Why the Halo 2 hate?

[DannoHung]

I don't get it really.

Halo 2 is by any rights a very fun game with solid play, good graphics, and a compelling story.

I'll be frank in that I haven't completed it yet, but that's more because of time constraints on my part than a lack of desire.

So far, the single player has had some really great set pieces and a lot of frentic action (sometimes too frentic in my opinion since I almost don't have time to enjoy the beautiful enviornments).

Half-Life 2 is a game that I'm expecting to be as in the same range of awesomeitude as Halo 2, maybe a little bit more, maybe a little bit less, I don't know, I haven't played it yet. The environments look just as lush, the story at least as compelling, and the action, if maybe not as down right frentic, roughly as interesting, possibly more cerebral.

As for the subject of multiplayer.... ehhh, I was never a huge fan of CS, but I've been playing CS:S for a while, it's fun, but it can be frustrating considering the vast number of players who are so much better than me. That's not really a knock against it, it's just not something I see myself investing hours and hours into (DOD:S on the other hand... well, we'll see when it's done).

Halo 2's multiplayer is absolute triple A stuff though. All the options, the ranking systems, the XBox Live 3.0 support with the ability to ACTUALLY FIND YOUR FRIENDS (Valve seriously needs to fix the friends function) and hop on a game with them right away. Class act through and through. I've been having a blast with it. Some of the maps aren't as good as Halo's, but maybe Bungie will release some of the classic ones later on.

Anyway, my point is that there's no reason to hate either game, they're both going to be utterly fantastic games and if one is better than the other it'll be a matter of small points that are subjectivley debateable.

In conclusion, Don't hate the player, hate the... uhh... you know what? Don't hate the game either.

 

[bodhi]

i have only played halo 1 for like 5 minutes, i thought for an fps it was ok, especially since it was on a console. i think the problem is that the majority of people who worship halo are console fanboys, who wont look at anything in a constructive manner or be able to put their points across without using a witty retort like "omg u and half life suxors" basically this is becasue theyre all 14 years old. everyone hates stupid kids ad especially those who think they know it all. basically, people dont like halo because of its association with irritating little kids

 

[MindCrafter]

I hate Halo1, Halo2's gotta be alot better if I'm not going to wipe my ass with the disc.

 

[Sparta]

Its a forum for a PC game.

Its going to be filled with PC fanboys

 

[DannoHung]

I really challenege you to prove that all Halo fans are 14 year olds who can't accept criticism of their favorite game.

I regularly read halo.bungie.org (probablly the premier Halo fan community) and browse the forums over there and most of the conversations that happen on their forums are highly intelligent and very lacking in any statemens like "OMG Half Life suxxorz!" Usually, they're just fans that want to talk to each other about story points or demonstrate fun tricks they were able to do within the game.

If you really don't think Halo 2 is fun, I would challenge you to try the game out with an open mind. It really is rather good. I'm particularly fond of the voice work given to the aliens you fight against and the marines you fight with.

Oh, one point I wanted to make that I forgot: Both Halo and Half-Life have some really awesome and atmospheric music. I still listen to both of them occasionally.

 

[DarkStar]

Have you visited this forum before? The Halo bashing is nothing new. Sometimes this place seems like the internet epicenter of anti-Halo sentiment. I agree with you that it is totally ridiculous.

 

[axeil]

As soon as I mention HL2 at school everyone always says "OMG HALO2 ROXORZ AND HL2 SUCKS!" When I ask them if they've even looked at HL2 stuff they basiclly say "well...no but it'll still suck."

Fanboys anyone?

 

[Dougy]

Why the HALO2 hate?

could it be anything to do with this being a HALF LIFE 2 fansite?

i stake my entire game collection and computer hardware that there is just as much halo freeks moaning about this game as there is half life 2 freaks moaning about their game.


Its life, you like something, you dont want to admit your wrong so you take it that everybody who doesnt agree with you is a gay.

fortunately some people can escape that train of thought.. though i stress the word "some".

it was the same with Doom3 wich may i mention i enjoyed a lot.

 

[Borealis]

I had my share of halo 1 on xbox, I just couldn't get into it after a certain point. Having a controller instead of a mouse and keyboard really really detracted from the experience for me.

Between that and the fact it got stale, being an xbox game means theres no modding going on, which will kill halo 2's lifespan just like it's predecessor.

I wonder which game will hit the bargain bin first?

 

[DannoHung]

Yeah, I've been reading stuff around here on and off since October of last year.

axeil: Hmmm... perhaps I should modify my concluding statement to "Hate the players, not the game."

Still, there are a lot of very cool Halo fans out there. Like I said, check out HBO to see a case study of them.

Hmm... thinking about it, I think the reason the HBO fans are very cool guys is that they are primarily descendants of the Old School Bungie fans, you know, back when Marathon and Myth were the big Bungie claims to fame. Maybe they're just older than the average Halo 2 fan.

 

[joepjens]

Halo 1 wasnt good as they told, it was only marketed good.

Several people who lived for halo now say halo 2 sucks, the story sucks etc.

Halo 1's netcode for pc sucked big time, story wasnt anything new and ai wasn't advanced either. It was nothing special.

 

[DannoHung]

Dougy: That's just plain silly. I like both, as a counter example. There isn't any reason that you can't enjoy both games.

Borealis: I dunno if that's necessarily true. Halo was being played enthusiastically by a lot of people right up until November 9th. If anything, I would say that it had picked up steam well after its release.

Also, Halo still hasn't really hit the "Bargain Bin" as it were. It only got dropped down to a 30 dollar purchase about 6 months ago.

 

[Spartan]

I don't get it really.

It's pretty simple.

The average fanboy is about 10-14 years old. He has the distinct urge to attach his ego to something. Anything. In this case, it's an FPS game. It's either Half-Life 2 or Halo 2. If he chooses HL2, he will make it his mission in life to scream "HALO 2 SI TEH SUXORS OMG LOL!L!L!L!L!!111 BUNGIE SI TEH FAGXOR LOL!!111" at every turn.

 

[kenyo]

i'm a halo fan AND a half-life 1-2 fan,
i do think that half-life 2 will be better then halo 2 is,
i have seen pics, movies, reviews, and preview of both.
i'm a member of a halo modding site called halomods.com

halo 1 is better then half-life 1
but halo 2 is not even close to as good as half-life 2 will be
(but halo 1 is better for moding couse they got cool and easy modding tools!)

EDIT: also i'd like to add that half-life 1 is better in game play like how you get ferther and stuff, altho halo 1 gots pretty fun story line. (i own halo 1 for PC i used to own HL1 for PC but lost it,
i am goin to own HL2 and don't ever plan to own halo 2,
tho my bro might end up getting it. also he hates hl2 couse he's comp is utter crap)

 

[joepjens]

halo 1 was not better for modding.

Only for hex editing, screwing around with the values. Making a total conversion is easier on the engine half life used (quake engine iirc)

 

[cidd]

Thank god! Some reasonable viewpoints. Since the GS review the pitchforks and torches have been unbearable. Halo 2 is great but flawed. Some rate it high, some dont. Some are victims of hype and/or blinkered to common sense facts. Whatever your opinions, 1 fact is indisputable:

10 hours 31 mins baby!

 

[Sparta]

Whatever your opinions, 1 fact is indisputable:

10 hours 31 mins baby!

:E

and then a new age of kick-ass mods and great single-player games, will begin

 

[BladeTurbo]

my hatred for Halo 2 is because it's xbox exclusive. i would feel differently if it was for pc too.

 

[kenyo]

halo 1 was not better for modding.

Only for hex editing, screwing around with the values. Making a total conversion is easier on the engine half life used (quake engine iirc)

halo 1 is better for modding, and HERE IS THE REASON
it has many tools that OBVIUSLY you never got!
the tools makes modding easy so i (no coding, hexing, or any exp at all) can make simple mods and changes and stuff!
it has useful things like HMT, HHT, HHHT, HEK, spark editor,
and many other useful editors, modders, tool, trianers, ect.


edit: halo 1 is easy to mod but half-life 1 gots better mods
couse of dedicated teams makin coooool mods
halo 1 is only good for story line and moddin thats it!
hl2 will make halo 1-2 story line seem like utter crap tho so
soon halo 1 will only have modding easy as advantage.
if the cheats for hl2 end up not being a prank then hl2 will rock even more then it deos all ready! (i'd luv makin enemy's with no target and god on then when i hav tons of enemys arround me turn off notarget and start sluaghtering!!! yaaa cheaatsss!)

 

[Sharrd]

I mostly like Halo 1 because of its versatility(have yet to play Halo 2); if you've got a pretty big TV and four controllers, you can easily get a 2v2 game going, or FFA. 2 X-boxes and you could get 4v4. But I've also played the PC version and enjoyed it, so I think it's better than the average shooter.

 

[BlackMesaDude]

I dont get it how halo2 can get that high score. It has zero physics, very boring levels heck nothing is fun in that game. HL2 on the other hand will own it so easy no matter what gamespot or any other that gives this game a low score.

 

[Sparta]

halo 1 is better, and HERE IS THE REASON
it has many tools that OBVIUSLY you never got!
the tools makes modding easy so i (no coding, hexing, or any exp at all) can make simple mods and changes and stuff!
it has useful things like HMT, HHT, HHHT, HEK, spark editor,
and many other useful editors, modders, tool, trianers, ect.

Even i can make simple changes to Operation Flashpoint without the help of any kind of official tools or even a Hex editor.

Please, lets not turn this into a stupid debate.

You like Halo 1 better, thats fine (i prefer Halo over Halo 2, in SP terms) Lets leave it at that

 

[lordoftheroot]

Halo 2 may come out for the computer. but it would be in like 6 months. As for the Halo bashing. I bash halo because of its popularity mostly and i don't like it when Halo fanboys compare Halo to Mario or to Zelda or even to Metroid. These are gods of gaming and i think, that Halo doesn't deserve to be among them.

 

[Dougy]

Dougy: That's just plain silly. I like both, as a counter example. There isn't any reason that you can't enjoy both games.

Then you fall into the "some" people department.

the vast majority ie.. well over 70% of gamers stick to a name and will not deviate from it, and if they do they dont admit it.

hell ive done it myself plenty of times... i hated CS with a passion but ive been playing the crap out of cs:s for 2 weeks now.

its the same with everything basicly... some examples

Radeon and Nvidia... i started off a nvidia whore.. then i turned to a radeon whore... now my new rig is gonna have a 6800 ultra nvidia card....

microsoft and mac/linux etc...

rangers/celtic (only ukers will get this and probably only the scotts at most)

i realise theres folk that like plenty of genres... but theres more who dont, my cousins for instance dismiss anything good on the PC and stick to their "halo" is the best ever, hell they wont even admit that halo/gta vice city is better on the pc than it is on consoles.

 

[kenyo]

Even i can make simple changes to Operation Flashpoint without the help of any kind of official tools or even a Hex editor.

Please, lets not turn this into a stupid debate.

You like Halo 1 better, thats fine (i prefer Halo over Halo 2, in SP terms) Lets leave it at that

not really i like half-life 2,
i was just saying what i thought was good about halo 1.
i can't say anything on halo 2 realy tho couse i don't have it and don't got an x-box (i got halo 1 for pc)
i love half-life 1 i think halo 1 is pretty fun for story line and being able to make cool things easy, but half-life 2 will blow halo 1-2 away! (also you might want to note that half-life 2 was being made BEFORE halo 1 was even started! so in other words half-life 2 takes more then the time it took to make halo 1-2 put to gether!)

 

[Yellonet]

In general one could say that, compared to Half-Life 2, Halo 2 is total crap. But they're not even in the same league. They shouldn't be compared at all actually. Apples and oranges.

 

[kenyo]

In general one could say that, compared to Half-Life 2, Halo 2 is total crap. But they're not even in the same league. They shouldn't be compared at all actually. Apples and oranges.

i agree completely,
halo 2 isnt a bad game i'm sure, but
it isnt even close to good enuf to compare it to half-life 2!

 

[DannoHung]

I want to know precisely how you can say that one game is better than the other when you haven't played both of them yet?

Point of clarification: Halo 2 does have physics, they're just not elementary to the gameplay as much as Half Life 2. Halo 2 seems to focus on set pieces of moveable world geometry such as

Spoiler

The scarab assault in Level 2 or the MAC gun in the first level

Having not PLAYED Half Life 2 yet I can't say whether it will have the same sort of focus on level geometry set pieces as Halo 2 (although we do know about the crane part).

 

[kenyo]

I want to know precisely how you can say that one game is better than the other when you haven't played both of them yet?

Point of clarification: Halo 2 does have physics, they're just not elementary to the gameplay as much as Half Life 2. Halo 2 seems to focus on set pieces of moveable world geometry such as

Spoiler

The scarab assault in Level 2 or the MAC gun in the first level

Having not PLAYED Half Life 2 yet I can't say whether it will have the same sort of focus on level geometry set pieces as Halo 2 (although we do know about the crane part).

i've seen lots of movies of hl2 and pics, and alll kinds of stuff
but , i gota go dam it i finish this later!
hl2 is looks good so i just guess,,, g2g

 

[Yellonet]

I want to know precisely how you can say that one game is better than the other when you haven't played both of them yet?

Point of clarification: Halo 2 does have physics, they're just not elementary to the gameplay as much as Half Life 2. Halo 2 seems to focus on set pieces of moveable world geometry such as

Having not PLAYED Half Life 2 yet I can't say whether it will have the same sort of focus on level geometry set pieces as Halo 2 (although we do know about the crane part).

A good game is more than the sum of it's features.
Sure, Half-Life 2 has amazing physics and graphics. But that's only the "outside" of the game. It's the inside that distinguish the excellent from the great. The atmosphere, at least to me, of the Half-Life world is very hard to best. It makes you feel that you're smack in the middle of all these things going on - You are Gordon and You are in that world. If you just could go everywhere, you know that you'd find something going on.

The thick atmosphere, rich gameplay and superb physics all coated in beatiful graphics makes Half-Life 2 a game worth waiting six years for. I'm not sure you can say that about Halo 2.

 

[Aceallways]

Gamespot gave halo 2 9.4 and Half Life 2 only 9.2. The game isn't al the bad, but it isn't all that good. If I reviewed it I would give it 8.5 MAXIMUM.

 

[Warbie]

Its a forum for a PC game.

Its going to be filled with PC fanboys

This man speaketh the truth.

 

[greeny]

Having finished halo 2 i can safely say HL2 has jack shit to worry about, halo2 is a decent game believe me but half of it is little more than running through identicle looking corridors fighting usually 4 grunts, and 2 elites every room. But the outside areas, especially the 3 earth levels are decent.

 

[DrunkPanda]

i have only played halo 1 for like 5 minutes, i thought for an fps it was ok, especially since it was on a console. i think the problem is that the majority of people who worship halo are console fanboys, who wont look at anything in a constructive manner or be able to put their points across without using a witty retort like "omg u and half life suxors" basically this is becasue theyre all 14 years old. everyone hates stupid kids ad especially those who think they know it all. basically, people dont like halo because of its association with irritating little kids

i disagree with your generalization of halo fans. i "worshipped" halo, by that i mean i thought it was a good game. but instead of being closeminded, i though "if halo is good, maybe other fps' are good" which is how i got into half life. and there are as many annoying closeminded half life fans as there are halo fans. and half life is more associated with irritating little kids than halo is............. *cough* counterstrike *cough*

 

[DannoHung]

Hmm.... I don't know exactly. I certainly did feel immersed in the Halo universe during all but the cutscenes (I sorta wish they'd gone the Half Life route and forced you to participate in those through the Master Chief's eyes, true, but that's a fairly minor quibble).

I definitley get the impression that there are things going on everywhere during Halo. And this is more of a congratulations to whoever is in charge of the marketing department, but there has been a TERRIFIC job in making sure that the Universe was fleshed out. The two novels by Nylund were excellent forays into the Halo Universe, and the I Love Bees audio drama was a fascinating insight into minor characters.

Both games have huge scopes. Half-Life is about an Alien Invasion of Earth and Halo is about Galactic Warfare. I wouldn't say that Halo is bigger based on just the physical scale though.

I'll definitley give Half-Life 2 one big point over Halo 2 though: I'll bet the connection the player will form to the characters will be stronger in HL2. Cortana, Sergeant Johnson, and Captain Keyes are all characters I'm really fond of, but Bungie just didn't invest the same sort of time into making them as personally relevant.

 

[Sanius]

Why the HALO2 hate?

could it be anything to do with this being a HALF LIFE 2 fansite?

thats no excuse to be a complete dickhead towards other games. there should be a rule against that.