Halo or Half-Life?

This topic is locked from further discussion.

Avatar image for Alexmon
Alexmon

597

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 0

#1 Alexmon
Member since 2005 • 597 Posts

Im sure this has been asked countless times before, but which franchise do you prefer? too bad i cant make a poll, so you guys just have to post your opinions.

Half-Life (1 and 2) really introduced physics and interactive gameplay into the worl. Half-Life 2 set the bar for graphics when it came out and really showed the world a new style of physics gameplay and "playable" storytelling.

Halo introduced people that games can have goos stories too, and that run-n-gun can work in really good ways.

Sorry 360 fanboys, I have played both halos thus far (and pre-ordered H3), but i'm gonna have to go with HL, because it has better graphics, to me, better gameplay (run-n-gun is lame after a while), and it really showed me in-game physics for the first time. I just finf Half-Life games much better over the over-hyped Halo games.

Post your opinions on what u like better (please, no bashing 1 another like 12-year-olds. remain civil).

Avatar image for muthsera666
muthsera666

13271

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 9

User Lists: 0

#2 muthsera666
Member since 2005 • 13271 Posts
I've only played Half-Life 2, and I have to say that the environment was very engaging and immersive. However, I am not usually a fan of zombie (slow zombies) games/movies, and the Ravenholm section has kind of ruined the game for now. I like to be able to take the game slow when I want to. Halo has a good combination of slow-paced and fast-paced action. The Flood reanimations are similar to zombies, but they have gained abilities unlike the typical zombies, which pulls the game further from the horror setting. Personally, so far I prefer Halo, but I still enjoyed Half-Life 2 for the most part.
Avatar image for selbie
selbie

13295

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 0

#3 selbie
Member since 2004 • 13295 Posts
In my view, Halo to Half Life is like Unreal Tournament to Counter Strike. The two games play and feel very different. In saying that both games work very well as FPSs. If I were to pick one of the two I would choose Half Life. It has a much grittier feel (through both gameplay and story). But that's just my preference. Halo's "space-opera" feel is great but I prefer to play as the underdog as opposed to a super-soldier.
Avatar image for Smoke89
Smoke89

3575

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 4

User Lists: 0

#4 Smoke89
Member since 2003 • 3575 Posts
I would go with Half-Life. It was way more innovative in the FPS world and broke the genre into alot of things all FPSs use today.
Avatar image for 1005
1005

3738

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#5 1005
Member since 2003 • 3738 Posts

To be honest there is no competition between HL2 and Halo since HL2 introduced many unique and cool things to the FPS genre while Halo brought, pretty much nothing except another series of games to go into the FPS genre.

HL2:

- Physics on a completely new scale, when this game came out every game afterwards and to this day is trying their best to impliment real physics.

- The graphics in HL2 set a new level for other games to try and reach and coupled with the real physics really was amazingly impressive. The game is still considered one of the top10 for graphics to this day. And with Episode 2 soon to be released the Source engine will be getting a update to improve it even more.

- HL2 also brought in unparalled character depth to NPC's unlike many games before it, and still continues to do this. No other NPC in a game has been as "real" as Alyx Vance has, atleast no other NPC comes to mind. They really pulled this off well with the facial animations, voice acting, reactions to situations and other general AI. Simple stuff like shining the flashlight in Alyx's face in Episode1 would cause her to shield her eyes from the brightness.

- HL2 has the gravity gun, nuff said there really :P

Halo:

- Brought nothing we haden't already seen really. I suppose you could say a new setting, and obviously a new iconic gaming character. But otherwise it was and still is inferior to HL2 in many ways.

Avatar image for AfterShafter
AfterShafter

7175

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#6 AfterShafter
Member since 2002 • 7175 Posts
To me, Half-Life represents innovation and envelope pushing FPS... Halo represents the peak of what has been done. I find Halo more fun to actually play, focusing more on making what's out there already work and work damned well, even if it doesn't move the genre like Half-Life does... So, Halo is my preference, but my respect for both is tremendous.
Avatar image for AfterShafter
AfterShafter

7175

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#7 AfterShafter
Member since 2002 • 7175 Posts

To be honest there is no competition between HL2 and Halo since HL2 introduced many unique and cool things to the FPS genre while Halo brought, pretty much nothing except another series of games to go into the FPS genre.

1005


Just curious, do you play games because they introduce something new, or because they're fun to play? Was Mechwarrior 2 better than Mercenaries because it didn't really introduce anything new to the genre? WoW not as good as EQ because it was essentially an EQ clone? Perfect Dark not as good as Goldeneye because it was largely a Goldeneye clone? Soul Calibur not as good as Virtua Fighter becase it was largely a VF clone? Etc etc etc. Sometimes the most envelope pushing is NOT the most entertaining game.

I understand people just liking HL/HL2 better than Halo/Halo 2 because they liked it more, but because it did more new things? That doesn't make any comment about how fun it was to play. I think about it... In movies, I often compare The Outlaw Josey Wales to Unforgiven, two of Clint Eastwood's best Westerns - and two of the best Westerns ever made. Unforgiven is a groundbreaking anti-western, something that had never really been done before, while The Outlaw Josey Wales is arguably the best generic western ever done. However groundbreaking Unforgiven was, I can't help but saying that I simply enjoyed Outlaw more - simply because I wathed it and enjoyed it more. Doing new things doesn't always mean the experience is better.
Avatar image for angus1343
angus1343

4581

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#8 angus1343
Member since 2004 • 4581 Posts
Half Life for sure
Avatar image for Devils6258
Devils6258

25

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#9 Devils6258
Member since 2006 • 25 Posts

I've only played Half-Life 2, and I have to say that the environment was very engaging and immersive. However, I am not usually a fan of zombie (slow zombies) games/movies, and the Ravenholm section has kind of ruined the game for now. I like to be able to take the game slow when I want to. Halo has a good combination of slow-paced and fast-paced action. The Flood reanimations are similar to zombies, but they have gained abilities unlike the typical zombies, which pulls the game further from the horror setting. Personally, so far I prefer Halo, but I still enjoyed Half-Life 2 for the most part.muthsera666

The ravenholm part of the game was my favorite lol. I'd have to say halo. Halo had an awesome coop campagne and incredible multiplayer. Halflife is more of a sigle player experiance. Which isn't bad. Justnot as fun in my opinion.

Avatar image for Ash2X
Ash2X

3035

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 54

User Lists: 0

#10 Ash2X
Member since 2005 • 3035 Posts

[QUOTE="muthsera666"]I've only played Half-Life 2, and I have to say that the environment was very engaging and immersive. However, I am not usually a fan of zombie (slow zombies) games/movies, and the Ravenholm section has kind of ruined the game for now. I like to be able to take the game slow when I want to. Halo has a good combination of slow-paced and fast-paced action. The Flood reanimations are similar to zombies, but they have gained abilities unlike the typical zombies, which pulls the game further from the horror setting. Personally, so far I prefer Halo, but I still enjoyed Half-Life 2 for the most part.Devils6258

The ravenholm part of the game was my favorite lol. I'd have to say halo. Halo had an awesome coop campagne and incredible multiplayer. Halflife is more of a sigle player experiance. Which isn't bad. Justnot as fun in my opinion.

I played HL2 on XBox until short after Ravenholm...I was so bored I put it away.Maybe because HL1 was not really my thing until the point I have played and that wan´t at the time it was released.Maybe the Orange Box changes my mind.I think Halo is totally overhyped too,but a lot more fun to follow.Well it´s somehow a totally another aspect of a FPS.Halo is more action paced Shooting which I want if I play a FPS,HLseems more senseless running around waiting for anything to happen...

Avatar image for Alexmon
Alexmon

597

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 0

#11 Alexmon
Member since 2005 • 597 Posts

For the record, you haven't really played HL2 if you've played it on Xbox. The PC version is MUCH better, so dont judge HL2 until you play it on the PC. tbh, consoles are just a cheap way of getting good graphics. real gaming is on the PC, better graphics, and framerates consoles can only hope and dream for. hands down.

I find Halo fun, but its still basically an average run-n-gun FPS, and multiplayer is like a slightly toned-down version on Unreal Tournament.

Avatar image for inoperativeRS
inoperativeRS

8844

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 0

#12 inoperativeRS
Member since 2004 • 8844 Posts
As much as I like the Half Life series, Halo has always had a special place in my heart.
Avatar image for inoperativeRS
inoperativeRS

8844

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 0

#13 inoperativeRS
Member since 2004 • 8844 Posts

To me, Half-Life represents innovation and envelope pushing FPS... Halo represents the peak of what has been done. I find Halo more fun to actually play, focusing more on making what's out there already work and work damned well, even if it doesn't move the genre like Half-Life does... So, Halo is my preference, but my respect for both is tremendous.AfterShafter

Well said.

Avatar image for Kazona
Kazona

1377

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 21

User Lists: 0

#14 Kazona
Member since 2003 • 1377 Posts
Even though I think they're both great games, I'd have to go with Half-Life. Ironically enough, I never played the first Half-Life or the first Halo, but I did play both second entries in the franchise lol.
Avatar image for OremLK
OremLK

745

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 0

#15 OremLK
Member since 2007 • 745 Posts
Half-Life and its successor are approximately twice the games that Halo and Halo 2 are. Granted, Halo does have cooperative support and better vehicles, but other than that, every single aspect of Half-Life is superior.
Avatar image for Robnyc22
Robnyc22

1029

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#16 Robnyc22
Member since 2007 • 1029 Posts

Halo introduced people that games can have goos stories too.

Alexmon

Shooters like System Shock 2, Deus Ex, No One Lives Forever, and Clive Barker's Undying did that LONG before Halo was released....and it can easily be said Deus Ex had a more involved storyline.

In fact, if you really want to get technical, many would say it was Half-Life that introduced the idea of incorporating a plot told through real-time scripted events to the FPS genre, and even then I would call that more of a "plot" then any actual "storyline".

As for storylines in games overall....anyone who even hints that Halo (of all games) introduced the idea that games can have good stories have clearly never played an RPG or Adventure game prior to 2001.

In fact, the Halo series....as in the actual games....don't really have what I would consider "storylines"....rather they have plots to move the action forward, similiar to many other FPS games like HL, HL2, F.E.A.R. etc.

I have yet to see any real character development in the Halo series of games or any truly interesting dialogue uttered.

Anyway....as for which do I prefer....I'm definitely gonna say Half Life....thanks to Half Life being released....it changed both single player FPS games, Multiplayer FPS games, Mod making, etc.....since I'm to lazy to write the reasons why, I'll just link to Gamespot's own dedicated article as to why Half Life is one of the "Greatest Games of All Time":

http://www.gamespot.com/features/6171044/index.html

As for which game I think had the better sequel....I'll just let these awards from some of the most prestigious awards in the industry that nominate all platforms speak for themselves, especially the first one on the list:

Gamespot's Best Overall Shooter of 2004
AIAS Game of the Year 2004
Game Developer's Choice Awards, Best Game
IGN's Overall Game of the Year 2004

Avatar image for OremLK
OremLK

745

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 0

#17 OremLK
Member since 2007 • 745 Posts
[QUOTE="Alexmon"]

Halo introduced people that games can have goos stories too.

Robnyc22

I could have sworn that shooters like System Shock 2, Deus Ex, No One Lives Forever, and Clive Barker's Undying did that LONG before Halo was released....and it can easily be said Deus Ex had a more involved storyline.

As for storylines in games overall....anyone who even hints that Halom of all games introduced the idea that games can have good stories have clearly never played an RPG or Adventure game prior to 2001.

In fact, the Halo series....as in the actual games....don't really have what I would consider "storylines"....rather they have plots to move the action forward, similiar to many other FPS games like HL, HL2, F.E.A.R. etc. I have yet to see any real character development in the Halo series of games or any truly interesting dialogue uttered.

Not to mention the fact that the Halo series' story sucks.

Avatar image for inoperativeRS
inoperativeRS

8844

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 0

#18 inoperativeRS
Member since 2004 • 8844 Posts
[QUOTE="Robnyc22"][QUOTE="Alexmon"]

Halo introduced people that games can have goos stories too.

OremLK

I could have sworn that shooters like System Shock 2, Deus Ex, No One Lives Forever, and Clive Barker's Undying did that LONG before Halo was released....and it can easily be said Deus Ex had a more involved storyline.

As for storylines in games overall....anyone who even hints that Halom of all games introduced the idea that games can have good stories have clearly never played an RPG or Adventure game prior to 2001.

In fact, the Halo series....as in the actual games....don't really have what I would consider "storylines"....rather they have plots to move the action forward, similiar to many other FPS games like HL, HL2, F.E.A.R. etc. I have yet to see any real character development in the Halo series of games or any truly interesting dialogue uttered.

Not to mention the fact that the Halo series' story sucks.

Ignorance really is bliss on these forums... First someone claims halo was the first game to have a good story, then someone claims halo doesn't have a good story. Seriously, I don't know which of these statements I'd consider more ridiculous.

Avatar image for OremLK
OremLK

745

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 0

#19 OremLK
Member since 2007 • 745 Posts
[QUOTE="OremLK"][QUOTE="Robnyc22"][QUOTE="Alexmon"]

Halo introduced people that games can have goos stories too.

inoperativeRS

I could have sworn that shooters like System Shock 2, Deus Ex, No One Lives Forever, and Clive Barker's Undying did that LONG before Halo was released....and it can easily be said Deus Ex had a more involved storyline.

As for storylines in games overall....anyone who even hints that Halom of all games introduced the idea that games can have good stories have clearly never played an RPG or Adventure game prior to 2001.

In fact, the Halo series....as in the actual games....don't really have what I would consider "storylines"....rather they have plots to move the action forward, similiar to many other FPS games like HL, HL2, F.E.A.R. etc. I have yet to see any real character development in the Halo series of games or any truly interesting dialogue uttered.

Not to mention the fact that the Halo series' story sucks.

Ignorance really is bliss on these forums... First someone claims halo was the first game to have a good story, then someone claims halo doesn't have a good story. Seriously, I don't know which of these statements I'd consider more ridiculous.

There's a difference between ignorance and justified opinion; it's ignorant to say that Halo was the first game to show that games can have a good story, because it displays ignorance of the long tradition of games driven almost primarily by storytelling.

It's a justified opinion to say that Halo's story sucks, because it's blatantly derivative of several other obvious seminal science fiction works (Niven's Ringworld, Heinlein's Starship Troopers, and many others), in addition to having no redeeming characterization and a thin, swiss-cheese plot.

Avatar image for inoperativeRS
inoperativeRS

8844

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 0

#20 inoperativeRS
Member since 2004 • 8844 Posts

There's a difference between ignorance and justified opinion; it's ignorant to say that Halo was the first game to show that games can have a good story, because it displays ignorance of the long tradition of games driven almost primarily by storytelling.

It's a justified opinion to say that Halo's story sucks, because it's blatantly derivative of several other obvious seminal science fiction works (Niven's Ringworld, Heinlein's Starship Troopers, and many others), in addition to having no redeeming characterization and a thin, swiss-cheese plot.

OremLK

I am very well aware of where Halo draws its influences from (and I'd claim Philip K. Dick is the most important source, not Niven like people like to think), but I'm not someone that condemns a story only because it isn't original. Of course you could claim Halo has "no redeeming characterization and a thin, swiss-cheese plot" and state it's your opinion, but I would seriously wonder why you would even care about stories in video games in general if this is the case. Planescape: Torment is IMO the only game that could come even close to having some kind of litterary value in its story if that's what you're searching for.

Anyway, wouldn't you claim I was ignorant if I stated I think Half Lifes story sucks without having any kind of argument backing it up?

Avatar image for hair001
hair001

1202

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#21 hair001
Member since 2005 • 1202 Posts
They are 2 very different games and so the comparison is hard to make. A more appropriate comparison would be Bioshock vs. Half Life. Howvever between the 2, I mcuh prefer Halo. The epic storyline and interesting charecters, fantastic worlds and environments, wonderful weapons, brilliant action sequences and enemies, wonderful AI, excelent use of vehicles, great sound, humour and that fantastic score. Plus replayability and THAT multiplay (and unfortunatly those players). I could continue gushing like this for ages. Unfortunatly there is the usual Halo bashing in this thread. Why people so dislike the game and its sucess I will proberbly never know. Most of it seems to come from the heavy PC gamers who seem to feel personal insult that an FPS is popular on a console. The usual "ohh Halo never did anything new or made any sort of difference" crap is here, and the "oh, a space story, how original" comments are retarded. "Ooooh, a post apocoliptic setting, how origninal". Come on now, most art hs features that have alllready been done before
Avatar image for Robnyc22
Robnyc22

1029

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#22 Robnyc22
Member since 2007 • 1029 Posts

Unfortunatly there is the usual Halo bashing in this thread. Why people so dislike the game and its sucess I will proberbly never know. Most of it seems to come from the heavy PC gamers who seem to feel personal insult that an FPS is popular on a console. The usual "ohh Halo never did anything new or made any sort of difference" crap is here, and the "oh, a space story, how original" comments are retarded. "Ooooh, a post apocoliptic setting, how origninal". Come on now, most art hs features that have alllready been done beforehair001

Or rather it's a natural reaction from other gamers from various platforms (including PC) who are sick of Halo Fanatics constantly yapping on about how Halo is the "best FPS ever" or "best game ever"

....or how some Halo fans claim Halo "invented" or "introduced" something in the FPS genre (which usually it didn't).....case in point, the TC's original post.

....or how Halo fanatics claim the latest Halo game is "guaranteed" GOTY, despite the fact no Halo game has ever won GOTY here at Gamespot. In fact, no straightforward FPS has ever won Overall GOTY here at Gamespot.

....or how Halo fanatics claim Halo is the best series cause they claim it is the most successful in terms of sales (which actually isn't true, there are plenty of other game series more successful then Halo).

....or how Halo fanatics claim that Halo has the most epic storyline in gaming, and then when counterpoints are made Halo fanatics always bring in the "you have to read the books" line (sorry, but if a game needs outside material to make a story "epic", that doesn't make the story in the game itself "epic").

...or how some Halo fans constantly feel the need to compare Halo to every game in the known universe. I swear, I see more "Halo vs. _____" and "Halo or _____" threads from Halo fans then I do from fans of any other game series....again, case in point, this very topic and the TC's original post.

In fact, most of the "Halo bashing" is simply a reaction to the Halo fanboyism that appears all too often in the forums and it's usually the Halo praisers that constantly create these types of threads, and when people who don't worship Halo respond to some of the misinformed claims, of course the Halo fanatics then cry "Halo bashing".....or we get the other lame statement of "people don't like Halo cause it's popular, and it's cool to bash what's popular", well guess what, GTA, Mario, FF, Warcraft, Sims, and even HL are series just as popular or more so as Halo, wanna know why they aren't "bashed" nearly as much, cause fans of those games don't continually create threads yapping on about the game or compare it to everything else.

Avatar image for ice_radon
ice_radon

70464

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 11

User Lists: 0

#23 ice_radon
Member since 2002 • 70464 Posts
[QUOTE="selbie"]In my view, Halo to Half Life is like Unreal Tournament to Counter Strike. The two games play and feel very different. In saying that both games work very well as FPSs. If I were to pick one of the two I would choose Half Life. It has a much grittier feel (through both gameplay and story). But that's just my preference. Halo's "space-opera" feel is great but I prefer to play as the underdog as opposed to a super-soldier.

Same, each game is totally different. I personally actually liked Half Life 2 better than the original though. :o !
Avatar image for OremLK
OremLK

745

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 0

#24 OremLK
Member since 2007 • 745 Posts
[QUOTE="OremLK"]

There's a difference between ignorance and justified opinion; it's ignorant to say that Halo was the first game to show that games can have a good story, because it displays ignorance of the long tradition of games driven almost primarily by storytelling.

It's a justified opinion to say that Halo's story sucks, because it's blatantly derivative of several other obvious seminal science fiction works (Niven's Ringworld, Heinlein's Starship Troopers, and many others), in addition to having no redeeming characterization and a thin, swiss-cheese plot.

inoperativeRS

I am very well aware of where Halo draws its influences from (and I'd claim Philip K. Dick is the most important source, not Niven like people like to think), but I'm not someone that condemns a story only because it isn't original. Of course you could claim Halo has "no redeeming characterization and a thin, swiss-cheese plot" and state it's your opinion, but I would seriously wonder why you would even care about stories in video games in general if this is the case. Planescape: Torment is IMO the only game that could come even close to having some kind of litterary value in its story if that's what you're searching for.

Frankly almost every game story is lacking in comparison to other mediums, but that's as much due to the nature of gaming (putting the player in the role of the protagonist instead of a created character) as it is due to the faults of game developers.

That said, Halo does have worse characterization than most games, even other shooters. Master Chief is no deeper than his helmet; Cortana is a sly attitude and an expositionary device. The Arbiter comes closer to having a hair's breadth of depth, but he serves much more as a plot device than a motivated individual. There really are no other characters of consequence within the Halo games.

The main problem with Halo's plot, aside from its lack of originality, is that it's far too fragmented. It hops back and forth from one thing to the next without ever really taking the time to explore and explain each one; and the complete and total cliffhanger at the end of Halo 2 is one of the worst game plotting decisions in the history of the industry. In addition to all of this, it must be said that characterization and plotting are interdependent. Without characters you understand and care about, a plot is no better than a technical manual or a history book.

Anyway, this thread isn't about Halo's story, and for the record, the Half-Life series isn't much better (though its immersion and presentation is superior). It's in gameplay that Half-Life triumphs, not storytelling.

Avatar image for 1005
1005

3738

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#25 1005
Member since 2003 • 3738 Posts
[QUOTE="1005"]

To be honest there is no competition between HL2 and Halo since HL2 introduced many unique and cool things to the FPS genre while Halo brought, pretty much nothing except another series of games to go into the FPS genre.

AfterShafter



Just curious, do you play games because they introduce something new, or because they're fun to play? Was Mechwarrior 2 better than Mercenaries because it didn't really introduce anything new to the genre? WoW not as good as EQ because it was essentially an EQ clone? Perfect Dark not as good as Goldeneye because it was largely a Goldeneye clone? Soul Calibur not as good as Virtua Fighter becase it was largely a VF clone? Etc etc etc. Sometimes the most envelope pushing is NOT the most entertaining game.

I understand people just liking HL/HL2 better than Halo/Halo 2 because they liked it more, but because it did more new things? That doesn't make any comment about how fun it was to play. I think about it... In movies, I often compare The Outlaw Josey Wales to Unforgiven, two of Clint Eastwood's best Westerns - and two of the best Westerns ever made. Unforgiven is a groundbreaking anti-western, something that had never really been done before, while The Outlaw Josey Wales is arguably the best generic western ever done. However groundbreaking Unforgiven was, I can't help but saying that I simply enjoyed Outlaw more - simply because I wathed it and enjoyed it more. Doing new things doesn't always mean the experience is better.

You make some good points mate and some valid ones aswell comparing older games to newer, but what i think you've missed is that while HL2 has got everything in an FPS that most games before and after it have. Eg - variation in weapons, different enemies, crosshairs, enemy AI, NPC's to help you etc. It had all of these, and what Halo has, but added extra stuff in aswell to make it truly unique and innovative. Thats why HL2 beats Halo. While Halo is a good FPS, i wont say its not since for the brief time i played Halo/Halo2 with a friend on his Xbox it was an enjoyable FPS game, just in a "space opera" setting. However it didn't introduce anything new like HL2 did, it had the basics of what HL2 had but it didn't have any of the special unique features and feeling to it that HL2 had/has.

While Halo pushes the storyline forward so the player has more action, HL2 pushes the story forward for the sake of the story first. And the action just follows the story, not the other way round. Also HL2 introduce a number of things Halo didn't, Eg - Gravity Gun, HDR, In depth character NPC's, real time physics that were truly astounding and great graphics to be just a few.

It's not a case of liking a game more because it adds new stuff, some games have attempted this and failed. It's a question of does the extra stuff in HL2 make the game better to play and enjoy than Halo, and the answer is a simple yes. Both games are essentially very similar but HL2 has a lot more to offer the player in terms of gameplay and performance that makes the game more unique and exciting to play. Eg - the addition of the gravity gun gave players a new method of solving puzzles and killing enemies without using a proper gun and without using a melee weapon. It easily became entertaining for most people to start firing explosive barrels, saw blades, melons, buckets etc at enemies.

However as i said its not a situation where you like a game more just because it adds new features, its a situation that you like the game more because you enjoy playing those new features and that they've been implimented into the game correctly. If games dont add new content to the genre and themselves then the genre and gaming series will become bland and repetitive. And thats how i felt with Halo/Halo2, neither game introduced much to the genre or the series except a sequel to a storyline, possibly Halo3 will introduce more apart from the ending of the series.

Avatar image for hair001
hair001

1202

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#26 hair001
Member since 2005 • 1202 Posts

[QUOTE="hair001"]Unfortunatly there is the usual Halo bashing in this thread. Why people so dislike the game and its sucess I will proberbly never know. Most of it seems to come from the heavy PC gamers who seem to feel personal insult that an FPS is popular on a console. The usual "ohh Halo never did anything new or made any sort of difference" crap is here, and the "oh, a space story, how original" comments are retarded. "Ooooh, a post apocoliptic setting, how origninal". Come on now, most art hs features that have alllready been done beforeRobnyc22

In fact, most of the "Halo bashing" is simply a reaction to the Halo fanboyism that appears all too often in the forums and it's usually the Halo praisers that constantly create these types of threads, and when people who don't worship Halo respond to some of the misinformed claims, of course the Halo fanatics then cry "Halo bashing".....or we get the other lame statement of "people don't like Halo cause it's popular, and it's cool to bash what's popular", well guess what, GTA, Mario, FF, Warcraft, Sims, and even HL are series just as popular or more so as Halo, wanna know why they aren't "bashed" nearly as much, cause fans of those games don't continually create threads yapping on about the game or compare it to everything else.

So Halo bashing is a recation to missinformed fans? You dislike the game for that? You bash it for that? That's utterly stupid. If that were the case I'd have to bash every gamig platform in response to fanboys. There are NOT more Halo fanboys on this board than fans of HL2. There are plenty of people that think HL2 invented in game storytelling so the "more ignorant" arument goes out the window. You see most coments like "Halo sucks" when there are no Halo fanboys in the thread. People rightly praise their favorite game, just like they would with any game. However sour posters have decied to attack a perticular group/ game more than any other.
Avatar image for inoperativeRS
inoperativeRS

8844

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 0

#27 inoperativeRS
Member since 2004 • 8844 Posts
[QUOTE="inoperativeRS"][QUOTE="OremLK"]

There's a difference between ignorance and justified opinion; it's ignorant to say that Halo was the first game to show that games can have a good story, because it displays ignorance of the long tradition of games driven almost primarily by storytelling.

It's a justified opinion to say that Halo's story sucks, because it's blatantly derivative of several other obvious seminal science fiction works (Niven's Ringworld, Heinlein's Starship Troopers, and many others), in addition to having no redeeming characterization and a thin, swiss-cheese plot.

OremLK

I am very well aware of where Halo draws its influences from (and I'd claim Philip K. Dick is the most important source, not Niven like people like to think), but I'm not someone that condemns a story only because it isn't original. Of course you could claim Halo has "no redeeming characterization and a thin, swiss-cheese plot" and state it's your opinion, but I would seriously wonder why you would even care about stories in video games in general if this is the case. Planescape: Torment is IMO the only game that could come even close to having some kind of litterary value in its story if that's what you're searching for.

Frankly almost every game story is lacking in comparison to other mediums, but that's as much due to the nature of gaming (putting the player in the role of the protagonist instead of a created character) as it is due to the faults of game developers.

That said, Halo does have worse characterization than most games, even other shooters. Master Chief is no deeper than his helmet; Cortana is a sly attitude and an expositionary device. The Arbiter comes closer to having a hair's breadth of depth, but he serves much more as a plot device than a motivated individual. There really are no other characters of consequence within the Halo games.

The main problem with Halo's plot, aside from its lack of originality, is that it's far too fragmented. It hops back and forth from one thing to the next without ever really taking the time to explore and explain each one; and the complete and total cliffhanger at the end of Halo 2 is one of the worst game plotting decisions in the history of the industry. In addition to all of this, it must be said that characterization and plotting are interdependent. Without characters you understand and care about, a plot is no better than a technical manual or a history book.

Anyway, this thread isn't about Halo's story, and for the record, the Half-Life series isn't much better (though its immersion and presentation is superior). It's in gameplay that Half-Life triumphs, not storytelling.

Wait, what? That's exactly where Halo fails and Half Life triumphs. IMO Halo's story is far more interesting than Half Life's, but when it comes to storytelling Half Life totally destroys Halo.

And really, Master Chief is not supposed to be a deep character (and I wonder where these people complaining about Master Chief while not having anything against Gordon come from), Cortana is a much deeper character than people that haven't read the books would imagine, but as I suppose that shouldn't be required to get the most out of the games I can't hold it against you (she does seem quite boring in the games). The arbiter is a very interesting character due to his change from former religious zealot to leader of the rebellion against the prophets IMO.

And I do agree Halo 2 had an awful ending, but this is an overdiscussed topic and bungie admitted quite a long time ago they knew about it but had to do it due to time constraints.

Avatar image for Robnyc22
Robnyc22

1029

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#28 Robnyc22
Member since 2007 • 1029 Posts

So Halo bashing is a recation to missinformed fans? You dislike the game for that? You bash it for that?hair001

If you consider my disagreement that Halo "introduced" good story in games, then you are a prime example of the kind of people I was referrring to when I said how Halo fanatics will take valid counterpoints and cry "bash" against Halo.

Second....I got news for you, I stand by my claim Halo didn't introduce storytelling in games or even in the FPS genre, I also stand by my claim that better storylines exist in other RPG and Adventure games and in other FPS games as well....if you're gonna take that simple statement as a "bash" against Halo, then that seems like the traits of Halo fanboyism.

I also stand by my claim that there are plenty of counterpoint posts that Halo fans will cry as "Halo bashing" are simply responses to some ridiculous claim that some Halo fan made in the first place.

People rightly praise their favorite game, just like they would with any game. However sour posters have decied to attack a perticular group/ game more than any other.hair001

"Praising" a game doesn't involve constantly comparing the game to other games, nor making constant misinformed claims, like Halo "introducing" storylines to FPS games.

Again, when others reply with counterpoints to what they feel is a misinformed post, especially if they have things to back up their counterpoints, for you then claim they are "sour posters" is something only a fanboy would do.

Do you really want to me to list off the top of my head the many games praised for their storylines prior to Halo's release, complete with awards, I will be more then happy to do so.

And I see far more threads from Halo fanatics comparing Halo to everything under the sun or claiming Halo is better then other games then I do for any other game series....which is probably no surprise given this happens at fever pitch right before a new Halo game is about to be released, but that still doesn't excuse it.

Avatar image for inoperativeRS
inoperativeRS

8844

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 0

#29 inoperativeRS
Member since 2004 • 8844 Posts
I do agree with Robnyc22 the halo fanboyism (the fanatic part) is really annoying. I don't and probably never will get why 20% of the halo fan community consists of some of the greatest people I've ever met on the internet while the rest 80% are total jerks.
Avatar image for hair001
hair001

1202

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#30 hair001
Member since 2005 • 1202 Posts

[QUOTE="hair001"]So Halo bashing is a recation to missinformed fans? You dislike the game for that? You bash it for that?Robnyc22

If you consider my disagreement that Halo "introduced" the notion of a good story in games, then you are a prime example of the kind of people I was referrring to when I said how Halo fanatics will take valid counterpoints and cry "bash" against Halo.

Second....I got news for you, I stand by my claim Halo didn't introduce storytelling in games or even in the FPS genre, I also stand by my claim that better storylines exist in other RPG and Adventure games and in other FPS games as well....if you're gonna take that simple statement as a "bash" against Halo, then that seems like the traits of Halo fanboyism.

People rightly praise their favorite game, just like they would with any game. However sour posters have decied to attack a perticular group/ game more than any other.hair001

"Praising" a game doesn't involve constantly comparing the game to other games, nor making constant misinformed claims, like Halo "introducing" storylines to FPS games.

Again, when others reply with counterpoints to what they feel is a misinformed post, especially if they have things to back up their counterpoints, for you then claim they are "sour posters" is something only a fanboy would do.

Do you really want to me to list off the top of my head the many games praised for their storylines prior to Halo's release, complete with awards, I will be more then happy to do so.

And I see far more threads from Halo fanatics comparing Halo to everything under the sun or claiming Halo is better then other games then I do for any other game series.

This is the bashing I have seen in this thread: "Halo brought, pretty much nothing except another series of games to go into the FPS genre" Bashing, its an insult that is plainly untrue "Half-Life and its successor are approximately twice the games that Halo and Halo 2 are" Not backed up, stating opinion as fact "Not to mention the fact that the Halo series' story sucks." Bashing without a doubt "It's a justified opinion to say that Halo's story sucks, because it's blatantly derivative of several other obvious seminal science fiction works" Pointing out missinformation is not bashing, but you defened bashing by saying it was a response to missinformed halo fanboyism. That would be like me saying "Gordan is the worst charecter I have ever seen, no deeper than his glasses" and saying its okay because someone said Half Life invented in game storytelling. There are not frequent Halo vs. threads (though there are more than with other games), and when they are made they are usualy on the side of the other game so that Halo can be bashed again. This topic wasn't made by a Halo fanboy was it? In fact most of this Halo vs. in any form isn't made by Halo fans. If you call every FPS the "Halo Killer", do you expect Halo fans not to compare it to Halo, and show how it is inferior to Halo in their opinion? If you call something a "Halo killer" or "much better than the overated halo", be prepared to have it compared to Halo. What is sour is you saying bashing is justified by missinformation, or saying it is justified by the fact that Halo is popular (and thus heavily used in comparisons)
Avatar image for Ash2X
Ash2X

3035

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 54

User Lists: 0

#31 Ash2X
Member since 2005 • 3035 Posts

For the record, you haven't really played HL2 if you've played it on Xbox. The PC version is MUCH better, so dont judge HL2 until you play it on the PC. tbh, consoles are just a cheap way of getting good graphics. real gaming is on the PC, better graphics, and framerates consoles can only hope and dream for. hands down.

I find Halo fun, but its still basically an average run-n-gun FPS, and multiplayer is like a slightly toned-down version on Unreal Tournament.

Alexmon

Is Half-Life 2really better if you play it on PC?The not-constant framerate was one thing,but I played it for around 4-7h as far as I remember and my problem was that exept a few game-physics show-offs the whole world felt pretty empty,almost nothing happend.The Boat driving was the worst of it.It didn´t even seem to build up a story or something exept "Hey you´re Gordon Freeman,I have heard about you...go there and there!" so I stopped playing.Maybe it gets better,but a friend of mine (and big HL1-Fan) said it whouldn´t.Maybe I´m wrong about it but the first hours of the game was the weakest i´ve seen in a while...I will get the Orange Box anyway (TF2 looks funny),maybe I change my mind then.

Avatar image for UpInFlames
UpInFlames

13301

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 41

User Lists: 0

#32 UpInFlames
Member since 2004 • 13301 Posts

In my opinion, Halo* is a great game, but Half-Life transcends being a mere game by offering much more to the player - it's an engrossing and engaging experience, a grand adventure, there are many layers to its storytelling, it lets the player make conclusions of his own, it doesn't lead him by the hand and point out the obvious.

*Well, actually I think Halo: Combat Evolved is a pile of mediocre and mind-numbingly boring crap, but I really enjoyed the hell out of Halo 2 - the level design was infinitely better, controls were tightened (especially the vehicles), the vehicle segments were just plain awesome, and the story being told from The Covenant's perspective was a very welcomed change with The Arbiter being a very interesting character.

Avatar image for Robnyc22
Robnyc22

1029

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#33 Robnyc22
Member since 2007 • 1029 Posts

This is the bashing I have seen in this thread: "Halo brought, pretty much nothing except another series of games to go into the FPS genre" Bashing, its an insult that is plainly untrue "Half-Life and its successor are approximately twice the games that Halo and Halo 2 are" Not backed up, stating opinion as fact "Not to mention the fact that the Halo series' story sucks." Bashing without a doubt "It's a justified opinion to say that Halo's story sucks, because it's blatantly derivative of several other obvious seminal science fiction works"hair001

Did I make those quotes?....No.

As for the last quote, the poster gave reasons as to why he made that statement, and in his explanation he actually had some valid poinbts.

Pointing out missinformation is not bashing, but you defened bashing by saying it was a response to missinformed halo fanboyism. That would be like me saying "Gordan is the worst charecter I have ever seen, no deeper than his glasses".hair001

Gordon Freeman IS no deeper then his glasses....the difference is HL fans have accepted that Gordon Freeman is a shell for the player to fill.

Meanwhile many Halo fanatics continue to make claims that Master Chief is some deep epic character that trumps other characters in gaming, when in actuality from what the Halo games have presented Master Chief is no deeper then his helmet in expression and he is not a deep character in any way.

There are not frequent Halo vs. threads (though there are more than with other games), and when they are made they are usualy on the side of the other game so that Halo can be bashed again. This topic wasn't made by a Halo fanboy was it? In fact most of this Halo vs. in any form isn't made by Halo fans. hair001

Like this thread being created with the statement that it was Halo that "introduced" good stories into games :roll:

Avatar image for NaiKoN9293
NaiKoN9293

4102

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#34 NaiKoN9293
Member since 2004 • 4102 Posts
Half-Life is so much better then Halo it's really a shame they are even compared
Avatar image for RK-Mara
RK-Mara

11489

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 7

User Lists: 0

#35 RK-Mara
Member since 2006 • 11489 Posts
Half-Life for me. Been a favourite for ten years.
Avatar image for OremLK
OremLK

745

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 0

#36 OremLK
Member since 2007 • 745 Posts

Gordon Freeman IS no deeper then his glasses....the difference is HL fans have accepted that Gordon Freeman is a shell for the player to fill.

Robnyc22

Just what I was going to say. Pointing out obvious observations about the nature of the game is not bashing, and only someone who actually was a fanboy would see it that way.

Avatar image for inoperativeRS
inoperativeRS

8844

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 0

#37 inoperativeRS
Member since 2004 • 8844 Posts
[QUOTE="Robnyc22"]

Gordon Freeman IS no deeper then his glasses....the difference is HL fans have accepted that Gordon Freeman is a shell for the player to fill.

OremLK

Just what I was going to say. Pointing out obvious observations about the nature of the game is not bashing, and only someone who actually was a fanboy would see it that way.

Eh, if you're refering to me, I fully accept MC simply is there to be as you say it a shell to be filled. I can't take responsibility for what the angry halo mob that makes up most of the halo fan community say, though. Cortana is, exactly like Durandal was in Marathon, the main character in the story IMO.

And you did use your "obvious observation" to try to prove halo has bad characterization, I simply pointed out that it in fact is obvious.

Avatar image for hair001
hair001

1202

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#38 hair001
Member since 2005 • 1202 Posts
Half-Life is so much better then Halo it's really a shame they are even comparedNaiKoN9293
Care to elaborate?
Avatar image for hair001
hair001

1202

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#39 hair001
Member since 2005 • 1202 Posts

[QUOTE="hair001"] This is the bashing I have seen in this thread: "Halo brought, pretty much nothing except another series of games to go into the FPS genre" Bashing, its an insult that is plainly untrue "Half-Life and its successor are approximately twice the games that Halo and Halo 2 are" Not backed up, stating opinion as fact "Not to mention the fact that the Halo series' story sucks." Bashing without a doubt "It's a justified opinion to say that Halo's story sucks, because it's blatantly derivative of several other obvious seminal science fiction works"Robnyc22

Did I make those quotes?....No.

As for the last quote, the poster gave reasons as to why he made that statement, and in his explanation he actually had some valid poinbts.

Pointing out missinformation is not bashing, but you defened bashing by saying it was a response to missinformed halo fanboyism. That would be like me saying "Gordan is the worst charecter I have ever seen, no deeper than his glasses".hair001

Gordon Freeman IS no deeper then his glasses....the difference is HL fans have accepted that Gordon Freeman is a shell for the player to fill.

Meanwhile many Halo fanatics continue to make claims that Master Chief is some deep epic character that trumps other characters in gaming, when in actuality from what the Halo games have presented Master Chief is no deeper then his helmet in expression and he is not a deep character in any way.

There are not frequent Halo vs. threads (though there are more than with other games), and when they are made they are usualy on the side of the other game so that Halo can be bashed again. This topic wasn't made by a Halo fanboy was it? In fact most of this Halo vs. in any form isn't made by Halo fans. hair001

Like this thread being created with the statement that it was Halo that "introduced" good stories into games :roll:

1: Did I say you made those quotes? No. My issue was you defending these posts with "Or rather it's a natural reaction from other gamers from various platforms (including PC) who are sick of Halo Fanatics constantly yapping on about how Halo is the "best FPS ever" or "best game ever"" 2: They are supposed to not be elaborated on, but that dosn't mean they are shallow designs. On the contrary, their simplistic nature (particurly in the case of Master Cheif) is designed to make the player feel like they themselves are in the suit, and they are the hero, not just playing the hero. 3: So? Is that justification for the special bashing I presented? If so then "the over hyped Halo" comment would make me saying "HL2 sucks, I can't belive peope think it comes close to Halo" a constructive comment
Avatar image for OremLK
OremLK

745

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 0

#40 OremLK
Member since 2007 • 745 Posts
[QUOTE="OremLK"][QUOTE="Robnyc22"]

Gordon Freeman IS no deeper then his glasses....the difference is HL fans have accepted that Gordon Freeman is a shell for the player to fill.

inoperativeRS

Just what I was going to say. Pointing out obvious observations about the nature of the game is not bashing, and only someone who actually was a fanboy would see it that way.

Eh, if you're refering to me, I fully accept MC simply is there to be as you say it a shell to be filled. I can't take responsibility for what the angry halo mob that makes up most of the halo fan community say, though. Cortana is, exactly like Durandal was in Marathon, the main character in the story IMO.

And you did use your "obvious observation" to try to prove halo has bad characterization, I simply pointed out that it in fact is obvious.

Actually, I was referring to hair001's post :)

Avatar image for brood_aliance
brood_aliance

1005

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 16

User Lists: 0

#41 brood_aliance
Member since 2004 • 1005 Posts
If you asked that question before Halo 2 came out, I would say Halo. I just didn't like Halo 2 that much.
Avatar image for Tingle-Tuner
Tingle-Tuner

980

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 0

#42 Tingle-Tuner
Member since 2006 • 980 Posts
Condemned.
Avatar image for fs_metal
fs_metal

25711

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 13

User Lists: 0

#43 fs_metal
Member since 2005 • 25711 Posts
Halo is overrated as hell. Half-Life 2 is damn amazing
Avatar image for fs_metal
fs_metal

25711

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 13

User Lists: 0

#44 fs_metal
Member since 2005 • 25711 Posts

Im sure this has been asked countless times before, but which franchise do you prefer? too bad i cant make a poll, so you guys just have to post your opinions.

Half-Life (1 and 2) really introduced physics and interactive gameplay into the worl. Half-Life 2 set the bar for graphics when it came out and really showed the world a new style of physics gameplay and "playable" storytelling.

Halo introduced people that games can have goos stories too, and that run-n-gun can work in really good ways.

Sorry 360 fanboys, I have played both halos thus far (and pre-ordered H3), but i'm gonna have to go with HL, because it has better graphics, to me, better gameplay (run-n-gun is lame after a while), and it really showed me in-game physics for the first time. I just finf Half-Life games much better over the over-hyped Halo games.

Post your opinions on what u like better (please, no bashing 1 another like 12-year-olds. remain civil).

Alexmon
Um....dude....there were many games with much better stories than Halo priopr to Halo.
Avatar image for Dragonblade01
Dragonblade01

5747

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 0

#45 Dragonblade01
Member since 2004 • 5747 Posts

gotta go with Half-Life, excellent story, awesome graphics, superb physics, beautiful music, and engrossing gameplay

what more could you want

Avatar image for GodModeEnabled
GodModeEnabled

15314

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 9

User Lists: 0

#46 GodModeEnabled
Member since 2005 • 15314 Posts
I say play both and who cares. Its a win win that way.
Avatar image for Revelade
Revelade

1862

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 13

User Lists: 0

#47 Revelade
Member since 2005 • 1862 Posts

No question, half-life.

The story, while familiar was told in a way that was immersive. An explosion gone wrong. The same story told in different perspectives in the expansion packs. There is no clear "good guy" (well maybe Gordon), which sets the game apart from Disney.

Then multiplayer... Wow. You get an okay deathmatch with the game, but then you get the revolution that was Counter-Strike. It was so addicting. Then you have OTHER mods like TFC, NS, paintball... no question Half-Life has more options, a great story and a larger variety of multiplayer.

Halo is just another middle-of-the-road game. Oooh, I can dual wield. Well, look at Red Faction. I'm one badass soldier against an entire alien race, well look at Crysis, Doom and other one-man army games. I have to give credit to the shield mechanic, as it prevents annoying health pack searches, but that alone is not the game.

Avatar image for Dutch_Mix
Dutch_Mix

29266

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 13

User Lists: 0

#48 Dutch_Mix
Member since 2005 • 29266 Posts
I love it when people pass Halo off as some average shooter. You know, I don't mind if you don't care for Halo. Not everyone does and that's cool. But don't pass your opinion off as fact. Whether you like it or not, Halo is one of the most critically acclaimed FPS ever.
Avatar image for uglyduck-uk
uglyduck-uk

6816

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#49 uglyduck-uk
Member since 2003 • 6816 Posts

Please restrict terms like "xbox360 Fanboys" to System Wars.

They have no place outside that forum.

Thanks