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Only one print review of Halo 2 before launch...and no spoilers included

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dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
mean, midi-like music in Wind Waker? WTF

That's a massive insult. The music quality in Halo is light years beyond the shit in Wind Waker.

Oh, and once again, Halo's music IS NOT MIDI.
 
dark10x said:
That's a massive insult. The music quality in Halo is light years beyond the shit in Wind Waker.

Oh, and once again, Halo's music IS NOT MIDI.

LOL...

he(littleberu) doesnt know what midi is but claims things to be midi.
 
just to clear it up.

midi is just a interface...a way for different machines (dealing with music) to communicate to each other.

and it also not only helps communication but can also arrange things thru midi, etc.

you cant make something SOUND like midi at all. I can throw some samples on a asr10, and then connect the thru midi onto a midi controller and have that midi controller go thru different notes on my sampler and it will play the sampled music based on the midi communication.

its SOMETHING like s/pdif or aes/ebu but very different to.

but either way....you cant say something sounds midi.

thats retarded.

if you are basing the fact, something may sound midi, because of "midi" on your comp, you must realize that those sounds that midi use arent MIDI sounds but just sounds on your computer to use with the midi interface.

peace
 

Lord Error

Insane For Sony
riddick fucked it up for everybody didn't it...
I'm really surprised noone has picked up on this quote. What is it supposed to mean? Riddick > Halo 2??

For the record, I have very little doubt Halo 2 is going to rock the cabash. First one was about the only FPS game I liked, and bothered to complete. In any case, Microsoft is very obviously, trying hard to inflate the hype in any way possible. Trying too hard perhaps? I don't know, too much hype probably never hurt anyone.
 

TekunoRobby

Tag of Excellence
I'm personally expecting Halo 1.5 with much tighter gameplay and phenominal level design. I'm REALLY excited for this game along with Half Life 2. Am I some sort of strange anomoly?
 

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
I'm looking forward to both games too...nothing wrong with that. I don't really see either game being direct competiton anyway. Most people who own consoles don't play PC games, and vice versa
 

Lord Error

Insane For Sony
Unless your name is Peter Molyneux.
Even him... How much do you think his last two games would sell if it wasn't for the massive hypoe around them? Probably not nearly as much as they did. Fable sold very well despite all the doubts people had after the unfulfilled hype from B&W.
 

chespace

It's not actually trolling if you don't admit it
Marconelly said:
I'm really surprised noone has picked up on this quote. What is it supposed to mean? Riddick > Halo 2??

For the record, I have very little doubt Halo 2 is going to rock the cabash. First one was about the only FPS game I liked, and bothered to complete. In any case, Microsoft is very obviously, trying hard to inflate the hype in any way possible. Trying too hard perhaps? I don't know, too much hype probably never hurt anyone.

well what i meant by that statement was this: riddick may not have been perfect (it's rather short, and it's rough in spots), but the game pushed the FPS genre in both design and graphics. simply put, it has raised the bar. now expectations for halo 2 are even higher.
 
I would also like a clarification from Che on what his post is supposed to mean regarding Riddick.

Che?

EDITL

oops speak of the devil. Is that some veiled quote that says Halo 2 does, does not meet, or surpass that bar?
 

DopeyFish

Not bitter, just unsweetened
chespace said:
well what i meant by that statement was this: riddick may not have been perfect (it's rather short, and it's rough in spots), but the game pushed the FPS genre in both design and graphics. simply put, it has raised the bar. now expectations for halo 2 are even higher.

Riddick might look better, but certainly doesn't play better (in respect to Halo, at least)

If Halo2 was just more levels and looked the same as Halo and had no new features, I would be extremely happy. Just because the gameplay in Halo is hot sex. Riddick was just foreplay.
 

IJoel

Member
chespace said:
well what i meant by that statement was this: riddick may not have been perfect (it's rather short, and it's rough in spots), but the game pushed the FPS genre in both design and graphics. simply put, it has raised the bar. now expectations for halo 2 are even higher.

Riddick was really great, don't get me wrong, but how has it "raised the bar?"

It has fantastic graphics and very good gameplay, but I can't think of that as raising the bar. There are many great quality games that have come out achieving near to (either better or not) the level of quality of Riddick during this generation.

FPS nowadays is such a wide field. In the same field as Riddick is Thief 3, which, while not as tight as Riddick, doesn't really fall short, nor too far away from it.

Anyway, thanks a lot for the mp3 link of the Halo Theme remix. It just rocks all flavors of ass.
 
All I know is I would have been very happy to have Halo 2 basically the same as Halo 1, just with new levels and online. But from the looks of it, they went well above and beyond the call of duty in giving us much more than that.
 

Mrbob

Member
chespace said:
well what i meant by that statement was this: riddick may not have been perfect (it's rather short, and it's rough in spots), but the game pushed the FPS genre in both design and graphics. simply put, it has raised the bar. now expectations for halo 2 are even higher.


o_O

What? You must be joking. If we are going to talk about FPS games that raise the bar wait for Half LIfe 2. Riddick may look pretty but it is designed by the numbers.
 

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
Riddick may have raised the bar...for games based on movie licenses :p It had great graphics and good gameplay. The game surprised me and many others, but I wouldn't consider the game groundbreaking or anything
 

M3wThr33

Banned
I remember another game that didn't have reviews until launch.
1457640.jpg
 

Teddman

Member
Early exclusive print reviews at this point mean next to nothing. Good thing it was OXM, a magazine that likely didn't have to try too hard to score this exclusive (being official and all).
 

Mrbob

Member
Let me point you in the direction of another game we hardly had any concrete info on before release:

225118.jpg


I know it sucks for magazines/web sites, but I wish more companies would hold off releasing info on practically the entire game before release. Not knowing much about the single player of Gaiden pre release made the whole experience much more satisfying when I had it in my hands. But it made it the wait for the game painful. :p
 
IMO, this game doesn't need a review, be it bad or good, to sell it. It'll sell because, even if it's just 'Halo 1.5,' it's still more Halo...and more Halo isn't a bad thing at all.

Anyway, I honestly don't care what the reviews turn out to be like...my anticipation and certain enjoyment are not shaken.

P.S. That remix is very cool. Wish they'd have had a little bit of real guitar solo-ing, though.
 

Mrbob

Member
Halo 2 being "more of Halo" is a bad thing? Yeah, right. It better be a lot like Halo. It's titled Halo 2. :D It's like GTA fans bitching about San Andreas because it is too similar to GTA3. All GTA:SA does is build upon the previous two games. I guarantee you GTA:SA reviews won't be docked because it's an upgraded version of GTA3. When the core game is so good expanding upon what made it great is what makes a great sequel. Try to differentiate it too much and you get something that is going to alienate the fanbase. Now if the first game sucked or is mediocre that is a different story....
 

Insertia

Member
There were reviews for Ninja Gaiden two weeks before it hit retail. First reviews for Halo were in a month before its release.
 

Mrbob

Member
Insertia said:
There were reviews for Ninja Gaiden two weeks before it hit retail. First reviews for Halo were in a month before its release.


Besides the GMR review which was way ahead and didn't tell us much about the game, the first reviews popped up a week before release. And that is because Tecmo pushed the game back a week at the last second and the reviews popped up on the intended release date of 2-26-04. Still doesn't change the fact that there was a virtual media blackout on the entire single player campaign of the game until the final days. I remember when those Air Ship screens and that huge mechanical boss on top of the air ship were posted many people thought this was towards the end of the game. Ends up it was the 3rd stage out of 16.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
I'm just hoping it doesn't have too much focus on the online mode. Thats all we've heard about for ages, and MS are very focused on Live.

I want a great single player mode above all things. Live multiplayer will be fun, I'm sure. But they are going to have to go some to stand out among other FPS multiplayer modes. I.e. If its just deathmatch/team deathmatch/capture the flag, then I risk being disappointed - especially considering the standard numbers of people in Xbox multiplayer games.
 

Blimblim

The Inside Track
Bungie already explained that the multiplayer was only a fraction of Halo 2 (the core multiplayer team was 4 people) and that the main thing for them was the single player campaign.
 
Don't know if anyone has considered this, but it seems pretty obvious to me :-

Bungie and MS have been trying to keep a tight lid on the Single Player game because

a) the game ain't all that and they want the sales before reviews start hitting.

b) there is a great story, with twists and plot devices that they don't want players to know about in advance.

Seems to me like b) seems the most likely, as any single player game can have 'WOAH' moments, that could be diluted if you know about them in advance.

Of course now that the leak is out some people will have these things spoiled for them, but the numbers are likely to be very much less than spoiler reviews.

Of course it could be speculated that advance reviews of 10's and high 9's would be good
for the hype-ometer, but let's face it; Does Halo 2 really need much more hype? The media blitz hasn't even started yet...

If what MS said about treating the Halo 2 launch like a Movie launch is true, then reviews ain't gonna mean jack anyway to the casual buyer.

Just think it's simply that Bungie want the single player game to be as great as it can be for players, hence all the secrecy.

My two cents anyhow
 
F

Folder

Unconfirmed Member
Scoot said:
This is actually a very good point. Kidding, or not.

It does beg the question. As with Halo 2 review slowness, one might ask why Rockstar has done the same with GTA: SA...
 

eso76

Member
the reason why you won't be reading reviews before november 9th has nothing to do with the title's quality.
It's just because there's 'something' bungie is trying to keep secret...i was too curious and found out :( oh well.
And from what i've heard (it's reliable sources, i'm not talking kids who just download and try every release just because they can) relax, halo2 is everything people was hoping for.

Which doesn't mean it will (or could) have the same impact the first had 3 years ago. Even if it was better than the first in every way (and from what i hear, it definately is) that still wouldn't earn it the same praise halo 1 received back then.
 
I'm still waiting for che to tell us how Riddick raised the bar... It was a fun game, but I probably won't play it through it again. Meanwhile, Halo is my most replayed game this gen-by far.

And I have to say, it was good to see littleberu finally get owned in a Halo thread. Man, that has been a long time coming :D
 
PanopticBlue:-
I'm still waiting for che to tell us how Riddick raised the bar...

Personally (Riddick being my GOTY so far), I'd say it raised the bar in a few areas :-

a) best use of a movie-license to date
b) best visuals on console to date IMO - the Cryo really blew me away to be honest. (Can't wait to see what Starbreeze do next)
c) excellent storyline, with excellent gameplay mechanics, and many ways to achieve goals.
d) Superior voice acting and realistic language
e) Decent replayability

and probably most importantly IMO :-

Riddick is probably a bigger franchise in gaming terms now, than in movie-terms.

So I would say that Halo 2 certainly has to reach the bar Riddick set for b,c and d (e is a given, a is not applicable)

All IMHO
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
Which doesn't mean it will (or could) have the same impact the first had 3 years ago. Even if it was better than the first in every way (and from what i hear, it definately is) that still wouldn't earn it the same praise halo 1 received back then.

Where have you heard that it is better? I would like some comfort here.

From what little I've seen, people seem to HATE this game...and a lot of the changes just sound awful. I'm very worried now. :(
 
dark10x:-
Where have you heard that it is better? I would like some comfort here.

I've got a couple of unscrupulous mates who don't have the patience I have to wait till the actual release, and everything they have said so far (one has completed it) has been positivly GLOWING.

I've seen (read) a lot of positive/negative comments on the net and generally take these with a pinch of salt (ppl will say anything for a response. whether positive or negative)

Anyway, from these friends opinions (whom I trust), I'm not too concerned.
 

Lakitu

st5fu
I haven't read any impressions, due to me going into the game fresh but what I've heard around here, is definitely worrying me. Seems to be getting some negative vibes from some people. Is there something I'm missing? Obviously I am, due to avoiding spoilers.
 

Pug

Member
Dark problem is many opinions are being based on what so and so said, and heard from a guy who lives next door to me. There are defineatly a regular couple of posters to GA whom seem to have experieneced the game and seem very satisfied. To be honest its only a few weeks to wait to find out for ourselves. Me I'm not worried about the games quality at all. It will be a great experience if its anything like Halo, consideirng it easily the best game I have ever played.
 

Mrbob

Member
Lakitu said:
I haven't read any impressions, due to me going into the game fresh but what I've heard around here, is definitely worrying me. Seems to be getting some negative vibes from some people. Is there something I'm missing? Obviously I am, due to avoiding spoilers.

The last place I would trust an opinion are from some pirates who spend more time downloading the next game than playing the current one. Or rushing through it just so they can download the next game on their list.
 

Mrbob

Member
gollumsluvslave said:
PanopticBlue:-


Personally (Riddick being my GOTY so far), I'd say it raised the bar in a few areas :-

a) best use of a movie-license to date
b) best visuals on console to date IMO - the Cryo really blew me away to be honest. (Can't wait to see what Starbreeze do next)
c) excellent storyline, with excellent gameplay mechanics, and many ways to achieve goals.
d) Superior voice acting and realistic language
e) Decent replayability

and probably most importantly IMO :-

Riddick is probably a bigger franchise in gaming terms now, than in movie-terms.

So I would say that Halo 2 certainly has to reach the bar Riddick set for b,c and d (e is a given, a is not applicable)

All IMHO

I don't know dude A wouldn't even apply to Halo 2. It isn't a listened game. As for the visuals, they look great in stills but the tearing in the game while in motion is unbelievable. Storyline is all right, and the voice acting is decent. As far as replayability goes, I would say the original Halo already beats down Riddick with its co-op and mulitplayer modes. Although I would like che to come back and explain his blanket statement about Riddick. :D
 
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