Is the Halo series overrated?

[RX-78-2]

I was just thinking about Halo 3 since my friend came over and wanted to play it for a while, and so I thought that this would be a good thread.

Vote in the poll, and then tell how you voted and why (you don't have to if you don't want to).

Personally, I don't think it's overrated except by fanboys, MLG noobs, actual MLG's, 13 year-olds, etc. Respected and reputable reviewers generally give it what it deserves. Offhand, I'd give Halo 3 a 9.75 out of 10. It's not perfect, but it's close to it. :) If you have any problems with the game(s) please share, but nothing even remotely similar to "... and I shot him right in the head with the beam rifle and it missed!We were so close! You should've seen it! I would've won the whole game!" etc. >:(

Have fun! And please, no flame wars. ;)

[Zero]

Of course it's overrated. It's received many perfect scores, when in reality it is a pretty flawed game. I disagree about it being near perfect. How exactly is it nearly a perfect game?

That being said, it's still a very fun game. I do love my BR's.

[Neerb]

Yes, Halo's overrated, but not by much, and like TerribleFrog said it's mainly just overrated by certain people.  It's still awesome, and I say it deserves the reviews it gets.

[Captain Justice]

ITs overrated like hell, but regardless its a very fun game.

[Nayrman]

Quite possibly the most overrated series in the history of videogames.
seriously, it does nothing unique or overly original. And it has VERY straightforward game design.
Sure, it's FUN, don't get me wrong, but NONE of the games deserves to be above an 8 on the ratings scale.

[Triforceman22]

Every great game series is overrated...
But Halo deserves it's overratedness.
Custom games and forge make Halo 3 my second favourite Xbox 360 game.

[Nayrman]

Every great game series is overrated...
But Halo deserves it's overratedness.
Custom games and forge make Halo 3 my second favourite Xbox 360 game.

Dude, only games that change the way games are made (Mario Bros., Zelda, Final Fantasy, OoT, Goldeneye) deserve their overrated-ness.
Halo changed nothing, it's just one of the many, and I mean MANY FPS's out there. In fact Modern Warfare is a better game by miles and yet Halo get's all the praise...WHY!? You can't claim Xbox Live. That was the service. That's like giving Mario 64 credit for the analog stick...

[Friendly Hostile]

Of course it is.  People treat it as if everything that was done in it was never done before, when in reality, everything that was in those games was simply done in other games, the developers just realized it'd probably be a good idea to put them together.

[Zero]

lol FH and Nayrman...

Halo was the first console FPS to utilize the dual analog stick control scheme that is standard in console FPS's to my knowledge. Halo was also the first FPS to have recharging shields if you don't count any of the mods for Unreal or Tribes.

And also, Halo 2's online multiplayer matchmaking system is standard for most online shooters today. You say you can't claim that Halo's Xbox Live features can't be linked to how Halo has revolutionized the industry, but the fact is, is that you can. Halo's online multiplayer is very good, and is probably the most user-friendly matchmaking system ever in the histroy of video games. From picture saves, to forge, to video saves and theater, Halo 3 really is the most versatile Xbox Live game.

Halo did change the industry, whether it be for the better of for the worse. Know your poop before you bash Halo.

[Thirdkoopa]

Overrated? Uh, every popular series is overrated to some extent. Perfect scores = lol.

Fun? Yeah. Overrated doesn't mean it isn't fun. I've played it with a few friends. I'm not that good at it (or FPS's in general, at all <_________<) But It's still fun to screw around. I just can't get hooked into FPS's That much at all, so for me to find it fun is saying at least something I guess.

[Nayrman]

lol FH and Nayrman...

Halo was the first console FPS to utilize the dual analog stick control scheme that is standard in console FPS's to my knowledge. Halo was also the first FPS to have recharging shields if you don't count any of the mods for Unreal or Tribes.

And also, Halo 2's online multiplayer matchmaking system is standard for most online shooters today. You say you can't claim that Halo's Xbox Live features can't be linked to how Halo has revolutionized the industry, but the fact is, is that you can. Halo's online multiplayer is very good, and is probably the most user-friendly matchmaking system ever in the histroy of video games. From picture saves, to forge, to video saves and theater, Halo 3 really is the most versatile Xbox Live game.

Halo did change the industry, whether it be for the better of for the worse. Know your s*** before you bash Halo.

Well then I can claim Mario 64 for ALL 3D camera movements. After all, it did it FIRST SO IT GETS ALL CREDIT! Even though it's a technical aspect having little to do with the actual game. Giving Halo credit for Xbox Live is kind of a joke. Sure, it was the first to really use it. If you want to claim that sure, but saying Halo is great because of the online is like saying the N64 was better because it had built in four player compared to PS1's two player. It's just a bonus to make a good game better.

I find it hard to give Halo credit for things like the "dual analog" movement, since the same basic idea was present in PS1 games long before Halo. Sure, it wasn't an FPS, but the idea of using a camera to position the viewpoint was done long before Xbox came out. They simply used it in a first person perspective. It's similar to how the speed/gravity relationship was used mildly in racing games was implemented into the first Sonic game. Same idea, same technology, just different use.

[RX-78-2]

Well then I can claim Mario 64 for ALL 3D camera movements. After all, it did it FIRST SO IT GETS ALL CREDIT! Even though it's a technical aspect having little to do with the actual game. Giving Halo credit for Xbox Live is kind of a joke. Sure, it was the first to really use it. If you want to claim that sure, but saying Halo is great because of the online is like saying the N64 was better because it had built in four player compared to PS1's two player. It's just a bonus to make a good game better.

I find it hard to give Halo credit for things like the "dual analog" movement, since the same basic idea was present in PS1 games long before Halo. Sure, it wasn't an FPS, but the idea of using a camera to position the viewpoint was done long before Xbox came out. They simply used it in a first person perspective. It's similar to how the speed/gravity relationship was used mildly in racing games was implemented into the first Sonic game. Same idea, same technology, just different use.

Giving the Halo series credit for Xbox Live is not a joke. You said it yourself, "It's just a bonus to make a good game better." Another example would be the one you gave yourself: 3D camera movements in Super Mario 64. Just as you said, it doesn't have much to do with gameplay, but it makes the game better. However, Halo's online play has a lot to do with its gameplay. There are many game modes, and, as Zero said, it is very user-friendly, and it did revolutionize standard online play. Not all the players of Halo are "user-friendly", but that's a different story. ;)

As for the dual analog stick movement, sure, it might have been present in the PS1 and some of its games, but it wasn't used. A simple analogy would be the discovery of North America. Christopher Columbus discovered it in 1492 and returned to Europe with his news. However, Lief Ericson and his crew supposedly discovered North America about 500 years earlier. But they didn't say anything or make it known to anyone in any way, apparently, because we can't prove that their efforts are worth any merit (for discovering North America, that is). Then who gets the credit for discovering North America? Christopher Columbus, because he told people of his findings and was documented by historians and the like. The point is that Halo gets the credit because (I'm not fact-checking, this is according to Zero), "Halo was the first console FPS to utilize the dual analog stick control scheme that is standard in console FPS's", it was never used in any PS1 game, and therefore, it shouldn't be given any credit. Halo should, though, because it did use it, first.

[Neerb]

Every great game series is overrated...
But Halo deserves it's overratedness.
Custom games and forge make Halo 3 my second favourite Xbox 360 game.

Um, maybe I'm mistaken here, but doesn't "overrated" mean that something doesn't deserve all it's praise? As in, nothing can deserve being overrated, because at that point it is now fairly rated.

[Zero]

Even if I was wrong about the dual-analog thing, it doesn't matter. Halo got popular, and the industry was changed because of it. Think of how many shooters have been made to combat Halo's popularity. Killzone wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for Sony's need to be number 1. Think of how many games have copied something Halo implemented. Halo changed the industry, and yes, it doesn't deserve perfect scores, because it is no where near being a perfect franchise, but darn can it be fun. Fun factor is what matters the most when it comes to video games.

Also, I wasn't giving Halo credit for Xbox Live. I was complimenting its online and mentioning how most shooters today use a Halo-esque matchmaking system. Online multiplayer is in fact, a game mode. It IS a component of the game, regardless of what service it uses to get the job done. It's part of the game as a whole and is included when games get rated. Leaving a game mode out of an analysis for a game is just stupid, why you're even arguing that you can't say a game is great because of the online is just...beyond me. Not to offend, but that really makes no sense at all. Online Multiplayer is standard nowadays, just saying.

About my dual analog comment. The reason I even made that comment is because before Halo came along, console FPS's were held down by extremely dreadful controls. I love GoldenEye and Perfect Dark but the control schemes for both games are simply terrible.

The point of everything I'm saying is, is that Halo definitely is overrated, but fun. It has a place in the industry, has done a lot for the industry(good or bad), and probably isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

[Mutilator7]

The Halo series was an amazing new fps when it first came out. In the past years it has definetly not been overrated with adding a new campaign and modes to every new game. But iwth the upcoming release of halo odst (i preorderd today), halo reach, and a halo anime, it seems as if Bungie is milking the franchise for all its worth, which i don't really approve of.