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More GOTY Awards

Posted by Zonk on from the awards-awards-awards dept.

More awards are available at Voodoo Extreme (who has separate categories both for PC Games and Console Games) and at the mega-hub Gamespy, who gives Halo 2 the top nod for Game of the Year 2004.

59 comments

  1. Halo 2 severely overrated... by dhakbar · · Score: 0, Troll

    So I've played Halo 2.

    My friends all love it, but I simply cannot be impressed by it... the offline campaign is okay, but the online gameplay is repetitive, boring, and inflexible. There can be no hope for a mod for Halo 2 that will offer fresh, new gameplay, so there is little hope that new life will be breathed into this already old, tired game.

    Playing an FPS on a console is missing the point entirely.

    1. Re:Halo 2 severely overrated... by McKinney83 · · Score: 2, Informative
      Actually people are creating new game types daily.
      Like Dawn of the Dead, Paintball, or Ohama.

      Add in the glitching (highimpacthalo.org) and the online play is actually better than most console FPS (exception to CS and CoD).

      The single player is really good, once you play it on legendary you'll understand why, and it's only better if you understand the story.

      --
      Winner of The Second Annual Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence.
    2. Re:Halo 2 severely overrated... by code-e255 · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Halo and Halo 2 are the most over-rated games I've ever known. The marketing guys at Microsoft did a fantastic job, but all the developers did was create two very medicore first-person-shooters. The Halo games might be alright compared to other XBox games, but seriously, lots of PC FPS games which game out over 5 years ago are superiour!

      Any professional reviewers who voted Halo 2 as game of the year ought to be fired. But, as somebody else pointed out, those reviewers were probably bribed. I hope they weren't stupid enough to honestly vote that game "game of the year".

    3. Re:Halo 2 severely overrated... by dhakbar · · Score: 1

      I absolutely love the way an honest opinion is equated with flamebait. And, if my post were flamebait, it failed to bait anyone into flaming. I guess there really are people out there who are rabidly attached to crappy games.

    4. Re:Halo 2 severely overrated... by MrDickey · · Score: 1

      Although I agree that Halo 2 has some very good singleplayer, I disagree that playing it on legendary will some how make it better. Fun single player comes from a wide variety of weapons, enemies, and level designs, not from being absurdly hard to win.

      --
      I hate my sig
    5. Re:Halo 2 severely overrated... by DreadPiratePizz · · Score: 0

      Bribed? Simply because a game you don't personally enjoy is praised by critics and gamers, they are suddenly BRIBED by microsoft?

      Halo is not as fast paced as doom or as tactical as Rainbow six, but it's a game of its own. No other game has the feel Halo does. In general, I find PC FPS players prefer things faster paced, so it's understandable you may not enjoy Halo 2 and that's fine. Just understand that your tastes may be unique.

    6. Re:Halo 2 severely overrated... by PaganRitual · · Score: 1

      In general, I find PC FPS players prefer things faster paced, so it's understandable you may not enjoy Halo 2 and that's fine. Just understand that your tastes may be unique.

      err ... unique, but shared by nearly all other PC FPS players? i'm definitely of the 'i have no idea what you people see in this game' category, and it's almost definitely because the game is painfully slow to play.

    7. Re:Halo 2 severely overrated... by buffer-overflowed · · Score: 1

      Well critics don't count. Most game critics think video games started with the playstation. Hell, most gamers too. Which is like taking a film critic who has never heard of Casablanca or the Godfather seriously. Oh, and the film critic's publication only advertises movies, and movie playing equipment.

      --
      The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
    8. Re:Halo 2 severely overrated... by Lisandro · · Score: 1

      Well, i also think it's wildly overrated, but i'll say this much: for a console FPS, it's very fun and easy to dig into; which i beleive explains it's appeal to a lot of people that wouldn't normally play FPSs. I still hate gamepads for FPSs, but Halo is the only one that i found bearable to play with them. I've played it, and enjoyed it. Same with Halo 2. It's a nice console game in a genre which usually doesn't translate well to consoles.

      But, come on, that game has been done before (and after), and MUCH better IMHO. UT2k4 for PC dances circles arround Halo as a multiplayer game, which, let's face it, it's what people get wet over. Goldeneye had a much better single player experience, and a great multiplayer one. Been there, done that.

      It's not a bad game IMHO, by any measure - it's just that there's nothing meriting a GOTY award in it. There were a crapload of much better games in the genre this year (for other platforms). Guess they weren't as hyped.

    9. Re:Halo 2 severely overrated... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      I seriously doubt there are actually any cases of magazines being paid for ratings. However, the writers are certainly aware that failure to gloss over the flaws of a heavily advertised game or to elevate its position in lists like this will be punished with reduced advertizing funds later. I do not think that any gaming publication supported by advertizing can afford to be truly honest. The writers can inject their opinions into the corners, but the bulk of any review is devoid of any actual substance. I doubt that the writers are actually "whores," but I know they are always aware of these things whenever they write anything.

      Few of the heavily hyped games are really that awful, but it's more than a bit disheartening to see critics always claiming that the latest games are tremendous improvements over games published 6 months ago. Newer games always get priority since they know that the publishers are watching what they say about games that are still featured prominently on shelves.

      Movie criticism is much more insulated from these pressures. Movie criticism is published in newspapers, magazines and on TV. While these media do advertize for movies, very few, if any, of them receive 90% or more of their revenue from movie publishers. As a result, movie studios are unlikely to adjust their advertizing in response to any single publication's review since they know that they can't be a real threat to them.

      The gaming press can't be trusted.

    10. Re:Halo 2 severely overrated... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, yeah... blah, blah, blah... mouse and keyboard rules... COUNTERSTRIKE is God... UNREAL did everything before everything else... First, HALO 2 is very, very good. GameSpy is right. There are remarkable ideas throughout it like The Flood. Second, Larry Niven did not patent a ring in space. Third, copyright laws are very specific about what can and cannot be copyrighted because ideas are in the ether for everyone to use. Recycling ideas is a part of the artistic process. You say, I want to write something like BLADE RUNNER, but in a prison. There you have the beginnings of RIDDICK. You know, GOODFELLAS or RAGING BULL aren't very original, but they are still brilliant films. Some of you guys go on and on pining for the glory days and it ends up sounding defensive and silly.

    11. Re:Halo 2 severely overrated... by ProudClod · · Score: 1

      I think I speak for most of my bretheren when I say:

      Fuck! Off!

      To write about games you have to give two shits about them. Even people I know who write for utterly shite official magazines know their stuff back to the 80s - the reason that so many games magazines are utter turd is that the publishers are convinced that you, the public, want lowest common denominator trash rather than anything interesting, and thus most magazines are pressurized into writing what gets the publishers sales. Rather than bitching about games journalists, why not go out and buy the better examples of it - UK Edge magazine may be pretentious wankers, but they know their stuff.

      --
      Gamers Europe - Gaming News. Reviews.
    12. Re:Halo 2 severely overrated... by ProudClod · · Score: 1

      We got stern looks in the next meeting with Microsoft after we posted our 8.0/10 review of Halo 2, but I'm pretty sure no bribery of any kind went on with Halo 2.

      Unlike Driv3r and Worms 3D...

      --
      Gamers Europe - Gaming News. Reviews.
    13. Re:Halo 2 severely overrated... by buffer-overflowed · · Score: 1

      You're in Europe, you guys went gaga over crazy things in the 80s!

      Anyway, go to IGN, Gamespot, or any of the main US-based magazines or sites. Read their reviews of any number of games, particularly extremely hyped things like Halo 2. Absolutely no knowledge of everything that came before is displayed. Their forums are worse.

      When people call things new that aren't new at all within a genre, the simplest explanation is that they didn't play the games where those features were used. This seems quite prevalent in reviews of gametypes that have crossed over from the PC, like FPSes. For everything else, well, they don't make 2D games much anymore...

      Too bad you guys are in Europe and thus 6 months+ behind the NA release cycle. I read through a few of your reviews and found them to actually be quite a bit better than most.

      --
      The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
  2. Correct me if I'm wrong but... by kryogen1x · · Score: 5, Insightful

    [i] Justin: Few games come tailor-made for success like Halo 2, but it still surprised me with how damn good it ended up being. Once again Bungie innovates in several ways -- new vehicles, dual-wielding, the deadly melee weapon -- that are sure to be poorly ripped off by lesser games for years to come.[/i] You mean to say other games before Halo 2 didn't have vehicles, dual weapons and melee weapons?

    1. Re:Correct me if I'm wrong but... by kryogen1x · · Score: 1
      Argh I fsck'd up the formatting. It should read:

      Justin: Few games come tailor-made for success like Halo 2, but it still surprised me with how damn good it ended up being. Once again Bungie innovates in several ways -- new vehicles, dual-wielding, the deadly melee weapon -- that are sure to be poorly ripped off by lesser games for years to come.

      You mean to say other games before Halo 2 didn't have vehicles, dual weapons and melee weapons?

    2. Re:Correct me if I'm wrong but... by adnpryde · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I can't think of one game that did all of those before Halo, but there where plenty of other FPS that used one or many of those features. Halo just happens to implement them all relatively well and with a clean design, which is where it's sucess comes from.

    3. Re:Correct me if I'm wrong but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What I love is that Marathon 2 - an earlier Bungie game - already had dual wielding. While many people consider it to be a giant leap forward for them, Halo I was actually lacking a feature they offered in earlier incarnations.

    4. Re:Correct me if I'm wrong but... by kryogen1x · · Score: 1

      What I'm saying is, the guy makes it seem like Halo was the first time those features were used in a game. Halo only has those features bundled in one game. Innovative? I think not.

    5. Re:Correct me if I'm wrong but... by jmole · · Score: 1

      Unreal Tournament and Tribes 2.

    6. Re:Correct me if I'm wrong but... by Axem · · Score: 2, Insightful

      What about Goldeneye for N64? It had vehicles (just a tank though), dual wielding weapons (dual RCP-90s anyone?), and melee weapons (knives, and karate chop!).

      --
      We all live in a #FFFF00 submarine...
    7. Re:Correct me if I'm wrong but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Well, for dual wielding and melee -- Marathon.

      Hey, everything old *is* new again!

    8. Re:Correct me if I'm wrong but... by space_jake · · Score: 0

      Geez, Shadow Warrior had all that, and it was horribly racist to boot.

    9. Re:Correct me if I'm wrong but... by Alkaiser · · Score: 1

      Uh...a little game called Counter-Strike.

      Maybe you've heard of it? The terrorists had Dual Pistols at the same time the Vehicle patch came out, and you've always had a knife.

      Gamespy continues to suck.

      --
      Netjak.com independent reviews of domestic & import video ga
    10. Re:Correct me if I'm wrong but... by pdxmac · · Score: 1

      Gamespy continues to suck.

      Maybe, but...

      Look at their 2004 Gamer's Choice awards (voted by site visitors). Totally predictable. PS2=GTA:SA. XBox=Halo2, PC=HL2,Doom3,WoW. Whatever. Gamers are lemmings, I guess.

      Now, look at their top 10 games (the story referenced by Slashdot). Yes, yes, the usual suspects are all there. Yes, Halo 2 is #1, followed by HL2 and other, predictable, console-oriented titles. But, wait, what do I see: at number 10 is Katamari Damacy, which only got 3% of the Gamer vote for PS2 alone. (And, it was the only odd-ball on that list.)

      Yeah, yeah. Flash-based ads, silly meaningless "previews" and all. But I sense the editors are crying for the freedom to publish original opinions to enlighten the masses.

    11. Re:Correct me if I'm wrong but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Throwing in a quirky lesser selling title in the lower rungs of the list is just a method that they are using to try to maintain their credibility.

      I doubt the games in the top spots actually paid for those positions, but there is an unspoken agreement between the gaming industry and the gaming press. Any review of any heavily advertized game must gloss over the flaws of the game and inflate the overall rating. Of course, sometimes they will be honest about truly atrocious titles, but not always. 6 months later, all bets are off though and the writers will be more honest when discussing older titles. This reinforces the pattern of pushing Christmas titles into the end of year top ten lists. The writers are no longer obligated to gush about yesterday's titles but they know that these lists can heavily influence sales of recent games and that the publishers are watching them.

      It's a mess really and generally the writers aren't much better at writing than the thousands of vapid bloggers who post their own game reviews so I really don't see much reason to follow the gaming press.

    12. Re:Correct me if I'm wrong but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, yeah... I've played all those games, but the original poster is right. HALO 2 is very, very good. GOODFELLAS or RAGING BULL aren't very original either, but they are brilliant films none-the-less. Some of you guys go on and on pining for the glory days and IMO it ends up sounding defensive and just plain silly.

    13. Re:Correct me if I'm wrong but... by ssand · · Score: 1

      As far as new vehicles in halo 2, there really is only one new vehicle, and that's the Covenant equivalent to the warthog. The others were either slightly modified or left the same, although jacking someone's vehicle is always fun.

      I remember vehicles being used on a larger scale in Tribes 2. As far as multiplayers, Halo 2 has decent ones, but surely they could have thrown bots in for those who like to play vs the computer.

      All in all it is a fair bit of opinion on what GOTY should be for a FPS. Halo 2 may not have as many puzzles, than HL2 (or so I've heard), but if you don't like puzzles, or you're up for some good killing, you probably don't want too many puzzles. Graphics aren't everything in a game. You don't need great graphics for a great game (just look at Doom 3).

    14. Re:Correct me if I'm wrong but... by mausmalone · · Score: 1

      And, I'm fairly certain that Marathon 2 had taken that from the ever-infamous Rise of the Triad.

      --
      -=-=-=-=-=
      I'd rather be flamed than ignored.
  3. Stating The Obvious by jmole · · Score: 3, Funny

    Obviously the people on Voodoo Extreme don't own PCs .

  4. Best Website - Slashdot by brejc8 · · Score: 1

    How to get your story on slashdot? State they are the best site!
    Under "Other Awards:" on 2004 PC Game of the Year Awards.

    --
    Mouse powered Chips, Open source Processors and Lego
  5. What a dissapointment by Kamalot · · Score: -1, Troll

    Why do people flock to Halo 2? What do they see in it? It is dull and repetitive. Meh. What am I missing?

    1. Re:What a dissapointment by jmole · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      I have determined that the people who actually like the Halo series fit into one or more of these categories:

      1. Never played a FPS shooter on PC.
      2. Never played a FPS shooter prior to Halo.
      3. Never played a FPS shooter with vehicles or dual weapons and think Halo is the first game to have both.
      4. Never played Tribes1 or 2, Operation Flashpoint/Resistance, Battlefield 1942, etc., which have bigger multiplayer maps then Halo 2, but they think Halo 2 has the largest multiplayer maps.
      5. Have only an XBox so they have no idea of other FPSs out there.
      6. All of the above.

    2. Re:What a dissapointment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How sad that anyone would fit into one of those categories, not to mention all of them.

      So, it is the people that think Halo 2 "roxor" that are really missing out?! Maybe they should get into some Unreal 2k4 or Half-Life 2.

      How can review sites review it so highly then? Shouldn't they have played those other games too?

    3. Re:What a dissapointment by jmole · · Score: 1, Troll

      Well then, what makes Halo 2 so special that it should be regarded higher then other FPSs? Is it innovative? No. There is nothing new that has not already been used five years ago in FPSs on the PC or even console for that matter (Goldeneye64). Is it revolutionary? No. The graphics are subpar to other FPS shooters out there. They look like crap compared to PC FPSs. Nothing special or new with the weapons, vechiles, gameplay, physics, etc either. Is it evolutionary? No. Halo 2 is just a rehash of the first game. It does not set the bar for next generation FPSs.

    4. Re:What a dissapointment by laard · · Score: 2, Informative

      I quite enjoy the Halo series and I can't seem to fit into your categories. I have been a FPS fan since it became a genre.

      1. the first FPS I played was Wolf3d on a 286 if I recall correctly, followed by the Doom series, Rise of the Triad (great game, under appreciated) Quake 1, 2, & 3, Unreal, Unreal Tournament, Half-Life, Counterstrike, Soldier of Fortune 1 & 2, and numerous others.
      2. See # 1
      3. I played Battlefield 1942 though I believe it was released after the original Halo. There were others before that though I can't think of a better example at the moment
      4. Played Battlefield and Tribes 2, didn't care much for Flashpoint though a friend of mine liked it.
      5. I have a custom PC which I upgrade every year or two. I also have a Gamecube, and I had an N64 (Goldeneye 007 was great).

      Despite all these things I still enjoyed Halo and even Halo 2 (though yes I want more closure in the story).

      Forgive my trolling but a gross generalization begs to be refuted.

      --
      --- If we knew half the things we shouldn't we'd stop wishing we knew it all
    5. Re:What a dissapointment by Khuffie · · Score: 3, Informative
      Just to drive the point home further:

      1. Of the games I can remember: Played Wolf3D, Doom 1 and 2, Rise of the Triads, Half-Life, CounterStrike, Quake 1 2 and 3, Doom 3, Half-Life 2, Counterstrike Source, Unreal Tournament 2004
      2. Non-PC FPS: Goldeneye64, Red Faction, Time Splitter 1 and 2, Nightfire
      3. UT2k4, Goldeneye, HL2 and Red Faction all had vehicles. None of the games I've played had dual wielding in which you could: a) yield two different kinds of guns and b) fire each gun individually.
      4. I've never played those games, but I never say Halo 2 has the largest multiplayer maps.
      5. Got an Xbox, PS2, GameCube, Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, Nintendo DS, Game Gear, SNES, NES, Genesis, Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn

      Try not to generalize about these things. It doesn't do you good ;).

  6. Opinion or advertising? by kryogen1x · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Halo 2 is the kind of game that not only brings accolades to itself, but elevates its platform. It's proven to be the game to own -- thus making Xbox, Xbox Live, and its headset things that no self-respecting gamer would be without.

    Ok... how much is this guy getting paid by Microsoft?

    1. Re:Opinion or advertising? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Ok... how much is this guy getting paid by Microsoft?"

      Too much, but still not enough for me to believe him.

    2. Re:Opinion or advertising? by swat_r2 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's a killer app, and an amazing game that a whole lot o' people love and enjoy. Word of mouth alone would sell a trillion copies of H2.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_app

      Is it that hard to understand?

    3. Re:Opinion or advertising? by bitwiseNomad · · Score: 1

      Self respecting gamer here. Don't own an Xbox.

      --

      Light is filtering down from above. Would you like to use DIVE?
    4. Re:Opinion or advertising? by M3wThr33 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Word of mouth sold the game alone. At least 2 million people, 1 in 15 of the Xbox owners pre-purchased the game WITHOUT playing it OR reading a review before hand, and 1 in 3 (YES! 1/3rd, 33%) purchased it for their Xbox within the first 3 weeks.

      Hell, if the game was an empty box, it still would have sold that much. Hype of Halo 1 sold this game. Every Xbox owning friend I personally know is disappointed, though. EVERY one.

    5. Re:Opinion or advertising? by swat_r2 · · Score: 1

      I'd suggest you get new friends :) Every single person I've talked to in real life loves this game even more than the first one. If it wasn't good, people wouldn't still be playing it with a passion.

      Halo 2 lived up to the hype and more, that's why it continues to sell in bucket loads, that's why people are logged into Live 20 hours a day playing it, and that's why it will continue to be a definitive online game until Halo 2.5/3 is released.

      YMMV.

  7. Slashdot: web site of the year! by Leninix · · Score: -1, Troll

    At very least, they claim that Slashdot is the best web site.
    This is enough for counterbalancing PcGamer 'mag of the year, naming Ati best hardware corp. not giving Doom3 game of the year nod, and hell might freeze, Half-Life 2 game of the year nod!! We, as slashdot regular, all know that
    1.Everything not running on *nix don't interest us at all
    2.Ati has crappier driver than sis 630 or even trio 64
    3.Owning and playing Half-Life 2 is against freedom.
    4.Doom 3 is about the only game we've got this year, though Battle for Wesnoth could be a good runner up.

  8. Best Sports Game by Aggrazel · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How can UT2k4 be the best sports game?

    Sounds like they don't play real sports games at all.

  9. Without MS? by Khuffie · · Score: 4, Insightful
    You know, I wonder if all these people here who are complaining how Halo sucks (who also tend to immediately mention the name Microsoft in their post ) would think of it had Microsoft not bought Bungie, and had it come out for the Mac as planned.

    Whether you like Microsoft or not, the Halo games are friggin' great, and some of the best FPSs to date. And yes, I've played a shitload of FPS, both PC and console.

    And a game doesn't need to be 'innovative' to be GOTY in my opinion. What happened when a game can just be just pure fun to be considered great?

    As for those who say "but Goldeneye had dual wielding too!" clearly haven't played Halo 2. Dual wielding here doesn't mean "each hand holding the same gun". Instead, you can pick and chose between the guns in your hands. This opens up a myriad of combinations and really lets you discover really cool and ass-kicking combos out there. Also, if you're dual wielding, the right trigger fires the gun in the right hand, and the left trigger fires the gun in the left hand, so effectively you can fire with one gun only until the ammo in it depletes, and while its reloading, fire with the other gun.

    Besides, the vehicles are all great, and jacking really adds to the gameplay. There's nothing better than someone in a Banshee getting too close to the ground and you jacking it from him.

    And online multiplayer is great, especially for those of us that don'y play 24/7. Live does a great job of matching you with people of your own skill so you never feel overpowered in any single game, which means you're having fun playing and not dying 10 seconds after respawning.

    What else can I say? If you don't like it, try taking out your Halo 2 disc and cross out the 'Microsoft' logo with a marker. See if you'll like it better then ;).

    1. Re:Without MS? by johannesg · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Also, if you're dual wielding, the right trigger fires the gun in the right hand, and the left trigger fires the gun in the left hand, so effectively you can fire with one gun only until the ammo in it depletes, and while its reloading, fire with the other gun.

      ...because, as we all know, humans have three arms: one for aiming and shooting, one for holding a weapon, and one for inserting a new clip. Sure, it takes a little bit of concentration, but otherwise...

      Hey, if you give up on the idea of reloading during a fight you could even use that third arm to triple-wield! Yes, an incredible new innovation, and you read it first here on slashdot!

      And there are rumours that Halo 3 will also feature the possibility to dual-drive! That means you get to drive not one, but two vehicles at the same time (and different vehicles too!). So you can be parking your warthog while simultaneously using your scorpion to lay down suppressing fire!

      Live does a great job of matching you with people of your own skill so you never feel overpowered in any single game, which means you're having fun playing and not dying 10 seconds after respawning.

      On the other hand, you'll never 0wnx0r a game since everybody in the level is as good as you are. That's Microsoft alright: mediocrity rules.

      What else can I say? If you don't like it, try taking out your Halo 2 disc and cross out the 'Microsoft' logo with a marker. See if you'll like it better then ;).

      Ahh, people don't like Halo because it is from Microsoft! Surely it had nothing to do with the fact that it is essentially a four-hour game stretched to ten, by repeating levels again and again and again and again...

    2. Re:Without MS? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Sounds to me like you played the game (if at all) with the intent to hate it. Clearly, 2 million copies sold the first day because everyone wanted more reason to hate MS, what with all of the money they throw at their projects and hope that only the idiots use it so no one will ever catch on to the real schemes.

      Clearly, you should take time away from Half-Life and be objective about games rather than comparing them and saying, "Well, it's not Half-Life, so it must suck."

    3. Re:Without MS? by Khuffie · · Score: 2, Insightful
      because, as we all know, humans have three arms: one for aiming and shooting, one for holding a weapon

      you can reload a real gun with one hand if you're good. (in the game one handed reloads are slow...much slower)

      On the other hand, you'll never 0wnx0r a game since everybody in the level is as good as you are. That's Microsoft alright: mediocrity rules.

      You can own a game. But that means because you're doing a good job, not because the other team sucks.

    4. Re:Without MS? by johannesg · · Score: 1
      Oooh, I complain about some utterly unrealistic crap in Halo 2 and now I am on the list of people who hate the game and Microsoft!

      Let me be perfectly honest with you: I played Halo and thought it was ok, but rather boring (the same room again and again and again got old after a while). Based on the strength of that game I would certainly not have bought Halo 2, even if I owned an XBox (which I don't). So based on this I largely feel indifference towards Halo 2.

      The fact that two million copies of Halo 2 were allegedly sold before anyone had a chance to hear the word of mouth, or read a decent review, is just plain sad. I guess like so many XBox owners you think that Halo was the first FPS ever, and are unaware of the many, many alternatives that exist on PC and other platforms. The fact that you mention a five year old game as your point of reference at the very least suggests you are not aware of recent developments.

    5. Re:Without MS? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      The Halo games are NOT "friggin great," they just have fun multiplayer.

  10. Amazing by swat_r2 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's amazing how many fanboys are crying in their milk over the GOTY annoucement. It's an awesome game. More power to you if you don't like it, but there's a reason it's doing so well. Just because you loathe it with a vengeance does not erase the fact that it's an amazing game which many people love and enjoy.

    And while you're at it do the following:

    1. Put down your milk and cookies
    2. Take off your MS bashing beanie
    3. Repeat after me: "there is no conspiracy."

    Rinse and repeat a few times, or you know - just go play your own personal GOTY.

    1. Re:Amazing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thank you. Fiinally, some clarity. I play HALO 2 as much as I play HALF-LIFE 2. Bungie nailed the on-line experience and, even though H2 may not be quite as polished as HL2, if MS puts 2.5 on X2's HD, I'll buy it because H2 is a work of art.

  11. Yawn... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Yeah, yeah... blah, blah, blah... mouse and keyboard rules... COUNTERSTRIKE is God... UNREAL did everything before everything else... First, HALO 2 is very, very good. GameSpy is right. There are remarkable ideas throughout the HALO series like The Flood. Plus, Larry Niven, author of RINGWORLD, did not patent a ring in space. In fact, he took the idea from Olaf Stapledon's STAR MAKER and LAST AND FIRST MEN. Second, copyright laws are very specific about what can and cannot be copyrighted because ideas are in the ether for anyone to use in storytelling. Only specific combinations of story ideas can be copyrighted. Recycling ideas is a part of the artistic process. It's called inspiration. You say, I want to write something like BLADE RUNNER, but in a prison and RIDDICK begins to form. You know, GOODFELLAS or RAGING BULL aren't terribly original, but they are still brilliant films. HALO 2 is a brilliant game. Some of you guys go on and on pining for the glory days of PC gaming and it just ends up sounding defensive and silly. You're too imprinted on the PC. I own one. I love playing HALF-LIFE 2 on it. I also own an iMAC, an Xbox and a PS2. I own an iPOD and a Sony digital camera. It's a big world out there, gentlemen. Who cares if PC is the best quality? Yes, 35mm motion picture film exists, but Michael Moore won an oscar for a documentary shot on videotape. Get my drift? Stop banging the PC drum. Turn down the testosterone. It ain't such a big thang. It's tired.

  12. Goatse award??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Congratulations, it's a great trophy for your cabinet.

  13. San Andreas by ObsessiveMathsFreak · · Score: 1

    I don't get it? Maybe its the online social thing or maybe the machoism? I don't know. I have Halo 2, finshed it on hard(but not legendary obviously). Played through it a good few times. It's probobly the best game on Xbox of 2004. You could argue for Fable as well, I won't disagree.

    But to look me right in the eye, to my face, in all seriousness and tell me that GTA: San Andreas was not the best game of 2004 is quite plainly either outright lying or fanboyism gone mad!

    Now, I'm no fanboy. I gave up the console patriotism thing years ago. But in all fairness, San Andreas is an absolutely mind blowing game. I understand that many might not have had the chance to play it, but anyone who has, just has to admit freely that it is completely unrivalled by any game that has come out in the last year. Completely unrivalled I say! Halo 2 was the more hyped game( actually most hyped game ever), and is the best FPS this year, but that will not disguise the fact that it simply not a better game than San Andreas. Not better. No way. This isn't fanboyism. Play San Andreas. See the size! The scope for christs sake.

    Now I understand the whole, Halo/Xbox is American, Oh-rah, Master Chief rocks!, phenomeon. And that's OK! Halo 2 is awesome. Fantastic even. But I'm afraid that only the deprived, deluded, overzealous and bribed will hold it over San Andreas.

    --
    May the Maths Be with you!
    1. Re:San Andreas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I respect your opinion, but I'm neither deprived, deluded, overzealous or bribed and honestly and I didn't care for GTA: SA that much. I'm not much of a fan of the series, actually. I really hated the first two and this, IMO, is only slightly better. On a level of one to ten, I was ten disappointed by GTA: Vice and the other one. I was BRUTE FORCE disappointed, you know? I think the whole gang-related thing is tired and a little repugnant. It's not an aspect of my country that I admire, so why would I want to play a game revolving around it? But, I know people love this game and that's cool. I didn't.

    2. Re:San Andreas by bedessen · · Score: 1

      How can you possibly call yourself "not a fanboy" with a straight face? The post above is the very definition of fanboy-ism: "X is the greatest! No other Ys or Zs can possibly compare to X! If you disagree that X is not the greatest then you obviously are dumb or ignorant and don't know what you're talking about." That is what your post sounds like to someone (me) that has never owned a console and doesn't play games at all (other than CoDUO on the PC.)

  14. Sigh by Reapman · · Score: 1

    Not suprised but... honestly, as fps's go, thje pc is years ahead... before i rant let me say i've played halo2, and really enjoy it. great game, step in the right direction. GOTY? No way... for XBox sure, but not all systems. hl2 and d3 have better graphics... I've like dthe vehicles in UT2004 better, for Melee? JK Academy. Story? Tough, but I'd probably still pick hl2. Each to their own but... really Halo2 ,mauy be the best CONSOLE FPS, but in this market PC is where it's at.. btw excuse the spelling / grammer, i've got 2 bandaged fingures so typing is toughre then usual :)