The new installation of AIM always opens up a news tab in my Firefox of what's on in the day, and also includes videogame news. Upon finding this, I felt my urge to kill rising. It's understood that games, over time, will lose their flavour and everyone will move on to what's the newest thing. However, the reasons mentioned as to why Halo will fail are just..ugh. It's convincing me that this reviewer has never played HALF of the games he mentions.1. Halo's not the only must-play first-person shooter. While Halo 3 sits in the top five most played Xbox 360 games (around the number two or three spot), two of Activision's Call of Duty games, World At War and Modern Warfare, are immensely popular. For that matter, so are Gears of War 2 and Left 4 Dead, which offer new multiplayer modes, better AI and better graphics.
Yes, yes. I've read it time and time again how much better CoD is than Halo. However, that is not the reason why Halo will fail. CoD is known for it's war games (which, frankly, bore the ever-living shit out of me), high FPS rate and lack of dropped games. But it looks boring. I don't want games that look like real war because if I wanted to, I could go do that myself. It's the same reason why I will never buy a sports game: why use a controller when you can just go outside and do it yourself?! Videogames are my escape from reality, and I want it to be as separate from reality as possible. I want STORIES, not accuracy.
It's obvious this person has never played GoW2 or L4D by himself, or he would realize how glitchy the AI is. Many a times have a cursed a streak over Bill being the dumbass and getting himself killed over and over again on the rescue missions. But I just tell myself he's old and senile, so he doesn't really know what he's doing. Nor shall I mention how stupid it is for Locust to "take turns" on you in Horde mode, instead of bumrushing you all at once or actually using any strategy whatsoever.
2. Halo for the Nintendo DS: It sounded like a dream come true. Players could take Halo wherever they wanted, battling against others through the Wi-Fi Connection and experiencing insane gun battles. Along the way, however, Microsoft inexplicably pulled the plug, even though the game was near completion, according to a report from IGN. Perhaps the big M thought Nintendo would have too much to gain.
Has this person not heard of the current economic crisis? Does he even know that Microsuck is buying out Ensemble for the same reasons? Why invest a lot of money into a system that they're taking a risk on? I myself never thought that a shooter would work well on the DS, since I don't tihnk I could aim as accurately with just a stylus. The DS is also aimed at a MUCH younger audience that the 360 is. So yes, kids, you can play that game too that you really shouldn't be playing because of pricks that swear online.
Wait, does the DS even HAVE headphones so that you could talk to teammates? I didn't think so...
3. Bungie and Microsoft went all out for Halo 3's September 2007 release, with not one but three editions to choose from. The ultimate choice was the Legendary Edition, packaged in a facsimile of Master Chief's helmet. Unfortunately, many copies still dwell on store shelves 18 months later. Nowadays, the Legendary Edition, once retailing for $130, can be picked up for a meager $40. If you already own the game, you can buy the helmet for $10 or less.
Wait, what? I've only seen the regular copies of Halo 3 selling for $40. I have not seen any copies of the LE in stores at all. Amazon itself is selling it for $120, and only individual users are selling it for as low as $40. But in stores, no, it is not selling for that low. You, Robert Workman, are an ass who doesn't do research.
4. The development team that got Halo off the ground, Bungie, won't be with the franchise much longer. After a falling out with Microsoft following the release of Halo 3, the company announced it was moving on at the end of the year once it wraps up Halo 3: ODST, a Master Chief-less prequel of the mega-successful first-person shooter that lets players fight as an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper during the events that lead up to Halo 3.
Yeah, and? I am one who enjoys game companies doing something new and different, creating new stories and characters to love (this is the reason for my avid hatred for Nintendo). So what if they don't do another Halo? How do you think people felt after Bungie did the last Marathon game?
Also, I'm pretty sure ODST takes place during the events of Halo 2, after part of New Mombasa gets taken out. Technically, that is "during the events that lead up to Halo 3", but apparently this guy has never played 2 either, so probably doesn't even know anything existed before 3.
5. When Microsoft announced that it wanted a Halo film in 2005, people got excited. Then fans found out that The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson became attached to the project and everything went nuts. However, it turns out he wasn't directing it. Instead, first-time director Neill Blomkamp singed up for duty. After a pair of brief promo clips that aired around the time of Halo 3's release, interest in the movie waned and studios lost interest due to high budget and an in-the-works script. It may never see the light of day. Too bad the same couldn't be said for the new Street Fighter flick.
Yes, I jumped in excitement when I thought Peter Jackson was involved in the Halo movie too. However, it is WETA, who did all of the props, makeup and CG in LotR, that made all of the weapons and a working warthog in the video promos and the museum commercials.WETA is OWNED by Peter Jackson, which is something that's easily revealed through a Google search. So Jackson would have been involved in it somehow, but not directly. As for interest waning, things started going down hill at that time economy-wise. Nothing to do with Bungie or Microsoft's fault.
6. Although ODST looks cool, we have to face the facts. Number one, Master Chief, the lead character from the first three Halo games, won't star in it. Number two, although it will feature a whole new side story where your character seeks out teammates in a bombed out New Mombasa and various multiplayer options like 24 new maps, it won't be an entirely new game. Sure, it'll be fun, but it's going to end way too quickly.
As I have mentioned before, I like new characters; what I like even more are the unnamed characters that work in the background and don't get all the glory for the hard work they do. The ODSTs are the specially trained marines who have to deal with problems that ordinary soldiers do not face. They were there from the beginning, from BEFORE Halo, and involved in the training of the Spartans. Plus, they are called to face things that even Master Chief himself found difficult, but all without genetic engineering and 2-ton space suits with shields. That, my friend, takes a whole lot of balls.
7. You know a game has run into trouble when you've got an enemy in your sights, you pull the trigger and miss. Complaints ran rampant through the Halo community over at Bungie.net when users learned about the inefficiency of the battle rifle, as bullet trajectories curved and missed their targets. Honestly, if you can't count on your firepower, we're not sure what you can count on. Just check around Bungie's forums and you're bound to see the complaints.
Honestly, is this guy too much of an idiot to know what lag is? Yes, it's on the forums over and over. "Weennnhh lag lag lag ruined my K/D ratio! Why does CoD not have this problem WENH?" Deal with it. Buy a freaking better modem!
8. When someone says "Let's play some Halo," they don't point at Halo Wars and suggest a real-time strategy battle. They want to shoot someone's face off with a Needler. As great as Halo Wars is (just read our review), it's not exactly what the Halo community had in mind for the series' next big step. (On the other hand, at least we didn't get a lame Warthog racing game.)
After reading this whole thing, I don't WANT to read your review.
Diversity! It is essential to maintaining your current audience while grabbing the attentions of those who like strategy games with an already existing story. This is not the same with Nintendo, where it's new characters in different places with different powers. Halo Wars is an entirely new story, with just a different means of telling it. Consider it similar to an audiobook extension of an already existing book.
Hey, I would have...somewhat...liked a Warthog racing game. Many a time I've simply found myself racing around Rat's Nest on a mongoose out of sheer boredom (and when I know I'm never going to catch up in score). But if Mario can do it, why not Master Chief? Think of it, dropping stickies and trip mines behind your vehicles to serve as proverbial banana peels.
9. As happy as we are with all of the downloadable Halo 3 maps (including the upcoming Mythic Pack, which currently doesn't have a release date), we're a little saddened that the offerings are so rare. There's the Cold Storage Pack, the Legendary Map Pack, the Heroic Map Pack and a few promo videos. In a year and a half, that's all we received. All of these maps are excellent (especially for die-hard Halo fans), but for an incredibly popular franchise, we expected more, like downloadable characters, all new missions and other Halo-related goodies.
I'd like to see this guy design a map of his very own, with respawning weapons and interactice environment. Go on, do it! Does no one understand how long programming these things take? As for downloadable characters and new armour, no. I'm absolutely SICK of hearing complaints about it. You'd think 15 new armour (with upon hundreds, if not thousands, of combinations) to choose from would keep people satisfied, when such an option was never available before in 1 and 2. Be happy with what you have, and stop complaining about it.
10. Halo 3's sweet, but its inconclusive ending left a lot to be desired. (Spoiler: Cortana and Master Chief are literally left hanging on the other side of the universe.) Maybe one day, with Halo 3: ODST or a future Director's Cut, we'll finally know what fate awaits Master Chief and his virtual cohort. For now, we can only wonder.
No, YOU can only wonder because you only play games inside that tiny little box of yours with no room for flexibility. Play Marathon, you jackass. It's meant to be bittersweet because no other ending would have sufficed (except for Master Chief ACTUALLY being dead). I like how he leaves "SPOILER" in the middle of the fucking paragraph. Note: if you have a spoiler, put it at the end of your post. That way, you'll keep readers happy.
