Is it all about Halo these days?

[neturalgamer2692]

Why is it all about Halo and Halo2?

[-hellvin-]

I dunno, what is it all about?

[thegreatescape]

Whatever this "Halo" thing is it is, Enemy Territory pwns it.


I need a medic!!

[JSFox]

I like Halo, but the kids at school are Halo-Crazy. They say the Halo books are the best books ever, Halo 2 will be the best game ever..... :?

[Necrosaro420]

Why is it all about Halo and Halo2?


I hate halo.

[MarioAllStar2600]

Halo won so many awards. It was a good FPS and multiplayer was great. All I liked was multiplayer... but that's just me.

So multiplayer is great, but didn't have xbox live. Now the second oen will bring campaign mode back to life with a new story. Multiplayer will be on Live now. Which means you don't need multiple box's and tons of players in one location.

That is how I look at it at least.

[Cmosfm]

What? SHIT, It's all about Halo?!?!?!

Man, I guess I need to break down and buy that game or something.

:roll:

[Kroogah]

Because people keep making topics about it?

[kai123]

Maybe because Microsoft has an excellent franchise now and some people can't stand that for whatever reason. If you haven't played it then you need to get off your butt and do so.

[Crush Crawfish]

I dunno...I played a few times at my cousin's house and didn't really see what the big deal was. That might just be because I dislike FPS games in general. Anyway, I work at my local funcoland, and we must have at LEAST 400 reserves for Halo 2. I should know. I alphabetized them. :Passes out:

[Hakkenden]

Halo = most over rated game of all time

Played it at my freinds house, its go boring fast i found myself so uninterested while playing I did things like try to jump on moving tanks and blow us both up with grenades and attacking people by hitting them with the rocket launcher (which apperently took more damage than most other things). When i found out that the game everone said was the best avilable for x-box was this pathetic i finally made up my mind that i would never invest in a x-box.

[PhoeniX]

Because people keep making topics about it?

hahahaha!, totally!

The Halo books are crap, about the same literature value as the Worlds of Power series, fun to read-perhaps for fans but otherwise devoid of any cogent qualities.

As far as the imminent Halo 2, Halo (1) was so spot on, a superlative console FPS, wonderful multi-player support, and extraordinary production value; is it any surprise that the sequel is so highly anticipated?

[kainemaxwell]

Played Halo a few times and though is impressive, its just a FPS with an excellent multiplayer. it's not the god of games as everyone claims it to be.

Though Halo did spawn Red vs. Blue. :P

[Promophile]

I hated Halo. Goldeneye and PD did FPS way better. You can only carry 2 guns at once? punches are the strongest weapon? WTF.

[youngamer]

Its all about the DOOM series!!!!!! 8-)

[Ed Oscuro]

Edited for TRUTH!

Maybe because Microsoft bought an excellent franchise now and removed the intelligent story and grenade bouncing from it
LOL

I agree, they're doing great things with Halo 2, but it's not going to be the butter on my existentialist toast. It's not the rasperry jam on a salvation sandwich. It's not the best thing ever. Just another nice thing. Sometimes...when I forget that I've been in this room before.

[drivefast1690]

I hated Halo. Goldeneye and PD did FPS way better. You can only carry 2 guns at once? punches are the strongest weapon? WTF.
Ditto, I had so much more fun playing Goldeneye than Halo, Halo=overrated

[themessage]

I've got an extensive FPS background, and I have no idea why people think Halo is so good. About the only thing Halo has going for it is the music and the pretty Halo that surrounds the planet. The singleplayer is repetitive, and the multiplayer has nothing going for it besides the fact you are playing Halo against other people.

Using my amazing stereotyping ability + common sense. I'm led to believe these console gamers haven't played many online PC games. Which is why you're either a PC gamer playing Sims/CounterStrike/UT/MMORPG games, or your're a console player. I think that's how it usually goes, people can't afford to be into both. Being able to afford to play modern PC games is a feat in itself.

[Promophile]

Thank god there aren't many Halo fanboys here. I think the reason Halo is so popular is that 90 pct of the fanboys haven't played Goldeneye or Perfect Dark, or are total graphics whores.

[sisko]

I hated Halo. Goldeneye and PD did FPS way better. You can only carry 2 guns at once? punches are the strongest weapon? WTF.
Ditto, I had so much more fun playing Goldeneye than Halo, Halo=overrated

Ditto that, but I prefer Time Splitters 2 multiplayer over them both :)

[FlufflePuff]

I am amazed that so many people dislike Halo. Now I hate it as much as the rest of the people who've posted, but I would have figured someone would post in its defense. I generally hate FPS on consoles so I bought it when CC had it for 10 bucks on the PC. It still sucked. It only works on a totally pimped out PC and isn't even that great if you have one.

[sisko]

I am amazed that so many people dislike Halo.

I don't dislike it, its just horribly overrated. IMHO there is nothing spectacular about it. The graphics are good, but thats about it. The music and gameplay (what really counts) are just excessively average. There are better games out there.

[G4MZ0v3R]

x_x Umm if you don’t normally like FPS then duh you’re not going to like even awesome ones on average. I've played Goldeneye and PD, the campaign mode in Goldeneye was better than Halo, but the style and look of the whole game has this appeal I think that plays to anyone who has ever wanted to be a bad ass space marine or has an affinity towards sci-fi as opposed to action. I know this will get heat, but I think its multi is better than Goldeneye. :angry: :angry:

"Runs from tomatoes. Jumps in warthog and drives away"

[MegaDrive20XX]

Screw it, it's all about Goldeneye....and I hope to god Rogue Agent does justice to the original...

[G4MZ0v3R]

They more than likely won't though. If its 1/2 the game the original was though..... "looks in wallet"

[ubersaurus]

I am amazed that so many people dislike Halo.

I don't dislike it, its just horribly overrated. IMHO there is nothing spectacular about it. The graphics are good, but thats about it. The music and gameplay (what really counts) are just excessively average. There are better games out there.

For it's time Halo was king, and well, if you ask em, it still is. I love the pacing of the game because it's more methodical, more strategic, more realistic, almost.

The music rocks. Don't be doggin the music.

[Dahne]

Because Red Vs. Blue is friggin' brilliant.

You shot Church, you team-killing fucktard!

[LiquidX01]

Because Red Vs. Blue is friggin' brilliant.



What is the whole deal with that anyway?

[Ed Oscuro]

I know this will get heat, but I think its multi is better than Goldeneye. :angry: :angry:

"Runs from tomatoes. Jumps in warthog and drives away"
My brother and I used to play all sorts of stuff with Goldeneye...it's still a game you can start a multiplayer game with and anybody will want to play it. Weapons, levels, and play types - there's much more to do than there was in Halo. Let's see...Halo had CTF? So did Goldeneye, and in Goldeneye you get remote (or proximity!) mines, pistols only, power weapons...Levels in Halo are wide-open, and tend to be better for sniping than Goldeneye's levels...that's not what a console shooter should be about, especially if you don't have a HDTV (even in two player each half of the screen is terribly small, and forget about four player, even - especially? - in Goldeneye).

There were vehicles in Halo's multiplayer, yes.

[kai123]

Sorry but 16 player halo kills four player goldeneye or PD anyday. You can always put more bots in PD I guess. :o Like I said before, most people don't like Halo because of Microsoft it is very clear to see in some posts not all but some.

[ubersaurus]

I know this will get heat, but I think its multi is better than Goldeneye. :angry: :angry:

"Runs from tomatoes. Jumps in warthog and drives away"
My brother and I used to play all sorts of stuff with Goldeneye...it's still a game you can start a multiplayer game with and anybody will want to play it. Weapons, levels, and play types - there's much more to do than there was in Halo. Let's see...Halo had CTF? So did Goldeneye, and in Goldeneye you get remote (or proximity!) mines, pistols only, power weapons...Levels in Halo are wide-open, and tend to be better for sniping than Goldeneye's levels...that's not what a console shooter should be about, especially if you don't have a HDTV (even in two player each half of the screen is terribly small, and forget about four player, even - especially? - in Goldeneye).

There were vehicles in Halo's multiplayer, yes.

I disagree. I always hated Goldeneye and Perfect Dark's levels because they were so damn cramped. Large spaces that I could snipe, that's what I always wanted, and Halo gave that to me.

Hal gave you plenty of options. Way more then Goldeneye did (though not as much customization as PD, admittingly). You can play with the default weapons, or sniping weapons only, rockets only, plasma weapons only, human weapons only, and if I recall, close range weapons only, to say nothing of the vehicles. Then you've got all the other options...ever play juggernaut mode? King of the Hill? or a kill in order game? Add that to the 16 player cap, and Halo shits all over GE's multi. As for the split screen, it's not that much of an issue for me, and not being able to see the other team's screens just changed the game so much and made it so much more fun.

[SegaAges]

my and my buddy beat halo 2-player and i have never went back to the game since then.

[Aboliax]

There's a couple of things for me (this is my opinion not fact):

Halo's single player is horribly overrated, the stories been done so many times over its ridiculous (it reminds me ALOT of StarCraft, only with out the plot twists that make StarCraft so excellent). I'll take Doom3 or Halflife over it any day (their stories are overdone too to some extent but better carried out in my opinion).

Probably the biggest problem I have is that Bungie created it, and compared to the Marathon games Halo is horrible.

Multiplayer isn't much fun, and even on a brand new computer with high stats, and a T1 university connection the game lags pretty bad. I don't find it nearly as fun as a game like Counter-Strike or PD or Golden Eye either. The lag eliminates most of the strategy that exists in other games. The maps are too big too, complex mazes are more interesting.

That all being said, its a good game, but it could use a lot of work before it will be on the same level of the new FPS's like Doom3, Half-life2, and Far Cry.

[calthaer]

If your gameview is consoliocentric, then of course Halo is king.

People probably haven't expanded their horizons too much, though, if they think it's the best thing out there even within the limited sphere of the FPS genre - not just the new ones (HL2, Far Cry, etc.) but the classics like System Shock 2 or the original Unreal.

[kainemaxwell]

Because Red Vs. Blue is friggin' brilliant.



What is the whole deal with that anyway?
From my understanding someone took most the cinemas in halo and turned them into a story.

[Habeeb Hamusta]

Halo is an extremely overrated game. I've played, beat, and there nothing that sets it apart from any other standard FPS. It was pretty repatitive and boring and I, for one, don't like it. :angry:

[ubersaurus]

There's a couple of things for me (this is my opinion not fact):

Halo's single player is horribly overrated, the stories been done so many times over its ridiculous (it reminds me ALOT of StarCraft, only with out the plot twists that make StarCraft so excellent). I'll take Doom3 or Halflife over it any day (their stories are overdone too to some extent but better carried out in my opinion).



Halo's story is damn complex...it only seems simple on the surface. You didn't notice any of the undertones to the game? Cortana's overbearance in the 2nd half? The covenant's obsession with the ring, and their apparent knowledge of the Flood? Who released the flood, for that matter, if the covenant already knew about them? Guilty Spark's dialogue in general seemed to imply that he knew the chief, nd recognized his armor as a lower class then he should. There were no covenant Reclaimers, after all. And then you take into account the backstory filled out in the books, Bungie's own story releases, from the Cortana Letters, the Ship Transmissions, to the whole Ilovebees thing, and you've got yourself a storyline that's more complex then just "Aliens".


Red vs Blue is a bunch of guys dubbing voices over scenes from Multiplayer Halo to make a comedic story, essentially.

For anyone who prefers playing as the friggin Flash in an FPS, then Halo is probably not your cup of tea. That's about the only way I can put it.

[kai123]

For anyone who prefers playing as the friggin Flash in an FPS, then Halo is probably not your cup of tea. That's about the only way I can put it.

After reading that it became very clear why some don't like the game. I think that some people prefer to be able to carry around 20 weapons at the same time to make it easier on the them. Instead of having to decide which weapon will be best for the situation. They also like having health packs around every corner and enemies who run into their line of fire. Save states I can't forget the save states. Some people can't stand not having the ability to instantly go right where they made their fatal mistake.

Some people like there games a little easier on them. Some can't take the heat and need to go play something a little easier for them. :ass:


BTW all of my comments were based on the X-box version of the game. None of my comments were directed at anyone here, but if what I wrote made you mad then maybe I am telling the truth. :sob:

[Aboliax]

There's a couple of things for me (this is my opinion not fact):

Halo's single player is horribly overrated, the stories been done so many times over its ridiculous (it reminds me ALOT of StarCraft, only with out the plot twists that make StarCraft so excellent). I'll take Doom3 or Halflife over it any day (their stories are overdone too to some extent but better carried out in my opinion).



Halo's story is damn complex...it only seems simple on the surface. You didn't notice any of the undertones to the game? Cortana's overbearance in the 2nd half? The covenant's obsession with the ring, and their apparent knowledge of the Flood? Who released the flood, for that matter, if the covenant already knew about them? Guilty Spark's dialogue in general seemed to imply that he knew the chief, nd recognized his armor as a lower class then he should. There were no covenant Reclaimers, after all. And then you take into account the backstory filled out in the books, Bungie's own story releases, from the Cortana Letters, the Ship Transmissions, to the whole Ilovebees thing, and you've got yourself a storyline that's more complex then just "Aliens".



Nah I really didn't notice any undertones. The story was simplistic to me. Theres two races, they don't like each other and use the stereotypical weapons to kill each other. Enter the third race who gets released on accident/on purpose somewhere along the way and decides to kill or subvert both. In a twist away from a complete clone of the first 10 minutes of StarCraft they don't team up but just throw down in a melee. This guy who pops out of no where runs up blows up everything and saves his race. I haven't read any of the books maybe that would help. And maybe I shouldn't compare it to a game like StarCraft, that games story is so complex its amazing, and its 6 years older than Halo, but SC has more story in about an hour than Halo does in the whole game.

Or take Marathon, now that game was creepy, the space station was very ominous and the story intriguing, AND it was 10 years older than Halo! If not more. That shows what Bungie should be capable of.

But like I said, just my opinion, I'm glad you enjoy the game, more power to ya!

[dethink]

For anyone who prefers playing as the friggin Flash in an FPS, then Halo is probably not your cup of tea. That's about the only way I can put it.

After reading that it became very clear why some don't like the game. I think that some people prefer to be able to carry around 20 weapons at the same time to make it easier on the them. Instead of having to decide which weapon will be best for the situation. They also like having health packs around every corner and enemies who run into their line of fire. Save states I can't forget the save states. Some people can't stand not having the ability to instantly go right where they made their fatal mistake.

Some people like there games a little easier on them. Some can't take the heat and need to go play something a little easier for them. :ass:


BTW all of my comments were based on the X-box version of the game. None of my comments were directed at anyone here, but if what I wrote made you mad then maybe I am telling the truth. :sob:

very true. for what it's worth, halo is probably my most played recent console title, along with goldeneye, GT1, and the original soul calibur.

i loved the strategic pacing, and never found a dull moment the first time through. subsequent playthroughs reveal the repetitiveness of the indoor environments, but coming from the days when we had games where every level took place on a black background...

cranking the difficulty up makes this a whole 'nother experience. :D you forget about the repetiveness of your surroundings as you're being actively flushed out by a group of elites, with the knowledge that at anytime, you could die in a matter of seconds.

i had way more fun playing against the AI in the game than in multiplayer, simply because the AI makes typically more "realistic" choices - they hunt you down like they're not going to re-spawn, unlike human players who know they have X ammount of chances left and wil just blindly run at you with guns blazing as a last resort. although the AI will do this too, it's a bit more prudent in it's actions.

i thought the multiplayer was trash, but i never had 16 people to go up against. with 3-4, it's not fun.

co-op was cool though.

[Oobgarm]

I wanted to like Halo very much. I love FPS games quite a bit.

But there was something about Halo that kept me from enjoying it on the levels that I enjoyed Goldeneye, Timesplitters 2, and Unreal Championship.

I can't quite place my finger on what it was exactly. I had no expectations going in, no hopes to live up to or anything.

*shrugs*

[NintendoMan]

Why is it all about Halo and Halo2?


I hate halo.

Same here, and I LOVE FPS most of all really. Just don't really like this one.

[dethink]

I wanted to like Halo very much. I love FPS games quite a bit.

But there was something about Halo that kept me from enjoying it on the levels that I enjoyed Goldeneye, Timesplitters 2, and Unreal Championship.

I can't quite place my finger on what it was exactly. I had no expectations going in, no hopes to live up to or anything.

*shrugs*

i think it's the pacing - halo isn't quite as zippy as UT or timesplitters, and isn't as deathmatch friendly, IMO. i played quite a bit of stuff like UT, and it never felt "solid" to me. hm.

dunno, it's the only FPS along with goldeneye that didn't make me feel like i was controlling a disembodied floating gun able to run at 50mph either...

[kainemaxwell]

Can you give us more on Halo's complex story please if possible?

[Ed Oscuro]

Halo's story:

"Oh noes we've been s;potted"
"There's a big floating ring in space, let's go there"
They sent a transmission to the Covenant ship asking for a truce between the ships (it's rather inconvenient to the original intention of the designers to have a space battle, plus it's hard to find enough fire buttons on the XBox controller for the capital ship weapons).
Everybody OOooed and AAaahed at the ultra realistic pine trees and shiny surfaces of the Warthog.
Master Chief tried unsuccessfully to get the Marines to move past the respawn point, but they reminded him that it wasn't HIS ass on the line.
Master Chief would like to remind everyone that sticking plasma grenades on your teammate's back is not a friendly practical joke. Furthermore, research suggests that plasma grenades are not an effective form of exorcism.
"Hey, this Warthog DOES fly, just like my great-great-grandpaw's! YEE-HAW!"
The Marines chased the Covenant a few miles out into the ocean, traveling until they could barely see land before they turned back (Oddly for an inverted ring of that size, not only couldn't they see the sides of the ocean where the ring borders it, but no curvature of the surface was evident).
Then they went underground again, and barely managed to fit the Warthog into the narrow opening (they made good use of the respawn point during this process).
Then they went above ground and fought some fat dudes.
Then they went to a swamp and climbed about on some ledges after riding a Warthog up there. They saw some floating guns!
Then the ga...er, MISSION turned to shit, but they kept going because the little creatures made ever so pleasant a pop sound and reminded Master Chief of that tasty creamy beverage advertised in the original Alien movie.
"I would really like some of this fancy wall-to-wall metal coat paint!"
Nobody seemed to be concerned about the fact that the Scorpion tank's cockpit isn't actually closed, but it was a bit hard to get the tank into corridors, unfortunately (Master Chief tried to drive the tank while invisible, but that didn't fool anybody).
They played with updrafts in the Ghost! They weren't actually updrafts, but it seemed appropriate enough.
There was some more fighting in some place.
Then they fought over the right to launch missiles into the reactor of the Harvest Dawn Moon Ship.
Sarge and the Covenant signed a peace treaty at the last moment! Unfortunately, that tender moment was lost to history forever when the Harvest Dawn Moon Beam Ship self-destructed when the flimsy reactor core coating was scraped off by Master Chief using a plastic spork.

GAME TRANSCRIPT END

[stressboy]

I think I would have enjoyed Halo more if the developers had spent more time making the indoor levels more interesting. Interesting as in not looking like the area I just cleared.. over and over again.

[Promophile]

For anyone who prefers playing as the friggin Flash in an FPS, then Halo is probably not your cup of tea. That's about the only way I can put it.

After reading that it became very clear why some don't like the game. I think that some people prefer to be able to carry around 20 weapons at the same time to make it easier on the them. Instead of having to decide which weapon will be best for the situation. They also like having health packs around every corner and enemies who run into their line of fire. Save states I can't forget the save states. Some people can't stand not having the ability to instantly go right where they made their fatal mistake.

Some people like there games a little easier on them. Some can't take the heat and need to go play something a little easier for them. :ass:


BTW all of my comments were based on the X-box version of the game. None of my comments were directed at anyone here, but if what I wrote made you mad then maybe I am telling the truth. :sob:

First off all let me comment that I'm talking about multiplayer, so AI or health paks have nothing to do with it.

I don't like carrying only 2 weapons. Why? Its not fun to me. You can say "IT R MORE REALISTIC" or "IT R REQUIRE STRAREGERY", but I still don't like it. I could cut off one of my legs before running a marathon and that would make it harder, but not more fun. Hand to hand being ultra powerful isn't fun either. Besides not being "realistic", it makes it easy for beginner players to sneak up behind you in a fight and punch you to death in 2 hits. Vehicles are a joke. If you jump into a vehicle with ANYONE but beginner players playing you'll be dead in seconds. The player models are BORING.

"look at me I'm wearing red armor woot!"

"look at me I'm wearing the exact same armor with a blue palette swap! WOOT!"

repeat with all the colors of the rainbow.

In Perfect Dark you could create your own character from MANY diverse models, putting a alien head on a human body, for example.

NONE of the weapons of Halo impressed me. Besides your regular fare like sniper rifle, pistol, chaingun, ect, the only semi need gun was the needle gun.

Look at perfect dark. Every gun had 2 features. There are guns that cloak you and everything.

I could go on and on

Please note that I'm talking about the Multiplayer game, I haven't played single player so I don't know how good it is.

[kainemaxwell]

In Perfect Dark you could create your own character from MANY diverse models, putting a alien head on a human body, for example.

NONE of the weapons of Halo impressed me. Besides your regular fare like sniper rifle, pistol, chaingun, ect, the only semi need gun was the needle gun.

Look at perfect dark. Every gun had 2 features. There are guns that cloak you and everything.

I could go on and on

Please note that I'm talking about the Multiplayer game, I haven't played single player so I don't know how good it is.

This is why I think PD has some th ebest multiplayer capabilities I can think of in recent memory.

[buttasuperb]

i finally made up my mind that i would never invest in a x-box.

lol your loss.

edit: you people need to play your fps on a pc with a keyboard and mouse. any fps on any console pales in comparison.

[Nature Boy]

Thank god there aren't many Halo fanboys here. I think the reason Halo is so popular is that 90 pct of the fanboys haven't played Goldeneye or Perfect Dark, or are total graphics whores.

I wish I could say the same thing about Halo haterz. (Or are they MS haterz?...)

I loved GoldenEye in it's day, but I find it almost unplayable now. FPS gameplay on a console is all about using the dual sticks in my eyes (one for moving, one for viewing). And using two controllers (as in Perfect Dark) just isn't something I am capable of (believe me, I've tried).

In fact, I got bored of Metroid Prime for that reason alone - it's control scheme was too much like GoldenEye and not enough like Halo. If they could've figured out a way to switch visors without the C stick I'd've thought it was as good or better than Halo methinks.

What made Halo great in my eyes was (a) it's story, (b) it's controls, (c) the co-op aspect, and (d) it's music. That music fits the game *perfectly* (I can hear it in my head now...)

Do I think Halo 2 is gonna be fantastic? Nope. It'll just be Halo 1 but more so I figure. Which will still make it a fun game (and one I'll get), but that's about it.

[Anexanhume]

It's incredibly easy to say you don't like something or make a condensed, humurous summary of the story. It's a whole other thing to prove why it wasn't a good game.

[Ed Oscuro]

I don't like carrying only 2 weapons. Why? Its not fun to me. You can say "IT R MORE REALISTIC" or "IT R REQUIRE STRAREGERY", but I still don't like it. I could cut off one of my legs before running a marathon and that would make it harder, but not more fun. ROFL
I agree! A game that did the switchable weapons concept (you got a special-use knife, two pistols you could select singly or as duals...no bonus for using those, strangely enough...an MP-40, and your choice of one explosive weapon) was Rise of the Triad, but there it makes sense AND adds to the fun of the gameplay at the same time! Same goes for Halo and Counter-Strike at the same time...you'd better be good with your special-purpose gun in all scenarios, because that's the only one you've got.

Halo, though, forces you to go through a single player campaign without a reliable weapon that's good in most circumstances and has unlimited ammo (unlike CS and Rise). That's a big strike. You've got some limited stealth ability which wasn't ever really utilized - they must've spent more time on that than they did making those later levels look unique, and I can be fairly serious about that in the case of those blasted courtyard-and-corridor type room clear areas. Sad.

As for Anexanhume, I'm glad you thought my condensed version of the story was humorous! That doesn't prove or even try to suggest the game was "bad," but I take personal offense in a religious sense with anybody who's suggesting the puny, weak humans aren't inferior to...wait, what was I talking about?

[ubersaurus]

Can you give us more on Halo's complex story please if possible?

It's hard to sum it all up in just a forum post (in person I've been known to go on about it for over an hour), but my best suggest would be to go to halo.bungie.org, and check out their story section. It can give you some insight to the history of the SPARTAN-II program that the Master Chief was, well, kidnapped as a child and forced into, speculation about the Flood, Guilty Spark, the Forerunner, and little details, such as Sgt. Johnson's apparent survival despite being attacked by the Flood. I've spent hours just looking around through there. For example-it's afact that the covenant will simply glass any planet they find with humans on it. However, if there's Forerunner artifacts, they will generally only partially glass the planet, so they don't damage any ruins. Earth, according to the Halo 2 trailers, is under attack, but the Covenant ships aren't glassing it at all. Instead they're taking a costly ground war. Why would they do that, unless the planet itself is a Forerunner place, a holy land for them? It's why they didn't fire on the Pillar of Autumn as it arrived in the Halo system-they weren't willing to damage the ring. Guilty Spark himself seems to be fascinated by humanity, and human history, leaving speculation that the humans are, in some way, connected to the Forerunner. But if that's true, then why do the Covenant refer to us as infidels that must be destroyed? I have my own theory on this, but I won't go into it.
marathon.bungie.org also has the archives of the Transmissions and Cortana Letters, which give some insight to both the Covenant and the inner workings of Cortana circa 1999, when they were writing up the story to Halo(whether or not they still apply to Cortana nowadays is another story, but if you have some idea on what's happened in Halo, and what they're foreshadowing for Halo 2, it DOES make sense). The Halo books are also good sources for learning the inner workings of the Covenant society, their worship of all things Forerunner, the extreme religious devotion (which ultimately limits their technological ability), and the politics of the human society itself. They cover events happening before Halo, during Halo (from the perspectives of the covenant and the marines), and after Halo but before Halo 2(basically, how the hell the Chief managed to get out of the system and the events that led him back to Earth).
And of course, because Bungie made it, there's hidden meaning everywhere. Note that even the name of the Master Chief, John-117, has meaning. The name Cortana has meaning(Marathon fans may be interested by it). The covenant is fairly obvious, especially given the religious nature of their society, but even minor things like the dropship, Foe Hammer, were named that for a good reason.

The general idea to a Bungie game is that there's hidden meanings everywhere, if you just look for them.

[kai123]

@Ed Oscuro

You know that you don't have unlimited ammo in Halo right? You might have a steady stream of supplies if you are playing on easy. After reading that statement it makes me think you may not have even played the game. x_x

[Dahne]

I played Halo multiplayer with some guys in the dorm a few days ago. The controls are fubar. Come on, two separate thumbsticks just to move?

On the plus side, I got a couple frags, and learned that you shouldn't throw grenades in enclosed spaces.

[Duncan]

I played Halo multiplayer with some guys in the dorm a few days ago. The controls are fubar. Come on, two separate thumbsticks just to move?

On the plus side, I got a couple frags, and learned that you shouldn't throw grenades in enclosed spaces.

Two thumbsticks = standard practice these days, and it's easier to use most of the time. Play SW: Battlefront or TimeSplitters for good examples of how it's supposed to work.

As for Halo -- like others here, I beat it on two-player with my brother, then played a bit of multiplayer and have not really looked back at it since. Good, but a little meh for my thirty bucks.

[Ed Oscuro]

@Ed Oscuro

You know that you don't have unlimited ammo in Halo right? You might have a steady stream of supplies if you are playing on easy. After reading that statement it makes me think you may not have even played the game. x_x
Your comment makes me think you didn't read my post! LOL

Okay, here's the line in question, again:


Halo, though, forces you to go through a single player campaign without a reliable weapon that's good in most circumstances and has unlimited ammo (unlike CS and Rise).
I'm not making any apologies; it's standard practice in the English language not to assume the writer has changed their object until they state they have. In this case, I'm saying that Halo forces you to go through the game without...and then I list two items, being a reliable weapon with unlimited ammo (slap/butt with your current weapon doesn't count).

Thank you for giving me a chance to look at my post again...damn, how'd I forget to uncheck "Disable Smilies?" Oh, before you mention it - that means that I had "Disable Smilies" checked.

[racecar]

i don't really like the hype(about halo2) i got mine pre order last christmas(yeah that is right !! then it got delayed) so it's just another game that got delayed on my list... the looks of ROBOTECH(ebgames.com screenshot) for the ps2 looks pretty good ..

[kai123]

@Ed
Sorry I misread your post. No harm no foul. :D

[Ed Oscuro]

... Why would they do that, unless the planet itself is a Forerunner place, a holy land for them? It's why they didn't fire on the Pillar of Autumn as it arrived in the Halo system-they weren't willing to damage the ring. Guilty Spark himself seems to be fascinated by humanity, and human history, leaving speculation that the humans are, in some way, connected to the Forerunner. But if that's true, then why do the Covenant refer to us as infidels that must be destroyed? I have my own theory on this, but I won't go into it.
LIEK THE BIBAL, BUT BETTAR U KNOW OMG

I'm so happy they told us all this stuff in Halo. LOL

[kai123]

... Why would they do that, unless the planet itself is a Forerunner place, a holy land for them? It's why they didn't fire on the Pillar of Autumn as it arrived in the Halo system-they weren't willing to damage the ring. Guilty Spark himself seems to be fascinated by humanity, and human history, leaving speculation that the humans are, in some way, connected to the Forerunner. But if that's true, then why do the Covenant refer to us as infidels that must be destroyed? I have my own theory on this, but I won't go into it.
LIEK THE BIBAL, BUT BETTAR U KNOW OMG

I'm so happy they told us all this stuff in Halo. LOL


I don't exactly understand all of the hostility you have towards Halo. Someone stated that the story in Halo is not as complex as some other games and he wrote just some of the story of Halo. Now you have to knock the story of Halo as if you have some kind of personal vendetta against the game. :roll: I just don't understand the needless bashing of a game you don't like. I would think people would like to concentrate on the games they enjoy more than ones they do not like. I guess that is just me.

[buttasuperb]

LIEK THE BIBAL, BUT BETTAR U KNOW OMG

I'm so happy they told us all this stuff in Halo. LOL

i love posts that aren't funny, but still contain a LOL or 2.

[Ed Oscuro]

Now you have to knock the story of Halo as if you have some kind of personal vendetta against the game. :roll: I just don't understand the needless bashing of a game you don't like. I would think people would like to concentrate on the games they enjoy more than ones they do not like. I guess that is just me.
So many misunderstandings!

I don't dislike Halo; it's a great game! I happen to have a Personal computer, though, so Halo doesn't get much playtime. Perhaps if I had Live, I'd play it online. I don't, though.

The main thing I'm trying to poke at is the fact that Bungie rushed the thing through; they've spent tons of time on backstory and building the mythos...but perhaps 5% of the story actually enters the game. From what I've heard, and what I remember in the game (explicit story - you have to forgive me for not understanding what the hell's going on when some silly AI starts snubbing me out of the blue), I'd say no more than 10% of their background work finds it into the game.

Some developers go insane and create history books for their worlds, and I understand when that stuff doesn't show up - but much of Halo's story would really enhance the game. For example, the whole deal with Captain Keyes. I never once thought the game had all sorts of complexity behind it (before I heard of the book and did a bit more reading, something most Halo fans - particularly those offline - don't know exist), and so, taken on its own merits, the game's storyline seems rushed and incoherent.

Then there's the aforementioned lack of a spaceship battle during the game's opening sequence (as usual, people are stupid and think they've got things under control, and thus all chance to survive and make good time is left to one lone human soldier, in this cast Master Chief) is something I mentioned in my story spoof above. Why's that happen? For good reason, we hear, but again none of this is evident from the story presented ingame. We only hear the most barebones, beat-the-clock, -OMG SAEV TEH PORESIDENT [add an item of your choice here] OR ELS- style storytelling. It's great that the story's out there, but what about on the disc?

No doubt Bungie says, "Hey, this is great! We'll make everything so crystal clear in this game, you'll be scratching your head as to why you didn't pick up on it in the first place." No doubt. The first game still does rather miserably in that department, and I'm sure the lack of story wasn't created to allow them to make the sequel flow like something from the pen of C.S. Lewis.

Halo 2 will doubtless have much more room for a storyline given that I don't see Bungie leaving any space over for demos of crappy games on the disc. I still have reservations about how much of the story they can cram into the sequel, but the difference should be impressive, all the same.

...Oh, and TEH GUY TALKS LIEK THIS!!11CUZ HES GOT THINGS2 SAY!!1 PEAS OUT D00DZ

[ubersaurus]

It's like I said-there's no space battle at the beginning because the covenant armada guarding the ring is too afraid of a stray shot hitting the ring. Obviously they started taking shots once they realized that junker was making a beeline for a crash landing, but it was never their intention.

Halo was indeed a rushed game, and I'm kinda confused how they'll fit so much story into Halo 2. But to say there's no story would be a false statement.

[themessage]

I remember back in the day watching the Halo trailer from the Macworld Expo in 2000. The game was so hyped it was unbelievable, but watch that original trailer, and you'll see why. Man did Apple let that slip through their fingers. I was really into Halo at the time. Listening to that music and watching them randomly drive around shooting aliens, then seeing the big Halo surrounding the planet... Quake3 and UT were dying at the time, it had perfect timing for a release, which would also boost interest in Macs. I thought it was going to be the next big thing for the Mac/PC.

http://www.themsg.com/images/halo_1.mp3
http://www.themsg.com/images/halo_2.mp3