Halo is just a FPS!

[neorichieb1971]

Ok, so its a pretty good FPS, but they all look about the same to me.

I would seriously like to know what is so special about the franchise iyo. What makes Halo the daddy of console FPS's? I've played a few FPS games and I don't really see the special nature of Halo, yet its the only non sporting franchise in the USA to get lines of people queueing outside of malls for hours prior to launch. (Well maybe GTA as well)

Is it because its the only Microsoft exclusive franchise to be successful? Because it just happens to be a console FPS on the most powerful hardware?

I posed this question to a few people in game stores and one person said and I quote "Those that came from the playstation era had never played 4p games before Halo, it was the first time they experienced multiplayer fun in a FPS".

If Metroid 3 was better than Halo3 (I said "IF"), I don't think it would be half as successful, are we seeing that EA Fifa style of marketting approach come to the FPS?

So please add your comments in here, I am dying to know what makes Halo the dogs gonads status it receives. And nope, I've not played past the first outdoor stage of the first game because I don't own an Xbox.

[benj]

Maybe because it has been hyped to hell and back?

[system11]

Mostly down to graphics, setting and story. It was one of the first good console FPS to throw away the shackles of running down tiny corridors and rooms. Aside from that, there's nothing obviously wrong with it - and I think that counts for a lot

(and the rest, is hype)

[sjewkestheloon]

i had a lot of fun with halo purely as a load of my mates and work collegues had it and an xbox so we used to all go over to a friend's house and link up through the night. for me nothing beats multiplayer fpsing for blasts of fun and the level design in that game is tight. the one stage (can't remember which) and rockets combination is pure unadulterated blasting fun.

i've not had as much fun with another fps except maybe unreal tournament on pc.

the single player in the second game was ass though.

[ahnslaught]

I think its popularity is largely due to being at the right place at the right time. It was released at the launch of xbox, it was an original franchise unlike a lot of previous console FPSes that were ports of PC games, and it was the game that popularized the dual analog setup that we use for every single console FPS nowadays. And, like bloodflowers said, it's a solid game as well.

On the grand scheme of things, though, it's hard to argue for Halo as one of the top tier FPS games, and I'm not even factoring in the better control setup allowed by the PC. Games like FarCry created a much better single player segment that was wide open, unlike Halo which is very linear - just think back to those alien corridor levels that are just repeated over and over again. Multiplayer is also done better in games like UT and counterstrike.

[JBC]

Mostly down to graphics, setting and story.

I thought all three sucked when i first played the game, and still do to this day. Especially the second one. Multiplayer is admittedly fun though.

[raiden]

from what I´ve heard, hardcore Halo players consider the AI and the close range attack as the gameplay elements which make the game special. They also recommend playing on highest difficulty to experience what they call the intensity. Personally, I´ve never felt inclined to try that, though. The biggest fault I see in Halo is the slow running speed, weakening the defensive options and enforcing slow, "strategic" approaches, whereas I prefer the frantic madness of something like Quake 3.

[Shatterhand]

I got Halo 1 for PC, because of all the hype, and in the end I didn't get it too. I didn't even bother to play it to the end, it really falied in keep my interest.

Never tried online multiplayer, as I don't enjoy this kind of thing too much (I prefer "real-life multiplayer" )

[sethsez]

Ok, so its a pretty good FPS, but they all look about the same to me.

Dodonpachi is just a shmup! Ok, so it's a pretty good shmup, but they all look about the same to me.



It's an extremely well-polished game with some fantastic combat due to an engine that gives everything actual weight, rather than the "everything is made out of paper mache and inertia is a farce" feel that dominated the genre before it came out (a lot of what made Halo special at the time has since become standard, but what else is new?). It doesn't have a single gimmick you can point to and say "here, this is what makes it awesome" because it's a game that's more than the sum of its parts, not just a single awesome feature with a bunch of stuff around it.

[icycalm]

Co-op, AI, the vehicles and level design (first 4 stages). Also, playing on a 32-inch widescreen TV instead of on a tiny PC monitor.

rllmuk has a 20plus page thread on this. Since most of those people actually like FPSes, you might be better off finding and reading that thread.

What you have done here is the equivalent of me going to the IGN forums and starting a thread titled "DoDonPachi is just a shmup!"

[sethsez]

What you have done here is the equivalent of me going to the IGN forums and starting a thread titled "DoDonPachi is just a shmup!"

Bingo. The whole "this is just a FPS" thing is stupid. It's an entry in a genre, so it's obviously going to share elements with other entries in said genres. That's not always a bad thing, as this entire forum is dedicated to a very rigid genre itself.

[Rob]

Bingo. The whole "this is just a FPS" thing is stupid.

But FPSs are stupider.

[Turrican]

If Metroid 3 was better than Halo3 (I said "IF"), I don't think it would be half as successful

And thank god for that.

[sethsez]

Bingo. The whole "this is just a FPS" thing is stupid.

But FPSs are stupider.

This place is like GameFAQs: Shmup Edition sometimes, I swear to god.

[Damocles]

Because it's damn good. There's not one single aspect that makes the game good...it's everything. The maps, the weaponry (notably weapon balance....except the Needler), the A.I.....everything. Multiplayer adds a whole new level. There is no bad map, and the amount of options that you are given is astounding. Want to play a map with just rocket launchers? Done. Want to play with only pistols? Human weaponry? Done.

My first FPS was Wolfenstein. Since then I've seen many shitty ones come and go, and to me, Halo holds up damn well.


BTW...if anyone is bitchy about FPS, try Project: IGI. It was the last great PC FPS for me. You are confronted with a dozen or so looooooooong levels...and can only save between them. A true hardcore delight.

[Rob]

Are there any cute em up equivalents for FPSs? I'm not changing my mind until I see one.

[icycalm]

Bingo. The whole "this is just a FPS" thing is stupid.

But FPSs are stupider.

I am not saying you care, but you just insulted me.

I've been playing FPS games since DOOM (never got around to trying Wolfenstein) and I love them just as much as shmups. I've played damn near everything and I don't see in what way they are inferior to any other genre. In fact, I am convinced it's the genre of the future, what with the VR/Cyberpunk/you are in the movie stuff that we will be seeing more of in the next decade.

[Shatterhand]

Well, there was an Wolfenstein mod where you could play with Simpsons characters.

I like Call of Duty a lot, and this I even played in multiplayer. Quake 3 also rocks IMO.

And the 3DRealms games, Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow Warrior, still are unbeatable both in terms of single player fun and multiplayer fun IMHO. If Duke Nulkem Forever is ever finished, I bet it will rock.


But Halo really didn't click with me.

[extrarice]

For me, mainly hype. I am a huge fan of Bungie's previous FPS series, Marathon (which is related to Halo). Marathon had a very engrossing story, compared to the non-existant plots of other FPSes of the day (Doom, for example).
Halo was hyped to hell and back, starting in 1998, with subtle hints that it was related to Marathon thrown in. The physics were neat, the monster and character designs were interesting, but I lost interest in the Halo franchise when I saw the HalfLife 2 E3 trailer in 2003.

In short, it's nothing special. It could have been, but was delayed so long that it's only claim to fame is that it sells Xboxes.

[Rob]

I am not saying you care, but you just insulted me.

I was just joking, but I sure hope they're not the genre of the future. The things I hate most about FPSs:

-the view, 3rd person or get out
-the lack of color, it's depressing
-reliance on multi-player (most?)
-I probably suck at them

[professor ganson]

It was one of the first good console FPS to throw away the shackles of running down tiny corridors and rooms.

Yeah, I just love the outdoor, futuristic settings. Sometimes the indoor parts are ok because the A.I. are above average, but the outdoor moments are what sets it apart for me.

[Twiddle]

Are there any cute em up equivalents for FPSs? I'm not changing my mind until I see one.

Serious Sam 2 is the closest you can get to an equivalent of cute-em-up (though parody-em-up like Pistol Daimyo no Bouken is a better thing to compare this to) in a first-person-shooter.

[icycalm]

Also, No One Lives Forever 1 and 2. Good comedy for a change.

[sethsez]

I was just joking, but I sure hope they're not the genre of the future. The things I hate most about FPSs:

-the view, 3rd person or get out

For games involving a lot of platforming I agree, but if you're running around shooting things your character just gets in the way of aiming.

-the lack of color, it's depressing

Clearly you never played Unreal (lol colored lighting).

-reliance on multi-player (most?)

Do you hate fighting games?

-I probably suck at them

Possibly, but this isn't a fualt with them.

[Rob]

if you're running around shooting things your character just gets in the way of aiming.

Yeah, but if I want the fun of aiming gunfire I'll just cut to the chase, break out a Guncon game and not have the blind spots. I don't have a problem with auto-aim in 3rd person action.

The appeal of keyboard and mouse gaming is completely lost on me as well. Forgot to mention that. So when will all of you hardcore FPS fans start wearing wrist braces?

Do you hate fighting games?

I don't play them.

[captain ahar]

Do you hate fighting games?

I don't play them.

who does, rob?

[icycalm]

I do not see the reliance of FPSes on multiplayer.

About 90% of my time with FPSes I spent playing single player Campaigns. Which is about the same for shmups.

[Rob]

who does, rob?

Good question. I met a guy once who played a fighting game.

I do not see the reliance of FPSes on multiplayer.

Isn't there a big deal made when a FPS comes out that's a complete single player experience (Half-Life, Metroid Prime)?

[sethsez]

Yeah, but if I want the fun of aiming gunfire I'll just cut to the chase, break out a Guncon game and not have the blind spots. I don't have a problem with auto-aim in 3rd person action.

Auto-aim sucks.

The appeal of keyboard and mouse gaming is completely lost on me as well.

The aiming is more accurate and you can turn faster. Nothing mystical.

[Rob]

Why does aiming need to be so pinpoint precise? I don't have to shoot the pilot's heart in Strikers 1945, any part of the plane will do. It's a game like that.