I am nor setting this up for a flame war/fanboy thread, but here goes. With regards to Single Player, I dont think this game is even close to all the hype i have read. I have only played for a few hours, and only the 1st and 2nd level.

My thoughts:

1. Level 1 & 2 are very, very, very repitive, the backgrounds and environments are the same, and you just keep on walking around to kill more bad guys, not enough variety. About half way through the ship, if the level had ended, i would said "man that was fun!" but instead i said "what was the point in all that" and level two is the same way, to long, same thing, over and over.

2. The shorter bad guys are so short it feels like you have to aim down to hit them (although with most guns you dont)

3. you can only carry 2 weapons at once?

4. the truck that you drive in level 2, that seems like an afterthoght, hard to control, tacky

Does this lack of variety change as the game progresses?

I really enjoyed MOHonor, Goldeneye, Agent Under Fire, SOF, Rainbow 6, and the Quake series but this game reminds me way to much of Perfect Dark which didnt do it for me at all. Maybe it is the futurisitic alien setting that bothers?

Granted, i didnt play the Multiplayer mode, which i can only imagine is very good cause that only relies on good graphics and game play.

Now, i dont think i am unreaslitic and crazy, cause i did note some positives?

1. good physics, and boutons, although can you "aim" a gun preciesly?

2. Loading time during the level are virtually elminated.

3. Ability to save at multiple checkpoitns during the level.

Is this desinged to be some watered down FPS to get people that arent accustomed to them into the FPS thing?

The single player bored me to death.

Nope.

People raved up and down about Socomm but I put it on ebay a day after I played it. I've had Halo but have not played it yet.

Everyone will not like every "popular" game.

What difficulty level are you playing it on? Anything less that Heroic is cheating yourself out of the experience. The bad guys change and get much harder to kill.

Yes you can only carry 2 weapons. It's realistic. Unless you think it's realistic to carry a pistol, assualt rifle, plasma pistol, plasma rifle, needler, sniper rifle, shotgun, and a rocket launcher all at the same time. How would you move?

The warthog is easy to control after a while. Very soon, you will be powersliding into the Covenant forces.

realistic? to carry only a plasma rifle and plasma pistol? where can you pick one of those puppies up at walmart?

what about the realisim behind alien warfare, powershields, health, etc.

i do understand it is an attempt at creating some kind of twisted realisims, i could deal w/ carrying 2 guns, but at this point that game isnt giving me any reason to!

Yet Again, what difficulty level are you playing on?

Deciding which gun to carry is a must on the higher levels. It's strategy. Otherwise, you can Fun N Gun your way through the entire game.

this is a joke right?

1. I suppose lvl 2 "might" be repetitive if you didn't like driving around in a jeep, trying to protect other marines, entering different installations, learning how to snipe, etc. Same background is repetitive? whatever.

2. bad guys are so short that you have to aim down -- well yeah. Do you complain about having to aim up if some guy's on a ledge above you?

3. addressed already, makes the game much more challenging and interesting.

4. The jeep is great, handles well, lots of fun. Definitely not tacky. You just need a few more minutes of practice. Course if you don't like this, you'll probably flip out trying to use the banshee or ghost, let alone the tank (heaven forbid trying to drive one direction while shooting in another).

you were just kidding with that post right?

Tuan Jim

i don't even know what i'm supposed to do in level 2. hide... and nothing happens... how long am i supposed to sit in the water, behind the rocks?

Master Chief doesn't hide from the Covenent forces! Climb up that hill and take them all out. That's an order.

Yes, having to aim down at the ground to kill 90% of your enemies is an annoying, stupid, stupid thing. Why? cause in all other games, this never happens, sure now and again there are some shorter enemies (turok comes to mins), that require you to aim down, but almost 90% of them no? that is absurd.

comparing that to aiming up to shoot an enemy that is on a ledge is not the same becuase all the enemies arent like that.

However, if 90% of the enemies were on ledges or were 3 feet taller, and you could only shoot them in the chest --> that would be comparabel, and just as annoying as aiming down to kill the ewok wannabe aliens.

1. the post wasnt a joke.
2. before you get to the jeep, you do that same exact thing about 5 times, ship comes down, aliens come out, you shoot them. the same thing, over and over
3. level 1, how many times do you see the exact same backgrunds, hallways, etc? a bunch
4. the jeep? well, i rolled it, the marine died, now what? i guess he wont be helping me out.
5. snipe? is there a sniper rifle (before the jeep) in level 2, that would make it more interesting....

Go play Timesplitters 2 instead. I didn't care for it, but the levels are all different from each other and the controls are different - more like House of the Dead crossed with Halo, so it might be more your speed. Plus, it's a hell of alot easier.

Popular games I disliked:

Timesplitters 2 - the controls are lame and it isn't very innovative
Resident Evil (GCN) - It looks nicer, but same old same old. The original was more fun and the puzzles were alot more challenging, the puzzles for this one are juvenile and simplistic
Metal Gear Solid 2 - too much movie, not enough action & Raiden is lame.

give the game a chance, a lot of games are slow/boring at first

great game.. and I typically don't like or am really bad are fps games.. I just finished Halo.

The short little guys make the game with the things they say....

"He's everywhere." "Down in front" "grenade" they kind of taunt you throughout the game when you run into them.

Different strokes for different folks. No matter how well reviewed and generally well loved a game is, there will still be people that don't like it (or at least don't like it as much as most).

For instance, I don't think GTA3 is all it's cracked up to be.

I didn't thinkall that much of Halo when it first came out. It was a great looking game but seemed to lack the depth I thought would be there.

Then when I got my XBOX a few weeks ago I turned around and bought it as soon as I could. Since it seems to be the game most XBOX owners have. I cetainly enjoyed it far more when I played it solo.

It took me almost a year to go from hating it to being thrilled that I own it.

You are crazy go sell your PS2 right this second.

Seriously, not every game is for everyone. It happens and its no big deal. I hated Zelda: Majora's Mask, a game highly rated and acclaimed. I thought the time travel sucked and it ruined the game for me.

I suggest forgetting about Halo and trying something else if its bugging you that much. Life is too short and there are too many other game choices out there.

Jason, I recommend taking the game back.

It's not for snipe-a-holic, "backgrund" staring, destruction derby loving, aiming-incapable people.

Really, it's for the best.

Halo is a great game but it didn't live up to the hype for me. Halo does have some really intense moments where it shines, but it also suffers from horrible repetitive level and enemy designs.


I also felt the weapons were a little uninspired. And I can't count the number of times I yelled at Master Chief to fricken RUN.

It's no secret that most of these problems were the result of MS rushing Bungie to get this game out in time for the Xbox launch. Halo doesn't come close to matching Bungie's original vision of the game when they first announced it back when they were still an independent PC/Mac developer.

However, Halo 2 is on the way. After reading the Halo 2 feature in the latest EGM, it seems as if all the problems of the first Halo game (repetitive levels/enemies, slow movement, etc.) are now fixed. It looks as if Bungie's original vision of Halo will finally be realized with Halo 2.

Although I still hope Bungie can actually impliment everything they promise in time for the holiday 2003 release deadline. Because just like the first game, MS will release Halo 2 to meet its deadline even if Bungie hasn't finished it.

i still argue there is a clear difference between having to aim, and having to aim at tagets that are AlwayS at waist level.

i play agent under fire and goldeneye on the hardest settings to get the medals, cheats, etc and see no problem with aiming (in fact i dislike autoaim on the easy settings), its just that when you have to always aim down at your feet to kill a majority of your enemies, that is plain silly. it is not as exaggerated as killing those giant cockroaches in turok (use the knife!), but it is still there and unecessary

perhaps it is my past experience with FPS like Quake 2, Unreal Tournamnet, SOF on the PC that causes Halo to be less then rewarding. to me this game appears to be a LCD to get people into FPS

from my past experince with FPS games, the rave reviews and the "game of the year" status given to this game do not seem warranted. when it not the best (not even close, who doesnt love blowing off someones leg in SOF!!) ) FPS i have played. perhaps it is one of the better xbox titles out though. maybe because it is one of the few, the proud FPS success stories for a console system...

i have played, and enjoyed many FPS that are difficult and challening. but there is distinct difference between challenging and repetitive and boring.

i agree with some people, that the game will defintely wear on me, and i will get use to its flaws and enjoy it, in fact i am kinda enjyoing it now, now that i have learned to aim at my feet, instead of the horizon! and i am sure that the mutliplayer is great with the graphics this game provides.

I don't think Halo appeals to the LCD. I also was a huge Quake, Jedi Knight, Quake 2, Unreal, and Half-Life player. I thought the difficulty of Halo (even on normal) was about equal to if not harder than those PC FPS.

90% of the enemies are at your feet? Don't go assuming so much already. You're only on the 2nd map. Those little grunts are the only enemy in the game that are short now. Anyways, you must have some type of different tactic than I do. I don't go running point blank to an enemy to shoot it. I take it out from a medium distance, so aiming down is not an issue.

Haven't you played Half-Life? I remember shooting down many times in that game.

The 2 gun limit actually doesn't hinder the gameplay. Since there's not much of a variety of guns in the game, let alone a variety of guns in each map, it doesn't affect anything. I actually enjoy this much better. I don't have to cycle through countless weapons that I wouldn't use in the first place. You'll get used to it.

The repetitive levels/objectives that you said are definitely there though. I can already tell you that there's gonna be 3 parts in the game that you will absolutely despise.

This game was really impressive when it launched last November.. but many FPS's came out during the year that may taint your vision of Halo.

There is a repetition to the game, but it suits it quite well and actually seems a lil more realistic because of it.

The controls on the vehicles are downright perfect - especially for the Jeep.

2 Gun Limit is fine, the addition of melee = rocks.

Aside from that, I love the game in co-op but have yet to actually attempt to beat it in single player.

halo rocks for a console game. u definitely need to play multiplayer with friends

That's because they keep dropping in re-enforcements. Just like a real battle.

I loved Halo, but if you think it's repetitive now, just wait. As far as repeating scenery, it gets MUCH worse.

A co-worker has never finished Halo and he's trying to explain which area he's stuck in. The problem is that I remember the area he's describing as 3, maybe 4 areas in the game.