: Marathon Infinity had a deep, non-linear story full of literary allusions;
: intricately designed, non-repetitive levels; a distinct lack of gimmicky
: vehicles or zombies; and you didn't navigate (if that's what you can call
: muddling through a console FPS) with a kludgy dual joystick that aimed for
: you while you sat on the couch. It's a comparison I would dispute even if
: Halo weren't popular--and it stings the most because the same company
: (ostensibly) made both, in the order they were made in.
: Most good games are fun--that's their purpose. But the great ones are more
: than that.
I completely agree about using a controller for a FPS -- Halo is best experienced on the PC with a mouse and keyboard. Halo 2 for Windows is kind of a mess of a port (still, a gripping story), but Gearbox did a super job on the port of Halo CE. It plays great and looks beautiful with the all the bump mapping and specular highlights they added, plus they gave the world Halo CE Custom Edition (which they created for the pure love of the game) which has allowed for the creation some amazing custom maps CMT Snow Grove and Yoyorast Island to name two. Halo is pure, uncut, epic Bungie, and I love it as much as I do because of all the Marathon I've played over the years.
If Halo doesn't do anything for you, it's all good man, no hard feelings. :)
