/dev/games 23 Sep 2007 08:54 pm
I Have to Talk About Halo Now
I’ll probably regret this later! You see, I managed to get really hyped up for Halo 2 (thanks to the Haunted Apiary) only to be let down really hard when the game finally came out. I mean, I know that’s what expectations do to experiences, but it was still really disheartening, like something I thought to be impossible.
Well, it’s happening again. Partly because of the museum ad (and it’s delicious parody), but mostly because of this:
(there’s a wonderful HD version of this over at gamersyde)
Anyway, I really, really like the concept of a war memorial for the last moments of this game. I think it’s a really clever campaign even though the interviews are a little strained.
I’ve even gone back and started Halo 2 over on Legendary to see whether or not I truly did dislike the experience. And… well… I sort of do but I also sort of don’t. It used to bother me how hollow the world felt in Halo, but now I like to think of the Master Chief as some sort of Crackdown character. I mean, he can jump like 30 feet in the air and absorb bullets! Plus, there’s David Cross!
It doesn’t help that Halo 3 is adding in replay saving stuff and some sort of crazy map editing mode where one player is the Hand of God. Maybe, if people I know play it, I’ll be able to enjoy it? I played one round of Halo 2 online ever and I was disgusted at just how much bigotry can be crammed into a 15 minute game. I can’t wait to have kids!
So, Tuesday’s my birthday, and my copy of Halo 3 is already paid for, and for some stupid reason I’m really, really excited to play it. That’s it, really. Expect a post in a couple days where I totally hate on the game.
on 24 Sep 2007 at 10:29 am 1.jack said …
I can’t wait til you have kids so I can show them fraggle rock.
on 24 Sep 2007 at 10:48 am 2.Alex said …
Pfft. Halo 3 is just Halo 2 with a re-skin and a roster update.
on 25 Sep 2007 at 2:05 am 3.Ben said …
OH MAN.
I just played an hour of this junk.
I’m so tired it hurts!
Viewing the flying cam replay of the single player campaign is really entertaining as passive entertainment.
Observation: having only seen a few screenshots of the final game up to this point (this is part of why I love the ad campaign so much, since it didn’t raise or lower my expectations for the final product) (Also, I ignored the beta even though I had Crackdown) (whatever, Crackdown was awesome on its own), the single player campaign is much better looking than I expected. They got some real art directors up in this piece! The first area looks a lot like Peter Jackson’s King Kong The Official Game Of The Movie. There are still invisible walls, though; I was hoping for a little more of a Far Cry experience as far as that was concerned (i.e. you have to go to point B but you can do whatever you want to get there, as opposed to having to walk along a path).
And they changed the controls. Lame. I couldn’t even find the flashlight button (maybe the D-Pad?).