Avian Gamers Network

My copy has not shipped as of noon today. May not arrive til early next week. I want your game impression comments foo!

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"I built me a bomb and dropped it on every MFer who got in my way!"

I got the game after work on Tuesday and played the first 4 of 9 missions on Heroic Mode. It's a really beautiful game. I should have time to write a (non-spoiler) review by the end of the day.

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80S - Madson-(450 BS / 450 M)...........80H - Madera-(447 Eng / 412 Enc)...........80K - Madala-(450 Herb / 450 Skin)
65L - Madwyn-(430Ins / 329 Tail)........61M - Madran-(300 M / 250 Enc).............64P - Madmon-(315 M / 347 JC)

Cool thanks bud. No spoilers is appreciated. As for the difficulty, I did read that it is best to play on Heroic to get the best challenge as even Normal seemed a bit toned downed vs Halo 2 so as to appeal to a wider range of gamers.

Just know that when we play some co-op we are playing Legendary

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"I built me a bomb and dropped it on every MFer who got in my way!"

Yeah, I started on Heroic, and it was a bit too easy. I started over on Legendary and am almost finished with the 1st level.

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80S - Madson-(450 BS / 450 M)...........80H - Madera-(447 Eng / 412 Enc)...........80K - Madala-(450 Herb / 450 Skin)
65L - Madwyn-(430Ins / 329 Tail)........61M - Madran-(300 M / 250 Enc).............64P - Madmon-(315 M / 347 JC)

Must be good cuase still no review.

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"I built me a bomb and dropped it on every MFer who got in my way!"

My Review:




It's awesome. Must call in sick to play more.

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2 Locks, 2 Pally's, 1 Priest, 1 Warrior, 1 Hunter and 1 Mage walk into a bar...

What's your gamertag? We gotsta hook up for some co-op goodness! Well, once I receive my copy that is.

edit - woot!! copy just arrived! Good ol Dell comes through again. See y'all this weekend perhaps.

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"I built me a bomb and dropped it on every MFer who got in my way!"

ThatWhichSmashs



I wont be back on until sunday. spending the weekend in Estes Park with the other Al's parents.



Cabin in woods + wifi + fireplace = total relaxation.

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2 Locks, 2 Pally's, 1 Priest, 1 Warrior, 1 Hunter and 1 Mage walk into a bar...

Ohhh so that's who that tag is. I must have added you a while ago and see "That...Smashes has come online" and I'm always like who the heck is that. Good to know...

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"I built me a bomb and dropped it on every MFer who got in my way!"

Yeah, it is awesome, and yeah, that's why it's been taking me so long... But this week has also been the Drama Club's big fundraiser; the Talent Show. Needless to say it's been hectic. I actually started writing a review in MS word but I didn't write an outline so it was kinda rambly. I've been thinking that I'll maybe just cover a few things at a time. For instance Graphics in one post, gameplay in another, etc...

And for those of you who don't know, even though I was terribly excited to get the game, I was also really skeptical of the quality level of the final product. When I saw the beta screenshots I wasn not impressed and I was worried that the game was just going to be another ho hum shooter.

It isn't.

evergamer my 360 gamertag is "Madran" (madson was taken) drop me a FR and we'll all link up to try out the 4p Co-op

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80S - Madson-(450 BS / 450 M)...........80H - Madera-(447 Eng / 412 Enc)...........80K - Madala-(450 Herb / 450 Skin)
65L - Madwyn-(430Ins / 329 Tail)........61M - Madran-(300 M / 250 Enc).............64P - Madmon-(315 M / 347 JC)

Graphics

I'm a bit of a graphics whore, just ask Cordalis. We all saw the Multiplayer beta screenshots, and I don't know about you, but I could hardly see the difference. Then, last weekend, when the gag order was lifted I saw a lot of reviews knock the graphics on the game. I'm here to tell you that, in short, I'm very happy.

Halo 3 looks better than Gears of War.

There, I said it. This realization was a shocker to me, and I think, technically gears and the Unreal engine might be a bit more powerful, but the art direction of Halo is much more visually stimulating. I understand that Gears was going for a more realistic color palate, and as much as I dig that the entire game was made up of destroyed greys, browns and blacks. The only real standout of color in gears was the underground liquid levels.

Compare this to the first level on halo (which takes place in a dense, tropical jungle) which is colorful and, dare I say, beautiful.
The Master Chief looks great, there isn't realtime reflection on his visor, but the lighting, reflection, and bump mapping off of his armor are stunning. Water is rendered in a very realistic looking way, but it doesn't reflect or realistically distort images like the water in Bioshock. When you run through it, there are no water physics reacting to your steps, just the standard particle effects of generic splashing.

I only played the first 4 levels on Heroic before I started over on Legendary (so that Angelus and I would be able to go through some of the game together for the first time for both of us). But in that time I seen many levels that are basically really dressed up linear canyons. Some of the levels give the illusion of openness, but it's just that. An illusion. If there are any drawbacks to the graphic engine, that would be it. This is not ES4:Oblivion, but neither was GoW, and Halo feels much less claustrophobic than gears.

For me, Halo 3 is the first game that has really nailed the balance in the realistic bloom lighting transitions. In the Jungle, when you look up, it takes your eyes a split second to adjust to the light, it's very realistic, moreso than in any other game I have played, and it adds a nice touch to the ambiance of the dense low lit forest.

The frame rate is great, I have never seen any slowdown to date, and I have been in some hairy battles. The foliage and the other environmental decor pieces are well rendered and move in a believeable manner. The plants are indestructible, sadly. The physics are adequate, though the ragdoll is still awkward at times. It is really cool to watch the corpse of a dead grunt roll down some stairs though.

Well that's my take on the graphics on Halo 3. I've been really impressed as you can tell. Though I was skeptical at first, Halo 3 has really delivered and made me a believer.

Next up, the gameplay, what's changed, what's the same and if it's good. Here's a hint... it is.

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80S - Madson-(450 BS / 450 M)...........80H - Madera-(447 Eng / 412 Enc)...........80K - Madala-(450 Herb / 450 Skin)
65L - Madwyn-(430Ins / 329 Tail)........61M - Madran-(300 M / 250 Enc).............64P - Madmon-(315 M / 347 JC)

Let's plan for 6:30MST/ 830EST tonight for some co-op goodness.

I played a bit yesterday on heroic and was getting my ass kicked at one point. Finally plugged through it.

Not the most innovative FPS out there but still a very solid looking game graphics-wise and very fun to play.

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"I built me a bomb and dropped it on every MFer who got in my way!"

I agree that it's not the most innovative FPS, but I have to say that from a gameplay standpoint I havn't found any FPS that "feels" the same. For example, I DL'd Clive Barker's Jerico. I was playing it for about 30 minutes and even though there is an interesting mechanic that allows you to swap between the multiple characters the aiming just doesn't "feel" right. The worst part is that I can't describe the difference. To me that is alien, as I can usually break down experiences and products to their individual parts and determine what I do or don't like. With Halo, there is just something that works.

I played HL2 on the PC and loved it. But when I tried the Original XBOX demo I hated it. The controls were just... wrong. Also, when I tried Halo 1 on the PC I found myself longing for my XBOX controller! (A very strange realization, indeed, as I expected to be much more effective with the mouse and keyboard) Maybe it's the fact that Halo was built from the bottom up to work on a console platform that makes the controls scheme seem "right"

As for innovation, I thought that the addition of the "equipment" adds a new and interesting layer of strategy to the game. Of course this is really no different than bioshock's "powers" except that you can only use and swap out one at a time.

And we can't forget that Halo was one of the first (if not THE first) game that made you limit your weapons to 2. Since 2001 this has become standard, but before Halo, designers would add more and more powerful weapons to your arsenal. Halo (tried, with some success) to make all of the weapons useful in certian situations. From the first weapon, the lowly pistol to the rocket launcher. Not to mention the level of vehicle combat that was in the multiplayer, which was what Halo was initally lauded for.

As FPS goes, I would think innovation is tough call. By it's very nature it is difficult to comprehend what we "want" when we say we want more innovation in our FPS, because what we want is something we can't verbalize; other than we want something new, fun, and great.

The Orange Box's Portal might be innovative, but "Prey" already did the multidimensional portal and wacky gravity thing without much critical or financial success.

Medeal of Honor was innovative as they had huge battles whit thousands of friendly and enemy NPCs.

Halflife was moderately innovative because of their immersive in-game story.

I'm not audacious enough to say that there are no new ideas that can come to the FPS genre, but I can't think of any.

To everyone: What is the last big leap you saw in FPS innovation?

Sorry for the long post.

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80S - Madson-(450 BS / 450 M)...........80H - Madera-(447 Eng / 412 Enc)...........80K - Madala-(450 Herb / 450 Skin)
65L - Madwyn-(430Ins / 329 Tail)........61M - Madran-(300 M / 250 Enc).............64P - Madmon-(315 M / 347 JC)