- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
I gave it a 10, here's why:
Control: The fluidity of the controls, the almost natural movement and preciseness of aiming is almost perfect. When you play other games like CS or RB63, you notice how good the aiming is on Halo. If I were to recommend another game that would be as close to it as you can get it would be Conterstrike, and even there there are rough edges on the analog control.
Graphics: The textures, the bumpmapping, the animation, everything seemed so polished the first time I played it. I still look at it and see how much attention to detail there was. The only problem I've ever had with Halo's graphics was the sky in Truth and Reconciliation; if you zoom in on where the sky turns colours, you'll notice that it gets very pixilated.
Replay value: I've been playing this game for almost 2 years now, some of you longer (that only proves my point more), and I'm still coming back. Even the single player levels have replay value, you can look for things, try different strategies, etc... There are times where you just know what is going to happen, but you can always approach it differently and see how the AI reacts.
Sound: For those of you who know me, you're rolling your eyes now. Sound was PERFECT! MARTY IS GOD!!! Clapton who? HAHA! Story for the doubters of sound being a necessity in this game:
I was on XBC with Joeybagadonuts and his brother, I had my surround sound on and turned up. I was sitting on the right side of red base, with the rocks where you can get on top of the base, and looking out into the middle, waiting with the rocket launcher, waiting......waiting......waiting.....and then I heard it......behind me.....footsteps. I whip around jump back towards the middle and let a rocket rip apart an understandably surprised Bagadonuts. I look in the room and he had typed "HOW'D YOU KNOW???" Need I say more? The next level was Longest, same thing, only this time no rocket, I think it was a shotgun. The music is totally mood setting and it's just amazing, you may not pay attention or like it because of your crappy Blink 182 and Linkin Park, but it's a masterpiece in and of itself, if Bungie and Microsoft ever have a concert and Marty directs the music to Halo, you will be able to meet me there. (note: Blink isn't bad, they're getting really mainstream, but LP SUCKS)
For those of you who feel like the levels are repetitive, yes they are, but here's my deal on them:
Office buildings are repetitive. You can find your way around them on one floor or the next. Halo was an office building. If you were a forerunner scientist on one side of the ring and you needed to go over to the other, you'd need to know where you were going. So why not create everything to look familiar and easy to get around. Now, for those of you who say that that isn't exactly what you were thinking. 343 Guilty Spark: You go into a building, and then out of it, you cross the same things. AOTCR and Two Betrayals: Well, I think this was great incorporation of repitition, but here, the Control Room is near all the reactors, makes sense, if you have to shut one down and get to it to stop a melt down, or you need to fix one, you make sure they're all in close proximity so that there is good communication and you can easily get to where the problem is. MC didn't need to go EVERYWHERE on the ring, he only needed to go a couple of places. The story carried you through it quite well and if you have complaints about the repitition, then you aren't paying attention to the whole picture and the purpose of it. Now, I don't know if Bungie planned the repitition, I might just be blowing steam without any water, but that's the way I feel.