The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
It's not been there for a while, and I didn't realise it was gone until it came back.
You'll know what I'm talking about in a minute, I just need to make sure I'm feeling OK.......
Yeah, I wasn't dreaming. Anyway, when was the last time you walked into a store and saw a game running on the screens, and you couldn't put your finger on what the game was, but you had a burning desire to play the game. It hadn't happened to me for a while. I don't know why, but I figured I must be becoming a little worn out and bored by the current state of the games industry.
Anyway, first thing that struck me about this game is that it didn't look much better than most other PC games, but it was running at a hell of a fast frame rate, very smooth, lots of stuff happening, and pretty colours. Looks nice, a damn fince PC FPS game, we need more games that look as fun as this. So, after a minute or two of staring at the screen, I asked the guy behind the desk if he had any idea of what game it was. As per usual in Virgin, he didn't (SR get a store in Dundee soon ;) ), but he did know one thing, it was an Xbox game, he said that with a smug grin and handed me a little booklet of the console's release blurb.
Anyway, as you've just figured out, the game was Halo. And it looked like the best game since Unreal Tournament. Fast, fun, and don't care too much about stuff other than killing. It's everything Red Faction should have been. There seemed to be little innovation over anything else I'd ever seen, and it smelled of that same old Quake stench, but damn did it look good to play.
I think I might consider an Xbox, depending on how funding goes for the next wee while, purely based on the fact that I saw Halo on a TV in Virgin today, and it made me stop and think, "Damn that looks like a good game."
So, what happened to me that I lost that little twinge of enjoyment at looking at games?? Well I could blame the internet and magazines. I know far too much about games these days before I buy them, but I'm going to more realistic and blame the amount of drivel released for the PS2 in the last year and a quarter.
I have finally come to realise that the games industry has reached a bad moment, where there is far too much choice, and far too much drivel. Games these days aren't like boxes of chocolates any more. You can't buy a selection and savour the ones you really like, but still enjoy the rest all the same. Today, if you buy a selection, you will more than likely buy 95% nonsense, that shouldn't have ever seen the light of day.
Now before any Ninties start on about how that proves the PS2 is a bad console, I think it just means that PS2 owners have to be a little careful at what they buy. There are undoubted classics heading for the PS2, and there are more than enough good games for people to be content, just watch those pitfalls.
Anyway, the next game I buy will be Herdy Gerdy, I just hope that when I see it running, I get the same urge to own it as I did with Halo.................
You'll know what I'm talking about in a minute, I just need to make sure I'm feeling OK.......
Yeah, I wasn't dreaming. Anyway, when was the last time you walked into a store and saw a game running on the screens, and you couldn't put your finger on what the game was, but you had a burning desire to play the game. It hadn't happened to me for a while. I don't know why, but I figured I must be becoming a little worn out and bored by the current state of the games industry.
Anyway, first thing that struck me about this game is that it didn't look much better than most other PC games, but it was running at a hell of a fast frame rate, very smooth, lots of stuff happening, and pretty colours. Looks nice, a damn fince PC FPS game, we need more games that look as fun as this. So, after a minute or two of staring at the screen, I asked the guy behind the desk if he had any idea of what game it was. As per usual in Virgin, he didn't (SR get a store in Dundee soon ;) ), but he did know one thing, it was an Xbox game, he said that with a smug grin and handed me a little booklet of the console's release blurb.
Anyway, as you've just figured out, the game was Halo. And it looked like the best game since Unreal Tournament. Fast, fun, and don't care too much about stuff other than killing. It's everything Red Faction should have been. There seemed to be little innovation over anything else I'd ever seen, and it smelled of that same old Quake stench, but damn did it look good to play.
I think I might consider an Xbox, depending on how funding goes for the next wee while, purely based on the fact that I saw Halo on a TV in Virgin today, and it made me stop and think, "Damn that looks like a good game."
So, what happened to me that I lost that little twinge of enjoyment at looking at games?? Well I could blame the internet and magazines. I know far too much about games these days before I buy them, but I'm going to more realistic and blame the amount of drivel released for the PS2 in the last year and a quarter.
I have finally come to realise that the games industry has reached a bad moment, where there is far too much choice, and far too much drivel. Games these days aren't like boxes of chocolates any more. You can't buy a selection and savour the ones you really like, but still enjoy the rest all the same. Today, if you buy a selection, you will more than likely buy 95% nonsense, that shouldn't have ever seen the light of day.
Now before any Ninties start on about how that proves the PS2 is a bad console, I think it just means that PS2 owners have to be a little careful at what they buy. There are undoubted classics heading for the PS2, and there are more than enough good games for people to be content, just watch those pitfalls.
Anyway, the next game I buy will be Herdy Gerdy, I just hope that when I see it running, I get the same urge to own it as I did with Halo.................
Hehe. I don't know about all of this nonsense about innovation and ground breaking brilliance. I just want to play games that make me enjoy playing them, if that makes sense.
Halo looks like that type of game, it's smooth, fast, pretty and looks like a half decent shooter. I don't really mind if games like that have bad stories or weak single player options, a bit like Timesplitters. It's a damn fun game to play, and I don't think there are enough of those about.
I am one who believes that if a game wants to tell a story, then it should do it well. I'm not making excuses for stories which try to tell stories but do it badly, or with poor implementation, and I'm not in the business of starting console wars these days.
For me, it's about the games, if I like the look of something I might buy it, if I don't I wont. I know that Halo looks like a damn fine FPS, but I doubt I'd buy the Xbox on the strength of that alone, especially as it comes out a week after MGS2!!!
Oh, and thanks for reminding me about the Celtic game, always count on friendly people to make you feel good :D.
Halo looks like that type of game, it's smooth, fast, pretty and looks like a half decent shooter. I don't really mind if games like that have bad stories or weak single player options, a bit like Timesplitters. It's a damn fun game to play, and I don't think there are enough of those about.
I am one who believes that if a game wants to tell a story, then it should do it well. I'm not making excuses for stories which try to tell stories but do it badly, or with poor implementation, and I'm not in the business of starting console wars these days.
For me, it's about the games, if I like the look of something I might buy it, if I don't I wont. I know that Halo looks like a damn fine FPS, but I doubt I'd buy the Xbox on the strength of that alone, especially as it comes out a week after MGS2!!!
Oh, and thanks for reminding me about the Celtic game, always count on friendly people to make you feel good :D.
Dundee - Hmmm... obviously not important enough for me to know of. :D
Anyway, in response to your post I could just go on about how Halo is just another FPS and how GameCube games are more innovative and fun.
And I will.
Halo, as good as it may look, only ends up being an FPS with a few extras... Graphics hit you first when you look at a game - they always have done... but as you get into HALO, it becomes like most other FPS games.
If you want innovation in an FPS game, get SWAT 3, Operation Flashpoint, or the like. HALO isn't a miracle - it's just a good game.... like any other.
The fact that Microsofts Flagship title is of a predominantly PC-ruled genre is a crying shame... and most of the other titles seem to be Sequels or Prequels... MSR, JSR, DOA - Come on... why can't you see that... Innovation is the last thing the X-Box offers.
The PS2 is actually the best console out in the UK... :D
I think GC will fly when Mario and Zelda are out... because by that time, Metroid and SFA will join them, not to mention DKR and Mario Kart. Now, while they may be Prequels and Sequels for the most part, they still offer a great deal of innovation!
I'm not saying HALO isn't a great game, what I played in CEX was impressive, but X-Box is a big boys toy, not a proper games console... most of those that are sold will be to Uni students who can show off to their mates... they're need an extension to do it, but i'm sure they don't mind... I know the builders wont!
Ah..... An Anti-X-Box post from me... it's made me feel so much better.
By the way, Bonus, sorry about the Celtic match, you got absolutely battered! ^_^
How's things?
Good post by the way... for you, I mean.
Still it's better than my TV programes one... I must have been ill...
Game
Anyway, in response to your post I could just go on about how Halo is just another FPS and how GameCube games are more innovative and fun.
And I will.
Halo, as good as it may look, only ends up being an FPS with a few extras... Graphics hit you first when you look at a game - they always have done... but as you get into HALO, it becomes like most other FPS games.
If you want innovation in an FPS game, get SWAT 3, Operation Flashpoint, or the like. HALO isn't a miracle - it's just a good game.... like any other.
The fact that Microsofts Flagship title is of a predominantly PC-ruled genre is a crying shame... and most of the other titles seem to be Sequels or Prequels... MSR, JSR, DOA - Come on... why can't you see that... Innovation is the last thing the X-Box offers.
The PS2 is actually the best console out in the UK... :D
I think GC will fly when Mario and Zelda are out... because by that time, Metroid and SFA will join them, not to mention DKR and Mario Kart. Now, while they may be Prequels and Sequels for the most part, they still offer a great deal of innovation!
I'm not saying HALO isn't a great game, what I played in CEX was impressive, but X-Box is a big boys toy, not a proper games console... most of those that are sold will be to Uni students who can show off to their mates... they're need an extension to do it, but i'm sure they don't mind... I know the builders wont!
Ah..... An Anti-X-Box post from me... it's made me feel so much better.
By the way, Bonus, sorry about the Celtic match, you got absolutely battered! ^_^
How's things?
Good post by the way... for you, I mean.
Still it's better than my TV programes one... I must have been ill...
Game
I don't think we have Xbox pods in Dundee..........
If your *sniffing* becasue no one has replied then dont be that sad!
I did read it about half an hour after you replied, but just didnt have that much really to add to the subject, and its pointless just writing a *good post, well done* message...
One thing I can say though, why is ther not a playable demo of Halo on the X-box pods? Only the uninterative demo. Is this some sort of marketing scam? Just let people look at it so Microsoft can fool you with the visuals? But why would they need to do that? Halo has recieved high praise from nearly every source I have read.
I did read it about half an hour after you replied, but just didnt have that much really to add to the subject, and its pointless just writing a *good post, well done* message...
One thing I can say though, why is ther not a playable demo of Halo on the X-box pods? Only the uninterative demo. Is this some sort of marketing scam? Just let people look at it so Microsoft can fool you with the visuals? But why would they need to do that? Halo has recieved high praise from nearly every source I have read.
*sniff*
It's not been there for a while, and I didn't realise it was gone until it came back.
You'll know what I'm talking about in a minute, I just need to make sure I'm feeling OK.......
Yeah, I wasn't dreaming. Anyway, when was the last time you walked into a store and saw a game running on the screens, and you couldn't put your finger on what the game was, but you had a burning desire to play the game. It hadn't happened to me for a while. I don't know why, but I figured I must be becoming a little worn out and bored by the current state of the games industry.
Anyway, first thing that struck me about this game is that it didn't look much better than most other PC games, but it was running at a hell of a fast frame rate, very smooth, lots of stuff happening, and pretty colours. Looks nice, a damn fince PC FPS game, we need more games that look as fun as this. So, after a minute or two of staring at the screen, I asked the guy behind the desk if he had any idea of what game it was. As per usual in Virgin, he didn't (SR get a store in Dundee soon ;) ), but he did know one thing, it was an Xbox game, he said that with a smug grin and handed me a little booklet of the console's release blurb.
Anyway, as you've just figured out, the game was Halo. And it looked like the best game since Unreal Tournament. Fast, fun, and don't care too much about stuff other than killing. It's everything Red Faction should have been. There seemed to be little innovation over anything else I'd ever seen, and it smelled of that same old Quake stench, but damn did it look good to play.
I think I might consider an Xbox, depending on how funding goes for the next wee while, purely based on the fact that I saw Halo on a TV in Virgin today, and it made me stop and think, "Damn that looks like a good game."
So, what happened to me that I lost that little twinge of enjoyment at looking at games?? Well I could blame the internet and magazines. I know far too much about games these days before I buy them, but I'm going to more realistic and blame the amount of drivel released for the PS2 in the last year and a quarter.
I have finally come to realise that the games industry has reached a bad moment, where there is far too much choice, and far too much drivel. Games these days aren't like boxes of chocolates any more. You can't buy a selection and savour the ones you really like, but still enjoy the rest all the same. Today, if you buy a selection, you will more than likely buy 95% nonsense, that shouldn't have ever seen the light of day.
Now before any Ninties start on about how that proves the PS2 is a bad console, I think it just means that PS2 owners have to be a little careful at what they buy. There are undoubted classics heading for the PS2, and there are more than enough good games for people to be content, just watch those pitfalls.
Anyway, the next game I buy will be Herdy Gerdy, I just hope that when I see it running, I get the same urge to own it as I did with Halo.................
You'll know what I'm talking about in a minute, I just need to make sure I'm feeling OK.......
Yeah, I wasn't dreaming. Anyway, when was the last time you walked into a store and saw a game running on the screens, and you couldn't put your finger on what the game was, but you had a burning desire to play the game. It hadn't happened to me for a while. I don't know why, but I figured I must be becoming a little worn out and bored by the current state of the games industry.
Anyway, first thing that struck me about this game is that it didn't look much better than most other PC games, but it was running at a hell of a fast frame rate, very smooth, lots of stuff happening, and pretty colours. Looks nice, a damn fince PC FPS game, we need more games that look as fun as this. So, after a minute or two of staring at the screen, I asked the guy behind the desk if he had any idea of what game it was. As per usual in Virgin, he didn't (SR get a store in Dundee soon ;) ), but he did know one thing, it was an Xbox game, he said that with a smug grin and handed me a little booklet of the console's release blurb.
Anyway, as you've just figured out, the game was Halo. And it looked like the best game since Unreal Tournament. Fast, fun, and don't care too much about stuff other than killing. It's everything Red Faction should have been. There seemed to be little innovation over anything else I'd ever seen, and it smelled of that same old Quake stench, but damn did it look good to play.
I think I might consider an Xbox, depending on how funding goes for the next wee while, purely based on the fact that I saw Halo on a TV in Virgin today, and it made me stop and think, "Damn that looks like a good game."
So, what happened to me that I lost that little twinge of enjoyment at looking at games?? Well I could blame the internet and magazines. I know far too much about games these days before I buy them, but I'm going to more realistic and blame the amount of drivel released for the PS2 in the last year and a quarter.
I have finally come to realise that the games industry has reached a bad moment, where there is far too much choice, and far too much drivel. Games these days aren't like boxes of chocolates any more. You can't buy a selection and savour the ones you really like, but still enjoy the rest all the same. Today, if you buy a selection, you will more than likely buy 95% nonsense, that shouldn't have ever seen the light of day.
Now before any Ninties start on about how that proves the PS2 is a bad console, I think it just means that PS2 owners have to be a little careful at what they buy. There are undoubted classics heading for the PS2, and there are more than enough good games for people to be content, just watch those pitfalls.
Anyway, the next game I buy will be Herdy Gerdy, I just hope that when I see it running, I get the same urge to own it as I did with Halo.................