HALO

[Janus]

Halo is by far, the greatest game of its genre ever made. And i think it deserves a place in the list of 100 greatest games ever. For those of you who have not played it for whatever reason (no Xbox, dont think it looks good, dont like that kind of game, etc) you are seriously missing out. Find some way to play it, both single player and multiplayer, or you have missed the experience of a lifetime. What is the definition of fun? A 16 player multiplayer game with rockets. You have not lived until you have tried HALO. The only problem I have found with its maker (Bungie) is that HALO 2 is not coming out till next year. Go to www.bungie.net and download the E3 HALO 2 preview. It is a preview of the game, of a person actually playing it. It will blow your mind. Especially if you have experience with the original, GET THIS VIDEO! Everything you could have possibly thought of that you wished was in the first HALO is in this video, and this is only one level.

[Yanny]

Halo is a good game, yes. But the best game ever made? Not even close. Get yourself a SNES emulator and some roms, check out the best games :)

[bossk]

I agree with Yanny on this one. Halo is not the ultimate gaming experience. It is a very fun game, but it just doesn’t compare to some classics like Asteroids or nearly any Zelda game. And as for first-person shooters, it is not the best, I believe that title belongs to either the first Dark Forces game or one of id’s first games (Doom or Wolfenstien). I personally even like Metriod Prime quite a bit more than Halo (although the lack of multi-player is a drawback). There’s just something kind of souless to Halo, like it just doesn’t have a life of it’s own. I like games that have some sort of personality, ifthat makes any sense, and that’s something that Halo (and I think a lot of game for Xbox) just don’t have.

[Janus]

If you’ll check closely Yanny, you will see I did not say HALO was the greatest game ever made, I said it was the best game of its genre, and is certainly one of the 100 best ever. Bossk, please tell me what you mean by “ultimate gaming experience” if not exactly what HALO is, a completely immersive, theatrical experience. Certainly Asteroids can not meet that, unless your definition is very off. An addictive game yes, but in no way a gaming experience, mearly a time waster. Zelda, yes, a good game, but two differences. First, and RPG, vastly different category from an FPS. Second, many of the Zelda games pale in comparison to HALO, while fun, they are basic hack/slash games with no real excitement, merely fun, addictive, eventually repetitive motions that lose interest after a while. Similarly, it has very little replayability unless you would care to do the same exact thing (which took quite awhile) again. also, i dont recall a difficulty setting (i may be wrong). HALO is so immersive, i have replayed it many times. And the difficulty settings provide a level of replayability and excitement unmatched. I would ask you what exactly makes Dark Forces, Doom, or Wolfenstein the best FPS ever. All I can see are the most basic, simple, scaled down FPSs ever (DOOM didnt even have objectives, just run through killing things) while they are all fun, I would say to you they lack a “personality”. I never got nearly as immersed in them as in HALO. HALO even has books, including a prequel, and i must say, they are actually quite good.

[bossk]

Hey, Doom has books too, and the story line in the Doom games is highly entertaining; besides what’s wrong with shooting things up? I find it very satisfying, especailly with a plasma rifle, heh heh. The beauty of the games I mentioned is their simplicity; you don’t need a comprehensive understanding of light-infantry tactics to play these games, they’re just plain fun. As for the objectives being non-existent, do you consider single-handedly saving the human race from demons from another dimention an unworthy objective? My statements about personality, I was refering to the way thegame feels. I find nothing immersive about Halo, just a pretty fun game that results in loss of hand-eye coordination and eye strain if I play it for too long. Although the multi-player alone makes the game worth owning, it is not the great first-person shooter experience you are claiming it to be, in my opinion. You’ll also notice that I didn’t limit my choices for great FPS to Dark Forces, Doom, and Wolfenstien, but I also included Metriod Prime which I consider to be far superior to Halo, despite the lack of multi-player. It has a character with an actual backstory (I know Halo has novels explaining it’s back story, but would a gamer just picking the game up and poping it into his console know it?) and a massive envorinment (not just missions) in which one must solve puzzels to advance. I’m not sure exactly how to quantify what I mean about games being souless with words, but I do know that that is exactly how I feel about Halo.

[Janus]

(not just missions) in which one must solve puzzels to advance.

right there bossk, is where your argument is flawed. a puzzle solver is not the same as an FPS, even if there are FPS elements in the genre. There is nothing wrong with shooting things up, its quite amusing. but it is certainly not a immersive gaming experience. what backstory is there to metroid prime that Halo does not have without picking up a book? Halo gives a basic explanation for the Master Chief (his name is John)'s existence, not as comprehensive as the books obviously, but i should think enough for any gamer. and i know doom has books, but the difference is Halo’s books are good.
oh, and also there is no need for knowledge of infantry tactics in Halo to do well, just FPS skill, the AI is quite advanced, but if you are a veteran FPS gamer, you should still be able to do well at least on Heroic (legendary can be a problem even for the best of us).

ok, now maybe we disagree with the awesomeness of Halo, but if you have seen the E3 preview for Halo 2 you must agree that even at this time, it looks to be the most awesome gaming experience in this genre ever, and certainly one of the best of all time (the video itself is so epic, i was literally getting chills while watching it, I loved everything about it)

[bossk]

@Janus:

i know doom has books, but the difference is Halo’s books are good.

I have a friend who would disagree with you here, but then again I’m not sure I would trust his judgement. I’ve read his own attempts at novel writing.

Sure Metriod Prime has a few puzzles, but if it’s not an FPS then what is it? All the action of the game is focused around it, and isn’t the point of FPS’s to emulate reality to some degree? I say it’s better at doing this becuase reality involves problem solving. You know, I just became extremely disapointed in myself becuase I forgot to mention Goldeneye. Now, if we don’t agree that Goldeneye is definately in the top 5 FPS produced to date then we’re never going to agree about anything.

[Janus]

oh, there is absolutely no question about goldeneye, the game rules, i wish they would revamp the graphics and bring the game to xbox. but i think youve just hurt your own argument.

and isn’t the point of FPS’s to emulate reality to some degree?

this is a good point, but games like doom emulate nothing remotely realistic (no im not simply referring to the fact that you are fighting demons,etc) the game is far too oversimplified to be realistic in any way. Ive not played metroid prime except at the store, on a demo machine, so my opinion on it does not necessarily carry much sway. but i think i got enough out of it to give an accurate review of the game, and i must say i was unimpressed. it was certainly a good game, but ultimately, id say that game lacks the “personality” that you refer too

[bossk]

I guess we just look for different things in a game.

[Janus]

well i guess so. on another note, you liked goldeneye correct? well you should get an xbox if you dont already have one, and get Time Splitters 2. the multiplayer is like Goldeneyes multiplayer on steroids. it is insanely intense, frantic, and fast paced. i love it. (oh yea, and the game has a single player too) :)

[Yanny]

I own an Xbox, Gamecube, and a computer.

I play Halo. Fun game. Got old after I beat it.

On Gamecube, I play Metroid Prime. Long game, very fun. More than just a shooter (Halo is a pure shooter). Theres an adventure element to it.

On the computer, I play Day of Defeat. 10x better than any Xbox or Gamecube game. I can play with 63 other players, in a WWII setting. Its free.

Also on the computer, I have a ZSNES emulator. I play my favorite SNES games, Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, ect.

[Janus]

Ive played DOD Yanny, nowhere near as fun as Halo. for one thing, it says something about a game when you need 63 other people to make it fun (Halo is awesome even with 4 people) with 16 people, the game is insanely beautiful. DoD pales in comparison

[Yanny]

How often can you get a game of 16 people together? Thats four Xboxes, 4 TVs, 16 Controllers. I can turn my computer on and play a 20v20 game of DoD in under 5 minutes.

[Janus]

thats part of the thrill yanny, that means 16 people in one place, in one game. do you have any idea of the level of intensity created by that? of the atmosphere in the room? it is obscenely high. again, yanny, a 16 player game is a pipe dream for most, yes, but with even as many as four people (i.e. one xbox, one tv) you can have an awesome gaming experience. i would also like to bring into this that unless this has changed very recently, you have never played Halo with another human being. until you do, your opinion on the matter is irrelevent, you have to see the beauty of Halo multiplayer before you can respond.

[Guest]

actully Yanny DoD only gets 32 people and even with 4 the game is still fun.

halo Beats DoD as far as Graphics go because its Newer, DoD cant compair there.

but also u really cannot compare the 2 games, yes they are both FPS but DoD is Mostly Team Bases while Halo is GungHo Rambo Based

and yes you can have good Team comat in Halo but the Team work in Halo doesnt compare to it in DoD.

its all what you prefer.

and any who compares DoD to RTCW is dead wrong, they are compeletly different!!!

[DeviantScripter]

You have to look at how good the game was when it was released. Using that criteria, the best game of it’s time was Half-Life. By far the most immersive single player experience. Plus, look at how many more years of superb gaming it’s MODS have provided…

[DeviantScripter]

But….Battlefield 1942 wipes the ass of Medal of Honor :wink:

[Janus]

what on earth does BF1942 or MOH have to do with anything?

[ctm]

Soldier Of Fortune 2: Double Helix for PC is the coolest first-person shooter I’ve ever played. I don’t think anyone else here has played it; I started a topic awhile ago about it, but no one responded. Ah well! Keep an eye out for it, it’s awesome (the game, not the topic i made) :)

[TG Moses VI]

Judging on how fun the original was, SoF2 mgiht be all you make it out to be. ;)
As for Halo, my friends play it… all the time. So judging on the sheer hours they’ve spent on it alone, can probably agree that it belongs somewhere in the top 10 of FPS of all time.