Do you love Bees? How deep does Bungie's rabbit hole go...

-wyvern · Post by **-wyvern** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 6:29 am

I actually think that bungie did a better job of marathon's plot than halo (assuming they are not in fact the same thing), although there was a technical reason for this. In halo, the story is narrated vocally by cortana/guilty spark/captain kremmin, and for reasons of both cost and limits in disk space that they could not speak too long about the plot. In marathon, you saw the plot through a series of computer terminals. The advantage of this method is that you can cram an awful lot of information in at no extra cost (like paying voice actors) and so the plot had a lot more layers to it. Although perhaps I'm being unfair; marathon has had three games to tell it's story, halo has only had one.

Perhaps that should be four games...

http://www.marathonrubicon.com

Isambard · Post by **Isambard** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 7:32 am

Well to compare Half-life and Halo isn't very fair since one has about 3 years on the other. And now you're comparing Half-life with Halo 2 so now Half-life has aged about 5 years.

I love both games to death but I have to say this: I've never put more hours into a FPS than I did Halo, and I'm a literal computer freak about FPS games. I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of DOOM III in stores as we speak.

Popcorn, you're a mad self-loving maniac, so I'm going to ignore anything you said that was bad about Halo. I had a particular love for the storyline, and not in that broad scheme of things. I mean, c'mon, it's about a cyborg badass taking on an entire race himself. That's pretty much how all FPS games are set up. But the little side-line wisecracks between him and Cortana or the way the Marines argue and shout to each other gave the game a certain flair that I grew to appreciate.

And Halo also didn't take itself too seriously, if you didn't notice. Like the jackass alien comments they make when you throw grenades on them and they run off screaming "NOT AGAIN!" or when they manage to kill you with a lucky shot and they pause for a second and go, "...It...It dies?!?"

Halo, by far, was one of the most awe inspiring games I've ever played in the FPS format. They took a little bit of everything to make this game something spectacular, and from what I heard from E3, Halo 2 is going to blow the original right out of the water.

Even those hardasses over at Penny-Arcade are giving it due credit this time around.

And you can't tell me that Halo finally made one of the workable co-op modes. Not to mention an amazingly fun multiplayer setup.

...however Halo for the PC blew horribly and I only tried it 3 times before I finally gave up hope of ever liking that version.

And like I said: Half-life and Halo, both great games, but not really all that alike in terms of story unless you count it having aliens. Then you have to include every sci-fi game in the world in the mix too.

In other words: omfg lighten up!

plasticwingsband · Post by **plasticwingsband** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 10:42 am

Meh. While the whole hoax thing seems rather cool, I never really liked Halo all that much. I mean, it's fun for multiplayer, but pretty much everyone with an Xbox already has it, so I see no point to buying it. Back before I sold my mine (Xbox, that is), I think I was the only Xbox owner in the U.S. who didn't own a copy of Halo.

Halo 2 looks fun for the same reason, but it's pretty much a guarantee that I won't spend any money on it.

Light Speed · Post by **Light Speed** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 5:37 pm

Nah, I didn't buy Halo for my Xbox for a long time. I had played it so much at friends houses that by the time I got my Xbox I decided I didn't need it... at least not for 50 bucks. Finally last August I decided to get it. Go figure it dropped to 30 quite shortly after that. I think they were waiting for me to buy it. Bastards. The multiplayer is all fun and good, I've had my fair share of Halo parties with my 70 foot cat 5, but I think they game really shines with the co-op. I never get bored of playing the same missions over and over with a friend. They better have co-op on Xbox Live or I am going to be angered.

Speaking of which, do any of you guys have Xbox Live, and if you do what is your gamertags?

Post by **Popcorn** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 5:45 pm

I'm Popcorn Duff (always the last resort in nickname stakes). I played PSO for a long while, but I fear I won't be Live-active again until Halo 2 and Outrun come out.

Dache · Post by **Dache** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 5:53 pm

I'm Dache. Well, I think -- the credit card I used for it ran out ages ago and MS have stopped sending me "reregister plz" emails, so I might have lost it if an imposter joined up.

Argent Silver · Post by **Argent Silver** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 6:05 pm

...however Halo for the PC blew horribly and I only tried it 3 times before I finally gave up hope of ever liking that version.

I actually liked it quite well. And I've pretty much given up on playing any console FPS just because the controls are so retarded compared to the good old mouse and keyboard.

Ash Holt · Post by **Ash Holt** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 7:07 pm

I like Halo for the PC; it's the same damn thing, plus an online multiplayer mode. Granted, the port is pretty shitty, not that it is buggy, but mainly that it doesn't run nearly as smooth as it should.

HaloCE is pretty phat. The homebrewed maps and weapons are phat, like the Needler Grenade and such.

Light Speed · Post by **Light Speed** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 9:28 pm

Eww, I hate using a keyboard. I don't get what everyones problem is with the dual joysticks? Mouses almost make it cheap to aim if you ask me.

Segata · Post by **Segata** » Tue Jul 27, 2004 11:48 am

This has got to be the craziest hype I've ever read about. Surely, this will go down in gaming history. Bungie must really know their audience if they expected people to dig this stuff up.

BlazeHedgehog · Post by **BlazeHedgehog** » Tue Jul 27, 2004 10:12 pm

I've only played Halo for the PC, actually. I only played it for like, 30 seconds on a cousin's Xbox ONCE, but I've gone through and completed the whole game on the PC version.

It's amazing how awful the level design is, and yet you never really notice it until the last hour so of the game (or on your replay).

Post by **Esrever** » Wed Jul 28, 2004 12:52 am

Yeah, I really didn't enjoy Halo's one-player mode at all.

The multiplayer mode was a blast, but I still don't see what all the fuss is about. I mean, I guess it's pretty damn good compared to most console shooters, but I've played a lot of PC shooters over the years, and I guess I just find it hard to see what makes Halo's multiplayer mode so especially wonderful. HMM!

Post by **Segaholic2** » Wed Jul 28, 2004 1:06 am

I completely agree with Esrever. Halo has got to be one of the most overrated games of the last decade. I don't care what everyone else says, the single-player campaign sucked, and the co-op mode wasn't enough to make up for it. The multi-player was pretty good, but only decent at best when compared to the other (far more superior) shooters on PC.

Brazillian Cara · Post by **Brazillian Cara** » Thu Aug 12, 2004 4:04 pm

I hate bees. I really do. Hey, where did you got that avatar of Maria making a "haircut" on Shadow?

Post by **Esrever** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 1:13 am

OH GOD THEY'RE DOING IT AGAIN