I just want to know. So much conflict has arisen from those who prefer old or new material. Instead of what we don’t like, let’s talk about what we do like. Why this immense science fiction epic pulls us in.
I love Halo for the story. The fiction is rich and amazing. Showing that no matter how hard things get, no matter what obstacles come our way, we don’t give up. We will always keep trying.
Partly nostalgia. I’ve had so many memorable experiences over the past 18 years sitting down to play with family and friends (and making some new ones in the process). Halo has always been the pinnacle of silly multiplayer fun for me, especially when custom games rolled around and I’d play things like Duck Hunt, Jenga, Garbage Man etc. for hours on end.
Nostalgia plays a big part in why I love the series. I used to stay up all night on the weekends with my middle school and high school friends system-linking our consoles. But once I hit college, I didn’t really play Halo much. Then after graduating and eventually getting laid off from my last job, I bought an Xbox One with the MCC pre-loaded as a “treat yo-self” gift. One thing led to another and I’m obsessed with the extended lore.
So while nostalgia is a driving force, the incredible story of Halo has kept me interested all these years. Despite some less than stellar games being produced lately, imo the extended lore has been incredible under 343’s direction. Some of the best books in the franchise have come since 343 took over. There’s a special place in my heart for the first few books in the series, but the universe building taking place in the books since 343 took over has been of such high caliber.
I enjoy the story and the game play.
To be honest I just don’t know what makes it enjoyable for me. I play mostly for the campaign and that can be challenging. I guess it is when I get an achievement and get the sense of accomplishment. Also the rare time I pull off a funny or epic moment in multiplayer.
I can only speak for the CE, 2, 3 and Halo 4 (I didn’t play Reach) as I quit console gaming after that point, but a not-so-brief summary:
Smooth controls, fluid gameplay. Feels satisfying and responsive.
Interesting Sci-Fi plot. Was always caught up in the whole suspense and mystery. What is this place? Why are we here?
The Flood in CE turned it into a horror survival game. Totally changed the theme and pacing which was unexpected and engrossing. They became yet creepier in the next games. I used to dread Flood levels, yet enjoy them immensely for the disgusting and disturbing atmosphere.
The simplicity. The original games don’t have too many weird features, powers, perks. No loot boxes, sprint, none of that. It meant you, as a player, effectively have less “aces up your sleeve” and have to rely more on skill and positioning to approach situations. When you cannot clamber up ledges, it forces you to think far more acutely about your environment and how to navigate it. When you have less access to precision weapons, it forces you to mix up your playstyle a bit in order to win. A thing I didn’t like about Halo 4 is that most of the campaign devolved into just standing at mid/range with precision weapons, because the maps and enemies were designed in such a way that a more aggressive playstyle just got you rekt.
The sandbox, open-world feel. Again, my time playing Halo 4 felt more rail-roaded, especially the vehicle segments. This was a far cry from the weapon diversity and large open spaces of the earlier games. I still have fond memories of the tank section on Assault on the Control Room. You could play many levels in varying ways – go on foot, tank, ghost, wraith, hijack banshee, go up the middle and support marines, sneak around the back alleys, rush to the high ground, etc. You could even stealth the areas with sleeping enemies. The game gave you the choice.
The soundtrack compliments gameplay rather than intrudes upon it. Tracks only play occasionally and at appropriate times, meaning they’re more rewarding when they do play.
Rather good AI, even by 2019 standards. Also, again touching on the sandbox point, you could approach enemies in different ways. Do you kill the grunts first? Kill the leader first? Funnel them into a choke point and grenade them, or scatter them and pick them off one by one?
It’s hard to list specific things without eventually just listing everything so I’m just gonna list everything in a general sense. Obviously there’s little design choices here and there I don’t like for example: H3’s random spread BR, H5 spartan charge, etc. But overall from the universe to the gameplay I think Halo is one of the most interesting franchises out there and there’s nothing like it now and most likely won’t ever be.
For me, it’s the Halo universe. I’ve always loved hard science fiction, and while Halo isn’t completely realistic, it’s still very grounded, and it stays consistent with its own rules. It isn’t like Star Trek, where any problems can be explained away by technobabble, nor is it Star Wars, where every problem can be solved by “The Force”. Halo also handles Humanity as the underdogs well. It manages to use Humanity as a faction fighting against a superior foe without reducing us to some guerilla faction. A final thing it portrays well is that societies won’t always band together against a common threat.
It’s all this that makes me love Halo. The video games are just icing on the cake.
I’ve always adored the openness of 'Halo’s sandboxes and how they flawlessly integrate with the gun play. While I’m an absolute freak for the stories and expanded law, that came later. I wouldn’t have become a large of a fan as I have without the feeling of badassery that comes with wielding powerful, memorable weapons that are able to shred enemies into paste or if you’re in a more tough mood than cranking up the difficulty and dying over and over, having to strategize for every firefight in order to proceed!
> 2533274931368952;6:
> I can only speak for the CE, 2, 3 and Halo 4 (I didn’t play Reach) as I quit console gaming after that point, but a not-so-brief summary:
>
> - Smooth controls, fluid gameplay. Feels satisfying and responsive.
>
> - Interesting Sci-Fi plot. Was always caught up in the whole suspense and mystery. What is this place? Why are we here?
>
> - The Flood in CE turned it into a horror survival game. Totally changed the theme and pacing which was unexpected and engrossing. They became yet creepier in the next games. I used to dread Flood levels, yet enjoy them immensely for the disgusting and disturbing atmosphere.
>
> - The simplicity. The original games don’t have too many weird features, powers, perks. No loot boxes, sprint, none of that. It meant you, as a player, effectively have less “aces up your sleeve” and have to rely more on skill and positioning to approach situations. When you cannot clamber up ledges, it forces you to think far more acutely about your environment and how to navigate it. When you have less access to precision weapons, it forces you to mix up your playstyle a bit in order to win. A thing I didn’t like about Halo 4 is that most of the campaign devolved into just standing at mid/range with precision weapons, because the maps and enemies were designed in such a way that a more aggressive playstyle just got you rekt.
>
> - The sandbox, open-world feel. Again, my time playing Halo 4 felt more rail-roaded, especially the vehicle segments. This was a far cry from the weapon diversity and large open spaces of the earlier games. I still have fond memories of the tank section on Assault on the Control Room. You could play many levels in varying ways – go on foot, tank, ghost, wraith, hijack banshee, go up the middle and support marines, sneak around the back alleys, rush to the high ground, etc. You could even stealth the areas with sleeping enemies. The game gave you the choice.
>
> - The soundtrack compliments gameplay rather than intrudes upon it. Tracks only play occasionally and at appropriate times, meaning they’re more rewarding when they do play.
>
> - Rather good AI, even by 2019 standards. Also, again touching on the sandbox point, you could approach enemies in different ways. Do you kill the grunts first? Kill the leader first? Funnel them into a choke point and grenade them, or scatter them and pick them off one by one?
This pretty much sums it up for me also. I always loved doing campaign and collecting Intel and achievements along the way.
At first it was the gameplay. My mom didn’t let me play shooters until middle school, so if I ever played Halo it was at my dad’s with my step brother on Halo 2. When I started reading the books it became both lore and gameplay.
But recently in the last 2 years, I’ve been really burnt out on the games. They used to be my main games all the time, and I got to a point I was bored of it all. I’m really great at matchmaking, I’m typically always mvp when I try. I’ve played the campaigns through more times than I can count. But I’m still just craving Halo which is why I’m extremely into the books. I don’t really have money to buy more, and I’ve read all the originals at least 3 times so currently I’m on Legacy of Onyx. I got 33 pages into my fanfic before my own self criticism made me stop. I listen to the OSTs when doing homework and it makes me excited for Halo…just not the games.
So needless to say I am very ready for Infinite and I need that to be a great game because I’m really waiting for something good to come from this series again. I got my 8 year old brother into Halo a few years ago and it is his favorite series, especially Reach and he always asks me to play, but I get bored after like 4 games.
I love the big story, incredible and competitive gameplay, and of course the friends that I made
I like the music, story, novels, achievements, expanded universe, and gameplay.
Reading all of these replies makes me very happy.
Everything mate, It’s perfect, history, multiplayer, characters, weapons, enemies, maps, music…
The question would be, Why not enjoy halo ? But there’s no answer as well haha
the story is amazing, its pure and every mission,every map is so well done through out the halo series, But Halo 3 will all ways be my favorite in the series.
Because it can release some stress
story
gameplay
extended lore
the unique gamemodes like infection
the friends ive made through it over they years
It’s not like the rest of the FPS. The lore, the aliens, the weapons. It’s awesome.
I love the dynamic, layered story, that accomplishes a basic surface-level story for those who don’t read the lore beyond the games, and a more nuanced story with more twists and turns for those who put forth the effort to discovering it.
I love that apart from minor/inconsequential typos/errors, the lore is much more coherent than most other science-fiction franchises.
I love that (at least prior to the new tv show) political ideologies of creators haven’t been given precedence over good story telling.