Halo: PC

[wazy15]

Hmm, that image doesn't look very detailed to me, textures loo a bit pants tbh.

[Gr0ver]

Yeah, I was gonna say.

It doesn't look as good as it does on an Xbox/telly.

Sort of murky. No definition.

Oddly.

[Moodmon]

Well, I finally got round to playing the demo. The pistol and alien pistol appear to have been given some kind of nitro, as you can loose a clip off dead quick. Looks wise, I can't see any difference, and at the end of the demo you get Sarge trying to sell you the game with cheesy music. Class.

[Afterbirth]

Just a quick note. Any ATI users ensure you update to at least 1.02.

My 9600 Pro really struggled, even on Xbox/TV resolutions (well 640x480!)
The GF series are not affected seemingly.

[Moodmon]

Funny, my demo ran with no problems. But then I have a 9800 Pro

[Rushy]

My Ati 9700 pro runs smoothly too on max detail.

Before I start let me point out I'm a massive Xbox Halo fan.....

Anyway the game (note I've only got the demo), the single player is actually better than I thought it was going to be, except on the lower difficulties where it is faaaar to easy with the mouse. The controls just aren't as natural which is a major problem in comparison to the Pad. So a good PC FPS yes, but not a touch on the Xbox version IMO, its just not the same experience.

Now the MP, this is where it REALLY falls down. The balance has been lost with the introduction of the Banshees, they prove to be too difficult to take down and are far to often just used to run ppl over. And I hate the fact that disbandoned vehicles are re-spawned, what is the point? Leave em where they are tbh. Lag is a major issue on the demo, I dunno whether this is the case with the full version, but more often than not its too laggy esecially in comparison to Xbox Link which I'm used to for 16 player action.

Roll on Halo 2.....

[angel]

Well, I finally got round to playing the demo. The pistol and alien pistol appear to have been given some kind of nitro, as you can loose a clip off dead quick. Looks wise, I can't see any difference, and at the end of the demo you get Sarge trying to sell you the game with cheesy music. Class.

im guessing your coming from the slower PAL xbox version

also in multiplay u can drop banshees no problem with the assault rifle, or stick an alien grenade on them.

[Peet]

Hrrrmh.. I might get flamed for this or something but anyway... Apart from a few brief goes on demo pods I've never played XBox Halo. With all the hype and all the good stuff I've heard about it I was naturally pretty excited when the PC demo was released last week.

My computer doesn't quite match up to the minimum CPU requirements, and I'd heard the stories about people finding the leaked beta unplayable on fairly high-spec machines, but I found it playable if rather slow when things heat up. Anyhow, I played the demo level (The Silent Cartographer) and while I wasn't overwhelmed it did seem quite good. I didn't want to spend money on it (a combination of it not running properly on my PC and me probably getting an XBox not too long from now) so I downloa... err... borrowed the full game off a friend. Been playing it for a few hours now (quite a few actually) and I can't help but think that it's actually rather mediocre. I'm up to the level called Truth and Reconciliation now (inside the Covenant ship). I should probably be much further, but I tend to have an obession with doing well (in this case mostly keeping as many teammates/comrades/squad members as possible alive) so I've played some bits of the second level probably half a dozen times. :P

Anyhow, my impressions so far are that parts of it are excellent - the entire first level with the attacking Covenant for example. The music is among the best I've ever heard in a game, and there are some seriously epic moments. The environment design is also fantastic, especially the bits where you are inside Halo.

Nevertheless I can't shake the feeling that this might be one of the most overrated games of recent years. Why do the enemies have to be unconvincing comic book monsters that take 20 bullets to the head before they die? It kind of takes away from the feeling that you're carrying an assault rifle when you have to empty two clips at something before it dies. Why do they have to chatter in English? I can sort of understand the Warcraft orcs or the little devil thingies from Diablo (though even they didn't speak English) doing this, but I get the picture that Halo tries to achieve some sort of realism.

Why is the rest of my squad made up of headless chickens who mostly seem to run around and get shot? Okay, I'll admit that on occassion they manage to coordinate their fire and take down some of the larger enemies, and that they usually duck away from grenades, but a lot of what they do seems like idiocy. They don't seem half as good at taking cover as the Covenant, for example. And why do I have to take a detour and open a door foor them? Can't they just follow me? Why can't I issue them some simple commands like "Wait here!", "Hold fire!" or "Get to the dropship you damn fool or they'll leave without you! Can't you see there's no more space on this warthog?" They all call me sir after all.

Why isn't there a map? It could even be an automap a la Doom. It's really hard to find your way around both outdoor and indoor environments. If you need a realistic explanation for a map, just say that it's based off aerial reconnaissance carried out by the dropships, and downloaded into Master Chief every time one lands nearby. The drop ship pilot even says she saw downed escape pods when she approached. After that there's talk of them being "near the river" and "by the cliff edge". Huh? What? Where? Sorry, but this means nothing to me. Instead, show me!

The inane checkpoint system. Why, why WHY? I don't want to play the entire friggin level again, but loading just the last checkpoint isn't enough, because by then I was already doing badly. I want to be able to decide for myself when I've done something well and then save. Possibly even save to a new file if it turns out that I wasn't doing so well after all.
Traditional save + quicksave might not be perfect, but it's infinitely better than this. Or if you really are so worried about infinite saves making things too easy, how about a limited number of saving opportunities per level like in Soldier of Fortune? Anything but these damn checkpoints.

There's of course a chance that my opinion will change later, but at the moment the question going through my head is: is it just because I'm playing it on my crappy PC instead of on an XBox, or is this really the same Halo that everyone's been talking about for the past two years?

[choddo]

Hrrrmh.. I might get flamed for this or something but anyway... Apart from a few brief goes on demo pods I've never played XBox Halo. With all the hype and all the good stuff I've heard about it I was naturally pretty excited when the PC demo was released last week.

My computer doesn't quite match up to the minimum CPU requirements, and I'd heard the stories about people finding the leaked beta unplayable on fairly high-spec machines, but I found it playable if rather slow when things heat up. Anyhow, I played the demo level (The Silent Cartographer) and while I wasn't overwhelmed it did seem quite good. I didn't want to spend money on it (a combination of it not running properly on my PC and me probably getting an XBox not too long from now) so I downloa... err... borrowed the full game off a friend. Been playing it for a few hours now (quite a few actually) and I can't help but think that it's actually rather mediocre. I'm up to the level called Truth and Reconciliation now (inside the Covenant ship). I should probably be much further, but I tend to have an obession with doing well (in this case mostly keeping as many teammates/comrades/squad members as possible alive) so I've played some bits of the second level probably half a dozen times. :P

Anyhow, my impressions so far are that parts of it are excellent - the entire first level with the attacking Covenant for example. The music is among the best I've ever heard in a game, and there are some seriously epic moments. The environment design is also fantastic, especially the bits where you are inside Halo.

Nevertheless I can't shake the feeling that this might be one of the most overrated games of recent years. Why do the enemies have to be unconvincing comic book monsters that take 20 bullets to the head before they die? It kind of takes away from the feeling that you're carrying an assault rifle when you have to empty two clips at something before it dies. Why do they have to chatter in English? I can sort of understand the Warcraft orcs or the little devil thingies from Diablo (though even they didn't speak English) doing this, but I get the picture that Halo tries to achieve some sort of realism.

Why is the rest of my squad made up of headless chickens who mostly seem to run around and get shot? Okay, I'll admit that on occassion they manage to coordinate their fire and take down some of the larger enemies, and that they usually duck away from grenades, but a lot of what they do seems like idiocy. They don't seem half as good at taking cover as the Covenant, for example. And why do I have to take a detour and open a door foor them? Can't they just follow me? Why can't I issue them some simple commands like "Wait here!", "Hold fire!" or "Get to the dropship you damn fool or they'll leave without you! Can't you see there's no more space on this warthog?" They all call me sir after all.

Why isn't there a map? It could even be an automap a la Doom. It's really hard to find your way around both outdoor and indoor environments. If you need a realistic explanation for a map, just say that it's based off aerial reconnaissance carried out by the dropships, and downloaded into Master Chief every time one lands nearby. The drop ship pilot even says she saw downed escape pods when she approached. After that there's talk of them being "near the river" and "by the cliff edge". Huh? What? Where? Sorry, but this means nothing to me. Instead, show me!

The inane checkpoint system. Why, why WHY? I don't want to play the entire friggin level again, but loading just the last checkpoint isn't enough, because by then I was already doing badly. I want to be able to decide for myself when I've done something well and then save. Possibly even save to a new file if it turns out that I wasn't doing so well after all.
Traditional save + quicksave might not be perfect, but it's infinitely better than this. Or if you really are so worried about infinite saves making things too easy, how about a limited number of saving opportunities per level like in Soldier of Fortune? Anything but these damn checkpoints.

There's of course a chance that my opinion will change later, but at the moment the question going through my head is: is it just because I'm playing it on my crappy PC instead of on an XBox, or is this really the same Halo that everyone's been talking about for the past two years?

I would never flame anyone but...

Realism? In a game placed on a giant ring in outer space? As for the assault rifle needing 20 shots... have you tried using the alien weapons?! It definitely feels better & more atmospheric on the xbox but what the hell, you can't have everyone like every game ever made.

By the way, you've got a lot to see in the game yet.

[Afterbirth]

Its not imbalanced. Its a fine game. It has a certain chuncky feel to it that few PC FPS games have. The vehicle use is fantasitic, esp. the tanks.

[Ish]

(hee hee... before I start I come from a background of playing this on a US XBox)

Hrrrmh.. I might get flamed for this or something but anyway...

No flames from me. Your utterly entitled to your opinion - however much I might disagree .

It kind of takes away from the feeling that you're carrying an assault rifle when you have to empty two clips at something before it dies.

Play longer/further and you'll find that all the weapons tend to be useful in some way but poorer in others. Including the assault rifle. And I won't spoil it... I'll leave it to you to figure out... but there's a 'technique' to using the assault rifle.

Why do they have to chatter in English?

Because some of the stuff they say is quite amusing! Particularly the little guys!

Why isn't there a map?

I have to say - I've never found the need for a map. I've never got lost. There are always plenty of clues of where to head.

The inane checkpoint system.

Huh. And I love it. I think its the best save system in any FPS I've played. Just personal preference I guess.

is it just because I'm playing it on my crappy PC instead of on an XBox, or is this really the same Halo that everyone's been talking about for the past two years?

Graphically, PC wise, its way way behind the curve now. Unsurprising given the rate at which PC graphics shift. But gameplay wise - I've yet to play a single player FPS to match it. On any system.

But then I might be biased in all I say as, as I said to a friend at work today, I think its my favourite game.... ever . I've had more hours of fun with it on my XBox than I can count.

[npg]

Graphically behind the curve you say?

Looks the bees knees running on my machine..

[davejm]

I've never played Halo on the X-Box before but will be getting it on the PC tommorow.... I'll get back to you with my opinions!