AuthorTopic: Official Off-Topic Thread  (Read 244073 times)

Offline huZba

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 409
  • Karma: +1/-0
    • MekaSkull
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/19396.htm
    • huzba
    • View Profile

Re: Official Off-Topic Thread

Reply #450 on: May 20, 2007, 02:39:14 pm
In a nutshell: Run n' gun. Shoot things and they die. Occasionally hide if someone shoots back and hits.
What i like is how all the weapons are just as useful, you just use them in a different way, which changes how you approach different situations. Also sneak and melee attacks give some change of pace to the gunningggg.
Other than that i can't find individual features that would make it great, it's just solid all around and very accessible for anyone. Everything in the game is kind of neutral in a way, so it doesn't make anyone go EWWW on things, kinda like if you ask someone if you like rocks. No-one will go, EWW I HATE ROCKS they're so UGLY.

I prefer things less neon and blocky tho, unless it's a transformers game. Didn't finish Halo 1 or 2 btw. Picked both up, played for a while(maybe halfway?) and once i put them down i forgot i had them.

Offline Rox

  • 0011
  • **
  • Posts: 591
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Official Off-Topic Thread

Reply #451 on: May 20, 2007, 04:56:20 pm
Oh, there are many more features than that. But as I probably said (I'm not gonna read everything I wrote again!), it takes a while to identify Halo's little details that make it so good.

One is the randomized enemies. You won't realize it until you've played a level so many times you know every room by heart. THEN you start realizing that things aren't what you thought, you need to adapt your tactics, and everything goes to hell because you thought you knew exactly how to beat the game. A select few parts of the environments also have a bit of random to them. The last stone bridge on Assault on the Control Room has rocks on it that change places every time you reload the level.

There's also the rechargable shield, like I said, that ensures that you enter every fight with a fresh start. No more getting killed by the weakest enemies just because you had a hard time with the previous room. In Halo 1 this is slightly less so because of the health, but the shields still do a lot to increase the tempo in the game. Which is good.

Another feature that I haven't seen any other games of the type do is the headshot thing. Also expanded a lot upon in Halo 2. Certain weapons can kill an unshielded enemy with one headshot, no matter what enemy. In Halo 2 those weapons are the Battle Rifle, Carbine, Magnum and both the sniper weapons. Many games have extra damage to enemies for headshots, but Halo does it so very differently. You can take out the strongest Elite's shields with a plasma pistol overcharge, then just pick up the pistol and put ONE bullet in his head and he drops, despite being prevously completely unharmed, health-wise.

There's also quite a bit of open-endedness in some levels. More than you believe if you've only played the game one or two times. Especially on Assault on the Control Room and Silent Cartographer; easily my two favorite levels. There's a spot where you get a tank to drive around in and mow through everything, which is what one simply WILL do the first couple of times. But if you play it again, try snatching an enemy Ghost instead. Or even better, go on foot. Back then, it was unique for a game to do that. Usually in traditional first person shooters, if there is a vehicle around, you HAVE to take it.

Now I'll stop talking again. I need to eat something...

Offline huZba

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 409
  • Karma: +1/-0
    • MekaSkull
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/19396.htm
    • huzba
    • View Profile

Re: Official Off-Topic Thread

Reply #452 on: May 20, 2007, 07:13:50 pm
Heh, i play games so much based on gut feel so i wouldn't notice randomizing, cause i always go to every situation as it were a place i've never been to. It's like what they say about car accidents. People do more mistakes in places they know, cause they THINK they know it and then something unexpected happens. That they teach in the military. Expect the unexpected even if it was your own home.

 The shield thing is good for console FPS and it was a very good idea. In Resistance they made that feature better by not filling up all the health, but rather if you lose over than a quarter of health, that's it, that quarter isn't coming back until you find a health pack. It's good to have some fear of dying in a game. The headshot thing has been pretty standard for ages. I think i've seen it at least as far back as Shogo way before Halo. Score a critical on an enemy on any weapon and it either kills or does a whole lot of damage.

The one thing that does bring up some kind of emotion in halo2 is the soundtrack, it's awesome. Everything else is kinda umm.. how would i put it. I don't hate it or like it, it's just a complete flatline, not making me want to play it more but nothing that would make me stop it right away. I can see why it's a commercial success tho. It has a lot of appeal for young people, at least that's how i see it, since majority of halo fans i know are really young and the online players tend to be underage as well. Probably partly due to the anonymity of master chief. He won't turn away people with too much manliness or too much gayness (or just too much predefined character) like a lot of japanese gamecharacters (Dante in DMC3 and Vaan in Final Fantasy 12 for example. Personally i like them)

I'm really hoping for Halo 3 to expand on what it's established so far, in other fields than just graphics and bigger levels. Maybe it'll give a few beeps for my heart monitor  :P

From other console fps games Gears of War has this level of american badassery, which is fun, at least if you play really aggressive, while Resistance has British badassery and quite original weaponry.

Offline Cow

  • 0011
  • **
  • Posts: 528
  • Karma: +1/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Official Off-Topic Thread

Reply #453 on: May 20, 2007, 07:21:33 pm
Quote
The shield thing is good for console FPS and it was a very good idea. In Resistance they made that feature better by not filling up all the health, but rather if you lose over than a quarter of health, that's it, that quarter isn't coming back until you find a health pack.
That's what they have in Halo 1 if I remember correctly, there's an indicator above that shows your 'real' health, and below it is your shield meter, if your shield is damaged (fully), your real health goes down. I think they removed that in Halo 2, however.

Offline huZba

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 409
  • Karma: +1/-0
    • MekaSkull
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/19396.htm
    • huzba
    • View Profile

Re: Official Off-Topic Thread

Reply #454 on: May 20, 2007, 07:38:55 pm
Yeah i remember that now, my bad. Gotta pick up that wireless adapter for 360 to test Halo 3 beta. I haven't played halo multiplayer before, so better be ready for getting whooped. Anyway, out of the upcoming console FPS games bioshock looks most promising as well as The Darkness. I gathered that in The Darkness you're some kind of evil bad guy doing evli bad things with these evil bad darkness things.

Offline chigsam

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 160
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Official Off-Topic Thread

Reply #455 on: May 20, 2007, 07:58:55 pm
How i wish i had a xbox 360  :yell: i so wanna have halo 3! my brother just sold his Wii. i thought he was going to buy the 360 with it guess not... Car parts instead. :P

Offline .TakaM

  • 0100
  • ***
  • Posts: 1178
  • Karma: +1/-0
    • View Profile
    • Fetch Quest

Re: Official Off-Topic Thread

Reply #456 on: May 21, 2007, 12:15:32 pm
about a week ago, my friends were asking me if the metroid prime games were any good, so I showed them a video review, and they were like "damn, they still look good, even for today"
I decided to play them again, and to be honest I've forgotten a lot of both games, the memories I do have; have kinda merged, and then been kinda overwiped by metroid prime hunters.

So, I just finished Metroid Prime, such an awesome game.. a lot easier than I remembered, though to be fair I didn't play it in hard mode :P

now onto echoes :)
Life without knowledge is death in disguise

Offline AdamAtomic

  • 0100
  • ***
  • Posts: 1188
  • Karma: +0/-0
  • natural born medic
    • View Profile
    • Adam Atomic

Re: Official Off-Topic Thread

Reply #457 on: May 21, 2007, 03:58:37 pm
that's funny taka i had kind of the same experience (with prime 1, NOT prime 2).  When it first came out I was a little underwhelmed - it was pretty but the gameplay didn't really grab me.  But I sat down with it almost a year later, and WOW, what a game!  Pretty easy (except for that Omega Pirate, though I think I was fighting him wrong anyways), but boy I love the atmosphere, and the art direction is phenomenal!

Offline .TakaM

  • 0100
  • ***
  • Posts: 1178
  • Karma: +1/-0
    • View Profile
    • Fetch Quest

Re: Official Off-Topic Thread

Reply #458 on: May 22, 2007, 03:10:22 am
yah, omega pirate was the only boss that killed me :
I think I was just a bit under-powered, ridley and the metroid prime were a lot easier than I remembered.
and to be fair, my brothers 100% save on hard mode is still there, so I had a go at Metroid Prime and I beat.. her? on my second try :y:
Life without knowledge is death in disguise

Offline Gil

  • 0100
  • ***
  • Posts: 1543
  • Karma: +1/-0
  • Too square to be hip
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/475.htm
    • View Profile
    • My Portfolio

Re: Official Off-Topic Thread

Reply #459 on: May 22, 2007, 04:41:03 pm
DANCE DANCE GABBA GOAT!

http://www.crazymum.com/goat.htm