- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
I've been referecing these impression forever about the health. I also emailed the guy who made that quote, Zonardo. Here is the bulk of his response.
I don't want to put Marty on record given that A) I wasn't talking to him in an official interview manner, but rather as a fan who was enjoying just being in the room for the moment. B) I did not record, or write down what he said exactly. As such what I wrote in my half of the hands-on article is my best memory. Not exact wording.
From the brief conversation we had, it seemed like they were leaning in the direction of no health on the hud based on feedback they'd gotten previously, and based on what people at the show were saying. He said the reason they dropped it to begin with is because of how they saw people playing Halo 1. When you got hurt, you'd stop, pausing to wait for the shields, and then go at it again. Health wasn't as important as shields.
That said, he asked me what I thought of the current (e3 2004) system. I told him I loved it. That I hadn't been able to notice any difference in how I played, and that I hoped they kept it like this. Upon hearing this he told me the HUD was still a work in progress, (as they were toying with having elite huds be purple) and no health on hud was still being debated.
If you check out the pictures from Tedd's post you'll not only see me (big red) but Marty as well. In fact the picture of him we have shows him looking at my screen in awe of my ass-kicking skills.
Having actually played Halo 2 at E3 (for a full -blam!- hour baby!) I would have to tell you and your friends not to worry about no health on hud, and if anything to beg them to keep it like this. It streamlines the game, quickens the pace and lets you focus all your attention on other things... such as managing two guns. If you watch some of the videos (all of me playing) you'll note that in one I have a needler and a SMG. I emptied the SMG clip, but didn't start firing the needler right away because I was still used to "reload no shoot." Thinking of the guns as two separate entities is going to take some getting used to.
So there you have it. Take it as you will.