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[Jiggy]

I don't personally care about Halo in the slightest, but I just want to say I'm glad it's not getting any kind of noticeable penalty for following an established formula.

If there's one mentality that I hate and often see, it's that even sequels should somehow have seen some kind of radical revision. It's just that kind of droning for needless innovation that so often ruins series and prevents great sequels from ever happening. I'm more in line with the first paragraph of a memorable Amir0x post sadly made at the end of a locked thread a while back...

Anyway, yeah. Random agenda-advancing, I suppose.

 

[H3ADG3AR]

I just saw the thread, and I got too much of a headache to read through it all, but excellent job on maintaining the OP Tieno & all involved... and as expected of a great game (from personal hands-on experience in the beta plus everything else I've read about and seen, it's great to see that Bungie has pulled through in the reviews with Halo 3 - congrats Bungie!

.

 

[Timedog]

Hey. Listen, moron. The only way to remove an annoyance is to address it. Addressing something doesn't exactly mean that we give a shit.

With that said.

Be true, gentle warrior. Stay with me through the night, my fine stallion; you incredible and powerful beast.

:lol :lol :lol

 

[∀ Narayan]

:lol :lol :lol

Hahahahah! You're using it as an avatar! That is awesome! :lol

 

[fart]

fart: Maybe these "groundbreaking" elements could be put into Halo Wars? Perhaps Halo Wars could be what Halo was originally meant to be?

from what little i've read, halo wars is a halo branded AoE

what's crucial to remember here is that nothing about halo is actually groundbreaking. in fact, strategy halo was never anything more than an engine-in-development with some rudimentary placeholder gameplay mechanics. so it's not halo that matters, and there's no reason that anything halo branded will ever be more than schlock. the groundbreaking stuff was kind of a creative "potential energy" of the older bungie environment, and that... that is lost forever.

 

[Timbuktu]

I don't personally care about Halo in the slightest, but I just want to say I'm glad it's not getting any kind of noticeable penalty for following an established formula.

I don't think it's a penalty, but giving those games that do innovate and push genres forward the recognition they deserve.

 

[traveler]

I don't personally care about Halo in the slightest, but I just want to say I'm glad it's not getting any kind of noticeable penalty for following an established formula.

If there's one mentality that I hate and often see, it's that even sequels should somehow have seen some kind of radical revision. It's just that kind of droning for needless innovation that so often ruins series and prevents great sequels from ever happening. I'm more in line with the first paragraph of a memorable Amir0x post sadly made at the end of a locked thread a while back...

Anyway, yeah. Random agenda-advancing, I suppose.

I think the equipment mechanic as well as the third person weaponry are pretty big changes to the gameplay, not to mention the control revamp. (Or, at least, they were in the Beta) This isn't Halo 2 again.

It should also be noted that the reason Halo's, well, Halo-ness isn't being held against it is that it's bringing so much more to the table. How many games that follow the same gameplay for iteration after iteration bring forth a bevy of new features along the lines of Forge, Saved Replays, the Campaign Meta-Game, Online 4-Player Coop, etc. with their merely "evolved and refined" gameplay?

Edit: Why did you have to take that avatar timedog? I wanted it.

Edit2: You made it. NVM

 

[Dante]

Great Scores, Can't wait till Wed when I actually get some time with the game

 

[Mooreberg]

:lol

Not only did he score with a babe but he's got a cold one in his hand.

So this is where the story of his wing dang doodle come from.

 

[traveler]

So this is where the story of his wing dang doodle come from.

I find it despicable, personally. It ruins my image of the Chief. He shouldn't be screwing around with the ladies; he doesn't have time for that! MC should be spending every second doing things like saving the universe, not having sexytime.

 

[CrunchinJelly]

MC is a ladies man, CONFIRMED.

I don't personally care about Halo in the slightest, but I just want to say I'm glad it's not getting any kind of noticeable penalty for following an established formula.

If there's one mentality that I hate and often see, it's that even sequels should somehow have seen some kind of radical revision. It's just that kind of droning for needless innovation that so often ruins series and prevents great sequels from ever happening. I'm more in line with the first paragraph of a memorable Amir0x post sadly made at the end of a locked thread a while back...

Anyway, yeah. Random agenda-advancing, I suppose.

I agree. Sequels don't have to re-invent the game just for the sake of it. Halo has always been great, so it's great to hear that 3 maintains the winning formula.

 

[EverSoTrendy]

I find it despicable, personally. It ruins my image of the Chief. He shouldn't be screwing around with the ladies; he doesn't have time for that! MC should be spending every second doing things like saving the universe, not having sexytime.

Our plowing Cortana as certain google image searches on Halo suggest.

 

[Havok]

This seems like a nice spoiler free thread to ask in regarding online co-op.

Does anyone know if you can do two (or three even?) people per console for the online co-op? Or is it one person per console, up to four people, for this mode?

Hoping to play with a buddy splitscreen and a couple other people in different locations, but I'm not sure if it's possible.

Two per console max, up to four total players in any given coop game.

 

[Kuroyume]

MC is a ladies man, CONFIRMED.

:lol

 

[JUMBOshrimp]

I find it despicable, personally. It ruins my image of the Chief. He shouldn't be screwing around with the ladies; he doesn't have time for that! MC should be spending every second doing things like saving the universe, not having sexytime.

Every so often, even the mighty MC deserves a little shore leave. Or think if it as Master Chief, the college years.

 

[Diablohead]

This seems like a nice spoiler free thread to ask in regarding online co-op.

Does anyone know if you can do two (or three even?) people per console for the online co-op? Or is it one person per console, up to four people, for this mode?

Hoping to play with a buddy splitscreen and a couple other people in different locations, but I'm not sure if it's possible.

Two per console but you can lan two boxes to make 4. MP is the classic 4 split screen if required.

 

[Phaethon0017]

MC is a ladies man, CONFIRMED.

:lol

"A hero need not speak when he is gone. When he is gone, your girlfriend will talk unceasingly about him."

 

[urk]

I agree. Sequels don't have to re-invent the game just for the sake of it. Halo has always been great, so it's great to hear that 3 maintains the winning formula.

I was hoping Bungie would rework it as a 2nd Person Shooter. With chainsaws. And Space Acne. Gonna cancel my preorder now that these reviews have cast their light on the reality of it all. Plus, I only trust Ars Technica. All of the other reviewers were clearly moneyhatted.

 

[Shinraven]

im gettting mad lag / frame drop like crazy when playing my boy on campaign. wtf is going on w this game.

 

[3rdman]

Hey Tieno...you missed posting Gamernode's score...9.5
http://www.gamernode.com/Reviews/4346-Halo-3/page3.html

 

[Rolf NB]

:lol :lol

I thought Halo was in trouble over there??!

The games press is kinda pulling at the other end of the rope, like in Japan.

 

[Bildi]

gamespot summarizes the bad:

# Inevitable flood of prepubescent online players sure to hamper your enjoyment of the online modes.

what a shitty reason to put as "bad"

I don't really care for Halo, but it is damn obvious that is a retarded "Bad".

At least he seems to have fixed his 360's caching problem or it would have got a 9.0.

Someone get rid of Gerstmann, he's a moron.

 

[Spruchy]

HALOOOOOO 3 FUCK YEAH

 

[TheFallen]

Anyone read the review over at Kotaku? Was that even a review or a rant about how they didn't feel for the story and characters? One of the worst articles I've read in a long time.

 

[Rolf NB]

I don't really care for Halo, but it is damn obvious that is a retarded "Bad".

At least he seems to have fixed his 360's caching problem or it would have got a 9.0.

Someone get rid of Gerstmann, he's a moron.

He probably just felt obliged to stay shut about the graphics. He gave it the score Halo fans wanted, so stop complaining.

 

[SupahBlah]

Anyone read the review over at Kotaku? Was that even a review or a rant about how they didn't feel for the story and characters? One of the worst articles I've read in a long time.

I think he's still upset that he had to fly to Seattle before flying to Tokyo.

I normally like Crecente's features but it didn't even feel like his writing.

 

[FightyF]

He probably just felt obliged to stay shut about the graphics. He gave it the score Halo fans wanted, so stop complaining.

Fun Fact: They weren't complaining about the score.

 

[CrunchinJelly]

I was hoping Bungie would rework it as a 2nd Person Shooter. With chainsaws. And Space Acne. Gonna cancel my preorder now that these reviews have cast their light on the reality of it all. Plus, I only trust Ars Technica. All of the other reviewers were clearly moneyhatted.

You're back, and as sane as ever.

 

[Rolf NB]

Fun Fact: They weren't complaining about the score.

Eh, should I quote my own post for you now? Don't you actually just now pretend to have read it?

 

[urk]

You're back, and as sane as ever.

The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand,
is when I carried you.

 

[Bildi]

He probably just felt obliged to stay shut about the graphics. He gave it the score Halo fans wanted, so stop complaining.

Not the sharpest knife in the drawer...

 

[BelligerentOC]

Anyone read the review over at Kotaku? Was that even a review or a rant about how they didn't feel for the story and characters? One of the worst articles I've read in a long time.

Crecente seems to always look at things a little differently. So its a bad article because he doesnt agree with you? Go read any other review, they're all glowing

 

[Rolf NB]

Not the sharpest knife in the drawer...

Should I use simpler words for you?
They put three "The Goods" and three "The Bads" on all things they make. They must put things to be happy. And they want to be nice. Don't want to put ass-things. Sometimes ass-thing is true but would make kids angry so no do ass-thing, do other thing.

 

[TheFallen]

Crecente seems to always look at things a little differently. So its a bad article because he doesnt agree with you? Go read any other review, they're all glowing

You must be completely ignoring that I have no opinion on the game, I've not played it and have absolutely no expectation because I'm no Halo fan. My complaint was that as far as a review goes, this was more of a rant than a review for a video game. It doesn't even answer the question of whether or not he ultimately enjoyed the game and how he sees the experience against the others this past year. It's ultimately a string of broad complaints just on his disinterest in having to fly there and how it changed his review experience.

 

[Chris Remo]

Here's mine. It's of the single-player and co-op basically; we'll have multiplayer later today.

http://www.shacknews.com/featuredarticle.x?id=593

For both good and ill, playing Halo 3 in single-player feels as though Halo 2 did not end in a bizarrely abrupt cliffhanger but rather instructed you to insert Disc 2 into an Xbox 360 console.

The unique gameplay elements that make Halo as a series great are still relatively uncommon, so slotting them into new environments and situations is welcome. The thrill of cresting a hill or entering a large, cover-heavy arena to find a horde of Covenant aliens, and the knowledge that the battle could play out any number of ways--but you're going to do it this way--remains as tangible as ever.

What makes Halo 3's campaign truly different from its forbears is in its almost stupefying level of playability. For those who enjoy Halo, the games have always been replayable simply by virtue of their very dynamic combat gameplay, but Halo 3 truly raises the bar here, not just for Halo but for replayability of single-player and cooperative FPS gaming as a whole--and, to be honest, it is unlikely anyone will catch up any time soon.

I have little to say about Halo 3's storytelling, which is peppered with more of the not-nearly-as-clever-as-it-think-they-are musings that took center stage in Halo 2. The plot, which veers between boilerplate sci-fi and generally ineffective emotion, is still largely ignored during gameplay, then given in large, static doses between levels. This is probably for the best, as those who love Halo's established style of plot delivery will get more of what they have already enjoyed, while those who find it can easily move onto more game. One thing that should please just about everybody is that this game ties things up much better than did Halo 2; there is a bit of a sequel setup, but not one that will leave you scratching your head for three years.

The part of Halo 3 with which I most take issue is a sudden shift later in the game to gameplay that feels like it should be played as a run-and-gun shooter whose level design does not really lend itself to the open Halo-style tactical combat--but playing it as a run-and-gun, particularly at higher difficulty levels, seems nearly impossible even after playing through the rest of the game on those same diffculty levels.

 

[bounchfx]

Anyone read the review over at Kotaku? Was that even a review or a rant about how they didn't feel for the story and characters? One of the worst articles I've read in a long time.

yeah man, I like the articles.. but they should stick to articles..

 

[Memphis Reigns]

I don't understand how some of these reviews are putting the graphics and visuals as a negative or calling them "disappointing" or "underachieving". Even if they don't think it's the best looking game out, why go and say its a negative of the game? The graphics are clearly not disappointing or bad in any way.

 

[electricpirate]

BCN-Ron complains more about people complaining about halo 3 reviews than the actual people complaining about said reviews.

Please, tell us again to calm down over the scores that will be two low. Then tell us how biased egm is some more.

Halo had a lot to do to impress the most hardcore outlets, the 1ups, the IGN's and the gamespot. The outlets with bitter tastes of the 2nd game in their mouths, that went to high on the score. Reviewers were obviously anxious to be critical, as would I anytime you went to high on the last game in the series. This combination of skepticism, hype and a solid game is giving some of the more honest reviews I've seen. There are exceptions of course, but I'm mostly happy with both the quality of writing and the content of H3 reviews so far. It's good to see reviewers who understand halo, and why it's important. T

Of course both sides of this looming console war are going to sieze on bits and hold them aloft on their banners. Often two quotes will be taken from the same review and set against each other.

 

[Chris Remo]

I don't understand how some of these reviews are putting the graphics and visuals as a negative or calling them "disappointing" or "underachieving". Even if they don't think it's the best looking game out, why go and say its a negative of the game? The graphics are clearly not disappointing or bad in any way.

It didn't detract from the game for me, but Halo 3 definitely isn't as impressive relative to other 360 games as Halo was to other Xbox games. It's not a big deal really, but it does feel like more of the same at times.

 

[Memphis Reigns]

It didn't detract from the game for me, but Halo 3 definitely isn't as impressive relative to other 360 games as Halo was to other Xbox games. It's not a big deal really, but it does feel like more of the same at times.

Maybe. But would you call them bad or disappointing?

 

[watership]

Argh. This is SO annoying. Has anyone been able to watch anything past the first 2 mins of the IGN video review? As soon as the reviewer starts talking the feed dies. Did anyone archive it or upload it to youtube or some mega upload site?

 

[Stahsky]

It didn't detract from the game for me, but Halo 3 definitely isn't as impressive relative to other 360 games as Halo was to other Xbox games. It's not a big deal really, but it does feel like more of the same at times.

I certainly can see that being an issue with Halo 3. However, Bungie wanted to please the fans, and the fans wanted more of the same. Just throw in some "SHIT DATS TITE" and more online features and I'm pretty sure any fan of the series will fall in love at this point.

You simply can't make Halo any better than Halo. It skipped over most games at it's time, so making something better than something amazing is probably a tough thing to do.

Edit: Whoa, I just noticed how much of a Tribes vibe I got going on with my Spartan design. Badass..

 

[LaneDS]

Two per console max, up to four total players in any given coop game.

Awesome, thank you (and Diablohead) for that info. Tuesday keeps looking better and better.

 

[Quagm1r3]

So, what should I buy now? Bioshock or this Halo 3 game? Which one is better? I don't know anymore.

Depends how much time you devote to games in general. Not so much = Bioshock. Lots of time = Halo 3.

The quality of Bioshock's experience is better but doesn't last as long due to no online.

I don't know if this has been mentioned (and I'm not about to read through 13 pages of "Halo 3 awesome BELIEVE!!!"), but is anyone else having problems with the IGN video review? Whenever I watch it, low res or high res, it eventually just stops playing and moves onto the next halo vid in line.

 

[electricpirate]

I really liked the Kotaku article because it read as a piece of media criticism, and less a buyers guide. On the internet it becomes "OMG he didn't like it!" When in reality he obviously loved the game, and loves the medium, but didn't like the story telling. He chose to focus on that because of how important the storytelling is to the marketing, and to vast majority of the players.

Also really dug the shacknews article too. I've never been a fan of the Halflife "Make me sit there and dick around while people talk to me" storytellling, so I'm goood with that. I'm already invested in these characters, so I think this game is right for me.

 

[itsme]

Halo 3 is one of those games that the review score doesn't really mean anything. This is the reason why. There will be only 3 groups of reviewers whether they admitted it or not.

Group1: fell in love with the name years ago. the contents doesn't really affect the score.
Group2: just too scared to be objective. They'll give the best possible scores and have a sigh of relief.

Group3: have a tendency to hate high profile games, and have to hate it because it's never good enough to satisfy their "high" standard. This is more of a proving ground of their high "tastes" in gaming than anything else.

Don't bother with reviews. None will tell you the real story.

 

[Chris Remo]

Maybe. But would you call them bad or disappointing?

If you read my review ( http://www.shacknews.com/featuredarticle.x?id=593 ) you can see I mentioned it as being an aspect of the game but said it's not something most people will care about when in the middle of a battle. The visuals are clean, effective, and competent, and they do what needs to be done, plus the sense of scale outdoors is great.

 

[traveler]

It didn't detract from the game for me, but Halo 3 definitely isn't as impressive relative to other 360 games as Halo was to other Xbox games. It's not a big deal really, but it does feel like more of the same at times.

Nice writeup, Chris. The playability quote in particular makes it sound very promising. Also, while I do enjoy the Halo fiction for what it is quite a bit, I definitely agree in thinking the delivery could be better. Will be interested in reading your multiplayer write-up later.

 

[Zozz]

MC is a ladies man, CONFIRMED.

:lol :lol

 

[Quagm1r3]

Argh. This is SO annoying. Has anyone been able to watch anything past the first 2 mins of the IGN video review? As soon as the reviewer starts talking the feed dies. Did anyone archive it or upload it to youtube or some mega upload site?

I have that problem too. I watched it in low res though and was able to see more of it, but i never got past the 7 minute mark. Very annoying...