Halo 2

[mikeszekely]

I worked the midnight shift, and picked it up then. Played on Live a little. It's amazing, and I don't know how it'll be with more people, but with me (in PA) and my bud (in VA) there was absolutely NO lag. For as smooth as it was, he could have been playing splitscreen in my living room. Best experience I've ever had with Live.

Blood Gulch and Battle Creek return, but with different names. They're also TONS more detailed. The original Halo is ugly by comparison.

Haven't really tried the single-player.

All-in-all, if you didn't like the orignal Halo, don't expect Halo 2 to win you over. But if you liked Halo, Halo 2 is a must buy.

Going to bed now... it's 3:30 am, and I gotta be at work at noon.

[Gaijin]

I'll pick it up later...I'm having too much fun with AC5 and Killzone.

Edited November 9, 2004 by Gaijin

[Drad]

Yeah. I got those too. I'm really digging Killzone.

[Jemstone]

Yeah, I got mine. No hassle down here and I was expecting a big rush since the army base is practically across the street from the mall. Dug out the dusty X-box and this game has inspired me. I'm going to create a Halo Kitty gif now.

[crackpot]

Got mine also last night. Tried the campaign first. Just played the first two stages. There's this new enemy that's really annoying 'cause it's hard to shoot it down. I haven't tried the playing online yet. Definitely, there's a great improvement on the graphics.

[Hikuro]

I almost went at midnight, but I didn't want to drive 100 miles down and back considering where I ordered from and where I live (ordered near work...yes I go that far to slave for 9 hours of my life) even though my boss said he had no problems if I came in late due to lack of sleep.

But I was passed out around 9, its hard to stay up as late as I use too now that I'm in this system called full time work

I'll go pick it up at Lunch, I need to stop by the comic shop too and see if Gundam Seed Astray 3 is out.

However, I can't play Xbox Live I got DSL, but for some reason my firewall is rejecting it I guess.

[mikeszekely]

I almost went at midnight, but I didn't want to drive 100 miles down and back considering where I ordered from and where I live (ordered near work...yes I go that far to slave for 9 hours of my life) even though my boss said he had no problems if I came in late due to lack of sleep.

But I was passed out around 9, its hard to stay up as late as I use too now that I'm in this system called full time work

I'll go pick it up at Lunch, I need to stop by the comic shop too and see if Gundam Seed Astray 3 is out.

However, I can't play Xbox Live I got DSL, but for some reason my firewall is rejecting it I guess.

All you should have to do is open some ports for the Xbox to use in your firewall.

[mikeszekely]

Got mine also last night. Tried the campaign first. Just played the first two stages. There's this new enemy that's really annoying 'cause it's hard to shoot it down. I haven't tried the playing online yet. Definitely, there's a great improvement on the graphics.

Those new enemies would be the drones. If you have a Battle Rifle, stand back and use the scope. Hit them when they land.

Again, the online is the best I've ever experienced on the Xbox. There was aboslurmely no lag. It's like all those times, whenever my friend from VA was visiting here in PA, we'd play Halo 1 in my living room. It's just like that.

[Blaine23]

I'm heading to a buddy's house after work to try it out on his giant TV. Split screen mode is excellent on that thing.

To be honest, though - I'm still all up in the GTA San Andreas to think too much about Halo.

[Gumper]

comes out tomorrow night over here in the UK.

Heading down at midnight to get it...booked thursday and friday off work so I can sit and play it...and FINALLY use my XBox live account

[bsu legato]

Meh....you people should just ditch your silly consoles already. Us PC gamers have been playing HALO-esque games for years. AI teammates? Vehicles? Online deathmatches? OMFG!!!111!!1

[Godzilla]

Meh....you people should just ditch your silly consoles already. Us PC gamers have been playing HALO-esque games for years. AI teammates? Vehicles? Online deathmatches? OMFG!!!111!!1

That was what I said. Then I bought the Cube for certain starwars games and Mario Cart Double Dash. I then bought the Xbox combo because Xbox can be used on HDTV. These days I dont spend a lot of time on games as much as I use to, though.

[Max Jenius]

Meh....you people should just ditch your silly consoles already. Us PC gamers have been playing HALO-esque games for years. AI teammates? Vehicles? Online deathmatches? OMFG!!!111!!1 

That was what I said. Then I bought the Cube for certain starwars games and Mario Cart Double Dash. I then bought the Xbox combo because Xbox can be used on HDTV. These days I dont spend a lot of time on games as much as I use to, though.

That about sums up my feelings...

I do have an X-Box also... its just not up my Alley. Maybe later tho... the Halo bug hasn't bitten me.

[rocco_77]

FPSers on consoles suck IMO... There is no substitute for the mouse when it comes to tracking targets... The thumb joysticks just don't cut it...

I will probably hope and wait for Halo 2 to come to the PC... LOVED Halo.

[Blaine23]

Meh....you people should just ditch your silly consoles already. Us PC gamers have been playing HALO-esque games for years. AI teammates? Vehicles? Online deathmatches? OMFG!!!111!!1

Heh. Isn't it funny when PC gamers use the lingo their goofy brethen made popular to mock those of us who don't care enough to invest in a turbo-cooled graphics card that costs $500?

You may have been playing these games for years, BSU - but that doesn't mean they're still not fun on an Xbox. I could run around shaking my old boardgame copy of Risk at online Empire type players, but wouldn't that be lame?

[do not disturb]

FPSers on consoles suck IMO... There is no substitute for the mouse when it comes to tracking targets... The thumb joysticks just don't cut it...

I will probably hope and wait for Halo 2 to come to the PC... LOVED Halo.

pretty much just summed up my post. i'll wait for the PC version

[bsu legato]

Heh. Isn't it funny when PC gamers use the lingo their goofy brethen made popular to mock those of us who don't care enough to invest in a turbo-cooled graphics card that costs $500?

You may have been playing these games for years, BSU - but that doesn't mean they're still not fun on an Xbox. I could run around shaking my old boardgame copy of Risk at online Empire type players, but wouldn't that be lame?

I'm not suggesting that HALO isn't a good, fun game. What I'm saying is that in spite of all the H Y P E, it's not the second coming of video games. But that seems to get lost in all the media blitz and fanboy raving (not that there has been any of that here on MW).

Is HALO and its sequel a a good game? Yes.

Is HALO the revolutionary, OMGorz!!111 pwnage? No.

[JsARCLIGHT]

Hey Bsu, let 'em have their thread. HALO is a neat game and one of the best games on the XBox... we get Half Life 2 before them so I say we're even.

[Max Jenius]

we get Half Life 2 before them so I say we're even.

If not more fortunate...

I've always wondered though; What's the big deal with Halo? Can anyone shed some light? I mean... what makes it magical, you know?

[JsARCLIGHT]

While I thought the PC port of Halo was sort of so-so and "been there done that" the storyline was the big saving grace. Well acted, well paced and it just sucks you in.

[bsu legato]

Aw, I'm not trying to rain on their parade. I guess I'm just with Max on this one. I don't "get" what the big deal is.

[Gumper]

why are people abusing console FPS games and saying they love PC FPS games...

This is a message board...on the internet...people are typing messages from their PC saying they own an XBox....so....if they own an XBox and a PC then they will already know how good FPS games are on both formats. so everyones happy

[Syngyne]

FPSers on consoles suck IMO... There is no substitute for the mouse when it comes to tracking targets... The thumb joysticks just don't cut it...

I will probably hope and wait for Halo 2 to come to the PC... LOVED Halo.

Well, you're not just limited to control pads anymore...

[Mechafan]

FPSers on consoles suck IMO... There is no substitute for the mouse when it comes to tracking targets... The thumb joysticks just don't cut it...

I will probably hope and wait for Halo 2 to come to the PC... LOVED Halo.

Well, you're not just limited to control pads anymore...

Yeah I am PC FPS guy too. But I think Halo too might make me get a Xbox. The last one I played on the PC and the Xbox. I was better with the mouse than the anolog sticks. I hope it does come out for the PC also. With some of the new things they added it should easily be one of the best games of the year.

[Hikuro]

I got my copy, and they just went ahead and gave me the Limited Edition instead "We got too many" so they're giving them out to some people if you made reserves, I also got a discount since I didn't purchase the whole thing and I come there all the time guys there know me well!

The box has a nice lil tin box effect to it, plus its shiney! I also got the 2 free months of Xbox live (Yeah I got 5 months!) and a free slurpee cupon............ right.

I can't wait to go home and spend countless hours playing! I should probably start reading the books too 0_o....

However, I doubt I'll ever get my Xbox up and running Live.....I got no clue what I'm doing and all the ideas I come up with don't seem to work....I need to get a day off so I can call the ISP guys up and have them walk me through it....I got no clue how to open the fire wall or anything.

[promethuem5]

I cant wait for it to come out on PC...im am totally analog stickly worthless, but I will be playing it all weekend at my besat friend's house to see it in action. I also loved the first one on PC and dont get whwt all teh PC Halo hate is about

[fearyaks]

I am both a PC gamer and a console gamer. Halo and Halo2 offers something that the PC can't offer in a scalable manner. My wife and I can't drink, sit on our couch with two other buddies and kill each other on PCs. Sure we could get frag boxes and some LCDs but it isn't really the same.

I agree that for the most part, a lot of games are better on the PC. However from a social and comfort aspect, I prefer my couch, my surround sound and my 60" RP-LCD over a monitor, keyboard and mouse.

Besides, I get motion sickness when I play FPS' on a PC.

That being said, I think the next 'big' game (in my book) that I get will be Pirates! and I'll play that on the PC.

[Kin]

Lol I get bored playing halo...and it also irritate's me hearing their "men's choar" as if i'm in a monastry. cheap

[JsARCLIGHT]

To me that is one of the massive down sides of Halo is that it gets very repeatative very fast... sure all FPS games can get old pretty quick but for some reason Halo just seems to wear out my interest fast. I remember when I was playing it I could only play for about half an hour and then I'd get tired of it and have to stop. On the flip side of the coin I'm playing MoH: Pac Ass (as we are calling it at the office) and the game is addictive... so many things to do just in the first few missions. Add to that finding all the hidden stuff... to the best of my memory Halo had no secret things at all. Sure every once in a while you would happen across a pile of ammo and guns strewn about but those spots were not exactly hidden.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

we get Half Life 2 before them so I say we're even.

If not more fortunate...

I've always wondered though; What's the big deal with Halo? Can anyone shed some light? I mean... what makes it magical, you know?

I wonder the same thing. Theres so many console FPS yet out of ALL of them the halo series stands out the most. Why is this?

[Mr March]

I preordered my copy of Halo 2 and hopefully it should come in soon. I've also read the reviews on Gamespot and TeamX-box. I doubt I'll be disappointed with the game. It sounds like everything I'd hope for in a sequel to a beloved console game like Halo and then some. Sadly, this will probably be the last good title for the X-Box. But I'm sure Halo 3 on the second generation X-Box will be great.

I don't want to derail the thread by going into the arguement over consoles vs. PCs, but I would like to add a few opinions and explanations for some of the other members here who politely asked for some enlightenment.

Personally, I've always been a PC gamer first, console gamer second. For me the lineage was C-64, Amiga, PC386, 486, Pentium, and so forth up to my current Athlon XP 2800. While it's true that many games on the PC are superior to console games (mostly due to the broader freedom of concept, wider variety of game types, more opportunity for indepth design and detail, the constant advancement of new hardware which breeds software to match), I've found that there are some areas of gaming that PC's rarely seem to get right. Being a huge fan of Street Fighter II and many fighting games that followed (especially Soul Blade/Edge, Soul Calibur, and Soul Calibur II), PCs have rarely ported fighters and rarely do them justice if they do. When I want a good fighter, I've always turned to the arcades or a console. No doubt many PC gamers exclaim "I don't like fighting games", which may be fine for you, but some of us do...and some of us are PC gamers

Sure consoles have sucked for First Person Shooters (with a few exceptions). Yes, many of us PC gamers have been enjoying First Person Shooters since Wolfenstein on our 386 and yes, we've been playing online ever since Doom. We've played the Quakes, battled with Jedi Knights, and competed in the Unreal Tournament and we've done it online for years. But one fact always seems to escape most PC gamers...we're the minority, not the majority. Even best selling PC games (exclude that terrible Deer Hunter for a moment) account for a small portion of the electronic gaming market. The market as a whole is run by console sales. This means that MOST gamers have never experienced the thrill of the best FPS available...until Halo came out.

Halo not only finally created a FPS on a console with superior game play control, but it actually produced some real innovations for the genre. Hand-to-hand combat was a welcome sight that few FPS attempted and only Jedi Knight got right (though many argue JK was not a true FPS). The rechargeable shield adds a definite strategic element that even my favorite FPS like Half-Life lack. A maximum of two carried weapons added realism and the ability to throw grenades without switching weapons was great. I also think many PC gamers fail to give Halo credit for its music and story, which easily equals such PC greats as Starcraft, Star Control 2, Half-Life, and MechWarrior 2 in both catagories.

As a PC gamer, I can honestly say Halo is one of my favorite games, regardless of platform. I would encourage anyone to try it.

I've never understood why many console and PC gamers consider the two formats mutually exclusive. It's not like politics or ideology; one can very much enjoy both worlds. To this day, I still own and play my Super Nintendo, my Dreamcast, and my X-Box. The day they release superior quality versions of Super Castlevania, Street Fighter II, and Soul Calibur for the PC, I'll stop buying consoles. But until they do, I'm sticking with both PC and consoles.

Lastly, some advice to anyone who loves FPS: try not to overdose on those FPS that don't deserve your time. I have friends who do nothing but play dozens of FPS on the PC and are always waiting in line when Cliff Blesinski or John Carmack releases another uninspired graphics trophy. Those same friends are always quick to harp "What's so great about Halo? I've seen it before in other PC games". Stop wasting your money on those incremental-shooters on the PC every 3 months. They feature maybe one truely good innovation but the sole attraction is typically some silly sub-niche for fans of hooker-killing or most red pixels on screen. Spend that money on a console and one really fun FPS like Halo that combines story, music, gameplay, several innovative features, and a lot of fun. You'll be better off and you'll have a better time.

[JsARCLIGHT]

Your line of reasoning is sound Mr. March but what about Goldeneye on the N64? To me personally Goldeneye was the defining moment of console FPS games. Multiplayer mayhem to the max without four computers and a LAN. Goldeneye was an addiction of mine and my friends at parties... we would all huddle around the 64" Big screen TV at my friends house and play 4 player deathmatch for hours... while the wives/girlfriends sat in the kitchen and bitched about us.

[mikeszekely]

Is HALO the revolutionary, OMGorz!!111 pwnage? No.

Is Halo 2 the best console FPS? Yes.

PC gaming and console gaming is like pie and ice cream. Sure, they're both basically desserts. They're both enjoyable, and if you like one, you can like the other. But for all their similarities, they're not the same.

Halo 2 doesn't bring anything new to the FPS genre, or anything that PC gamers that were weened on Quake and Tribes haven't already experienced. But, Halo isn't made with PC gamers in mind... it's for the people who spent hours playing Goldeneye on four player split-screen.

PC gamers are a hardcore lot, and I give them credit for that. But most gamers today don't feel like spending $500 bucks to upgrade their video card to play the newest game (only to turn around later and buy a new motherboard and processor for same reasons), then have to patch the hell out of their game to squat in front of their 17" monitor when a $300 Xbox will let them play most of the games they want with no hassle on (at least) a 27" TV from the comfort of their favorite armchair. It's for that reason that Halo 2 will, in all likelihood, outsell Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 combined.

But, anyway, this thread isn't about the pros and cons of PC gaming vs. console gaming. It's a fact that some of us prefer one method or the other, for various reasons, all valid. And some us enjoy both. Let's please just all accept that, remember this is a discussion about Halo 2, and be respectful of each other.

[mikeszekely]

So, anyway, like I said, I worked today. 8 hours of people non-stop picking up their Halo reserves. To give you an idea, my store usually does maybe $1000 on a weekday, $2000 on a weekend. $10,000-$15,000 a week. Big games come out, like Madden, maybe we have two days of $5000 before it goes back to normal. When Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (a game many thought would be the best-selling game of the year) came out, we did $7000 two days in a row, and didn't go below $2000 for a few days after. Well, Halo 2 basically crapped on GTA. We did over $6000 from midnight to 1:00 am last night, and we did $22,000 today (with an hour and a half left to go when I left).

Bear in mind, these are just sales figures. I'm not saying that one game or another is definatively better (although I got bored fast with GTAIII an had no interest in San Andreas), and there's no law that says you can't enjoy both. I just think it's unreal how incredible the sales have been for Halo 2.

[mikeszekely]

Your line of reasoning is sound Mr. March but what about Goldeneye on the N64? To me personally Goldeneye was the defining moment of console FPS games. Multiplayer mayhem to the max without four computers and a LAN. Goldeneye was an addiction of mine and my friends at parties... we would all huddle around the 64" Big screen TV at my friends house and play 4 player deathmatch for hours... while the wives/girlfriends sat in the kitchen and bitched about us.

See, me and my friends did that too, and later with Perfect Dark. And it took awhile to grow on us (and I still wish it had better maps), but Halo captured some of those good old days.

Now, the thing is, the friends I used to play Goldeneye with have all moved around the US with jobs and what not... and that's one of the reasons Halo 2 is good. Completely lag free, voice-chat enabled. In the living room, on the TV with the home theater. It's the next best thing to having my bros in the living room with me (and on the plus side, I can play in my boxers). Is that something new and revolutionary? Well, as it's been pointed out, PC gamers have been doing it for years... but it's just not the same. Halo 2 with Xbox Live is a lot closer to those days of yore when we all crowded around a TV with an N64 and Goldeneye.

As for the campaign, Bungie heard the (valid) complaints that the levels were rather repetetive in the original Halo, and they took great care to mix things up better in Halo 2. Attacking that big spider-looking mech was like nothing I'd ever done in a game before, and later, I was pleasantly suprised to get to play a level as a Covenant soldier known as "the Arbiter."

And the story is pretty good, too. The orignal Halo's story was good for an FPS, but maybe kind of so-so in general. The story is a lot more interesting this time around.