The 360 thread!

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Halo 3 / Crackdown : UPDATE!

Posted by lukems at 5/16/2007 5:22 AM PDT
SketchFactor writes: This just in! The Microsoft team has identified the issue that was preventing the Halo 3 beta from being downloaded via Crackdown. This problem is expected to be fixed within the next 3 to 6 hours. New information as soon as we have it!

[fuwafuwa]

Crackdown update has arrived. Now downloading the beta...

[rockwaldo]

downloaded, played. Dont see what the fuss is about to be honest.

Looks pretty enough i guess - but still. Call in the shit squad.

[tentaclesex]

downloaded, played. Dont see what the fuss is about to be honest.

Looks pretty enough i guess - but still. Call in the shit squad.

I have mixed feelings about the Halo series. They're definitely overrated, but they're not really bad either. The first Halo was notable because it was the first console FPS that wasn't an utter chore to play, and it had some neat visual design (the Master Chief does have some cool looking armor after all, even if it's getting a bit tired now). The music and sound were good; the enemies had personality, and the guns were pretty nifty.

On the other hand, the level design was largely a boring copy-paste job with a few nice looking bits, and the story was not interesting. As far as story goes, I consider Halo and Half-Life to be similar. They both have fairly boring, clichéd plots, but those plots are delivered very well (in video game terms). In other words, they have bad stories, but good cinematic flair that lends a sense of grand storytelling to the affair, regardless of the fact that there's no "there" there. There are memorable moments along the way to nowhere.

The singleplayer elements of Halo 2 were OK, but the story totally jumped the shark. I seriously don't know what the hell they were thinking with the Little Shop of Horrors part. (If you played it, you'll know what I mean.)

In the area of multiplayer, Halo 2 clearly brought some terrific developments to the table. Prior to Halo 2, playing Xbox games online was generally an awful experience. The half-assed lobby systems of most Xbox games had me pining for a proper server browser like one would find on the PC, such as Gamespy (or Quakespy as I fondly remember it). Halo 2's semi-rank-based matchmaking party system was actually very good most of the time. It was streamlined and user-friendly, and I actually preferred it to the Gamespy model in some ways. The comprehensive stats and crap on bungie.net were a nice bonus.

I know I'm not the only person who expected every Xbox Live-enabled game from then on to use the same matchmaking system, but of course that didn't happen, and most subsequent Xbox games were just as bad as the pre-Halo titles. The 360 has improved things somewhat by leaving less up to individual developers (at least the friends list isn't a differently cobbled-up piece of shit in every different game). Still, nothing (that I have seen) has done it quite as nicely as Halo 2, and I'm looking forward to having that functionality again.

At this point, Halo 3 doesn't exactly seem like the most inspired or original game out there, but it should make for a pretty slick and well-balanced experience of pure shootery fun. It's nice to play something that is well-polished in this age of half-finished games, and I expect Halo 3 to be up to the same high standards as the previous games in that regard.

I think of the Halo series as a comfort food. They aren't the most exciting dishes, but they're consistently satisfying for what they are. I expect to get a lot of enjoyment out of Halo 3, if for no other reason than the fact that a large percentage of the people on my friends list will have it. Gaming with friends is the best, and that is most easily facilitated when there is that kind of overlap that occurs with such a big release.

This ended up way longer than I expected, and I'm really tired and coming off a buzz right now, so I apologize if it's not fully coherent. I'll probably edit it in the morning.

[Flabio]

There are memorable moments along the way

Cortana's 'Dust and Echoes' bit at the end of Halo1.

And her speech to the Master Chief in Halo2 when she realises she's going to have to stay behind.

[benedictw]

I was surprised how fast it came down the tubes - just over an hour and a bit - I had expected it to take all day.

There are memorable moments along the way

The Maw Run stands out for me - Not A Fucking Boss Battle. The whole level of Silent Cartographer stands out for me - really nice design, plays nicely, pretty open and not linear.

[Bubba]

About 30 minutes download time here Been playing it for the past couple of hours and it's a solid multiplayer experience. The new toys (bubble shield, spike grenades, gravlifts) are fun, although I'm absolutely shit with the Spartan laser

Cheers

Bubba

[The Captain]

There are memorable moments along the way

I forgave the original Halo for being linear and repetitive due to its class, atmosphere and generally good writing. Halo 2 seemed absolute garbage to me, although I didn't partake of the multiplayer. It seems a fragile sort of quality it has, whereby if one element is pitched wrong the whole affair seems turgid and derivative rather than quietly excellent.

And the comedy voices for the grunts have to go - it's like shooting smurfs, or perhaps Snarf from Thundercats. Which in context would be YES! YES! YES! But in Halo is completely inappropriate. Doesn't make you feel like a futuristic Uber-Warrior to be pitted against comedy aliens.

Thank god for Gears.

[legion]

About 30 minutes download time here Been playing it for the past couple of hours and it's a solid multiplayer experience. The new toys (bubble shield, spike grenades, gravlifts) are fun, although I'm absolutely shit with the Spartan laser

Cheers

Bubba

10 minutes for me at 6:50am. I got into matchmaking and tried to join a game for 15 mins and the whole system crashes reboot and matchmaking isn’t available.

5mins later matchmakings back up join a game of territories which has been nicely improved from Halo2 and is actually enjoyable

Its now played in 4 rounds of attacking and defending with 5 territories to take in a round once a territory is captured it can not be taken back by
the defending team and each one counts as point of the team score.

Could only play 1 and half games before I had to leave for work.

[Bubba]

And the comedy voices for the grunts have to go - it's like shooting smurfs, or perhaps Snarf from Thundercats. Which in context would be YES! YES! YES! But in Halo is completely inappropriate. Doesn't make you feel like a futuristic Uber-Warrior to be pitted against comedy aliens.

Nooooo! You can't take the grunts voices away, that would be horrific! There's nothing better than sneaking up on a pack and sticking one only to hear it scream "Get it off, get if off!" before charging to the "daddy" elite and blowing him to kingdom come

Cheers

Bubba

[benedictw]

Only played snowbound for 10 mins and it feels VERY solid. I have heard some crits about the vehicles feeling a bit light but person to person combat reminds me a LOT of Halo 1 but then its early times and I was whupping the opposition.

[Bubba]

Got a 360 with one of the various drive firmware hacks for playing "backups"? Best get a new one if you want to use live then - despite recent updates to the modified firmwares to prevent detection of games, MS have done it anyway and regardless of updates your console is now banned from Live. Which kinda sucks - I suspected they'd only ban specific games rather than the console as there's plenty of modded users out there who'd buy content.

Cheers

Bubba

[Meow]

downloaded, played. Dont see what the fuss is about to be honest.

Looks pretty enough i guess - but still. Call in the shit squad.

I have mixed feelings about the Halo series. They're definitely overrated, but they're not really bad either. The first Halo was notable because it was the first console FPS that wasn't an utter chore to play

you forgot about the flood, what a cop out, It was so cheap of them to do that.

Oh we have run of ideas, let make borring mutants instead.

[limb_clock]

Has the Live Marketplace imploded with millions of "leet" games yelling noob at the same time?

[Meow]

Has the Live Marketplace imploded with millions of "leet" games yelling noob at the same time?

this why I stop playing online....I hate online play....