Re: Games Completed 2019
Posted: December 30th, 2019, 2:02 am
I'm currently seeing the credits roll on Halo 3 (Heroic).
It's been a while since I revisited the series so I thought I'd pop this one back in for a quick playthrough.
First off, the gameplay is really good. Maybe people just took it for granted back when the series was on everyone's mind, but I would argue that the core gameplay loop of this game/series stands heads and shoulders above that of most other FPSs that are about quick aiming and little else. Halo is a lot more layered and fluid than that, and I find it unfortunate that the gaming world at large only seems to have blindly copy/pasted its shield regeneration mechanic and ignored all the rest it has to offer. First off, the gun/grenade/melee triangle is very polished and the fantastic weapon/vehicle variety alone puts 99% of the genre to shame.
Enemy variety is something that I like to mention a lot because I think it is in many ways the secret sauce that elevates great action games from ordinary ones, and this is a perfect example of that: 5 basic Covenant enemy types (not including sub-types) + all sorts of Flood variations + all the different vehicles. Each with their own AI, weaponry, positioning, sub-routines, threat level, weak spot, damage modifier, etc... Which means that every encounter plays out differently from the last one and I think it's a fantastic quality to have in any sort of action game. Compare that to Modern Warfare's Bad Guy #1 (Color Palette A) + Bad Guy #2 (Color Palette B) and it's night and day, really.
The campaign's tight pacing must be praised as well. Every mission has its own little details and sense of purpose with little repetition and even the atrocious Cortana isn't enough to bring the entire game down with it, thankfully. The aerial dogfights of The Covenant alone are worth the price of admission. I also think the Scarab fights are a good compromise between regular gunplay and spectacular set-piece considering the mixed reception of Halo 2's more restrictive and conventional boss fights.
I found myself enjoying the story as well. It's basic, but it works. Conflicts between multiple factions are always a plus in my book to change from the constant and simplistic Good Side™ VS. Bad Side™-type narrative. Thel 'Vadam is the best part of every scene he's in and my favorite Halo character overall, I can only wish he had his own playable chapters in this one like he does in Halo 2.
Soundtrack... obviously sublime. Proper headphones required for maximum enjoyment.
Much has been said about this game's low-detail textures and ugly character models, and for good reason. But I also think this is a very beautiful game in many ways, from the rich color palette of the environments to the excellent cutscene direction. Great use of contrast and camera angles in particular shows the designers really made the best out of the material they had at their disposal.
God knows how easy it is to be cynical about AAA games in general, but here is an example of a record-breaking bestselling game that sports some of the highest production values of its time but still has very much an identity and design philosophy of its own. It doesn't spread itself too thin (thank GOD there are no shoe-horned RPG mechanics and such) and excels at what it sets out to do. Fantastic overall package and one of my favorite FPSs ever (along with DOOM 2016 and the other Halo games, of course).
"Were it so easy..."