Jump to content
NEurope
Dyson

Halo: Reach

Recommended Posts

I've ordered Arkham Asylum the other day and I only want to get one more game until Christmas (besides Castle Crashers for the PS3)...the thing is: I can't decide.

 

Currently on top of the list is Halo: Reach but I need to buy a gold subscription. Halo: Reach plus gold is by far the most expensive choice.

 

But it looks so good. And a couple of mates will get this game, too. And many guys here...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Well...except from Metroid, Fable and Fallout.

Metroid, no. Fable, no.

 

Fallout, yes.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Metroid will be fun, but I can't say if it'll compare to Reach. Fable will be balls, Fallout will be awesome though.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Get Reach. It might be more expensive but you'll spend far more hours playing it if you play the multiplayer. You can obviously also use your Gold for other games too. Just start off with either a month or 3 month subscription to see if you like it or not and indeed if you will still be playing it in a few months time.

 

I think I can safely say I won't be playing another game (other than FIFA) for a long time after Reach comes out. Halo blows every other game out of the water when it comes to multiplayer. The matchmaking system is far better than, say, MW2, because it matches you with people your own standard so you can have a good game. And you also start every game at the beginning and not half way through or even at the end like MW2!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Halo also doesn't give more experienced players better weapons, equipment and perks. Just more armour design options.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
That's because it's an arcadey FPS.

Are you talking about Halo or MW2?

 

It's true of both, of course.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Halo is a much more frantic game, weapons are handled with ground spawns i.e. the harder to Reach, the better the weapon, and players have a lot more health.

 

Maybe this is just my interpretation of an arcadey shooter.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'd say they're both 'arcadey' in different ways.

 

MW2 places a lot of focus of Killstreaks and positive reinforcement via points. It's a lot about twitch skill and fast movement, with the weapon you're using being relatively unimportant; a pimped out assault rifle is good, if not optimal, at all ranges and in all situation.

 

Halo's slower moving with the various weapons handling very differently, range from the enemy drastically altering your style of play. Twitch aiming skill certainly helps, but as you won't be one-shotting players most of the time each combat tends to go through phases as both players close in on one another; it's like jousting with guns.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
MW2 places a lot of focus of Killstreaks and positive reinforcement via points.

 

Eughhh.

 

What isn't an arcadey shooter to you? For me, arcadey stuff is about being able to run around without fear of instant death, and you have the chance to take out multiple opponents in a 2v1 situation if you're skilful enough.

Whilst that's still possible in Cod, Cod can be a lot slower and more about precision, and hide and seek. You can't really hide in Halo, or camp that effectively.

 

I'm guessing a more hardcore shooter would be Counterstrike.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You can't get any more arcadey than "points popping up on the screen after you kill something".

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Are we actually considering what Arcadey really means here? It's like something you would play in an arcade... a fragger where you do a lot of spray and pray. Where it takes whole clips to bring an enemy down, rather than precise headshots. Explosion are going off everywhere, you can get in a tank and blow up 4 people at once. It's not a negative comment, arcade games are awesome.

 

Halo is arcadey. Modern Warfare is not. The points you get are XP, used to level up, something you don't get in an arcade. You can spend a whole game sitting on a rooftop with a Sniper Rifle - and it's nothing like Silent Scope before anyone says it.

 

Rainbow Six Vegas has points/XP but that's definitely not arcadey.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I take Arcadey to mean who has the best twitch reflexes. CoD=whoever shoots first lives 90% o the time. Halo is like that as well, but only slightly different in that the weapons change things up, still arcadey.

 

To me a non-arcade shooter would be something that requires a semblance of strategy, Team Based games like MAG or TF2 perhaps GRAW or Socom as well.

 

Of course Halo and CoD both pale in comparison to Quake or Unreal Tournament multiplayer in terms of how arcade like they are.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Of course Halo and CoD both pale in comparison to Quake or Unreal Tournament multiplayer in terms of how arcade like they are.
If you use Quake and Unreal as paragons of arcade-style gaming then you're saying CoD is closer to Quake/UT than Halo? :hmm:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So I'm imaging all the people running around in MW2 stabbing players from 6 foot away, hosing the environment with akimbo hip-firing and setting ablaze to the level with constant grenades, underslung launchers and killstreaks raining down from above?

 

Yes it can be played more technically — far more of a necessity on Hardcore — but the same could be said of SWAT in Halo. I'm trying to compare vanilla to vanilla, and I find both games to be exceptionally ridiculous and pretty selfish experiences. I think both are fantastic multiplayer games, however.

 

Something like BFBC2 I wouldn't really class as 'arcadey' as there's far more of an emphasis on teamplay — spawning on other players, spotting, healing, ammo drops, reviving, etc — and matches tend to move at a slightly more sedate pace, with the frontline moving back and fourth rather than conflict being speckled all over the map. The shooting is also slightly more technical in general.

 

I do appreciate it's something of a nothing term, though. Arcades comprise all sorts of games, from knockabout novelty titles to ridiculous bullet hell shmups, so 'arcadey' doesn't really mean anything!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
So I'm imaging all the people running around in MW2 stabbing players from 6 foot away, hosing the environment with akimbo hip-firing and setting ablaze to the level with constant grenades, underslung launchers and killstreaks raining down from above?

 

Yes it can be played more technically — far more of a necessity on Hardcore — but the same could be said of SWAT in Halo. I'm trying to compare vanilla to vanilla, and I find both games to be exceptionally ridiculous and pretty selfish experiences. I think both are fantastic multiplayer games, however.

 

Something like BFBC2 I wouldn't really class as 'arcadey' as there's far more of an emphasis on teamplay — spawning on other players, spotting, healing, ammo drops, reviving, etc — and matches tend to move at a slightly more sedate pace, with the frontline moving back and fourth rather than conflict being speckled all over the map. The shooting is also slightly more technical in general.

 

I do appreciate it's something of a nothing term, though. Arcades comprise all sorts of games, from knockabout novelty titles to ridiculous bullet hell shmups, so 'arcadey' doesn't really mean anything!

You have to remember that MW2 was the start of all that bullshit though.

 

Quake and UT3 are ridiculous, they're unpolished, unbalanced, hilariously hectic, basically my idea of 'arcadey'. On the scale, they would be 10, Halo an 8, Cod (in general) a 6, BF a 4.

 

Of course there's no true defining factor, it's more intuition than anything.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I clocked up 4000 games on Halo 3, so I absolutely can't wait for this. Well actually I can, it's not coming out at the best time for me. I'll still end up playing it to death though.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just an FYI to anyone looking to purchase XBL Gold, Microsoft have sent out 12+2 (yes, two!) month cards which retail for the same as 12 month cards to retail stores. We started selling them today in GAME. Methinks me shall pick one up soon - staff discount is a godsend :heh:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

×