Halo 3 and co-op

[Lost Metal]

I was a huge fan of Halo 1

After playing Halo 2 for awhile, I realized it sucked balls... My big sweaty balls to be exact.

I decided to look into Halo 3 tonight since it is coming out soon and I noticed it has

4-player online Co-Op!

That sounds pretty rockin I think, and even if the game blows, and it probably will...

I hope the massive popularity of the Halo Franchise inspires the gaming industry to start making more Co-Op games!

 

[Kyuu]

So... the point of this thread is to say you hate Halo 2, and you like online co-op. Great? What exactly is the topic of discussion? That co-op is teh roxorz?

 

[mr. pastorius]

Halo sucks balls. Big time. I've played the first game just to see what the whole fuss was about. I felt insulted after finishing it. It was linear and recycled to the extent that I couldn't stand playing it for more than half an hour in one session.
Ugh.

 

[victor]

Does it haev 4 player offline coop?

Besides, the graphics really suck, they almost look as old as Halo 1.

 

[MrBumble]

Halo sucks balls. Big time. I've played the first game just to see what the whole fuss was about. I felt insulted after finishing it. It was linear and recycled to the extent that I couldn't stand playing it for more than half an hour in one session.
Ugh.

Did you play it in 2001 ? Because it didn't exactly sucked balls at the time.

 

[Serge 13]

the first Halo was a good FPS but the second part was kinda Boring compared to the first part.
as for Halo 3 ,guess it will be out on pc when microsoft have released their newest Windows

 

[mr. pastorius]

Did you play it in 2001 ? Because it didn't exactly sucked balls at the time.

Yeah, I've played it then as well, but not completely. Honestly, back then I thought it was great (mainly because of the graphics and all the hype that rose around the entire game), but when I play it now, it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
If a game is truly great, it will be able to entertain you years after its release, not only for several months.

 

[Serge 13]

If a game is truly great, it will be able to entertain you years after its release, not only for several months.

Thats Fallout alright !

 

[generalissimofurioso]

I just find it incredibly funny that the game is essentially going to be Marathon 0.

Rampant AI? Check

Dual Wielding Shotguns? Check

Flamethrower? Check

Readable Terminals? Check

Wierd storyline involving ancient aliens and a secret thingamajig that will most likely end with humanity being saved at the last second?

Check, Check and Double-Check

Gentlemen, welcome to the far flung future of the year 1996!

 

[MrBumble]

If a game is truly great, it will be able to entertain you years after its release, not only for several months.

Well...I give you that. I can't play Halo either now but back when it was released I really enjoyed it. Never really played Halo 2 since it seemed to be exactly as Halo 1, but three years later. Probably won't play Halo 3 either.

 

[Kyuu]

Rampant AI? Check

While it's fairly obvious that a lot of the AI theory they use is common between Marathon and Halo, I dunno where you get your information that there's a rampant AI. There's speculation that Cortana will go rampant, but that's all it is. Nothing has actually been revealed about the story.

Dual Wielding Shotguns? Check

Again, dunno where you get your information. I've seen previews of Halo 3 that mention the shotgun, and there's zero mention of dual-wield for it. It looks like a two-hander to me.

Flamethrower? Check

What about it? They're not allowed to use any of the same sorts of weapons? It's not even going to work exactly the same.

Readable Terminals? Check

Dunno where you got that from either. There have never been readable terminals in the Halo games. The terminals in Marathon were the main vehicle thorugh which the story was revealed.

Wierd storyline involving ancient aliens and a secret thingamajig that will most likely end with humanity being saved at the last second?

This has nothing at all to do with Marathon or Marathon 2's story line, except for the "ancient" aliens, although there was no parallel to the Forerunners in Marathon, if that's what you're implying. Dunno about Marathon Infinity, I never finished it.

Gentlemen, welcome to the far flung future of the year 1996!

Yeah, coming from someone who played the hell out of the Marathon games, I don't see where you're coming from, asides from the obvious fact that it was made by the same company and there are a few obvious parallels. They're not at all the same game though.

 

[generalissimofurioso]

While it's fairly obvious that a lot of the AI theory they use is common between Marathon and Halo, I dunno where you get your information that there's a rampant AI. There's speculation that Cortana will go rampant, but that's all it is. Nothing has actually been revealed about the story.

I was speculating on this one, but knowing Bungie, odds are good it's going to be a major factor in the story.

Again, dunno where you get your information. I've seen previews of Halo 3 that mention the shotgun, and there's zero mention of dual-wield for it. It looks like a two-hander to me.

New weapon called the Mauler, essentially dual-wielded shotguns

What about it? They're not allowed to use any of the same sorts of weapons? It's not even going to work exactly the same.

That is true, but I still find it funny that the've said they wanted a flamethrower in Halo since the beginning.

Dunno where you got that from either. There have never been readable terminals in the Halo games. The terminals in Marathon were the main vehicle thorugh which the story was revealed.

The achievement list for Halo 3 include a peculiarly named entry titled 'Marathon Man' which is rewarded for reading all the terminals in the game.

This has nothing at all to do with Marathon or Marathon 2's story line, except for the "ancient" aliens, although there was no parallel to the Forerunners in Marathon, if that's what you're implying. Dunno about Marathon Infinity, I never finished it.

The Jjaro, they played a pivotal role in Marathon Inifinty and they even go back to Bungie's Pathways Into Darkness, where a Jjaro was trapped underneath a Mayan pyramid.

Yeah, coming from someone who played the hell out of the Marathon games, I don't see where you're coming from, asides from the obvious fact that it was made by the same company and there are a few obvious parallels. They're not at all the same game though.

My statements were made in the opinion that Bungie is finally approaching what they accomplished with the Marathon series, which is a good thing...

Though it does baffle me why it took so long for them to do it.

 

[Stag]

There's a flamethrower in the PC version of Halo.

 

[Kyuu]

New weapon called the Mauler, essentially dual-wielded shotguns

Really? Hrm, haven't seen any mention of that weapon. There an online source?
]quote]That is true, but I still find it funny that the've said they wanted a flamethrower in Halo since the beginning.[/quote]
I'm sure they did; after all, the flamethrower was a fun weapon in Marathon.

The achievement list for Halo 3 include a peculiarly named entry titled 'Marathon Man' which is rewarded for reading all the terminals in the game.

*Resists impulse to roll eyes at the very mention of achievements* Also news to me. Where do you get this stuff?

The Jjaro, they played a pivotal role in Marathon Inifinty and they even go back to Bungie's Pathways Into Darkness, where a Jjaro was trapped underneath a Mayan pyramid.

Ah yes, true, the Jjaro. I even played a little of Pathways Into Darkness (it was frustratingly damn hard though). However, if I remember correctly, the Jjaro were more rather god-like (the monsters in the temple in Pathways being a result of him being halfway between awake and asleep). The Forerunners, though obviously absurdly technologically advanced, don't seem to be in the same vein. There's even the speculation (with good evidence) that they were humans.

My statements were made in the opinion that Bungie is finally approaching what they accomplished with the Marathon series, which is a good thing...

I admit I did take your post as detracting. I'm still not sure whether you like Halo or the original Marathon series. I won't deny either that Halo does parallel in many ways (starting with a super-soldier in Mjolnir armor), but Halo feels very different to me. Plus hey, there were puzzle elements in Marathon! Not much of that in Halo.

 

[maximaz]

Halo is a good game. Lot's of hype but a lot of it deserved. I didn't like it when I played it back in 2001 but I didn't pay attention to the chatter during the game so I thought it had no story. After I replayed it later on, I really got into it. The story is actually pretty good for the type of game and the whole halo thing is very cool. The action sequences where you fight armies in big open areas are lots of fun. And it scores big points for split screen from me as well.

Halo 2 was ok but not terrible. I'm sure Halo 3 will be great though, there is nothing that I've seen or heard about it so far that I don't like. I don't see why people say the graphics are bad either, I think they look great. Not as good as some games maybe but still pretty damn good and unlike Gears of War and MGS4 it's actually in color. The action sequences look as crazy and intense as the first Halo's too. If you liked Halo, what more could you want?

 

[Thrawn]

Fun vehicles + co-op = better than average FPS.

First off, vehicles in Halo were beyond awesome, some of the most fun in any FPS. Infact I can't think of any game off the top of my head that it felt as badass ass to go flying across the terrain in.

Secondly, More games need Co-Op, period. Noting is as fun as working together with a friend to blow the shit out of some aliens.

I thought the story in Halo was pretty good. It totaly caught me by superise that there were actually 3 alien enemies. I thought the culture behind the main enemy was pretty good, even though it was a little standard religious warrior stuff.

I think Halo gets bad "hindsight" because it was so hyped, changed so much, and in the end was pretty much just an FPS but overall it was a pretty damn fun game.

I would pick the game up just for the 4 player co-op... if I wanted an X-Box 360... which I don't.

 

[xdarkyrex]

On what I think is the main subjects of this thread--


Halo was fantastic at the time it came out, the massive scripted battles and duck and cover combat style on legendary was absolutely superb, but even I admit it does not stand the test of time.

Halo 2... better in some ways, but those improvements are overshadowed by a vast number of complaints with the game, such as english speaking aliens and playing as the arbiter. While the dual wield in the game felt cheesy, it was terribly fun regardless, I loved having a plasma pistol and a normal pistol for shield destroying + headshot. And the new race of aliens, the bugs and brutes, were rather interesting and enjoyable, as well as the civil war among the covenant that spiced up the gameplay and added even more chaos to a messy war. Some complaints about the game though were the blatant disregard for halo weapon canon, the enemy snipers on legendary, and some awkward settings.



As for co-op games--
Love them to death, I go through them faster than I go through changes of clothes. Nothing is nearly as fun as a co-op game for me, and that is perhaps the greatest appeal to console gaming for me.

 

[Kyuu]

Halo was fantastic at the time it came out, the massive scripted battles and duck and cover combat style on legendary was absolutely superb, but even I admit it does not stand the test of time.

Agree 95%... I still like to play Halo (on my PC) once in a while. A lot of the battles and levels still feel more fun than many of those in Halo 2.

Halo 2... better in some ways, but those improvements are overshadowed by a vast number of complaints with the game, such as english speaking aliens and playing as the arbiter. While the dual wield in the game felt cheesy, it was terribly fun regardless, I loved having a plasma pistol and a normal pistol for shield destroying + headshot. And the new race of aliens, the bugs and brutes, were rather interesting and enjoyable, as well as the civil war among the covenant that spiced up the gameplay and added even more chaos to a messy war. Some complaints about the game though were the blatant disregard for halo weapon canon, the enemy snipers on legendary, and some awkward settings.

Again, agree 95%. I never minded playing the as the Arbiter as much as most seem too (though I was one of those weird ones who didn't mind playing as Raiden in MGS2). Plus, the Arbiter's fleeting optical-camo ability is a bit more useful, generally, than Master Chief's flashlight. I also like to play multiplayer as an Elite. I'm a weird one though.

I'm actually playing through legendary again on Halo 2 (I never quite beat it on legendary, and I want to remedy that before Halo 3 comes out, though that's probably not going to happen). The snipers are the absolute worst... one shot kills, and, being the computer, they're painfully accurate at absurd range and they don't need time to aim.

As for the guns, I definitely miss the old Magnum. Halo 2's was just not as much fun, nor nearly as useful (except in combination with the plasma pistol, but the SMG is better in the capacity of mowing people down after draining their shields except at long distances). Also, as you stated, it conflicts with their own established gun lore for no good reason. Sure, the old Magnum was overpowered in multiplayer, but I think many developers just need to get used to the idea that weapons may need to be balanced differently in multiplayer than they are in singleplayer for best effect.

As for co-op games--
Love them to death, I go through them faster than I go through changes of clothes. Nothing is nearly as fun as a co-op game for me, and that is perhaps the greatest appeal to console gaming for me.

Co-op is definitely great, when well-implemented in the right game. Wouldn't necessarily be a great thing in just any game, any more than multiplayer is. They could certainly do online co-op for PC games in the future, so it's not necessarily going to always be a console-exclusive thing.

 

[xdarkyrex]

For me the joy of co-op games is the out of game social experience of sitting next to a friend and hammering our way through some epic or cheesy game, with no regard to the game quality, only to our own inside jokes and silly meandering conversations as we put bullets in enemy skulls or whatever.

 

[Kyuu]

For me the joy of co-op games is the out of game social experience of sitting next to a friend and hammering our way through some epic or cheesy game, with no regard to the game quality, only to our own inside jokes and silly meandering conversations as we put bullets in enemy skulls or whatever.

True, that is the appeal of a co-op in many ways (which isn't something PC online co-op can replicate), but still. Better to have all that while playing a game that's actually enjoyable, yes?

Not to underestimate the enjoyment that a bad game can produce, similar to when I used to watch bad movies with my friends just for the fun of ragging on it the whole way through (and the precept on which Mystery Science Theater 3000 was based, of course... man I miss that show).