Topic: Halo appreciation

recently got the MCC for PC & i just wanna take the time out to say how amazing Halo CE is - hear me out , yes the game has obnoxious glaring flaws that made me want to break something, but its hard for its shortcomings to overshadow just how much/or how great , other aspects of the game are. looking at the game through 2001 and 2023 eyes , i want to say that first and foremost- the A.I. is done extremely good, ive never seen better A.I. in a (fps)game to date , the enemies are very smart , engaging , calculative & challenging , i seriously applaud the programmers of the game, they were really talented and geniuses .

secondly - the sound effects are amazing and very powerful . the attention to detail of what you hear throughout the game and the impactful-ness of it all, the weapons & grenades sounds, the tunes of the ambient atmosphere , everything just sounds so powerful & the late 90's-early 00s cheesy voice-acting and enemy lines are amazing. its not even a ''so bad its good" situation , the game just has so much personality that flows so well & makes it timeless. the sounds, soundtrack, and voicelines give so much value and life to the game its a 10/10.

the level design is the reason why i say linear will always be better than open-world. yes halo CE has big levels , but theyre just that- big levels, its not open-world; and because its not open world, each level feels different and like a new experience despite the devs copy/pasting and padding sections - because even with that being done isnt enough to detract from the variety, atmosphere, and different feel of each level , which is kind of an accomplishment .

lastly , the pacing and set pieces are done great. its only held back by the incessant padding the game suffers from . overall despite me saying ''i hate ce'' everytime i died on heroic , i cant help but really appreciate just how great this game was for its time and still is. its a very ambitious game with tons(not literally) of revolutionary features, the insane attention to details (sounds, different gun animations when switching, etc, etc) that brings so much life to it, great atmosphere & game length despite the padding, great writing and set pieces, etc honestly everything i could want in a game it delivered and the people that made it were all very talented and you could tell they were gamers. that same attention to details and soul is missing so much from modern day (fps) games imo.

imo is it the best halo ?

well id say

nah, that still goes to halo reach.

@nomither6 I refound Halo through Gamepass and the MCC. I've forever had a soft spot since playing CE with my now older son, way back when.

Halo CE is fantastic, the thought put into its design and world left a lasting impression. Even now the first four levels are imprinted in my brain.

From level 5 it's still good, the reused assets and getting lost often, do take away from the experience. The flood are a fantastic enemy, initially its brilliant. However you face quite a lot of repetition and the same situations again and again. Clearly padding to lengthen the game.

Halo 2 suffers from a bit of repetition and reused assets, initially the first few levels are great! Around halfway through the quality drops once you are going around the covenant installations and alien areas.

Halo 3 sorts that issue out more or less and ODST and Reach imo are great games in their entirety.

Halo 4 drops the ball on story and enemy design, although it is still a good game. Halo 5 is decent in parts but again the story is rubbish and you can't really take it seriously. Story is a huge part of Halo. In CE through to Halo Reach it works well. From 4 it's an absolute cluster. And that includes infinite.

@themcnoisy currently playing through 2 and unfortunately it’s bugged on PC , so i can’t really give an “up-to-date” opinion about it .

but why isn’t halo 4’s story good to you ? i thought it was great , the writing/dialogue was really good and the chemistry between cortana and chief was great & i like it for basically the same reasons i like CE , the feeling of chief being alone in this huge world against armies of enemies and the strong atmosphere of the game .

my only negative from it is the garbage ass promethean enemies - super boring . but it ended perfectly imo & should’ve been the end of halos story .

@nomither6 sorry for the delayed response mate. Okay so Halos story is about the Halo rings and why they exist. The covenant is a great foyle in religious lunatics unknowingly harbouring a deathwish. Master Chief is a mostly silent main character you view the action through and cortana makes sense as a sidekick. The story is pretty easy to understand. The bad guys are bad, you are saving the universe one installation at a time. Various characters show up and are easily explained. The motivations, connections and scenarios all slot together.

CE has a great story. It fills out the galaxy and rules of the world. And introduces the flood! The real threat to existence.

2 ups the stakes and shows the game from arbiters point of view. It's a great halfway episode with additional flavour which adds to the original and makes sense. Adjourning gaps left by CE and setting up 3.

3 closes everything down and finishes the trilogy well. Great missions and a superb send off. The universe is safe. Roll the credits.

ODST and Reach help evolve understanding of the Halo universe. Taking place in single worlds facing their own dilemmas. The covenant are a real menace and not to be taken lightly. Suffice noble team taking a big defeat. Humans are weak and we have been caught off guard.

None of the games have Oscar winning scripts but they are all adequate and occasionally charming.

From Halo 4 quasi Sci fi language and random mcguffins are everywhere. So you are asleep and accidentally wake up and are in this great new place under attack (sounds like Halo infinite) Cortona has lost the plot. New enemies want to kill you because why not. Some random alien super boss is now back on the scene and master chief is there to save the day. Its so ridiculous and bears no resemblance to what has happened before. Its as if 343 sat around reading badly thought out fanfiction and developed from there.

You can believe (to a degree) as master chief you would do the things he does throughout the trilogy. The missions make sense. In 4 I honestly went through the motions and took none of it in. I was pressing in game buttons and running to the next one. The guns were uninspired and nothing says 'future scifi' like floating islands and shiny enemies. I've finished Halo 4 a few times and I am still stumped.

5 continues from 4 and is somehow even less engaging. I actually enjoyed the combat in Halo 5, but MC is acting like a complete nob. Totally out of character. Cortana is the bad guy for the lols. It's so forgettable. The story basis is all wrong. Some of the ingame chat is high standard and sections of the game are fun. But it's built on a bed of gobbledegook and cortana worship. It's also short and outside of fanboys is weak and forgettable.

Halo Infinite, man. Honestly. It starts like Halo flipping 4! The basis of the game is again flawed. You have the new break away covenant (great idea which is a positive) and goes nowhere. Again littered with sci-fi mumbo jumbo and none of it makes sense. The story is just a device to get the open world rolled out.

A good story basis was always integral to Halo. Master Chief was the unlucky hero caught up in it all. Since Halo 4 the universe rules and motivations are a mess.

@themcnoisy but halo 3 ended on a cliffhanger in the true ending after beating it on legendary & halo 4 immediately picks up where halo 3 really ended.

@nomither6 Good stuff. I started playing this on Xbox One and I felt the same about the first game although I hated the part with a lot of underground levels. I found the AI extremely good and, at the same time, it made fights epic and real. There is a lot of strategy involved because of the different enemy types, positioning and movement but a lot of fun and satisfying gameplay at the same time. Halo reminded me of some Metroid Prime stuff although Metroid Prime enemies look stupid standing still and shooting in front of you. Another shooter that I think that took strategy to the next level is Doom Eternal. However, I've only played Halo CE Anniversary, Halo 2 Anniversary and Halo 3 so I can't comment on what @themcnoisy says.

@Banjo- glad we share the same thoughts ! i’m currently playing through 3 again after finishing halo 2 , and so far IMO i still rank CE as the best . doom is next on my radar , i’ve never played doom before but always wanted to check it out

metroid prime as well , but i honestly prefer to play it on my gamecube or wii so i have to order it from amazon . now that i think about it , i could actually play the whole trilogy !

as for halo 4 , i’d think you’d like the campaign , the enemies are boring though .

@nomither6 What Halo should I play next, 3 ODST or Reach?

You can get Metroid Prime for GameCube or even better the trilogy for Wii (it's very cheap digitally on Wii U). The trilogy includes the three games instead of just one like on Switch and has better controls.

EDIT: I didn't like Doom 2016 but Doom Eternal is one of the best shooters I've ever played. The strategy depth, dynamic controls and fun gameplay is outstanding.

@Banjo- id recommend playing reach since youve already played 3, 2, & CE; halo reach is a prequel to halo CE and if you complete reach , then you basically completed the franchise ( reach- CE - 2 - 3) , unless you personally want to consider Halo 4 cannon . Reach is my favorite halo.

And im torn about metroid prime , but it would make more sense to get it for the Wii. i just thought about getting it for my gamecube for the ''real'' experience y'know? but Wii it is. i have a hdmi converter for my wii and the trilogy most likely has GC controller support.

and thats surprising to hear you prefer Doom Eternal over 2016. again im not familiar with the DOOM franchise , but id usually hear people say they prefered 2016. glad you liked Eternal more, it sounds better to me too going by your statements. can i start with Eternal without having to play the first one ?

@nomither6 Thanks, I'll play Reach next. About Metroid Prime Trilogy, it doesn't support Gamecube controllers. I have the Gamecube versions of 1 and 2 and the Metroid Prime Trilogy (3 is a Wii game, that I also have). The controls on Wii/Wii U are really good with the Wii and nunchuk, I can share my settings if you choose the trilogy and have any issues. I wouldn't go back to the Gamecube versions although there should be a Gamecube controller option in the trilogy just like Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition can be played with a Gamecube controller. In short, I think it's better to get the Trilogy but it depends on how are you going to get the games, officially or unofficially and how much will you pay... I haven't checked because I got them at launch. I don't know if you have a Wii U but the trilogy is just $20 there, I paid half that price because there was a launch offer. Imagine Nintendo doing that today, offering a trilogy for $10 🤣.

You can skip Doom 2016 if you wish. Doom 2016 is simpler than Doom Eternal and I think that many people like that but the maps and the gameplay is a real chore in my book. Doom Eternal, once you get used to the controls, gives you a freedom I can only compare to Super Mario World, like you are running and "flying" with the grappling hook and you still have full control. I got all the collectibles in Doom Eternal and still had a blast while I couldn't wait for Doom 2016 campaign to end. There were some battles in Doom Eternal that I will never forget because I was kind of flying, switching weapons depending on the enemy on sight and shooting airborne, while looking for better angles. I'm not the best shooter player but I dominated the controls and gameplay (in normal difficulty) and I felt like the best. I'm not a Doom fan and still I believe that Eternal is one of the best games that I've played. Granted, I used the Elite Controller which is incredibly handy for mapping the jump button to one of the lower paddles so you can jump and aim at the same time.

If you need anything about Metroid Prime games or Doom Eternal let me know, especially controls and settings because I might not remember all the secrets and routes LOL. I didn't get stuck in Doom Eternal but Metroid Prime 2 is a dual labyrinth.

EDIT:

My Metroid Prime Trilogy settings:

Options, Controls, Sensitivity: Advanced
Lock On/Free Aim: Off
Fire: A / Jump: B
Visor: - / Beam Hyper +