Why are people so excited about a game that has absolutely no originality? Not only are the Halo games visually insuperior to most, current PC games, but with console games like Gears of War and Lost Planet, why Halo is even being talked about is beyond me.
It is called brainwashing. Bungie’s games target console gamers, more specifically, people who don’t play PC games. The reason is because anyone who has ever played games like Battlefield 2, Battlefield 2142, Half-Life 2, etc., would realize that Halo just isn’t that great.
Once again (I need to get my own material LOL), Games Industry Wire has a nice short clip of a visual comparison between Halo 2 and Halo 3 multiplayer combat.
Is it just me, or does it look like Bungie really just slapped some nice dynamic lighting on Halo 3, added a copycat spin-off Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory’s Campaign gametype, and then said, “Damn, we’re good.” The worst part about it is that a majority of gamers aren’t noticing the better, more original games being developed such as Bioshock for the PC.
Moreover, some people are spewing garbage like, “I’m going to buy an Xbox 360 just for Halo 3!” Games Industry Wire blogger, Kris Karkoski, unfortunately,is one of these people:
The upcoming game still looks uber sweet to me and has persuaded me to buy an Xbox 360 nearly exclusively for this game.
To Halo’s credit, the game is one of the best FPS games to come out for a console system in a while, and Bungie has built a reputation for that franchise. However, imagine if the original Halo had been released (with Halo 2 graphics) at the same time as Gears of War. Do you think Halo would have been able to build up enough hype to allow for additional sequels that would grow in popularity? I doubt it.
Another interesting fact to consider when analyzing FPS genre games for consoles is how the Nintendo Wii will change things. As I’ve mentioned before, the motion sensor controls allow for arcade-style gameplay at the home entertainment level. I never found thumbing my way through an FPS game to be that great in the first place, but maybe others will agree once they’ve played some FPS games on the Wii.
Filed under: Bungie, FPS, Games Industry Wire, Gears of War, Halo, Halo 2, Halo 3, Kris Karkoski, Nintendo Wii, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory
ohh and another note…I bought my 360 JUST for halo 3, and im proud
ohh and ANOTHER another note, heres a screeny from a wii fps “red steel” (dont get me wrong this looks like a fun game) that reminds me of goldeneye on 64 http://img.game.co.uk/ml/3/2/9/5/329574ss4.jpg
while here is a BETA screen (not final version) of h3 which blows it out of the water graphically http://files.xboxic.com/xbox-360/halo-3/h3mpalphasnowboundcarnage.jpg
so anyway, again ill say i think red steel will be a good game, no doubt, but still uncomparable to real (good) shooters, such as halo 3
Personally, I don’t see how you can make a random connection like the one you did between Red Steel and Halo 3. I don’t pretend to think that the Wii has more graphical power than the Xbox 360. However, there are games that surpassed Halo 3 almost two years ago. Bungie is just following in all the PC developers’ wake. What is sad is people are buying $399 Xbox 360s just to play a game that is worse than a majority of games already released. I don’t (and never will) understand everyone’s fascination with the Halo series. It is old, overdone, boring, and nothing more than a copy-cat series that attempts to capitalize on others’ ideas. But, Bungie does do a very good job of recycling old video game ideas and then saying, “Look what we just came up with.”
I think that Halo is one of th best series of games i have ever played but there are games out there that are better.
Oh and by the way, i think OC games arent all that great, console games are better. And i have to agree with MD_Reptile’s last message.
and thats PC not OC. juat to let you know.
your a joke kid. Obviosly you do not play video games… Your probly just tring to act all anarchy to the best game for the consel. in other works your a noob….
That’s your opinion “yourajokekid.” You obviously know very little about me and decided that, just because I don’t like Halo, you think I’m a joke.
Anarchy has nothing to do with not liking Halo, I’m sorry to disappoint you.
Also, just to clear things up. I’m not strictly anti-console gaming by any means. I love Gears of War and think that it is a phenomenal game. In fact, I don’t understand why anyone would be excited for Halo 3 when a game like Gears of War exists, but I guess that is just my free-from-Bungie-brainwashing mind talking.
Just because I don’t like Halo doesn’t mean I don’t play video games my “friend.” Also, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that just because you post nonsensical comments doesn’t mean you’re a complete noob. Perhaps Halo is just very dear to your heart and, therefore, reading something that didn’t praise it made you feel very insecure.
Alex.
I have to agree with what you are trying to say here in part. I have to agree that a lot of PC games are often miles better than console games, yet again in part. however i have to criticise your crude judgement of bungie & their developing product – halo 3.
whether you appreciate what i write & what i offer you is completely up to you!
halo 3 is part of a series, it began with a good game which had an amazing play “feel” the story could have been worked on agreed but thats something we really can’t help (seeming as the story was already written out in books before halo 2 even came out!). halo 2 provided another good contribution to our FPS world with a newer, faster paced mulitplayer game. again it was let down with the poor story, this being a focal point of buyers to halo 3. i for one, would not be satisfied if i didn’t see whether they managed to save their franchise & brand name or not. another bad point with halo 2 was that the combat in general was too tin-man like. in halo 1 when you clubbed some one with a plasma rifle you felt as if you had just cracked their skull. halo 2 lost that, so i see where you come from (plus the fact that when you dual wield weapons they take up a third of your screen so you can’t see what your doing so well).
the producers of halo 3, in particular tom doyle, seem to be getting a few things right my friend. they for one are bringing back the assault rifle! plus the various new goodies such as trip mines, spiker grenades, bubble shields, etc. you never know, they may even take that extra step & implement a jackal shield, there was talk of it if i remember correctly around halo 2 as well. back to the point, they really seem to be putting more into this one & i think you should sit back and give this a chance. true the like of wolfenstein are pretty amazing (i believe theres nothing more satisfying than sharp-shooting a whole camp of german storm troopers from about half a mile away through the snowy drifts!), but these come from the fact that PC’s are constantly upgrading & its something we should expect that the latest console could be rendered obsolete in a couple of years!
this probably looks like one messed up bark of a job but hey, at least i bothered to give my time to support both sides, eh?
You make some very valid points Moogle-Spit. This is what I like to see, intelligent arguments made by intelligent people.
I will agree with you on the point that Bungie appears (and I mean appears because we honestly can’t tell) to be making a decent effort in providing gamers with a good experience with Halo 3.
Once the game comes out, I’m going to be ready to play it. As much as I may dislike the Halo series, it wouldn’t be very responsible of me to spit all over a game I’ve never played. Besides, Halo is, at the very least, a decent way to waste a few hours on a rainy day.
Thank you.
i’m glad to hear it.
on the subject of brain washing or milking games far beyond worth, i would like to point out electronic arts a.k.a. EA with their seemingly never ending line of fifa and other sports games! they draw in customers world wide by signing top football players to pose for their covers but the games leave the player wondering what went wrong when they put the disk in.
anyway, i’ve said my bit & probably rambled on too much.
Good day!
I’m not insulting you Alex, but I really need to disagree with you on the graphical difference between Halo 2 and Halo 3. I’ve just finished playing the beta, and there is a huge, obvious difference between Halo 2 and 3. And the pictures that you linked to were from Alpha, which we can all agree looked like crap. The graphics in even the Beta are amazing. There are actual ripples in the water, trees bend and break when you hit them with cars, and there’s just so many things that make you stop and stare and then you get shot.
And Halo is pretty much the only FPS I enjoy. I don’t know why, there’s just something about it that makes it stand out from the crowd.
I guess people just have different opinions… for example I really don’t like Gears of War. Anywhom, that’s my two cents.
Oh, and I have in fact played Battlefield 2, which is also one of the few FPS I play. Not being a smartass, btw… just making a counterpoint…
Halo 3 may be the anticipated game right now, but I have a feeling that after few short months, Epic will announce their own masterpiece, “gears of war 2″. I’m still somewhat excited for “Halo 3″ to come out—it better live up to all the hype it’s getting now, or many gamers who waited this long will just be disappointed. But I do think that “Gears of War 2″ will be the ONE to beat “Halo 3″ to be called The Best Game Ever created!
” HEY, ROEAS! I DON’T KNOW WHETHER YOU CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A GOOD GAME AND AN AWESOME GAME, YOU BABOON FREAK! I WAS A HALO FANATIC, BUT WHEN I FINALLY PLAYED GoW—IT WAS THE BEST SHOOTER EVER CREATED…BAR NONE! WELL, MAYBE YOU WERE NOT EDUCATED ENOUGH—I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND—I FEEL SORRY FOR YOU…REALLY. DO YOU EVEN OPEN YOUR EYES WHILE PLAYING A SHOOTER GAME? PAY ATTENTION TO ALL DETAILS NEXT TIME, YOU DUMB-NUT!”
Just because you cannot understand ones fascination for a game does not mean you should resort to personal attacks. Ive played all the good fps’s for cpu and console systems and am a fan of many, but halo is still my favorite franchise, and its not because im brainwashed. Halo is so great because it is the only shooter ive played that allows me to snipe someone in the face while im jumping off the top of a building floating through the air. Its controls are just so damn fluent and the weapons are balanced very well, not perfectly (dont come back comparing the needler and sniper rifle), but very well. The melee is also a better, more functional feature than in most shooters. The grenade system is spot on, and the fact you can only carry 2-3 weapons at a time and switch quickly through them creates a very fast reacting fighting system in which one must continuously judge distance and pace. FU.
Bungie screwed up.
I may be a bit biased for not playing the beta, but I’m not throughly visually impressed by their presentation of the game.. especially when most of their game images/videos are obviously drawn or scripted. :Gears Of War this company actually has a reputation to live up to.
Yes, I’m indeed advertising a game made by the creators of GEARS.
Ok, first of all, you can’t just up and assume that people are being ‘brainwashed’ by a game. That’s comepletely rediculous and I’m going to have to call you an idiot for saying it. Secondly, from what I’ve seen in Halo, it does not, I repeat, DOES NOT, copy any other game I’ve played. Sure it has aliens in it and what not, but most every game you play today has aliens in it. And to say that the graphics aren’t better than Halo 2 is downright stupid of you. The pictures that have been posted of the beta were NOT COMPLETE. Before you go critisizing graphics, read some updates on the site. Another mistake you made was saying that pc games are better than console games. There are a great many games I have played that are far better than any PC game ever created. Sure Half-life 2 is fun, but there are games that are a lot more fun than that on the 360 (by the way, Halo and Halo 2 were made for the PC you dumbass so saying that they target console gamers is downright idiocracy. Learn more about Halo ya fucking moron OH and Bioshock is coming out for the 360. Again, you’re an idiot) And about Gears. I got that game, played it for a few weeks and then I never touched it again. I got bored after about 10 online games. There are only a few maps to play on, and only 4v4 games. That’s where Halo beats Gears. More players produces a lot more fun. And to even think about comparing the Wii to the 360 is even more stupid than saying Britney Spears is hott. It may have the whole motion sensor wiimote, but I’ve played FPS games on it. The controls are way too touchy, making it a lot harder to aim, and the graphics suck ass. Tell me, why would I get a game that has poor graphics and controls horribly when I can get amazing graphics with fluid motions? If it takes you more than 3 seconds to answer that question then you, my friend, are even more stupid than I thought you were. I’m not saying that Halo 3 is going to be ‘THE GOD OF ALL GAMES’ (There are a few others that are good as well) I’m just saying that it’s going to be one of the best FPS games ever created. Don’t go ranting about how lame it’s going to be if you haven’t played it. When it comes out, give it a try, and if you don’t like it then don’t go bitching to the world about how stupid it is, just stop playing it and wasting people’s time with your complaints. That’s my imput. Hope you enjoyed it
[...] 3 Fanboys: Case in Point Read this little gem I received in response to my editorial on the Halo 3 beta, Halo 3 Should be Renamed Halo 3: The [...]
Actually, you’ll be happy to know that I enjoyed it so much that I decided to make a fool out of you.
http://alextaldren.wordpress.com/2007/07/12/halo-3-fanboys-case-in-point/
the main reason why halo is so popular is because the original Halo was the first of it’s kind, completely original, and state of the art cutting edge quality… when bungie realized it could make a killing from this, it to the opportunity, it’s called good buisness and microsoft is famous for their good buisness practice…. secondly, halo 1, 2, and i’m going to speculate 3 as well, have always pushed the boundries of their consoles to the limit… your saying “Gears of War” is better than halo 2, rightly put, but take into consideration the fact that Gears is also on a completely seperate console, one that has been revamped from the original XBOX to alow the beautiful games like Oblivion and Gears to be born… Halo 3 will surpass any game already puplished for any of the three major consoles (PS3, Wii, and XBOX 360) as a FPS…
Well I’ll leave a comment since I can. I am a HUGE HUGE Halo fan, basically anything Bungie does I approve of. However, I doubt that’s due to any “brainwashing” since they started as a very small company making game for the PC (check Marathon series).
Your point on Halo3 not looking as good as Gears is pretty much true, but the art styles for the two are extremely different and the amount of area, enemies, foliage, etc etc in Halo3 is incredible. In the multiplayer for Halo3 there will be maps the size of some of the whole campaign maps in Gears.
Your point also on Halo being unoriginal doesn’t hold much validity either when you think about it, Halo:CE was the first game that had many of it’s mechanics in it: driving in the middle of a mission and can get out and in at any time(in an FPS I am aware of GTA
) only being able to carry a limited amount of weapons(not completly original but after the Halo implementation became very standard) various other things. So the things that you think Halo copied from probably copied from Halo.
but as I have pointed out things that are basically all things that a Halo fanatic would say you probably will juss dismiss this, but if you keep reading it’ll change. Halo is incredible and in my opinion the best games ever made, but can be improved. a little more variety in the new things they add would be a little nice, and for the story a little more filler during the games into the intricacies of the Covenant and the story behind the Master Chief and the whole Spartan II project.
I agree with your comment that Bioshock isn’t being publicized the way it should be, but it will be coming out for the 360 as well.
I have said what I have to say at this point, I’m not trying to sound to biased. I just hoped to bring out hard facts in defence for Halo and let you know some things you may not have
Have fun
I think it is wrong to think of Halo series as “bad” games”, im played them before and i found the multiplayer is the most fun you can have with a multiplayer game. As long as you have at least three people you will have bundles of random fun. The only thing the game is lacking is the single player missions, where as the stroy I found was not brought together as well as I would have wanted it to. If you take an honest view on this game, it is a very unique game, to say it it a copy-cat,
I would call it crazy. It is to me one of the best multiplayer shooter games alive to this point.
I’m also thinking of buying the Xbox 360 just for the new and upcoming Halo 3.
You guys are all dumbasses to even be fighting over this.
Comparing GOW to Halo?
GOW was sweet when it first came out……
…WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT.
It had graphics and style noone had ever seen before.
So does Halo.
GOW attempted to take over the whole mulitplayer experience, and while doing a better job than a lot of other games, is in no way comparable to the replay value that the Halo series has to offer. ESPECIALLY now that Halo 3 has such features as recording the game, screenshots, and customizing your own multiplayer scenario.
Not to mention once again boasting massive outdoor environments with thousands of things going on at once, and never drops a frame. And why is it, that everyone who comes out with an FPS feels (undoubtedly) their game will be compared to, the now industry standard for an FPS, Halo?
GOW’s graphics are great, and are a prime example of what you can do if you get the right people working on a game. However the game lacked severely in replay value and multiplayer experience. The levels were too small and within weeks everyone became a shotgun or torque bow expert. Thus the experience became predictable, and got old fast.
GOW was fun while it lasted…
But Halo always wins.
So there you have it.
The truth. Take it or leave it.
ok first off halo kicks ass it was an original game and halo3 is more original than halo 2 i am a halo fan and i will say halo 2 to me seemed like a graphically re altered and mildly twisted version of halo though this is my opinion i think halo 3 will be a great game and will sell the same if not more than the sequel of gears of war. yes gears of war was a good game ,WAS. its graphics were superior to halo 2 yes, but the maps were small and limited weapon use to make me not really bother picking up any weapon other than the chainsaw bayonet machinegun. this weapon made Gears a top seller. id assume u like gears cuz u suck at halo a much more customizable fps game and u like watchin ur opponets get chopped to bits. but the maps were very small and limited the best feature of the game was the campaign mode. it was interesting the first few times i played it but in days that got boring, though i was displeased with its multiplayer within the first day i had it, i hated the maps after jus 10 hours of multiplayer game play (accumulated). and comparing halo or any console game to a CP game is senseless. yea the games can look better on a CP but u can also install great graphics cards to make them look better. also anyone that plays “good” Cp games pretty much has to buy a computer devoted to gaming so whats the difference between buying a 360 for halo 3 or buying a more expensive personal computer system devoted to gaming? and one last assumption is that you play Cp games and do not own a 360 and because you are a devoted playstation and or nintendo gamer. if not you just wanna be heard. so you picked a side a made a biased blog you are not critiqing halo series you jus wanna stand out. and you keep replying defensively to bloggers because you are being proven wrong and you dont like it. but good job at makin yourself look absolutely retarded.
P.s. i hate you computer hypocrits your a bunch of noobs. a fps on a console controller is a lot more apealing than pushing complecated keyboard controls. and arcade style gaming is meant to be kept in arcades because the style gets tiring and graphics arnt great.
i bought a xbox for halo and a xbox 360 for halo 3. how can you compare halo 2 to gears? they came out at different times and developed for different consoles. look at any current screenshot of halo 3 and you will that the graphics surpase any game. Halo 3 pulls off spectacular graphics and effects at high speed action in huge enviroments, including vehicles. Gears you are moving slow in small maps with a limited color pallet. The features of halo 3 supase any game to date. For $400 you can get a game that looks great for everyone, unlike a pc where you spend $1000 or more to get the same quality. This article was published pre beta and judged on it. A “beta” is not a finished product it was developed for research and did just that. People say that halo is overhyped, over 1.5m preorders in august, that is more sales than most games get. No game is perfect but halo 3 is at the top for a reason.