Poll: Alright guys, settle a bet for me. Half Life, Halo, or CoD?
- Thread starter Yak Johnson
- Start date
Your cousins have obvious not spent a lot of time lurking on the forums if they think that this forum of all forums would pick CoD or Halo over Half Life. All forums have their fan boys and girls and bias towards certain genres and the Escapist has an obvious positive bias towards everything Valve and a general disdain towards the mainstream for valid reasons or not.
If we are talking the series in general I would have to say Half Life but if you want a specific game which I think is superior out of those 3 series it would be CoD 2 or 4. Special mention goes to Halo 1.
If we are talking the series in general I would have to say Half Life but if you want a specific game which I think is superior out of those 3 series it would be CoD 2 or 4. Special mention goes to Halo 1.
I remember when the first Half Life came out. It changed first person shooters. The first Unreal was out a little earlier, and the step change was obvious. Halo 1 was not exceptional in this way. It was above average.
Half Life 2, and so on, wasn't the same in that way but they're still great games. I tried Halo and it really was dreadful. In every way. At least CoD was fun but woeful in every other way. Almost every good idea (like cinematic set pieces) in CoD was first done in Half Life.
Not only was it a parent of modern FPS games, its just so much more fun. I got more fun out of replaying that then playing MW3 for instance (which actually felt like replaying other CoD and MoH games anyway).
Half Life 2, and so on, wasn't the same in that way but they're still great games. I tried Halo and it really was dreadful. In every way. At least CoD was fun but woeful in every other way. Almost every good idea (like cinematic set pieces) in CoD was first done in Half Life.
Not only was it a parent of modern FPS games, its just so much more fun. I got more fun out of replaying that then playing MW3 for instance (which actually felt like replaying other CoD and MoH games anyway).
I said Half-Life, but one thing I would like to address is the lack of depth in a lot of the characters. Half-Life isn't as great as a lot of people makes it out to be but it is still a great game. Halo has a good thing going for it being the first easily approachable FPS and solid multiplayer, but I prefer CoD due to the customizing options (TAR-21 with suppressor is surprisingly good). I don't think you can judge Half-Life with Halo and CoD because 2 are online based and 1 is single-player based, and even judging Halo and Cod together is genre-crossing. I say you should give each other their money back and never speak of it again.
I prefer Halo for it's fair & competitive multiplayer; all it needs now is dedicated servers and a mix of the last three games. The storyline is exotic to your classic space marine/modern military shooter; and it doesn't hide from the fact that you ARE better than every other character, you will kill hundreds and hundreds and in the third game your opponents will herald you as a demon of their kind whilst your species hails you as a god. It was just good.
Half Life is a close second. As one thread was asking, while originality is important with new games it is not critical. Regardless, HL plays it hand well when it comes to originality. You're a scientist. There are aliens. A deep underlying story ensues following the classic "survive invasion, thwart the bad guys" cliché; but the style of play and the way they tell the storyline is just completely unique. Even without that it is just as good an adventure/FPS/simple puzzler game - it is my close second favourite for this reason.
CoD... *SIGH* No point wasting 1000 words over something I've critically disliked since the 5th "adaptation" for a number of planet-sized reasons of which, for some weird reason, are still recurring faults that pop up in every single game of the series. Remove the title "CoD" and change the graphics slightly and I don't think the game would sell well at all; and I also think Activision know that. Treyarch nearly fixed Black Ops (minus 1 or 2 series flaws such as hit detection and awful maps) and it's now one of the least popular in the series, despite selling second best. Take CoD 1, 4 and 7 out of the equation and you've got a dump of a series.[footnote]
Yeah, sure Halo has been milked just as much, but the demand is still there and the hate, not so much. When Bungie added a few features then sold it off as a another game, they labelled it as "budget" themselves due to the lack of fresh content - when Activision pull the same stunt with CoD - it's more-than full price each time.[/footnote]
Off-Topic
CoD was good, then over-popularity happened; and things turned greedy and now we have a poor, weak, recycled game series - now they're trying to set up subscription plans.
Guitar Hero wasgood, then over-popularity happened; then things turned greedy and then we had a poor, weak, recycled game series - then it got axed when consumers caught wind.
Tony Hawks was good, then over-popularity happened; then things turned greedy and then we had a poor, weak, recycled game series - which got shelved indefinitely when consumers caught wind...
Seeing a pattern yet?
Half Life is a close second. As one thread was asking, while originality is important with new games it is not critical. Regardless, HL plays it hand well when it comes to originality. You're a scientist. There are aliens. A deep underlying story ensues following the classic "survive invasion, thwart the bad guys" cliché; but the style of play and the way they tell the storyline is just completely unique. Even without that it is just as good an adventure/FPS/simple puzzler game - it is my close second favourite for this reason.
CoD... *SIGH* No point wasting 1000 words over something I've critically disliked since the 5th "adaptation" for a number of planet-sized reasons of which, for some weird reason, are still recurring faults that pop up in every single game of the series. Remove the title "CoD" and change the graphics slightly and I don't think the game would sell well at all; and I also think Activision know that. Treyarch nearly fixed Black Ops (minus 1 or 2 series flaws such as hit detection and awful maps) and it's now one of the least popular in the series, despite selling second best. Take CoD 1, 4 and 7 out of the equation and you've got a dump of a series.[footnote]
Yeah, sure Halo has been milked just as much, but the demand is still there and the hate, not so much. When Bungie added a few features then sold it off as a another game, they labelled it as "budget" themselves due to the lack of fresh content - when Activision pull the same stunt with CoD - it's more-than full price each time.[/footnote]
Off-Topic
CoD was good, then over-popularity happened; and things turned greedy and now we have a poor, weak, recycled game series - now they're trying to set up subscription plans.
Guitar Hero wasgood, then over-popularity happened; then things turned greedy and then we had a poor, weak, recycled game series - then it got axed when consumers caught wind.
Tony Hawks was good, then over-popularity happened; then things turned greedy and then we had a poor, weak, recycled game series - which got shelved indefinitely when consumers caught wind...
Seeing a pattern yet?
Haven't played Halo, I really Like CoD, but I'm still going to have to go with Half Life, because IMO it had a stronger storyline and pacing than CoD.
I picked Half-Life but I still like Halo just as equally. I love the pacing, the atmosphere, the sense of adventure and the universe of the Half-Life series but all the Halo games really nailed the combat aspect for me even if I thought Halo 2 was the weakest of the series(I still consider it a good game).
COD is pure summer popcorn entertainment. Fun for a while but largely forgettable. Its attempts at stirring up controversy is hilarious, I'll give it that.
COD is pure summer popcorn entertainment. Fun for a while but largely forgettable. Its attempts at stirring up controversy is hilarious, I'll give it that.
Having played all of those, Halflife totally underwhelmed me especially considering its fan base seems to think the sun shines out of its arse. Halo is a good laugh with mates but the online lobbies are full of screaming kids, and CoD can be hit or miss due to its multiple development houses (my personal favourite is for the IW titles) but the online lobbies are full of drunken frat boys. If I were to rank them I would say Halflife in last place even accounting for nostalgia, CoD Treyarch titles in third, Halo in second and CoD Infinity Ward titles first.
I dont really care for any of the above, but I especially dont care for Half-Life. In fact, for the longest time, I was frantically trying to find a copy of Half-life 2 for my PC. But once I played it on a friends, I realised that it was nothing like I hoped for...
Halo im meh towards, and COD is probably the one true sorce of my MP-FPS rage condition...
Halo im meh towards, and COD is probably the one true sorce of my MP-FPS rage condition...
Definately Half-Life, but maybe I'm biased because I can't play Halo due to not owning an Xbox and I've never touched a Call of Duty game outside of playing Splitscreen at a friends house. Even still I prefer the old fashioned shooters where you are franticaly racing to the nearest health items while taking out enemy reinforcements with every weapon at your disposal. No Cover, All Man!
Best single player FPS would be Half Life. Short, detailed, immersive and gives a feeling of achievement.
CoD fails because of its reliance on set-pieces.
HALO fails because of its bloom and "blank slate" main character.
CoD may have a better multiplayer, and HALO has a better replayability - but that's for other prizes.
CoD fails because of its reliance on set-pieces.
HALO fails because of its bloom and "blank slate" main character.
CoD may have a better multiplayer, and HALO has a better replayability - but that's for other prizes.
I picked Halo, as it is one of the very few campaigns I have ever replayed and had fun. Add to the fact that lan parties with x-boxes, or even four player split screen with my friends was a blast.
The first Halo gets more love then the others, for the simple awsomeness of tossing a frag across blood gulch, flipping a warthog at the base over and on top of a friend. Moments like that are priceless.
The first Halo gets more love then the others, for the simple awsomeness of tossing a frag across blood gulch, flipping a warthog at the base over and on top of a friend. Moments like that are priceless.
For me, based only on the campaigns, it has to be Half Life. CoD shouldn't be on the list, but rather Modern Warfare, as those are the ones with a continuous campaign. Halo really didn't impress me to be honest, it seemed to add less and less to each new game. That said I haven't played all the Halo games. Hope your cousins pay up.
Now if we compare Half Life 1, Halo 1 and CoD 1 we would have an interesting debate because all games were more or less revolutionary for the time (and platforms).
The best would still be Half Life, though, because it single-handedly helped create the modern day shooter genre (guns have clips, aim for the head, scripting, real AI, etc.).
The subsequent releases of Halo and (especially) CoD form a downward spiral of "same thing, different year". They're still good (sort of) but I'm getting quite tired of them.
Half Life 2 still was a revolutionary game but a bit less so than it's predecessor (original use of physics comes to mind).
Now in terms of multiplayer Counter Strike is still king for me, and i'm not talking about that Source game, I'm talking about CS 1.6 - the game that made realistic, round-based multiplayer shooters what they are today. You don't need kill streaks, sticky plasma grenades, tanks or attack choppers it's pure and simple fun. Plus, since it's from 2000, most people playing now are pretty hardcore, mostly-mature guys. Also, aiming is actually required to successfully shoot people.
The best would still be Half Life, though, because it single-handedly helped create the modern day shooter genre (guns have clips, aim for the head, scripting, real AI, etc.).
The subsequent releases of Halo and (especially) CoD form a downward spiral of "same thing, different year". They're still good (sort of) but I'm getting quite tired of them.
Half Life 2 still was a revolutionary game but a bit less so than it's predecessor (original use of physics comes to mind).
Now in terms of multiplayer Counter Strike is still king for me, and i'm not talking about that Source game, I'm talking about CS 1.6 - the game that made realistic, round-based multiplayer shooters what they are today. You don't need kill streaks, sticky plasma grenades, tanks or attack choppers it's pure and simple fun. Plus, since it's from 2000, most people playing now are pretty hardcore, mostly-mature guys. Also, aiming is actually required to successfully shoot people.
