Halo 3

[trancejeremy]

Originally Posted by Steel_Wind
Halo 3 is a third of a great game.

What's there is, is awesome. There just happens to be woefully too little of it.

I will not be buying another Bungie title. Something that can be finished in 9 hours is a waste of money - especially considering he size of the the dev team, its budget and the money flowing back to MS.

Eh - these days, that's pretty much how long single player action games last. Unless it's a sandbox game (Like a Grand Theft Auto), most don't last more than 10-15 hours. Most the big titles are like that.

Part of its multiplayer is so popular these days, part of it is graphics and sound cost exponentially more to make, yet games only cost a little more ($60 vs $50). But most FPSs aren't that long to begin with, really.

 

[TwistedBishop]

I'm curious - looking at preview video clips on the various gaming websites it looks very much like 'run around shooting at things' in the same genre as doom and quake (but with somewhat better graphics).

What does it offer beyond that?

Is this a serious question?

It's an FPS. You run around and shoot things. Developers HAVE advanced the genre a wee bit since Doom, both in offering a cinematic experience and deepening gameplay. But yes, in the end, you shoot things in a first person shooter.

 

[ThirdWizard]

And blow stuff up! Don't forget the blowing of stuff up.

I think blowing your friends up is... yes... yes, I'm getting an affirmative here. Blowing your friends up is also a great part of the experience. And random strangers from around the world. Gunning down a guy who is desperately trying to get to cover away from you while you fly around and shoot them is definitely a plus. As is running someone down. And then - and then - posting those screen shots to the world.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Is this a serious question?

It's an FPS. You run around and shoot things. Developers HAVE advanced the genre a wee bit since Doom, both in offering a cinematic experience and deepening gameplay. But yes, in the end, you shoot things in a first person shooter.

Well, it was as serious question

I suppose I'm interested in whether there is a good story that backs it up, whether there are any 'role-play' elements added to it, that kind of thing.

Cheers

 

[GlassJaw]

I will not be buying another Bungie title. Something that can be finished in 9 hours is a waste of money - especially considering he size of the the dev team, its budget and the money flowing back to MS.

Finished? It's primarily a multi-player FPS. How is that different than the Quake series, Unreal Tournament, etc? The fact that is has a single-player mode at all is pretty cool IMO.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Well, it was as serious question

I suppose I'm interested in whether there is a good story that backs it up, whether there are any 'role-play' elements added to it, that kind of thing.

The plot isn't really that great. If you're not very picky in your video game plots, it is sufficiently epic in scale to enjoy, and it has kept my interest over the 3 games. The game is pretty much a pure FPS, though. You get vehicles and strategy can be important if you play Campaign on harder difficulties, but really the game is a multiplayer romp, and that's its main selling point. If you aren't interested in Live play, then it is just a rent at best.

Not to say the Campaign isn't fun. I think its a tremendous improvement on Halo 2 (I hated its Campaign). But, even then I've been playing Online Co-Op on Campaign. I didn't buy a 40" HDTV to play split screen. You can play up to 4 player split, though, I think.

 

[Arnwyn]

Halo 3? Firmly mediocre, IMO.

Too short, and not enough of a leap over Halo 2 to justify the time between releases, plus an entire next-gen purchase requirement to boot. What is there in campaign mode, though, is way better than the crap that was fed to us in Halo 2 (which was god-awful, and inferior to Halo 1 in most ways, IMO [New Mombassa notwithstanding]).

Multiplayer is all right, but not much more than Halo 2 (it could be considered "Halo 2.5", at best), except for the Forge, which is absolutely brilliant, and looks to be where Bungie spent most of their time. In the end, there's too much multiplayer and not enough campaign - which seriously hurts the game and franchise, IMO. (And overall, Warhawk is more fun for multiplayer, AFAIC.)

However, with all that said, split screen co-op is freakin' awesome, and it's worth the price of admission [Legendary pack, no less, for me]. I did buy a 57" HDTV to be able to play games with my friends in the room.

 

[Vocenoctum]

Well, it was as serious question

I suppose I'm interested in whether there is a good story that backs it up, whether there are any 'role-play' elements added to it, that kind of thing.

Cheers

I think the original tagline of "Combat Evolved" was accurate enough. Each one has advanced the FPS in small ways, but nothing revolutionary. The plot is solid and you can invest as much as you want into it. It's not without it's flaws, but the "shield" system replacing "health packs" was a minor detail that changed things greatly, IMO.

For story elements, the first was best, since there was a lot more to discover. 2 was hurt by the fact you only played the lead character half the time, 3 was a solid ending. All were too short, and the levels are repetitious. (Especially Halo1. Quite often you're literally running from point A to point B, then back again. Even when you're not, the architecture is similar.)

For gameplay, I think a lot of it really is not so much advancing FPS's, but advancing CONSOLE FPS's. Even today a lot of console FPS is just badly designed. (Looking for HaloWars to do the same to RTS.) The game runs smoothly, the dual triggers are great for grenades and in 2 & 3, dual wielding was lots of fun.

Halo was never the leader in hi-graphics, but always a solid play experience that was a lot of fun.

 

[Kanegrundar]

I've been enjoying it a lot. Great graphics, awesome gameplay, good story, and a great multiplayer platform = a great gaming experience. I'll be wearing Halo 3 out non-stop until Guitar Hero III comes out!

 

[Asmor]

It's exactly what I expected it to be, for better or worse.

I'm perfectly happy with it. Which is to say, I love it.

It's not revolutionary. Heck, it's not even evolutionary. What it is is a solid ending to the Halo trilogy, and a slick, robust, well-polished package. Good campaign that I was able to finish easily in the day I took off.

Really... what more could you ask for?

If you're buying Halo for the story and only for the story... Then it might not be that great for you. Halo is a multiplayer game first and foremost, that just happens to have a fun single player campaign and engaging story.