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ActiveXbox.com: Microsoft Halo - Review | |
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| Time: 11:49 EST/16:49 GMT | News Source: ActiveXbox.com | Posted By: Byron Hinson | ||
I have posted my review of Microsoft Halo, one of the most popular and graphically intense games currently available for the Xbox console. Here is an excerpt: There are a couple of different types of multiplayer games in Halo. They are cooperative and split screen games. I've been playing split screen two player games since the console arrived and they are really good fun, the level designs are well done and the frame rate is always high with little or no slow down during play. There are powerups in the split screen deathmatch games such as camouflage and better shields to keep yourself protected from the enemies. | ||
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| #1 By 2 (172.156.197.187) at 12/5/2001 12:53:24 PM |
| I don't think so, as of yet. But maybe once the broadband stuff is really up and going. Check out some demos though here: http://www.xbox.com/games/default.htm, look on the lower right. |
| #2 By 3 (62.253.128.4) at 12/5/2001 12:58:36 PM |
| You will be able to download demos and such like sometime from the summer onwards once the online system begins. |
| #3 By 2960 (156.80.64.164) at 12/5/2001 1:19:08 PM |
|
Does anyone doubt that Microsoft will be into your pocket (again) for a monthly fee for online XBox gaming?
I don't. XBox-0, PC-1 TL |
| #4 By 2 (172.156.197.187) at 12/5/2001 1:23:12 PM |
| I don't think anything has been said yet. I guess we have to wait and see. |
| #5 By 2332 (129.21.145.80) at 12/5/2001 2:14:01 PM |
|
Halo is incredible. Xbox is very cool.
I'm confused as to why people aren’t giving Microsoft credit. It is rare to have a company which has no experience in the gaming market to have such a strong entry. Just goes to show that people are more often lead by their assumptions and prejudices than by reality. |
| #6 By 3 (62.253.128.4) at 12/5/2001 3:48:42 PM |
| Smooth frame rates, graphics that can't currently be done on 1.2 GHz machines...certainly Halo couldn't yet seeing it would have to work on multiple computer types, no crashes. |
| #7 By 182 (208.224.173.2) at 12/5/2001 4:11:59 PM |
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Hm. Let's break down the "advantages" of an XBox:
1) Smooth frame rates. Well, if you have sufficient hardaware (and it's not that expensive), you get very smooth frame rates on a PC. Especially if you play at 640x480, which is the comparable resolution to a standard TV set. Of course, Xbox can display in HDTV, which is the equivalent of what, 1280? Even so, with sufficient hardware, smooth-as-silk framerates are not hard or expensive to get for that resolution and color depth. 2) Graphics that can't currently be done on 1.2 GHz machines. Well, maybe they can and maybe they can't. I admit, the XBox looks very very sweet. But that's because you're seeing it in 640x480 when that is the maximum resolution the output device can present. If you saw the same graphics on an aperture grille CRT, you'd be horrified! 3) "certainly Halo couldn't yet seeing it would have to work on multiple computer types" I can't decipher what this means, so I can't comment on it. 4) No crashes. I can't argue with this one. When the platform is static and controlled, stability will always increase. 5) This was not mentioned, but multiplayer speed. There's no lag time when you're playing with someone on the same hardware. Unless you're on a LAN, which the vast majority of players on PC gaming are not, there's significnat lag for PC multiplayer gamers. 6) Price, of course. XBoxes are just much much cheaper than PC's. Now let's look at the advantages a PC has over a console 1) Better graphics: Don't ever try to tell me that 480 lines looks better than 1280x1024. 2) Real multiplayer gaming: I get my full screen, my own sound system, and my own control surfaces, without having to share with anyone else. 3) Input devices: With a PC, I get to choose my input device. I can pick my mouse, my joystick, my gamepad, my keyboard, my (insert obscure gaming device here: Nostromo, Strategic Commander, etc). There's just a much much larger selection of available options in this category. 4) Mods and editors: The mod community for most major games is huge. This has extended the life of some games for nearly a decade of fun. The mod community for console games is miniscule by comparison, due to hardware constraints. Some people will always prefer consoles, some will always prefer PC's. I tend toward the latter camp, but the potential of the XBox is there to encourage me to buy one. If and when I can play XBox over the Internet against other players, using some really cool and well-suited controllers, and play it on an HDTV (I'm not rich, so this might be a while), I would seriously consider buying one. And all of that is possible, depending on how things progress. |
| #8 By 182 (208.224.173.2) at 12/5/2001 4:17:59 PM |
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RE: Charging for network use.
It continually astonishes me how ignorant (that's not just not knowing; ignorant means not knowing something you SHOULD KNOW) people who post to online forums are about business. A network costs money. It costs money to put up servers and have bandwidth available for people to use. If a game that is standalone only costs $50, why should you expect that a game that lends itself to multiplayer should cost $50 INCLUDING the major addded costs of a network? That's just an absurd expectation! Besides, prices are not set, in any way, by how much something costs to produce. (Even if it costs them $100 to make it, if they think that they lose the least money by selling it at $50, they will do so.) They are set solely on the basis of the maximum money the provider believes they can make (net revenue), in the aggregate, for the product. Period. All other factors contribute to that. So if MS thinks that we will pay to use their gaming network, they will charge for it. As will everyone else. MS, among others, gets a bad rap for being "only concerned with money". Well, guess what? Pretty much everyone in these industries is "only concerned with money". Welcome to capitalism. It makes your lives possible. Don't knock it too much. |
| #9 By 182 (208.224.173.2) at 12/5/2001 4:18:53 PM |
|
Heh. I'll try an on-topic post now.
I heard that the gameplay on Halo is rather repetitive; the levels all look the same when playing the game. The review did not seem to make mention of this, and lauded the opposite. Did I just hear something totally wrong? |
| #10 By 1295 (216.84.210.100) at 12/5/2001 4:23:03 PM |
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One thing he left out was the fact that you play with other marines that help (and sometimes hurt) you. That is a first that I've seen... the more you defend them the longer you live.
It is funny sometimes that they smack you with a few rounds... they kille me a few times. It great how the interact with you and in most cases really help out. X-Box is great... but I'd like a PC Version to. I've been playing Quake, Half Life for a long time. Nothing beats a mouse an keyboard when playing a first person shooter. |
| #11 By 3 (62.253.128.4) at 12/5/2001 4:36:09 PM |
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#16: "So are there downsides to the all great all action gameplay? Yeah sure there are, the fighting can get a little repetitive and there is not enough variety in the alien menace. But none of these detract from the fact that Halo is some of the best fun I have had in a first person shooter since Half Life."
From the review |
| #12 By 135 (209.180.28.6) at 12/5/2001 4:39:07 PM |
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#15. Already there are a lot of games out there that charge monthly fees to play. Has been for 20 years if not more. I'm thinking Compuserve, then recent entries like Everquest, Ultima-Online, a variety of other games.
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| #13 By 1295 (216.84.210.100) at 12/5/2001 5:12:21 PM |
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A note to all those who complain about paying for online gaming....
Networks cost money. I have one and its not cheap. The reason PC Games are "free" on the net is because ISP's, Companies, Websites, and some unsuspecting colleges run servers for the games. For all but the Colleges (although this might apply to them too) this provides some sort of advertising. But it is very costly and the only reason some may do so is because their admins want a place to play and the company might not know :). If MS makes a "server" software program for the X-Box than you might see that the online gaming could become free but even then there needs to be a centralized place to find out where those servers are. MS will still have to keep the "Heartbeat" servers up and that will cost them money especially since the online gaming on an X-Box could be alot larger since almost everybody could use the capability without knowing anything about a computer. It is about money... ID Software keeps there heartbeat server up because its games sell like hotcakes MS does not (at least I think) get all the profits from every game that sells and they also must have a heartbeat server for each game where ID has to have a heartbeat server for one game (this is comment was made with no research so if you know different please don't flame me and just post a correction :) ). You must credit MS for coming into this market with such a "hailstorm" <giggle>. Its going to be tough for them to beat out the others but it is nice to have some competition <giggle>. in the market. This post was edited by Mr.Humpty on Friday, December 07, 2001 at 03:43. |
| #14 By 2960 (156.80.64.164) at 12/6/2001 2:06:55 PM |
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#9,
XBox is neat. But, it's simply a PC in a small box, with the expansion slots ripped out. It's not revolutionary... TL |
| #15 By 2960 (156.80.64.164) at 12/6/2001 2:18:34 PM |
|
Ok, a couple of posters have made comments about paying for the network, and that it would be normal for Microsoft to charge.
Well, you're right :) However, the discussion kind of moved away from the intended context. Maybe that's my fault... In short, you CAN play online PC gaming for free. Not everyone can afford to pay, and there are opportunities out there for them to still get involved in online gaming. XBox? One network, most likely. It is highly probable that this network will NOT be free. If you own a PC, you can play on free services if you have to. On the Xbox, you probably won't have any free options. There is nothing wrong with charging (as long as it's worth it, of course). Hell, I pay Microsoft $10 a month for a bloody TV listing! (UltimateTV). Anyone remember TEN? More specifically, the NROS (Nascar Racing Online Service) that existed on TEN ? It cost $20 a month. The quality of the racing (overall) on TEN/NROS was unmatched by any other gaming/simulation on earth. When TEN went under, it left a huge hole in many Racing hearts out there, including mine. So now we have WON. A free service. You get what you pay for. Lousy scoring system, no responsibility for your actions, and for the most part NO moderation equates to a messy, crash-infested cesspool of a demolition derby. I would go back to paying TEN $20 a month in a heartbeat. TL |
| #16 By 3 (62.255.32.4) at 12/6/2001 3:21:32 PM |
| #24 - Its "Only On Xbox" because its not coming out on any other console. |
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