Time to buy an XBOX360? - Page 183

Haly · 30-09-2007, 12:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by petemc

I wouldn't say we're any weirder than your average foaming fanboy

I was being nice and not calling you the f word

Fans sound nicer than fanboys

And np Leo, I think i'm about most of the day, touch wood

leowyatt · 30-09-2007, 18:18

Well that is level 25! Just need to look at the new weapons, nearly completed all the bootcamp challenges too

Everyone up for a game around 8:30??

Desmo · 30-09-2007, 20:06

Never been a big Halo fan although I did play the first one and I do think Master Chief looks damn cool

But I've just been looking at some screenshots of the online play and must say I'm quite tempted to pick it up.

Belmit · 30-09-2007, 20:49

I really wanted to like Halo but having just finished it I'm rather underwhelmed. To begin with, I found a lot of the graphics very jaggedy. No idea why, I'm playing in HD and most people have been saying it looks great. Bioshock looked ten times better.

Most of the time I had no idea what was going on. Rarely did I get the indicator up showing me where I had to go, and a lot of the directional prompts come from the audio so if you miss them because you were actually playing the game, that's it, you're left to search for the way yourself. Some of the time this was OK because you just have to look for where the enemies are coming from, and usually there's no other way to go, but a lot of the time I was just walking around areas wondering where I was supposed to be. It didn't help that the first time it happens is right at the start of level 2. 'Get to the hangar'. No directions, no prompts, not even a sign pointing to the hangar. Took me a couple of minutes to work out that the tunnel the soldiers were coming out of was the way to the hangar - aren't they supposed to be helping me in some way? After battling to the hangar and clearing it out, a ship drops down and I spent another couple of minutes trying to jump in the back of it because I missed the audio prompt to 'get back to the control room', at which point I made a slightly confused and laborious journey back the way I'd come, plodding down empty corridors. Morale was low at this point.

Gameplay ranged from waiting for enemies to file down corridors or through doorways which was a little bit easy, to being left on your own in the middle of an open area with turrets, tanks and enemies everywhere, which was nigh on impossible. There were a couple of bits where I just turned off the console because I'd run out of swear words. There's just something really annoying about jumping onto a tank, blowing it up with a grenade, sneaking up on a turret to take out the person manning it, killing about twenty aliens single-handedly and then getting run over by a little grunt on a glorified motorbike that you didn't see.

Level 8. It was like Xen from Half-life, but worse. Room upon randomly generated room of mutated morons who just lumber after you as you pile ammo into them. Except for the things that stick on the walls like sentry guns and fire needles at you, and can't be killed unless they're 'open'. Yeah, they're special. And most infuriating of all, battling through to what appears to be a safe area where your armour can recharge, only to be killed by what appears to be a crawling turnip that was spewed out of a pustule on the wall. I don't even know what I was doing there. Rescuing my virtual girlfriend who's trapped on a memory stick or something, after which we overloaded the core, or somesuch nonsense.

There were some equally good bits though - taking down one of those crab tank things for the first time was cool, and sometimes doors just open out onto amazing space-filled vistas with gargantuan ships going by. It really felt like there was other stuff going on that I wasn't even a part of, which is something most games can't do. And the very last part of the last level was just awesome. More of that if you please.

Maybe I'll get more out of it if I play it on a harder difficulty and try to plan it out a bit more, but it was so frustrating I can't see me doing it for a long time yet. Hell, maybe I'll even use those power-ups that you can only carry one of!

P.S. The Flood have to be the most annoying enemies in a game ever. I actually enjoy fighting the other guys; the big dudes with swords, the little Joe Pasquale guys, even the idiots with the shields. The Flood are just fetid sacks of mucus awaiting oblivion by your eager hand. I pity them as much as I hate them. The ****s.

Haly · 30-09-2007, 21:03

Oooh audio descriptions for where to go is a bit of a pet hate for me. It's extremely irritating as sometimes I need to have the volume quieter so it's bloody annoying to miss out where to go for a pretty minor reason.

petemc · 30-09-2007, 23:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Belmit

I really wanted to like Halo but having just finished it I'm rather underwhelmed. To begin with, I found a lot of the graphics very jaggedy. No idea why, I'm playing in HD and most people have been saying it looks great. Bioshock looked ten times better.

Yeah Bioshock does look stunning, but at no point did I think Halo 3 looked bad. Yes I could see jaggies but I got caught up in the gameplay so stopped seeing them. Its also technically not true 720p but 640p I hear. Again, not something that bothers me. The scenes like in the trailer overlooking the Forerunner stuff are stunning as are the scenes later on.

Quote:

Audio issue...

I had a few issues with being unable to hear what they said due to overbearing music. Only had a couple of times when I didn't know where to go but an arrow does appear directing you. The only time I was lost was lvl8 but I won't drop any spoilers on that.

Quote:

Gameplay ranged...

Were you playing it on normal or heroic?

Quote:

Level 8.

Spoilers! Have you played 1 + 2? Its a trilogy and makes more sense when you know the story. I don't really want to give too much away about the characters in the game. I don't think you'll get a lot out of Halo 3 without having played the first two. It is the end of the story, and it does have a story to it. Its like saying the Matrix trilogy is rubbish when you start at 3. I once saw an interview with a guy from Bungie. They said all you need is 30 seconds of fun to make a game. Halo has been continuously full of 30 second moments of fun. It is basically a refined Halo 2. If you didn't like that, chances are you won't like 3. I wouldn't advise playing 3 unless you've played 2. Eurogamers review is very good. The do point out its not Bioshock, or as technically detailed as GoW. Halo 3 is run, shoot, kill, drive, run over, and so on. Its a perfectly made FPS on a cinematic scale. Its gaming marmite. It hits a perfect note with me however not so with others. Its not a badly made game by any means. According to Game Rankings its just below BioShock by 0.8%. The 2nd highest rated game on the 360. Of course if you don't like run, shoot, kill, its not great. Just as I don't like Fifa. Run, kick, score

*hopes it doesn't sound like a fanboy*

Yes I do have a Halo 3 ringtone I made, and my Mac is called Cortana but ... ok /puts on fanboy hat

Belmit · 01-10-2007, 08:54

Don't worry, it's not quite as bad as I made out, I just like to rant! I always start games on the normal difficulty first because you never know how ludicrously difficult or easy they've made the other options. I like to think that the middle ground is how the developers intended the game to be played and the other options give you more or less of a challenge depending on how hardcore you are.

I played the first one all the way through and thought it was pretty good. Without trying to give any more away from this one, I especially liked the end part of the first one too.

What I do like is the theatre part where you can watch your entire game back. Ever since you were able to do the same for Duke Nukem 3D multiplayer I've been going on about how it would be great to watch your entire single player game back, especially for games like Half-life. This isn't quite how I imagined it as it also includes the bits where you die and have to replay it, whereas my vision involved only the single true path where you didn't die. Still, I very much enjoyed rewatching one level last night, including the very bit I mentioned above where I cleared all the enemies then got run over by some eejit on a motorbike. Also, taking a flying leap off a cliff in a Warthog full of soldiers was a highlight!

And the Matrix trilogy is rubbish!

Davey_Pitch · 01-10-2007, 08:57

Well, there goes the COD4 Beta. I have to say I enjoyed that more than I enjoy most games I pay for, and it's only a slice of what we'll get at the start of November. I got to level 25 in the end and unlocked the G3, which is nice and powerful, but it's strange getting used to single shot rather than fully automatic like the M4 or AK. I actually started to really like the AK-47 in the end. The normal sight is better than most, so I could have the grenade launcher attachment, which I was getting quite good at by the end of the game. I do think though that my usual classes will be the M16A4 for ourdoor maps, and the MP5 for the indoor maps

leowyatt · 01-10-2007, 09:14

I know what you mean about the G3 I thought I'd try and it liked it but my accuracy was pants

It's good for 1 shot kills though.

It's funny you should say that about the AK47 because that was my favourite outdoor weapon towards the end and I used it all the time. I never thought of the grenade launcher and did get killed quite a few times with them

but I needed the sight as my aim is rather pants

The MP5 is deadly in the vacant map 2-3 hit in the chest and down they go

For my final class I'm thinking MP5, silencer, stun grenades, deadly silence & deep impact

I really really enjoyed it too, I'm definitely going to buy it when it's released. Can't wait to see the new maps that will be released when we get the full game and what the other weapons are.

Davey_Pitch · 01-10-2007, 10:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kitchen Meister

The MP5 is deadly in the vacant map 2-3 hit in the chest and down they go

For my final class I'm thinking MP5, silencer, stun grenades, deadly silence & deep impact

That sounds good, it'd be ideal for quiet kills on the indoor maps, you could possibly run through killing several people and never get spotted.

Did you say you saw screens which showed the rest of the perks? Any links?

30-09-2007, 18:18	#1822
leowyatt Chef extraordinaire Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Infinite Loop Posts: 11,143	Well that is level 25! Just need to look at the new weapons, nearly completed all the bootcamp challenges too Everyone up for a game around 8:30?? __________________ "Dr Sheldon Cooper FTW!"

30-09-2007, 20:06	#1823
Desmo The Last Airbender Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Pigmopad Posts: 11,915	Never been a big Halo fan although I did play the first one and I do think Master Chief looks damn cool But I've just been looking at some screenshots of the online play and must say I'm quite tempted to pick it up. __________________

30-09-2007, 20:49	#1824
Belmit The Mouse King of Denmark Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: The Winchester Posts: 6,476	I really wanted to like Halo but having just finished it I'm rather underwhelmed. To begin with, I found a lot of the graphics very jaggedy. No idea why, I'm playing in HD and most people have been saying it looks great. Bioshock looked ten times better. Most of the time I had no idea what was going on. Rarely did I get the indicator up showing me where I had to go, and a lot of the directional prompts come from the audio so if you miss them because you were actually playing the game, that's it, you're left to search for the way yourself. Some of the time this was OK because you just have to look for where the enemies are coming from, and usually there's no other way to go, but a lot of the time I was just walking around areas wondering where I was supposed to be. It didn't help that the first time it happens is right at the start of level 2. 'Get to the hangar'. No directions, no prompts, not even a sign pointing to the hangar. Took me a couple of minutes to work out that the tunnel the soldiers were coming out of was the way to the hangar - aren't they supposed to be helping me in some way? After battling to the hangar and clearing it out, a ship drops down and I spent another couple of minutes trying to jump in the back of it because I missed the audio prompt to 'get back to the control room', at which point I made a slightly confused and laborious journey back the way I'd come, plodding down empty corridors. Morale was low at this point. Gameplay ranged from waiting for enemies to file down corridors or through doorways which was a little bit easy, to being left on your own in the middle of an open area with turrets, tanks and enemies everywhere, which was nigh on impossible. There were a couple of bits where I just turned off the console because I'd run out of swear words. There's just something really annoying about jumping onto a tank, blowing it up with a grenade, sneaking up on a turret to take out the person manning it, killing about twenty aliens single-handedly and then getting run over by a little grunt on a glorified motorbike that you didn't see. Level 8. It was like Xen from Half-life, but worse. Room upon randomly generated room of mutated morons who just lumber after you as you pile ammo into them. Except for the things that stick on the walls like sentry guns and fire needles at you, and can't be killed unless they're 'open'. Yeah, they're special. And most infuriating of all, battling through to what appears to be a safe area where your armour can recharge, only to be killed by what appears to be a crawling turnip that was spewed out of a pustule on the wall. I don't even know what I was doing there. Rescuing my virtual girlfriend who's trapped on a memory stick or something, after which we overloaded the core, or somesuch nonsense. There were some equally good bits though - taking down one of those crab tank things for the first time was cool, and sometimes doors just open out onto amazing space-filled vistas with gargantuan ships going by. It really felt like there was other stuff going on that I wasn't even a part of, which is something most games can't do. And the very last part of the last level was just awesome. More of that if you please. Maybe I'll get more out of it if I play it on a harder difficulty and try to plan it out a bit more, but it was so frustrating I can't see me doing it for a long time yet. Hell, maybe I'll even use those power-ups that you can only carry one of! P.S. The Flood have to be the most annoying enemies in a game ever. I actually enjoy fighting the other guys; the big dudes with swords, the little Joe Pasquale guys, even the idiots with the shields. The Flood are just fetid sacks of mucus awaiting oblivion by your eager hand. I pity them as much as I hate them. The ****s. __________________

30-09-2007, 21:03	#1825
Haly Do you want to hide in my box? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 14,941	Oooh audio descriptions for where to go is a bit of a pet hate for me. It's extremely irritating as sometimes I need to have the volume quieter so it's bloody annoying to miss out where to go for a pretty minor reason. __________________ Halycopter

01-10-2007, 08:54	#1827
Belmit The Mouse King of Denmark Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: The Winchester Posts: 6,476	Don't worry, it's not quite as bad as I made out, I just like to rant! I always start games on the normal difficulty first because you never know how ludicrously difficult or easy they've made the other options. I like to think that the middle ground is how the developers intended the game to be played and the other options give you more or less of a challenge depending on how hardcore you are. I played the first one all the way through and thought it was pretty good. Without trying to give any more away from this one, I especially liked the end part of the first one too. What I do like is the theatre part where you can watch your entire game back. Ever since you were able to do the same for Duke Nukem 3D multiplayer I've been going on about how it would be great to watch your entire single player game back, especially for games like Half-life. This isn't quite how I imagined it as it also includes the bits where you die and have to replay it, whereas my vision involved only the single true path where you didn't die. Still, I very much enjoyed rewatching one level last night, including the very bit I mentioned above where I cleared all the enemies then got run over by some eejit on a motorbike. Also, taking a flying leap off a cliff in a Warthog full of soldiers was a highlight! And the Matrix trilogy is rubbish! __________________

01-10-2007, 08:57	#1828
Davey_Pitch I iz speshul Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Liverpool Posts: 6,296	Well, there goes the COD4 Beta. I have to say I enjoyed that more than I enjoy most games I pay for, and it's only a slice of what we'll get at the start of November. I got to level 25 in the end and unlocked the G3, which is nice and powerful, but it's strange getting used to single shot rather than fully automatic like the M4 or AK. I actually started to really like the AK-47 in the end. The normal sight is better than most, so I could have the grenade launcher attachment, which I was getting quite good at by the end of the game. I do think though that my usual classes will be the M16A4 for ourdoor maps, and the MP5 for the indoor maps __________________ Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

01-10-2007, 09:14	#1829
leowyatt Chef extraordinaire Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Infinite Loop Posts: 11,143	I know what you mean about the G3 I thought I'd try and it liked it but my accuracy was pants It's good for 1 shot kills though. It's funny you should say that about the AK47 because that was my favourite outdoor weapon towards the end and I used it all the time. I never thought of the grenade launcher and did get killed quite a few times with them but I needed the sight as my aim is rather pants The MP5 is deadly in the vacant map 2-3 hit in the chest and down they go For my final class I'm thinking MP5, silencer, stun grenades, deadly silence & deep impact I really really enjoyed it too, I'm definitely going to buy it when it's released. Can't wait to see the new maps that will be released when we get the full game and what the other weapons are. __________________ "Dr Sheldon Cooper FTW!" Last edited by leowyatt; 01-10-2007 at 09:18.