Halo 3

[Mupepe]

Ill talk about the game again Mupepe. Bioshock's "Fort Frolic" aside, Halo 3's "Tsavo (sp?) Highway" is the most awesome level Ive played in a shooter in a long ass time. Crusing around in warthogs amidst Halo ruins and driving over briges and shit = sweetness. I really loved how the Halo theme kicked in when the warthogs were dropped for you. It was like the game was telling you that now it is time to kick ass.

Oh, and the gravity hammer is just pure bliss to use.

hell yes.  The second level was pretty tedious, but the first time I saw Brutes charging at me with the hammer I said OH FUCK! and throw a plasma grenade on him.  That's when I knew I had fallen in love again.  I love the emotion they put into the characters.  Watching them talk to each other, yell at each other and then how they either charge or run when they finally see you.

Also, it's fun as fuck punching people online. 

[MrAngryFace]

Brutes are scary motherfuckers, they're like half as powerful as a big daddy but have better weapons.

[Mupepe]

Brutes are scary motherfuckers, they're like half as powerful as a big daddy but have better weapons.

The end of the first part where you look down on the ruins and see the scene of the Brute kicking the soldier (from the 2007 trailer) got me too.  It was bad ass.

The Chieftain Brutes (is that right?  i can't recall) are bad ass in their headdresses and whatnot.

The only thing I don't like is that when you hit them enough their armor falls off in a cheesy way.  I wish it just stayed on while they died.  But it's all good.

Also, I've spent quite a bit of time with the saved games.  I might cave in and buy the extra slots and memory to upload my videos to Bungie

[MrAngryFace]

lemme know if you upload some.

[demi]

I'm going to go co-op mission 5 with my buddy now. I'd like to play on Heroic after beating it on normal.

NORMAL?

*HAIR RIP*

[Mupepe]

lemme know if you upload some.

will do.  I'm trying to figure out if you can select only parts of a saved game.  I hate going through 8 minutes of a saved film for one cool thing.

I took a few cool pics too.  Let me see if they uploaded to Bungie.

[Smooth Groove]

 "possible" Spoiler link

http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/gadgets_and_gaming/article2532768.ece

Writer and website are dicks if they did spoil it.  Just because someone has spoiled it, it doesn't mean that they are justified in spreading it some more.  The worst thing is that this story's headline is on google's frontpage news. 

[ferrarimanf355]

I completed the first level, and damn, this is worth the hype. I'm going to concentrate on getting to the terminals, since there's only seven of them, and then go back when I'm done and get the skulls. I'm playing it on normal now, and when I beat it, I want to finish Legendary on co-op. Can I save co-op games?

[demi]

Yes

[TVC15]

I still don't think them aiming for not great visuals is a very good excuse for delivering not great visuals.  I guess they have a, er, heh, "low quality bar."

[ferrarimanf355]

Yes

Oh, thank God, I don't want to do all of it in one sitting. Doing it once every weekend is more my speed.

[abrader]

I still don't think them aiming for not great visuals is a very good excuse for delivering not great visuals.  I guess they have a, er, heh, "low quality bar."

I personally think the X360 is at its limit.

[border]

If it's so damned easy to beat Gears of War's graphics, how come nobody else seems to have done it?

Halo 1 was the most graphically impressive game on the original X-Box for several years.

Not really.  Splinter Cell easily took the crown, and it was revealed a mere 7-8 months after launch.

[Smooth Groove]

I still don't think them aiming for not great visuals is a very good excuse for delivering not great visuals.  I guess they have a, er, heh, "low quality bar."

I personally think the X360 is at its limit.

Abrader am Sfag confirmed.

[abrader]

I still don't think them aiming for not great visuals is a very good excuse for delivering not great visuals.  I guess they have a, er, heh, "low quality bar."

I personally think the X360 is at its limit.

Abrader am Sfag confirmed.

The games are still fun - but the system isnt going to top things like bioshock and Gears of War. That should be easy enough to see....just like the PS2 last gen, the X360 has its bottlenecks limiting how far it can go.

[Smooth Groove]

I still don't think them aiming for not great visuals is a very good excuse for delivering not great visuals.  I guess they have a, er, heh, "low quality bar."

I personally think the X360 is at its limit.

Abrader am Sfag confirmed.

The games are still fun - but the system isnt going to top things like bioshock and Gears of War. That should be easy enough to see....just like the PS2 last gen, the X360 has its bottlenecks limiting how far it can go.

I still haven't seen any proof that the PS3 is capable of more than the 360.  360 sports games have finally gotten to be 60fps this year while PS3 versions are still stuck at 30fps. 

[border]

Done with Normal mode after about 7-8 hours -- probably the most disappointing game of the trilogy (though I tend to hold Halo 2 in higher regard than a lot of people).  Hard to explain without spoilers, but a guess there's a few non-spoiler problems worth considering:

--Story takes a while to really get going, then wraps up fairly quick
--Abuse of certain motifs -- Halo theme pounds almost everytime you hop in a vehicle, one major setpiece battle that is cool the first time is twice repeated to somewhat lesser effect (I guess they couldn't think of anything else?)
--Music feels mostly cribbed from the first two games....nothing new that is memorable here (though to be fair I tend not to notice music unless I'm playing Legendary)
--The story just feels really abbreviated, seems less expansive and epic than the previous 2 games.  In a lot of ways it feels like it ramps down when it should be ramping up.
--If Halo 2 ended too early, Halo 3 somewhat overstays its welcome (I guess that evens it out )
--Cortana looks like some kind of cyber-dominatrix now....if they wanted us to take her and her relationship with Master Chief seriously, why did they slut her up so much?  Fanservice at its most embarassing.

Spoilers below are nothing highly specific to the story (ending, plot points), but spoiler-y enough to freak out some people:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

--Fighting brutes not as fun as fighting Elites - Elites as enemies gone for good
--Covenant story-arc is concluded 3/4 of the way into the game in an unsatisfying way and then everything after that is fighting the Flood UGGGGGH
--We never got the Urban Earth War that Halo 2's marketing and ending seemed to promise....a little desert, a little jungle, then back to Halo :\  Earth levels are good, but story-wise they feel like filler material.
--Cortana "flashes" don't ever add up to much of anything, I have no idea what they were really attempting to do with that...the whole subplot with her and Gravemind is useless....but maybe I just missed something interesting or insightful

[close]

I'll hold off final judgment until I'm done with it on Legendary.....as a good gameplay experience can easily overcome all of this nonsense, and I'm hoping that's where they will really deliver.  I'm just mildly annoyed that they didn't really kick it up for this game.

[Van Cruncheon]

again, i think online multiplayer will always be their primary emphasis. it's clear there's a big rift with this game between those who bought it for SP and those who bought it primarily for MP.

[Smooth Groove]

again, i think online multiplayer will always be their primary emphasis. it's clear there's a big rift with this game between those who bought it for SP and those who bought it primarily for MP.

I'll only be playing HALO 3's SP for awhile.  I hope it's fun enough. 

[abrader]

I still don't think them aiming for not great visuals is a very good excuse for delivering not great visuals.  I guess they have a, er, heh, "low quality bar."

I personally think the X360 is at its limit.

Abrader am Sfag confirmed.

The games are still fun - but the system isnt going to top things like bioshock and Gears of War. That should be easy enough to see....just like the PS2 last gen, the X360 has its bottlenecks limiting how far it can go.

I still haven't seen any proof that the PS3 is capable of more than the 360.  360 sports games have finally gotten to be 60fps this year while PS3 versions are still stuck at 30fps. 

I am not saying the PS3 is any better or any worse. Take your system wars elsewhere.

[Van Cruncheon]

abrader, you need to work on your online communication skills

[border]

I still think it'll probably wind up better than almost any other FPS that comes out this year (Crysis is the only other contender at this point)......I just found myself saying "Cool.." a lot, when I expected to be saying "WoW!"

The story is not an absolute mess, but I'd be really surprised if you told me that this was the overall arc that Bungie had planned from the beginning.  Something about the game has a "We made it up as we went along" sort-of feel.

[Robo]

I think my favorite part of the game so far is when I drove a 4-wheeler around a Scarab for 15 minutes waiting for the fuckwit A.I. to shoot the goddamn thing down before I put the bitch in park, relieved my reliable comrade of his shooting duties, stuffed a battle rifle down his throat, aquired his rocket launcher and brought the motherfucker down myself in a matter of seconds.

How Earth has managed to last as long as it has is fucking baffling.

And I need someone to play co-op with me. :'(

[demi]

Halo 3 part for BORDER'S EYES ONLY

The part with the two scarabs was pretty cool, but got annoying on Legendary after our Hornets got shot down  :'(

Also, the inside of the Flood ship was neat

[close]

[Smooth Groove]

I still think it'll probably wind up better than almost any other FPS that comes out this year (Crysis is the only other contender at this point)......I just found myself saying "Cool.." a lot, when I expected to be saying "WoW!"

The story is not an absolute mess, but I'd be really surprised if you told me that this was the overall arc that Bungie had planned from the beginning.  Something about the game has a "We made it up as we went along" sort-of feel.

Have you played Bioshock yet?   I'm sure Halo 3 has superior combat and more replay value, even though I haven't played it yet, but it'll be hard for H3 to beat Bioshock's stunning artistic direction and atmosphere.  From the responses to both games so far, I think Bioshock will probably win more GOTY awards.   

[abrader]

abrader, you need to work on your online communication skills

I type - you read.

Not much more too it.

Spellcheck cunts can fukk off untill they can read/write 4 languages and make as much $$ as me.

[abrader]

I personally think Halo3 is much more thrilling than Bioshock.....and I think Halo3 has more replay value...Bioshock only looks better....

[border]

I think my favorite part of the game so far is when I drove a 4-wheeler around a Scarab for 15 minutes waiting for the fuckwit A.I. to shoot the goddamn thing down before I put the bitch in park, relieved my reliable comrade of his shooting duties, stuffed a battle rifle down his throat, aquired his rocket launcher and brought the motherfucker down myself in a matter of seconds.

It shouldn't take that long at all......even with the wussy flak cannon, the AI can take down a scarab really quick.  I think your driving is to blame.  Probably not giving him the angle he needs

Have you played Bioshock yet? 

Yes, got bored of it after 4-5 hours.  I'm thinking Halo 3 will come out on top just for the multitude of options it presents players with.  Bioshock is just for a certain type of person, but Halo has true mass appeal.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Also, the inside of the Flood ship was neat

[close]

That level is just terrible, though   Previously I had no issues with playing the entire game through on Legendary, but this time I might just stop and avoid the last 2 levels altogether.

[demi]

The Energy Sword seems major useless in comparison to the Gravity Hammer

[border]

I didn't notice much difference between the two at all (in SP).....except that I only came across the hammer like 3 times, but the swords were really common.

[abrader]

Does it seem like MC can jump much higher in this game? its like im running thru the jungle and leaping/flying along the highroad while the grunts run along the low road.

[Robo]

I think my favorite part of the game so far is when I drove a 4-wheeler around a Scarab for 15 minutes waiting for the fuckwit A.I. to shoot the goddamn thing down before I put the bitch in park, relieved my reliable comrade of his shooting duties, stuffed a battle rifle down his throat, acquired his rocket launcher and brought the motherfucker down myself in a matter of seconds.

It shouldn't take that long at all......even with the wussy flak cannon, the AI can take down a scarab really quick.  I think your driving is to blame.  Probably not giving him the angle he needs

I'm a good driver!  And all you need to do is hit the damn legs somewhere... anywhere!  It isn't like they're small targets.  I'm exaggerating a bit to make my frustration seem more valid, but I do feel like they act as little more than cannon fodder and I literally have to do every single little thing myself. 

Need to get somewhere?  Guess if I don't want to get stuck waiting for this prick to make 8-point turns to get around a little rock -or- if I don't want the vehicle to flip for no good reason, I gotta drive!  Need to kill something with the Warthog turret?  Guess I need to man the damn thing if I want it done in any reasonable amount of time and pray the driver doesn't get us royally fucked.

Is "Normal" to blame?

[border]

I thought you had to hit the joints on the inside of their legs.....not just "anywhere" on either side of their legs.  Drive around underneath the Scarabs, don't circle them....

[MrAngryFace]

I think what you can nail them for, and what has me disappointed, is that a lot of interviews had them claiming they were focusing on single player, and while I like it a lot so far, the length and impressions ive read sure makes it look like multiplayer still got the lions share of the attention.

Border: As for the story they consulted with Eric Nylund who has spent 3 books expanding the Halo Lore. I think the big problem is that they took elements from Fall of Reach to create a connection between MC and Cortana that was almost ignored before. Like her talking about choosing him. I think A LOT of impact is lost not because Halo 3 presents these elements badly, but that the game was proceeded by two games with almost no story.

[The Fake Shemp]

So far, this game is leagues better than Halo 2 in its single player mode.  I think the original was kind of lightning in a bottle in regards to the campaign, but this one has done a good job thus far of removing the bitter aftertaste of the second installment's rush campaign mode.

[abrader]

I <3 Halo2 campaign....Halo 1 is still my absolute fav tho.

[CajoleJuice]

Update from my friend via test message while I was in class:

"dude halo is gay. $30 down the drain" (he split it with his roommate)

[CajoleJuice]

"halo is such pussy shit. no blood. no dismemberment. the aliens talk like ewoks"

[border]

So far, this game is leagues better than Halo 2 in its single player mode.  I think the original was kind of lightning in a bottle in regards to the campaign, but this one has done a good job thus far of removing the bitter aftertaste of the second installment's rush campaign mode.

The main sting of Halo 2 was the abrupt cliffhanger.....I'm thinking people will start to have a better attitude about H2 now that the trilogy is complete.

[Vizzys]

Update from my friend via test message while I was in class:

"dude halo is gay. $30 down the drain" (he split it with his roommate)

time to get new friends

wanna play some halo 3 later tomorrow?

[CajoleJuice]

yea, im down with that

I don't get home until pretty late, but that doesn't really matter for you.

[Vizzys]

yeah I dont have a copy yet

[Smooth Groove]

Halo 3's review scores are surprisingly high so far.  It's sitting at 95.7% right now at gamerankings.   With Bioshock (95.5%) still so fresh in so many people's minds,  I thought that reviewers would be more reluctant to dish out such high scores to another FPS.   It'll be interesting to who ends up with more accolades in the end since the two games had such different goals and designs. 

[demi]

Beat it

[Ichirou]

Beat it

No one wants to be defeated.

[MrAngryFace]

Well basically from reviews it seems like:

Halo 3: Good Single Player - Awesome Multiplayer

Bioshock: Awesome Single Player - Multiplayer what?

[Smooth Groove]

Well basically from reviews it seems like:

Halo 3: Good Single Player - Awesome Multiplayer

Bioshock: Awesome Single Player - Multiplayer what?

I don't think it's fair to give less consideration to Bioshock for GOTY just because it doesn't have a multiplayer mode.  Don't they usually have a multiplayer GOTY anyway? 

[brawndolicious]

not for consoles.  but it's not very often a multiplayer console game gets GOTY.  The only recent ones I can remember are halo.

[drohne]

level 4 pretty much rocks. as did level 3. i guess the first couple levels were sort of a false start -- the enemies even seem smarter when they're given some space to move around, rather than a corridor to bunch up in.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

though now the flood have shown up, which is never a very good sign -- i actually don't mind the library, but the flood stuff in halo 2 was awful awful awful

[close]

[Smooth Groove]

Did they intentionally try to make Master Chief feel more powerful?  I'm only at the underground base right now but I've already gone through several fights with me owning a bunch of brutes by myself.  Either the game has gotten easier or my skills with a control pad have subconsciously improved.  I'm guessing it's the 1st.  lol  If making MC even more powerful were intentional, they did a good job.  The odds appear even more overwhelming than the previous games yet MC seems to dispatch enemies with far more efficiency. 

The first two levels are pretty fun but I wish that Bungie had made a better tutorial or background narrative.  I'm too lazy to read the manual to learn about the new features or refresh my memory on the story. 

[abrader]

I just played Halo 1 for 3 chapters...

Halo 3 is SOOO much easier...hell the first time you fight a red and blue elite togther in the pillar of autum corridor is harder than anything I have encountered so far in Halo 3.

Damn Halo 1 is still so good and holds up so well. Trilogy of the generation for sure. All three games are solid, and all three games kick as much ass today as they did then (halo, halo 2)

[Smooth Groove]

I'm guessing that they make the AI easier since you're fighting so many more enemies at one time.  If you're not playing co-op, you have to be really good to not get your ass kicked by 4-6 brutes w/Elite AI from previous games.  Also, I'm just playing normal right now.  I bet Legendary will be hellish for one player to handle. 

[abrader]

Iv only ever finished Halo 1 on Legendary - damn that took some blood I solo'ed it all.

[Smooth Groove]

I get owned in Halo 1 legendary even with keyboard/mouse control on PC.  Of course, I do much better on the PC than on the Xbox but the margin of error is still extremely slim.  Too bad that they didn't have achievements pts. back then.  I"m sure that beating Halo 1 on legendary by yourself would have garnered many pts.  What was that alternate ending anyway when you beat Halo 1 on legendary? 

[CajoleJuice]

Beating Halo 1 in co-op on Legendary with my friend was one of the greatest gaming experiences I've ever had. So awesome.

[abrader]

I dont even remember - I did this back in the first year Halo was released. My girlfriend at the time Marianna also beat it on Legendary. Halo was oddly the ONLY videogame she liked...when we broke up she bought her own XBOX just to play Halo over and over.

[tiesto]

Played through the first level in campaign last nite... wanted to play more but I got a really bad ear infection halfway through playing. The bastard with the gravity hammer killed me like 10 times in the large shootout in the end of the first chapter. Fucking annoying as hell, always sneaking up on me, and it didn't help that when I got to the checkpoint, I was virtually exhausted of ammo. I like the single player so far, from the little bit I've played, and I'm always a fan of jungle settings in games.

[bork]

Man just got it, got online, and already have met some of the foulest, nerdiest trash-talking bitches I think I have ever had the displeasure of playing with.  One guy even uploaded a video of him "owning" me (this was after like my fifth game versus his hours and hours of play time) for no reason.  So after he got beaten in turn and killed 5 times in succession by me, I uploaded a similar video of "TEH NOOB PWNING" him. 

There was even one guy that ended up my partner in a match that was insulting ME before the match even started: "GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE ME LOOK BAD!!!" and "YOU PROBABLY SUCKED AT HALO 2 HEE HEE" in an Urkel-like voice.  I want to go back to using no headset, but I also want to hear these losers squeal with disgust when they lose.  These guys can never take it.

[ferrarimanf355]

So, are we starting our own group, or are we using the GAF group?

[demi]

So, are we starting our own group, or are we using the GAF group?

...