My Halo: Combat Evolved review

[RobertR1]

Halo2 Review:

Started the campaign last night and am at the start of "scared icon" level, which is the 2nd time you get to play as the Arbiter.

Goes without saying the graphics are vastly imporved. I'm enjoying the polishing and the presentation of the game.

However, the immersion factor isn't there. In Halo1 I truly felt I was Master Chief, the sense of urgency was much greater and everything was just intense. This feels like I'm watching an interactive movie. I'm playing the game so the movie (cutscenes) can go on. The battles are not as large by anymeans. No more tons of enemies and ares where I damn near need to out run then instead of fighting my way out.

It's still quite a bit better than most games but falls short of the atmosphere that Halo1 created. Having to play as Arbiter seems unnecessary. Master Chief is who I was in Halo1. Keep me as that! I think Bungie tried a very different approach to storytelling in Halo2 and I think they came up a bit short.

Having said all that, still can't wait to finish it through Oh, the cut scene where MC and the humans are being awarded for destruction of Halo while the Arbiter is being punished for his failure was beautifully done.

 

[kyleb]

Well said Robert, my sentiments to a tee.

 

[AlNom]

Well said Robert, my sediments to a tee.

*cough* sentiments

 

[TheChefO]

It's funny to me to see so many people not like the library level.

It was one of my favorites! (perhaps I'm an oddball)

I loved going in there with a shotgun lightin' those freaks up as they're hopin around 'n jumpin out of the vents etc. Good times!

With an assault riffle etc, it sucks. But the shotgun makes it fun.

(shotgun was my fav in doom1&2 as well)

There were other levels that were annoying as they seemed to have the same architecture over and over again (I don't remember the name(s))

Overall, 9/10

Halo2 sucked for singleplayer. The entire thing felt sloppy and unfinished/unloved/uninspired. Multiplayer was nice though.
sp 3/10
mp 8/10

 

[Kzin]

Goes without saying the graphics are vastly imporved.

Overall i felt halo1 looked better, although some things were better done in halo2.

Characters and veicles looked better in halo2 with normalmaps and stuff.

Particle effects as far as i rember looked better in halo1. Shoot with the AR on a metal wall in halo1 and look at all the sparks and the way the bounce on the floor. I dont think the particle effects were so detailed in halo2.

Shaders on the covenant vielces looked better to.

Halo2 dint look as sharp as halo1, with some blurry not very detailed textures. And that beutyful metal look of the surfaces in halo1 just looked so dull and..plastic or something in halo2.

Overall I thought the design of the environments and the effort that had been put into them looked better in halo 1. Compare that level in halo2 were you´re on the covenant mothership or whatever it is, with the third level in halo1, the truth and reconsialtion. The covenant environment and technology is much moore detailed, better designed and feels so much more beliveble.

 

[patsu]

It's funny to me to see so many people not like the library level.

It was one of my favorites! (perhaps I'm an oddball)

I loved going in there with a shotgun lightin' those freaks up as they're hopin around 'n jumpin out of the vents etc. Good times!

With an assault riffle etc, it sucks. But the shotgun makes it fun.

(shotgun was my fav in doom1&2 as well)

Yes... shotgun or needler is what I used (depending on whether I'm near the exploding bobs). The only distinct part I like about The Library is near the end where they lock up both ends and you have to surive a flood of err.. Flood.

Other than that I can understand why people hate the level.

There were other levels that were annoying as they seemed to have the same architecture over and over again (I don't remember the name(s))

Yap ! In the alien bases. I like crossing the bridges though. Man, Halo 1 is so different from Halo 2 that it's not even funny anymore.

 

[TheChefO]

The only distinct part I like about The Library is near the end where they lock up both ends and you have to surive a flood of err.. Flood.

That's the only part I remember from the level.

FWIR, it was section after section of the flood pooring out of the vent shafts etc and blasting 'em over and over again.

What was before this?

Yap ! In the alien bases. I like crossing the bridges though. Man, Halo 1 is so different from Halo 2 that it's not even funny anymore.

Yeah that was it! The bridge section were great! Inside, not so much. That was one of the best things about Halo IMO was the outdoor sections and sense of scale. Variety was nice also. Story, env, graphics, detail, gameplay, audio, music, vehicles ... yup. Pretty good.

 

[patsu]

What was before this?

Getting lost in the Library with more Flood ... because different sections of the level look similar/the same (There are good reasons why people left halfway).

 

[GreekDNA]

That's the only part I remember from the level.

FWIR, it was section after section of the flood pooring out of the vent shafts etc and blasting 'em over and over again.

What was before this?





Yeah that was it! The bridge section were great! Inside, not so much. That was one of the best things about Halo IMO was the outdoor sections and sense of scale. Variety was nice also. Story, env, graphics, detail, gameplay, audio, music, vehicles ... yup. Pretty good.

Yup i have to agree with that

halo still has the edge on other fps because of the scale of everything

one thing i wished resistance fall of man had

thats what sets them apart imo

 

[patsu]

In terms of play area, I think Resistance is comparable (e.g., Cheddar Gorge, the sniper level, the Stalker level).

In terms of scenery and story telling, Halo is grander. e.g., in Halo 1, there is the starship hanging in the background (night sky). In Halo 2, we have the outdoor "palace" where the Prophet of Regrets is located, etc.

Resistance talks about massive alien infrastructure but we always only see portions of it, or we started the level inside the infrastructure. The cutscenes that shows the "big stuff" are all images and narration.

EDIT: Oops I forgot about the Goliath level, which is probably the grandest display of scale in Resistance (The tank level is a distant second).

 

[RobertR1]

Just got done with Halo2. Man, I feel bad for the Arbiter. Talk about one bad thing after another! He can't catch a break.

Hopefully we get more info on Gravemind, his connection to the flood and how the flood and he survived the first Halo firing which killed the Forerunners and such.

 

[almighty]

Did anyone know that Halo 1's charactors and space ships are actually based on a classic horror film?

 

[kyleb]

No, what film?

 

[almighty]

No, what film?

Aliens, you play the first level in Halo, then watch the first ~45minutes of Aliens. The sgt in Halo say's the EXACT phrases as the sgt in Aliens, the Pilar of Autum looks 95% like the main ship in Aliens. Even the armoury room in Halo is like the twin of the 1 in Aliens. Im suprised Bungie havent been sued over the likeness.

 

[function]

On first playthrough, Halo 1 seemed the more impressive and immersive game. After lots and lots of playthroughs of both, I'm pretty certain that Halo 2 is the better game. If you only play through them a couple of times I can quite understand how you'd prefer Halo 1 though. The refinements to the sequel's gameplay take time to become visible in some case.

Once I got good at Halo, I actually started enjoying The Library quite a lot. It's no Maw, but once you aren’t playing just to see the story progress (because you’ve already finished the game) it doesn't seem as much like a barrier to progression and you can actually start to enjoy ploughing through wave after wave of jumping, charging, exploding flood. You can play it kind of like the original Doom. It’s a little out of character with the rest of the game.

Finally, I probably like the Arbiter more than the Chief. The temporary stealth element is great, and his character (and voice acting) are superb. I was hoping for more Arbiter sections in H3, but what they’ve done is a fair enough compromise for the Arbiter haters I suppose. I’m hoping for some real “buddy cop movie banterâ€￾ moments in Halo 3.

 

[TheChefO]

Aliens, you play the first level in Halo, then watch the first ~45minutes of Aliens. The sgt in Halo say's the EXACT phrases as the sgt in Aliens, the Pilar of Autum looks 95% like the main ship in Aliens. Even the armoury room in Halo is like the twin of the 1 in Aliens. Im suprised Bungie havent been sued over the likeness.

I noticed that influence too. One of my fav movies. Though, the ground vehicle was substantially different, the dropship was very similar.

Obviously the team was very inspired by a great film, but I didn't realize the phrases etc were the same! Having the automatic guns available to setup would have been awesome!

They seemed to lose this connection in Halo2.. perhaps its a subconscious reason I liked Halo1 so much and didn't connect with Halo2.

Hopefully they return to form in Halo3... :smile:

 

[dlm]

Once I got good at Halo, I actually started enjoying The Library quite a lot. It's no Maw, but once you aren’t playing just to see the story progress (because you’ve already finished the game) it doesn't seem as much like a barrier to progression and you can actually start to enjoy ploughing through wave after wave of jumping, charging, exploding flood. You can play it kind of like the original Doom. It’s a little out of character with the rest of the game.

Finally, I probably like the Arbiter more than the Chief. The temporary stealth element is great, and his character (and voice acting) are superb. I was hoping for more Arbiter sections in H3, but what they’ve done is a fair enough compromise for the Arbiter haters I suppose. I’m hoping for some real “buddy cop movie banterâ€￾ moments in Halo 3.

The library owns for exactly that reason. As you progress through the level, the flood start carrying different weapons, or the spaces change somewhat, or the elevations you're fighting from change. I think the library is an awesome level, especially on co-op legendary.

As for Arbiter vs Chief... temporary stealth is sweet, but there's a skull that you can grab on Delta Halo that gives the Chief the same ability in place of the flashlight

 

[AlNom]

I think the library is an awesome level, especially on co-op legendary.

I think that's what it really comes down to - it's just (nearly) endless waves of flood. I've not done a running count on the number you can actually kill, but it is plain good fun chucking 'nades and shotgunning them. And it's even better when they drop a ton of grenades and you set off a chain reaction, especially in those tunnels.

 

[RobertR1]

I didn't like the stealth shield with the Arbiter. It gave me the option to run where as with Master Chief I had to hold my ground and fight my way through. I know, I know, I have the option of not using the shield but I like the easy way out

One thing though, Master Chief is a kick ass character!

 

[SugarCoat]

Its been awhile but i think i basically kept running out of ammo in the library level requiring me to have to rush headlong into them to wack them with the rifle butt in order to pickup their ammo. I think i had a terrible weapon combo for that section consisting of the pistol, shotgun, and rocket launcher. Caused me to die a lot. Got tedious really quick.

The same thing happened in Quake 4 where i ran totally out of ammo about 2/3 of the way through which made me either cheat, or attempt to get through levels against some of the toughest grunts by shooting them in the head 30 times a peice with the blaster before they impale me. Those are two instances of simply really poor QA in my opinion. Im not playing spec ops or strategy games where i should need to conserve ammo and i dont spray wildly so i dont feel like i should have to wait until i see the whites of their eyes so to speak. When im facing levels where im going against seemingly endless waves of enemies i want them to throw ammo at me like its confetti.