Why does everyone like Halo and Halo 2 so much?

[Bricktop]

Can someone tell me why this game gets so much praise compared to games like half-life, ut2004 and return to castle wolfenstein? I just don't see anything that makes an above average first person shooter.

[Kane Knight]

It got really good reviews. Bandwagon jumping?

[KillerWolf]

played halo a long time ago. way to fucking hard for me. didnt like the controls. graphics were over-rated.

[Requiem]

I.. love.. halo.

'nuff said. If you havn't played Halo, and you're not a FPS fan, then you may not understand. Of course, it was also due to the fact that it is hands down the best multiplayer FPS on a console. There is close to no competition from other games (meaning there aren't actually many other FPS games with that good of multiplayer, for consoles)

[Requiem]

Hell, even Bungie (the company who made it) didn't know the multiplayer would be so popular. I'm sure even they still wonder.

[Jonster]

Originally Posted by Requiem I.. love.. halo. 'nuff said. If you havn't played Halo, and you're not a FPS fan, then you may not understand. Of course, it was also due to the fact that it is hands down the best multiplayer FPS on a console. There is close to no competition from other games (meaning there aren't actually many other FPS games with that good of multiplayer, for consoles)

I've played Halo (owned it for ages, gave it to my girlfriend), and I'm an FPS fan, and I still think it's a pile of steaming crap.
Goldeneye's and Perfect Dark's multiplayer are still more fun than Halo's.

And you didn't mention why I should even begin to like the single player mode.
Sure it had one innovation (the analouge callibration right at the beginning), but that's more technical.

[Requiem]

The only thing goldeneye and perfect dark lacked was the ability to have more than 4 at a time in multiplayer. That's where Halo is strongest. Like I said, there's virtually no competition for multiplayer console FPS games. There's always counter-strike, but don't you have to pay for an x-box live account, and why bother when you can play for free on the PC?

I'll admit with no problem that Goldeneye and Perfect Dark are quite possibly the greatest classic FPS games created to date.

And I happened to enjoy the single player of Halo. It had a new and different story line, and they managed to create an entire race that I, personally, came to love. (And yes, I mean in a sexual way. Who wouldn't want to get one of those cute aliens in the sack?)

And for the guy above who didn't care for the graphics, they've been substantially increased in Halo 2.

[Tornado]

Originally Posted by jonster I've played Halo (owned it for ages, gave it to my girlfriend), and I'm an FPS fan, and I still think it's a pile of steaming crap. Goldeneye's and Perfect Dark's multiplayer are still more fun than Halo's.

Currently, Timesplitters 2 is by far, IMO, the best multiplayer FPS around..
(Might have something to with the fact its Free Radical)

[TheNamelessOne]

I love Halo simply because its the most fun FPS game I have ever played, in both single player and multiplayer. Its hardly ground breaking, but its still a lot of fun to play.

Timespliiters 2 is the best multiplayer FPS around? I just couldn't get into that. I went out and bought it on the day it was released, took it back not long after. The Monkey kicked ass in multiplayer though.

[Jonster]

Originally Posted by Requiem The only thing goldeneye and perfect dark lacked was the ability to have more than 4 at a time in multiplayer. That's where Halo is strongest. Like I said, there's virtually no competition for multiplayer console FPS games. There's always counter-strike, but don't you have to pay for an x-box live account, and why bother when you can play for free on the PC?

Yeah, that was a problem, but the bots in Perfect Dark were very handy.

Not comapring gameplay, assuming you just have an xbox, a copy of Halo, and a copy of Counterstrike, here's a list of things you need for a 16 player game:

Halo
3 more televisions
3 more Xboxes
3 more copies of the game
15 friends
Link cables.
15 more pads.

Counter-Strike
An Xbox Live account.


To be fair though, I have no problem with anyone who likes the game. I have my opinion, everyone else has theirs.

The only console FPS games I've really played recently, that I've enjoyed is Metroid Prime, and Rainbow Six on Live play.

I never played a full version of Timesplitters 2, but the first one was cool. Gotta love that level editor

[Boomer]

It just came out at the right time and hit a trend. The game runs smoothly and its good looking. Any FPS can survive on that.

[Boomer]

Oh, but I don't like it on PC. Doesn't look as good or run as well, even on the highest settings with a kickass computer.

[Nowhere Man]

Originally Posted by jonster I've played Halo (owned it for ages, gave it to my girlfriend), and I'm an FPS fan, and I still think it's a pile of steaming crap. Goldeneye's and Perfect Dark's multiplayer are still more fun than Halo's. And you didn't mention why I should even begin to like the single player mode. Sure it had one innovation (the analouge callibration right at the beginning), but that's more technical.

Thank God. I thought I was alone in thinking Halo was overrated crap.

[Tornado]

Originally Posted by Nowhere Man Thank God. I thought I was alone in thinking Halo was overrated crap.

Definatly not.

Halo's single player mode was extremely repetitive, and boring. The multiplayer is fun because it's just great to taunt people then run them over with some vehicle. CS has no vehicles...

[Deceit]

Halo was fun for a good 45 minutes. Then I started to wonder why I even bought halo, let alone, an xbox

[Jonster]

Originally Posted by Nowhere Man Thank God. I thought I was alone in thinking Halo was overrated crap.

Thankfully not

[Jason Cage]

'cause it's the best first person shooter game ever.

[Disturbed316]

Originally Posted by Clever Handle Halo's single player mode was extremely repetitive, and boring. The multiplayer is fun because it's just great to taunt people then run them over with some vehicle.

[Bricktop]

Originally Posted by deceit03 Halo was fun for a good 45 minutes. Then I started to wonder why I even bought halo, let alone, an xbox

Actually this was a similar experence to mine, only mine lasted 25 min. I am glad to see there are more people out there that agree with me.

To me the game is slow and boring. The weapons are boring and you can only carry two of them. the vehicles, while fun control really poorly, which is both good and bad at times.

The game play is very repetitive, with you killing the same enemies a million times. I mean besides the 2 standard aliens, there was only a few other enemies to kill.

I cannot see how people can dare compare this to Golden Eye, or Half-Life. I am going to have to go with Kane Knight on this one and say a lot of people have jumped on the Halo bandwagon.

Even though they're not even really in the same genre...

SOCOM 2 > Halo

I've never really seen what the big fuss about Halo is. All I can really see in it are the graphics, and they aren't even so great...just really detailed. And if you want to argue in the same category, Goldeneye is 10000x better than Halo. Case closed.

[Penner]

Originally Posted by jonster Halo 3 more televisions 3 more Xboxes 3 more copies of the game 15 friends Link cables. 15 more pads. Counter-Strike An Xbox Live account.

If you want to play with 15 of your friends on cs, there would be 16 televisions, 16 xboxes, 16 copies of the game, 16 people, and 16 pads and 16 Xbox Live accounts though...

[TheNamelessOne]

To each his own I guess.

I will say that Halo is overrated, and disagree with the idea that it is the greatest FPS/game ever created, but I still find it fun. Its not groundbreaking or innovative, but its still a good game.

[Jonster]

Originally Posted by Penner If you want to play with 15 of your friends on cs, there would be 16 televisions, 16 xboxes, 16 copies of the game, 16 people, and 16 pads and 16 Xbox Live accounts though...

Yeah, but you don't care because you don't have to supply any of them yourself apart from your own.

[TheNamelessOne]

Originally Posted by Bricktop The game play is very repetitive, with you killing the same enemies a million times.

Ditto about a million other games.

Originally Posted by Bricktop I mean besides the 2 standard aliens, there was only a few other enemies to kill.

Actually there was many different enemies, but then again you only played it for 25mins so I doubt you could have encountered every single one right?

[Bricktop]

Originally Posted by TheNamelessOne Ditto about a million other games. Actually there was many different enemies, but then again you only played it for 25mins so I doubt you could have encountered every single one right?

Actually I finished the game. I often save my judgment on a game until I have played it from start to finish. 75% of the game consisted of those little cone-shaped aliens and just pallet swaps of the big blue ones. I mean yeah you had the guys with the light sabers, but thats hardly a new enemy, it's just a pallet swap (think MK2 with all the ninja's). Then there was the infected monsters. That makes up pretty much all of the game. I am going to go on a limb and say the orginal Doom has more enemies then then Halo, not including color swaps. The game just doesn't warrent its reputation and I truely believe that it only gets this rep it has because it was the first non-crappy game for Xbox when it came out.

[Jonster]

Originally Posted by Bricktop The game just doesn't warrent its reputation and I truely believe that it only gets this rep it has because it was the first non-crappy game for Xbox when it came out.

Dead or Alive 3

[Bricktop]

Originally Posted by jonster Dead or Alive 3

Actually I've never played it. I've been meaning to. But when Xbox first came out, it was Halo this and Halo that. I mean look how much Hype the second one had when it was first announced, years away from being released. I mean its on par with final fantasy, Grand Theft Auto and Metal gear Solid games. The game just isn't that good, yet a lot of people, including the game mags, make it the game to play. I'm skipping this one, looks like more of the same.

[DS]

Tribes Arial Assult beats Halo. It's got vehicles, ability to fly, clean graphics, 16+ including online play, and is fun as hell. Killzone will put Halo 2 in a run for it's money and will probably end up being the better game overall. Halo got the press it did because it was Xbox's first breakout hit. Only thing that put Halo above the other console games was the vehicles.

[Smitty]

Halo was so popular because it was one of the first launch titles for Xbox. People were extremely limited to what games they goy when Xbox first came out. They read reviews, and said, fuck it. If Halo came out with lets say 100 games when Xbox launched, no way would it have been as popular.

[Requiem]

"Halo
3 more televisions
3 more Xboxes
3 more copies of the game
15 friends
Link cables.
15 more pads."

It's not as hard to do. It takes me and some friends about 10 minutes to plan this, and with as many people that play halo around here, it's more than do-able.
In 30 minutes of getting friends over to a house, you can easily enjoy hours of fun. In addition to the game, if you don't find it so much fun, you at least get to hang out with friends, and that in itself is the best part of multiplayer.

[TheNamelessOne]

Originally Posted by Bricktop Actually I finished the game. I often save my judgment on a game until I have played it from start to finish. 75% of the game consisted of those little cone-shaped aliens and just pallet swaps of the big blue ones. I mean yeah you had the guys with the light sabers, but thats hardly a new enemy, it's just a pallet swap (think MK2 with all the ninja's). Then there was the infected monsters. That makes up pretty much all of the game. I am going to go on a limb and say the orginal Doom has more enemies then then Halo, not including color swaps. The game just doesn't warrent its reputation and I truely believe that it only gets this rep it has because it was the first non-crappy game for Xbox when it came out.

Makes perfect sense. Completing a game that you only found fun for less than half an hour. I was taking State Of Emergency back less than an hour after buying it because it sucked so much (Play SoE. You think Halos repetitive? You ain't seen nothing yet...) and I found that game fun for around about 5 mins. And the first non-crappy game on the Xbox? I thought you said you didn't like it?

Since when does lack of enemies consitute a bad game by the way? Halo has just over 10 different aliens to face, not including the different ranks (Or colour variation as you call it), which although isn't much, doesn't make the game repetitive. At least for me anyway.

[Penner]

Originally Posted by jonster Yeah, but you don't care because you don't have to supply any of them yourself apart from your own.

What the hell are you talking about?

I can guarantee someone doesn't buy all that shit themself. I can guarantee friends bring over xboxes and games and controllers.

[DS]

Originally Posted by Penner What the hell are you talking about? I can guarantee someone doesn't buy all that shit themself. I can guarantee friends bring over xboxes and games and controllers.

That's what he's saying Penner.

[Kalyx triaD]

When my buddy first got an XBox in it's launch week, he got Tony Hawk 2x, DoA 3, that racing game with the Kudos system, and Halo.

We played everything but Halo the first three days, and DoA 3/Hawk 2x got play because because of past success. None of us wanted to play Halo because is really did look like crap.

Then we played it.

Me and another guy got the liberty of playing the co-op story mode and for some reason, fell in love with the real time cut-scenes, tight controls, perfectly placed scripts, and enemy AI/phrases. We were comtemplating why this game was so fun when Perfect Dark did indeed have more options in any given area... It just came together right. The first time we played two screen 3 0n 3 capture the flag pretty much told us that this game will only get better has we get the resources for more players; and let's face it, 16 player Halo in any mode you customize will tell you why you got an XBox and how lucky you were to play Halo. That's why I freaking love Halo, without reading reviews and jumping on a bandwaggon. And I will say it's the most fun console FPS mulitplayer; if anything for it's simplicity and straightforward gameplay. Sometimes you don't wanna worry about laptop guns and tracking guns (which were cool but unfair at times).

If Perfect Dark gets a remake with Sysytem Link and Live play, Halo will have a problem, but it appears Bungie is the only developer thinking about the people who play multiplayer console games, cause I ain't never get that type of love in systems before hand. XBox Live is cool, but four guys YOU KNOW with an Xbox and Halo and 15 guys with controllers is way more likely than all your friends having an XBox Live account. XBox is the originator of the term "Lan/Hub Party", cause it truely is with all those guys.

And any game that already bitting off another game by calling itself a (Place Title)-Killer, already has no chance. Halo-Killer? Zelda-Killer? This is most appearent in bais ass system specific magazines(Ironically the worst of which is PunkASS XBox Magazine). How many of those did we come across and how many actually killed it's targets? None. I say be smart and don't think about killing a loved franchise(Can Halo be called one with one game..?), and make "Healthy Alternatives" instead of competing.

I have a question; who played 16 player Halo and didn't like it?

[DS]

Originally Posted by Kalyx triaD XBox is the originator of the term "Lan/Hub Party", cause it truely is with all those guys.

What? Hate to break it to you but PC had lan parties about 8 years before Halo even came out.

I could barely understand your post. It seems like you have no idea what you are talking about also. I have played a 16 player game and have to say it wasn't that exciting. The game isn't bad, but there's no way it's the best FPS on a console.

[Requiem]

Originally Posted by DS What? Hate to break it to you but PC had lan parties about 8 years before Halo even came out. I could barely understand your post. It seems like you have no idea what you are talking about also. I have played a 16 player game and have to say it wasn't that exciting. The game isn't bad, but there's no way it's the best FPS on a console.

No, it's just the best multiplayer FPS on a console. I'd rather play CS online. I'd rather play Halo at a party rather than online with a PC version. It's just more fun to play with friends than any other FPS, IMO.

[DS]

I still don't find that true. Red Faction was probably the most fun I've had with friends in multiplayer. That's innovation right there. The fact you can destroy the whole environment and make the game different every time. Just my opinion though.

[el fregadero]

Yeah, Red Faction is a sweet game.

[Y2Ant]

RF is the most fun i've had in a multiplayer FPS (mostly through comedic value), although UT 2004 Onslaught mode is fucking insanely fun, I haven't really gotten into Halo, but I have a copied version on CD, so i'll have to see.