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Mass Effect v.s Halo, wich Military Sci-fi franchise has the best creepy and scary missions?
- Thread starter Deleted member 47654
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obviously not during the cutscenes, but the series have had jump scares and tension by design even if all of that is broken when characters started talking. It's not psychological horror that lingers, but a visceral tension created by vulnerable characters moving like tanks without enough ammo to simply attack. That's why people then say that RE4 was not scary, since one had a decent arsenal.
Fuck Guilty Spark
As a kid, I would need my brother or cousins to play with me because I was so scared(I was weak ok!). Like literally I would just stop right at that point and not touch the campaign unless I had someone do co-op(which in of itself made me like the series and the multiplayer aspect of it).
After that, Flood weren't that scary and I outgrew the fear.
As a kid, I would need my brother or cousins to play with me because I was so scared(I was weak ok!). Like literally I would just stop right at that point and not touch the campaign unless I had someone do co-op(which in of itself made me like the series and the multiplayer aspect of it).
After that, Flood weren't that scary and I outgrew the fear.
I just want to say that the flood are the most annoying enemies in gaming and I don't miss them at all in Halo 4 & 5
Unless you are comparing the 2D ones, which wouldn´t make much sense, Metroid Prime released after Halo.
I´m actually replaying the Prime series and, no, no way that´s scarier than Halo. I´d agree the world building and atmosphere are better, but the horror parts aren´t.
The Flood reveal (and the then-amazing swamp level leading up to it) was legendary.
I also loved fighting them. Having hordes of enemies charging you reminded me of Doom or Serious Sam, back when games were phasing out that kind of shooter design. The Library is actually one of my alltime fav Halo levels because of the constant action. It's wild.
I also loved fighting them. Having hordes of enemies charging you reminded me of Doom or Serious Sam, back when games were phasing out that kind of shooter design. The Library is actually one of my alltime fav Halo levels because of the constant action. It's wild.
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Cheers! I outgrew the fear too (but i was not that kid when i played Halo CE, so i was weaker than you :(
Something that's oft unappreciated about the Flood is how the combat forms are designed around the concept of the infection form having to jury rig a torso that didn't evolve to fit them easily . They're all about speed and function with no eye for grace or aesthetic.
343 Guilty Spark alone makes it an instant win for Halo. Both the buildup to the reveal and the reveal itself were masterfully done, and experiencing it for the first time back in 2001 was incredible. It turned the entire game on its head, transforming the remainder of the campaign into a horrific fight for survival across many previously-visited locations. It was also the last level where you had allies of any kind; the entire last half of the campaign was just you, trying to find a way back to the first level and contain the nightmare you and the Covenant helped unleash.
Mass Effect was kinda good with its horror, at least when it wasn't being slightly cheesy with it. The "human reaper" at the end of 2 was kind of a bridge too far for me.
Mass Effect was kinda good with its horror, at least when it wasn't being slightly cheesy with it. The "human reaper" at the end of 2 was kind of a bridge too far for me.
Halo for sure. 343 Guilty Spark is a fantastic level and a great introduction to the Flood. As the games went on the Flood became less creepy but I remember finding them pretty unsettling in the 1st game.
Whereas I don't think I ever found anything unsettling in Mass Effect. Any of the enemies that could have been creepy didn't get used in a way that actually took advantage of that.
Whereas I don't think I ever found anything unsettling in Mass Effect. Any of the enemies that could have been creepy didn't get used in a way that actually took advantage of that.
Yeah, true. That one managed to be unintentionally goofy and deliberately camp.
There's camp in RE7, yes...but where's the goof?
RE7 is literally just b-movie horror in game form......if you are going to criticise RE7 as not 'horror', then you might as well classify b-horror movies as well?
do you only consider...i don't know...'high level' horror like The Exorcists, Jacob's Ladder, suspiria as horror and discount everything else?
i know there are always diehard advocates of silent hill that 'look down' on the horror aspect of RE but c'mon man......That's basically spielberg level of 'netflix movies are not movies and shouldn't be nominated for oscar' level of snobbery.
As if the genre of horror is not small enough, you gotta segregate yourself into an even smaller corner by defining 'horror' with extreme precision point (jump scare are not horror, only atmospheric horror counts...heard that one too many times)
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As much as I love Halo, the Sovereign reveal of ME1 remains the scariest of all horror-related things. Far scarier than the Flood imo.
But Halo is the bestest obvs.
But Halo is the bestest obvs.
Mass effect easily, the flood was only scary because of how many of em there were in Halo 1, it certainly wasn't creepy or atmospheric.
The truly terrifying thing about Halo is going on voice chat in multiplayer
The truly terrifying thing about Halo is going on voice chat in multiplayer
There is much talk. And I have listened. Through rock and metal and time. Now I shall talk, and you shall listen.
I really don't get the point of your string of posts ITT. They all seem to be mocking the premise, and now by extension mocking a major horror franchise as well. For what? To assert how silly anyone who finds it scary is? Or to prove your greater understanding of what horror actually is?
OT: +1 to the "343 Guilty Spark wins" crowd. It's a hell of a mission and a welcome shift in tone in an otherwise straight up military FPS.
I'm struggling to see how this is even a conversation piece, Halo: CE hands down was amazing.
Resident Evil 7 in VR scared the dribbling piss out of me.
Resident Evil 7 in VR scared the dribbling piss out of me.
I love both of these properties.
Mass Effect's "scary" stuff never unnerved me. The designs were ghoulish, but in a comic book kind of way.
Halo's Flood unnerved me for years. I think it wasn't until around Reach came out that I could go back and play Halo 1's flood levels without getting shivers looking at the infection forms.
Mass Effect's "scary" stuff never unnerved me. The designs were ghoulish, but in a comic book kind of way.
Halo's Flood unnerved me for years. I think it wasn't until around Reach came out that I could go back and play Halo 1's flood levels without getting shivers looking at the infection forms.
Oh man, the Collector ship and hive are some of the most eerie missions I've ever played in video games. They nailed the atmosphere there.
But flood missions, especially in Halo CE, were squeaky bum time for me. The soundtrack kicking in after viewing the soldiers recorded video log before death amplified that.
But flood missions, especially in Halo CE, were squeaky bum time for me. The soundtrack kicking in after viewing the soldiers recorded video log before death amplified that.
I'm never terrified or uneasy in Mass Effect, just curious to learn more.
In many Halo games you are isolated with just Cortana. The music also does a better job at setting the mood.
In many Halo games you are isolated with just Cortana. The music also does a better job at setting the mood.
Count me in that group. No sense of direction in the level and then wall creeping flood, wall hanging flood, jumping flood, floor creeping flood. It was a flood of flood.
This makes me realize I'd like a thread on game songs that work well with endless loops (can't make them yet). I never really understood why people would want to do that until now. I see one over in Etc, but not game side.
The introduction to the Flood in Halo 1 was really well done. Halo 3's Flood levels were pretty atmospheric, too.
But ultimately, I think the cosmic horror approach with the Collectors and Reapers in ME2 and 3 was scarier, or at the very least more unnerving. The moment where you infiltrate the Collector ship, step inside its main hold and see all the abducted humans in storage, with room for millions more, was pretty chilling.
Halo's ancient backstory is the main source of its atmosphere: Forerunner temples and spires are awe-inspiring in a way Prothean structures never were, not even the Citadel.
But ultimately, I think the cosmic horror approach with the Collectors and Reapers in ME2 and 3 was scarier, or at the very least more unnerving. The moment where you infiltrate the Collector ship, step inside its main hold and see all the abducted humans in storage, with room for millions more, was pretty chilling.
Halo's ancient backstory is the main source of its atmosphere: Forerunner temples and spires are awe-inspiring in a way Prothean structures never were, not even the Citadel.
I think one thing is that while both "horrors" of each franchise has had their origins explored. I think the more we learned of the Reapers made them far less scary (and more just dumb). While the flood never really lost that. Despite their uh... powdery origins.
In Mass Effect, Shepard always has two equally capable companions tagging along, and it's hard to find many of the areas 'scary' when you have any combination of the galaxy's best snipers, mercs, assassins, and biotics on your heels. I would give the edge to Halo because it does a better job of isolating the player - though, it's not a fair comparison in that regard since Mass Effect is meant to be squad-based. I thought the Rookie missions in Halo 3: ODST were some of the most unsettling levels in the whole series:
The fact that you're alone in a dark, alien-infested city, controlling a normal human this time, as opposed to a 7ft armored supersoldier with energy shields, made it all the more tense. It also had those audio logs that you could find throughout the levels which enhanced mood.
The fact that you're alone in a dark, alien-infested city, controlling a normal human this time, as opposed to a 7ft armored supersoldier with energy shields, made it all the more tense. It also had those audio logs that you could find throughout the levels which enhanced mood.
IMO Guilty Spark does it best, but by the time you're halfway through the Library I'm more exasperated about when this is going to end than nervous or stressed. After that, every time the Flood showed up, even though they got creepier and more disturbing, it was "ugh, this crap again?"
So, I'm voting for Mass Effect because, not only do I think there are some set pieces in the series that come real close to that first flood meeting (notably, Therum, the Collector attack on your ship, fighting Banshees in ME3) but the series does a good job of mixing up the threats and tension. Sometimes it's an eerie unease (figuring out something is wrong in Therum, seeing all the crap that went wrong in the dead Reaper in ME2). Sometimes it's an OH SHIT OH SHIT moment (hiding from Collectors as Joker, hearing the scream of a Banshee as she warps towards you). Othertimes its the oppressive cosmic horror of the Reapers.
So, I'm voting for Mass Effect because, not only do I think there are some set pieces in the series that come real close to that first flood meeting (notably, Therum, the Collector attack on your ship, fighting Banshees in ME3) but the series does a good job of mixing up the threats and tension. Sometimes it's an eerie unease (figuring out something is wrong in Therum, seeing all the crap that went wrong in the dead Reaper in ME2). Sometimes it's an OH SHIT OH SHIT moment (hiding from Collectors as Joker, hearing the scream of a Banshee as she warps towards you). Othertimes its the oppressive cosmic horror of the Reapers.