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Re: Halo Gameplay Impressions
Posted By: Fuolornis Fire Dragon	Date: 11/1/01 9:37 p.m.
In Response To: Halo Gameplay Impressions (Sam) Very nice little review, there. Boy, it's just so cool how much everybody loves Halo. And I mean, everybody. But now that it's out in the open, and those razza-frazzin' PS2 and GAMECUBE fanboys can get their grubby little mitts on it... The real test is just beginning. And I think Halo will pass with honors. : Got the chance to play Halo at the local mall today. Wanted to post some : gameplay impressions, since there didn't appear to be any on the forums. : :) : Played at the Software Etc. Xbox kiosk for about 2 hours or so. It wasn't the : retail packaging, so I'm not sure if what I played was the final retail, : or a build that had been released early for demo distribution. I'll see if : I can get more information and clarify on that when I go back tomorrow. : Halo delivers on all the hype we've seen and heard. Fun, addictive, and : beautiful. As Jason Jones has said earlier, the game speaks for itself. : This is going to me a long post, and I might ramble a bit. Bear with me. : I ended up with a setup for movement/strafe on the left stick and a mouselook : equivalent on the right stick. Oldschool fps stuff. : You have different character slots that store configs and save game files in. : Seemed to do pretty well. Also, if you're trying to impress anyone with : your l33t skills, better make sure you have the control config set right : before you try to wail on the Covenant. : And the big question: Can the twidlysticks and all match up to a : keyboard/mouse? : Answer: Surprisingly, it does pretty good. It's not a mouse/keyboard, but it : does the job. But be warned: it does take a bit of adjustment. When Halo : comes out, the peeps that get it will probably want to practice their : control scheme setup on the easy parts of the game to get some familiarity : before playing the game for real. It took about a solid hour at the : controls before I was beggining to really feel comfortable, doing circle : strafes, firing between cover while moving, etc. Given time (and again, : there are a lot of options with the control that I didn't mess with) I : don't see any issues with it. : The one thing I could hear clearly (as Cov plasma grenades blasted me : (multiple times) into the air) was this wonderful 'flying dirt' clump : noise when a grenade goes off. I'm sure that there's much more, but that's : the one little thing (that I could make out) that stayed with me. Maybe : because I heard it so much..... : It's really hard to describe in words how well the game looks. Seriously, go : see it. But a snapshot..... : The Cov have a man sized, non-portable Energy shield. (You've seen 'em in the : screenshots). When you actually see them, though, they have this cool : refresh effect, almost like the film on a soap bubble. And the really cool : thing, they shift in color when they take damage, till they drop. It's a : dynamic effect, and damn cool. : Framerate was silky smooth all throughout my play. The only times I saw any : skip at all was (duh) during level loads. (Which are FAST, btw. Under 3 : seconds) I've heard rumors that the game has some frameloss with massive : stuff onscreen; however, I didn't observe any while playing (~4 human : troops, 6+ cov and dropship onscreen at one point). 30 or 60 fps? I don't : know. All I can say is that it looked constantly smooth. : As has been posted earlier, the cov grenades STICK. Nail a grunt, and he runs : around screaming (watch it, sometimes directly at you). Nail an elite, and : he gives his yell, before maybe getting a shot or two off. The grunts, : though.... nail one with a plasma grenade. You have to see it. Good stuff. : The cutscenes (that I saw, one that isn't in a downloadable movie) are very : nice, and flow well with the action sequences. I was pleasantly surprised : by the new movie that I saw, as I wasn't expecting it. It didn't jar the : transition between the levels at all; in fact, it made for a very smooth : transition. Again; the downloads we have don't the cutscenes justice. : Vehicles: I didn't get to a level that has an vehicles yet. : Therefore....nada. : Weapons I saw: AR, pistol, needler, plasma pistol, plasma rifle. That's it. I : don't know what else is in or what isn't. : Multiplayer: Played single solo missions only. No MP. : Sometimes a game will 'set' a genre. Like Starcraft. Any RTS game that comes : out is bound to be compared to Starcraft.... until something can come : around and dethrone it. I'm not aware of any game on the PC or a platform : that I could accurately use as a measuring stick to compare Halo to. Yes, : it's a story based fps game. Halflife or NOLF? The grafics on Halo are : truely awesome -next generation stuff-, and the storyline looks to be very : tight and well done. Plus, the interaction with other characters is : something that we haven't seen at this level before (The marines will TELL : you that you are in the way, instead of just shooting you in the back. : Move out of the way, flank the enemy and flush them, and that same marine : will help you finish them off). The action and pacing are smooth. Halo : could be one of those defining games. It -might- be the next measuring : stick. : Is it the next yardstick? GOTY? I can't tell you after only 2 hours of play. : However, I can tell you that tomorrow I'm heading back for another dose. : Sam

Message Index

Halo Gameplay Impressions	Sam	11/1/01 9:11 p.m.
Sweetness! Good review!	Psyrixx	11/1/01 9:29 p.m.
Re: Halo Gameplay Impressions	Fuolornis Fire Dragon	11/1/01 9:37 p.m.
Re: Halo Gameplay Impressions	slumbermonkey	11/1/01 9:42 p.m.
Re: Halo Gameplay Impressions	vector40	11/1/01 10:22 p.m.
Re: Halo Gameplay Impressions	Sam	11/1/01 10:26 p.m.
Wow. Another very nice post. I agree totally. *NM*	Fuolornis Fire Dragon	11/1/01 11:18 p.m.
Re: Halo Gameplay Impressions	Aginor	11/2/01 12:32 p.m.
Re: Halo Gameplay Impressions	vector40	11/1/01 10:21 p.m.
STARCRAFT?!?!? [OT RANT]	Jester	11/1/01 11:09 p.m.
Re: STARCRAFT?!?!? [OT RANT]	Fuolornis Fire Dragon	11/1/01 11:32 p.m.
Re: STARCRAFT?!?!? [OT RANT]	Psyrixx	11/1/01 11:39 p.m.
Re: STARCRAFT?!?!? [OT RANT]	{mAc}Dark_Eagle	11/2/01 12:15 a.m.
Myth 2 (RPG or RTS?)	Jester	11/2/01 1:45 p.m.
Re: Myth 2 (RPG or RTS?)	RAZORBACK	11/2/01 4:07 p.m.
Re: STARCRAFT?!?!? [OT RANT]	Sam	11/2/01 6:46 a.m.
Re: STARCRAFT?!?!? [OT RANT]	Jester	11/2/01 2:15 p.m.
Re: STARCRAFT?!?!? [OT RANT]	vector40	11/2/01 7:44 p.m.
Re: STARCRAFT?!?!? [OT RANT]	Fuolornis Fire Dragon	11/2/01 9:52 p.m.
Thanks! plus more stuff.....	Sam	11/4/01 7:41 a.m.
Re: STARCRAFT?!?!? [OT RANT]	SoSD	11/2/01 9:41 a.m.
Re: STARCRAFT?!?!? [OT RANT]	Sam	11/2/01 11:19 a.m.
you played ...	customsex	11/2/01 4:31 p.m.