Halo 3 sp vs Halo CE sp

[Kzin]

I know there are quite a few halo threads already, i think theres room for this one too. =)

I was blown away by h3´s campaign. The levels were more varied, every room was unik etc. But I got a feeling it wont have the same replayability as h1 (i have played that game about a million times), although i have a hard time putting my finger on what makes it so.

There are alot of outdoor environmenst in h3, but i do think they are more confined than in h1. And as far as i can remember there arent any battle in h3 that are on par with the best battles in h1 when it comes to freedom and options for the player. There might be an extra path that alows you to flank the enemy, but not the myriad of alternatives of paths and flanking positions we had in halo1 (like in all the battles of the second level of halo1).

I think the weapon balance was better in the first game, not one useless weapon. No weapon was better than another, they all had thier pros and cons. I tried the pistol a couple of times in h3 but found it useless. I also tried the smg, but dualwielding ut seemed less effective than using the AR, even at close range. I also got a feeling you had more freedom in what weapons to use in hl1. You could take the rocket launcher a couple of times, but that weapon had it limitations to. How many times do have the option to use the rocket launcher in h3? Or the spartan laser? Why not throw in the laser in a couple of other levels?

I think h3 is more like h2 in this regard; more variation in the levels but less freedom. "Heres a tank level, heres a sniper part, here you have two ways of attacking, etc."

 

[aselto]

I think h3 is more like h2 in this regard; more variation in the levels but less freedom. "Heres a tank level, heres a sniper part, here you have two ways of attacking, etc."

I agree with that, however, I disagree with:

I think the weapon balance was better in the first gamie, not one useless weapon. No weapon was better than another, they all had thier pros and cons. I tried the pistol a couple of times in h3 but found it useless. I also tried the smg, but dualwielding ut seemed less effective than using the AR, even at close range. I also got a feeling you had more freedom in what weapons to use in hl1. You could take the rocket launcher a couple of times, but that weapon had it limitations to. How many times do have the option to use the rocket launcher in h3? Or the spartan laser? Why not throw in the laser in a couple of other levels?

Pistol is not useless, it's not overpowered like in Halo 1. It's a good weapon against Hunters (they allow you to have steady aim at their vulnarable parts) and Brutes, if you aim at head. I hate smg and didn't actually test it. Weapons are balanced IMO and you could see that in MP. I don't think we're actually that restrictedin using weapons, but there are so many weapons in H3 that if you gave player access to all weapons all the time, you would and with a warehouse or two in every mission.

 

[Kzin]

I´ve only played it once so you´re probably right about the pistol. But my inital impression are that some weapons defently are better than others, to a much greater degree than in halo 1. I have only played it once so i could be wrong. It took a couple of playthrus of halo1 before i released how kick ass the plasma pistol was.

Not acces to every weapon on every level, but i would like to have seen the laser on more than one level for example, or a little more of the sword.

I would definently have liked to see more freedom, as i think this would have increased the replayability of the game alot. Im still wating for a game with beter, or as good, levels as the first ones in halo 1.

 

[NRP]

Which weapons are useful/necessary depend on the difficulty level played (and also whether or not you are playing co-op). On normal, you can use almost any weapon in almost any situation successfully. You can do this on Heroic too, but to less of a degree. However, on Legendary you must absolutely choose the right weapon for the right enemy/situation. Often, you also have to drop one weapon for another quickly to deal with a surprise threat. In this regard, Halo 3 is just like Halo and Halo 2.

Halo's campaign is memorable to me because it was great and it was my first exposure to the Halo universe. Halo 3's campaign is very well done too. For me to chose one game over another would boil down to minor preferences. I can say with confidence that Halo 3's campaign is more interesting and less of a grind than Halo 2's.

As for replayability, I think Halo 3 will be fine. There are many ways to complete the missions. For example,

Spoiler

when you fight the two scarabs you can land a Hornet on top and attack each scarab rather than going through the tedious and dangerous process of weaking the legs to make it drop.

Also, many levels have multiple paths to take which can make it interesting for replay.

 

[Kzin]

How do you make a spoiler hidden?

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Enclose it in spoiler tags like this

Spoiler

[spoiler*]without the asterisk[/spoiler*]

 

[arhra]

As for replayability, I think Halo 3 will be fine. There are many ways to complete the missions. For example,

Spoiler

when you fight the two scarabs you can land a Hornet on top and attack each scarab rather than going through the tedious and dangerous process of weaking the legs to make it drop.

Also, many levels have multiple paths to take which can make it interesting for replay.

Or you can even

Spoiler

blow off the back of the Scarab, then blow up the core directly without even getting out of the Hornet.

 

[RobertR1]

Since I only played Halo1 recently, it's still fresh in my head and yeah, that game was damn cool to play through. However, I certainly feel that "fun" element was captured in Halo3 without as much repitition. Even the infamous level 8 is much nice to play through than the library level.

Spoiler

the last level with the warthog escape is too damn fun. Running over flood, jumping over broken floor tiles...all of that plus the music give you a great sense of urgency. Adding a countdown timer would have made it just a bit sweeter.

 

[MrFloopy]

But I got a feeling it wont have the same replayability as h1 (i have played that game about a million times), although i have a hard time putting my finger on what makes it so.

I have come to a realisation that is me that is becoming less replayable than games these days. I figured this out when I rememberd I once played 117 levels of space invaders on 2600. These days if I could bring myself to puch out 2 levels I would be amazed.

Maybe it's age. As you get older your desire, fortitude, available time, or whatever is not enough to repeat the same experience over and over again.

Just a thought.

 

[pipo]

However, I certainly feel that "fun" element was captured in Halo3 without as much repitition.

I agree.

Also, I'm playing 3 again on co-op now and I'm enjoying it even more than my solo campaign. This way I could be playing it for a long time...

 

[Kzin]

Some things are realy anyoing. Like in the previous halo games there are some design decisions i just cant understand. In halo 1 there were floods with bazookas (in tight spaces!!1one), in halo 2..well..pretty much everything.

In halo 3. The checkpoint system...argh...i hate it. Whats wrong with having a checkpoint after every battle? It worked like a charm in the two previous installments. This new random crap makes the game worse. After a few minutes in a battle we would get a new checkpoint, after we´d wasted all our sniper ammo, so we couldn´t go back and try again. Sometimes checkpoints are realy scarse (is that how its spelled?), and sometimes we would get a couple of new ones in a small battle for no reason at all. It´s not like we got one right before the second wave of reinforcements or anything like that.

Spoiler

In tsao highway (or whats it called) when you´re holding a structure when wave after wave of brutes are pouring in, there are all this debris, broken doors and stuff, all along the wall you hiding behind wich you either get stuck on or make you fly up in the air.

Or what about the last flood level when you are to rescue cortana? I actually had more fun with the library.

What were the thinking?!!one

I realy think their usabilty testing must have some flaw when things like these gets through. Maybe its easy to lose focus whith all that test data.

 

[Gradthrawn]

In halo 3. The checkpoint system...argh...i hate it. Whats wrong with having a checkpoint after every battle? It worked like a charm in the two previous installments. This new random crap makes the game worse. After a few minutes in a battle we would get a new checkpoint, after we´d wasted all our sniper ammo, so we couldn´t go back and try again. Sometimes checkpoints are realy scarse (is that how its spelled?), and sometimes we would get a couple of new ones in a small battle for no reason at all. It´s not like we got one right before the second wave of reinforcements or anything like that.

I rather enjoyed the check point system (for the most part), and greatly appreciated many of the in-between battle check points (I found them to be a relief). What difficulty level did you play on, out of curiosity? I must admit though, some did seem to be spaced out rather awkwardly. What I don't understand is the save system. If I go through, lets say, 3 levels (x many checkpoints), and turn my 360 off without hitting "Save and Quit", where will I start back at when I play again? My previous save, or my last checkpoint (I was waaay too scared of losing progress to try that)?

Often, you also have to drop one weapon for another quickly to deal with a surprise threat. In this regard, Halo 3 is just like Halo and Halo 2.

I found the item system to be extremely frustrating in numerous situations where there was more than 1 item on the ground. Particularly where there was a support-item (shield, etc) and a weapon. I would have to switch out support items, and try to drop it further away from the weapon. That became infuriating when a quick weapon switch was needed. And I was only playing on heroic. Unless there's something I'm missing? Is there a multiple item management system?

 

[aselto]

What I don't understand is the save system. If I go through, lets say, 3 levels (x many checkpoints), and turn my 360 off without hitting "Save and Quit", where will I start back at when I play again? My previous save, or my last checkpoint (I was waaay too scared of losing progress to try that)?

The console knows that you finished already the levels, so you would start from the beginning of the last level you played.