silent Cartographer has the awesome beach landing and some of the best scenery in the game. But like the 2nd level, Halo, it is let down by a somewhat limited sandbox, which hurts replayability.

T&R is another good level, mostly because of the relentless combat. And Two Betrayals is essentially AotCR II, so it's going to be a decent level.

The core of CE, levels 2-5 are unmatched anywhere else in the franchise in my opinion.

 

[DarthWalden]

Does nobody like the non-sandboxy levels? A huge vote here for Sierra 117. I think that level is superb. Also I've always been quite partial to the pillar of autumn level in Halo CE but that could be because it's the beginning of a journey.

No love for Halo 4 here at all? Just finished my play through and I thoroughly enjoyed each level except for the one with the pelican.

 

[HTupolev]

I do! It's basically a Doom level modified to work in the Halo sandbox.

Actually it's more of a Marathon level modified to work in the Halo sandbox. After playing the Marathon series a few years ago, my first thought was that Library was based on If I Had a Rocket Launcher I'd Make Somebody Pay, even before I dug up these old posts from ferrex:
http://forums.bungie.org/halo/archive4.pl?read=78958
http://forums.bungie.org/halo/archive29.pl?read=879037

You not only said Halo 4, you said Shutdown of all things. That level makes Cortana look like The Silent Cartographer.

The pelican parts are bland and largely just call attention to the extent to which the level wishes it was New Alexandria. The interiors are a massive eyesore, they're filled with bad Prom encounters, and even the last bit with Covenant manages to be an annoying mess of awkward sightlines and movement (and even if you grab the banshee it's another one of Halo 4's obnoxiously-cramped banshee segments).

Does nobody like the non-sandboxy levels? A huge vote here for Sierra 117.

S117 is a good level for fishing. There are lots of fish and they float downriver when you shoot them.

No love for Halo 4 here at all? Just finished my play through and I thoroughly enjoyed each level except for the one with the pelican.

See, even people who like Halo 4's levels think that Shutdown was weak!

 

[CAR105 3]

WRONGWRONGWRONG.

The Covenant. The Covenant then, The Covenant now, The Covenant forever.

I wanted to avoid saying this... But Goddamn this first post got it so right it's not even funny.

 

[InfernoNR]

1. Assault on the Control Room
2. Silent Cartographer
3. Halo