alright this hole thing is starting to piss me off. ever since this review I cant get away from Halo 3 hate so I will take the liberty on pointing out exactly why halo is such a popular and critically exclaimed series.
1. I always here the argument that Halo has never done anything original and that its just another bland FPS, this is completely false. Halo 1 broke away from extremely linear and constricting level design by having vast open landscapes with a more sandbox approach to battles. anybody who has ever played the silent cartographer or assault on the control room level knows that. bungi continued this level design throughout H2 and H3. almost no FPS can compete with the scale, epic feel, and fun of Halo's battles
2. story. yes I said it story. Halo may not have as compelling a story as Half-life or thought provoking as Bioshock but that can be ok. halo's story is meant to be entertaining and thats what it does. Its a relatively simple but interring story with some really cool twists and turns. The story can satisfy the casual gamer as well as the hard core.
3. game play. the game play of Halo is solid. it is smooth fluent and flows nicely. every battle is exiting well designed and above all fun. lots of weapons vehicles and smart challenging enemies keep the pace steady. and its a game that actually does good driving sequences.
some complain about the friendly AI isn't up to par but I followed the development of the Halo 3 and the friendly AI was actually intentionally tuned. this is because the developers noticed that battles became too easy when all your allies were doing all the work and that this took away from the intensity of battles and the feeling that you are facing overwhelming odds.
4. Art. The environments in halo have always been some of my favorite in game history. they are a cool and original blend of ancient architecture and futuristic technology. also in a market so crowded by gritty realistic games whose only colors are black white brown and sometimes red halo stands out with a more colorful comic book like style that gives it a cool exaggerated over the top almost fantasy like appearance that really fits everything els in the game. this leeds me to my next point.
5. graphics. I always hear how bad Halo 3's graphics are but I argue that there as good as any other 360 game just in its own ways. I find it funny how yhatzee criticizes games for their colorless approach to graphics but then does the same to Halo 3 for having to much color. Halo isn't so pose to have photo realistic graphics. the art style allows Halo 3 to have extremely crisp and detailed environments. take a close look at the textures in Cod 4, bioshock, or gears. then do the same for Halo 3. the detail in those games don't come close to H3. also the game looks crisper than most other games with no areas that aren't detailed. You also have to remember that Halo 3 has much bigger environments than all the games it is compared to so for it to have the graphical level that is does with NO slowdown is technologically amazing (lag aside because every game has that)
6. multiplayer. It is nothing short of amazing. as balanced as you can get, lots and lots of cool weapons and vehicles, well designed maps, and awesome extra features. saved films are soooo fun cool and convenient (if you didn't wish every game had it you'd be lying) Forge is fun creative and the fun you'll have playing your very own map with friends is unmatched. some complain about annoying people and I agree with them but that is why bungie created the mute option. yhatzee didn't play Halo 3's multiplayer which is sad because he was missing half the game.
I could go on but those are just a few reasons Halo is so popular and a great game. but because halo is so popular it attracts blind scrutiny by people who think its cool to hate whatever is popular. not saying that that is all people who dislike halo, if you have a legitimate reason than I respect that, but if you spread blind hate than your loss. your missing out on enjoying some amazing games.
1. I always here the argument that Halo has never done anything original and that its just another bland FPS, this is completely false. Halo 1 broke away from extremely linear and constricting level design by having vast open landscapes with a more sandbox approach to battles. anybody who has ever played the silent cartographer or assault on the control room level knows that. bungi continued this level design throughout H2 and H3. almost no FPS can compete with the scale, epic feel, and fun of Halo's battles
2. story. yes I said it story. Halo may not have as compelling a story as Half-life or thought provoking as Bioshock but that can be ok. halo's story is meant to be entertaining and thats what it does. Its a relatively simple but interring story with some really cool twists and turns. The story can satisfy the casual gamer as well as the hard core.
3. game play. the game play of Halo is solid. it is smooth fluent and flows nicely. every battle is exiting well designed and above all fun. lots of weapons vehicles and smart challenging enemies keep the pace steady. and its a game that actually does good driving sequences.
some complain about the friendly AI isn't up to par but I followed the development of the Halo 3 and the friendly AI was actually intentionally tuned. this is because the developers noticed that battles became too easy when all your allies were doing all the work and that this took away from the intensity of battles and the feeling that you are facing overwhelming odds.
4. Art. The environments in halo have always been some of my favorite in game history. they are a cool and original blend of ancient architecture and futuristic technology. also in a market so crowded by gritty realistic games whose only colors are black white brown and sometimes red halo stands out with a more colorful comic book like style that gives it a cool exaggerated over the top almost fantasy like appearance that really fits everything els in the game. this leeds me to my next point.
5. graphics. I always hear how bad Halo 3's graphics are but I argue that there as good as any other 360 game just in its own ways. I find it funny how yhatzee criticizes games for their colorless approach to graphics but then does the same to Halo 3 for having to much color. Halo isn't so pose to have photo realistic graphics. the art style allows Halo 3 to have extremely crisp and detailed environments. take a close look at the textures in Cod 4, bioshock, or gears. then do the same for Halo 3. the detail in those games don't come close to H3. also the game looks crisper than most other games with no areas that aren't detailed. You also have to remember that Halo 3 has much bigger environments than all the games it is compared to so for it to have the graphical level that is does with NO slowdown is technologically amazing (lag aside because every game has that)
6. multiplayer. It is nothing short of amazing. as balanced as you can get, lots and lots of cool weapons and vehicles, well designed maps, and awesome extra features. saved films are soooo fun cool and convenient (if you didn't wish every game had it you'd be lying) Forge is fun creative and the fun you'll have playing your very own map with friends is unmatched. some complain about annoying people and I agree with them but that is why bungie created the mute option. yhatzee didn't play Halo 3's multiplayer which is sad because he was missing half the game.
I could go on but those are just a few reasons Halo is so popular and a great game. but because halo is so popular it attracts blind scrutiny by people who think its cool to hate whatever is popular. not saying that that is all people who dislike halo, if you have a legitimate reason than I respect that, but if you spread blind hate than your loss. your missing out on enjoying some amazing games.
