Groucho

Hear ye! Hear ye! Videogame Court is now in session, the honorable Judge Groucho presiding.

Today we will weigh the matter of Halo: Combat Evolved for the Xbox. Does it SUCK or does it ROCK?

Presenting arguments for both sides will be YOU, the esteemed readers of this forum.

The format is simple…both sides will take turns presenting arguments why the game either SUCKS or ROCKS. You only have one post to make each argument, so choose your words carefully. The other side has a chance to present a rebuttal (again, one post) and I will award a point to the side with the most compelling argument. After that, we switch roles and the opposing side posts and argument.

Anybody can argue for either side, but you can’t switch teams. Once one side reaches 10 points, I will render my final verdict on the game.

Let the trial begin. Either side may present the first argument. It should be obvious, but please specify if you are arguing that the game SUCKS or if it ROCKS.

porieux

It's from Microsoft, and everything from those clowns SUCKS; therefore it SUCKS.

PixyJunket

I've never played it.

Groucho

I'm going to strike both of those comments from the record and await a real argument.

porieux

Oh sorry, I thought this was abuse...

Decker

It is KooL. I LIkE to pLaY thE gaMe alOt. Lotz of GuNz is GooD!
if you DonT likE it 2, thEN yoU suckekekekek!

I rest my case.

WepaMan

Can't argue with this logic, might as well say your verdict now.

PixyJunket

Wow.. these 2 are so similar it's creepy.

Groucho

I shouldn't have attempted this without a bailiff.

Adam Tyner

I loved Halo and consider it to be one of my favorite XBox games, but I do agree that the level design was shoddy and repetitive at times.

Groucho

In the absence of anything else resembling serious discussion on the game, I will accept this as the first SUCK argument.

Rebuttal, anybody?

Decker

In all seriousness, I like it (I'm only a few levels in so far). I like the 2 weapon thing, it makes you pick and choose carefully and I always wondered how someone might walk down the hall loaded up with 10 weapons on. The sheild/ health thing is a good idea as well; it changes your strategy about taking hits. It feels a little like cheating, but I need all the help I cn get. I find the driving parts a little confusing and wish I could be the gunner while someone else takes me around (which apparently happens in Halo 2). Honestly, I think FPS are inherrently flawed as a genre and have probably gone as far as they can go, but still Halo's a fun game that looks great. I've said it before, it probably has the best penetration of any game since Mario 64 (don't snicker, I mean I'm guessing it has sold more copies per game system sold). They did a lot right in that game and if it's not revolutionary (and it isn't), at least it's a fun ride.

GatorDeb

It RULES:

1. There are lots of weapons to choose from.
2. There are more than one way to use the weapons (melee attack anyone?)
3. The A.I. is fairly intuitive
4. Not too many games have grenades STICKING to the enemy.
5. Not too many games have said enemy cursing and screaming like a little girl right before the grenade explodes.
6. There are vehicles to get into.
7. Level design is brilliant with places to hide and snipe out your enemies along with places to get behind and shield yourself while you shoot.
8. There's a lot of freedom. Kill some alien scum or take a humvee trip through the water on the beach.
9. You get THREE versions of the SAME enemy at different growth stages. Definitely something new and cool.

Static Cling

Sounds like a rebuttal here... but don't most FPS games have places where you can get some cover and concealment if you want? I'd hope that's standard, as opposed to brilliance.

My bone of contention is not having mouse-and-keyboard support. The game started out being designed for the PC, anyways, and if Halo is supposedly one of those games that draws everyone, everywhere to it and sells consoles, then I don't think it should have ignored the hordes of PC FPS players who swear by m-a-k control. I'll be interested to see how it controls when it comes out for PC later (please let there be a demo).

tommy28

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht
oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist
and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae
The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm.
Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed
ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

kvrdave

It scares me and makes my heart beat real fast. So it rocks.

Level disign etc. is above average for games that are this old, imo.

Save Ferris

This game is very mediocre IMHO

Not very many *unique* weapons. Theyre all typical FPS -- 1 kind of machine gun, 1 kind of shotgun, 1 kind of sniper gun, and 2 of the plasma guns are almost identical and the needler might be considered unique but its lame as a power front fighter. Is it Medal of Honor that has *different firing modes* for each gun? That would be cool for Halo but no, one trigger is shoot the other trigger is grenade.

The 'baby aliens' are just silly. They look like gnomes and sound like every cheap cartoon ever made--"hey lets speed up someones voice- that would be funny!"

Theres too much running LONG distances from check point to checkpoint OVER AND OVER through the SAME environment as an objective.

Playing STUPID ERRAND BOY for soooo many missions.

Since you dont benefit much from killing enemy (rarely useable ammo, no health boost) I often found i was running from checkpoint to checkpoint and avoiding most of the enemies. Why take on a firefight if you just need to pass through as fast as possible?

Things That Would of been cooler:

1. more weapons. grenade launcher under machine gun? Bladed weapons? different types of automatic rifles with different damage, speed Light, Med, Heavy? Have Proximity mines?

2. Objective to take out a boss bad guy? Might be more fun than 'running errands' all the time.

3. More levels where i can use the tank. Ability to use the jeep *and* shoot?

4. ability to set traps/proximity mines?

5. better hand to hand combat! I REALLY wanted to pick up and THROW those little guys! If i could flip a geep/ghost/banshee cant i throw a little guy!

This game was OK but thats it. Nothing really special.

Jeremy517

Almost all of the enemies weapons are reuseable. Almost every enemy will drop a gun that you can pick up or drop ammo for your current gun. Almost all. Perhaps you were confused because the plasma guns don't get reloaded, they get replaced.

Also, if you were able to run past everyone, were you playing on the easiest difficulty level? That would be a big reason why you didn't like it.

Jeremy517

Aoccdrnig to schearch at DtaVDlk, tihs is at laset the tirhd tmie tihs has been potsed.

Save Ferris

Yea, I know you had to replace them. I just didnt like those weapons, like shooting globs of neon paint all the time. I meant, it would of been good to pick up some health or shielding or heck a nice plasma sword that the invisible guys had!!

I played on med difficulty. Mostly because I wanted to finish the game ASAP. It was alot of running errands and it was lots of work with very little reward.

xlpanda

halo rocks vote...

1) The weapons while not many are very well balanced. For instance, the needler gun works awesome against those elite guys while plasma handgun works the best against the jackals (those w/the plasma shields). That fact that you only carry 2 weapons at a time is great because you would have to consider what combo to bring along because certain guns would work better against certain enemies.

2) Also, you get 2 types of grenades so no grenade launcher is alright with me. I love using those sticky grenades on big guys. Funny stuff.

3) Another big plus: vehicles! you can drive a jeep and tank. Pilot a ghost and banshee. I love having mini dog fights with other banshees.

4) The shield is great because it allows to play a bit reckless with the little guys but makes you consider your tactics against tougher foes. Rush and melee or sit back and snipe?

5) I also liked the fact that I was not fighting any "big bosses". I was just going along with the story and enjoying myself as I found what happened next...especially with some of the plot twist later on.

6) Also, I love playing halo multi-player! Having a halo lan party is the greatest! Nothing like playing team death matches and taking out your friends. Cant wait for halo2 online

7) Some of the AI conversation you hear from your side as well as the bad guys is totally funny. I would totally crack up when some of the AI marines would say stuff after killing bad guys.

that's it

Duran

It was excellent for a console shooter, but console shooters aren't nearly as good as their mouse-and-keyboard PC counterparts.

Joshic

When I play a game for "rewards", I know I'm playing the game just for the sake of getting the rewards or finishing the game. That means I'm not having fun with it.

I have the most fun in a game when I can just lose myself in a game's artificial world. When I play a great game and finish it, I don't get a sense of satisfaction. Instead I get a sense of sadness because the game is over. For me, Halo's greatest aspect was in fighting the intelligent AI. Not having bosses to fight didn't matter since the AI was so great and would adapt to each environment.

The simultaneous use of gun, melee attack, and grenade (w/o having to switch weapons) made the game extremely fun. The use of a regenerating shield added a new aspect of gameplay. Having enemies with the same ability also made things very interesting. Being able to ride vehicles was awesome. The story was good, and the soundtrack was fantastic.

The best aspect of this game though was the great AI (in legendary difficulty). Regarding mouse/keyboard support - the reason they didn't add it is because it would have made the game too easy. For the PC version, they had to change the AI behavior because mouse/keyboard made the game too easy.

sniper308

It Rocks

I now compare every other shooter I play to this game. I set up the controls to be as similar as possible.

The ability to use the weapon, and melee with it was a great and realistic choice.

As others have said the limitation to two weapons makes you plan ahead. The lack of bosses is a good thing in my mind as you just become immersed in the game, without the thought of "rewards" or finishing a level.

The single player/campaign mode was not neglected just to provide a great multiplayer mode.

The inclusion of various difficulty levels makes the game accessible to players of vastly varying abilities.

The ability to replay in specific "chapters" or missions at varying difficulty levels after making it to the end lends to replayability.


I don't have my X-Box setup for 5.1 but the sound effects were great for making the game real. Hearing the Covenant troops reacting to grenades, barking orders, etc as well as your own troops reacting is great.

The game is exceptional.

Lastblade

I object! My client, Halo, is free from any accusations of suckiness!