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Halo PC; godly game or overated crap?
Topic Started: Dec 27 2004, 10:42 PM (523 Views)
Demolisher
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Well a couple of weeks ago I picked up Halo for the PC and last night I finally had long enough to play through and complete it, and I was left feeling very disapointed considering all the hype it got. Possible MAJOR spoilers and spelling mistakes a plenty ahead. so don't post moaning about that.
















Story
Well this starts out fairly promising, with the basis of the story being that Master Chief has to protect Cortana, the AI system of the Pillar of Autumn from falling into the hands/claws/tenticles of the Covenant. Everyone crash lands on Halo and Master Chief rounds up most of the survivors and sets about finding out more about Halo. Nows when it starts getting daft by introducing the Flood, I.E. Zombie type aliens that use other lifeforms as food and hosts from what I could understand, something we see in just about every Sci-Fi FPS game going, its the same old shit. You have a total of 4 faction going at it in this game, Humans, Covenant, Flood and Sentinals, but the humans are pretty much all dead by the half way point of the game, barring Master Chief and the crew of Foehammer. In order to stop all these alien races getting to earth Chief and Cortana decide to blow up Halo. Cool and all, but again same old same old. Does anyone else think the story was too cliche and way too much like other Sci-Fi based FPS games?

Gameplay
One thing that lets Halo stand out here are the Vehicles, it offers 5 different Vehicles that you get to control at some point or other, Warthogs, Ghosts, Banshees, Scorpians, and at stretch, Covenant Gun Turrets. This was one of the first good games that actually allowed so many vehicles to be used that were intergrated in with normal gameplay and are actually easy to control. Sure there are the Battlefield games and the like, but most airborne vehicles were a pain in the ass to master. So yeah the inclusion of Vehicles was a good idea.

But then we have the AI, for the covenant this was superbly done, with the exception of the Hunters who just run around shooting and crushing things. The Covenant will take cover, run from grenades and run away if you decimate their forces too badly, they even dive out of the way of Vehicles. The Sentinals aren't too bad either, they float in groups and concentrate fire on one target at a time. Then we get the Marines, these are meant to be crack elite soldiers, but Gunners don't shoot targets until you drive right up next to them and even then they rarely hit, even if your holding the vehicle perfectly still, foot soldiers just stand about doing nothing unless you lure Covenant forces right up next to them. The only time they seem to act even half way intelligent is in the opening level when most of the action is scripted because you have to get to the control room without a weapon.

Next up the flood, now this is just sad, all the flood do is swarm you most of the time, they never take cover, they always run/lurch in straight lines towards you, the only reason they are a problem most of the time is because theres so damn many of them that you run out of ammo before you've dropped them all. This is what you end up fighting mostly for the second half of the game, its sad really. The Flood, Sentinals and Covenant forces will all fight each other too, unless you get too close or fire off a shot, then they forget fighting each other and all come for you. On the level called the Last Run theres snow fields full of covenant and Flood forces duking it out, but the moment you fire a shot in the direction of the action the flood all run across the field towards you and the Covenant start using heavy weapons against you, forget the fact that the hunter was just crushing a horde of the head crab things or the zombies were tearing apart a lowly grunt, they all turn on Chief.

The selection of weapons isn't bad, the Covenant weapons are all plasma based things that can overheat if you shoot too much with them (veeeeeeery bad if your using a plasma rifle against a swarm of flood zombies) and the Marine weapons range from pistols to sniper rifles to shotguns to machine guns, with rocket launchers thrown in for good measure. Pretty average stuff across the board with the only inventive touch being the overheating covenant weapons, and Plasma grenades that can stick to enemies.

Multiplayer
Theres a large range of multiplayer maps, but they aren't that well balanced, with the exception of Blood Gultch or whatever its called the maps are either so big that large sections of them go unused or they're so small that everyone spawns next to each other. So you have one map that everyone uses alot and the rest that go unused. Theres a nasty bug in several of the maps where you can get out of a vehicle into a wall and then jump through it which is abused by alot of players. Plus most servers have friendly fire on as standard, Vehicles + Friendly fire is a huge mistake, you either get some wanker who moes down his whole team in a ghost as they spawn, or some arse who plant grenades on vehicles your driving so he can have it instead. So its hard to find a good server with decent players who don't kill you the moment you get within three feet of that warthog.

Sound
Now this game has some amazing music but most of the time you can't hear it because of the roar of engines and weapons and the screams and cries of the enemies. All in all the sounds are good, but most of the time theres that many different sounds going on that it just mutes everything out.

Graphics
Now these aren't bad for an old game, theres some nice character models, landscapes, water and lighting effects. No complaints on this end

So at the end of all that, I want to know why so many people cry out the praises of this game, when at the end of the day it comes out Average on most counts. Is it because it was the first console FPS that wasn't completely shite? or is there some other reason? It just doesnt seem like its all that worthy of the praise it gets.
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Hercule Pyro
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Plotwise, Halo actually extends beyond the game. The novels helps shape the universe. Compared to Half-Life, it actually has something approaching a decent plot.

And yes, it's a CONSOLE game. Just because it isn't optimised for the latest, greatest graphics card or has a physics engine that mirrors real life in every way doesn't mean it's crap. Throw in the fact it came out ages ago.

I like it. I don't think it's the greatest thing since sliced white - that belongs to Goldeneye, and it will do so forever. But compared to the majority of dodgy Japanese shite, the overrated "games of the year", and whatever shite Nintendo have thrown out this year, it's worth a play.
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Jeffk38uk
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While it doesnt completly revolutionise fps gaming, it does do well in many departments. Though i must say, the only real downpoint was the level while your trying to get through the library i believe its called and you go against wave upon wave of the Flood. A bit crap and boring really. Even the developers admitted to failing in ideas for that level. But other than that, its quite good really.
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Blitz
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the simple problem with halo on the pc is that if you have a anyway half decent pc (512 ram 2 gig processer a decent radeon or geforce card) then there are better titles out there.


I agree with your review. Very well argued and focuses on the problems which plague halo on the pc and not on the xbox.


to answer your question, its simple. The PC is the daddy and home of FPS (first person shooters) anything a console fps does in most cases the pc one can do it better.

What Halo had going for it was a arcade shooter with vehicles and ai squadmates, a great story and pretty graphics.

In most of those areas there are PC games which outdue it.

Vehicles -THe Battlefield games have amazing vehicles and while (as you pointed out) some are difficult to use (*cough* helicopters*) its the PC's ability to allow such diversity and complexity to its vehicles that beats halo's choice. Also Tribes and Tribes 2 had great vehicles...if unconventional.

AI Squadmates -Unreal 2, half life opposing force, Unreal Torunament, Quake 3, Medal Of honour. AI has been the most crucial element in FPS since 1998 and is constantly being pushed up and up with each new installment.

Great Story -Deus Ex. Simply amazing with in depth story and similar character development. IT sequel suffers greatly.

Pretty Graphics -The Unreal engine and Doom3 engine are amazing as is the new source engine.


most of the games i have named (Deus ex, Unreal Tournament, Half life, medal of honour) were released on the pc before Halo, and in specific areas they outperform halo. The only aspect (which you correctly pointed to) Halo was the forerunner in was its use of vehicles (though you could argue tribes2), but the battlefield games were quick on its heels.

Halo is a console game which was ported far too late over the pc which had bigger and prettier games on show. If released on pc at the same time as the console then maybe it would have made a bigger splash on the pc market. but it didnt.

Other reasons i will mention include:

-Halo is an arcade style first person shooter unlike any other arcade fps on the pc (serious sam and painkiller are the closest) most other pc fps tend to be a tad more complex or restricted.

-PC fans are begrudging lunatics who are still p*ssed at microsoft for buying up bungie and delaying its release on the pc for so long...to ensure its xbox exclusiveness. OR the majority of xbox owners (like myself) are pc owners who tired of waiting both the xbox just for halo.


overall i like Halo but the PC has better games for it.
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Demolisher
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Grand Master Eastwood,Dec 27 2004
10:49 PM
Plotwise, Halo actually extends beyond the game. The novels helps shape the universe. Compared to Half-Life, it actually has something approaching a decent plot.

And yes, it's a CONSOLE game. Just because it isn't optimised for the latest, greatest graphics card or has a physics engine that mirrors real life in every way doesn't mean it's crap. Throw in the fact it came out ages ago.

I like it. I don't think it's the greatest thing since sliced white - that belongs to Goldeneye, and it will do so forever. But compared to the majority of dodgy Japanese shite, the overrated "games of the year", and whatever shite Nintendo have thrown out this year, it's worth a play.

Don't get me wrong, I couldn't give a damn about physics engines and graphics cards, the only two games I regularly play are WW2 FPS's that are getting on a bit now, one of which is at least 4 years old, so physics don't mean nothing to me and as long as graphics aren't grotesquely eye burning I don't mind either. And I'm by no means a half life fan, I was just using that as a referance since it came out first and I saw alot of plot mirroring.

Its just I constantly saw people all over the place crying out how this game was "Teh bestest gaMe Everoz lolz!" but then I played it and while its by no means a terrible game, its just not as good as all the people I saw raving about it say it is.

and yes, most japanese and nintendo games that have been coming out for a long time have been mediocre, but thats a different topic :P
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Exu
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Halo is worth a play if you can, for the fun online (Though there is better), but for those with lower-end PC's, it's probably the best they get. Halo PC even runs badly on my computer, which is the definition of lower-end.

I would say that, while other titles can do better in certain errors, Halo is not a bad game in any such respect.
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Blitz
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Grand Master Eastwood,Dec 27 2004
10:49 PM
Plotwise, Halo actually extends beyond the game. The novels helps shape the universe. Compared to Half-Life, it actually has something approaching a decent plot.


plotwise half life and halo take different approaches and i dont think either is better just different.

Halo has a selection of recognisable characters, employs cutscenes and tells you the story.

Half-life though has you playing everything straight through gordon freeman's eyes, never a cut scene. Also the storyline is not told to you, you explore it. The world in Half life and half life 2 is much more interesting and involving then the halo universe because you explore it.


Though that does lead to problems, alot of people were complaining about half life 2 confusing them. But if they played half life 1 properly they should know that you really need to keep your eyes open and explore a bit to get the full picture.


Deus Ex is interesting because it strikes a middle ground between the two.


think of it as Halo is a big budget american blockbuster (nothing bad, great ride) and Half life 2 is the snotty arthouse film which requires you take a pen and paper to the show (again not bad, very involving)



Deus Ex would be a british film.
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Exu
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To understand any of Halo 2, and to delve into Halo 1, you NEED to have read the 3 novels.
I'm not in a position to comment on Half-Life 2.
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Blitz
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Eh?


You do?


what did i miss then. Cause i've only played the two games, and i'm in no doubt to what halo 1 and 2 are about...until now that is...you've put doubt in my mind. what did i miss then>
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Exu
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You expect me to relay over 1000 pages to you?
Just buy the books, you can get all 3 for £9!
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Blitz
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the thing is though. I feel like i dont need the books, i understand the halo storyline quite well. IF you feel like i dont ask me a question that only someone who understands the overall story can answer and see if i can answer the question correctly.

(and please dont be something stupid like whats graveminds middle name or something which is dave btw)
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Master Shake
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As good as the Halo series is, the Half-Life series trumps it in every way, shape and form. Half-Life revolutionized the FPS genre. No longer were players confined to corridors filled with enemies that mindlessly rushed at you. Enemy soldiers took cover, flanked you, flushed you out with grenades and called for backup. No longer was everywhere that wasn't a door safe from surprise enemy attack. Scripted events allowed the level to deform, walls to shatter, ceilings to break and floors to crumble. No longer was there no story. Events unfolded in front of the player's very eyes, creating a level of immersion that had never been seen before. The only rival Half-Life 1 ever had for story was Marathon, but Half-Life's method of having it all unfold in real-time trumped Marathon's terminal transcripts.

The Half-Life series is the world's most perfect and revolutionary FPS series ever crafted. While the Halo games are fantastic, all they'll ever be able to do is try to mold Half-Life's many innovations to itself.
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Hercule Pyro
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Yeah, but in my experience Half Life lacks one crucial element.

FUN.

I borrowed the original. I played it for a few hours, then gave it back to my friend the next day. Why? It bored me. I didn't actually have fun. Sure, it may be a revolution in the way games are played, but if I don't have fun, I don't give a rats ass. On the other hand, whenever I play Timesplitters 2, I get a measure of enjoyment from it.

I doubt I'll bother with Half Life 2, as from what I've heard it's more of the same. As I said, anyone could revolutionize the genre and create the gaming equivalent of The Mona Lisa, but it'd be dull. However, if you create the gaming equivalent of good fanart, and churn out something, that whilst is still "same shit, different day" but is an utter blast to play, guess what I'll end up buying?
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Exu
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Blitz,Dec 28 2004
12:44 AM
the thing is though. I feel like i dont need the books, i understand the halo storyline quite well. IF you feel like i dont ask me a question that only someone who understands the overall story can answer and see if i can answer the question correctly.

(and please dont be something stupid like whats graveminds middle name or something which is dave btw)

Okay.

1. What was the planet that the Covenant destroyed, Master Chief's former home? (This is easy).
2. How old was Master Chief when he was first recruited into the UNSC?
3. And who recruited him?
4. What were the names of Master Chief's original partners?
5. What was the name of the man who trained Master Chief?
6. Why did Master Chief kill four ODST "Helljumpers"?

That enough for you, Blitz?
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Blitz
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*SPOILER*

Exu...go back and read what i had in brackets....please...I'm asking for a question which is essential to the story, not mere trivia, stop and think are any of those questions essential for the overall story of Halo, if the books explained in detail WHY there are specifically 7 halo ringworlds or why the key is on earth then maybe i will pick them up.

For example in half life if you explore the level questionable ethics properly you discover that the aliens invading earth are not actually aliens but geneticly modified creatures that have broken loose.

IF you explore the factory properly you learn that half the bad guys you've been fighting are slaves...but to who? you find out in half life 2.

In half life 2, important info, like who your fighting is found by reading some of the posters on the wall or breaking into someone's apartment to find out how the aliens arrived on earth (your never told you have to find out yourself.)



Eastwood. As i said in my post, Halo has a more arcade feel to it which is fun, heck i think Halo is great. Half life is fun. but its a different type of fun to halo. I dont care that half life revolutionizes gaming i care that its a tense and exciting game that makes me use my head to get out of trouble. If you dont like fine, you dont. but to alot of gamers it is fun. I mean i find halo to be a bit repetitve. Hell i'd get hung by alot of pc gamers when i admit i find medal of honour to be the biggest piece of glorified crap i have ever played.

everyone has different tastes.


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Master Shake
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Grand Master Eastwood,Dec 28 2004
04:52 AM
I doubt I'll bother with Half Life 2, as from what I've heard it's more of the same. As I said, anyone could revolutionize the genre and create the gaming equivalent of The Mona Lisa, but it'd be dull.

Wait, since when is using a gravity gun to pluck a circular saw blade from a wall and fling it into a mass of writhing zombies 'dull'? When is using a toilet flung at high velocity as a weapon not fun?

I can see where you're coming from, because by today's standards I'm sure Half-Life 1 doesn't live up. Niether does Doom or Quake or the first Unreal, for that matter. But to deny it the accolades it deserves is folly. The Halo games are fantastic evolutions of the FPS genre, a perfect Frankenstein's monster of all the best innovations in FPS games, but they bring nothing new to the genre.

Then again, to each their own.

Blitz
 
Hell i'd get hung by alot of pc gamers when i admit i find medal of honour to be the biggest piece of glorified crap i have ever played.


You aren't alone. I personally find Call Of Duty to be vastly superior in gameplay, atmosphere and execution. The Stalingrad charge is one of my all-time favorite gaming moments.
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Hercule Pyro
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Master Shake,Dec 28 2004
04:12 PM
When is using a toilet flung at high velocity as a weapon not fun?

I can see where you're coming from, because by today's standards I'm sure Half-Life 1 doesn't live up.

Well... I'm not rushing out to buy it. Though, to be fair, I'm kinda regretting buying Halo 2 as I can't say it's that much fun. Certainly no more fun than Halo was.

I played the original back in the day. It wasn't a lot of fun then. I doubt it's a lot of fun now. Same with HL2... From what I've seen the only advanatges is the physics engine, and that'll end up in games I'd sooner play, rather than Yet Another Sci-Fi Shooter.
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Lothar Hex
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Master Shake,Dec 28 2004
03:50 AM
As good as the Halo series is, the Half-Life series trumps it in every way, shape and form. Half-Life revolutionized the FPS genre. No longer were players confined to corridors filled with enemies that mindlessly rushed at you. Enemy soldiers took cover, flanked you, flushed you out with grenades and called for backup. No longer was everywhere that wasn't a door safe from surprise enemy attack. Scripted events allowed the level to deform, walls to shatter, ceilings to break and floors to crumble. No longer was there no story. Events unfolded in front of the player's very eyes, creating a level of immersion that had never been seen before. The only rival Half-Life 1 ever had for story was Marathon, but Half-Life's method of having it all unfold in real-time trumped Marathon's terminal transcripts.

The Half-Life series is the world's most perfect and revolutionary FPS series ever crafted. While the Halo games are fantastic, all they'll ever be able to do is try to mold Half-Life's many innovations to itself.

Halo's overall story is far more epic that Half Lifes involving the possible destruction of the whole galaxy. You can't really get a feel for it if it was done the way Half Life did it's story. Seeing everything through Gordon eyes may be more immersive, but you still rely on scripted events to know the full story.

I find the Halo story more interesting because, as daft as this sounds, it's a lot more believable. In the way it's told and how the characters deal with the situation. It's not the most origional but neither was Half Lifes.

Half Life may have"revolutionised" the FPS genre. But then Halo evolved it from there. The sheild system was great and required you to think tactically. Plus carrying 2 weapons as at time was more realistic and made you have to think about what to use and when. When you were playing it was far more immersive than Half Life.

Half Life is far from perfect, like the bugs that were in the first game that meant some people couldn't actually finish it. Plus the plot was just daft at some points. Halo felt more beliveable.

I also find it odd that people Valves praises for creating Counterstrike, yet it wasn't even them that made it.
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Exu
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And a few of those queations ARE integral to the story.
*Mass Spoilers*


1. Master Chief was trained on the planet Reach, this was later obliterated by the Covenant, and MC swore vengence on those bastards for destroying the place he knew as 'home'. Fortunately and underground laboratory survived.

2 and 3. Master Chief was just 6 years old, playing 'King of the Hill' with some other kids at school.
Dr. Catherine Halsey (Creator of the Spartan and Mjollnir armour projects) and Captain Keyes (You know already) saw great potential in him for the Spartan project, and abducted him. Then a 'flash clone' was sent so no-one would know. The flash clone would later die, as the process was not greatly advanced for a human body. The report would say 'natural causes'.

4. John-117's (Master Chief's real name and code number) partners were Sam and Kelly.
Sam later died in a mission, as his armour got torn, and so he stayed with a bomb on a Covenant ship.
Kelly had the ability to run fast, and so for speed she was the Spartan of choice. After the events on Halo #04, she would later get horiffically injured, but she would survive, as Dr. Halsey was able to flash-clone internal organs. Unlike whole bodies, organs on their own were easily cloneable.
Kelly later has a strange reaction to a crystal that the remaining Spartans find at a Covenant holy site, so Dr. Halsey takes the crystal and Kelley on a modified Longsword, and flees John and Seargent Johnson. We still don't know why.

5. The man who trained John (and the other Spartans) was one Chief Mendez. A mean old bastard with a hint of kindness.

6. John was training in a ring in the UNSC gym, when four Orbital Drop Shock Troopers attempted to bully him off. When he refused, they attacked him, and paid with their lives. Mendez dismissed any punishment, as John was 'protecting himself', what every UNSC soldier shout aspire to. Needless to say, the ODST's were wary around him later.

*End Spoilers*
There we go.
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Blitz
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Lothar Hex,Dec 28 2004
06:55 PM


Half Life is far from perfect, like the bugs that were in the first game that meant some people couldn't actually finish it.

actually that was the game SIN not half life.


i agree that halo evolved aspects of fps. I love the grenades in halo, best use of grenades in any game. the shield system is great too. But the two weapon system hasnt appealed to me. Well it didnt in single player. Cant really say in multiplayer.

personnally i dont praise valve for counter-strike, i commend them for encouraging modders and awarding good work with jobs (those who did both coutner strike and day of defeat got jobs from valve)

before valve most companies ignored modders and in some cases refused to allow them to mod the games, valve encouraged it and supported it.

half life is a good game. but old now.

halo is a good game. but old now (not as old)

both are fun for different reasons.

I personnally love half life because the level design is amazing and allows for some great fights and tense moments.

I like Halo for its easy control and fun combat. and great grenade system


Halo 2 improves on that combat

Half life 2 improves on its level design and character interaction.


Both are good, but personnally i perfer half life.

they are very different and argueing which is better is useless.





Now Exu...


1. Master Chief was trained on the planet Reach, this was later obliterated by the Covenant, and MC swore vengence on those bastards for destroying the place he knew as 'home'. Fortunately and underground laboratory survived.


-Its in the manual to halo1 and in the intro.

2 and 3. Master Chief was just 6 years old, playing 'King of the Hill' with some other kids at school.
Dr. Catherine Halsey (Creator of the Spartan and Mjollnir armour projects) and Captain Keyes (You know already) saw great potential in him for the Spartan project, and abducted him. Then a 'flash clone' was sent so no-one would know. The flash clone would later die, as the process was not greatly advanced for a human body. The report would say 'natural causes'.


-has no effect on halo 2's storyline

4. John-117's (Master Chief's real name and code number) partners were Sam and Kelly.
Sam later died in a mission, as his armour got torn, and so he stayed with a bomb on a Covenant ship.
Kelly had the ability to run fast, and so for speed she was the Spartan of choice. After the events on Halo #04, she would later get horiffically injured, but she would survive, as Dr. Halsey was able to flash-clone internal organs. Unlike whole bodies, organs on their own were easily cloneable.
Kelly later has a strange reaction to a crystal that the remaining Spartans find at a Covenant holy site, so Dr. Halsey takes the crystal and Kelley on a modified Longsword, and flees John and Seargent Johnson. We still don't know why.

-still no effect on halo 2's events

5. The man who trained John (and the other Spartans) was one Chief Mendez. A mean old bastard with a hint of kindness.

-still no effect

6. John was training in a ring in the UNSC gym, when four Orbital Drop Shock Troopers attempted to bully him off. When he refused, they attacked him, and paid with their lives. Mendez dismissed any punishment, as John was 'protecting himself', what every UNSC soldier shout aspire to. Needless to say, the ODST's were wary around him later.


-still no effect.

Did i need to know any of those to understand halo 2's cliffhanger ending?

no i didnt, those little trivia tidbits add nothing to the ending. They add to the character yes, in the same way me picking up Opposing forcr or Blue shift add to the characters in half life, but they are not essential for the storyline in half life 2 or even half life 1.

but i found those trivia pieces interesting.

What i was talking about was how in half life 2 (and 1) running through the game ignorant to the characters and events around and blasting everything will result in you being very confused, stopping and exploring allowed you to learn in pieces the immeadiate storyline that DOES EFFECT the ending etc.
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Lothar Hex
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Blitz,Dec 28 2004
07:41 PM
Lothar Hex,Dec 28 2004
06:55 PM


Half Life is far from perfect, like the bugs that were in the first game that meant some people couldn't actually finish it.

actually that was the game SIN not half life.

Games can have similar bugs. Yes it is true! God you annoy me.

And about that ODST thing. The person who was in charge of the ODST's at the time died. And the situation was kept top secret so the other ODST's wouldn't know about it.

The other aspects are true though. Pplus who needs any of that to understand Halo 2's ending? It was a VERY annoying cliffhanger ¬.¬
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Exu
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The books do help you understand though. The whole Halo world.
Oh, and it (Reach) aint in Halo 1's English manual!
It is nice to understand various events within the Halo universe, where, though not needed, it is still nice to know. The gold elite in The Flood, Isna Nosolee, and the Arbiter are one and the same (or so I thought). So the Arbiter's backstory is necessary, but only if you care.
Many people have said to me that they played Halo 2 and didn't know wtf was going on, but that's their own fault. It all depends on whether the story (1000+ pages of it) matters or not to you. Book readers and non-book readers understand the Halo universe from different perspectives.
Like the moment when it clicked "Hey... THAT'S THAT ELITE FROM THE FLOOD THAT I THOUGHT WAS CALLED ISNA NOSOLEE!" is something you wouldn't have had the chance to experience, for example.

Not Isna Nosolee, the other one, what was his name now... fuck, it's gone.
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Lothar Hex
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Illogical
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Exu,Dec 28 2004
08:24 PM
Oh, and it (Reach) aint in Halo 1's English manual!

Yes it is.

As for Isna Nosolee, the Arbiter isn't him. Nosolee was KILLED.

I understood Halo 2's story but I can see where people are coming from who don't understand it. I mean you barely get told that Gravemind is related to the Flood. You have no real incentive to play as the Arbiter and the only explnation is the Prophets telling you to do a load of shit.
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Exu
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Der-Der-Der-DERRRP!
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Is it? Oh, sorry... unless I got a different manual. I got the crappy set of Halo 1 and Midtown Madness 3 free with the Xbox. The manuals WERE tiny, and the discs were in pathetic paper cases.

There's probably going to be a fourth book that explains it all, either by Eric Nylund or William C Dietz, considering it was Dietz who novelised the first game. But for now, I believe it's the one that was standing on a rock with a blue Elite when the blue one got sniped.
EDIT: Okay, that wasn't Isna, that was another Elite...

Edit: Also, how the fuck does Gravemind shift his fat arse from under the Library to High Charity anyway? He can teleport the others, but unless he can teleport himself...
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Lothar Hex
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Illogical
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You also don't know your Halo very well. Isna Nosolee was KILLED by Captain Keyes in the lifeboat in the novel "The Flood". Chapter one, page 44.
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