Gamespy lists Halo(XBox) as overrated

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-09-18 06:36am

For whatever reason, Halo fever just never caught on at GameSpy. For a crowd weaned on the lightning-fast action and precise controls of Quake, and the brilliant pacing and level design of Half-Life, the idea of slogging through repetitive levels with a gamepad and being forced to play multiplayer on a split screen just wasn't our cup of tea.

While our editors thought Halo had plenty to admire, we were never quite sure how so many publications were able to overlook some very serious flaws while dishing out near-perfect (or actually perfect) scores. Even today, bringing up the subject provokes much ranting from our group, as you can see below.

Sluggo: I wrote our original Halo review back in 2001, and before any Xbox fanboys have a heart attack, I believe there were a lot of things Halo did really, really well. It was drop-dead gorgeous, and the vehicles were a blast. I loved the unconventional armor/health system, and the fact that you could only carry two weapons at once was a great twist. More than anything else, however, I think Halo may have had the best AI of any first-person shooter, before or since. That's why we gave it an "outstanding" score and called it "a must-buy for the Xbox."

Getting up and personal with friendly alien scum.
But Halo had some serious flaws. As a veteran of countless PC shooters, I acknowledge the fact that Bungie did a good job of laying out the controls ... but to me, playing a shooter with a gamepad is like playing Madden with a keyboard. It's just WRONG. And, while Halo was loaded with multiplayer options, you couldn't enjoy it over the Internet (shameless plug: at least not until GameSpy's programmers designed the Xbox Tunnel app. - Ed.) Worst of all were the levels, which offered fleeting glimpses of brilliance, but all too often degenerated into recycling the same areas over and over until you were bored to tears. It was as if someone at Microsoft or Bungie realized Halo was an amazing six-hour game ... but needed to pad it out to 10. "The Library" may well be the worst mission in the history of modern shooters, and it amazed me that so many people were able to overlook these issues -- or get upset that we had the nerve to point them out.

Look, I'm glad so many people loved Halo. My beef's not with you. My question is really for all the reviewers who gave out insanely high 9.8's and 10's: if Halo 2 has more interesting levels and Xbox Live support, what do you score it? For that matter, what do you score the PC version if it's the same as the Xbox, with mouse / keyboard support, new multiplayer modes, and proper Internet play? An 11 or 12? To me, the original version of Halo simply offered too much room for improvement, and the majority of its reviews DEFINED the word "overrated."

Kindrak: My co-worker, Carlos "Dr. Angryman" Salgado and I played through Halo in co-op mode, and I can say with absolute conviction that I never would've finished it if it hadn't been through co-op. The enemy and level design was so intensely repetitive that to this day I still weep quietly whenever I think of what's become of my dear, sweet Bungie. See, I'm a pixel monkey here at da Spy, so I've been a long-time Mac user and fan of Bungie since back in the Pathways into Darkness days (the original Action / RPG). Halo was supposed to be the second coming; a game where Mac and PC users would collide in epic battles that would make Tribes 2 look amateur.

The Halo movies whet my appetite, the renders and screenshots made me feel that this precious gem would survive the transition to console and the rapid development schedule. I was wrong. It's not a horrible game by any measure; it just doesn't measure up to what it was supposed to have been. I wonder constantly at the praises heaped on this game, which, while looking pretty, isn't any major leap beyond its spiritual predecessors. Thankfully, I still have Tribes 2.

ferricide: A sacred cow that GameSpy has a reputation for being totally willing to slay -- but there are problems with Halo, for sure. I'll concentrate on the multiplayer. The maps are seriously unbalanced; some of them are just totally boring. I think that's what clinches it for me. I always make a face when it comes to four player split screen -- I always have, and I've never been a PC FPS gamer ... I just can't stand it on my own -- and Halo's messy maps do me in. I think some publications were a little too kind to it because it was a launch game (that always happens), and because they could easily set up 16-player System Link LAN games on their networks, something most gamers just can't do.

Faram · Post by **Faram** » 2003-09-18 07:23am

Shrug, Can't please them all I guess.

I love HALO but Knights of the old republic is much better IMHO

Shogoki · Post by **Shogoki** » 2003-09-18 02:03pm

Well, i think is overrated, too, but not so bad.

Chardok · Post by **Chardok** » 2003-09-18 03:02pm

HERETICS!! HALO is the God of FPS. dadgummit. Gamepad Indeed! Who cares? It's freaking awesome! Not repetative, there are so many ways for you to kill aliens in that game it isn't even funny! And the maps are huge....you can roam around ALOT of places!

Halo's not overrated!

:Has a fanboy heartattack::

Anarchist Bunny · Post by **Anarchist Bunny** » 2003-09-18 04:28pm

I second that.

Mitth`raw`nuruodo · Post by **Mitth`raw`nuruodo** » 2003-09-18 05:26pm

I see their point. Best FPS ever? No. As the article says, there is room for improvement. I think it is the best FPS to grace the X-Box so far, but it wasn't quite as good as some of the people who reviewed it would lead you to believe.

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2003-09-18 06:47pm

Of course it's overrated, there are plenty of Halo wankers out there.

But is it the best FPS available for the X-Box right now? Yes. Is it the best of the three consoles? Most probably.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2003-09-19 12:38am

Yes, it is overrated. Doesn't mean it's a bad game, just means that people hype it up for more than it's worth.

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2003-09-19 02:27am

On the one hand, Halo has some features that other game designers would do well to notice (like the thwack button, ), but almost every other feature in Halo is done better somewhere else. In vehicles, weapons, enemy variety, and sheer action-movie-ness, its outdone. Its a good game, but its not the holy grail of FPS... and having played a beta on pc, its absolutely nothing against decent multis. Someone mentioned large maps, in particular... the multi maps are WAAAY smaller than the single scenario, and take one look at Flashpoint.

LordShaithis · Post by **LordShaithis** » 2003-09-19 07:51am

Consoles...

*snicker*

EmperorMing · Post by **EmperorMing** » 2003-09-19 11:24am

GrandAdmiralPrawn wrote:Consoles...

*snicker*

Overall, I would agree. Especially with ports of PC titles to such.

SPOOFE · Post by **SPOOFE** » 2003-09-19 06:15pm

I think people that bash Halo because it uses a gamepad are silly. Here's a clue, genius: Of COURSE you're not gonna be the 1337 god of FPS's when you change controllers! You need... I dunno... PRACTICE, maybe? 'Course, most PC zealots can't grasp the concept of getting accustomed to another control scheme...

ANYWAY, of course Halo was lacking on a lot of fronts. So what? You can't put everything into a game. I can think of twenty things I wish they had put into Half-Life (such as NPC's that can actually follow you over a tiny obstruction)... doesn't mean that it's not the King of FPS's (until HL2 comes out, 'course).

Hotfoot · Post by **Hotfoot** » 2003-09-19 06:37pm

SPOOFE wrote:I think people that bash Halo because it uses a gamepad are silly. Here's a clue, genius: Of COURSE you're not gonna be the 1337 god of FPS's when you change controllers! You need... I dunno... PRACTICE, maybe? 'Course, most PC zealots can't grasp the concept of getting accustomed to another control scheme...

Look, I've defended the X-Box's controller, and how Halo makes use of it. However, the simple fact of the matter is that in the case of first-person shooters KB+Mouse is clearly superior to the gamepad. Gamepads are fine for most games, but they come up severely lacking in FPS games, and undeniably lacking in games that normally use light guns, like the Time Crisis series.

Halo did work well with the gamepad, just not AS well as it would have with a keyboard and mouse. You simply cannot seriously argue the point, because all you have to do is hook up a gamepad-style controller to your computer, configure it to play a first person shooter (say, Halo PC when it comes out) and play against somebody with a mouse and keyboard setup. Unless the mouse and keyboard user is utterly incompetant, he will beat you consistantly.

ANYWAY, of course Halo was lacking on a lot of fronts. So what? You can't put everything into a game. I can think of twenty things I wish they had put into Half-Life (such as NPC's that can actually follow you over a tiny obstruction)... doesn't mean that it's not the King of FPS's (until HL2 comes out, 'course).

Half-Life also came out without much in the way of expectations or hype. Halo was hyped for YEARS prior to its release. It promised to be the next big thing, to be revolutionary and groundbreaking and it wasn't. In fact, it was tedious and repetative at times. It did not live up to its hype and is thus "overhyped".

Shrykull · Post by **Shrykull** » 2003-09-19 07:01pm

How's halo with a mouse, the pointer stops right where you want it to, with the stick on the xbox controller it's hard to aim right there.

thecreech · Post by **thecreech** » 2003-09-19 07:37pm

I like Halo... it isn't the greatest game ever or even the greatest FPS but it is one of my favorites and i would still take it over alot of PC FPS.

Alyeska · Post by **Alyeska** » 2003-09-19 09:44pm

In the grand scheme of FPS games was Halo the second comming? No. Was it the best FPS game ever put on a Console? Hell yeah. Is it a damned good game in most regards and something people will find enjoyable? Hell yeah. Halo failed its original intent, but since it got bought and ported thats not entirely a surprise. However, it succeded for Microsoft where it counted. It was a very well designed FPS game set to run on a console to help catapault the console onto the stage against others.

Is Halo for the PC going to be the second comming? No. Had it be released 2 and a half years ago as planned, it certainly might have stood a chance. It would have had all the advantages the console didn't. But it wasn't released then, so it won't happen. Right now people will expect Half-Life 2 to be the second comming (and thats probably going to be false, but given what I've seen I won't bet against it).

It comes down to the fact that Halo is not the new bench mark in anything. It is, however; a generaly well put together game and certainly makes most peoples A list. It is a recomend and generaly a must buy game for anyone remotely interested in FPS games.

Chardok · Post by **Chardok** » 2003-09-20 01:27am

Oh yeah? What do you guys think about HALO 2? ( i keep putting HALO in all caps becauseI think MC=military and in military speak, HALO=High altitude, Low opening.) Force of habit.

I'm thinking HALO 2 will be a "Second coming" and I do believe HALO 2 is supposed to be released simultaneously for the PC and XB. that is going to ass rape alot of FPS. Plus, as Mike mentioned, good backstory.

Clone Sergeant · Post by **Clone Sergeant** » 2003-09-20 02:41am

Chardock wrote:I do believe HALO 2 is supposed to be released simultaneously for the PC and XB.

This isn't true at all. Bungie is focused soley on putting Halo 2 out for the Xbox. Too be quite honest, I glad they aren't. Having to worry about putting out 2 ports would severely degrade the quality of the end product.

As far as what think of Halo 2, based on what's been revealed so far I think it will be a good game. It will essentially be Halo 1, but with a lot more added into the mix, and that will probably please me. It should be good so long as Bungie doesn't destroy the game balance established in the first. But I also hesistate to call it the "second coming". That kind of mindset is setting yourself up for disappointment. Bungie has been extremely secretive about the game's plot, weapons, and gameplay. It really too early to predict the effect it will have upon release.

-Edited once for spelling

Alyeska · Post by **Alyeska** » 2003-09-20 02:47am

Chardok wrote:Oh yeah? What do you guys think about HALO 2? ( i keep putting HALO in all caps becauseI think MC=military and in military speak, HALO=High altitude, Low opening.) Force of habit.

I'm thinking HALO 2 will be a "Second coming" and I do believe HALO 2 is supposed to be released simultaneously for the PC and XB. that is going to ass rape alot of FPS. Plus, as Mike mentioned, good backstory.

Halo-2 can not be the second comming. It is on a Console system. That right there is a big negative point. Kinda like starting class knowing you can get no better then a B no matter how hard you try. Second, they do not seem to be trying to change core elements of the game and improvements are more minor then anything else. While it will certainly make for a good console game and will take better advantage of new PC technologies when it eventualy gets ported, its not enough.

The closest you can come to the second comming is Half-Life 2, and even then I would lay odds against it.