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Halo 3 and the Second Wave of 360 Games
conq writes "BusinessWeek has an interview with Microsoft Game Studios' Shane Kim in which he discusses the second wave of Xbox 360 games. When asked if Halo 3 is coming out this year, the answer was: 'It depends. If it's the game that everyone is expecting then, yes. For us it's about making a proper impact on the platform. It has to be something with huge significance, so we won't be rushed.'" If you know what that means, I would like to offer you a cookie, because I sure as heck don't.
I was at EB Games this weekend and saw a mock-up of a Halo 3 box on the "Coming Soon" shelf. I picked up the box to see if there were any screen shots on the back of the box. There weren't any screenshots, but I did find some valuable marketing intelligence. The back of the box said that Microsoft plans to release Halo 3 the same day as the PS3 comes out in an effort to out-launch Sony.
Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
It means no.
Gimme my cookie.
This one's actually surprisingly easy to answer. It's the first console FPS that actually managed a default controller scheme that was not only as easy as using a mouse and keyboard; it was easy to pick up, and in some cases provided even -more- manouverability to a casual player than even a seasoned Quake 3 lunatic could manage.
Other than that there wasn't really much new or interesting about it. Hardcore Halo fans will try to impress you with its "sweeping, complicated storyline," but the truth is no one's ever really given a shit about what the storyline for a FPS is. It's about the best graphics and the most violence, period.
"Halo 2 is one of the best selling console games ever,"
No it isn't. Not even close.
Best selling on the Xbox, which doesn't really mean much.
There seem to be the usual Xbox fan bogus numbers, what else is new? installed base/system power/etc, floating around about Halo 2 sales that have no basis in reality.
Halo 2 sold for one reaons, and one reason alone:
There was nothing else to buy.
There are a few reasons I highly enjoyed the game:
1. Inovative and fun gameplay, you have to make a tactical decision on which weapons to carry, when to take cover so your shields can regenerate and when its worth using grenades. The gameplay is actually very similar to Call of Duty 2 which I have been currently playing.
2. Easy online play with Xbox live and matchmaking, though I generally don't play with people other then my friends the fact that its a simple way to get together makes it very popular.
3. A fairly decent and interesting story, say what you will about the annoying cliffhanger but you wouldn't be annoyed by it if you weren't already interested in the story.
4. In single play the enemy AI is pretty damned good, will run for cover, set up ambushes and flank your position.
5. Coop singleplayer. Need I say more.
Thats all I can think of off the top of my head. If anyone else wants to add they're welcome.
"To face death, that's nothing much. But to feel really stupid when you die, well, that would be insufferable."
I've never seen anyone who calls themself a gamer have any trouble with Halo/Halo 2, and I've played with hundreds of people.
I have.
I've been playing FPSes on the computer since the days of ROTT, but trying to control Halo with an Xbox controller is just humiliating, and I've given up on playing it with anything but a SmartJoy FRAG. My right thumb is used to pushing buttons and the space bar, and it just doesn't seem to have the dexterity to move that analog stick. With a mouse, I can instantly point my crosshair at anything I want, but with the Xbox gamepad, I just stand there like a fool while my view zooms right past whatever I wanted to shoot.
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