Halo 3 First Impressions

[Break]

You realise that, before this, I didn't know you, hate you, bear a grudge against you, or was affected by any other prestanding condition that would affect my judgement of you? Tell me why I would say anything about you that I hadn't picked up from your own words. Perhaps I said you cling to Russ like a sock fresh out of the drier, because you look like you cling to Russ like a sock fresh out of the drier? Perhaps I said you look as if you're calling everyone else stupid because you look as if you're calling everyone else stupid? And maybe, just maybe, there's one tiny little chance that, instead of me just being a retard that reads Klingon instead of English, your posts, arguments, and general manner make you seem like the elitist sycophant I'm apparently determined to make you out to be? Sure, if I'm as idiotic as you say, then it's probably true. I just hate your guts for no good reason, and I desire to see you ground into dirt with every fibre of my being. But maybe, if you really have such an clear and unbiased mind, you might acknowledge the possibility that there's something in the way you phrase things that results in several people misunderstanding your flawless reasoning?

At least, if the points I raised aren't valid, you'd like to point out why they aren't valid instead of just ignoring them. For instance, why do you insult people so often? I'm a little bored of this debate, since it's virtually flaming unconvincingly dressed up as something less stupid. From my side of the screen, it looks like you're selecting certain parts of each post to reply to, and it seems I'm doing the same from your point of view. We're getting nowhere.

Basically, we've gone right off the point here. I'd be amazed if someone here isn't just keeping this up for the sake of debating, and getting a kick out of being a prick. And while I'd be more likely to pick out Danimal or myself for such behaviour, if I don't keep it general, this thread'll get locked down.

Oh, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't try and say I'm trying to run away, by saying this. I know you're better than that, but I've seen it done before, and it'll only result in me failing to be the so-called "better man" and continuing to drag this ridiculous debate all over the place. So try not to, even if you never had any intention to in the first place.

 

[Russ Pitts]

Ladies, please. Don't make me break out the bunnies again.

 

[danimal1384]

i don't think your trying to run away. but i do think that you are making snap judgements on my character by what i think of Halo 3, a GOD DAMNED VIDEO GAME!! who the hell cares. and i don't see several people having a problem with what i'm saying... JUST YOU! don't speak on everyone else's behalf when u don't represent them. but you are right in that this is and will continue to go nowhere, so lets end this nonsense. i have no problem with you as a whole, but we need to just realize that we probably won't see eye to eye on alot of games. so with all respect, lets just end the halo thing and move on.

 

[Alex Karls]

For instance, subtle clues are embedded in there on the identity of the unseen character in Halo 2 known only from his reverse-masked dialog embedded in one of the maps of that game.

Steve,

This greatly intrigues me. What exactly are you referring to? I thought that I'd kept up on exploring Halo 2 when it came out, but it sounds like I didn't do enough! If you can give me an idea of what to look for when I go hunting for this character, I'd be very grateful. I'd love to hear more about this idea.

 

[danimal1384]

dear steve, i'm not being superior, nor am i saying that the game isn't fun. i like playing it, i'm just sick of people saying the game is something it itsn't, which is some sort of holy relic. and i'm not a pc gamer either. in all honesty, i'm almost done with playing video games all togethor, i just don't have the time anymore for them. and also, i'll say this: gamers need to stop allowing such things as good online play to be excuses for lazing writing, short game length, and a lack of creativity. that doesn't immediately make them bad games, it just makes them less than what we usually are promised. so lets try and make the game designers challenge themselves by trying to do something different, okay people?

 

[Alex Karls]

dear steve, i'm not being superior, nor am i saying that the game isn't fun. i like playing it, i'm just sick of people saying the game is something it itsn't, which is some sort of holy relic. and i'm not a pc gamer either. in all honesty, i'm almost done with playing video games all togethor, i just don't have the time anymore for them. and also, i'll say this: gamers need to stop allowing such things as good online play to be excuses for lazing writing, short game length, and a lack of creativity. that doesn't immediately make them bad games, it just makes them less than what we usually are promised. so lets try and make the game designers challenge themselves by trying to do something different, okay people?

Should I call you danimal or danimal1384?

You're saying that you're not superior, and I totally respect that. That said, some of the things you've said have been a bit aggressive. I'd say hostile, but that's not really what I'm driving at. In the past you'd mentioned that you will respect someone who has an actual thought process, and that's the sort of thing can sometimes come across wrong. I just want to ask, do you see where I'm coming from? The less aggressive we can be, the fewer problems we'll have communicating. At least, I think that's what works.

As far as your comment about the game goes, keep in mind that this game series is one that's touched a lot of people in a really big way. Good games do that, and even if you don't enjoy it to the degree that others do, I think we can both agree that Halo is a good game series. Although you might find that the game has lazy writing, is short, and is uncreative, that isn't necessarily the hard truth, but rather just your opinion on it. I'll agree with you on the short game length, as I clocked in a mere 6 hours beating it, but I can't agree on the other two. With a couple of exceptions, I liked the writing, and I like the creativity behind the game.

Also, I'd like to apologize for what I said earlier about getting aggravated by the terms you were throwing around. That's what I mean when I'm talking about aggression, as you were coming on pretty hard with the idea that Halo 3 was unoriginal and uninspired, and I responded with a knee jerk. I'm sorry if I upset you.

 

[danimal1384]

i'll admitt that i've been letting my aggressive side get the best of me alittle here and i do apologize to everyone for it. and true, we all are going to have discrepencies on everyone else's opinions, and we all tend to project our opinions as facts. but we are all human and we at this forum it seems tend to be really passionate about our thoughts on games, and will protect them at extreme costs sometimes. i guess i, and we all need to work on our choice of words and diplomacy a bit more.
i just got upset with break for coming to some one else's defence out of nowhere and start attacking me, completely unprovoked and full of intent to instigate. then he got suprised when i responded how he wanted me to, at least i'm guessing by how he communicated with me.
i just don't like people who get in my face with insults then get pissed when i defend myself. but i have no grudge or ill will towards Break. if he reads this, then i want to say this to him. "i'm not trying to pick a fight or make an enemy of you, i just don't think it was appropriate or very considerate how you randomly just came at me with the hostility you did. but i still respect you as a person. and i hope that we can begin to better understand each other and communicate more professionally."

and yes, halo 3 is still a very entertaining game, and i thuroughly enjoy it, especially that damn hammer. that thing is so freaking nuts. i hope though that since they said it would end here with 3, that they decide to keep their word. at least for 5 years before they even think about making a new one. i think that they should leave it done here before they completely screw it up.

 

[danimal1384]

by the way, who else has found the members of Rooster Teeht's famous Red vs Blue in the campaign mode? which characters you get is based on what difficulty your playing at. Church and Caboose in legendary, Griff and Simmons in Heroic, and Tucker and Doughnut on normal mode. let me know if you find where they are, cause its kinda funny.

Hint: Second Level in the Bunker.

 

[Break]

That's quite something, considering RvB is, really, just a machinima series. I'm surprised that Bungie made such a direct reference to them, even though it's certainly worthy. I spotted Tucker and Doughnut, but didn't actually realize it was them. I'm definitely going back to see the others. I'm also going to go through it again for the Terminals. Since I'm lazy, I did find the locations on Halopedia yesterday, but still. When I get through all of those, I'll retract what I said about the thin plot, if appropriate.

As an explanation, Danimal, my behaviour was based half on simply how I debate, and half on my tendency to get a little irritable if I think I see someone acting superior. If I think I see a flaw in someone's reasoning, I'll go at it full force, even if it's probably butting in unnecessarily, or I actually agree with what the person is saying. Not really the best way to go about things, now I think of it. I'll try to tone it down in future, since if anything, this little incident has certainly shown that my strategy is not always effective. Thanks.

 

[Alex Karls]

I saw Tucker and Doughnut when I played through on normal. And Break, you needn't worry about there being any sort of direct reference suspension of disbelief breaking going on (if that's what you were referring to), as they're simply two marines having a conversation from the series, adapted to the game setting.

IIRC, one of them is standing outside a large door, asking to be let in, and they're doing the whole "What's the password?" gag from the show. It's still amusing though.

 

[Russ Pitts]

 

[Anton P. Nym]

For instance, subtle clues are embedded in there on the identity of the unseen character in Halo 2 known only from his reverse-masked dialog embedded in one of the maps of that game.

Steve,

This greatly intrigues me. What exactly are you referring to? I thought that I'd kept up on exploring Halo 2 when it came out, but it sounds like I didn't do enough! If you can give me an idea of what to look for when I go hunting for this character, I'd be very grateful. I'd love to hear more about this idea.

The character was only present in the background music of Halo 2's prison block map, heard when the soon-to-be-Arbiter is dragged out by Tartarus (the albino Brute) and when the Master Chief breaks in to rescue those captured Marines. This character's voice is backward-masked into the music; alas, I don't have a ready link to-hand for a reversed playback.

You'll find clues to his identity when reading the Terminals in Halo 3, most notably when playing at the Legendary difficulty level. (Yes, you get different Terminal text when playing Legendary than when playing on other difficulties.)

I won't go any further, to avoid spoiling folks' sense of discovery and to avoid hijacking the forum here, except to say that it's being mulled over right now in the Bungie.net and halo.bungie.org forums if you do want to join the discussion.

-- Steve

 

[Alex Karls]

Bunnies...

¿Por qué? I haven't heard anyone talk about your meaning when you post bunny pics. What do these mean?

 

[Break]

I actually meant that I thought it was unusual for such a direct reference made in canon to a fan-made series of short videos. It's not often that such a thing happens.

And I think the bunnies are supposed to be used to calm people down when they get too heated. Or something. Maybe they're just cute.

 

[Russ Pitts]

Bunnies...

¿Por qué? I haven't heard anyone talk about your meaning when you post bunny pics. What do these mean?

Well those bunnies reflect my feeling of love at seeing everyone getting along again. I really am quite touched.

Sometimes, as Break said, they're riot control bunnies. Occasionally, however, I just like posting pictures of bunnies

 

[Alex Karls]

That's okay, I'm sure things will descend into chaos given enough time.

One question though, were you being sarcastic, or are you really quite touched? I couldn't tell the tone of your message.

 

[Russ Pitts]

are you really quite touched?

Truly.

 

[ryo02]

You die if you fall too far, but otherwise you're unharmed. This is a fairly obvious concession to gameplay.

As far as falling "too far" and dying, within the confines of the game, "too far" is usually defined as "off a cliff" and yet, in the cutscene, MC survived a fall from the Troposphere, as you say (I still say "space" bowing to the scene as presented in the finale of Halo 2, but whatever). Show me a cliff that's taller than the troposphere and I'll buy your explanation, else wise it's an anachronism. How can you survive a fall from the troposphere, and yet be felled by a measly fall from a cliff? Answer: voodoo. In other words: pulp.

In any case, I'm betting you still haven't played the game yet, which makes your rabid defense of the logic contained therein seem somewhat ... off. I'm willing to buy you a copy if you'll freakin' play it so we can have a reasonable conversation about it.

Id argue that the reason the chief doesnt survive falls from cliffs is becuase their not as tall as the troposphere ... doesnt make sense let me explaine

by falling further the chief has time to expand the shield increase the preasure of the hydrostatic gel aswell as influence his trajectory (if youve read the books you might remember a scene like this)where as when falling off a cliff youve little time to do much else other than trying not to land on your head

 

[Geoffrey42]

The RvB guys got in specifically because they bid on voice spots as a Child's Play auction item.

Though, afterwards, Bungie told them they would've put them anyway, they didn't have to pay for it. But it's a charity, so all's well that ends well.

 

[Russ Pitts]

Id argue that the reason the chief doesnt survive falls from cliffs is becuase their not as tall as the troposphere ... doesnt make sense let me explaine

by falling further the chief has time to expand the shield increase the preasure of the hydrostatic gel aswell as influence his trajectory (if youve read the books you might remember a scene like this)where as when falling off a cliff youve little time to do much else other than trying not to land on your head

One simply can't argue with logic of this kind. You're actually Donald Rumsfeld aren't you?