PooBone
Member
This is the truth.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Halo Anniversary |OT| It All Comes Full Circle
- Thread starter GhaleonEB
- Start date
At least they acknowledged there is lag, they won't even admit to the frame rate stutters. =/
Myoclonic Jerk
Member
I'm not a Halo fan, but I picked up Halo Reach when it first came out and absolutely loved it.
Should I get this game? or Halo 3 is better? I want to get into the series more..
maybe Halo wars?
Should I get this game? or Halo 3 is better? I want to get into the series more..
maybe Halo wars?
Slightly Live
Dirty tag dodger
Definitely pick up Halo 3 if you haven't already - it's pretty much the definitive Halo experience on the 360 and it's matured pretty well over the past few years. It features some of the best levels in the franchise, some of the prettiest and jaw-dropping environments and the online multiplayer is still kicking.
I'd suggest picking up Anniversary first and diving straight in. Enjoy the game for the first time and soak it all in. It might feel dated in some places but overall the game is timeless and it's perfect for any new Halo fan jumping in with Reach to start on the Halo journey.
If you have a PC, Halo 2 Vista will let you continue the story and maybe you'll appreciate the games a little more if you play them in order (thankfully Reach is a prequel so you've done no harm in starting there).
Halo Wars is mixed bag. As a fan, I loved the Hollywood level blockbuster CGI and it's easily the most effortless RTS console game to play through but it's not a shooter. If you want Halo lore, it's packed full and I think any fan could get something worthwhile out of it.
Myoclonic Jerk
Member
thanks Slightly, will keep that in mind in my next round of buying games..
I didn't really like Halo Wars to be honest. It's a completely different game compared to H:CE, H2 and H3.
I'd definitely get them all in the right order and finish the campaigns. If you don't, you might get a little bit confused.
thanks to halo 2 and 3s "great" storytelling, he will be confused anyway.
The Librarian
Banned
Huh? Halo 2's story was remarkable.
storytelling, not the story itself.
ElRenoRaven
Member
Um both games were great. 2 expanded the great story out and 3 tied it all up nicely.
The Librarian
Banned
What was wrong with Halo 2's storytelling?
Start with Halo Anniversary. Don't play another Halo game until you do.
It was a bit jarring when switching Arbiter and Master Chief storylines as fast as they did. The first time I played it, I had no idea what the hell was going on and why I suddenly switched to the alien side. I was like 10 or so, but still... to a story newcomer it can be difficult.
IIRC 343i are using their own evolution of the Halo 3 engine, supposedly they started working on their take on the engine 3+ years ago.
So it will possibly end up looking much different than Reach, hopefully they got rid of TAA in favor of a post-processing AA like FXAA or MLAA - that could help the IQ immensely which was the only downside of Reach visually IMO.
I always kind of liked the Library and didn't quite understand the hate it got. With its new graphics and the gameplay the shotgun creates as well as its new sites and sound, The Library has become one of my favorite levels in CEA.
-----
I just beat PoA on Legendary with the grunt funeral skull on. That made it almost too easy. I think I'll turn that off for the next levels. Fun skull though.
-----
Ok skulls. I finally found some. I'm going to spoiler-tag the rest.
I found the skull in the cryo room on PoA, then the one near the waterfall on Halo. I know Keyes doesn't have any skulls. Can someone tell me how many skulls each level has? Are all the skulls similar to find, by looking in familiar places like this?
Personally, I really loved the way in which the story unfolded in Halo CE. The Halo universe unfolded to us in pulse-pounding bits and scraps, we were always learning on the fly and were 2 steps behind in trying to figure out what was going on. We were always told less than what we wanted to know, and it was so exciting to be led by the seat of our pants into unknown situations in an arresting, overwhelming universe. The Covenant were never humanized by having their society shown like in Halo 2, and were therefore more menacing. As an example, having the elites speak Shakespearean English was jarring in Halo 2, I much preferred the inhuman and therefore unnerving barks they made in Halo CE.
Halo 2 actually opted overall for long storytelling sequences that robbed us of the taut mystery that Halo CE was. You can really see the stylistic difference in the musical score. Halo CE opted for basic electronic tracks that were designed to keep your heart racing and the serotonin flowing. But starting with Halo 2, the music slowly became much more dramatic, slower, and more complicated orchestral pieces. Halo CE still represents one of the finest examples of a sustained adrenaline rush seen in video gaming.
The Librarian
Banned
It seems to me like you have problems with what was told in the game, not how it was told. What you tell in a story influences how you tell it. I'd rather not listen to twenty-odd minutes of dialogue with subtitles to "wort wort wort."
I don't think, because you don't know what's going on the first time you play it, it means the story is being told in a poor way. Hell, you're not going to really follow, or get, most of what happens in Heinlein's "–All You Zombies" until you've read it once and read it over a second time.
I think once you complete it the first time, it becomes smoother the more you play it. Halo 2's very smooth, I think.
Edit: Let's take playing as the Arbiter as an example. First time playing it, you were probably thinking, "What the fuck?" And that would make it really jarring, but as you get used to the idea, so does that lessen the abruptness of the character change.
Edit 2: There's a differnce between a dense script and a script that tells a story poorly. You're not going to understand, or really follow, most of what goes on in The Wire the first time through. That doesn't mean it's poor storytelling.
Each level except Keyes has at least one skull. Some have two.
Check this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzzDGwOFtNo&feature=player_embedded
Some are easy to get. A couple require the more advanced technique of grenade jumping.
What I want to know is which levels have 2? I don't want to be hunting for a 2nd skull if there isn't one, heh. I know
AotCR has 2.
Does this vid show where they are? I don't want to know yet, still want to find on my own.
Tha Robbertster
Member
ElRenoRaven
Member
*Corrected my mistake below*
Nice! Thanks guys. Hopefully I can find them on my own. Its a nice way to explore the environments some more.
Good catch. Thanks man.
Good catch. Thanks man.
ElRenoRaven
Member
oh crap forgot. The levels
Halo and The Library do too
So to recap the levels with 2 skulls are:
Halo
Assault on the Control Room
Silent Cartographer
The Library
Assault on the Control Room
Silent Cartographer
The Library
The Librarian
Banned
Oh you!
BoobPhysics101
Banned
Going to pick this up for $15 today at the Microsoft Store. So psyched to replay the first Halo with current gen graphics.
scar tissue
Banned
That's why I thought Reach is the best Halo since the first. Getting only glimpses into the menacing, mysterious society of the Covenant is so much better than lengthy cutscenes with the Arbiter talking English.
Every level except Keyes?
Alright, its conspiracy time. There is a secret skull in Keyes that unlocked the GRD armor and the 12th terminal.
ElRenoRaven
Member
Honestly I was shocked it didn't have one. It's really weird that every level has one and in those cases listed above 2 yet that level has none. They could have easily taken one of the levels that had 2 and move one to that level yet they didn't.
Honestly I'd love to hear why it doesn't. I'm interested as hell in the decision not to include one on that level.
Perhaps the Grunt Funeral was on the mission initially, but they decided to remove it and make it a preorder bonus instead?
ElRenoRaven
Member
Even if that was the case why not just move one of the others to that level where it was since they had several with 2? Still just seems like a weird choice.
goldenpp72
Member
They always did, huge pain on the library for me back in the day on legendary.
The lighting is some of the best I've ever seen console wise
I disagree.
Some textures look like they are straight photographs, much of the content was produced for other games in the series, awkward intrusions of new styles for no apparent reason, illogical additions of detail, and completely lost the character of the original.
These are just a few of the things I have to say about it with my limited time with it.
soulassssns
Banned
If you would like to dispute my assertions I would like to hear it.
soulassssns
Banned
343i has on numerous occasions explained their choice in their many video prior to launch.
I think the new updated art direction in the game is consistent throughout. The choice to reuse Reach assets was for that exact reason. Not once through my many play throughs did I feel 343i had somehow ruined the feel of the original.
Ken Masters
Banned
The main reason I would get this game would be for coop online and if they can't get that right I'll wait for the $20 tag
Reach would-be better if it had less film grain and more interesting environments. New Alexandria, Exodus, Tip of the Spear and many of the others are just so boring to look at.Brown, sandy. Best Skyboxes though.
Reach needed more interesting levels based off of Anchor 9, Breakpoint, Highlands and other MP environments. But we know Bungle cheaped out there.
Reach needed more interesting levels based off of Anchor 9, Breakpoint, Highlands and other MP environments. But we know Bungle cheaped out there.
Diablohead
Member
Was skull hunting today, found 2 or 3 without trying in my first heroic run but now I am using a guide, halo honor -10 I know but I just don't have time to search myself right now due to work.
At first I thought this game was a nice throwback to the classic game, now I love it to bits even if the old design of stages is repeated rooms. Also I agree the AI of halo CE to this day is still amazing compared to a lot of games out there, if they kept that AI for halo 4 I would still be happy.
At first I thought this game was a nice throwback to the classic game, now I love it to bits even if the old design of stages is repeated rooms. Also I agree the AI of halo CE to this day is still amazing compared to a lot of games out there, if they kept that AI for halo 4 I would still be happy.
StalkerUKCG
Banned
I honestly do not see the problem people had with it, Can people not nade jump?