mikeszekely

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/11/10/news_6112915.html I knew I was busy yesterday... Anyway, did some more online playing. Just like Halo 1, some of the maps are great, some aren't so great. It's fun that you can drive the Banshee and the Wraith in multi-player now. And it's really fun to drive vehicles into the fan on Zanzibar. Oh, and another Halo-moment... I was using a Banshee to chase down one friend, and another comes up and tries to jack my ride! I bailed, so he could have it... then I shot him with a rocket launcher while he was climbing. As an added bonus, the explosion took out the guy I was chasing in the first place. Double kill!

I'm Jack Sparrow, or O-Ren Ishii. Either way, I have issues.

Oh, I don't know about that. It probably would have released a lot sooner, and not looked so dated by PC standards. Also, Bungie would have done it right. The mediocre PC version of Halo was mediocre because it was a port handled by some third party. i've read a few more posts from you man, it doesn't even sound like you have an xbox. actually play halo sometime and i think it'll change your mind. Are you implying that Gaijin doesn't have an Xbox, or me? Because I most definately have an Xbox, and I've most definately been playing Halo 2. Anyway, to get this thread back on track, I think the thing I was dissapointed with as far as Killzone goes is the pop-up and spotty hit detection. When I shoot someone in the head, I expect them to go down, dammit!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. If Studio Nue and Big West are going to sink time and money into doing more Macross, I'd rather a new original TV series than a remake of the original.

I like MS, too! I also take care of my system, and I think Windows XP kicks much ass! I stopped using IE, though. I liked it, but it was directly to blame for letting in some of the spyware/malware that corrupted Windows and forced me to do a system restore. I tried disabling ActiveX, but soon got tired of warnings from IE that it might not be able to display a page properly and so on, so I eventually switched to Firefox, and haven't looked back since. I was hesitant to buy an Xbox, because no American console has succeeded in the console market. I was afraid the Xbox was going to pull another Dreamcast. But, Halo and DoA3 were just too hard to resist. And I gotta give Microsoft a lot of credit. They've set up a user-friendly online system, and really captured the attention of the mainstream American gamer (and with the Japanese gaming industry on the decline, plus the rising dominance of non-Japanese developers like EA and Ubisoft, the American market has definately become more vital than the Japanese). Today, I have more Xbox games than any other console. Anyway, I'm sure a lot of Halo's popularity is due to the multiplayer. It's not the mindless frag-fest that Unreal is, although not quite as stalk-and-shoot as Goldeneye or Perfect Dark. It was the kind of multiplayer that was easy to get into, and the kind where you'd often create moments to laugh about later (like the time I was driving the tank, and my friends were going to try to use the Warthog to attack me, but the driver panicked and backed over his teammate). But, if you don't like splitscreen gaming, it's just a fun console shooter, but probably nothing outstanding to the PC crowd. And why is Halo 2 so good? Well, Bungie heard the complaints about the first one, and really worked hard to to fix things like the repetetive levels and to create more multiplayer maps. See now, if you have friends who want to play (again, don't play strangers), then you might try Halo 2 online.

Oh, I don't know about that. It probably would have released a lot sooner, and not looked so dated by PC standards. Also, Bungie would have done it right. The mediocre PC version of Halo was mediocre because it was a port handled by some third party.

I'm not pretending that voice chat was invented with Xbox Live. I keep mentioning it because without it, it wouldn't really matter if I was playing a friend, stranger, or a bot. I am saying that Halo 2's online play has that combination of things... the TV in the living room, voice, and the same game and same friends you'd be playing with if everyone really was in your living room... that really make it almost as good as if your friend really were there.

I didn't say that PC FPS gamers are a minority... I said that PC gamers period are a minority. Most of the money in the videogame industry is in consoles. I have no idea how many copies of Half-Life were sold, but the original Halo sold 4 million copies in the US. Microsoft may have jumped the gun announcing those sales figures, but I wouldn't be suprised if they're correct. Remember, $22,000 in one day at my store. We're lucky if we top $10,000 on Black Friday. And that's just one store. And yes, that seriously was mostly Halo 2. I sold maybe three copies of Everquest II, one copy of San Andreas, a used copy of Madden 2004, a Yu-Gi-Oh game for the GBA, and few Halo 2 strat guides, and something between 200 and 300 copies of Halo 2.

But that's the brilliance of it! I'm not just logging into some server to get raped by some middle-schooler who does nothing but play Halo in their free time... I've got my best friend down in Virginia, two more local friends, plus three guys from work on my Live Friend List. Then, I only play with them. With voice chat enabled, you still have all the smack talk, plus the usual "So, how's your wife?" or "Do you want to get a beer after work tomorrow?" I kid you not, it's seriously as good as if they really were there with you.

Bravo! Spoken like a true hater! Sorry, Isamu, there's just no way I can take your opinion seriously when you're trying to tell me that a game as ugly as the N64 Turoks looks better than a game as gorgeous as Halo 2.

Killzone's two biggest problems are that it was actually Sony who was billing it as a Halo killer to get it more attention, and that it was made for PS2. Don't get me wrong, I like my PS2, and I think it's great for games like Ace Combat, which just looks gorgeous on it. But it's not so hot for FPS. And then, when people finally play the game, they find it's nothing really like Halo... more like Medal of Honor in the future.

See, me and my friends did that too, and later with Perfect Dark. And it took awhile to grow on us (and I still wish it had better maps), but Halo captured some of those good old days. Now, the thing is, the friends I used to play Goldeneye with have all moved around the US with jobs and what not... and that's one of the reasons Halo 2 is good. Completely lag free, voice-chat enabled. In the living room, on the TV with the home theater. It's the next best thing to having my bros in the living room with me (and on the plus side, I can play in my boxers). Is that something new and revolutionary? Well, as it's been pointed out, PC gamers have been doing it for years... but it's just not the same. Halo 2 with Xbox Live is a lot closer to those days of yore when we all crowded around a TV with an N64 and Goldeneye. As for the campaign, Bungie heard the (valid) complaints that the levels were rather repetetive in the original Halo, and they took great care to mix things up better in Halo 2. Attacking that big spider-looking mech was like nothing I'd ever done in a game before, and later, I was pleasantly suprised to get to play a level as a Covenant soldier known as "the Arbiter." And the story is pretty good, too. The orignal Halo's story was good for an FPS, but maybe kind of so-so in general. The story is a lot more interesting this time around.

So, anyway, like I said, I worked today. 8 hours of people non-stop picking up their Halo reserves. To give you an idea, my store usually does maybe $1000 on a weekday, $2000 on a weekend. $10,000-$15,000 a week. Big games come out, like Madden, maybe we have two days of $5000 before it goes back to normal. When Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (a game many thought would be the best-selling game of the year) came out, we did $7000 two days in a row, and didn't go below $2000 for a few days after. Well, Halo 2 basically crapped on GTA. We did over $6000 from midnight to 1:00 am last night, and we did $22,000 today (with an hour and a half left to go when I left). Bear in mind, these are just sales figures. I'm not saying that one game or another is definatively better (although I got bored fast with GTAIII an had no interest in San Andreas), and there's no law that says you can't enjoy both. I just think it's unreal how incredible the sales have been for Halo 2.

Is Halo 2 the best console FPS? Yes. PC gaming and console gaming is like pie and ice cream. Sure, they're both basically desserts. They're both enjoyable, and if you like one, you can like the other. But for all their similarities, they're not the same. Halo 2 doesn't bring anything new to the FPS genre, or anything that PC gamers that were weened on Quake and Tribes haven't already experienced. But, Halo isn't made with PC gamers in mind... it's for the people who spent hours playing Goldeneye on four player split-screen. PC gamers are a hardcore lot, and I give them credit for that. But most gamers today don't feel like spending $500 bucks to upgrade their video card to play the newest game (only to turn around later and buy a new motherboard and processor for same reasons), then have to patch the hell out of their game to squat in front of their 17" monitor when a $300 Xbox will let them play most of the games they want with no hassle on (at least) a 27" TV from the comfort of their favorite armchair. It's for that reason that Halo 2 will, in all likelihood, outsell Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 combined. But, anyway, this thread isn't about the pros and cons of PC gaming vs. console gaming. It's a fact that some of us prefer one method or the other, for various reasons, all valid. And some us enjoy both. Let's please just all accept that, remember this is a discussion about Halo 2, and be respectful of each other.

Those new enemies would be the drones. If you have a Battle Rifle, stand back and use the scope. Hit them when they land. Again, the online is the best I've ever experienced on the Xbox. There was aboslurmely no lag. It's like all those times, whenever my friend from VA was visiting here in PA, we'd play Halo 1 in my living room. It's just like that.

All you should have to do is open some ports for the Xbox to use in your firewall.

I worked the midnight shift, and picked it up then. Played on Live a little. It's amazing, and I don't know how it'll be with more people, but with me (in PA) and my bud (in VA) there was absolutely NO lag. For as smooth as it was, he could have been playing splitscreen in my living room. Best experience I've ever had with Live. Blood Gulch and Battle Creek return, but with different names. They're also TONS more detailed. The original Halo is ugly by comparison. Haven't really tried the single-player. All-in-all, if you didn't like the orignal Halo, don't expect Halo 2 to win you over. But if you liked Halo, Halo 2 is a must buy. Going to bed now... it's 3:30 am, and I gotta be at work at noon.

"Puffed up" should be "puffed-up." Hyphen.

Who looks like an "f'n tard"? I mean, seriously think about that for a minute. You have a group of people who use things like capital letters, correct spelling, and oh, a little something we like to call English. And then we have you, who's poor l33t-wannabe net speak is worse than ebonics. You kind of expect that sort of thing in some forums (like, say, Gamefaqs) where the place is crawling with middle-schoolers who think that typing like an idiot is somehow cool, or trendy. But as previously mentioned, it doesn't go over well here. Most of the members here are in their 20's and 30's, and will look down on it as being juvenile. I'm not exactly saying that you should absolutely spell everything correctly, or that your grammar must be impecable. But you may want to at least attempt to write correctly, and then not go off on the other members who wish you correct your attrocities against the English language. If you can do that, then we'll gladly welcome you as a member and hope you can take an educated part in many discussions here. If you are unwilling or unable, then by all means, consider us "teh suxors" and return to other boards typing like a poorly educated 14-year old is the rule rather than the exception.

That would be correct. The only real difference is that the S-32's verticals are spaced farther apart and are canted inward instead of outward, and the exhaust is shaped differently.

Kids today. The marvel of the internet... so much information at your fingertips... so little articulation...

My first run through, like I said, I used whatever fighter I had that was best suited for the mission. A lot of the carrier missions, I used the F-35C when I could have used the F/A-18C or F-14A, but finishing the game was the most important thing. Second time though, planes are important. I used the F/A-22 until I unlocked the FB-22, then I started using the F-14A (while assigning decent planes to my wingmen). Third time through, same thing. I'm starting to play in the Free Mission mode, but it's just monotonous to play the same mission over and over. The only thing I can think of is that kill point value goes up with difficulty, so maybe I should start playing on Expert. Speaking of difficulty, is it just me, or is the only difference between difficulties the ammount of ammo you launch with?

So why not just use exclamation marks, like we have in the English right up until the 21st century?

No, seriously though... what's "11one"?

Can't answer you're second question, but to your first, the answer is no. The only Sukhoi planes in Ace Combat 5 are the Su-27, Su-32, Su-35, Su-37, Su-47, and S-32.