Xbox 360 Halo 3: Underwhelming?

[mookboy]

Been playing this for a fair portion of the evening, and I am enjoying it. However I have a definite sense of being rather underwhelmed by what's on offer. The graphics are decent... solid I'd say. But not... beautiful. The first section in the jungle for example was very average when it ought to have been more atmospheric and less Xbox like.

Graphics aren't everything, certainly. But the gameplay also feels solid and reliable and not the splendid exerience I'd been led to believe. Some elements of the controls, all this time since Halo 2, feel primitive and bit dated. The single player controls and movement would be fine in a deathmatch but against the AI the slow motion leaps feel somewhat cumbersome and out of place. I'm not looking for a revolution but maybe incorporate some of the great ideas from the likes of RB6 Vegas and GoW? A shooter without a cover system, to me is ridiculous.

I just feel shooters, especially console shooters, have come on massively since Halo 2 and yet it seems to me like time has stood still in the Bungie HQ.

I'm gonna plow through it, don't get me wrong, but that array of stellar scores seems like a mistake at this point.

[Morphine-Kitty]

I haven't played it, but from what I've read, it doesn't sound that amazing.

Gonna have to go play it at my friends house sometime soon.

Halo 3 on Windows Vienna maybe?

[mookboy]

Personally I think standards are slipping in reviews. Coming off the back of the Bioshock hype machine, I'm feeling less inclined to even use Metacritic any more.

[themax]

I feel the same way you do mookboy. Halo 3 is a fun game no doubt about it. But all of this hype leading up to the launch; the game just doesn't deliver as far as I have seen thus far. It's got great story, I am loving the Humans and Elite interaction; but why does Master Chief and the other character only look any better than Halo 2 in the cut scenes? Graphics wise it feels like a touch up in the same spirit as Ninja Gaiden Sigma. The gameplay hasn't really changed either, you get different equipment you can use like the bubble shield and stuff, but I rarely use them, maybe I am just not far enough in where they are truly needed. The dismounting turret guns rock though, it felt great mowing down the brutes using the turrett gun on foot.

All in all though, it just feels like any other sequel. Microsoft would have us believe this is the end all be all game and Bungie is the best around. Yet Gears of War and Bioshock easily trump this game graphic wise and story isn't that compelling; good, but not anything great thus far. Multiplayer is still where it is at though, and that is the game's strongest point. I haven't tried Forge yet, but the sounds of it, it should be interesting. The one-liners are rock though.

"They out number us 3 to 1 sir."
"Good, then it is an even fight."

[Ghys]

Being a UT fan I just can't help it.. I hate Halo. I hate the fact that everyone plays it and says it's "teh best game eva". I heard like 12 people talk about halo 3 today but yet, NONE of them even knows what the hell UT3 is and that pisses me off.

I know I sound ridiculous, but it's frustrating to see how lazy most of the gamers are nowadays. They do not want to play challenging games that require a lot of practice and technique. Instead they would rather have an easy time walking aroung , auto-aiming stupid and slow AI enemies and look at how beautiful the graphics are... All of this with a gamepad of course , because using a mouse is way too hard... And then they come talk to me and say they would kick my ass at halo with their controller even if I use a mouse... GET LOST I SAY




beh , i need a life



PS: Halo 1 was awesome back when it came out...

[Firehed]

I think the series is definitely over-rated and people are handing out high scores way too easily nowadays (I played bioshock for about an hour or two before getting pretty bored with it, and even if I hadn't accidentally wiped my hard drive I probably wouldn't have bothered going back), but haven't tried 3 yet. 2 was good fun to play online if you're with the right people (or better yet with friends... in person!), but I never figured out where this amazingly compelling awesome storyline that redefined gaming was supposed to be. Go around and shoot aliens, then go somewhere else and shoot a ton of smaller aliens.

I've always preferred PC gaming though, so whatever. I picked up a 360 a few days ago (not specifically for halo though) simply because it's cheaper and I don't need to worry about free hard drive space or driver conflicts or optimal video settings or any of that crap. I've never been a big fan of controllers over a keyboard and mouse (except for "overhead" RPGs like the FF series).

[Veles]

I'm actually really enjoying the single player experience, I think it's fantastic, I'm enjoying this a lot more than I did Halo 2, H2 felt a bit empty to me, don't know why. It also is quite a challenge, I'm now coming to the end of the second to last mission on heroic difficulty and it's definitely not been easy. I was also a bit dubious of this game, but I ignored all the hype surrounding it, I watched a few videos here and there, played the beta, but that was about it. If you knew the game wouldn't live up to this hype surrounding it, why bother listening to it in the first place? It's like complaining to a gun company that you shot yourself in the foot.

I also don't see why you think all games should use a cover system, it works well in GoW, but this is Halo, it's not the same game.

I'm also not seeing the problem with the graphics people keep shouting about, I think the graphics are great it fits in well with the rest of the series, it seems what you want mook, is GoW 2. This is Halo 3, radically altering the game is not what the fans want, change the graphical style, change the combat system, and you don't have a Halo game. Compare a screenshot of a Halo 2 cutscene to a screenshot of in game graphics of Halo 3 and you will see there is a massive improvement in quality, yes, the overall look of the game is the same, it's called consistency.

[mikeuk2004]

Finished it on Heroic and I am alittle disapointed in it being very short. But atleast its got a great multiplay to make up for it and gives it a very long shelve life. I wanna rebuy Halo and Halo2 and replay them now

[CardJoe]

Well, my review standards aren't slipping I hope and if anyone thinks so then they're more than welcome to PM, call or email me and talk about it candidly.

As for the game, Bindi and I just had a quick go on co-op. The story seemed to be told better, but still wasn't great and the brevity was tangible even in the half hour we played for. We finished three levels in the first thirty minutes and spent most of the time whining about the too-dark and too-linear levels.

However, having tried MP before I know that Halo 3 is good for some multiplayer at least and the game was enjoyable enough. It's just, yeah, a bit underwhelming given the massive hype.

Put simply, I wouldn't pay for the game if I had a 360. I'd rent it for a week maybe, then play something else.

Oh - and the graphics. Pretty, sure. Nice and shiny and detailed, but the MINISCULE draw distance ruined things. I could see pop-up constantly and the cool explosions, ragdolls and shield effects didn't detract from that.

[Jamie]

I think the game really needs some AA

[DougEdey]

Originally Posted by Jamie

I think the game really needs some AA

[D3s3rt_F0x]

Graphics look diabolical when compared with Bioshock but then are 2 different games set in 2 different enviroments.

The start shoddy at best I nearly put the controller down and thought sack this its getting sold but as I've continued on it has gradually got better and better, but the real test for me shall be the online elements, which I'll be trying tonight more than likely.

I aslo agree on the AA I play PC games on there lowest settings online to give me an advantage eg counter-strike 1.6 and never have used AA or AF on any game and never really notice it but jesus christ first thing you see on halo are the jaggerd lines.

Edit... Finished it ends crap some may enjoy it I think its dire.

[Juppun]

I'm taking my time with the campaign. A bit of single and a bit of multi here and there. IMO I would've thought the graphics would look on par with say... Gears of War, but I think it's below that. It doesn't bother me too much, but some cut-scenes do look ugly so sometimes I end up wondering why it looks bad instead of paying attention to the dialogue. Either way I'm sure to play this game for ages. I wasn't caught up in the hype at all though - I realised that when I came to my senses and cancelled my Legendary Edition pre-order.

[mikeuk2004]

Anyone else played the warhog launch game on the bonus disc??? Man I wasted 45 mins exactly playing that and only got to level 39. It was doing my head is as I just can not get the angle and power right.

I got to say I like the bonus disc. They put alot of effort and detail in the making of Halo and was worth a watch. Makes you realise how technical it is and the amount of work needed to make the game. Shame it didnt looks as good as Gears or Bioshoch and was short. But I do apreciate the work put into it. Multiplay will last longer.

[Veles]

I agree about the AA, most of the time I don't notice, but sometimes it really stands out, I think the first time I really noticed it was when a Covenant ship was flying by on the screen during a cutscene.

[mookboy]

I don't want a GoW clone, but some innovation would have been nice. GoW and RB6Vegas in my opinion really lifted the bar for console shooters, and I don't see Halo 3 adding a thing to it. Lots of nice little bells and whistles for the Halo gameworld, but nothing that pushes console shooters further in my opinion. It just feels so lo-fi to have to run into a rock face first and hope it's covering me from sniper fire, after the brilliant way GoW and RB6 dealt with cover. It's not like Halo is an all-out FPS as there is loads of third person action mixed in, so I think some sort of cover system would have worked brilliantly. Using cover on a harder difficulty setting would have really added a nice edge to the game, whereas I'm playing on Heroic and at times literally spraying and praying to get to the next autosave point.

Having said that, it seems a far more entertaining experience than Bioshock, and if nothing else, multiplayer should be good. Don't get me wrong, it's a good game... just not the game of decade we were led to believe it was. Interestingly, the crown of the 360's premier franchise has for me now officially passed to GoW.

[Neogumbercules]

That's the hype machine for you. Halo has never been anything more than a completely mediocre game with a solid multiplayer mode.

[mookboy]

Nah, Halo 1 was amazing. A really stunning game imho. It's been downhill since...

[D3s3rt_F0x]

Originally Posted by mookboy

Nah, Halo 1 was amazing. A really stunning game imho. It's been downhill since...

I never played Halo on the xbox I played it on the PC when it finally got its release and fair to say it looked bad and it played bad, story was bad and was just the same enviroment over and over with more bad guys attacking you than the last wave and that was it...which when I compared to HL or other PC shooters was thinking jesus this is third rate at best.

[mookboy]

Xbox Halo in coop was one of the most fun gaming experiences I ever had.