Syphon Filter
Member
You always get mad when someone downplays casuals.
Halo 4 Announced (MS Conf, 2012, Start Of New Trilogy)
- Thread starter Sanic
- Start date
You always get mad when someone downplays casuals.
Aliens had space marines, and that didn't stop it from being one of the most influential science-fiction movies of the last 30 years. And you can't ignore the definite shift in tone between Halo 2, which explored the lore of the universe, and its wretched sequel, which was nothing more than a half-baked imitation with Michael Bay explosions and a paper-thin story complete with cliche deaths. It's like the writers just went down a checklist of action trilogy-ending events and shoehorned them into the narrative.
Jack Scofield
Member
It's just funny how COD stole Halo's popularity and audience, and now all of a sudden Halo fans are insulting the same people who made Halo popular in the first place.
It's just bitterness that Halo is (rightfully) not the online juggernaut it once was.
K
kittens
Unconfirmed Member
And that's why Alien is better. The marines are effing annoying.
I agree with you on the rest of your points, though.
Slightly Live
Dirty tag dodger
Halo 3 and Reach sold abut the same, so the audience didn't grow or shrink. The audience didn't go elsewhere.
Halo's fiction is actually pretty damn good.
Unfortunately every Halo game after Combat Evolved pretty much took a shit on the sense of mystique that the original created. Halo 2's story wasn't bad and was a step in a good direction I feel, but I don't even remember what happened in Halo 3.
Syphon Filter
Member
Good point but there is a difference in casuals now and lets say in 2004.
Syphon Filter
Member
Reach sold less which makes sense since it's not a real halo game with chief and all.
Jack Scofield
Member
The Xbox 360 audience grew between 2007 and 2010. Halo titles don't reflect this positive growth, which is indicative of its (somewhat) waning popularity.
Syphon Filter
Member
I dont meant that i didnt like Reach like others say. Halo 4 is the next real one,you will see that it will be the best selling Halo yet because of that.
Syphon Filter
Member
I think it's because of what i said above. We will see when Halo 4 launches.
Biggest-Geek-Ever
Member
Reach's lower sales can probably be attributed to Call of Duty's rise as much as anything. It's hard to sell the same amount of pie when there's a 15+ million monster on the horizon.
Halo 4 having the Chief and Cortana back will help matters, as would having a beta that showed some fantastic improvements to the Halo formula. *hint hint 343*
Halo 4 having the Chief and Cortana back will help matters, as would having a beta that showed some fantastic improvements to the Halo formula. *hint hint 343*
Monocle
Member
But...Halo does have a grand, interesting story. The world is really well thought out, with tons of plot-building details embedded in just about every aspect of the games—not just campaign spaces, but the multiplayer maps, weapon names and designs, even the music. That's Bungie for you, sparing no effort to pack in tidbits that they know only a fraction of players will appreciate.
Most of Halo's target audience doesn't care about plot stuff. For them the big draw is multiplayer. This is fine, but it doesn't alter the fact that every Halo title is structured around an intricate mesh of story references. Bungie missed no opportunity to develop their universe's fiction. It's all there if you take the trouble to look deeper.
Slightly Live
Dirty tag dodger
No.
Monocle
Member
Well, you sure proved me wrong.
I think a cinematic, more movie-like experience for the single player campaign (like Uncharted) could expand Halo's appeal further. Bungie tried with Reach, but it just felt awkward. I hope 343 is better at it (wouldn't be that hard to improve considering how poorly Bungie did it).
For me it's about the SP. I have all the Halo games except ODST and I've played like 10 minutes of the MP ever. I am a Gold member (have been since 2008).
Reagan's BR
Banned
The SP is a big part of it too. For me I come for the SP and stay for the MP.
To say the story isnt a big part of Halo is just kind of stupid to be honest. The books, comics and other forms of media sell amazingly well too. Pretty much every Halo fan still wants the movie to happen too.
Halo 3 was the game that really went with the sweeping vistas and movie-like experience. Halo Reach felt more like a documentary, in the mud sort of feel with all the different embedded camera angles and shots from surveillance and such.
Monocle
Member
OK, replace "most" with "many" in my other post.
I recall fragments of Halo 3, but nothing made such an impression that I could recount it in detail, least of all the story. I'm playing through Reach now and I honestly couldn't tell you what's going on. It's been fun, but I couldn't regurgitate the story if a gun was held to my head.
Uncharted, on the other hand, I can recall nearly every set piece and what went on throughout the story of all three games because of the way they presented it. I think Halo could benefit from a similar approach of having a more cinematic flair and not just relying on huge vistas to make an impression.
It's weird, back when I used to post in the Reach OTs, I always used to argue how Reach had, by far, the best MP in the series. But it never stuck with me. For some inexplicable reason I've yet to put my finger on, I exhausted myself of it much faster than any other game.
I still pop it in on the occasion when I get friends over for some local multiplayer hilarity (still the best local MP game out, and that's the kind of multiplayer I love most) and get vibes of it being everything and more I wanted in Halo from Halo 1, but the story and universe is still what keeps me bound to the series. Unlike most, I haven't been terribly offended by their direction with the series in the past few games. Yeah some shit in Halo 3 felt forced but I still felt it came together decently and not what I'd classify as disappointing. Halo 3 was one hell of a ride I'll never forget.
I still pop it in on the occasion when I get friends over for some local multiplayer hilarity (still the best local MP game out, and that's the kind of multiplayer I love most) and get vibes of it being everything and more I wanted in Halo from Halo 1, but the story and universe is still what keeps me bound to the series. Unlike most, I haven't been terribly offended by their direction with the series in the past few games. Yeah some shit in Halo 3 felt forced but I still felt it came together decently and not what I'd classify as disappointing. Halo 3 was one hell of a ride I'll never forget.
REMEMBER CITADEL
Banned
I would love for Halo to be more like Half-Life 2, and less like a completely guided "cinematic" experience. Less (preferably none) static cutscenes, more things happening as you play. But I suppose it would be hard to tell such an epic story that way.
I suppose Half-Life's style works as well (story was memorable at least), but I thought the games were boring as hell.
godhandiscen
There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
No, fuck Half Life and it's brainless AI, shit gunfights and silent protagonist. Half Life 2 is the FPS that could never appeal to me. Please 343i, if you are going to look for examples of how to tell a story in an FPS, look at Bioshock, not Half Life.
Reach's story is so frustrating because there's something there that could be special with a few minor changes and alterations here and there. But it's such a mish-mash of elements that never really gells. Halo 3 was just absolutely terrible. You could literally slap Michael Bay's name on the front of it and pass it off as one of his works. Hell, Dark of the Moon had a deeper storyline than Halo 3.
REMEMBER CITADEL
Banned
True, I had the same problem with Deus Ex, and it's another one of my favorites.
FateBreaker
Member
I think the biggest reason why I'm a fan is for the campaign/story, not multiplayer. It is a bit ironic, though, since in total hours, competitve multiplayer probably accounts for 99% of game time.
Oblivionmancer
Member
I'm not sure that's true, as for at least some portion of the audience Reach still didn't count as a 'real' entry in the series because it wasn't the Master Chief in Halo 4. I don't really get that point of view but it's out there.
More importantly, the sales curve from 3 to Reach has nothing to do with why I was disappointed by the story in 3 compared to 1 and 2. You can not like that opinion and continue to say that Halo's story/world have sucked all along, but don't accuse my differing perspective of just being sour grapes because Halo didn't outsell Call of Duty. As long as Halo sells enough to continue existing, and continues to be the excellent series it is (in spite of its shortcomings) then sales really don't matter that much to me.
I don't get Halo 3 story fans.
How about this?
http://www.2old2play.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=564571#564571
You're not going to see a multiplayer only Halo. If you sell an FPS, especially with Halo, you better have campaign or it's going to die. The online section of all retail games is much smaller than people like to pretend they are.
AllIsOneIsNone
Banned
People *continue* to play halo after the 10-20 hour mark because of multiplayer. The average halo fan I know has probably played at least 100 hours per game, therefore multiplayer is much more significant, in my opinion.
edit: and man, bungie didn't treat it like it was more significant for Reach. Personally I think they should put at least 75 percent of their development into mp; Reach had like 8 team slayer maps upon release and 2 of them were remakes. I've said it before and I'll say it again. 3 years, Bungie!
edit: and man, bungie didn't treat it like it was more significant for Reach. Personally I think they should put at least 75 percent of their development into mp; Reach had like 8 team slayer maps upon release and 2 of them were remakes. I've said it before and I'll say it again. 3 years, Bungie!
AllIsOneIsNone
Banned
You think people play call of duty for the single player?
Yeah, about 50% of Call of Duty customers never once connect to online services according to Activision.
AllIsOneIsNone
Banned
Slightly Live
Dirty tag dodger
Phonomezer
Banned
I still can't believe there has been no footage.
dragonelite
Member
Phonomezer
Banned
I thought that was the reason gaf was down
Yeah I thought something amazing (controversial) had happened too
And that's the higher end.
Most games average 15% of retail copies sold ever actually playing online, with the bigger titles doing 20-25%. Then the REALLY big titles go a bit higher.
60% of the Live userbase doesn't use Live to play games, but for streaming and buying/renting movies and shows, by the way.
The Wii Fit board has a bigger install base than Xbox Live.
edit: Now you know why some people get annoyed when a publisher wastes money throwing multiplayer into a game just for a marketing bulletpoint when that time could have been better spent on single player (not talking about Halo here - but other games)
And to clarify further, when they say "50% have connected to online services," that means simply logging into XBL or PSN once ever, not even necessarily logging into a Call of Duty MP game.
higherARC05
Banned
Is it normal for me to dream of HALO 4 every night?
The Librarian
Banned
For small story stuff, sure. Delivering information during gameplay is something that is unique to videogames and should be taken advantage of.
But as a replacement for cutscenes? Absolutely not. It'd be weird hearing the MC talk in first-person, and that doesn't allow for people to see him do some badass things.
Huh? Greg Bear's novels are, from my understanding, background information for the next trilogy. If that counts as "tying into," then you might as well stop hoping now.