OT: Halo

Has anyone played Halo on the PC yet? Is it all 'that' ? I'm not typically into this sort of game, but it looks interesting... -Larry

On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 11:12:42 -0400, "Larry" <[email hidden]> wrote: >Has anyone played Halo on the PC yet? > >Is it all 'that' ? > >I'm not typically into this sort of game, but it looks interesting... >The demo was released yesterday so you try it for yourself. I have been quite impressed, but the views in appropriate newsgroups are split. -- Andrew. To email unscramble [email hidden] & remove spamtrap. Help make Usenet a better place: English is read downwards, please don't top post. Trim messages to quote only relevent text. Check groups.google.com before asking a question.

Demo available here: http://www.microsoft.com/games/halo/downloads.asp "Larry" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:WDckb.90801$a16.22237@lakeread01...

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> Has anyone played Halo on the PC yet? > > Is it all 'that' ? > > I'm not typically into this sort of game, but it looks interesting... > > -Larry > >

I downloaded the demo but can't get it to work. I get an error initializing DirectX, despite the fact that I updated to DX 9.0b as required. I thoroughly enjoyed the Xbox version though, I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't be awesome on a PC. "Larry" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:WDckb.90801$a16.22237@lakeread01...

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> Has anyone played Halo on the PC yet? > > Is it all 'that' ? > > I'm not typically into this sort of game, but it looks interesting... > > -Larry > >

In article <WDckb.90801$a16.22237@lakeread01>, [email hidden] says...

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> Has anyone played Halo on the PC yet? > > Is it all 'that' ? > > I'm not typically into this sort of game, but it looks interesting... > > -Larry

You can see its console roots, indoors I get mouse lag bigtime. There are better dedicated PC title offerings on the PC. It's not bad but it's not all that great either. My opinion is based on the demo version. Cheers, Rod.

On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 11:12:42 -0400, "Larry" <[email hidden]> wrote:

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>Has anyone played Halo on the PC yet? > >Is it all 'that' ? > >I'm not typically into this sort of game, but it looks interesting... > >-Larry >

It's "ok" Good for a console FPS. average for a computer FPS.

On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 14:39:23 -0400, "Haqsau" <[email hidden]> wrote: >I downloaded the demo but can't get it to work. I get an error initializing >DirectX, despite the fact that I updated to DX 9.0b as required. I >thoroughly enjoyed the Xbox version though, I can't think of any reason why >it wouldn't be awesome on a PC. I had to add a line to the startup to get DX to initialise. I think it's because I've locked the desktop refreshrate to a different Hz than the game's(1600x1200@75 as opposed to 800x600@85]. This is what I added: halo.exe -vidmode 800,600,85 About the game, I don't know if 'awesome' is the word I'd use... Some parts are great, especially graphically(shaders galore), others just ok and some repetitive as hell. And oh, it's a system HOG with a capital H.

Larry, I bought it. Its not bad, I wasn't expecting much to be honest but its enjoyable. I haven't had a chance to play MP yet. Pete "Larry" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:WDckb.90801$a16.22237@lakeread01...

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> Has anyone played Halo on the PC yet? > > Is it all 'that' ? > > I'm not typically into this sort of game, but it looks interesting... > > -Larry > >

Yeah, I saw that. Then also saw that the installation of their 'download software manager' was mandatory. Man, why do people always wanna screw with you. The internet has brought out the true weasels of the world. No matter. I went to BB to get a headset, and they had it on sale for $39 so I grabbed it. It's very cool :) This is the first game to tax my Ti4400 though. I have it at 1280X1024 with all options on and it's kind of sluggish. I will have to back down to 1024X768 I think. The graphics, sound and gameplay are awesome. It 'guides' you along just enough to keep you in the story and on track. -Larry "Bob G" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:Vjdkb.14392$[email hidden]...

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> Demo available here: http://www.microsoft.com/games/halo/downloads.asp > > > "Larry" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:WDckb.90801$a16.22237@lakeread01... > > Has anyone played Halo on the PC yet? > > > > Is it all 'that' ? > > > > I'm not typically into this sort of game, but it looks interesting... > > > > -Larry > > > > > >

You can find lots of reviews here: http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/simpleratings.asp Just set the drop-down menus to: Catagory All, Platform PC, Minimum Reviews to 10, and Limit Results to 50. Then click on the Halo link for the specific links to reviews. IMO, the single player is fun, though some parts are repetitive, the Library levels drags..., and the multiplayer is good. Halo 2 looks promising.... Sean The list should look something like this: Title Plat Company Reviews Avg. Vote Overall Score Main Score 1. Half-Life PC Sierra Entertainment 54 8.5 95.2% 96.3% 2. Unreal Tournament PC GT Interactive 55 8.7 94.3% 94.3% 3. Thief: The Dark Project PC Eidos Interactive 39 8.3 91.9% 92.2% 4. No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way PC Sierra Entertainment 52 8.5 89.9% 91.1% 5. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell PC Ubisoft 40 8.6 90.0% 90.7% 6. Medal of Honor Allied Assault PC EA Games 66 8.7 90.0% 90.5% 7. The Operative: No One Lives Forever PC Fox Interactive 66 8.3 89.6% 89.9% 8. Max Payne PC Gathering 69 8.6 89.8% 89.6% 9. Rayman 2: The Great Escape PC Ubisoft 24 7.6 88.7% 88.9% 10. Unreal PC GT Interactive 38 7.8 88.7% 88.8% 11. Thief II: The Metal Age PC Eidos Interactive 49 8.7 88.3% 88.5% 12. Mafia PC Gathering 47 8.5 88.7% 88.4% 13. Half-Life: Counter-Strike PC Sierra Entertainment 23 8.4 88.8% 88.2% 14. Battlefield 1942 PC Electronic Arts 45 8.5 88.7% 88.1% 15. Quake II PC Activision 23 8.1 88.0% 87.9% 16. Unreal Tournament 2003 PC Atari 57 8.5 88.6% 87.5% 17. Halo: Combat Evolved PC Microsoft 29 8.2 86.2% 87.0% 18. Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast PC LucasArts 68 8.7 88.4% 86.9% 19. Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II PC LucasArts 13 8.3 87.7% 86.8% 20. Descent 3 PC Interplay 38 7.1 86.2% 86.8% 21. Return to Castle Wolfenstein PC Activision 73 8.3 86.1% 86.4% 22. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six PC Red Storm Entertainment 32 8.2 86.8% 86.3% 23. Quake III Arena PC Activision 54 7.7 86.0% 86.0% 24. Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis PC Codemasters 59 8.2 85.7% 85.9% 25. Starsiege Tribes PC Sierra Entertainment 34 8.2 84.5% 85.9% 26. Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus PC GT Interactive 20 7.3 84.9% 85.9% 27. SWAT 3: Elite Edition PC Sierra Entertainment 21 8.2 84.9% 85.6% 28. MDK2 PC Interplay 47 7.5 85.3% 85.4% 29. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear PC Red Storm Entertainment 43 8.3 85.7% 85.4% 30. Giants: Citizen Kabuto PC Interplay 61 8.0 85.0% 85.3% 31. Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force PC Activision 63 8.2 85.5% 85.3% 32. Aliens Versus Predator 2 PC Fox Interactive 62 8.1 84.5% 85.3% 33. Heretic II PC Activision 32 7.5 85.2% 85.2% 34. Tribes 2 PC Sierra Entertainment 60 7.7 85.4% 85.1% 35. Clive Barker's Undying PC EA Games 55 8.1 85.0% 85.1% 36. Tron 2.0 PC Buena Vista Interactive 42 8.1 84.4% 85.0% 37. Aliens Versus Predator PC Fox Interactive 44 7.5 84.7% 84.7% 38. Serious Sam: The First Encounter PC Gathering 64 7.9 83.9% 84.1% 39. SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle PC Sierra Entertainment 36 8.0 83.8% 84.1% 40. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield PC Ubisoft 44 8.5 84.5% 84.1% 41. American McGee's Alice PC Electronic Arts 69 7.7 83.3% 84.0% 42. Half-Life: Opposing Force PC Sierra Entertainment 46 8.2 83.7% 83.6% 43. Soldier of Fortune PC Activision 47 7.9 83.6% 83.4% 44. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Desert Siege PC Ubisoft 22 8.2 84.0% 83.4% 45. Serious Sam: The Second Encounter PC Gathering 40 8.1 84.2% 83.2% 46. PlanetSide PC Sony Online Entertainment 50 7.0 82.5% 83.0% 47. Shogo: Mobile Armor Division PC Monolith Productions 33 7.6 83.0% 83.0% 48. Metal Gear Solid PC Microsoft 47 8.4 83.2% 82.6% 49. Forsaken PC Acclaim 21 6.3 82.4% 82.5% 50. Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII PC Electronic Arts 22 8.5 82.6% 82.3%

It's horrendously over-rated. Some people go around shouting that it's the best FPS ever. I can only assume that's they're victims of the marketing machine because when asked why it's superior they can never give a straight answer. I don't even think it's the best console FPS - that title would probably go to Time Splitters 2 (Xbox version) TS2 actually has some thought put into the gameplay.....

In article <thokb.91989$a16.7056@lakeread01>, "Larry" <[email hidden]> writes: >Yeah, I saw that. Then also saw that the installation of their 'download >software manager' was mandatory. It wasn't on *my* system... Eldred -- Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett Member Screamers Racing League IICC League GPLRank -2.4 MoGPL rank +302.38 ChallengeRank +54.48 MoC +743.77 Hist. +82.82 MoH in progress N2k3 rank:in progress Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

It WAS the greatest shooter ever at the time it first came out for Xbox, which was around 2 years ago. If it had come out for the PC at the same time I think that would have been more widely recognized. Now admittedly much of what was unique about Halo has been done in other games. Still damn good for its time. "Steve Simpson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:bmu4dl$qdafl$[email hidden]... > It's horrendously over-rated. Some people go around shouting that it'sthe > best FPS ever. I can only assume that's they're victims of the marketing > machine because when asked why it's superior they can never give astraight > answer. I don't even think it's the best console FPS - that title would > probably go to Time Splitters 2 (Xbox version) TS2 actually has some > thought put into the gameplay..... > >

That was the problem. Thanks, Magnus. BTW where did you find out about that? "Magnus Svensson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> > I had to add a line to the startup to get DX to initialise. I think > it's because I've locked the desktop refreshrate to a different Hz > than the game's(1600x1200@75 as opposed to 800x600@85]. > > This is what I added: > > halo.exe -vidmode 800,600,85 > > > About the game, I don't know if 'awesome' is the word I'd use... Some > parts are great, especially graphically(shaders galore), others just > ok and some repetitive as hell. And oh, it's a system HOG with a > capital H. >

Flame away, but I find HALO for PC to be a hunk of CRAP! Look at the gamespot.com reviews for example, compared to Max Payne 2 (something I DO suggest you play instead). Both of them received 9.0 from the reviewers, yet the user reviews give halo a 7.4 or something, and max payne 2 a 9.4... Mike http://mikebeauchamp.com "Larry" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:WDckb.90801$a16.22237@lakeread01...

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> Has anyone played Halo on the PC yet? > > Is it all 'that' ? > > I'm not typically into this sort of game, but it looks interesting... > > -Larry > >

I tried the Demo. Not all that. Looking forward to the DX9 optimized titles. "Mike Beauchamp" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... Flame away, but I find HALO for PC to be a hunk of CRAP! Look at the gamespot.com reviews for example, compared to Max Payne 2 (something I DO suggest you play instead). Both of them received 9.0 from the reviewers, yet the user reviews give halo a 7.4 or something, and max payne 2 a 9.4... Mike http://mikebeauchamp.com "Larry" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:WDckb.90801$a16.22237@lakeread01...

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> Has anyone played Halo on the PC yet? > > Is it all 'that' ? > > I'm not typically into this sort of game, but it looks interesting... > > -Larry > >

On Sun, 19 Oct 2003 19:53:17 -0400, "Mike Beauchamp" <[email hidden]> wrote: >Look at the gamespot.com reviews for example, compared to Max Payne 2 >(something I DO suggest you play instead). Both of them received 9.0 from >the reviewers, yet the user reviews give halo a 7.4 or something, and max >payne 2 a 9.4... Aside from Mafia, I abhor 3rd person shooters. I have however heard nothing but great things about Max Payne 2. Apparently the gameplay and story intertwine even better than in the first one. Jason

> Aside from Mafia, I abhor 3rd person shooters. I have however heard > nothing but great things about Max Payne 2. Apparently the gameplay > and story intertwine even better than in the first one. The first Max Payne was so corny - the whole Matrix (which sucked) rip-off thing was so pathetic.

On Sun, 19 Oct 2003 16:09:06 -0400, "Haqsau" <[email hidden]> wrote: >That was the problem. Thanks, Magnus. BTW where did you find out about >that? There's a bunch of command line options described in the readme. I had a sneaking suspicion the refreshrates might be the problem as I first got 'windowed mode' to work.

I went ahead and picked it up when I went to BB to get my headset for TeamSpeak. They had it on sale, so I said why not :) I've traditionally not been into these sorts of games. I prefer simulations. But I installed it at around 6pm on Saturday (right after the race), and I didn't look at the clock for hours :) -Larry "Four furry fiends" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:bmu1cb$503$[email hidden]... > You can find lots of reviews here: > http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/simpleratings.asp Just set the > drop-down menus to: Catagory All, Platform PC, Minimum Reviews to 10, and > Limit Results to 50. Then click on the Halo link for the specific linksto

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> reviews. IMO, the single player is fun, though some parts are repetitive, > the Library levels drags..., and the multiplayer is good. Halo 2 looks > promising.... > > Sean > > The list should look something like this: > > Title Plat Company Reviews Avg. > Vote Overall > Score Main > Score > 1. Half-Life PC Sierra Entertainment 54 8.5 95.2% 96.3% > 2. Unreal Tournament PC GT Interactive 55 8.7 94.3% 94.3% > 3. Thief: The Dark Project PC Eidos Interactive 39 8.3 91.9%

92.2%

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> 4. No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way PC Sierra > Entertainment 52 8.5 89.9% 91.1% > 5. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell PC Ubisoft 40 8.6 90.0% 90.7% > 6. Medal of Honor Allied Assault PC EA Games 66 8.7 90.0% 90.5% > 7. The Operative: No One Lives Forever PC Fox Interactive 66 8.3 > 89.6% 89.9% > 8. Max Payne PC Gathering 69 8.6 89.8% 89.6% > 9. Rayman 2: The Great Escape PC Ubisoft 24 7.6 88.7% 88.9% > 10. Unreal PC GT Interactive 38 7.8 88.7% 88.8% > 11. Thief II: The Metal Age PC Eidos Interactive 49 8.7 88.3% > 88.5% > 12. Mafia PC Gathering 47 8.5 88.7% 88.4% > 13. Half-Life: Counter-Strike PC Sierra Entertainment 23 8.4

88.8%

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> 88.2% > 14. Battlefield 1942 PC Electronic Arts 45 8.5 88.7% 88.1% > 15. Quake II PC Activision 23 8.1 88.0% 87.9% > 16. Unreal Tournament 2003 PC Atari 57 8.5 88.6% 87.5% > 17. Halo: Combat Evolved PC Microsoft 29 8.2 86.2% 87.0% > 18. Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast PC LucasArts 68 8.7 88.4% 86.9% > 19. Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II PC LucasArts 13 8.3 87.7% 86.8% > 20. Descent 3 PC Interplay 38 7.1 86.2% 86.8% > 21. Return to Castle Wolfenstein PC Activision 73 8.3 86.1%

86.4%

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> 22. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six PC Red Storm Entertainment 32 8.2 > 86.8% 86.3% > 23. Quake III Arena PC Activision 54 7.7 86.0% 86.0% > 24. Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis PC Codemasters 59 8.2 > 85.7% 85.9% > 25. Starsiege Tribes PC Sierra Entertainment 34 8.2 84.5% 85.9% > 26. Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus PC GT Interactive 20 7.3 84.9% 85.9% > 27. SWAT 3: Elite Edition PC Sierra Entertainment 21 8.2 84.9% > 85.6% > 28. MDK2 PC Interplay 47 7.5 85.3% 85.4% > 29. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear PC Red Storm

Entertainment > 43 8.3 85.7% 85.4% > 30. Giants: Citizen Kabuto PC Interplay 61 8.0 85.0% 85.3% > 31. Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force PC Activision 63 8.2 85.5% > 85.3% > 32. Aliens Versus Predator 2 PC Fox Interactive 62 8.1 84.5%85.3%

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> 33. Heretic II PC Activision 32 7.5 85.2% 85.2% > 34. Tribes 2 PC Sierra Entertainment 60 7.7 85.4% 85.1% > 35. Clive Barker's Undying PC EA Games 55 8.1 85.0% 85.1% > 36. Tron 2.0 PC Buena Vista Interactive 42 8.1 84.4% 85.0% > 37. Aliens Versus Predator PC Fox Interactive 44 7.5 84.7% 84.7% > 38. Serious Sam: The First Encounter PC Gathering 64 7.9 83.9% > 84.1% > 39. SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle PC Sierra Entertainment 36 8.0 > 83.8% 84.1% > 40. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield PC Ubisoft 44 8.5 > 84.5% 84.1% > 41. American McGee's Alice PC Electronic Arts 69 7.7 83.3% 84.0% > 42. Half-Life: Opposing Force PC Sierra Entertainment 46 8.2

83.7% > 83.6% > 43. Soldier of Fortune PC Activision 47 7.9 83.6% 83.4% > 44. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Desert Siege PC Ubisoft 22 8.284.0%

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> 83.4% > 45. Serious Sam: The Second Encounter PC Gathering 40 8.1 84.2% > 83.2% > 46. PlanetSide PC Sony Online Entertainment 50 7.0 82.5% 83.0% > 47. Shogo: Mobile Armor Division PC Monolith Productions 33 7.6 > 83.0% 83.0% > 48. Metal Gear Solid PC Microsoft 47 8.4 83.2% 82.6% > 49. Forsaken PC Acclaim 21 6.3 82.4% 82.5% > 50. Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII PC Electronic Arts

22 > 8.5 82.6% 82.3% > >

anyone besides myself having real issues with the jerkiness in the mouse control? "Larry" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:WDckb.90801$a16.22237@lakeread01...

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> Has anyone played Halo on the PC yet? > > Is it all 'that' ? > > I'm not typically into this sort of game, but it looks interesting... > > -Larry > >

I'm not having any problems but here is a page that seems to cover setting up the game. Don't see anything about mouse problems but might be some help. http://halo.bungie.org/misc/halopcperformancefaq.html Pete "jon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:7%_kb.25188$[email hidden]... > anyone besides myself having real issues with the jerkiness in the mouse > control? >