Current Events > Playing the Halo series for the first time (Master Chief Collection)

(+) Yeah! (+)

PowerOats posted...

Do you plan on doing Reach or ODST?

Most likely. I asked earlier, but the order is 3 -> Reach -> ODST, right?

PerseusRad posted...

Most likely. I asked earlier, but the order is 3 -> Reach -> ODST, right?

ODST than Reach release wise though Reach is the earliest chronologically.

Release Order: 1 > 2 > 3 > ODST > Reach > 4 > 5

Story Order: Reach > 1 > Halo 2 levels before you play as Arbiter > ODST > Rest of Halo 2 levels > 3 > 4 > 5

Halo 5 isnt in mcc

I hated ODST personally and think its skippable.

Part of me wonders if High Charity was the name of the previous level, and it was just a two parter. Might be why I didnt get an achievement pop for the last one.

MabusIncarnate posted...

I hated ODST personally and think its skippable.

Some people love ODST, others hate it. I personally love the game for all the different quirks and changes.

TC, if you didn't know, it started as a DLC expansion for 3 before they expanded it into a whole game. It's set toward the beginning of the Covenant invasion in 2 in New Mombasa, but with the whole city explorable as a semi-open world environment. The game is basically two parts: the open world where you're mainly trying to survive on limited ammo and have to resort to stealth to get around (the health bar is brought back from CE), which then progresses to more linear missions, before going back to the open world. It's very unique, feeling like a combination between CE and 2, but built on the skeleton of 3. Oh, and the soundtrack is amazing.

If you weren't a fan of the bigger environments of CE or its pacing, you may not like ODST but I still don't think it should be skipped.

Edit: Heroic and Legendary are basically the "canon" difficulties for this game since you aren't playing as the Master Chief. I remember Bungie said it was the best way to capture the feeling of being a trooper with all the odds stacked against you.

Ive heard people say that Heroic is meant to be canon in most of the games, though not Infinite.

For the most part, Ive been posting after a level, but Im early in into The Great Journey, and it feels so good to have Hunters on your side, like really good.

PerseusRad posted...

Part of me wonders if High Charity was the name of the previous level, and it was just a two parter. Might be why I didnt get an achievement pop for the last one.

Nah it's separate from Gravemind. High Charity is horribly dark but I loved the atmosphere. Very spooky, especially the music.

stoltenberg11 posted...

Nah it's separate from Gravemind. High Charity is horribly dark but I loved the atmosphere. Very spooky, especially the music.

The one I'm thinking of is Uprising. I beat it, but I didn't get the achievement for it, nor for beating the whole campaign.

Alright I rebeat it, much faster than I did before. Got the achievements I was looking for. While I'm not much of a completionist, it was bugging me.

Overall, Halo 2 was pretty enjoyable. The levels at first weren't easy to get lost in, but there were eventually a few where it wasn't obvious what direction I was supposed to go in. Still made it through. I liked switching between Chief and Arbiter, I was surprised the game ended with you controlling Arbiter, I assumed it would have ended on Chief. Arbiter is an enjoyable character, nice to see him change throughout the game, interested in how he'll be in 3.

The game felt like a big step up from Halo CE in terms of mechanics. A lot of new guns, enemies, and I felt like Covenant vehicles had a lot more prominence throughout the game. Maybe it feels that way because of how many levels were in this one. I'd say none of the levels in this game were as hard as CE, but I might just have gotten more used to things, there were definitely parts I was stuck on.

Wondering if I should jump into 3, or take a bit of a break. Still don't feel like Yakuza 0, maybe I'll finish PLA. Part of me has even wanted to start playing Fallout 3 again. I don't think anything in particular made me stop playing, but I haven't had much desire to go back. But I feel like switching to a shooting RPG wouldn't be a big enough change.

Havent started 3 yet, but I wanna keep this bumped for now.

Started 3, Sierra 117 felt like a good level, though the wide open spaces for battles made it a bit rough. Still felt like they managed to switch up the scenery a good bit. Also it felt like I should have been able to switch between Chief and Arbiter, but I saw no prompt to do so.

Crows Nest had a decent amount of backtracking, reminded me of CE in that way. Dont think that was necessarily bad or anything. It also introduced the mechanic of removing turrets.

Halo 3 is best Halo, I shall repeat it from the mountain tops.

Kaldrenthebold posted...

Halo 3 is best Halo, I shall repeat it from the mountain tops.

Ive definitely always heard good things about 3 the most, though both single player and multiplayer.

Finished Tsavo Highway. While I still died a good amount, it felt notable easier once you were able to steal a Wraith, you could take it to the end of the level with little issue.

PerseusRad posted...

Ive definitely always heard good things about 3 the most, though both single player and multiplayer.

Finished Tsavo Highway. While I still died a good amount, it felt notable easier once you were able to steal a Wraith, you could take it to the end of the level with little issue.

It just felt like the culmination of all they've learned from 1 and 2, and overall just felt polished and tight all the way through. I also loved ODST leaning more into 1's style and the stealth segments, and Reach has a great story, but 3 just kept me hooked in multi and single player all the way through. Got all the skulls and everything.

The Storm was mostly fun the whole
way through, felt good to take down a Scarab, though I let the NPCs shoot it from the outside. The last bit was harder than it probably should have been for me, took me a while to get through it. Mightve even been able to skip fighting the Brutes and Grunts, oh well.

PerseusRad posted...

Started 3, Sierra 117 felt like a good level, though the wide open spaces for battles made it a bit rough. Still felt like they managed to switch up the scenery a good bit. Also it felt like I should have been able to switch between Chief and Arbiter, but I saw no prompt to do so.

You can play as the Arbiter as well as two other Elite characters, but only in co-op. For single player, Arbiter is just an occasionaI, invulnerable squadmate. I actually prefer playing as the Elites in Halo 3 because I think they all look cool.

Does Arbiter still have the active camo ability in Halo 3?

stoltenberg11 posted...

Does Arbiter still have the active camo ability in Halo 3?

Not when playing as him. NPC Arbiter does, but I think the only times he ever uses it are scripted.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

I dont think Im going that fast. This is the only game Im really playing, besides a bit of Smash. Youve been playing on Legendary iirc, while Im just on Heroic. Id probably be early Halo 2 by now, or still on CE, assuming I wouldnt have given up by now.

Once again, a level wasn't that bad until the end. Floodgate felt like there were way too many Flood around, including the new type(s?).

Dont buy that bastardized 343 version. Buy the originals.

Havent played for a bit. Just beat The Ark, felt quite long. The Scorpion section was nice, but the rest kinda wore me down. The 1v1 vs the hammer Brute was cool, but then the rest attacked me anyway so its eh.

SauI_Goodman posted...

Dont buy that bastardized 343 version. Buy the originals.

MCC is fine now.

I haven't played in a bit, planning on doing so a bit later, bumping in case I don't.

Those Wall spider flood are annoying af, especially if you can't reach them with a grenade. The rest of the game remains great except one level

The final level is top 50 gaming moment, especially alongside the fucking music

Finished The Covenant. Spent a good amount of time trying to steal a Wraith I couldnt even keep for 2 minutes, and then spent some time trying to get the double Scarab kill right. In terms of story, Im just more and more disappointed that we dont get to play as Arbiter without co-op, and that his presence is generally less. Hes great when hes on screen.

PerseusRad posted...

Finished The Covenant. Spent a good amount of time trying to steal a Wraith I couldnt even keep for 2 minutes, and then spent some time trying to get the double Scarab kill right. In terms of story, Im just more and more disappointed that we dont get to play as Arbiter without co-op, and that his presence is generally less. Hes great when hes on screen.

Yeah Halo 2 got a ton of backlash when it first came out because fans were not happy when they had to play as the Arbiter for half the game (plus the final mission is an Arbiter mission and ends on a cliffhanger), so Bungie did a little over-correction with Halo 3. Unfortunately it wasn't until after Halo 3 came out that the fans really flipped on the Arbiter and the Covenant storyline in Halo 2. Now Arby is one of the top 5 (if not 2 or 3) fan favorite characters in the franchise, and the storyline in Halo 2 is much more appreciated.

AngelsNAirwav3s posted...

Yeah Halo 2 got a ton of backlash when it first came out because fans were not happy when they had to play as the Arbiter for half the game (plus the final mission is an Arbiter mission and ends on a cliffhanger), so Bungie did a little over-correction with Halo 3. Unfortunately it wasn't until after Halo 3 came out that the fans really flipped on the Arbiter and the Covenant storyline in Halo 2. Now Arby is one of the top 5 (if not 2 or 3) fan favorite characters in the franchise, and the storyline in Halo 2 is much more appreciated.

Part of me wonders how Id have felt if I grew up with the franchise, or had to wait for Halo 2. Ill say I was initially turned off from the Arbiter, but only a very short while, and mostly because I wanted to see what the other side was doing (and getting confused in fights).

Finished Cortana, mostly went by pretty quickly, rushed through the Flood when I could, wouldve been too frustrating to try and fight it out I felt.

I never understood the hate for the Arbiter at the time and thought people were out of their minds. I absolutely loved playing as him. Chief did have better missions, but Arbiter's missions you come to appreciate more over time. Missions where you primarily face the Flood have always been among the more unpopular ones.

I guess it feels like theres never an end to the Flood sometimes, even if there actually is. No dialogue means you dont even get to hear the Grunts act dumb.

Overall, game was alright. Ive gotta wonder if I was a little burnt out by CE and 2. Id been considering taking a break between 2 and 3, but I didnt do so. I feel like most of my issues came from me beating my head against the wall instead of trying something else.

3 felt like they built up on 2, but maybe somewhat less so than 2 did for CE. Of course, Ive heard people absolutely love the multiplayer for 3, so Im not getting the full picture. Things like the Bubble Shield were nice, but I doubt I got the most out of it. I might just be underappreciating it anyway, going back to CE could feel awful now that Im 3 games in.

Not just the standard multiplayer, but co-op in Halo 3 is a big part of what makes it such a great campaign. Co-op is fun in Halo CE and 2 of course, but the addition of 2 extra players really means a lot. I was in high school when Halo 3 was released and I remember how much fun I had with friends those first couple years of the game's release.

Its a bit of a shame I dont have anyone to co-op with. Well, I say that, but I never thought to ask anyone on my friends list who has the game. Not much of a co-op player anyway though, and my play schedule is weird. Havent started ODST, bumping the thread.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

The end driving section felt better than it did in CE, so that might be true. Mostly avoided driving it though, if theres an alternative.

Interestingly, you don't have to use the Warthog for that end section. There are hidden Choppers and a Mongoose. And on Legendary, some Ghosts spawn as well.

One of the best achievements in any game I've played was one that was released after Halo 3's launch. You had to complete 4 player co-op of that mission on Legendary with everyone in Ghosts and Iron Skull on (if one player dies you revert to your last checkpoint). I've never used the Mongoose or Chopper on that mission, but surprisingly the drive is a hell of a lot more difficult with a Ghost than with a Warthog.

ODST is drastically different from the first 3 games

stoltenberg11 posted...

ODST is drastically different from the first 3 games

The grenade throw took a bit to get used to.

Might start ODST soon, been letting myself separate from it for a while.

soon fr

I remember being disappointed when a representative hyped up the ODST pistol as 'Halo CE Pistol'

...and the damn thing is a literal peashooter vs anything that couldn't be headshotted.

PowerOats posted...

I remember being disappointed when a representative hyped up the ODST pistol as 'Halo CE Pistol'

...and the damn thing is a literal peashooter vs anything that couldn't be headshotted.

they buffed it quite a bit when they finally added it to Halo 3 multiplayer a year or two ago

still not CE level but fun to use

PerseusRad posted...

Silent Cartographer was much less frustrating, though I still died a good bit. Mostly just got lost.

One of the greatest levels in any FPS

ODST is so hard to rate compared to the others. It's an awesome and unique experience though. Firefight mode was great as well.

So there was an update, and they added subtitles to in-mission dialogue as well. I noticed that it was missing, and 3 in particular felt like it didnt have any, so thats nice, though its a bit late for me >_>. Maybe Ill play through the games again someday though, who knows. Now to start ODST for real this time.

Finished Tayari Plaza (I took a break in the middle of it). ODST definitely feels different. They're making sure you use the night vision stuff, for one, and the map stuff along with it. Nice they have a way to point you in the right direction. Grenades seem floatier, or they go further before falling, whichever. I'm always annoyed when I try and fight through a level, then it turns out I could easily run to the end, like I did for this one.

I'm still on Heroic by the way. This game makes you feel a lot weaker that Master Chief and Arbiter, with how they'll start panting when shot.