Quote
Hey SearanoX, you haven't played the original Marathon series haven't you? The Marathon series is a Sequal/prequal (?) to Halo. That game had more weapons, more unquie weapons, way thicker stroy line, puzzels, more different types of enemies, real secondry functions on all weapons.
While I've heard of it, I haven't played it...yet. I hear that it was quite good. It wasn't really a prequel/prequel, though. I assume you're referring to it as you would refer to Perfect Dark being a sequel to Goldeneye. When it comes to things, more weapons, more enemies, etc., that isn't necessarily better. A game can be packed full of all of those things, but what Halo has over it is one thing - balance. Halo's enemies, weapons, etc. all serve a purpose. There is absolutely no weapon that is useless, or obsolete. The Pistol, for instance, can be the best weapon in the game, while the Needler is good at taking out Elites and attacking from around corners.
Quote
Sure the game had about the same level of graphics as say Duke Nukem 3d. But Halo was a step back most of the way. Even now it remains an uncomplete game. Half-life had a greater number of varying evenviroments, more weapons, secondries, better atmosphere. The only thing that Halo has over any of these two games is quick genade, melee, vehicles and better GFX. The AI is nothing special as most of those things have already been done back on the PSX in MOH. Also the lack of options in Halo Multiplayer is unaccpetable. If it was really more multiplayer oriented, it should have more options, bots to fill in the gaps and seeing how the "AI" was so good, it should have been included.
I'm an avid Half-Life fan, so I know how good the game is, but on a technical level, it doesn't compare. AI is nowhere near as good, but it makes up for it in puzzle solving, action, atmosphere, etc.. However, Halo does do all of these things better.
First, let's look at the environments - you claim that there isn't enough variety...hello? Have you played the game? Look at The Pillar of Autumn, and then compare it to say, what you see on the Halo mission. We go from small, cramped quarters to huge mountainous areas where vehicle is nearly the only way to get around efficiently. Not to mention of course the huge structures and underground installations that can be found - all of it looking significantly un-human. Next, we go to Truth and Reconciliation, where the mission takes place during the night in a rocky, mountainous area. Flashlights, night vision, and stealth are all quite integral in the beginning of this one. When we get to the latter half, aboard the Covenant ship, it changes into a purple-blue-green, technological wonder. Hallways are blinking with lights, holograms are everywhere, floors are tiled in intricate ways. Now, we get to the Silent Cartographer and it's coastal setting. It features both interior and exterior areas. The exterior areas are great, with the sun beaming down, huge pieces of an installation protruding out from the rock, and the water lapping along the beach. Compare that now to Assault on the Control Room, which features some interior environments that follow The Silent Cartographer's style, but also huge outdoor areas filled with snow.
I'll stop there. You see my point when it comes to lacking variety. I know what you're going to argue back, though - that everything is the same in style. All of the Covenant stuff, Forerunner, and Human...they all stick to the same distinct looks. Tell me exactly what's wrong with that? Using a setup like this, you can always tell exactly who built something, who is occupying it, and what has happened there in the past. It's quite common for things made by a particular ethnic group, people, etc. to have their own consistent theme. Were you to argue that, it'd be the same as claiming that Africa lacks variety because everyone there lives in mud huts (more or less, let's not get into specifics).
Now, if you're going to argue at the reuse of levels, you can, because I'll admit that they are reused, but not to a huge extent. In fact, only two of them are reused in any way, and they all feature massive changes. Take Two Betrayals. Not only is the time of day different, there are enemies battling throughout the area. There are many new areas which could not previously be accessed as well. Now, let's look at The Maw. It features the same style as the original Pillar of Autumn mission, but is also vastly different. The ship is quite destroyed, with sand and dust caking many of the surfaces. Nearly half of the thing is destroyed as well. In addition, there are also tons of new areas.
You claim the AI in Medal of Honor is so great? I've played a few of those games, and it isn't. Nearly every single thing in the entire game is scripted, including how the enemies react, how they move, etc.. Halo, on the other hand, features some of the best AI seen in a game. You ever played Legendary mode? It's damn hard. And they don't make it hard by increasing damage enemies take and making you take more damage - no, they do it by improving the artificial intelligence. If you think that Normal is somewhat difficult, you haven't seen anything. Enemies outflank, create distractions, dodge, run away, seek backup, wait in ambush, charge, and more. I didn't see anything like that in Medal of Honor, and when I did, most of the time, it was either a coincidence or a scripted behaviour.
AI in multiplayer - they could have done it, most likely, but not only would the game have most likely slowed to a crawl with people + bots, but it would have also most likely taken quite a bit of time to implement it. After all, the AI would have to be completely different than what is in the game right now. In the single player game, enemies wait for you, generally. They don't go around looking for you, using vehicles, etc.. They don't need to. Because the way the game works, it's unnecessary. Now, if they had implemented AI, it most likely wouldn't have been good due to time constraints. It would also put lots of strain on the CPU of the machine - one that is already greatly burdened with four other players. Look at Perfect Dark - the framerate with Simulants was awful, no matter how good they were. Now, to offset this, you could either reduce the CPU power that the AI characters require, but would also mean having the AI making less decisions at a time, resulting in stupider enemies.
As for the melee attack - it speaks for itself. I consider it to be a revolutionary feature. It's one of the most useful tools in the game - being able to sneak up behind an enemy, hear the satisfying thunk of your Pistol butt on the back of their head, and watch them sink to the ground without a sound is one of the best things about the game. It really adds a lot to it. Now you don't have to use bullets for everything, and wake up the entire neighbourhood. Sure, games have had an unarmed attack in the past before, as well as melee attacks with guns, but they have never, ever been as useful or as fun as they are in Halo.
Vehicles? They're pretty revolutionary-seeming to me. After all, there's no other game that really has them so well implemented. The game literally switches from an FPS to a vehicular combat game in no time at all. Not only that, but the way they handle, as well as how each one has it's own strengths and weaknesses make them quite revolutionary indeed.
Quote
Halo was not revolutionary, evolutionary at best and in no way deserving of all the hype it got. An unfinished game.
While I agree that some things weren't perfect about the game, it was certainly not unfinished. It was finished. In the sense you're referring to, in that it could have been better had they had more time, well, that's the same for every other single game ever developed. Wind Waker? Yeah, they had to cut significant portions from the game for that one. What about Half-Life? Even VALVe has admitted to it being not as good as they intended. They had wanted to do so much more to the game, but couldn't due to technology limitations.
Really, even though there were some things that the game doesn't do perfectly doesn't stop it from being one kickass and original game.
-------------------------------------------------------
I usually don't spend that long making a response, so try to come up with some valid and interesting arguments, m'kay?
Topic: GameCube’s Mid-Term Report Card (Read 46935 times)
