Playing Halo series for the first time.

[Rodgerwilco]

I love playing old games but I find myself playing the same ones over and over across the years. So I’ve been looking for a “new old” series to play... Having been a PlayStation only gamer growing up I never really played Halo aside from Multiplayer here and there.


I got an Xbox a couple months ago to play Overwatch with my girlfriend and ended up getting Game Pass. I saw that the entire Halo series is on here, so I’m going to be playing through it for the first time ever. Should be interesting to see how an iconic video game series has held up over the years for someone who never played.

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[LarKing]

The gameplay while still fun at times doesn’t hold up super well. It’s much slower than shooters nowadays.

 

[Jussi]

The gameplay while still fun at times doesn’t hold up super well. It’s much slower than shooters nowadays.

Meh, those of us who played the games when they came out, actually prefer this pace.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

The AI is the most advanced part of the earlier Halo campaigns. If you get good enough, try playing through Legendary.

In terms of campaign and storyline I think it goes Halo > Halo 3 > Halo 2 > Halo 3: ODST.

Multiplayer you can't go wrong with any of them; Halo 2 is my favourite gameplay wise but the art style didn't age particularly well (unless you play the remake version). Halo 3 is also balanced and great but it has less twitch shooting. Halo: CE everyone starts with the most powerful weapon in the game (pistol) which makes for a very even playing field.

Most of what made Halo influential are things we take for granted now today. It was the FPS that popularized the standard control scheme for console FPS, online matchmaking, saved films, etc.

 

[syz]

Good soundtracks.

That's about it.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Good soundtracks.

That's about it.

Dun dun dun daaa! Dun dun dun daa!


But yeah, that's the best part. I recommend co-op. It's hilarious.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

Great shooter to play with the GF, tons of fun for co-op.

 

[LarKing]

Meh, those of us who played the games when they came out, actually prefer this pace.

I did and I still enjoy Halo but it’s definitely a different feel now.

 

[Jussi]

I did and I still enjoy Halo but it’s definitely a different feel now.

Most of the guys I played Halo and CoD with, don't play CoD anymore because they're not fans of reactionary lag fests. We're mostly playing WoT or WoWS os Borderlands etc. Battlefield 1 was the last one we played for a while.

 

[LarKing]

Most of the guys I played Halo and CoD with, don't play CoD anymore because they're not fans of reactionary lag fests. We're mostly playing WoT or WoWS os Borderlands etc. Battlefield 1 was the last one we played for a while.

I haven’t played a COD in 5+ years. Those games are garbage imo. I like Borderlands but I’d say my favorite right now is Star Wars Battlefront 2.

 

[Jussi]

Dun dun dun daaa! Dun dun dun daa!


But yeah, that's the best part. I recommend co-op. It's hilarious.

4 player co-op with the one newbie rushing in the middle of a pack of enemies with everyone else chucking grenades there... Marvelous. Did it a while ago.

 

[syz]

I did and I still enjoy Halo but it’s definitely a different feel now.

It was always a different feel. PC shooters were at their peak and were moving at the speed of light and then Halo came out and brought everything back to a snail's pace. It's just that people who played Halo when it came out didn't know any better because it was their first shooter.

Every shooter since then has just been... gradually trying to recover from what Halo did to the genre. They're still not back to where they were.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

My personal take on Halo was that the original multiplayer on system link in my dorm and frat were the best, and Halo Reach was the only competent main campaign in series (though I haven't played ODST or anything post 360). Nothing else really did anything for me, but that's recognizing that the joy of local multiplayer was what made the original for me and online multiplayer never delivered it for me (though it took a while for me to realize). But even that was more about timing and enjoying the social play, if another game was big when I started college then Halo probably would've passed me completely.

I hope you find joy with it, though.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

It was always a different feel. PC shooters were at their peak and were moving at the speed of light and then Halo came out and brought everything back to a snail's pace. It's just that people who played Halo when it came out didn't know any better because it was their first shooter.

Every shooter since then has just been... gradually trying to recover from what Halo did to the genre. They're still not back to where they were.

You're mixing up Halo with Goldeneye here.

 

[syz]

You're mixing up Halo with Goldeneye here.

Things like Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, or Turok were definitely some people's first shooters, but even in that respect the numbers are way smaller than something like Halo.

In terms of impact there's no comparison. Halo came out and was well-received but actually wasn't super popular, but it grew over a couple of years and eventually built a market for the genre on consoles that was bigger than the market on PC. Then Halo 2 came out and made a billion dollars over night at almost the exact same time that most of the PC market disappeared into World of Warcraft, so anybody who was making a shooter at that point was building it to work on a controller (and all their limitations), since that was where the money was thanks to Halo.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

Things like Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, or Turok were definitely some people's first shooters, but even in that respect the numbers are way smaller than something like Halo.

In terms of impact there's no comparison. Halo came out and was well-received but actually wasn't super popular, but it grew over a couple of years and eventually built a market for the genre on consoles that was bigger than the market on PC. Then Halo 2 came out and made a billion dollars over night at almost the exact same time that most of the PC market disappeared into World of Warcraft, so anybody who was making a shooter at that point was building it to work on a controller (and all their limitations), since that was where the money was thanks to Halo.

Either way, the console FPS revolution and slowing down gameplay was inevitable, regardless of whether Goldeneye/Halo were responsible.

I don't really see the big issue with gameplay being slowed down for FPS if it fits the style of the game. Like, from a purely skill perspective, gameplay and competition is all relative, so it doesn't really change how skilled someone is at a game since it's always a level playing field. And this is coming from someone that grew up playing twitch shooters like Unreal Tournament and Quake.

 

[syz]

Either way, the console FPS revolution and slowing down gameplay was inevitable, regardless of whether Goldeneye/Halo were responsible.

I don't really see the big issue with gameplay being slowed down for FPS if it fits the style of the game. Like, from a purely skill perspective, gameplay and competition is all relative, so it doesn't really change how skilled someone is at a game since it's always a level playing field. And this is coming from someone that grew up playing twitch shooters like Unreal Tournament and Quake.

Oh yea, definitely. If Halo hadn't done it something else would have. If Goldeneye came out on a console that had a dual analog controller and online multiplayer it'd be the same story.

The point I'm making though isn't that Halo was slowed down--it's that every subsequent shooter was slowed down, and largely remains slowed down, because that's what the market that Halo created dictates, purely as a consequence of designing for a controller. Consider the differences between Doom 2016's single and multiplayer--they were as mechanically faithful as possible for their gameplay throughout the campaign, but then had to take away a lot of that speed and movement, and restrict people to predefined 2-3 weapon load outs in multiplayer. Those are both sacrifices you have to make when you're working around dual analog. They could have had a more traditional Id twitch multiplayer if they only released on PC, but if they only released on PC then they wouldn't get a budget to make the game to begin with.

 

[McRpro]

Great shooter to play with the GF, tons of fun for co-op.

I tried to get my gf into CE but made the mistake of playing VS with her. I'd just run circle around her and then teabag her like crazy. She didn't like it too much. I just couldn't help myself!

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

Oh yea, definitely. If Halo hadn't done it something else would have. If Goldeneye came out on a console that had a dual analog controller and online multiplayer it'd be the same story.

The point I'm making though isn't that Halo was slowed down--it's that every subsequent shooter was slowed down, and largely remains slowed down, because that's what the market that Halo created dictates, purely as a consequence of designing for a controller. Consider the differences between Doom 2016's single and multiplayer--they were as mechanically faithful as possible for their gameplay throughout the campaign, but then had to take away a lot of that speed and movement, and restrict people to predefined 2-3 weapon load outs in multiplayer. Those are both sacrifices you have to make when you're working around dual analog. They could have had a more traditional Id twitch multiplayer if they only released on PC, but if they only released on PC then they wouldn't get a budget to make the game to begin with.

That's all fair and I don't disagree. I do think that some modern gameplay design that slowed things down (like you mention, 2-3 weapon load outs, and also regenerating shields/health in a lot of games) is just due to promoting parity in games. You're not going to see many Quake style games where someone can completely dominate based on map control and whatnot because it turns off newer players. This isn't really exclusive to FPS, but the gaming industry as a whole. I thought Halo:CE did a good job balancing this since the pistol is the best weapon in the game and you respawn with it, so the more skilled players will pretty much always win.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

I tried to get my gf into CE but made the mistake of playing VS with her. I'd just run circle around her and then teabag her like crazy. She didn't like it too much. I just couldn't help myself!

Haha, I appreciate that you are a man of culture, but a little self-control goes a long way.

 

[Wild11MN]

Halo 1 is by far my favorite campaign, followed by Halo: Reach. The multiplayer of 2 and 3 is what will forever be legendary to me.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

The only trepidation I have with the Halo: CE is the Flood and the Library. The Flood are fine in small doses or when they're part of a three way engagement, but the Library highlighted just how tiresome they can be in bunches (plus the Library was clearly a relic of Bungie's development crunch). Halo 3 in particular made melee attacks more effect against them, so they weren't as annoying.

 

[Jussi]

The only trepidation I have with the Halo: CE is the Flood and the Library. The Flood are fine in small doses or when they're part of a three way engagement, but the Library highlighted just how tiresome they can be in bunches (plus the Library was clearly a relic of Bungie's development crunch). Halo 3 in particular made melee attacks more effect against them, so they weren't as annoying.

The Library, solo, on Legendary, was where men were made in.

 

[Osprey]

I played Halo for the first time a few years ago, myself, and didn't like it enough to finish it. IIRC, I didn't like the sluggish controls, the aim accuracy or the recharging shield, among other things. I'm a PC gamer, though, and we've always been pretty particular about those things when it comes to shooters, so it was likely just a matter of the gameplay not being to my preference, instead of it not holding up.

 

[WarriorOfGandhi]

I was 14 when OG Halo was released. So many great nights with my friends doing co-op or multiplayer. It was a game that understood fun and gave it to you in spades. The ability to play 1 game on 2 televisions blew my mind when I first saw it. Original Halo is still the best one in my opinion and there are plenty of afternoons where I wish for nothing more in life than 3 good friends to play it with.