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[Brandon F]

Besides digging back into Metroid Prime, I also dug this out recently after watching the new Halo 3 ad.

Started a new game on Heroic(which is pretty damn easy, while Legendary is egregiously hard), reached the second Arbiter mission where he is tasked to go get the index on Halo for the prophets, while Master Chief is also doing the same thing, but to prevent the nuclear holocaust or whatever the covenent will unleash with it.

Anywho, first off the game looks STUNNING on 360. 720p and widescreen activated and I swear it's improved over what I remember on Xbox. Menus and loading seemingly is faster and smoother, but I can't compare directly.

It's also easilly one of the best looking FPS games of the generation. I suppose the slight fidelity bump on 360 helps, but watching a giant covenent ship airlift troops over the lush Halo greenery impresses me just as much as what I've seen of Gears lately.

Plus the music is phenomenal. Cutscenes as well. That opening cutscene with the arbiter and chief trading cinema time for their feats in Halo 1 was awesome.

And then there is the plant monster...

Still shaking my head in disbelief over that. Do we know what the hell it is? Can any of you Halo snobs spell out what is going on in this plot once the Arbiter and Chief meet up? Getting this far in the game again and I'm reminded what a trainwreck the narrative became.

Please discuss.

 

[Variable]

Do I have to enable 720p mode, or if I have my montior set to a higher resolution, the game will just display it?

 

[ToyMachine228]

Still shaking my head in disbelief over that. Do we know what the hell it is? Can any of you Halo snobs spell out what is going on in this plot once the Arbiter and Chief meet up? Getting this far in the game again and I'm reminded what a trainwreck the narrative became. Please discuss.

The "plant monster" is Gravemind, and he is the being that controls the Flood.

Spoiler

At the end of the game, it is believed that Cortana is being influenced by Gravemind, and that we'll see this in Halo 3. Other than that as to what's going on in the game...The Covenant is falling apart.

 

[Brandon F]

Dunno, my 360 is set to 720p and widescreen. Halo 2 seems to just output all that automatically to my TV.

 

[PhatSaqs]

I saw you playing this when I fired up the 360 yesterday. I thought about firing it up to play some after that. Probably will sometime this weekend.

 

[trh]

And then there is the plant monster...

Still shaking my head in disbelief over that. Do we know what the hell it is? Can any of you Halo snobs spell out what is going on in this plot once the Arbiter and Chief meet up? Getting this far in the game again and I'm reminded what a trainwreck the narrative became.

Gravemind was just using them to help the Flood spread I believe. I'm a bit confused about it as well.

 

[duk]

Yeah I really need to play this baby again on my 360. Best game last gen imo.

 

[krypt0nian]

"Fate had us meet as foes, but this ring will make us brothers."

 

[Tieno]

Wikipedia:

Gravemind seems to be a highly intelligent and extremely aware form of the Flood, possibly the collective intelligence of the Flood. (It was confirmed on the Bungie website that he is in fact a leader intelligence of the Flood.) He resembles a large venus flytrap (similar to the Piranha Plants from the Mario series and the Audrey II of The Little Shop of Horrors), but can move and talk. He also apparently has the ability to tap into Delta Halo's systems, taking advantage of the teleportation grid, though apparently is unable to teleport his own Flood minions or control the Sentinels. He speaks in rhyming verse and seems to be aware of what is happening throughout the Halo. Describing Master Chief and the Arbiter, respectively, he says:

"This one is machine and nerve, and has its mind concluded.
This one is but flesh and faith, and is the more deluded."

He speaks mostly in trochaic heptameter, which is an example of the frequent use of the number seven in Bungie games.

Gravemind revealed to the Arbiter that the Forerunners died when the Halo fired once before. But since the Arbiter does not accept the truth, Gravemind sends the Master Chief to High Charity and the Arbiter to the Control Room of Halo Installation 05, Saying;

"You will search one likely place
and you will search another
Fate had us meet as foes but
this ring will make us brothers"

Gravemind uses this to his advantage; in the confusion of the Covenant civil war, he spreads the Flood on High Charity where it will have the opportunity to escape from the installation.

At the end of the game, after all the credits have rolled, it is shown that Gravemind is occupying High Charity. He says to Cortana who has been separated from Master Chief and stayed behind:

"Silence fills the empty grave now that I have gone,
But my mind is not at rest, for questions linger on.
Now I will ask and you will answer."

To which she answers "All right… shoot." This statement might mean that Cortana has fallen under its influence, or that she is using/learning from it, leaving the gamer not just with a cliffhanger but also with the sense that Gravemind may play a prominent role in Halo 3. When Microsoft showed the trailer for Halo 3 at E3 2006, many people claimed that Gravemind could be heard speaking with Cortana. "I have defied gods, and demons. I am your shield, I am your sword. I know you, your past, your future. This is the way the world ends." Gravemind is one of the five known Flood variants in the Halo universe.

 

[Brandon F]

Yea, I threw it in just to passively revisit the game briefly, but the shooting is so well crafted that I played most of the evening. And this time I am actually trying to decipher the plot, which I didn't much bother my first time.

I REALLY dig watching the breakdown of the covenent. The shift in power between Elites and Brutes, the prophets backstabbing each other. The Elite mutiny rising against the prophets, the birth of the new arbiter.

Good shit.

Plant monster, not so much.

Edit: Ok, making more sense now. Intrigued.

 

[Tieno]

Halo 2 on 360 in 720p stands up really well (same for Halo). Looks really good and very clean image!

 

[Busty]

"Feeeeed me Seymour"

 

[JB1981]

I played a couple games of MP the other day and found that the game still has an extremely active online community. I had a lot of fun too. Few games feel as "right" as this when in MP.

 

[Fallout-NL]

Anywho, first off the game looks STUNNING on 360. 720p and widescreen activated and I swear it's improved over what I remember on Xbox. Menus and loading seemingly is faster and smoother, but I can't compare directly.

It's also easilly one of the best looking FPS games of the generation. I suppose the slight fidelity bump on 360 helps, but watching a giant covenent ship airlift troops over the lush Halo greenery impresses me just as much as what I've seen of Gears lately.

Agreed, it looks very good.

 

[GhaleonEB]

I'm still surprised at how good Halo 2 looks. I did Metropolis the other day, trundling over the bridge into the city, and was in awe at the cityscape, with the ship over it. Just amazing stuff.

Gravemind was a badly designed character, no doubt. I generally really enjoy the art design in the Halo titles, but he was a mistake. The conceptual drawings on the LE DVD look great; I assume this is a case where they were just unable to realize the concept in the final game. I hope he gets re-imagined for Halo 3.

The plot is multi-layerd, but I've always been able to follow it, and don't really understand complaints about it. It certainly leaves the Covenant in an interesting state going into Halo 3.

And the music...Marty is the best out there, IMO.

It took me a while to decide whether Halo 2 was better overall than the first. I've concluded that it is, and by a good margin. And since Halo was my favorite game ever, that puts Halo 2 at the top. For now.

 

[skybaby]

It took me a while to decide whether Halo 2 was better overall than the first. I've concluded that it is, and by a good margin. And since Halo was my favorite game ever, that puts Halo 2 at the top. For now.

After the Halo3 teaser I loaded up Halo2 for a while and got the same feeling. It's amazing how well it holds up, and I just love Delta Halo. Then I was craving for some mouse+keyboard online play and re-installed Halo PC. I played a bit of the campaign again and it wasn't as replayable as Halo2's was. I guess Halo2 is currently on top for me too.

 

[Fatghost]

Do I have to enable 720p mode, or if I have my montior set to a higher resolution, the game will just display it?

Xbox1 games will play in whatever setting your 360 is set at. So if your dashboard is set to 720p for X360 games, that's what you'll get for Xbox1.

The actual games are being rendered at 720p with AA, if you are set at a different resolution, the 360 will scale the 720p to the resolution you set in the dashboard.

 

[scarybore]

Xbox1 games will play in whatever setting your 360 is set at. So if your dashboard is set to 720p for X360 games, that's what you'll get for Xbox1.

The actual games are being rendered at 720p with AA, if you are set at a different resolution, the 360 will scale the 720p to the resolution you set in the dashboard.

I was pretty sure that it was still being rendered at 480p but with AA and AF and then upscaled to 720p?

 

[jetjevons]

I just wish Halo 2 had on-line co-op like Gears. And a non-FUBAR'd Legendary. Then you couldn't stop me from playing it.

Halo 3 better have both.

 

[snacknuts]

I played through on Heroic about six months ago and was very impressed at how good the game looks on the 360. I haven't played online in forever, but I might try to get back into it a little bit after my finals this week.

 

[Fatghost]

I was pretty sure that it was still being rendered at 480p but with AA and AF and then upscaled to 720p?

I was under the impression it was actually rendered at 720p, the same way other emulators let you render in higher resolutions.

 

[Diablohead]

I was pretty sure that it was still being rendered at 480p but with AA and AF and then upscaled to 720p?

It's hard to tell, but BC on my samsung lcd always looks slightly blocky and chunky compared to a 360 720P game.

 

[TheMWord]

This thread has inspired me to go back to this game, but what about Halo 1? Does it do widescreen on 360 too? Or just 720p?

 

[jet1911]

Both.

 

[Tieno]

This thread has inspired me to go back to this game, but what about Halo 1? Does it do widescreen on 360 too? Or just 720p?

Halo 1 didn't do widescreen on my 360 (at least I didn't find the option to do it. Only 720p. Still looks very good, some of the surface effects are still nifty.

 

[rod]

its upscaled from 480p, to 720p. not rendered. i have the pc version of halo1. and halo 2 looks good on the 360, but nowhere near as sharp and clean as halo 1 rendered at proper 1280x720.



edit: im aware they are different games im comparing, but the resolution difference from 480p upscaled/720rendered is obvious to anyone who sees it.

 

[Jacobi]

On the PC it even does 1080p !!!!!11

 

[Fallout-NL]

Isnt the general concensus that Halo 1 > Halo 2 ?

Especially in terms of story and single-player quality. I couldnt even bring myself to finish Halo 2.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Isnt the general concensus that Halo 1 > Halo 2 ?

Especially in terms of story and single-player quality. I couldnt even bring myself to finish Halo 2.

There is not such concensus; the topic is still hotly debated.

I'm of the opinion that Halo 2 is superior to Halo in both campaign and MP. There are specific things Halo does better than Halo 2, such weapon feedback and freedom to explore some of the levels. However, the sheer number of additions to the game in Halo 2 overpower those, IMO. (Superior story and cinematics, dual-wielding, vehicle boarding, friendly AI-controlled vechicles, using the sword, the Arbiter's recharging cloak, more challenging flood, non-repeating level design, vastly superior visuals, hugely expanded game universe, etc. etc. etc.)

But to each their own.

 

[Barnolde]

Isnt the general concensus that Halo 1 > Halo 2 ?

Especially in terms of story and single-player quality. I couldnt even bring myself to finish Halo 2.

Yes. H2 sucks.

 

[Stinkles]

Isnt the general concensus that Halo 1 > Halo 2 ?

Especially in terms of story and single-player quality. I couldnt even bring myself to finish Halo 2.

I hope Halo 3 is so sweet that that argument immediately becomes irrelevant.

 

[GhaleonEB]

I hope Halo 3 is so sweet that that argument immediately becomes irrelevant.

I think we all do. And for one won't miss the arguments.

 

[IJoel]

Curse you all... now I want to play Halo 2.

Halo 2 (and before it, Halo,) is one of those VERY RARE games I play through multiple times and just don't tire of them. The way they tie the story to the gameplay sequences, and obviously, the way the action manages to be different everytime, are simply what makes it stand out from the rest. Ninja Gaiden was the other one during the last generation (perhaps Phantom Dust, IF IT WAS BC!)

 

[Brandon F]

I also prefer Halo 1 to 2 in terms of sheer gunplay action. Halo 2 has some nice moments, but on the whole it strangely lacked the scope and intensity that many of the first game's levels offered.

People hate on the library, but it goes down as one of the best co-op gauntlets ever conceived. Sure in terms of visual variety it wasn't much, but the tight environments and sheer numbers of opposition really made it a tensely rewarding experience. Fantastic mix of tactical foresight and pure reflex on legendary difficulty with a friend.

Halo 2 is often far too confining, occasionnally a vehicle stretch here and there, but Halo 1 had massive levels you conquered rather than just push through.

Plus I miss the fantastical look of the weaponry in halo 1(particularly the pistol and machinegun), Halo 2 (human)arsenal looked and felt too grounded in reality.

 

[Nick]

Great thread title A++++++

 

[GhaleonEB]

I also prefer Halo 1 to 2 in terms of sheer gunplay action. Halo 2 has some nice moments, but on the whole it strangely lacked the scope and intensity that many of the first game's levels offered.

People hate on the library, but it goes down as one of the best co-op gauntlets ever conceived. Sure in terms of visual variety it wasn't much, but the tight environments and sheer numbers of opposition really made it a tensely rewarding experience. Fantastic mix of tactical foresight and pure reflex on legendary difficulty with a friend.

Halo 2 is often far too confining, occasionnally a vehicle stretch here and there, but Halo 1 had massive levels you conquered rather than just push through.

Plus I miss the fantastical look of the weaponry in halo 1(particularly the pistol and machinegun), Halo 2 (human)arsenal looked and felt too grounded in reality.

I disagree with your overall assesment, but agree with the bolded parts. The Library gets all kinds of crap, but it's actually a fun level. Watching my brothers play through it for the first time ever on co-op was great; it was intense and very fun. I think they killed each other at least a half dozen times by tagging one of the flood spores with a plasma grenade while it advanced on them. :lol

Library co-op on Legendary is indeed awesome. It actually highlights the main strength of Halo: the gameplay. The level is simple and repetive. The enemies are not intelligent, and their behavior is predictable. But it's FUN because of the gameplay, and for me in particular because the weapons are just fun to use. In general, the Halo weapons just feel better, more solid and powerful and satisfying, than the Halo 2 weapons. I think that really goes a long ways towards making them fun to use.

 

[thatbox]

There is not such concensus; the topic is still hotly debated.

QFT. Observe my hot debate:

However, the sheer number of additions to the game in Halo 2 overpower those, IMO.

(Superior story and cinematics,

looolzor and pop-in, respectively

dual-wielding,

sucks

vehicle boarding

looooolzor

But to each their own.

Yessir! I'll take my reasonable health system, fall damage, lack of Arbiting, pistol, acceptable ending, classic MP maps and unbroken GUI please!

Sorry, I couldn't help myself. We don't need to do this again but it's only right that each side has a baitpost!

 

[GhaleonEB]

QFT. Observe my hot debate:

looolzor and pop-in, respectively

sucks

looooolzor

Yessir! I'll take my reasonable health system, fall damage, lack of Arbiting, pistol, acceptable ending, classic MP maps and unbroken GUI please!

Sorry, I couldn't help myself. We don't need to do this again but it's only right that each side has a baitpost!

I didn't actually make a baitpost, but carry on. Or better yet, don't. :lol

 

[thatbox]

I didn't actually make a baitpost, but carry on. Or better yet, don't. :lol

Consensus! :lol

 

[Tieno]

I disagree with your overall assesment, but agree with the bolded parts. The Library gets all kinds of crap, but it's actually a fun level. Watching my brothers play through it for the first time ever on co-op was great; it was intense and very fun. I think they killed each other at least a half dozen times by tagging one of the flood spores with a plasma grenade while it advanced on them. :lol

Library co-op on Legendary is indeed awesome. It actually highlights the main strength of Halo: the gameplay. The level is simple and repetive. The enemies are not intelligent, and their behavior is predictable. But it's FUN because of the gameplay, and for me in particular because the weapons are just fun to use. In general, the Halo weapons just feel better, more solid and powerful and satisfying, than the Halo 2 weapons. I think that really goes a long ways towards making them fun to use.

First time I played Halo I didn't like the Library level, because among other things it was way too dark for me, almost hated it. I replayed Halo last summer. I was playing it on a HDTV (5.1 surround and whatnot) this time, 720p and with 360 controller. I was able to see much more and had a great time. I did some awesome grenade and battlerifle/shotgun combat on that one. I loved pulling back, throwing a grenade and seeing the flood charge me only to see them get exploded and fly by me!

The flood in Halo 2 is smarter though. Elites are way more agressive and it's harder charge and melee them (did that alot in Halo 1).

Playing the Haloes with a 360 controller is so much better. Much easier to switch grenades and use the flashlight. Love using grenades! Wireless is great too!

 

[Guileless]

The music and gameplay are great, but as far as the story goes I could never get past watching the Covenant talking to each other in English with British accents.

 

[scarybore]

The music and gameplay are great, but as far as the story goes I could never get past watching the Covenant talking to each other in English with British accents.

You should have heard them in French, they sounded bad ass to the extreme.

As for the whole Halo/ Halo 2 arguement, I went back to Halo a few months ago and found it a bit harder to get into due to the many additions found in Halo 2. It's a bit embarrasing to try and steal a Ghost or a Banshee only to be splattered or fall into oblivion. :lol

I prefer Halo's level layouts for the most part despite repitition, as well as how open they were. Halo 2 felt too confined in that respect.

 

[Tieno]

Tribute to Elites: pretty funny! :lol :lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS7J5nkGaSA

 

[Ace 8095]

I recently replayed Halo 2. Mainly I wanted to experience the gameplay again, but also I wanted to understand the story better. Immediately after I beat it I decided I had so much fun that I wanted to play Halo 1 again. I was shocked at how much better Halo 2 felt. It's hard for me to describe, but I felt that Halo 2 just felt so much better in terms of guns, AI, presentation, and just the overall feel of the game. I guess it just might be the natural evolution of a sequel that was three years in the making, but I still was shocked at how much more I enjoyed Halo 2.

 

[GhaleonEB]

The music and gameplay are great, but as far as the story goes I could never get past watching the Covenant talking to each other in English with British accents.

Agreed. For some reason the Elite's combat dialoge always sounded like Hans and Frans from SNL to me. "Dyaaa, I weeel cwush you up, dyaaa!" I just can't take it seriously. I'm fine human languages in the cinematics, but keep the in-game to the regular covie-speak. They sounded so much better that way. And Halo 3 needs more wortwortwort.

 

[Fatghost]

its upscaled from 480p, to 720p. not rendered. i have the pc version of halo1. and halo 2 looks good on the 360, but nowhere near as sharp and clean as halo 1 rendered at proper 1280x720.



edit: im aware they are different games im comparing, but the resolution difference from 480p upscaled/720rendered is obvious to anyone who sees it.

doesn't the PC version of Halo 1 have higher resolution textures though?

Halo 1/2 on 360 look cleaner than Halo 1/2 on Xbox1 upscaled through the TV's scaler hardware...is the 360's scaler that good?

 

[Tieno]

I recently replayed Halo 2. Mainly I wanted to experience the gameplay again, but also I wanted to understand the story better. Immediately after I beat it I decided I had so much fun that I wanted to play Halo 1 again. I was shocked at how much better Halo 2 felt. It's hard for me to describe, but I felt that Halo 2 just felt so much better in terms of guns, AI, presentation, and just the overall feel of the game. I guess it just might be the natural evolution of a sequel that was three years in the making, but I still was shocked at how much more I enjoyed Halo 2.

I had a different experience. I was shocked how much I actually enjoyed Halo after such a long time, especially the health system (though I don't prefer one above the other). But then right after that I replayed Halo 2 and enjoyed that a lot too and still like it more than the first.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Here's an example of what I mean about the Elite combat dialogue.

Random Halo 1 snippet

Random Halo2 snippet

(Save-as both of them to listen)

 

[urk]

Here's an example of what I mean about the Elite combat dialogue.

Random Halo 1 snippet

Random Halo2 snippet

(Save-as both of them to listen)

Yeah, that's pretty bad stuff and it really stands out when you play considering how well done most of the dialog is.

 

[mrmyth]

Agreed. For some reason the Elite's combat dialoge always sounded like Hans and Frans from SNL to me. "Dyaaa, I weeel cwush you up, dyaaa!" I just can't take it seriously. I'm fine human languages in the cinematics, but keep the in-game to the regular covie-speak. They sounded so much better that way. And Halo 3 needs more wortwortwort.

It threw me first playthrough, but by The Great Journey I liked it. And think about it, the Arbiter wouldn't hear Elites in WORTWORTWORT, and presumably all Covenant have translation hardware to understand the other races.
As for the Chief, if we count what happened in First Strike, Cortana can translate Covie pretty well.


That being said, I miss the WORTs and the Youuuu are no warriorrr!.