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[Lady Jane]

I'm 2 hours in CE and here are my takes

You must be a game reviewer.

 

[tygertrip]

i get feeling that halo's gameplay is a bit slow in comparison to something like quake 2, but quake only has indoor corridors with lines of dumb, simple enemies
Halo's got massive, wide and open (beautiful too i should mention) environments and enemies that are actually smart and aren't just there to take your gunshots, not to mention how completely free the gameplay is, you could do anything with the resources you were given in this game, and the maps were perfect for that too as they were big enough to encourage experimentation. It was the first true 'sandbox fps' before games like bioshock and Far cry would come along, which frankly didn't do it was well

not to mention that the story and lore are extremely in depth and well written, far beyond any half life game if i'm being frank

people talk about multiplayer and allat, and that's an amazing reason as to why its beloved as well, the amount of gameplay and possibilities that are made from forge is endless, and the base gameplay and maps are good enough for indepth competitive play

i frankly just think it's the type of game not really meant for you, you seem to prefer the fast, technical gameplay that quake offers, and that's one of my favorite styles too

you shouldn't force yourself to finish it if you're currently not liking it, if it doesnt grab you just drop it

I pretty much agree about the single player. The multiplayer is slow-ass and dumbed down compared to something like Quake 3 though. Good for the kiddies, I guess.
Edit: I meant Halo 1 mp. I think Infinite’s mp is awesome.

 

[Calverz]

Combat evolved was exactly that back in the day. It was amazing and the multiplayer was exceptional.

 

[gaming_again]

I grew up playing FPS games on the PC and I still thought Halo was the greatest ever. The shield mechanics, the limited weapons rule, the music and atmosphere, the lore, the relatively free-form levels and most of all the split screen campaign mode were God-tier. Also the (Legendary?) difficulty setting…

PC gamers who act as though console gamers were late to the party scrubs are total fakers. Halo was a total beast.

And then the franchise dies imo. Halo 2 was such a letdown.

 

[Inuteu]

thanks god I played most of these back in the day

today they would be totaly unplayable 4 me

 

[Graciaus]

CE doesn't hold up today as much. But 2, 3, and Reach are all great.

 

[dcx4610]

It's a game where you need to take into account when it was released. The world feels "empty" because rich, detailed open zones like the ones Halo had weren't really common back when Halo was released. Just look at the games you've mentioned: All phenomenal games mind you, but all of them feature somewhat tight levels. They're mostly corridor shooters. The fact that Halo featured such wide open areas was quite unusual, especially on a console.

As for the weapons and the fact that you have to empty full clips: There might be a chance that you're not playing the game right, which is understandable, as the game doesn't do a great job explaining how it works. Halo has a lot of different weapons, but there are two main categories: Plasma weapons and regular weapons that use bullets. Plasma weapons are stronger against shields and regular weapons are stronger against enemies without shields. Lowering an enemy's shield also makes them vulnerable to headshots with your pistol. Ideally, you'll want to lower enemies shield with a plasma based weapon and then switch to a bullet type weapon for more damage. This concept is expanded upon in the sequels.

There is partly truth to this, but I do think you're selling the game a little short. It's absolutely true that Halo's legacy has a lot to do with the fact that it "solved" FPS on consoles,but there's plenty of other innovations that Halo either started or perfected. Concept like a shield that regens, or its two weapon system. It has several different vehicles, both on the ground and in the air that feel intertwined with the core gameplay and not a "vehicle section" like you see in most FPS. The story and its setting are pretty well done too, by 2001 standards anyway.

I actually wasn't aware of the plasma/bullet mechanic or the 2 weapon limit. I'm glad I'm only 2 hours instead of playing the entire game and never knowing. That certainly will things more interesting. I'm not sure how I feel about the constant weapon swapping but maybe it'll be fun. I will right off the bat though, that's another knock for the game not even attempting to explain that mechanic. I don't need a tutorial but a cut scene, a log file, SOMETHING should explain that.

 

[remake98]

the big flat surfaces with a lot of bump mapping to fake details

Are you not old enough to play this the day it came out? Bump mapping in 2001 was amazing and I would be in awe of seeing "3d" textures.

 

[remake98]

Are you not old enough to play this the day it came out? Bump mapping in 2001 was amazing and I would be in awe of seeing "3d" textures.

Just to add to this because I can't edit... I realise this wasn't new or exclusive to halo, I'm just confused at dumping on bump mapping.

 

[Guilhermegrg]

Same here. Only played in on PC after 2010 I think. I mean coming from quake, unreal tournament, tribes, Battlefield, half life, FEAR and such.... I wasn't memorable.

I understand it's one of those things that you had to be there back then to understand.

The only things I remember liking were the music, and that the game felt polished.

 

[Bonfires Down]

I don’t have an issue with the gameplay itself, though I understand it will feel slow coming from PC shooters. But the level design is a bit of a disaster.

 

[BlackTron]

The original on PC is one of my favorite game experiences of all time...of course I'm talking about the mp but I also really enjoyed the campaign on Legendary. No other Halo even comes close to how much fun I had with it. But I want the original version back, not the MCC version that made a bunch of changes I don't like.

 

[Haggard]

It was one of those "play it and forget it"-games.
I liked it and finished it, but I can´t say it stayed in my mind past the ending credits. The Soundtrack though kinda lingered for a while.
From that time Alien vs Predator 2 and Tribes 2 left a much longer lasting impression on me.

 

[01011001]

Halo Infinite was the first one I played. I had always thought I'd hate the franchise.

It turns out, I was correct.

Halo Infinite is a piece of hot dogshit and not representative of the good installments

 

[Fuz]

I can already feel the heat of the flames. A little background - I decided that I was going to do a big "History of FPS Games" marathon on PC. Some of these games I have played, some of these I haven't and some I just used cheat codes on as a kid and just messed around with them. This time, I actually wanted to go through, play and beat the campaign of all of the major FPS games in chronological order.

So far, that has consisted of the following:

Wolfenstein 3D > Wolfenstein 3D Spear of Destiny > DOOM > Heretic > DOOM II > Hexen > Rise of the Triad > Duke Nukem 3D > Daikatana > Hexen 2 > Quake > Quake II > Unreal > Quake III > Unreal Tournament > Half-Life > Half-Life: Opposing Force > Half-Life: Blue Shift

(Some of these are out of order because I couldn't remember the release date. If I missed any big ones, let me know and I'll play them. I still have tons more to go. I've played and beat all of the Call of Duty games so I didn't included them in this run)

And that brings me to Halo: Combat Evolved and...I just don't get it. I'm 2 hours in and I can acknowledge that the graphics are good and a nice leap in tech and quality from Half-Life but the gameplay... It's so slow, so boring, the enemies are goofy and make cutesy noise, the weapons have zero impact, you empty full clips before the enemy dies, the world feels empty and there's very little music. Coming from all of these other games and especially something like Quake 3 and even Quake 2, the pacing is like molasses. Half-Life is story-driven and is still tense and chaotic at times.

I'm guessing if you were a console player and you've never gotten to experience a FPS before, it was probably pretty mind blowing and and having to use a controller is why the gameplay is slow to compensate. Playing it back to back after these other FPS games on PC though, man is it struggle. I will finish it but as of now, I think it might be the most overhyped game in video game history.

What say you GAF? Why is Halo so beloved? Is it just because of nostalgia and it being the first FPS for a lot of people? It amazed me going through this marathon at how well some of these games hold up. Heretic and Hexen were absolutely phenomenal and I couldn't wait to get back into the game the next day to keep playing. Daikatana not so much and Rise of the Triad aged horribly. Other than that, all of the other games have been excellent and it's clear to see why they are special. Halo though, I'm struggling...

It's controversial but it's correct.

Babby's first FPS.

 

[01011001]

in a forum full of Sony fangirls it's not surprising that a surprising amount of people agree tbh

 

[skit_data]

Alien vs Predator 2

Yeah, AvP2 came 2 years before Halo CE on PC, which felt like an aeon in those days. It left a much bigger impression on me personally and was the first game that made me really get into multiplayer. It also had some big levels that you could approach from different angles. Didn’t have the vehicular combat though, but that was present in other games like BF 1942. I think it’s just many small things like that that made me feel Halo didn’t really do anything entirely new and mind blowing.

 

[nemiroff]

I was actually a pretty big Playstation fan (and PC) at the time and wanted to find out why people was excited about the shitty console gaming invaders MS, the shitty Xbox and the pure garbage Halo.. I went on a mission to buy the console and the game.. When starting to play it I honestly did a double take. The formula of Halo was fantastic! It took the essence of the best of FPS games, added some innovations, and the gameloop was better than anything on the market. It was one of the first time I felt like I could use actual strategy in fights, and every fight felt different. The AI system was top notch, and the game was challenging. The world building was unique, the enemies, the banter, music, storytelling... It was also one of the first times I felt the joy of playing a "true" sandbox game. The Silent Cartographer is still my favorite level in any game to date.

 

[Pelta88]

21 years ago Halo was incredible. I refuse to hear differently. That game's release was a moment in gaming history which set the stage for Halo 2.

OP's critique doesn't factor in the state of gaming at that time. Or the state of the Genre which Halo pushed to the forefront. This thread is the equivalent of looking back at the first Disney/Mickey Mouse animations and being like...

"Disney sucks."

 

[FireFly]

I can already feel the heat of the flames. A little background - I decided that I was going to do a big "History of FPS Games" marathon on PC. Some of these games I have played, some of these I haven't and some I just used cheat codes on as a kid and just messed around with them. This time, I actually wanted to go through, play and beat the campaign of all of the major FPS games in chronological order.

So far, that has consisted of the following:

Wolfenstein 3D > Wolfenstein 3D Spear of Destiny > DOOM > Heretic > DOOM II > Hexen > Rise of the Triad > Duke Nukem 3D > Daikatana > Hexen 2 > Quake > Quake II > Unreal > Quake III > Unreal Tournament > Half-Life > Half-Life: Opposing Force > Half-Life: Blue Shift

(Some of these are out of order because I couldn't remember the release date. If I missed any big ones, let me know and I'll play them. I still have tons more to go. I've played and beat all of the Call of Duty games so I didn't included them in this run)

And that brings me to Halo: Combat Evolved and...I just don't get it. I'm 2 hours in and I can acknowledge that the graphics are good and a nice leap in tech and quality from Half-Life but the gameplay... It's so slow, so boring, the enemies are goofy and make cutesy noise, the weapons have zero impact, you empty full clips before the enemy dies, the world feels empty and there's very little music. Coming from all of these other games and especially something like Quake 3 and even Quake 2, the pacing is like molasses. Half-Life is story-driven and is still tense and chaotic at times.

I'm guessing if you were a console player and you've never gotten to experience a FPS before, it was probably pretty mind blowing and and having to use a controller is why the gameplay is slow to compensate. Playing it back to back after these other FPS games on PC though, man is it struggle. I will finish it but as of now, I think it might be the most overhyped game in video game history.

What say you GAF? Why is Halo so beloved? Is it just because of nostalgia and it being the first FPS for a lot of people? It amazed me going through this marathon at how well some of these games hold up. Heretic and Hexen were absolutely phenomenal and I couldn't wait to get back into the game the next day to keep playing. Daikatana not so much and Rise of the Triad aged horribly. Other than that, all of the other games have been excellent and it's clear to see why they are special. Halo though, I'm struggling...

You're coming it from the PC angle of having multitudes of cannon fodder enemies you plough through as your health gradually goes down. Then after several encounters you get a health pack, and rinse and repeat. While Halo is all about putting you to the limit of death in every encounter because not only do you have shields, but your main antagonists have them too. So you can't just pick them off gradually but most go toe-to-toe with them. That trades encounter speed for intensity. Add in the grenades and melee and you get your 30 seconds of fun the series is built around. Notice, "30 seconds", not 5-10 seconds while you mow through enemies. As you said, Halo isn't a typical 90s shooter. It's designed to be an evolution of FPS combat. You may not like that evolution, but you can't deny what it does differently.

Personally, I got into Halo as a PC player in 2003 when the Gearbox port arrived. And at the time there wasn't anything on the PC that was comparable. I enjoyed CoD and AVP 2 and MoH and SoF 2 but none of these games have the combat loop of Halo.

 

[nkarafo]

Just to add to this because I can't edit... I realise this wasn't new or exclusive to halo, I'm just confused at dumping on bump mapping.

I'm not dumping on bump mapping, i'm dumping on big, flat surfaces with little geometry detail. Halo went for bigger but emptier maps.

 

[Dr.brain64]

Halo bungie = some of the best games I've ever played. I always play on console though.

 

[Tams]

I only really played Combat Evolved on the free trial version, which Microsoft kept the servers up for years.

For a kid who wasn't allowed to play 'war games' beyond Age of Empires, sneaking that in for free was fantastic. Add in that it was beyond most games in openness and freedom, bar WoW, PlanetSide two years later, and Battlefield 2 four years later... it was great.

Playing it at LAN parties at uni was also fun. It aged quite well, to be honest.

 

[bitbydeath]

Wolfenstein 3D > Wolfenstein 3D Spear of Destiny > DOOM > Heretic > DOOM II > Hexen > Rise of the Triad > Duke Nukem 3D > Daikatana > Hexen 2 > Quake > Quake II > Unreal > Quake III > Unreal Tournament > Half-Life > Half-Life: Opposing Force > Half-Life: Blue Shift

Where’s Soldier of Fortune 1 & 2?

 

[k_trout]

halo:ce was all about ctf for me, so much fun