What is a better game: Half-Life (series) or Halo (series)?

Personally without being a fanboy of any of the above games (though I did follow the idea of Half Life evolve from 1993 till it's release) they are completely different.

Half-Life is a story with a cinematic feel and great technology that was created the game itself. Half Life 1 had the new skeletal animation system that most new games did not have, it had the ability to change the textures on the fly (i.e. add blood to the walls without bogging down memory) and seamless environments. In Half-Life 2 the Source engine was built from the ground up just for this game and the Havok engine for the physics is incredible with what it's still able to do after 3 years of being out. The Source engine allows for lip-synching like no other game I have yet to see.

Halo is an action game that follows a vague story with again a cinematic feel with technology that was already pre-created for it. Nothing new was created for Halo, just the game itself was new. The seamless environments had already been done, the ability to drive vehicles had already been done, and the multiplayer ability was already done as well. The only reason that Halo is as famous as it is is simply because it is Microsoft's baby for the X-Box and in order for their X-Box to sell well they had to advertise and market the crap out of this game and since most previous FPS games on the PC which were only on PC for a long time due to controller restrictions on other consoles, it was big when it came out for the console users. I waited for almost a whole year for the PC version to come out and I was dreadfully disappointed in the game (possibly cause a year later it was no different than the console version).

Halo takes technology and makes a great action game with it, one that doesn't use much strategy or much thinking. While Half-Life pushes technology (which is risky) and makes a great adventure (which follows a story), again though one that doesn't use much strategy or much thinking. So I guess it really comes down to substance, Half Life has a lot more substance to it than Halo which is why if compared on the PC Half Life will always win. But either way, I've played both and most of us on here have too, so that means that both games have done well and we enjoyed them in our own way. And since the people who made the PC version of Halo helped make a great sequel for Half Life (Opposing Force), then we shouldn't knock either product especially since then they have gone on to make the new WWII FPS (Brothers in Arms or whatever it's called).

instead of talking about which is better, which we have3 pages of, i'd like to look at the impact on the industry - because we all know half life is considerably better

half life:

• revolutionised the level of immersion a first person shooter could have, which would have a profound effect not just on fps games, but on computer gaming as a whole
• raised the bar for the standard of fps AI to such a point that no game rivalled it for almost half a decade
• almost single-handedly revived the modding community after the wane of quake 2 and the absense of any major moddable games with good developer support
• resulted in counter-strike

halo:

• introduced (or popularised) the shield health system
• popularised - in an extreme way - FPS games on consoles, while games like doom and goldeneye and even quake 2 had enjoyed success on consoles, it was halo that brought it to the masses... it was, in a sense, the birth of a genre for them (which is why i think it's so popular on consoles)
• singlehandedly revived the livingroom lan for the console gamer - taking your machine to a pal's house and hooking it all up was dying before halo, and - at least in my experience - halo was the game to revive it
• repopularised the melee attack in fps games (nothing new here, melee attacks in games date back to at least duke nukem, but ever since halo, fps games had to have melee attacks)

half life 2:

• based on one of the most remarkable pieces of computer entertainment technology ever to exist - source is a profoundly amazing engine, even three and a half years later - it looks magnificent, it runs exceptionally well on even very dated systems, it has the best implementation of physics i've ever seen in an engine and it has the most amazing facial animations
• delivered a gameplay experience so unique that i think it actually needs a sub-genre to classify it... half life 2 is a game where the focus of the gameplay is constantly shifting rather than just the location, where the player is faced with many different situations, a level of diversity far beyond anything a game had delivered or has delivered since

halo 2:

• contributed little to nothing to the genre, had little to no impact on the genre, besides repeating again what halo 1 did

the episodes:

• little to nothing in episode 1
• two magnificent free extras in episode 2

halo 3:

• greatly improved the tools available for playing online
• intorduced one of the first (or the first) console level editors - extremely basic, but a start - now that the precedent is set, other developers will likely copy and improve

that's my take - essentially what we're seeing is half life having a profound effect on the entire genre and perhaps the industry as a whole, while halo contributed a few minor gameplay features which have become a popular standard for the genre, and also popularised the genre on consoles and - to a large extent - repopularised console multiplayer gaming for more than 2 players

half life 2 didn't have as profound an effect on the genre or the industry, really - but it resulted in one of the finest pc engines we've ever seen, and is a spectacular game... while halo 2 managed nothing but more of the same

the episodes have fallen into the more of the same rut as well, besides portal and tf2 which are awesome, the episodes are great - more of the same is a good thing when we're talking about half life 2

halo 3 is the game halo 2 should have been - again, it's really just more of the same... but the multiplayer capacity is much improved, and the forge tool is an impressive first step for console gamers

all round, i hardly think it's even worth the compasion - half life as a whole is much better, and as a whole, half life has had a much more profound impact on the entire computer gaming world, while halo has merely managed to popularise certain things within certain circles, and has popularised or repopularised a few minor gameplay mechanics, not all of which are good

They both are great games from which they came. Half life for pc only. Halo for console only.

I was watching this guy play halo 2 on the pc with a xbox 360 controller, and I was like what the hell?! LOL

Anyway they both have their downfalls. Halo has a terrible story, and Half life 2 is very depressing to play.

They both are great games from which they came. Half life for pc only. Halo for console only.

I was watching this guy play halo 2 on the pc with a xbox 360 controller, and I was like what the hell?! LOL

Anyway they both have their downfalls. Halo has a terrible story, and Half life 2 is very depressing to play.

0Neo0

Halo has a terrible story? I'm sorry but that's just bs. In comparison to other FPS games halo's story is definitely one of the better ones.

[QUOTE="0Neo0"]

They both are great games from which they came. Half life for pc only. Halo for console only.

I was watching this guy play halo 2 on the pc with a xbox 360 controller, and I was like what the hell?! LOL

Anyway they both have their downfalls. Halo has a terrible story, and Half life 2 is very depressing to play.

onemic

Halo has a terrible story? I'm sorry but that's just bs. In comparison to other FPS games halo's story is definitely one of the better ones.

Oh yeah its really interesting to play as a futuristic cyborg that has no personality at all, and you don't remember that halo 2 ending? You're right its probably not a terrible story as I claim it to be, but it's boring.

[QUOTE="solaris1979"]I will say that when it comes to console, nobody does FPS better than Halo.foxhound_fox

halo 3:

• intorduced one of the first (or the first) console level editors - extremely basic, but a start - now that the precedent is set, other developers will likely copy and improvemfsa

[QUOTE="mfsa"]halo 3:

• intorduced one of the first (or the first) console level editors - extremely basic, but a start - now that the precedent is set, other developers will likely copy and improvekyrieee

[QUOTE="onemic"][QUOTE="0Neo0"]

They both are great games from which they came. Half life for pc only. Halo for console only.

I was watching this guy play halo 2 on the pc with a xbox 360 controller, and I was like what the hell?! LOL

Anyway they both have their downfalls. Halo has a terrible story, and Half life 2 is very depressing to play.

0Neo0

Halo has a terrible story? I'm sorry but that's just bs. In comparison to other FPS games halo's story is definitely one of the better ones.

Oh yeah its really interesting to play as a futuristic cyborg that has no personality at all, and you don't remember that halo 2 ending? You're right its probably not a terrible story as I claim it to be, but it's boring.

Wow, so the ending sucked. That's it. That's pretty much the only fault you could find within the games story, and that master chief has no personality(Which is in fact true) but other than that the story itself is great, at least for an FPS game. I don't believe you can name one recent FPS other than HL2(And maybe FEAR) that actually has a story on par with halo.

I think that the Halo series has a good story, the problem is that the game's fall a little short on displaying it in an engaging way. The books - while they don't have the best writing - did far better at displaying the story.

In comparison, Half-Life games displayed the story very differently - in my opinion, better, but Half-Life didn't have a book to elaborate with.

Half-Life 1 was just a dang fun game to play; I loved it, and the story, while it didn't quite give you too much detail, rather an objective, was decent and the game had a good ending.

Now Half-Life 2 was what drew me inot the story. The ambience of Half-Life 2, its innovations, it's gameplay, and characters all brought the story together into something engaging. At the end, Half-Life 2- like the first - left me curious (not disappointed) eager for continuation, andgave methat excited feeling of a good, climactic ending.

All I see in the Halo series' endings are disappointment. My friend - who is a HUGE Halo fan - is always disappointed with how the games end. Just like the final Halo book, it seems like the story designers don't really know what's happening in their story, or how it ends. I have high hopes for Halo, I like the story, I just hope Eric Nylund - author of the books - can help Halo 3 wrap things up - perhaps further games will do that- or else the Halo story is going to fall flat.

I don't feel that the Half-Life story needs an ending now, just more material and answers. Answers, developers! My brain is filled with questions about Half-Life (heck, Halo too).

Time Splitters 2 had one.smokeydabear076

[QUOTE="smokeydabear076"]Time Splitters 2 had one.foxhound_fox

I have played through the all the games in both series except for Halo 3. IMO the Half-Life games are superior. Firstly, the original Half-life revolutionized the FPS genre. The AI was awesome, and is still today some of the best out there. The presentation is amazing. The design of the levels varies greatly, I never asked myself, "haven't I been here before?" The story it told wasn't amazing, but it kept you motivated throughout the game. The scripted sequences are awesome. The way it mixed gory action with puzzles and (mostly) non-traditional boss monsters is cool.

(some spoilers)
Now, Half-life 2 took all of the great things from the first game and brought them back and built upon them. Valve created great characters. And they introduced the best use of a physics engine to date. I loved the story. Sure, you just ended up with more questions in your head that you started out with, but the way they presented everything was awe inspiring. Perhaps the most important thing to the story was the aforementioned characters. The actors brought them to life and the source engine made them as real as any characters in any other game ever. The game-play seemed to be changing often, keeping you on your toes. One moment you're running as fast as you can to get out of City 17, the next you're escaping from the dark, foreboding streets of Ravenholm, the next you're leading you're army of ant lions into a heavily fortified prison to rescue Dr. Vance, the next...oh you get the point.

Ep1 was a great change of pace. The whole 4-5 hours you feel like you're in a constant rush to get into the citadel, and then to get your arse out. It also served to flesh out an already great character. Alyx Vance is constantly by your side. In Ep1 Valve gave us a "sidekick" who could hold her own, a sidekick whos head I never wanted to blow off.

In a way Ep2 is the greatest of Valve's achievements. You're in another running battle on your way to White Forest. Vavle introduces the vicious hunters. I don't know about the other difficulty modes, but on hard the hunters were the worst possible things you could see. And the end battle was simply amazing. I was scrambling around frantically trying to finish of the striders and their little B*stard shadows. The ending of Ep2 was the only other game besides Mafia that I felt actual accomplishment, and then it went straight downhill from there (in a good way) right into the mostly shocking/horrifying/depressing moment in gaming.
(end spoilers)

^^^
All of those reasons are the ones why I believe Half-life is a better series. Sure the Halo series shares some of those...features, but nowhere near all of them.

LOL I was going to make the same topic... ;)

HL of cores!!!!!!!!!!

and this is proves it!!

Is this a joke?

Of course it's Half Life

The Halo series are the most overrated series ever

I'm taking a poll on both the PC and Xbox360 forum to see whatseries of gamespeople think is better, Half-Life (1-Ep2) or Halo(1-3).

I'm going to be posting this exact same poll on both forums to make it fair. Although I won't be voting,I personally think that the Half-Life series has more depth, potential,better gameplay, and a better story. (Not to mention it contains one of the video game industry's greatest mysteries of all time: the G-man.) :P

gzaneski

If you ask this question in the PC forum, all the PC fanboys will obviously say Half Life is better than Halo. However, I will say with confidence that Halo is a much better series, and I have been a PC gamer for a long time. Hell, I don't even own an Xbox. I played the entire series on a friend's Xbox and I can say with confidence that it's a much better series than Half Life. Why do you think it scored higher on Gamespot than Half Life?

First of all, Halo actually has a storyline. I've played up to Episode One of Half Life 2 and I can say that there is no real type of storyline what so ever. The original Half Life 1 was made for it's gameplay, not storyline.

As far as gameplay goes, I would also have to point with Halo. Also the fact that Halo 2 had a multiplayer is another reason. Half Life 2's multiplayer was the worst piece of **** I've ever played in my life. It made entirely no sense, and every single server was unstable beyond hell, sending your ping up to the 900's (I have comcast high-speed internet, so it's not me - clearly).

I don't see what's so special about the Half Life series, or why it's hyped so damned much. I thought it was a piece of **** compared to most games I've played (all genres). However given that Halo is a better series, it still wouldn't make me buy an Xbox 360...seeing how unstable Microsoft made them. This reply will no doubt cause other Half Life fanboys to flame me, but I couldn't care less. I've posted the facts on the matter and I have no other reason to come back to this thread.

So...anyone replying to this will be wasting their time.

I'm taking a poll on both the PC and Xbox360 forum to see whatseries of gamespeople think is better, Half-Life (1-Ep2) or Halo(1-3).

I'm going to be posting this exact same poll on both forums to make it fair. Although I won't be voting,I personally think that the Half-Life series has more depth, potential,better gameplay, and a better story. (Not to mention it contains one of the video game industry's greatest mysteries of all time: the G-man.) :P

gzaneski

Even though you're posting it on both the PC and Xbox 360 forums, it is fairly obvious what the results will yield: PC forums will show overwhelming majority for Half-Life series and Xbox 360 forums will show overwhelming majory for Halo series. You don't need a poll for that.

[QUOTE="gzaneski"]

I'm taking a poll on both the PC and Xbox360 forum to see whatseries of gamespeople think is better, Half-Life (1-Ep2) or Halo(1-3).

I'm going to be posting this exact same poll on both forums to make it fair. Although I won't be voting,I personally think that the Half-Life series has more depth, potential,better gameplay, and a better story. (Not to mention it contains one of the video game industry's greatest mysteries of all time: the G-man.) :P

Xcelerate

Even though you're posting it on both the PC and Xbox 360 forums, it is fairly obvious what the results will yield: PC forums will show overwhelming majority for Half-Life series and Xbox 360 forums will show overwhelming majory for Halo series. You don't need a poll for that.

334 votes cast in this poll and the results are...

HalfLife: 300

Halo: 34

I wonder what the Xbox forum poll is like?

[QUOTE="gzaneski"]

I'm taking a poll on both the PC and Xbox360 forum to see whatseries of gamespeople think is better, Half-Life (1-Ep2) or Halo(1-3).

I'm going to be posting this exact same poll on both forums to make it fair. Although I won't be voting,I personally think that the Half-Life series has more depth, potential,better gameplay, and a better story. (Not to mention it contains one of the video game industry's greatest mysteries of all time: the G-man.) :P

Skullheart

If you ask this question in the PC forum, all the PC fanboys will obviously say Half Life is better than Halo. However, I will say with confidence that Halo is a much better series, and I have been a PC gamer for a long time. Hell, I don't even own an Xbox. I played the entire series on a friend's Xbox and I can say with confidence that it's a much better series than Half Life. Why do you think it scored higher on Gamespot than Half Life?

First of all, Halo actually has a storyline. I've played up to Episode One of Half Life 2 and I can say that there is no real type of storyline what so ever. The original Half Life 1 was made for it's gameplay, not storyline.

As far as gameplay goes, I would also have to point with Halo. Also the fact that Halo 2 had a multiplayer is another reason. Half Life 2's multiplayer was the worst piece of **** I've ever played in my life. It made entirely no sense, and every single server was unstable beyond hell, sending your ping up to the 900's (I have comcast high-speed internet, so it's not me - clearly).

I don't see what's so special about the Half Life series, or why it's hyped so damned much. I thought it was a piece of **** compared to most games I've played (all genres). However given that Halo is a better series, it still wouldn't make me buy an Xbox 360...seeing how unstable Microsoft made them. This reply will no doubt cause other Half Life fanboys to flame me, but I couldn't care less. I've posted the facts on the matter and I have no other reason to come back to this thread.

So...anyone replying to this will be wasting their time.

Wolf3d didn't have a story either.. Doom 1 had a pretty meger one.. PC games evolve.. storyline is now a requirement... when in the past it was not.. I believe the one game that had a storyline back in the very beginnings was probably Pac-Man.. and that was sketchy at best.. Thus the cartoon by the same name.

Go back and play some old NES games.. 8bit.. let me know if any of those games had a "great" storyline.. Not even Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy had "great" storylines.. they had them.. and for the time.. they were considered "great" storylines.. but compared to the games of today.. your lucky if someone would even bat an eye at those games..

Always place a game in the context in which it was created and the games that lauched around them.