Halo
The control scheme is as great as it is simple. It doesn't take you long to learn and master them, even with having thumb-sticks (Something I'm still not 100% partnered with). At the time, the graphics were top-notch. In fact, they still aren't all that bad. The only real pain about them is the faces. The Halo guys made awesome aliens, but terrible humans. Compared to a lot of games of even today, the graphics still hold up, I think.
The level designs were pretty nice, too. They were interesting and varied, and open. WIDE open. Up until then, First Person Shooters mainly relied on cramped quarters to get your adrenaline up. You never know when there's a baddy around that corner, right. Halo had a different tactic. Hide open space meant a lot of enemies. Enemies ALL around you, wanting your loving. Or death, which ever.The set pieces were very interesting as well, nothing really repeated, well, minus the back-tracking. A lot of people complained about it, having to go back from where you came from, but I think it was well done. I mean, when you leave your house and come back, you're pretty much backtracking, but the scenarios may be different. That's what made it work in this game.
Getting to play co-op was pretty awesome. Really, for the first time, your actually rooting for the person next to you as opposed to screaming for their bloody corpse. And the ending was spectacular. Perhaps the best FPS ending of all time.Halo 2
Out of all the games, I think Halo 2's is the best. Sure, you're back in tight quarters a bit, but none of the other openings screamed as much bad-assedness. The character designs have leveled up, yet still with the terrible-looking people.
This time the control scheme gets a bit of a boost, but not much of one. It pretty much stays the same, even when you play the Arbiter. That's right, you play as an Elite for about half the game, though, no, you don't get a choice. Many people didn't like this - a second story that runs parallel with the chiefs', but I did. I enjoyed playing an Elite and doing things differently. The cloak! I loved becoming invisible. Hooray for me!Somethings didn't really impress me about the game, though. The encounters with the enemies really weren't as solid as they were in the first Halo. They were kind of boring, really. There weren't any concrete twists or turns when battling the hordes, which was kinda sad.
Another problem arises when I play the game on my Xbox 360. Some sort of 'ghosting' images appear on my screen as I'm playing - like a computer monitor that's been on for too long. They really screw with my eyes and give me a ripper of a migraine! Hooray for Epilepsy!I won't comment on multiplayer as I've never played.
Halo 3 (Finish This Bitch!)
What a step-up! REALLY! This game is nice all the way through! Though still, bad, bad human character designs!
As this is for Microsoft's Next-Gen console, the graphics got some Redbull and really took off. It's really apparent right in the opening as you're running around the wilderness of Africa. The water is simply amazing! You get thirsty watching it, and your enemies have just become so much more gruesome. They couldn't have pulled it off without this system, I think.The controls got updated with all the new goodies. You can new carry heavy weapons (that slow you down considerably), and various equipment that range from land mines, to various shields, cloak and even invincibility. Things haven't changed TOO much, however, if you play straight from 1 and 2 into 3, you'll notice a big difference. It can get a bit confusing, but then again, it happens anytime you switch games anyway. So many times have I cursed Halo 3 when I switch over to Call of Duty 4 and press the wrong button in multiplayer.
The encounters are back on par with the original. You get the same real sense of urgency as the first, especially when being completely surrounded by the flood. The ending! Once again, great stuff! It rivals the first for the greatest FPS ending, though looses out because the original was, well, original. And as an added bonus, you can play co-op with up to three other people (online), though I really haven't dabbled in it.The Multiplayer is pretty cool! Especially when you hit the mute all button! You'll never have to listen to any of those basement dwelling twelve-year-olds again! You'll always have assholes, though, humping your dead body after they snuff you.
The Matchmaking system is pretty decent. The skill levels are pretty much evened out. Even still, you might face a team that just skunks you all hard and what not. Spawn points are good, too, as they pretty much get you away from the action. Very rarely have I ever been spawn-killed. Some of the levels, especially when paired with certain game-types do get a bit tedious though, like Rat's Nest. That map usually gets voted down real quickly.
You can even edit the levels, adding and subtracting and creating items within the levels, making your own game types, and then sharing them with people online. The only problem is, if you don't know too many people who play Halo 3, you might be out of luck on playing them. This is because Bungie hasn't really created a successful way of matching people into your game. You have to invite the hell out of everyone online at that moment, and hope they come. If Bungie used their matchmaking system to load people into a party and then auto switch the party leader so everyone gets a chance at showing off their maps, that would be sprinkles. For now, you have to find communities on the interwebs and schedule games. I'm just not THAT into it.In The End...
If you really like FPS, then check these games out. The story is good, as well as the graphics and gameplay. There are many haters out there, but don't listen to them. They haven't seen the sun in a couple of days. Poor things are confused...
Halo Series Part 1 - The Story
Go to the Bungie homepage.
0 comments:
Post a Comment