Halo CE is incredibly bad and I have a hard time believing it

[Deleted member 2791]

I'm currently discovering Halo games with the MCC rollout on PC. Setting aside all the awful technical difficulties of the port, I still managed to play Reach in coop in its entirety. Pretty fine game, particularly the last few missions. Liked the space ships parts too. Overall had a fun time.

I'm now going through Halo CE and I know there's a decade between the games and I know it's the first in the series but holy shit it's BAD, like 3/10 level of bad. I've done the first seven missions and I feel like I've played through the exact same corridors from start to finish. I liked "The Halo" mission in the open ended area and the one that's on the beach (might be the same one) but right now I've done two missions back to back (so like, 20% of the game) that were just going through the same corridors with the same look beating up the same enemies for what felt like an eternity. And now they've introduced the Flood enemies and it's even more awful, there's now a shit ton of very small enemies that I have to waste my precious shotgun ammo on.

like bruh I know the good part of Halo is in 2 and 3 according to what people told me but I wasn't expecting to play such a turd. i was legit getting nausea from turning around in the same labyrinthic purple as shit corridors. for those who didn't play the game, imagine spending hours and hours roaming around in places that look all exactly like this:

 

[Dio]

had a similar opinion. friend told me it works better with a controller, or that its a case of "you needed to be there at the time to appreciate it" kind of thing. still frustrating. i wanted to like it so much.

 

[ThereAreFourNaan]

Seinfeld is unfunny

 

[Jaded Alyx]

I've done the first seven missions and I feel like I've played through the exact same corridors from start to finish.

Click to shrink...

Aaaaaaaaaand that's where I stopped playing back in the old PC version.

Good luck with the thread though.

 

[iksenpets]

Halo 1's level design is its big weak point. Very repetitive corridors, open areas can be a bit difficult to navigate. But it's still a blast to play despite that.

 

[Deleted member 2791]

had a similar opinion. friend told me it works better with a controller, or that is a case of "you needed to be there at the time to appreciate it" kind of thing. still frustrating. i wanted to like it so much.

Click to shrink...

i'm playing with a controller
it still sucks

 

[Squirrel09]

I disagree. It's just a fps from early 2000's, times were different. I enjoy it for what it is.

 

[Crushed]

Halo 1 has a few levels that are really good, and then also a bunch of levels that, in a different timeline, would have resulted in Bungie being legally banned from making FPS games ever again

 

[Dio]

i'm playing with a controller
it still sucks

Click to shrink...

oh noooo

 

[Deleted member 2620]

I didn't fully play through the Halo CE campaign until around 2015 or so, but I remember the online consensus about Halo even in like 2001/2002 always acknowledging that it had a very uneven campaign. The highs are high, but it does!

3/10 is wild though lol

 

[rebelcrusader]

Man quarantine really is robbing people of their sanity

 

[newmoneytrash]

Seinfeld is unfunny

Click to shrink...

exactly

 

[Darknight34]

I'm currently discovering Halo games with the MCC rollout on PC. Setting aside all the awful technical difficulties of the port, I still managed to play Reach in coop in its entirety. Pretty fine game, particularly the last few missions. Liked the space ships parts too. Overall had a fun time.

I'm now going through Halo CE and I know there's a decade between the games and I know it's the first in the series but holy shit it's BAD, like 3/10 level of bad. I've done the first seven missions and I feel like I've played through the exact same corridors from start to finish. I liked "The Halo" mission in the open ended area and the one that's on the beach (might be the same one) but right now I've done two missions back to back (so like, 20% of the game) that were just going through the same corridors with the same look beating up the same enemies for what felt like an eternity. And now they've introduced the Flood enemies and it's even more awful, there's now a shit ton of very small enemies that I have to waste my precious shotgun ammo on.

like bruh I know the good part of Halo is in 2 and 3 according to what people told me but I wasn't expecting to play such a turd. i was legit getting nausea from turning around in the same labyrinthic purple as shit corridors. for those who didn't play the game, imagine spending hours and hours roaming around in places that look all exactly like this:

Click to shrink...

This game is still better than most of the bland garbage fps games out there. It feels good to play and even though you go through a lot of the same areas it still feels better than most modern games. Also... Kids these days.. They have opinions that I disagree with.

 

[ArjanN]

Eh, it's still a pretty solid FPS overall, but people complained about this specific issue since the game came out originally.

 

[dep9000]

I loved it when it first released. My buddies and I would play through the campaign on the hardest difficulty all the time. Maybe it hasn't aged well. The game is what, close to 20 years old?

 

[formasymphonic]

Seinfeld is unfunny

Click to shrink...

This - amplified by the fact that op played Bungie's final Halo directly before their first one.

 

[Breqesk]

"like bruh I know the good part of Halo is in 2 and 3 according to what people told me"

That really isn't the consensus opinion--a lot of people hold up CE as their favourite, including me.

Honestly, if you hate CE this much, I really doubt you'll find much to like in 2 or 3, either.

 

[Deleted member 2791]

This game is still better than most of the bland garbage fps games out there. It feels good to play and even though you go through a lot of the same areas it still feels better than most modern games. Also... Kids these days.. They have opinions that I disagree with.

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no it's fucking not lmao

I didn't fully play through the Halo CE campaign until around 2015 or so, but I remember the online consensus about Halo even in like 2001/2002 always acknowledging that it had a very uneven campaign. The highs are high, but it does!

3/10 is wild though lol

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like it's not even that i had big expectations or something, i was just expecting the kickstart to such a huge franchise to not be so unbelievably boring
Reach was a pretty fun game

 

[Bor Gullet]

I made a similiar thread about this a few days ago

Levels 7-9 of the Halo Combat Evolved campaign is pretty tedious

Many levels are backwards in Halo,but imo I like them all. There isn't a single one I hate

www.resetera.com

I love the first 6 levels, but 7-9 can be pretty grating.

 

[Sameer Sedlar]

Absolutely agree, I just recently played it as well, it was like there were 2 minds on level design, one is fantastic atmospheric approach, and the other -dominant one- is more of the same corridor over and over again, I was so sick of it.

 

[Necromorph]

Halo in overall aged pretty bad, was good but right now it looks bad.

 

[Neoleo2143]

It's a fine enough FPS, certainly a better work than its sequel with interesting enemy interactions and a defined combat loop that worked well with the health system and rewarded more constant interaction with enemies.

 

[Lyre]

Halo 1 saved the genre from PC-ized FPS's, we must thank it every day.

 

[Crushed]

This isn't even an aging issue; people pointed out that Halo 1 devolves into the same goddamned rooms being repeated for a while back when the game was brand new

 

[Shpeshal Nick]

Terrible opinions are completely legal so it's ok.

I mean, even as someone who doesn't care about story in games, I knew there was an actual narrative reason for why "levels were repeated". The Library is the only genuinely bad level.

The game still plays exquisitely 20 years later.

 

[MercuryLS]

The best part of Halo is the balance of weapons and enemy AI. The level design itself is ok, with some stand out areas.

 

[RoKKeR]

The second half is rough in parts, but the first half of the game, and for what the levels were at the time... only rivaled by H3 in terms of open level design IMO.

 

[I Wanna Be The Guy]

I played it for the first time last year and thought it was fantastic.

 

[NippleViking]

CE Campaign has a lot of rough aspects, and depending on your tolerance for older games (particularly older console games) your mileage will vary massively. Certainly doesn't help that Halo's movement style is very polarising.

It has elements which still hold up today - the setting is inspired, the gunplay is still great albeit a bit clunky compares to modern contemporaries, and AI could go toe-to-toe with most even 20 years later - but yeah, it's dated.

 

[Semfry]

Seinfeld is unfunny

Click to shrink...

This keeps getting brought up in these threads to excuse it but the late 90's-early 2000's were pretty much the golden age of FPS level design. The bad parts were just as conspiciously awful at the time, and the actually good parts like Silent Cartographer are still just as good.

 

[dlauv]

I used to hate Halo 2 and I'd been told legends of how great CE was. Played through Halo CE and the back half in particular was such a slog because of the level design. If you're not going through dozens of copy + paste hallways, you're going back through them.

Playing Halo 2 again and it's far more varied so far. Enjoying it quite a bit.

 

[Deleted member 64804]

Why are people all of a sudden playing halo ce I feel like I've seen this thread a few times now. Good for you - opinions and all that

 

[newmoneytrash]

you need to look at halo through the prism of it creating how console shooters are played. the reason shooters are where they are now and why they're so popular on console is all because of how halo redefined what it meant to play games that way

it's like eating a roast chicken and then eating a raw egg and being like "what why does this taste so much worse everyone said this egg was just as good if not better than the chicken"

Why are people all of a sudden playing halo ce I feel like I've seen this thread a few times now. Good for you - opinions and all that

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master chief collection on pc i guess

 

[shark97]

for the time it was freaking amazing. So many things it at least brought to the console mainstream.

-basically popularized the most popular genre, FPS, on console in a big way for the first time. Proving it could be done.

-Graphics. Graphics. Graphics. For it's time, mind blowing on console. The alien Vistas...that you could free roam. Landing on the beach and storming it in that one level, the scale was unheard. Xbox stretched it's big power edge over other consoles here. I still remember how crazy it was you could walk up to a rock texture and it not be a N64 style blur. That wasn't a thing back then.

-The teammate AI. Again it was the first time I'd seen anything like fighting alongside AI teammates. And the enemies fighting each other???? Crazy back then.

The weapin system. Hate it now, but great for the time.

The fact you could basically walk up to any discarded vehicle in the environment and get in. Again, groundbreaking for the time.

That said time moves on. After 5k hours in Destiny it's really hard for me to get used to Halo controls again, and not being able to ADS. Hate them.

 

[ryan299]

Nah its great. Also 11 year old me had no trouble beating the game without a guide.

 

[ArjanN]

Halo 1's level design is its big weak point. Very repetitive corridors, open areas can be a bit difficult to navigate. But it's still a blast to play despite that.

Click to shrink...

This. I just replayed it through the MCC on Steam, but i was surprised how well it held up despite the constant level/room re-use, mostly on the strength of the art/music and the core combat loop.

 

[blitzblake]

It's kinda the assassins creed 1 of the halo games..

 

[Bor Gullet]

I used to hate Halo 2 and I'd been told legends of how great CE was. Played through Halo CE and the back half in particular was such a slog because of the level design. If you're not going through dozens of copy + paste hallways, you're going back through them.

Playing Halo 2 again and it's far more varied so far. Enjoying it quite a bit.

Click to shrink...

Barring 1 or 2 Arbiter levels, Halo 2 has a great campaign.

Outskirts and Metropolis are my all favorite Halo levels.

 

[Brazil]

Time didn't do it any favors. GoldenEye is a much more engaging game, even if not nearly as expansive.

 

[Deleted member 2791]

i mean age can't be that much of a factor when half-life 1 is still a very fun game to play nowadays. i'd rather play even goldeneye

even as a kid i would've been pissed off trying to find my way through The Library, who in the world thought that was a good idea

 

[Deleted member 21858]

Levels 7-9 are indeed shit, and some of the worst in franchise... even worse that they are back to back

 

[Hawkster]

Jesus, what is it with these fucking bad takes about Halo CE

I swear, some of you act like Bungie killed your dog

 

[PianoBlack]

The library especially has always been known as a famously bad level. What you're missing is that in 2001, the open outdoor spaces w/ vehicles felt extremely fresh, the regenerating shield mechanic + choose two main guns mechanic were new, and the addition of dual stick controls + LAN play revolutionized console multiplayer FPS. So a couple bad single player levels didn't have much weight in the overall reception of the game.

 

[Deleted member 4067]

This forum lmfao

 

[ThereAreFourNaan]

This keeps getting brought up in these threads to excuse it but the late 90's-early 2000's were pretty much the golden age of FPS level design. The bad parts were just as conspiciously awful at the time, and the actually good parts like Silent Cartographer are still just as good.

Click to shrink...

Halo has many flaws, it's just that a huge percentage of what made it special at the time is now baked into the DNA of modern shooters, so it just seems to be a combination of good music, some ok levels, and then all its flaws. I don't think you can fully appreciate it outside of it's historical context, tbh.

 

[WhtR88t]

…yeah I mean… we're almost as far from Halo CE's launch (19 years) as Halo CE was from the original Castle Wolfenstein in 1981 (20 years).

So I don't really think it's fair to think about it in modern terms.

 

[Lost Knight]

Halo 1 was one of those "you had to be there" kind of game. Halo 3 however is GOAT.

 

[Deleted member 2791]

The library especially has always been known as a famously bad level. What you're missing is that in 2001, the open outdoor spaces w/ vehicles felt extremely fresh, the regenerating shield mechanic + choose two main guns mechanic were new, and the addition of dual stick controls + LAN play revolutionized console multiplayer FPS. So a couple bad single player levels didn't have much weight in the overall reception of the game.

Click to shrink...

i wish the game was more about those outdoor open spaces than exploring purple caves all the time
so it's not just a couple bad levels, it's most of the game that's awful

 

[Dio]

Jesus, what is it with these fucking bad takes about Halo CE

I swear, some of you act like Bungie killed your dog

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it's called an opinion. i don't see how disliking something like OP did even comes close to your example, rofl

 

[Deleted member 64804]

Time didn't do it any favors. GoldenEye is a much more engaging game, even if not nearly as expansive.

Click to shrink...

golden eye? Talk about a game that aged horribly