Halo 3... Very, very unimpressive.

[Big Gulp]

Edit: Back to thread subject though.  Somewhat saddened to hear that Halo 3 didn't meet your expectations, BG.  Did you really expect too much, or are you genuinely disappointed?

I'm genuinely disappointed.  It just didn't impress me at all, and I'm no longer one of those "FPS must be played on a PC!" guys.  Gears, R6V, and Lost Planet are all more interesting and deeper shooters, and they also look a lot better.

This is run and gun in the strictest sense of the term.  It's been done to death, and done better.

[schild]

Yea, I'm hoping Shadowrun this week fills the void in my stomach that was created when I stopped playing Lost Planet. Cuz Halo 3 sure as hell ain't filling it.

[Margalis]

As I've said before, I see the FPS genre separating into two fairly distinct subgenres:

Traditional FPS with the focus on precise aiming and movement.
Third-person FPS (uh...yeah whatever, that makes no sense) like Gears of War that is more console friendly both in terms of control and presentation.

I suspect that the majority of FPS games on console in a few years will actually be TPS games. (Third-person shooter)

Traditional FPS games that focus on aiming precision are always going to be better on mouse/keyboard combo.

[Morfiend]

Im sure most of you have heard me say this before, but ill say it again.

On the subject of Gamepads and FPS games. I used to believe that keyboard and mouse (K&B) was better AND the only way to go. Since I had so much fun playing Gears of War I branched out and got some more FPS games for my Xbox 360. I am still convinced that K&B is way better, but the gamepad can be very fun in the right situation. If I dont plan to play a game online, I would almost prefer the game to be gamepad now. Its just so much nicer to sit on my couch with my HD TV and game relaxed.

In short, I was wrong about gamepads, they are very fun. If you are one of those people who is like I used to be, you owe it to yourself to give a gamepad a chance. It took me playing through Gears of War one full time to get comfertable with it. But now I can play Rainbow Six: Vegas and other FPS fine, and I have a great time doing it.

As to Halo 3 MP beta, its boring. Half life did the same game 10 years ago. Nothing to see here.

[murdoc]

Gears of War is a good game to get used to FPS controls with a gamepad. Nobody really moves that fast and it's a lot easier to track and shoot since most of the time, you aren't moving around while you're shooting at something. Once you get Gears mastered, it's not much of a jump to the next level, something like R6:LV that you can do a little bit of run and gun and everyone moves a bit faster. And so on, and so on...

[Velorath]

Yea, I'm hoping Shadowrun this week fills the void in my stomach that was created when I stopped playing Lost Planet. Cuz Halo 3 sure as hell ain't filling it.

Shadowrun is just online Multiplayer right?  There's no split-screen multi?  I'll be picking this up on the 360 regardless, but it would have been nice to have some offline multi.

[schild]

Hm. I haven't even checked for offline multi in the beta. Wasn't an option (beta was severely limited).

[Yegolev]

I like the current crop of console FPS just fine, now that the games are not just PC FPS with a gamepad.  The improvements in stick-based control as well as the game design (murdoc's example above of people in Gears not moving as fast as what I assumed to be  the implied typical PC FPS was a good one).  One simple improvement is that I don't overshoot my aim in R6V like I would in Halo; precise aiming is just easier.  For a contrasting game design element, I cannot imagine trying to shoot a leaper in HL2 using a gamepad.

You know what else sucks with a gamepad?  Oblivion.

[schild]

I had no problem with Oblivion on a control pad. I expected to hate it.

[Yegolev]

My problem is mostly my typical Y-axis confusion when switching games, the sort of thing you don't have to worry about if you only play PC games.  Seems like anything that requires camera control is really getting under my skin lately, maybe I am having a Vulcan period.  That and unlearning the K+M stuff in general.  I am going to enjoy bitching about it until I am converted, which might take another four weeks.

I will give it this, the speed of the game does not make me curse my turning speed when using sticks.  This is a big problem with FPS (for me) on a console, at least historically, since they were usually ported to console instead of from console like all the cool kids are doing these days.  Also, the block/attack routine works well on triggers where it was a tad cumbersome on mouse buttons.

[Surlyboi]

There's nothing special about any of the Halos.

I don't expect Halo 3 MP to be more fun than Shadowrun or Lost Planet MP.

If you ever get a chance, the story told in I Love Bees is heads above anything Bungie has put out. Bungie should've hired that crew to write all of the Halo stuff.

Fuck that noise.

Put the pipe down and play Marathon. That story is the best story any video game maker has put out. I Love Bees is good, Marathon's backstory and the speculation it created that still exists today is the stuff of legend.

[schild]

Played and read Marathon. I Love Bees was more than "just the story." It was the Better Than the Best Radio Drama voice acting and the amazing world they created outside of Halo just for it.

That story is the best story any video game maker has put out.

No. Viva la Deus Ex y Planescape Torment.

[Surlyboi]

Played and read Marathon. I Love Bees was more than "just the story." It was the Better Than the Best Radio Drama voice acting and the amazing world they created outside of Halo just for it.

Agreed there, the voice acting/radio drama element gave it an amazing kick, but that was dresssing for the story.

That story is the best story any video game maker has put out.

No. Viva la Deus Ex y Planescape Torment.

Feh. Again, good stuff, but Deus Ex was a cyberpunk X-Files and Torment, while a piece of genius, benefitted a lot more from its setting, TSR's brilliant (yet doomed) Planescape gameworld than anything else.

[MisterNoisy]

My problem is mostly my typical Y-axis confusion when switching games

The 360 allows you to set Y-axis, auto-aim/auto-center, etc globally for all shooter/action games, which is pretty cool.  Same for camera choice in racing games and what-not.

[schild]

But we're talking about an audio/visual total package. I Love Bees did as much or more with Less. And Planescape DID benefit from the setting... but I'm not seeing a problem there. Trust me, I'm not going to KNOCK Marathon. But as a total package, I think it merely lands it in the top 10.

[Big Gulp]

Yea, I'm hoping Shadowrun this week fills the void in my stomach that was created when I stopped playing Lost Planet. Cuz Halo 3 sure as hell ain't filling it.

Shadowrun is just online Multiplayer right?  There's no split-screen multi?  I'll be picking this up on the 360 regardless, but it would have been nice to have some offline multi.

And it's multiplayer only.  Sorry, but if you want my $60 you need to at least put forth a little effort and crank out a single player campaign.

[Yegolev]

My problem is mostly my typical Y-axis confusion when switching games

The 360 allows you to set Y-axis, auto-aim/auto-center, etc globally for all shooter/action games, which is pretty cool.  Same for camera choice in racing games and what-not.

Well, see that doesn't help my particular problem.  Any given game can feel weird for me in either the X or Y, depending on vague factors such as what I played recently and what I was expecting.  What happens to me after playing such a game for thirty seconds is that switching to either setting feels weird.  Having some games (HI JAPAN!!) not let me change it just makes things worse.  If the game is using an American camera (left looks left) then playing that after I have been playing a Japanese camera (left looks right) then I just get all confused and die a lot.

Dead Rising.  I had to set UP to LOOK UP when in first-person-photo mode but that fucks me up when in third person... or is that the other way?  I think I set "airplane mode" (UP looks DOWN) when in photo mode.  Oh, my head.

[schild]

Oh, my head.

Oh, my car.

[Kitsune]

Master Chief has a real name.  I don't remember or care what the fuck it is, but he has one.  I suspect it was intentionally left out to allow for some wish-fulfillment masturbation from the players.

As for the game, I got Halo for my PC and played it through to the end and was sorely unimpressed.  It's like Goldeneye; the console players latched onto the only decent FPS available and worshiped it solely on the merits of not being shitty like the other FPSes they had available.  But, well.  The console FPS treasure is the PC FPS trash; they simply can't compete.  Even if they wind up bringing out Gears of War to the PC, as the constant rumors state, I very much doubt it can stand up against top of the line PC FPSes.

[Trippy]

His name is John, or SPARTAN-117, John if you include his project designation.

[Big Gulp]

Even if they wind up bringing out Gears of War to the PC, as the constant rumors state, I very much doubt it can stand up against top of the line PC FPSes.

I'd say you're dead wrong.  It may just be it's style of play, but with the cover system and the flat-out visceralness (is that even a word?  Oh well.) it brings, I can't think of a PC FPS better than it.  Even HL2.  And I'm far from a console FPS fanboy, but the game really is that fucking good.

Although Crysis may dethrone it, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

[Ironwood]

Oh, my head.

Oh, my car.

Oh, my daughter, oh my Duckets.

[Riggswolfe]

Halo was never about multiplayer IMO. It was about coop with your friends and a fun sci-fi story-lite. That for me is the enjoyment of the Halo games. That's why I haven't even bothered with the Halo 3 MP beta and am buying the game when it comes out.

BTW, an odd observation. I have discovered I can get more headshots and such with a gamepad now than I can with a keyboard and mouse. It weirds me out, but my aim is better in say, Rainbow Six Vegas (360), than it is in Half-life 2. My thumb just knows how to move that stick to precisely where I want it and blow people's heads off.

[schild]

Oh, my head.

Oh, my car.

Oh, my daughter, oh my Duckets.

See, now you're confusing people. I was referencing this:

[Ironwood]

I was going for the esoteric and inscrutable Jew joke.

[DraconianOne]

His name is John, or SPARTAN-117, John if you include his project designation.

Seriously?  As in Spartan, John Spartan?  As in "Mellow greetings, John Spartan!"

Oh dear.

[Big Gulp]

I was going for the esoteric and inscrutable Jew joke.

Whoops.  That's the vengeful, "Hath not a Jew eyes?" joke.  Damn you, Shylock!

[Ironwood]

He looks nothing like Al Pacino.

[Yegolev]

Gears on PC could be good, depends on how they massage it when they bring it over.  The speed and accuracy of the mouse could make it easy enough that people won't like it, but the other bits might make it harder.  It's a good game, though.

Could be that MS just brings it over straight and gently suggests everyone buy a 360 controller for their PC.

[AcidCat]

Halo was teh awesum.  Halo 2 not so much.  I think the reason Halo was so great was that you could have up to 16 folks playing deathmatches, etc.  With Warthogs, Ghosts and Banshees flying above.  I can't remember ANY game for the XBox that also featured this so early in the XBoxes life. 

Most of the maps were cool, the weapons reasonably balanced (except for the pistol) and the graphics were good for the time.

Yeah, I agree. I had a lot of fun with the original Halo .. but by the time Halo 2 came around, it was just totally underwhelming. I probably put less than five hours total into the multiplayer, I just couldn't get into it. I'm not even looking forward to Halo 3.

[Sky]

Its just so much nicer to sit on my couch with my HD TV and game relaxed.

I agree!  :-D

Gears of War. Not FPS. TPS, isn't it mostly played in third person? Also, there will be a pc version, and it will have gamepad support (and that's when yours truly ill get around to playing it). I'm fairly sure the logitech pad will work as well as the 360 pad.

[schild]

I replaced my PC Logitech pads with X360 pads. The X360 analog sticks are the best in gaming - period.

[Yegolev]

I have that wireless dongle but so far have not manufactured a reason to sync up the 360 pad.

[Strazos]

Gears of War. Not FPS. TPS, isn't it mostly played in third person?

It's first person when you want to properly Aim.

[Big Gulp]

It's first person when you want to properly Aim.

I think that's one of the things that makes it so good.  You've got much better situational awareness when you're running around taking cover, and it also appears to be more chaotic, like you're watching a bizarro war movie.  When you go into first person to aim, though, it's all about taking down the grubs.