The army of gamers known as the Halo Nation rejoices at the arrival of their new master but what might a normal gamer think of Halo 3? Read what all the fuss is about from someone not under the spell.
Halo 3 Experiencing Online Issues - Reports flooding in from around the internet indicate that problems with Halo 3 are preventing at least some, if not most, from playing the recently released title online.
---------------
I went to the intel factory for the fastest cpu and all i got was this Barcelona Tshirt. :?
AMD 6000+, 8800gtx, 24" dell lcd,X-FI pro gamer sounds 2x74 wraptor hd's, 2gig ram, 650w thermaltake ps and vc3000case, log.Z5500 speakers, g15 Keyboard
Is there any official word whether Halo 3 will be released for the PC?
I do not play console games. I hate the conslole controllers. I need a mouse to do a FPS.
I'm loving Halo 3. The sounds in the game are really top notch on a well built and calibrated sound and video system. My subwoofer (a SVS PB12-NSK - only $500) goes into the sub 20hz range and this game really brings down the house with great low bass and even some really deep stuff that this SVS just eats up.
So far my only disapointment is the abundance of jaggies. Everywhere I look I see jaggies. I had to double check to make sure I didn't set my Xbox to 1080i output because they looked like a lot of bad deinterlacing problems. They move around and make the screen appear to crawl. I think they are baddies and waste my ammo on them once in awhile.
This has to be the first time I have ever truly agreed with one of the game reviews here. I think a 9.0 out of 10 is a perfect spot for H3. Pretty much every reason I agree with. The graphics could have been better...I wish they would have gone 60 fps, but my reasoning is they wanted to try to keep it a similar experience as much as they could even when in 4 player split screen and this could be the cause for the somewhat lackluster graphics as well. The graphics are good...hell they are very good and in a few spots great, but just as said in the review it is in need of some AA and also does not stack up against title such as GoW and CoD4 in this area. The thing that bothers me most is that I feel like that the game is not a constant 30fps. I can feel and see it dipping between 25 and 30fps and I just don't see any reason for this with the actual visuals of the game and the "power" of the 360...so my guess is was that with all the features they put in they had to possibly sacrifice on some of the quality so meet a deadline. Still I stick with a 9.0 out of 10 and the multi will get better in a week or so once the networking system figures out everyones connection and bungie releases a game patch, but as is...I still have no problems with it. GJ Bungie I would say they did a decent job at meeting the hype goal or atleast getting very close to it. Now 3 years from now I really hope they don't screw up the PC version as they did with both of the others. lol
Yes, I think Halo 3 is a good game, but like most on this forum, I think it, as well as halo 2, was over hyped. the scale of the hype was so large that I think the game would sell even if it was a bad game. I absolutely hated the levels which involved the flood. They were rediculously hard; I don't know how many times you would have to play sections over again on legdendary. I was also slightly dissapointed with the end. But enough griping. Other than that I enjoyed it.
My small review and comparison of the Halo Trilogy:
Halo 1 - Epic and amazing game. It revolutionized my idea of gaming and set standards for future games. Its storyline was excellent and so was its game play. The flood added extra value to the story and a good twist, but could have been left out to make the game more fun The multiplayer was also very good but had no uplink to Xbox Live; the only way to play multiplayer was to use split screen and/or link up different Xboxes together through system link. Using XBConnect was also an option, but it was pretty laggy and a lot of modders liked to ruin the fun and cheat.
Halo 2 - Average single player game. The storyline was pretty cheesy. It had its moments, but the story seemed forced. Bungie would have had to sacrifice their story and purpose of the halo series if the flood was nonexistent in this title, but they should have made their presence much less prominent. The presence of the flood was nauseating; the flood took over many of the levels and were even harder to kill and more of a pain than before. The graphics were better and the physics were also enhanced. Despite its weak story, the game play and content involved were better than its predecessor. What really made this game shine was its multiplayer experience, which included not only the ability to play split screen and to system link, but also the ability to connect through Xbox Live. You could go head to head with your friends and random people whenever you wanted, which was an experience that never got old. The ranking system made the game very competitive and a whole culture evolved around it. Although the weapon balance needed some work, the game was still extremely addicting and subtly tactical.
Halo 3 - The end to the Halo trilogy. Halo 3's game play is up to par with the first one, if not better. The added content of equipment and guns really adds spice to the game. Not only can you use the new gear, but so can your enemies (and they use it quite well with the enhanced AI engine). The story is amazing and not forced like in Halo 2. There are epic moments when you destroy scarabs and escape certain death, but the best part of the story is in the end when you get blown out of your mind; you just have to remember to watch after the credits. The flood is of course back, for there could be no Halo title without them. This time Bungie smartened up and did not let them take over the whole game. Also, they are a lot easier to kill than in Halo 2. There are added easter eggs for those who like the Red vs Blue series, which tells you that Bungie kept in mind what the Halo community likes when preparing to deliver the last of the series. The graphics are amazing, but not up to par with what was expected. They were also inconsistent; sometimes you will be blown away by the graphics and facial expressions and at others you will be disappointed by the lack of definition. Despite this, the graphics throughout the game are better than necessary. Once again the multiplayer experience is what makes this game shine. The refined gameplay is near perfect; it is a lot easier to kill an opponent because the weapons are much more balanced. Unlike its predecessors, grabbing a sniper rifle or a rocket launcher does not turn you into a god. Multiplayer is smooth and addicting. Like in Halo 2, its ranking system adds more value to multiplayer games. Another keystone in its multiplayer is the 4 player co-op that can be done through Xbox Live. As an added benefit, players can record their moments of glory as videos and share them with friends. By playing on live, you can unlock different armor pieces to give your character a custom look. The Forge allows to change the level up by adding and deleting cover and obstacles and changing where the guns/vehicles are located. The added content makes this game the multiplayer experience of a lifetime.
I didn't want to put this in my review post, because this really isn't a review, but rather a comment to Travis Meacham's article. (http://www.tomsgames.com/us/2007/09/26/halo_3_review/) In his article, he stated: "Honestly I'm a Halo pessimist. I liked the first game but it didn't blow me away and I thought the second game was a huge disappointment....I've never understood the fan-fare and devotion to the Halo series beyond the fact that they are well-made shooters. The story is a cut above what most games offer but overall I think the games are overrated." (page 3)
Please note that this is NOT a desperate attempt from a Halo fan boy to undermine someone's opinion about the series by any means. This is simply a response trying to explain why such fan-fare and devotion may have come about. In other words, it wont kill most your brain cells to read on
The first game blew me away the first time I played it. To me, it was not the campaign mode that made it a great game; although it was fun I don't think it is worth bowing down to. I started on the multiplayer side of Halo, and that is what swept me off my feet. Seeing as I was always a Playstation or PC gamer, I did not have an Xbox. A couple of my friends that lived near me liked to system link their consoles and hook up a big TV to each. It didn't take long for me to get invited, and when I went I was hooked. After a couple times going, I had to buy an Xbox for myself. Their was nothing more fun than having a 4 on 4 match and killing the other team on the other TV. To be able to have 8 people sit in a room and yell/laugh at each other made the game that much better. It was a treat to add a bit of alcohol into our Halo every now and then, which would make us much more boisterous as we gamed. We would always have a good laugh when we stuck someone with a plasma grenade or pistol whipped someone in the back. Its competitiveness made the events more than just gaming; they became a part of our lives. Halo turned from being a game we liked to play into a hobby. It was like paintball for me; something social and competitive that requires a skill I constantly try to perfect. Even now, as a sophomore living in my college dorm, Halo still manages to remain sort of a hobby to me. We live in an apartment style dorm facility; There is a living room and a kitchen shared among 4 roomates. Each person also has their own living space (a room that is bigger than most college dorms). We hook up a 4 big TVs around the dorm (the biggest in the living room) and each of us has an Xbox 360. Halo 2 nights were more than common, and lots of people showed up to play. A fair amount of attractive females also wandered in to watch us play and to hear us taunt and yell at each other. Now we all have Halo 3, and nothing has changed. The story alone created a large part of the Halo community, but that was not the only thing that made Halo as popular as it is. If you have not experienced a good Halo LAN party, then I can see how someone wouldn't understand the fan-fare and devotion. Then again a Halo LAN isn't for everyone. Point is, Halo LAN parties and the like are a big part of the creation of the Halo cult (or at least they are what sucked me in).
We have mandatory Halo Klan meetings every Friday and Saturday nights. Guests are more than welcome to come and get pwned. We also hold meetings on Thursdays, but at our college Thursdays have been deemed "Thirsty Thursdays". No one in their right mind has a class on Fridays here, so on Thursdays the dorms are bumpin with alcohol. Feel free to stop by, BYOB. Don't worry about being caught, one of the roomies is an underage RA that drinks with us.
The thing that bothers me most is that I feel like that the game is not a constant 30fps. I can feel and see it dipping between 25 and 30fps and I just don't see any reason for this with the actual visuals of the game and the "power" of the 360...so my guess is was that with all the features they put in they had to possibly sacrifice on some of the quality so meet a deadline.
You know I thought I saw some of that, too. It was mostly when the camera popped out to third person when you picked up the flame thrower or ripped a turret of the mount, but I saw some stuttering in there.
@Sp0ngeBong: That sound awesome. I may not understand the devotion of the Halo Nation but I do like it. When people get that passionate about a video game it makes me smile. I'm also a big fan of gaming as a social event so having people over to play games is something I do a lot as well. I'm really looking forward to Rock Band for that very reason. That game's got "party" written all over it.
I have to agree with Joel Durham Jr. over at Extreme Tech: "Now I've got Halo 3 and I can name an infinite number of superior shooters: the Half-Life series, the Doom series, BioShock, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Gears of War, Prey, the Rainbow Six series (except the last two), the Unreal and Unreal Tournament series, the Call of Duty series…I think you get the idea. The entire Halo series is so bland that I almost feel sorry for console gamers in general; this is the shooter they like best? My theory is that, just like television and movies, mediocrity pleases the gaming masses more than true inventiveness." I played all three as well. Found the controls sloppy, the AI brain dead and the story beige. For me, Bioshock and Crysis are what shooters are all about.
Oldmangamer is entirely right, halo is probably the greatest thing console gamers know, which to pc standard is poor. Remember innovative it was playing agains people ONLINE in halo 2? NO! BECAUSE IT WASN'T! Unreal tournament had the online gaming thing perfected FOUR YEARS before halo 2, one whole year before halo and offered much better gameplay, the most balanced weapons system to date and some truely tactically involving maps. Shame no-one on a console knew about it...
It's a decent FPS but nothing special, and what the hell is with the sucky ass sound to the guns????? like common you morons guns are loud! not like meowing kittens looking for lunch, arrrrrrrr I didn't spend 15g's on a surround system for crap like this.
