"You Love Everything I Hate" My Personal Experience with Halo.

SPOILERS
In terms of story, I think Bungie lacks in making characters very engaging/interesting, which is why the deaths of all the spartans(besides my noble 6) had little to no effect on me what so ever. Hell, ill even go as far as to say the only thing Kat's death struck me with was nostalgia from seeing Carmine die the same exact way! They were just doing their jobs: Boring. there was little communication shown between the spartans and it really bothered me. Gears of War, for example, got you to feel for some of these characters a little bit and let you get to know them with their in game chatter.

Not only that, but just with this type of gameplay, it shouldnt last for as long as it did in some levels. The last couple of levels of Reach lasted so long, i started f'ing around like brad did in red dead: it was just soo bland.

I also have a laundry list to dish out on reach and the halo series in general, but you are not alone, Broseph.

P.S *Bungie(bunjie)

I'm gonna have to agree with you on this one. The only reason this series is as popular as it is now is because it was one of the first good FPS games for the Xbox. And after you pointed out the controls, I realized how shitty they were.

Absolutely agreed across the board. I loved the first Halo and Reach (not a big fan of the others), and my appreciation for them directly stems from their accessibility. I enjoy videogames tremendously, but I play them to be entertained, and that gives me little patience for games that require serious commitment to be competent at. Halo, even with its flaws, lets me enjoy a good deal of the shooter experience at minimal time lost on learning convoluted mechanics. I purchase games for entertainment purposes; why would I spend $60 on a piece of entertainment that doesn't entertain me? Too many games are just work, in my opinion, and, to that end, I welcome games with simplified mechanics (I found APB's lack of headshots to be one of my favorite features).

If I'm going to put work into something, I figure it should probably be something I'm getting paid for.

Halo doesn't belong in the vein of any "realistic" shooter. It's all about the fast pace, the being overwhelmed and still coming out on top. Halo is a heck of a lot more like Quake than CS or Call of Duty (though CoD is kinda going in all sorts of wonky).

You also forget one thing Halo always brings to the table. Real balance. CoD and Bad Company 2 both fail in these respects in that a new player at an equal skill level to a veteran player is at a DISTINCT disadvantage, not even being able to use class-based abilities at all from the beginning in the case of BC2. Whether you pick up Reach now, or 5 years down the road, your loadout is the same as the other dude who's been playing for 5 years. This ties into accessibility but also makes the game much more competitive as well.

Arguably, Halo's been out a lot longer than other games, those control issues you have are what i learned first. The whole trigger acceleration and aim button stuff feels stupid in a FPS. Maybe in a TPS, but you shouldn't have to need to go into a special aim mode for EVERY GUN. That's just ridiculous.

never liked the series, i have tried them all and i enjoyed the first because it made you feel like a badass running head first into combat and blowing away the enemy. But after that they all just seem to be the same old game with a story that i could not give a toss about. I like a game with a challenge and a story to keep you hooked in the world you are experiencing. Halo never got me wanting to come back for more and that is why my copy of reach is back on the shop shelves. Took me five hours to finish the game and i certainly did not want to replay the story, and the multiplayer offers nothing new or exciting to make me want to spend hours levelling up to unlock a crappy piece of armour that has no effect on the gameplay.

Spoilers for anyone who hasn't finished reach.

The controls do annoy me sometimes, like why cant you precise aim with some weapons? Crouching i had to change the setting to toggle as i was sick of holding it down, and yeah the driving is flawed so bad.

The character attachment i felt was better in halo 3 and ODST. Reach they were soldiers doing a job so when they got picked off it wasn't that big a deal, except for maybe jorge, was actually a bit gutted when he kicked the bucket.

As for the story its not as bad as you make it out to be. The best thing about Halo though has to be its online, so far its probably got one of the best online, however simple it is. I mean whilst Modern Warfare has a lot of weapons, loadouts and such, its still running around a smallish map shooting. In Halo you can have massive maps which can have air vehicles, tanks, cars etc. Also Forge where you can actually build a map, or game type and use it online.

In my opinion Reach has had the most to offer and is a good indication of the so much more that it can offer, along with what its got already, the classes was a good direction to go in. I just want to see what they do next.

Good article, Joseph. While I agree that the Halo franchise has its flaws, I disagree with some of your points. I'm not a big fan of Halo, though I've played the first three heavily. I always thought that more could be done with the series. I think Bungie focuses too much on multiplayer and not enough on single player. The story was somewhat campy to begin with, but it is possible to make a decent story out of the cheesy scenario they set up. I haven't played Reach, but I was hoping for a much better story this time around. I can't say if it will meet my expectations, though.

One thing I'd like to sort of argue about is the simplicity of multiplayer. I've gotten to the point where I'm annoyed when multiplayer games don't allow you to choose your loadout (e.g. Red Dead Redemption). Halo is sort of the same way. Bungie does a great job of balancing weapons, but there are tactics the game has that aren't really explained, like how plasma weapons do more shield damage, and human weapons do more unshielded damage. Honestly, that balance sort of annoys me. I'd much rather a game that will allow you to choose your own loadout than a game that has no loadout, but balanced weapons. I think that the advantages and disadvantages of each weapon promote camping. On one map, I used to camp the shit out of the sword spawn room and kill all the idiots who thought that they could kill me with dumb luck. There will always be the weapon-hogs. The assholes who will kill you because you're using "their" sniper. This wouldn't happen in a game that allows you to pick your class.

I guess I'm being to critical. I don't dislike the series, but there are definitely other games I prefer.

I hate it when people call halo 'simple'. The game has some of the deepest mechanics and strategies I have ever seen in a game, at least from a competitive point of view. If were talking single-player, then it is understandable as it is simply love-hate depending on whether or not you like the setting and style of the game. The multiplayer on the other hand, is leaps and bounds above any other competitive shooter I have played on consoles. It is both extremely accessible and deep. The physics engine is phenomonal and strategies can be applied to almost any situation.

Sure there are problems with multiplayer but I don't think complaining about how the game is different to others is a viable complaint. Just because it plays a lot differently to other shooters doesn't make it awkward, in fact, it gives the game a unique feel and sets it apart from every other generic shooter currently in the market. If people took the time to put some effort into understanding the key differences in the Halo multiplayer gameplay, then I feel it would change a lot of peoples opinion on the series as a whole.

My main arguement is that many people assume Halo's biggest pull is the campaign, when in fact the multiplayer is what drives this series since Halo 2.

Ive played hundreds, nay, thousands of games and I dare say Halo is my favorite franchise. The campaign is a cool addition, but the real draw is the multiplayer. Who hasnt spent many nights playing Halo split screen with a couple of friends in middle or high school. Just like goldeneye or mario kart holds that special place in my heart, Halo will always be a nostalgia kick for me. (and besides the fact the controls are insanely perfect)

Oi. The controls don't feel like changing since they've been like that for over a decade, bro. I, personally, don't really whinewhinewhine about controls so much as I do about people who think that the Halo series is "just anudder ferst persun shotter hurr", when it's one of the games that modernized the genre. The controls were smooth, the graphics were decent, the story and gameplay were amazing up until halo 3, at which point the story component was dropped for an installment. But it was soon picked back up in the fillers known as Halo Wars and Halo 3: ODST, both of which were disappointments in their own different ways. The story element rose quickly fro mthe grave when Reach was released, which was probably easier to do, since they had oodles of story material from the pre-halo era to build off of. Although the new forge mode is lacking in some things that halo 3's forge managed to pull off, it does remind one of making a map on halo custom edition, minus the fact that it is aggravatingly difficult to make a hce map to the average non-techie monkey such as myself. There's no real reason for most haters to whinecrybitch about the things they do, such as shields and vehicles. The fact that you have to consider where and how to place your shots on a target with the weapons you have in order to get a kill is preferable, in my opinion, to the simple-mindedness of "gahblah OH LOOK A EMENEE BABANGBANG URDED LOL".

Halo is one of those games that you either love or hate. Every complaint that you have, from the controls to the driving, I love in every game.

However, the one thing that I think really sets Halo apart from every other shooter out there is the way that each battle can be ad libbed. Most shooters out there often require the player to sit in one spot and pick enemies off, and same strategy often works in the online component as well. With Halo, though, you can apply different strategies to different battles, all of which could work depending on the level of execution of the player.

I agree and disagree.
I personally do not see Halo as the ultimate FPS like alot of people I know do. It has created so many fanboys over the years, I beleive the obsession with such game is ridiculous. I think it is sad to have an addiction to Halo.
I do not find the campaign fun. Expecially if playing alone. Halo went from being a good game with the first Halo. To "fuck the campaign lets make 12 year old fanboys!!!!". Bungie I beleive ran with this a little too much and became greedy with money. How did they become greedy with money you ask? Well if you create an army of fanboys like they did with Halo, all dem der fanboys are going to buy ANYTHING with the word "Halo" on it.
I sometimes wonder if they bought Beyonce's latest album because of the song "Halo". Either that or wrote her death letters because the song had nothing to do with their Halo.

This is sorta funny cause my friend, whom is so obsessed with Halo that without it he is a fish out of water. Anyway, his 360 just red ringed. He is going mad! It is because he stood in line at Gamestop from 3pm to midnight waiting for his copy of Halo: Reach. Fanboyism to the fullest.

And for what Halo lacks in campaign they make up for in "graphic novels". LOOK! Now were back at the greed part. If I have to go out and buy a 4 part series of books and a DVD of shitty "anime" to get what the fuck just happend in my game.. Well good sir count me out.

I respect Halo as a game, well the first one at least. And see I normally don't go "riping" on games, I am not like that at all, but lets face it people.... there are better games then Halo

Brovo to Bungie though, creating an army of mindless zombies. But hey, why should I be bitching right? There rolling in the dough, not me.

to be brief and to the point, and most importantly honest, I stand by every word of your argument, I also feel like I'm totally alone in this view, I haven't even tried reach or ODST because I'm still so fucking sick of halo, it was fun for half the second one, and I felt the same about 3. Just saying, you're not alone Joseph, and I really apprecciate your article, which I certainly don't see a lot of; everyone is Halo this and Halo that, and it aggrovates me to no end how these fanboys put up with this shallow shit of a game.

Couldn't get into 3 or ODST at all, i'm debating playing Reach though. But in reality
the only Halo experience I ever genuinely enjoyed was Halo 2's multiplayer. Completely redefined console multi-player at the time... Long live Lockout!

"You don’t need to be different if something works. That, I believe, is an appropriate complaint."

Considering Halo CE is pretty much the blueprint for FPS controls on consoles, I'd hardly say that Halo has ever tried to be different as far as the control scheme goes.

There's a saying for those who think that the Reach multiplayer feels "dated":
"if it ain't broke, don't fix it"
Why risk adding changes to a multiplayer formula that has worked for years?

Also, for the guy that mentioned Bungie creating mindless fanboys and apparently whoring out their franchise, you gotta remember that:
1. Bungie is also trying to run a business at the same time, so if you don't like the merchandise don't buy it. would also like to note that Modern Warfare 2 came out with a rather shitty graphic novel...
2. fanboys are everywhere dude. Have you not seen the call of duty community? you walking into Modern Warfare 2 lobby and mention Halo, you'll be torn to shreds by hardcore fans of the series.

Halo Reach was fun while I was waiting for Call Of Duty Black Ops. Now Black Ops is out. Goodbye Halo Reach!

Halo Reach's storyline was "decent" (hmm...let's just kill everyone off like Halo 3). What sucked was the ways in which the "characters" died off. Either needlessly or pointlessly.
Yeah blow yourself up to find out you wasted your life and didn't stop shit lol. Kat, BOOM! headshot. Woman only get you killed anyways and they suck at driving lol.
How come Halo AI (Team, Marines) CAN NEVER DRIVE TO SAVE THEIR SOUL???

AI for Halo Reach has Good Covenant AI, BAD AI for teammates.
That is where Halo has ALWAYS failed.
Multiplayer is alright, but misses the original halo 1,2 fun factor about it. The best thing about Reach is Firefight mode (easiest to rank in the credits/points for armor and such). Halo as grown stale to me now though (thanks to AIMBOTS). Hopefully Microsoft does not mess it up even more once they take over future titles.

Look, In any game, AI drivers suck. It's the way it is. Halo's campaign may be short in amount of missions, and long in mission length. But it has a solid story line. And they didn't kill everyone off in Halo 3. Master chief and Cortana survived. If your gonna make the arguement. Have the evidence to support it. I bet even Sgt. Johnson (who has been in every halo) will have survived in some muraculous way.
You may consider me a "fanboy" I've played halo since the first one came out. It holds a place in my heart, it's been a big part of my life. It revolutionized first person shooters. It brought them to console and off the computer. The idea of having fun and mowing down enemies exists, playing on easy you are virtually indestructable. But if your looking for the sensation of reality. Play the game on legendary. One slip up and your dead.
The Halo multiplayer is better then any other multiplayer in my opinion (and I also play CoD&Battlefield Bad Company) The reason Halo multiplayer is so good, is that everything you do matters. It's not just who has the fastest reaction time. It takes skill. Headshots bring down shields faster, strategic movement helps. And the new armor abilities are amazing. Assassinations were a much needed addition. But the multiplayer has an excellent base of strategy. And the simplicity of it is amazing. But it can also get complicated.
Forge is fun. Many people think it's just for editing. But have you ever had a forge fight in a private lobby with friends? It's the best sensation ever to get a double kill by hurling a tank at someone. But also it's a place where you can make great maps to play online.
Many of you are gonna think I'm another Halo "fanboy" but I don't wait in line for releases. I don't go addict on it. But it is a solid game. It may have its flaws. But what game doesn't?