[QUOTE="millwrought"]
That's why I said 'big false open-world feel' later on in my message.
It's not really an open-world, but the levels are well-designed and big enough with a bunch of different things to do and the myraid of ways to tackle objections combined with the great AI (Of it's time) to challenge and respond to your actions, that it has that pseudo open-world feel to it even if it isn't a open-world.
That why (For me at least) each time I played a campagin level, it felt different. While Halo 2 had a much more closed-off and linear feel to it that kinda' depressed me at the time.
skrat_01
Well actually, the design of the levels is fundementally linear in every way possible.There is no choice, everything you do in progression was set out by Bungie before hand - and the scope of 'approaching an objective' is extremely limited... as such tight linear shooters are. The most choice you have at times is - fight in vehicle, not fight in vehicle, but level design structure encourages - almost pushes you to do so.
There might be a nice illusion of the freedom, but, reality is, the depth of such is similar to the vast majority of linear structure shooters of the period.
But thats how the game has been designed, it is no Operation Flashpoint or Hidden and Dangerous.
It seems you don't get it, I've said many times it's a linear game.
The Majority of levels in Halo 3 are large, open, filled with many different kinds of enemies and different weapons, and you can do what you want WITHIN that linear scope. While some games tell you that you NEED to use the rocket launcher, you can say "Screw that." and whatever you want. It doesn't force on you what way you have to play.
For example, in a Scarab Battle you can choose to pilot a Hornet and kill the sucka's, or instead grab a Warthog, or grab a Scorpion, or take it on on foot, or board it, or crash the Hornet into it and board it that way, or shoot out its legs so that you can board it. Then after you board it what weapons do you use from the many you have available to you, how to you take out the guards on the Scarab? There's many ways to handle one situation in a big linear level. But I'm still not claiming it's a open world.
It's linear in the fact that the path, and the order of scripted events take place, but in the end within that large space you can decide how you want to fullful the objectives. Of course the game pushes you a little bit by giving you the Spartan Laser of Rocket Launcher, it's still needs to sorta' point you the direction, and the best way to tackle it.
And that's what I'm getting at, there IS a illusion of freedom, which defines and sets Halo apart from other games. Where their levels are tight, focused, cut off, and there's really only one way to tackle any situation. That's what Halo 2 was and really destroyed that game for me.
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