Halo 3

[jonesy]

There is only one thing that places the Halo series above other first person shooters, but it's a big one.

Four players right next to each other, playing at the same time, without any hassles about setting up a game, and being able to play together over the net with others like them. No other game does that as well as they. And never mind that you have to share the screen with your friends. As a game to which you can invite your buddies over to play with it's insane fun.

 

[Asmor]

There is only one thing that places the Halo series above other first person shooters, but it's a big one.

Four players right next to each other, playing at the same time, without any hassles about setting up a game, and being able to play together over the net with others like them. No other game does that as well as they. And never mind that you have to share the screen with your friends. As a game to which you can invite your buddies over to play with it's insane fun.

Just to play Devil's Advocate, that's hardly something new... Red Faction had some pretty killer 4-player split-screen action (it's one of the few PS2 games I'd actually play-- before it was out on the Xbox, of course). And then there's the grand daddy of console shooters (No, Doom and Wolfenstein don't count-- CONSOLE shooters): Golden Eye for the N64.

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

I think Jonesy was specifically talking about the 4-player campaign co-op. I could be mistaken, but I don't remember even Goldeneye having that (although it's still one of the greatest shooters ever, IMO).

 

[Asmor]

Ah, yes, in that case Halo's coop experience is unparalleled.

 

[Raylis]

they gave me my assault rifle back

 

[Victim]

I think Jonesy was specifically talking about the 4-player campaign co-op. I could be mistaken, but I don't remember even Goldeneye having that (although it's still one of the greatest shooters ever, IMO).

4 player Co-op for Halo 3 can't be done on the same X-box - you'd have to go online or system link.

 

[Arnwyn]

There is only one thing that places the Halo series above other first person shooters, but it's a big one.

Four players right next to each other, playing at the same time, without any hassles about setting up a game, and being able to play together over the net with others like them. No other game does that as well as they. And never mind that you have to share the screen with your friends. As a game to which you can invite your buddies over to play with it's insane fun.

For the multiplayer component: Warhawk (which does it better, AFAIC).

But yeah - 2-player co-op (4 with multiple systems) in campaign mode is the shiznit. I've always said more games should do that more often. Split-screen co-op is still, by far, the best experience around.

 

[Redrobes]

Super quick question as I haven't bought it yet... Is there an option to do two player split screen with the split vertically. On Halo2 and using a wide screen monitor the horizontal split was like playing through a letter box. When you have two people sat on a couch then having the two splits side by side would be a much better arrangement than panels top and bottom.

 

[Felon]

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?

I've only ever played the 1st level of Halo 1 back when it was released, and haven't seen any of them since then, so I'm probably unaware of lots of stuff.

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.

I never played a game in the Halo series, because I've never heard anyone quantify its awesomeness in a way that even remotely justifies its popularity. "It does what it does very well" is the kneejerk response, which by itself is such a vague answer that it's devoid of worth.

There's an episode of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer where one of the series' minor character's, Johnathan, casts a reality-warping spell that transforms him into the hero of Sunnydale, displacing Buffy. He's normally a bland, weak, pathetic little man, but suddenly everyone thinks Johnathan's so great that sliced bread seems like a pitiful concept by comparison. Women lust for him, me want to be him. When Buffy starts to question others about what qualities make Johnathan so wonderful, the reaction is very much "are you serious?" When she presses the question, they simply can't articulate their feelings. "Johnathan is just so....well, Johnathan".

That's Halo. Each game in the series has been called a must-have, a reason to go out and buy an Xbox, and they invariably outsell every other game released the same year. Yet nobody can seem to get past the hype and get in-depth. I understand that it innovated a decent way to use a pair of thumbsticks in lieu of a mouse (though it still sucks for accuracy), but that control scheme has been co-opted into every other FPS for some time now, so it's not special anymore.

I'm much more psyched about The Orange Box, Army of Two, and Clive Barker's Jericho. They actually have readily-explained hooks that pique my interest.

 

[John Crichton]

I never played a game in the Halo series, because I've never heard anyone quantify its awesomeness in a way that even remotely justifies its popularity. "It does what it does very well" is the kneejerk response, which by itself is such a vague answer that it's devoid of worth.

There's an episode of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer where one of the series' minor character's, Johnathan, casts a reality-warping spell that transforms him into the hero of Sunnydale, displacing Buffy. He's normally a bland, weak, pathetic little man, but suddenly everyone thinks Johnathan's so great that sliced bread seems like a pitiful concept by comparison. Women lust for him, me want to be him. When Buffy starts to question others about what qualities make Johnathan so wonderful, the reaction is very much "are you serious?" When she presses the question, they simply can't articulate their feelings. "Johnathan is just so....well, Johnathan".

That's Halo. Each game in the series has been called a must-have, a reason to go out and buy an Xbox, and they invariably outsell every other game released the same year. Yet nobody can seem to get past the hype and get in-depth. I understand that it innovated a decent way to use a pair of thumbsticks in lieu of a mouse (though it still sucks for accuracy), but that control scheme has been co-opted into every other FPS for some time now, so it's not special anymore.

I'm much more psyched about The Orange Box, Army of Two, and Clive Barker's Jericho. They actually have readily-explained hooks that pique my interest.

Okay, how's this:

I've one played Halo and none of the sequels. Did you like the movie Aliens? How about action movies in general? What about games where the enemies aren't idiots? If the answer is yes to any of those, pick up the first one and go from there. For the record, I don't care much for FPS at all.

I loved Halo.