Halo Reach

[Jazcash]

I guess you can consider this a kind of review.

Halo Reach was released today and luckily I got it as soon as it came out cause I pre-ordered it on Amazon back in February. You may know I'm a big fan of the Halo series on the ol' Xbox. But now I'm totally put off.

I played the Xbox for years, then got a 360 and played that for a good while. Then I discovered Spring and started getting into other PC games too. This is when my console life started to fade having played consoles all my life from Playstation, through to Nintendo and finishing off with Xbox. (For the better I must add).

Anyway, I really got into fast paced FPS's such as Quake, UT and the like. Long story short, I haven't played Halo properly in a good year or so and now I find myself finally disturbed by A) How much time I'd wasted in my early childhood playing consoles instead of PC games and B) How much I despise console games having played PC games for so long.

To summarise my experience with Reach so far, upsetting would be an understatement. I really got into the Halo storyline back in the day and played Halo CE and Halo 2 for days on end, online and offline, with friends irl and on Xbox Live. Now it's kind of annoying that I've lost most my interest in it and find the gameplay rather shocking in comparison to even small PC titles.

I started off with the Campaign, Legendary, Solo. That being the first thing I've done with every other Halo title in the past My initial thoughts were: "Why does it feel so slow, the movement, the turnrates, and the game in general, is my sensitivity/controller screwed up or something?", "Wow this game is pretty, yet laggy. It's like playing Crysis on a PC built 7 years ago!" and "Eugh, why does it feel so weird?" (I eventually found it it was because of the fixed FOV in Halo is probably like 80, 90 or 100 or something (I'm used to playing at about 130).

These were the biggest put downs for me and having tried to bare through the first level without turning off my Xbox proved difficult. Much unlike the game itself which whilst being on the hardest setting available, was terrifyingly easy...

After that I quit Campaign and went into matchmaking. Started up with some class Team Slayer. My first 3 kills ever on Multiplayer on Reach gave me a triple, I got 5, killing spree. I suppose it is good fun pwning newbs, but I had MVP on my first game in months whilst being half asleep... Consoles to gaming are like DSD to Spring.

After that game I turned my Xbox off and came back to a relieving game of Spring ^_^

I could babble about this for a while but then again I don't suppose I'll have to, I'm expecting most people here to be hatin' on consoles anyway

I hate to not like Halo as it were, but PC Games really killed it for me, though, it's probably for the better.

[Pxtl]

Honestly, I could never get into console-FPS gaming because of that feeling - like your character is permanently hip-deep in mud.

[Peet]

Consoles to gaming are like DSD to Spring.

This is a good comparison.

[KaiserJ]

console gamers are awful.

like you said, about your first five frags...

i play a lot of BC2 on pc, where im not great. whenever i play the console port at my buddys house, i get huge scores, simply because people don't play tactically... standing in the open with their scope on, nading themselves, not looking around...

halo has this too; that's why the hard campaign is so easy, because these fools are to be given a chance to win as well. gone are the days of "games too hard for you? get fucked." that really disappoints me about reach though, im off to try it myself in a few hours and was sort of hoping for something cool... serves me right for thinking that something sold in a box with action figures might have lasting appeal.

and this is why we like BA, because its difficult and complicated. can you imagine BA created for consoles by microsoft? but really, thankyou microsoft for showing me that the noobs we encounter on spring are really actually quite good compared with those one might encounter in another game

edit : what are the matchmaking lists like? is there multiteam? that was the most fun in H3 imo.

[1v0ry_k1ng]

I played an insane amount of hours of online halo 3 because it had split screen online play. me & my housemate were on reach beta, played that multiplayer tonnes. we concluded it was less fun than halo 3

[KaiserJ]

lol yeah the beta was kinda bunk

is the jetpack man still OP ?

[Jazcash]

is the jetpack man still OP ?

Don't even get me started on Jetpacks! I mean, 60% of the game is shooting at newbs flying around in the air. Alright, when I was a bit younger, I used to think, "You know what would make this game awesome? A JETPACK!" too. But Halo is not for kiddies, despite the fact more kiddies play it than anybody else, which in turn, makes it for kiddies I suppose. BUT REGARDLESS, you know when a game developer is starting to run out of ideas when they implement jetpacks.

Not to mention, I use the Bumper Jumper layout, which makes using a jetpack just about useless. All the other equipment is fine but for jetpack you need to hold X to fly which is pretty darn hard considering if you hold x with bumper jumper, you have to let go of the right thumbstick which then means you can't move your weapon or look anywhere. Yes I've tried dislocating my fingers and reaching across the pad with my other fingers whilst holding right trigger down with my penis. It just doesn't work!

Seriously, if Halo Reach came out on PC instead, I'd probably be fapping to its beauty right now instead of ranting about it on here...

[KaiserJ]

lol jetpacks

there might be jetpacks in the new evo faction XD it was one of my less radical ideas. for fps... tribes had jetpacks, and it was pretty awesome; but that's an old-ass game so i forgive you if you aren't familiar.

Don't even get me started on Jetpacks! I mean, 60% of the game is shooting at newbs flying around in the air

idk that sounds fairly amusing to me

i've used greenthumb for a long time, i remember jetpacking being fairly easy. why not offer a true customization of controls i wonder? kinda strange to just pick from a list of 10 configurations

Seriously, if Halo Reach came out on PC instead, I'd probably be fapping to its beauty right now instead of ranting about it on here

likely true; people complain about console ports, but sometimes they are good. no dx 11 for consoles yet though right? so it would probably look better as a pc game anyways given the current comparison of hardware. screens of the game look pretty nice though; nothing super spectacular a la deus ex 3 but they've done a nice job with the landscapes and armor

[Jazcash]

tribes had jetpacks, and it was pretty awesome; but that's an old-ass game so i forgive you if you aren't familiar.

Loads of people used to speak about Tribes whilst I was playing Fallen Empire: Legions (Which should be returning very soon btw).

I never actually played it but I've watched some videos of it in the past and it looked pretty awesome. But yeh, Legions is kind of TribesV2. I played it for ages and it was probably the best game with jetpacks in I've ever played

But FPS games shouldn't have jetpacks in serious gameplay imo.

[very_bad_soldier]

I never understood why people played FPS on consoles (as I never understood why MS made Halo as its showcase game for Xbox1).
Play FPS and RTS on PC. Play racing games and multiplayer games with rl-friends on a console on your big TV.

[Jazcash]

I never understood why people played FPS on consoles (as I never understood why MS made Halo as its showcase game for Xbox1).
Play FPS and RTS on PC. Play racing games and multiplayer games with rl-friends on a console on your big TV.

Tbh, I always used to think FPS games were better on console, probably because I'd be playing them for over 10 years with a pad rather than a mouse and keyboard. I still think they're fine once you get used to the controller, but it's never the same as PC.

I mean, the slight auto-aim in Halo always made accuracy easier, and thus, making console newbs think they're better at aiming on a console compared to a PC.

But in terms of the Halo franchise in general, I think it's a masterpiece, no new version can take that concept of the game away from me. I've always admired it compared to every other console shooter and would be my prime choice of game if I was stuck on an island with every game in existence.

The story line was enough to make me a fanboi back then, but adding the amount of freedom that Bungie did, not to mention the insanely fun multiplayer, I just couldn't stop playing it.

This is probably the main reason for this rant. I'm just annoyed by the fact Halo used to be my pride and joy which I played from dawn till dusk and dusk till dawn without tiring. And now, it's nothing more than another FPS



I will always admire Halo for what it initially was and how Halo and Halo 2 were the games of their time. I will never forget the immense fun multiplayer brought to my life, and the amount of friends I made playing it. I will play Reach as much as I can before I tire and drop it completely, but all in all, I think my love of Halo has faded after all these years. I used to be a real fanboi too, posters, guides, all the limited editions, skins and faceplates, wallpapers and my own drawings. Websites, videos, clans, the list goes on. It's all dead now, and it saddens me inside, but I know I must keep telling myself it's for the better.

I loved you Halo, but it is time you departed from my life.

[Peet]

Seriously, if Halo Reach came out on PC instead, I'd probably be fapping to its beauty right now instead of ranting about it on here

likely true; people complain about console ports, but sometimes they are good.

But considering microsoft's track record, this one would definitely not be. Halo 2 for pc still has the a and b button icons at the bottom of every dialog box. And even better, the A and B keys on the keyboard activate their relevant functions. It certainly does look nice on the pc though, particularly due to the fact that you can enable AA, at least compared to the not-even-full-hd console version.

[luckywaldo7]

Don't be hatin' on consoles. My best gaming experiences was 16 player lan/split-screen with halo 2. There is just no way for 16 people to all lug pc's to someones house, and playing over the internet just doesn't compare to hanging out with people irl.

Also it means I can play without owning a console, as long as I know someone who does :D

[Gota]

I never understood what was so amazing about halo..
What sort of game features or mechanics make it stand out?

[Hobo Joe]

Welcome to the world of knowing the difference between good games and bad gam-

But in terms of the Halo franchise in general, I think it's a masterpiece, no new version can take that concept of the game away from me. I've always admired it compared to every other console shooter and would be my prime choice of game if I was stuck on an island with every game in existence.

[Jazcash]

Welcome to the world of knowing the difference between good games and bad gam-

But in terms of the Halo franchise in general, I think it's a masterpiece, no new version can take that concept of the game away from me. I've always admired it compared to every other console shooter and would be my prime choice of game if I was stuck on an island with every game in existence.

I mean with an Xbox. Obviously if I had a PC I wouldn't touch Halo

[==Troy==]

I never understood playing FPSes with the controller... Its like trying to play Q3 with keyboard only.

The only time I ever played xbox (and possibly that was one of the halos) was when I was helping my friend to modchip the xbox (required some soldering work, which he was scared to do).

We hooked up mouse + keyboard, and started simply owning everyone and everything in both single player and multiplayer. Most of the time it felt like as if you are shooting ducks in the lake with a sniper rifle.

That experience totally turned me off gaming on consoles, and now the only game I would agree to play, would be something along the lines of the Mortal Combat X.

PS: the friend was not banned from Xbox live during those "MS is banning modchips" times.

[Das Bruce]

There's atleast one game that gives xbox controller users on the PC auto aim because they're shit. I forget which though sorry.

[pintle]

Console FPS has always been a steaming pile of dung, absolutely no exceptions.

"Goldeneye" You nostaligic noobs scream? "Quake" I say.

[knorke]

hm, some fps on the PS1 were fun for its time.
Army Men, Medal of Honor, Duke Nukem
HalfLife 1 with 8 players in one small room, cables everywhere and this go-in-bunker-hit-nuke-button map was better though.

Now CoD is a little stupid when 1 guy is playing it 24/7 on his PS3 while the controller causes others to drop grenades on their feet.