One man's opinion, of course, but surprising to hear, given Bungie's history with shooters. Can anyone who's played deep into the game confirm this?
Even if it is true, I don't think it would affect my purchase of the Mac version, as I would probably buy it more for the Multiplayer aspect. Of course, by then my 80-year-old hands may be too arthritic to use a mouse and keyboard in sync.
Oh, the depiction of the xbox controllers in the comic is just....classic. ROTFLOL.
[quote] http://www.penny-arcade.com One man's opinion, of course, but surprising to hear, given Bungie's history with shooters. Can anyone who's played deep into the game confirm this?
Even if it is true, I don't think it would affect my purchase of the Mac version, as I would probably buy it more for the Multiplayer aspect. Of course, by then my 80-year-old hands may be too arthritic to use a mouse and keyboard in sync.
Oh, the depiction of the xbox controllers in the comic is just....classic. ROTFLOL.
SoS
[/quote] If I had to take a guess, I'd think the levels are the only 'in-your-face' proof that they had to trim stuff in order to make the deadline. Did it bother me? Not one fucking bit. You'll have to excuse my ignoring the scenery while I'm getting my ass kicked AND kicking ass on these Covenant mofo's.
Does anyone remember PID? It's almost exactly the same, yet no one criticized it back then, and now in Halo, each 'level' is actually about 5 maps-worth of virtual-square-footage, if you get the picture I'm trying to paint. We're talking BIG levels.
Folks criticized Oni for similar map deficiencies, but I didn't care there either.
btw, if you read his take on the controllers, he doesn't think they're a problem at all, which I find is the majority opinion on the matter.
Halo is Marathon with the latest hardware tech and all the goodies that brings along on this action-filled ride. You will not be disappointed Spam, if you were like me and spent hours playing Marathon. I currently am doing the same with Halo. At least a good 3 hours per evening, playing different levels on different difficulties. It's a blast.
Spam, you should come over soon, we can do some coop mb drag Darklord as well!
[quote] So, halo has the same story depth and interactiveness of Marathon?
just curious.
Spit
[/quote] It has the story depth that is still lacking in most other shooters, excepting perhaps Deus Ex and Half-Life which come close. Halo has some good twists and turns, and the ending definitely sets us up for some sequels. Does it live up to the Marathon series in terms of story breadth? I don't think so. But we're only talking 1 game versus 3. Marathon 2, IMHO, was the pinnacle of the series, so mayhaps Halo 2 will really stretch itself out and truly be a slam-dunk in all facets of the game.
When you ask about 'interactiveness' I can only assume you mean the computer terminals in Marathon. Unfortunately Halo doesn't have terminals, which is what gave the Marathon series a 'literary/lyrical' weight that no other shooter has ever done before or since. Cortana's voice (and others) takes the place of the terminals, but it can't really match it. I don't know if I blame Bungie for not going that route, it's a tough thing to drag folks thru that aren't used to it in the first place.
Now that I think about it, I'd have to restress the voices... Marty has done a fantastic job with the ancillary voices, it really helps immerse you in the game. The little alien grunts have alot of different phrases that they'll utter under certain situations, many of it really hilarious. And the marine banter is very realistic and humorous as well. The Covenant and Jackals, even though they don't speak English, you figure out what they're saying after playing for a bit. None of it very nice
You should read Claude's recent review of the game, which I thought was quite fair. Careful though, spoilers on the story included.
Free, I don't want to call you a fanboy, but I think your opinion may be tainted by history ;-)
All three of my early xbox adopter friends who all love both shooters *and* console-style RPGs thought the Halo story was weak and derivative. One of 'em thought the voice work was cartoony, too.
All of them still LOVED the game though, for all the reasons cited in that penny arcade article.
This is actually a sentiment I've heard echoed about several of the early xbox games. They look great, but the controls are weird. They look great, the controls are OK, but there's "something missing" in the game. Hopefully future game design won't be as technology/show-off-the-platform driven as some of these early releases seem to be--i'd kinda like Xbox to succeed, if for no other reason than for me to witness sweet American revenge on Ninetndo ("Remember Atari!" he chanted ...).
I still get giggles remembering that magical, mystical (cold as a witch's teat) ECG I... OK, I occasionally get the cold sweats thinking about the problems I had with my PC and the fact I had to use aluminum foil as a thermal barrier to Tartan's (admitedly fantastic, but terribly messy) cooking...
Free, I don't want to call you a fanboy, but I think your
opinion may be tainted by history ;-)
Of course that's a cross I have to bear.
All three of my early xbox adopter friends who all love both
shooters *and* console-style RPGs thought the Halo story was
weak and derivative. One of 'em thought the voice work was
cartoony, too.
All I can say is try it out and judge for yourself. Speaking as a Marathon junkie, I felt right at home with Halo.
One person's '13th Warrior' is another person's junk. There's no higher universal truth. :-)
I'm still amazed at the comments about the controller... considering: 1) It's about the size of the Dreamcast controller and 2) buy another frikkin' controller and shut the hell up! :-)
Comments
One man's opinion, of course, but surprising to hear, given Bungie's history with shooters. Can anyone who's played deep into the game confirm this?
Even if it is true, I don't think it would affect my purchase of the Mac version, as I would probably buy it more for the Multiplayer aspect. Of course, by then my 80-year-old hands may be too arthritic to use a mouse and keyboard in sync.
Oh, the depiction of the xbox controllers in the comic is just....classic. ROTFLOL.
SoS
[url=http://www.penny-arcade.com]http://www.penny-arcade.com[/url]
[quote]
http://www.penny-arcade.com One man's opinion, of course, but
surprising to hear, given Bungie's history with shooters. Can
anyone who's played deep into the game confirm this?
Even if it is true, I don't think it would affect my purchase of
the Mac version, as I would probably buy it more for the
Multiplayer aspect. Of course, by then my 80-year-old hands may
be too arthritic to use a mouse and keyboard in sync.
Oh, the depiction of the xbox controllers in the comic is
just....classic. ROTFLOL.
SoS
[/quote]
If I had to take a guess, I'd think the levels are the only 'in-your-face' proof that they had to trim stuff in order to make the deadline. Did it bother me? Not one fucking bit. You'll have to excuse my ignoring the scenery while I'm getting my ass kicked AND kicking ass on these Covenant mofo's.
Does anyone remember PID? It's almost exactly the same, yet no one criticized it back then, and now in Halo, each 'level' is actually about 5 maps-worth of virtual-square-footage, if you get the picture I'm trying to paint. We're talking BIG levels.
Folks criticized Oni for similar map deficiencies, but I didn't care there either.
btw, if you read his take on the controllers, he doesn't think they're a problem at all, which I find is the majority opinion on the matter.
Halo is Marathon with the latest hardware tech and all the goodies that brings along on this action-filled ride. You will not be disappointed Spam, if you were like me and spent hours playing Marathon. I currently am doing the same with Halo. At least a good 3 hours per evening, playing different levels on different difficulties. It's a blast.
Spam, you should come over soon, we can do some coop
- FW
[url=http://bs.bungie.org/]Bungie Sightings[/url]
So, halo has the same story depth and interactiveness of Marathon?
just curious.
Spit
Don't leave out Cinnibar! He's out farther east on the island than I am. Just because he doesn't post much doesn't mean he shouldn't be invited.
Darklord
[quote]
So, halo has the same story depth and interactiveness of
Marathon?
just curious.
Spit
[/quote]
It has the story depth that is still lacking in most other shooters, excepting perhaps Deus Ex and Half-Life which come close. Halo has some good twists and turns, and the ending definitely sets us up for some sequels. Does it live up to the Marathon series in terms of story breadth? I don't think so. But we're only talking 1 game versus 3. Marathon 2, IMHO, was the pinnacle of the series, so mayhaps Halo 2 will really stretch itself out and truly be a slam-dunk in all facets of the game.
When you ask about 'interactiveness' I can only assume you mean the computer terminals in Marathon. Unfortunately Halo doesn't have terminals, which is what gave the Marathon series a 'literary/lyrical' weight that no other shooter has ever done before or since. Cortana's voice (and others) takes the place of the terminals, but it can't really match it. I don't know if I blame Bungie for not going that route, it's a tough thing to drag folks thru that aren't used to it in the first place.
Now that I think about it, I'd have to restress the voices... Marty has done a fantastic job with the ancillary voices, it really helps immerse you in the game. The little alien grunts have alot of different phrases that they'll utter under certain situations, many of it really hilarious. And the marine banter is very realistic and humorous as well. The Covenant and Jackals, even though they don't speak English, you figure out what they're saying after playing for a bit. None of it very nice
You should read Claude's recent review of the game, which I thought was quite fair. Careful though, spoilers on the story included.
http://halo.bungie.org/misc/haloreview.lwu.html
- FW
[url=http://bs.bungie.org/]Bungie Sightings[/url]
...he never lets me wear the chainmail.
Of course he just slipped my mind, he's definitely invited!
Bungie Sightings
Free, I don't want to call you a fanboy, but I think your opinion may be tainted by history ;-)
All three of my early xbox adopter friends who all love both shooters *and* console-style RPGs thought the Halo story was weak and derivative. One of 'em thought the voice work was cartoony, too.
All of them still LOVED the game though, for all the reasons cited in that penny arcade article.
This is actually a sentiment I've heard echoed about several of the early xbox games. They look great, but the controls are weird. They look great, the controls are OK, but there's "something missing" in the game. Hopefully future game design won't be as technology/show-off-the-platform driven as some of these early releases seem to be--i'd kinda like Xbox to succeed, if for no other reason than for me to witness sweet American revenge on Ninetndo ("Remember Atari!" he chanted ...).
_/ C
RtCW, CD keys, Piracy & Copyright
Ignore him if he begins chanting "Hold the Hill!"
I still get giggles remembering that magical, mystical (cold as a witch's teat) ECG I... OK, I occasionally get the cold sweats thinking about the problems I had with my PC and the fact I had to use aluminum foil as a thermal barrier to Tartan's (admitedly fantastic, but terribly messy) cooking...
Ratbert #CP#Z
Of course that's a cross I have to bear.
All I can say is try it out and judge for yourself. Speaking as a Marathon junkie, I felt right at home with Halo.
One person's '13th Warrior' is another person's junk. There's no higher universal truth. :-)
I'm still amazed at the comments about the controller... considering: 1) It's about the size of the Dreamcast controller and 2) buy another frikkin' controller and shut the hell up! :-)
- F
Bungie Sightings