What have the Halo games done for us?

[simonw91]

Okay so I'm fairly new to the world of Space Marine FPS excitement but I've always been skeptical about people singing the praises of the Halo franchise, to me it just seems a touch bland and uninspiring to venture further into the whole sub-genre.

Anyways, what with the re-release of the original game and the announcement of Halo 4 way back in the year, I thought it might be interesting to start up a discussion a la the People's Front of Judea/Judean People's front/etc. of "What have the Halo games ever done for us?"

 

[DEAD34345]

They've provided me with many, many hours of entertainment and fun with my friends.

... That's about it, really, and that's all I was looking for.

 

[The Funslinger]

Well, they put the two weapon limit into common usage (some might argue that isn't that good a thing) and they're the only FPS I've seen where regenerating health actually makes sense.

Captcha:

What the fuck is that?

 

[Stein Inge]

They have created something that everyone else is talking about..

Also:

Brought peace?

 

[Dalek Caan]

Brought peace?

Yes, for if it wasn't for Halo then Zombie Hitler would have risen up to send is armies out to conquer the world. Thankfully he now spends his days in SP and Mp under the gamer-tag xXJewHaterassassinghostXXx.

Halo has brought hundreds of hours of entertainment, a brilliant storyline and was probably the first game that had vehicles in Mp. Although I could be wrong about the last point.

 

[everythingbeeps]

They've amused me for two games, and then they became just another tired franchise that overstayed its welcome.

 

[wooty]

Aside from a few hours of entertainment, it has spawned numerous internet arguments, made billionsof dollaridoos and set off severe cases of geek rage online.

The hallmark of any good fps really.

 

[zuro64]

Well, they put the two weapon limit into common usage (some might argue that isn't that good a thing) and they're the only FPS I've seen where regenerating health actually makes sense.

+1
I know im nitpicking now, but it was actually the shield that was renenerating and you needed medkit to get full health again.

Also OT, Halo was the game that kinda made the whole "Space Marine FPS" ball rolling!

 

[gigastar]

Strangely i can only think of bad things...

Introduced hundreds of thousands of 7 year olds to the glorious wonders of rapid-fire swearing down a microphone in a voice like nails on glass in such a way that even 10 years later those same [REDACTED][footnote]I did that instead of coming up with a decent insult, so shoot me.[/footnote] can still go back to having voices like nails on glass. And who are to this day putting people like me off ever playing console FPS's online again.

Popularised the two-weapon-inventory system, which later spawned the two-weapon-inventory-and-token-sidearm system.

Gave us the greatest "How to not do RTS games" guide to date. Called Halo Wars, if youve forgotten.

Popularised the concept of regenerating health, which i wish could just be turned off for real men who like deflecting bullets with thier chins.

Popularised sniper wars. Something i will hold against it to my grave and beyond.

 

[The Funslinger]

Well, they put the two weapon limit into common usage (some might argue that isn't that good a thing) and they're the only FPS I've seen where regenerating health actually makes sense.

+1
I know im nitpicking now, but it was actually the shield that was renenerating and you needed medkit to get full health again.

Also OT, Halo was the game that kinda made the whole "Space Marine FPS" ball rolling!

Well, the first Halo game. The others (barring Reach and ODST) were just shields.

 

[Rhys95]

I enjoy them, my friends enjoy them. They brought public order, aqueducts, education AND WINE! That seems a perfectly good reason.

 

[TakerFoxx]

I don't play them (or any other FPS for that matter), but seeing how Halo gave us Red vs. Blue, I am forever in their debt.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

At least they didn't try to be realistic, and they could justify the health regeneration. Unlike all the Modern Warfare clones (and just so you know, I did enjoy Modern Warfare 1 for a while.)

 

[ResonanceGames]

To the OP: Fuck off splitter! (and I pity anyone who doesn't get that joke)

I think the main thing that was so great about Halo was the fact that it took everything that made PC FPS games great and packaged them in a way that not only worked on the consoles, but worked beautifully. Nothing at the time really "felt" like Halo, even though most of the individual features had been done elsewhere. Oh, and the AI was standard-setting at the time, the only enemies that came close were Half-Life's HECU.

Halo 2 really dropped the ball, IMOP. The campaign was really dull and unimaginative. 3 was well made, but still had a "been here, done that" feel. I haven't played Reach yet, but I hear good things.

 

[Triple A]

It proved shooters could work on a console.

The Xbox would not have been successful without it.

It became the template for the modern FPS.

It has provided us with many hours of entertainment.

So yes, it has done quite a lot for us.

 

[Smooth Operator]

They brought a whole new era of casual "core" games, and then CoD pushed it along even more.

 

[Aprilgold]

Well, they put the two weapon limit into common usage (some might argue that isn't that good a thing) and they're the only FPS I've seen where regenerating health actually makes sense.

Actually, they brought Regenerating Health into a good state, but other then that, yeah, they basically fucked up the genre in my eyes, since it has two weapons and all.

Well, enjoyment.

 

[ZZoMBiE13]

Wow. It's surprisingly well mannered in here. I expected the usual Halo hatespeech. But even the detractors seem civil. Guess that's what I get for jumping to assumptions. OK that's my bad and I'll put a nickel in the "Jackass Jar" on my way out.

To answer the question posed however, I'm afraid I'm no good for you. I'm a hopeless Halo nerd of galactic proportions and anything I say will be tempered by that fact. If nothing else, Halo is one of the few franchises that is staving off Call of Duty completely taking over the genre. Though I'm sure we're but a few years away from Call of Duty 13: Future Warfare. But until then, Halo has always been the go-to shooter for those with a penchant for the sci-fi theme and online multiplayer.