Video Games...Discuss Them

[Sven]

The "Halo" games have some of the most repetitive level design I have seen in my entire life.

And there are, what? Four? Five different types of enemies in the entire game

Dude, one word: Spyro.

[megladon8]

Dude, one word: Spyro.

Are you serious?

"Spyro" had so many different level designs, and every world had a whole new set of enemies.

In "Halo" there are Grunts, shield-holding guys, thos big warrior-class guys, and the hunters. That's pretty much it.

Oh yeah, and the Flood, but we all know how much of a joke that was.

[D_Davis]

A multitude of different enemy types does not a good game make. It's how they act and react to your presence, and the enemies in the Halo games, especially on the higher difficulty settings, have very impressive AI and do some amazingly tactical things. The enemy types work well together to cover all kinds of different scenarios.

I'm not even a huge fan of the games and I recognize this. Same goes for the weapons. You don't need 2 dozen different weapons in a game. Halo strips it down to the bare minimum needed to allow maximum strategy without a cumbersome menu system for switching.

I think the Halo games take the less is more route, and it has definitely paid off, because they are some of the best balanced games around. Again, all of this is coming from someone who vastly prefers other FPSs, like Half Life etc.

[Winston*]

Completed Half Life. Dug it. Now I'm playing some Portal, bought the Orange Box off Steam. This game is the sweetness.

[megladon8]

Good enemy AI and balanced weapons can only go so far when you're playing through the same areas and situations over and over again.

[Morris Schæffer]

I just played through the "Assault on the Control Room" level in the first game, and holy crap that level is boring as hell.

You see the exact same environments over, and over, and over, and over, and over.

What can I say? To me, Halo is combat-centered and I never ever tired of combating the covenant. These guys were great, oozing tremendous personality considering they were cannon fodder. Weapons were satisfying as well. Yes, texture and object repetition is certainly a flaw, but it would be a far bigger flaw for a game such as Metroid Prime. Here I just accepted it, especially because "Halo" is a construct rather than a natural habitat. A lame rationalization? If you feel so. I always got the chills when I went from the idyllic topside environs deep into Halo's core. Halo 3 is better in this regard however.

[D_Davis]

Meg, if you dislike the Halo games so much, why are you playing them? Just move on, there are other games. This would be like me playing through a FF game and complaining every hour about all the things I hate. Life's too short man!

[Ezee E]

Meg, if you dislike the Halo games so much, why are you playing them? Just move on, there are other games. This would be like me playing through a FF game and complaining every hour about all the things I hate. Life's too short man!

Given out too much rep today. damn.

[Scar]

Meg, if you dislike the Halo games so much, why are you playing them? Just move on, there are other games. This would be like me playing through a FF game and complaining every hour about all the things I hate. Life's too short man!

Masochistic?

[Saya]

Just played a bit of Ninja Gaiden II again after a break of a couple months. I got my ass kicked on the first explosive shuriken ninjas and I used way too many health items on the Genshin boss in chapter 11. I forgot that the trick to this game is being offensive as hell and you shouldn't stay on the same spot for more then a couple seconds.

The good news is that they finally fixed all the freezes with a couple patches. So now I can get back to getting all the single weapon achievements. Just need to finish my run with the claws and the tonfas and then I'll give mentor difficulty a try.

[Morris Schæffer]

Meg, if you dislike the Halo games so much, why are you playing them? Just move on, there are other games. This would be like me playing through a FF game and complaining every hour about all the things I hate. Life's too short man!

He doesn't intensely dislike them, but also doesn't understand the torrent of praise they've been buried under. I thought that was clear.:P

Given out too much rep today. damn.

Which means you would have repped the wrong guy.:P

[Dukefrukem]

Completed Half Life. Dug it. Now I'm playing some Portal, bought the Orange Box off Steam. This game is the sweetness.

Not gonna play HL2 first?

[monolith94]

Do you have a 360?

It's now available on X-Box LiVE.

Nope, I have a 5 year old mac. If Xbox live allows you to sample stuff, you should check it out, it was a very fun game.

[Winston*]

Not gonna play HL2 first?

Nope, finished Portal last night. It was awesome.

[Morris Schæffer]

Respected UK magazine EDGE reviews Streetfighter 4:

http://www.edge-online.com/magazine/...ver?page=0%2C0

I'm getting this for the 360.

[D_Davis]

Respected UK magazine EDGE reviews Streetfighter 4:

http://www.edge-online.com/magazine/...ver?page=0%2C0

I'm getting this for the 360.

Oh man.

There is an arcade about 45 minutes from me that has this - I think it's time for a trip.

[D_Davis]

Never mind, it's a $1 to play and $1 to continue. No wonder the arcade industry is dead. For a day's worth of playing the game I could buy it and play it forever.

[Sycophant]

Xbox 360 drops in price on September 5th. Is tempting.

[megladon8]

Meg, if you dislike the Halo games so much, why are you playing them? Just move on, there are other games. This would be like me playing through a FF game and complaining every hour about all the things I hate. Life's too short man!

I don't "dislike them so much", they're fun little shooters with great production values.

I would even go so far as to say I love "Halo 3".

All I'm saying is that I don't understand the insane praise they get, when there are so many other shooters out there that are so much better.

Loook at "Half Life 2" and its offshoots - they have dynamic AI, AND have a multitude of different enemies, weapons and environments.

Yet this series is almost more of a "cult hit", when compared to the massive following the "Halo" franchise has.

[Stay Puft]

Never mind, it's a $1 to play and $1 to continue. No wonder the arcade industry is dead. For a day's worth of playing the game I could buy it and play it forever.

Not even the most expensive arcade cabinet I've seen.

Also, to hell with all of your popular shooters. Deus Ex and System Shock 2 are the bee's knees. Nothing comes close. Hopefully with Bioshock's popularity we'll finally see more clones of that ilk.

Oh, and Thief! Some of the best first person gaming around.

[D_Davis]

Half Life and Half Life 2 are not anywhere near "cult hits."

Those games are hugely popular.

As of January, 2005, Half Life 2 sold 1.7 million copies on the PC - and that's only retail, Valve doesn't report Steam sales, and that's three years ago!

http://pc.ign.com/articles/583/583162p1.html

I see what you're saying though, but I also have to wonder if you're being purposefully obtuse.

There is a reason, beyond hype, that the Halo games are regarded, both by players and the industry, as being exceptional games.

[Sycophant]

I have absolutely no nostalgia for arcades, having been raised entirely on home consoles. "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?" isn't really applicable. But still, with the increased prices in recent years, the idea of dropping coins in a game cabinet has gone from "silly" in my mind to pretty much "stupid."

[megladon8]

Half Life and Half Life 2 are not anywhere near "cult hits."

Those games are hugely popular.

As of January, 2005, Half Life 2 sold 1.7 million copies on the PC - and that's only retail, Valve doesn't report Steam sales, and that's three years ago!

http://pc.ign.com/articles/583/583162p1.html

I see what you're saying though, but I also have to wonder if you're being purposefully obtuse.

There is a reason, beyond hype, that the Halo games are regarded, both by players and the industry, as being exceptional games.

But they're not exceptional games. Above average, sure, but they're not the second coming.

So the AI is tactical...it's not like "Halo" invented this.

They have pretty graphics and a cool protagonist, but other than that they're just totally bland.

[megladon8]

I hope "S.T.A.L.K.E.R." gets a 360 release sometime.

[D_Davis]

I hope "S.T.A.L.K.E.R." gets a 360 release sometime.

So do I. That game looks like it is simply oozing with atmosphere. Far too cool looking to play on a small computer monitor.