Halo: Combat Evolved Forum
This topic has moved here: Subject: Opinions, please?
  • Subject: Opinions, please?
Subject: Opinions, please?
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I recently began playing Halo 1 again, and I have to say.. Im amazed at how much more enjoyable it is than the second.. I've been trying to find out the difference myself, but I cannot.. Please, give me your opinions, and state which you prefer.. I do not intend to start a flame war, as both are wonderful games, and I am aware this topic has been done before.. If you do not like the thread, simply do not post.. Simple as that.

  • 09.30.2006 4:14 PM PDT
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  • Exalted Mythic Member

You've got to think crazy, of course, because you only get innovation by refining insanity. - Jason Jones

I also enjoy the first one better but there is a reason for that. To me you can never create something that is better than the original. With halo 1 we were just beginning our journey, and brand new things and worlds were explained and shown to us. The reason i think people dont like halo 2 as much is because you had an idea of what was coming down the pipe, with halo 1 we new absolutely nothing of the game before it was released.

  • 09.30.2006 4:32 PM PDT
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Become the hunter.

I think it's just the Nostalgia of it being the first one.

  • 09.30.2006 4:34 PM PDT
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Thanks for the replies and explanations, they are highly appreciated.. Feel free to stick around and discuss your opinions with me. ::EDIT:: Now that I had a little more time to reread both of your posts, I agree with both ideas.. But there seems to be something more entertaining about the gameplay, which I cant quite put my finger on..

[Edited on 9/30/2006]

  • 09.30.2006 4:38 PM PDT

It's not the nostalgia. It's the fact that weapons were stronger, enemies were fierce, you thought they were monsters because they looked bigger and better, and grunts and humans had "feeling" to their comments. All the explosions and everything was much better, looked better, and were stronger. Vehicles looked better and had the special "feel" and acted like what they were called. The flood were creepy and scared you.

  • 09.30.2006 4:45 PM PDT
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Posted by: chickenlittle
It's not the nostalgia. It's the fact that weapons were stronger, enemies were fierce, you thought they were monsters because they looked bigger and better, and grunts and humans had "feeling" to their comments. All the explosions and everything was much better, looked better, and were stronger. Vehicles looked better and had the special "feel" and acted like what they were called. The flood were creepy and scared you.


Indeed.. Most weapons in H2 sounded pathetic, and there were no passive grenade explosions.. (Grenades laying on the ground that could be set off by other explosions.)

  • 09.30.2006 4:48 PM PDT
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As for multiplayer, for some reason, it just seems more fun. It's probably a subtle difference, but it's a difference that you'll be able to feel. I mean, play a CTF match on Halo 2, then return to Halo 1 with the same crew of people. Halo 1 multiplayer felt a whole lot more intense to me than Halo 2 ever did.

  • 09.30.2006 6:13 PM PDT
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I have about one minute before i have to go, but i must say this. Halo is balanced, takes skill, you can always get better at it, and it's just plain fun. Unlike it's predicessor (my opinion).

  • 10.01.2006 2:32 AM PDT
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I myself don't find Halo better then Halo 2, but I do find Assault on the Control Room and Two Betrayals to be more enjoyable levels then anything Halo 2 has to offer. Other then that, though, Halo 2 has Halo CE beat.

  • 10.03.2006 4:07 PM PDT
Subject: sure, heres my opinion
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I really think halo one is better because its ment for levels.And halo two is just good for the online play,it has crappy levels i think they could make it a lot better.

  • 10.03.2006 8:48 PM PDT
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halo 1's CTF is amzing so much better than h2

  • 10.03.2006 9:01 PM PDT

I preferred the overall design, the environments were bigger and there were more enemies at once, it was easier to get immersed in because you don't change characters, the elites were scarier, the weapons were more dangerous, and overall I think it had a lot more atmosphere. Nostalgia and love for the original may play some part but I think that objectively speaking the first game has a lot going for it.

  • 10.06.2006 5:39 AM PDT

IIt was also fun, because in Legendary by yourself or co-op you had a chance! And you DIDN'T have to follow a sctrict strategy just to get past the enemies to every checkpoint.

  • 10.06.2006 6:44 AM PDT
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It's hard to quantify an aspect of gameplay. It's usually just a subjective opinion. In my opinion, the gameplay just "felt" better. There was a crispness to it. I know a large part of that was due to weapon sound. Nothing beats the crack of the human weapons in Halo 1. The Plasma Rifle was also much more fun to use.

There was also the aspect of level design. They both had levels that went from indoors to outside and back, but in Halo 1, the levels were huge. The action was much more intense and not as predictable. I know they were both basically linear, but since the environments in Halo were so much larger, it didn't feel that way as much.

I think the vehicles played better. Okay, so there are more vehicles in Halo 2, and they are destructable, which is cool. But the controls of the ones in Halo 1 were better, in my opinion. Assault on the Control Room in that speedy Scorpion is one of my favorite parts of both games.

Another major factor, as someone else pointed out, is continuity. It was just the MC. You and him, together throughout the game (not forgetting Cortana, of course, but you didn't play her). It was much easier to become totally immersed when you didn't get swapped out from level to level, where you had to adjust your mindset. Halo 1 just flowed much more naturally. As a further example of flowing smoothly and having to change your mindset, I give you boss battles.

Lastly, there is the mystique factor, which was also pointed out by someone else. There was a much bigger sense of urgency to me. Every first fight was creepy, as were a lot of the cutscenes. They made you think, "Oh, crap... What the hell am I getting into now?" much more than the ones in Halo 2. The Flood actually scared you, especially in the Library. As did any Elite with a Sword. I realize it was necessary for the story, but making them all speak English ruined something for me. The only new villians in Halo 2 were the Drones and the Brutes, none of which were introduced with any flair to make you scared of them. They were both just more annoying than the rest.

Keep in mind that this is only referring to campaign. Obviously, Halo 2's multiplayer beats Halo 1's. It's also all just my opinion.

  • 10.06.2006 8:46 AM PDT