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[Ryudo]

Yea really dude,quit dodging the question :lol

What makes Halo 2 so overrated?

Halo hating doesnt take brains.

 

[Ramirez]

Jk...

The pistol now sucks. Just sucks.

The pistol is probably the best weapon in the game as far as dual wielding goes.

The new covenant weapons are wack and useless, outside of the sniper rifle. Which I dont like. The covenant carbine and fuck ALL the new weapons are lame and useless, they are not as balanced and useful as every single weapon in the first game was. Outside of MAYBE the grunt grenade launcher, thats pretty cool.

The Carbine,it's essential for taking down snipers or battle rifles or whatever,its just an all around great weapon. How can you not like a sniper?

I dont like dual wielding. Even after finishing the game I still am not comfortable with it, I always fuck up. I just really dont like it at all.

*shrug* best addition to the game,easily :lol

I LOVE the sword but I hate how it runs out of ammo. WEAKSAUCE.

The game would be piss poor easy if it didn't run out

 

[J2 Cool]

EGM are such Halo whores. They treat it as a godlike untouchable game. I enjoy it but EGM really are starting to get on my nerves with this

 

[DCharlie]

"I LOVE the sword but I hate how it runs out of ammo. WEAKSAUCE."

and they need to add ammo to the sword in multiplayer, i f*cking HATE the sword - it's just so lame.

 

[Ramirez]

Sword is easy to take down The problem comes in when you use it like I do and just carry one gun and just whip it out as I need it.The dudes who run with it out all the time are easy to kill.

 

[Wario64]

I love the people who run out in the open with the sword out THE WHOLE TIME. Even when you're like 15 feet away from them, they'll run in a straight line to you without switching weapons :lol

 

[jkooXL]

DC I wanna hear your take on one player at Tokyopia!!

 

[nitewulf]

Based on taste, you can prefer Halo 2 or Ninja Gaiden to any other game. I have no problem with that. In terms of production values, creativity, gameplay and attention to details, they're nowhere near MGS3, RE4, Ico or GTA. And that's why they don't deserve the GOTY awards.

Ninja Gaiden has great production values, it's very polished. Whereas GTA:SA isnt. I don't get your comparison. You can take out Halo 2 due to texture pop in and other issues, but I just can't see how you can neglect the extreme polish of NG as compared to any of the other high budget Japanese games you mentioned.
And I have no clue as to why you mentioned Ico, it came out before 2004.

 

[djtiesto]

Do you mean length? I think content should outweigh polish when handing out some pseudo-title. A new vision, epic scope or awe inspiring experience should trump a well-oiled soulless game experience. Halo 2 was an epic experience, but I almost feel like the truly memorable part of it was simply being a serious gamer during the time it was released. I know it continues to pain a lot of people that it is well regarded, but for those who's panties aren't tied to a certain console or bias at all times, it was an interesting experience in and out of game. It was a historical moment of hype/mainstream acceptance/and anticipation all crashing in at once for the industry. Luckily it's a pretty decent game besides. No great shakes in celebrating that despite all the pretention to art and Japanophilia that gets such mileage on GAF.

Giving game of the year to Outrun 2 (though it's a fun little game) would be a minimalist sham. Giving it to Fable is celebrating hype gone wrong, hype highlighting what didn't deliver (it's also a good game, but it didn't deliver). Giving it to Metroid Prime 2 would be to highlight the well-oiled machine. But frankly, that would be boring and unworthy of the moment to moment excitement and ethereal nature that's part and parcel with gaming.

I wish GTA:SA could have garnered some more support and serious attention among more public forums - silly to think about, the game will continue to sell millions and we all talked about it. It's another example of "content over polish" in your take, and it's hard to argue that. There's rough little facets that both annoy and allow incredible freedoms and gameplay. That said, it's also, IMHO, the closest thing the gaming industry can deliver to "art" in that fledgling debate. No other title gives full-bore satire such a populist engine to ride on...there's so many levels to enjoy and explore, whether you're a deep thinkin' analyst or simply interested in killing the coppers. The fluidity of that movement is almost part of the game and the enigma of the series. It's a pop-icon...hated, loved and misunderstood and fully capable of being the target of all those lenses. What a brilliant, maybe evil maybe genius creation. I think next time there's a thread about "what games are art?" and everyone lists Ico and Katamari (once again, fine games) with little post ups of concept art and discourses about their zen nature...I'll remember that "hardcore" gamers aren't changing the landscape any more than the rest of the crowd. Or rather, just as much.

Um, anyhow, booo, why didn't GTA:SA win game of the year? I killed a bunch of hookers!

Nice post, great way of looking at the issues... I wouldn't really give GOTY to Outrun 2 either, I'm just saying how it was trashed pretty bitterly in a lot of the game mags, mostly because of its length. And at the same time, an 80 hour RPG gets praised... Then again, a lot of people seem to want the games they spend like $50 for take forever to beat ... I have a friend who, the longer the game, the better... I am fine with the 35-hour average for RPGs, but the last few I beat were all 50 hours long, which is annoying!

On Halo 2 - I didn't really much care for the first Halo, but I've been playing Halo 2 for the past week or so (got it last week), took it on Live for the first time today. And I like it... much more than the first one. But it still feels a lot like the first Halo to me, only with improved controls and more stuff... the game definitely has a real epic feel, I'll give you that (chasing down and fighting the spider walker in the metropolis level)... but at the same time, for all the really cool parts, there are real slow-paced and boring parts, like riding down the highway into the city for 15 minutes in the tank. The level design also feels rather linear (walk down a hallway, big open room, leads into another hallway), but then again, the last single player FPSes I've played to any length were Wolf 3D and Doom I would give Halo 2 an 8 if I were reviewing it, I think, cuz it's an enjoyable game, but it has its share of flaws... but when people start calling it "BEST GAME EVER!" I'll have to get on their case about that

Either way, it's a damn good time to be a gamer - it's nice to have a lot of enjoyable games to play, whether you prefer Ninja Gaiden (which I also got recently, I came in late on the whole Xbox deal), MGS3, Halo 2, GTA:SA, or whatever... It'll probably be really slow coming into the end of this year, as new systems come into play.

My favorite game of 04 would probably have to be Shadow Hearts:Covenant, personally... I enjoyed nearly everything about that game and there were no niggling issues (like say, with SO3) for me. But then again, I played a lot of games this year, on as diverse systems as the N64 and Turbo Duo.

 

[Fixed2BeBroken]

people who loved halo 1 and bitch about halo 2 are just tards who cant adapt. you need to be a giraffe.

the game is better in almost every way.

i loved halo 1 as well, and i learned to adapt. the game is a major improvement. yea the old pistol is gone. that pistol was great. but it was overpowered. there is no reason why there should be only one weapon used in the game and all other weapons are neglected. thats why it was changed. other weapons got neglected, and there needs to be a balance.

I only have 2 problems with halo 2, well not really 2, more like 1 problem and one annoyance. We need more medium/small maps.....and perhaps weapon balance on certain maps because this game isnt about "Protect the sniper!"...sorry, its just really retarded how that works out. you know what im talking about. the goal in the game is to get To sniper first then everyone take one spot and "PROTECT THE SNIPER!" sorry, that shit is lame as hell. the thing I find annoying is Fuckin Rockets. They just annoy me. Or rather, the little bitches who Whore rockets and think they are Great at the game and talk all this smack cause they killed like 3 people with it....OMG! YOUR SO GOOD! YOU KILLED 2 PEOPLE AT THE SAME TIME WTIH....A ROCKET!

Oh and the need to Boost Needler/brute shot some how...make them better...cause they suck ass and everyone knows it.

other than that, its all gravy. I actually enjoy this more than most PC multiplayer FPS (and yes, I have just about all of them...realistic ones and non realistic ones)

peace

 

[Musashi Wins!]

My favorite game of 04 would probably have to be Shadow Hearts:Covenant, personally... I enjoyed nearly everything about that game and there were no niggling issues (like say, with SO3) for me. But then again, I played a lot of games this year, on as diverse systems as the N64 and Turbo Duo.

That was a good game. I'm not crazy enough about RPGs to be an expert, but I thought it really had a sense of humor and atmosphere unlike anything else out there.

I don't disagree with what you're saying about Halo 2. I think it benefitted from the hype...in a way it only could by being a damn good game. A damn good game, mixed with unholy anticipation and marketing can be quite an experience and I understand why it won so many awards. I don't begrudge it. Multiplayer is addicting as hell, even when it annoys me.