Half Life series vs. Halo series

The classic Half Life vs. Halo

Judge based upon:

Gameplay- How much fun you had.

Innovation- What made it something new.

Graphics- How beautiful the game looked with the highest settings.

Storyline- How good the singleplayer story was

Popularity- How often is it played today.

UGC- ( User Generated Content) Mods, maps and community.

Multiplayer- How it plays online.

I've only played Halo:CE, Halo2, and Half Life2 extensively...

Gameplay - It really goes back and forth. Halo: Combat Evolved had amazing gameplay. However, Halo 2 and Halo 3 didn't do anything to build on this. Conversely, while Half-Life's gameplay was similarly spectacular, Half-Life 2 built on that with the addition of the gravity gun, which dramatically affected gameplay. Half-Life wins this category.

Innovation - Again, Halo: Combat Evolved was somewhat innovative in the sense of turning the same old science fiction humans vs overpowered aliens into something different. maybe not something too different from StarCraft, but it was different, as far as FPS goes. However, Halo 2 and Halo 3 failed as far as innovation goes. Even Forge is just a crappy version of Garry's Mod. Conversely, Half-Life was highly innovative, and Half-Life 2's physics system blew people's minds when it first came out. Half-Life wins this category.

Graphics - Well, Half-Life and Halo: Combat Evolved look pretty much the same, and then Halo 2 and Half-Life 2 look similar as well. However, since Halo 3 is more recent, it likely looks better. I'll give this category grudgingly to Halo.

Storyline - Same as the first two categories. Halo: Combat Evolved had an amazing plot with beautiful character development, the element of surprise, all sorts of amazing stuff. But then Bungie forgot to give Halo 2 a proper ending, and Halo 3's plot wasn't much better. On the other hand, Half-Life and its host of small expansions like Blue Shift and Opposing Force tell an intricate, very dark story. Character development is shallow at first, especially for our friend Gordon, but then Half-Life 2 hits the scene, and we have all sorts of character development for all of the main supporting roles, like Alyx. Not to mention that Half-Life 2: Episode 2's ending is probably one of the best endings to a game I have ever seen. Let Bungie take note, that is how you do a cliff hanger. Half-Life wins this category easily.

Popularity - I think both are pretty popular. As far as campaign goes, I'm willing to bet Half-Life series are more played, since Halo's campaigns, aside from the first, weren't very well liked. As far as multiplayer goes, Halo probably wins, unless we're counting Counter Strike, Day of Defeat, and other games using the Source engine. However, for now, I'll give this category to Halo.

UGC - Half-Life takes this one by a landslide simply because Half-Life is and has always been PC, allowing for all sorts of user generated content. You guys might think Forge is bomb, but Forge is like Garry's Mod except with less control, less content, and more limitations. Not to mention that Half-Life spawned mods like Counter Strike, Day of Defeat, Team Fortress, and many other rather popular mods. This category goes to Half-Life.

Multiplayer - This one all depends on what you count as Half-Life. If we're talking Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, then Halo definitely wins. However, if we're including Counter Strike and Team Fortress, then Halo gets beat pretty hard. However, I'll give this category to Halo.

I love both series equally.

[quote="Zaki90"]Gameplay: Both equal I say.

Innovation: Half Life definitely is innovative, especially HL2. Grav gun = awesome. Halo is very uninnovative. Very standard FPS gameplay.

Graphics: Both HL games were pioneers for graphics upon release. Halo graphics are alright, but not the nicest considering they're limited to console standards.

Storyline: Half Life , for sure. Halo's storyline only really gets elaborate when you deal with the novels.

Popularity: Half Life isn't as popular these days, as it doesnt have a huge amount of replayability, so I'd say Halo.

UGC: Definitely Half Life. Source Engine, and Gold Source, are used for so many mods, and mods of an extremely high quality. GMod, prime example of this. Endless replayability in that game.

Multiplayer: Half Life 2 has none, but when you think of all the amazing free mods that have massive communities, such as Garrys Mod, Insurgency and what not, it's pretty good. Halo has quite a few more online players though, considering the game has quite a focus on multiplayer.

So, Half Life for me then.

HALF LIFE IZ DA BEST

Well, Bungie tried innovation with dual wielding, and then equipment with squad support weapons.

Unfortunately, these innovations were rather evolutionary.

HOWEVER, I'd like to point out that Halo and Halo 2 were far more influential than the Half-Life series. Core gameplay features in Halo have become core gameplay features in a lot of FPSs.

For example, before Halo, it was dirt-common to carry around a lot of weapons. In RTCW, if you picked up a weapon, it stayed in your inventory, until you were carrying a Luger, two Colts, an MP40, a Thompson, a Sten submachine gun, a Mauser (with scope), a 'Snooper rifle' with night vision, an FG-42, ten potato mashers, two pineapple grenades, a Panzerfaust with five reloads, a Flammenwerfer, a 'Venom' chaingun with fifteen hundred rounds, a Tesla gun, and the most massive hernia this side of the Eastern Front.
And you mostly just used the Sten, the Panzerfaust, and the FG-42. Except on one stealth level, where you had to either use a silenced Luger or a Sten.

Half Life was rather similar, where you kept every weapon you came across. Halo comes around, and now most people are limiting you to two weapons, or thereabouts.

Rasq'uire'laskar wrote:
For example, before Halo, it was dirt-common to carry around a lot of weapons. In RTCW, if you picked up a weapon, it stayed in your inventory, until you were carrying a Luger, two Colts, an MP40, a Thompson, a Sten submachine gun, a Mauser (with scope), a 'Snooper rifle' with night vision, an FG-42, ten potato mashers, two pineapple grenades, a Panzerfaust with five reloads, a Flammenwerfer, a 'Venom' chaingun with fifteen hundred rounds, a Tesla gun, and the most massive hernia this side of the Eastern Front.
And you mostly just used the Sten, the Panzerfaust, and the FG-42. Except on one stealth level, where you had to either use a silenced Luger or a Sten.

Half Life was rather similar, where you kept every weapon you came across. Halo comes around, and now most people are limiting you to two weapons, or thereabouts.

Actually, in the commentary, i believe it said that they tried to hold only 2 weapons, but the problem was that the enemies didn't hold as many weapons that were needed and having to go back and get your Grav Gun was just plain repetitive. That is why there is still the drop weapon button with the proper console command.

I don't know...

The one thing that bothers me about Half-life 2 is gameplay. It's very plain, and the weapons don't have a very good feel to them.

I think that while it was pretty revolutionary in its time, half-life is sort of out of date nowadays. The shooting mechanics are just plain and boring. I wish they would just do Half-life 3 and do a fresh re-take on everything. At this point, I want every game I play to have iron sites.

Never played Half life, but will get it. Halo wins ftm.

halo and half life are so different from one another that they aren't even worth comparing

halo is a console FPS which revolutionized online play and matchmaking... vehicle control, and has a solid storyline set in the far future.

Half Life is a PC FPS that revolutionized UGC, has fun gmaeply mechanics like the gravity gun, but whose story can get confusing, theres no continuity between half Life and half life 2(don't give any bullshit excuses about the ending of Half Life 1 linking up with being on the train in half life 2)

I prefer halo... I enjoy both.... Halo's story falls apart in halo 2 and 3... but at least it is a continuation of the story.... where at half Life 2 treats half Life as a "mention point" .... it mentions black mesa... and all of the characters are for some strange reason all from black mesa... but it seems that nothing FROM black mesa actually affected the story what so ever.

ReconToaster wrote:I don't know...

The one thing that bothers me about Half-life 2 is gameplay. It's very plain, and the weapons don't have a very good feel to them.

I think that while it was pretty revolutionary in its time, half-life is sort of out of date nowadays. The shooting mechanics are just plain and boring. I wish they would just do Half-life 3 and do a fresh re-take on everything. At this point, I want every game I play to have iron sites.

The Gravity Gun doesn't have a good feel to it? Each weapon did a different job. It wasn't only long range short range, you had to know which weapon for which situation, but at the same time you had to use some weapons that weren't fit for the job like in Ravenholm. Also, the way the player learns situations is tied in perfectly with the game. The main focus of Ravenholm was to teach player how to use the Gravity Gun.

The different areas that it took place in. And those final battles in the Citadel with the Uber Gravity Gun was sheer brilliant. And it brought a puzzle type of gameplay.

Weird thing is that these epsodic games are all about the story and thats why I am buying it when it comes out. (Maybe also for the new models and hopefully new npcs)

I still play Half Life 1. Still amazing how everything fights together.

KrAzY wrote:
Half Life is a PC FPS that revolutionized UGC, has fun gmaeply mechanics like the gravity gun, but whose story can get confusing, theres no continuity between half Life and half life 2(don't give any bullshit excuses about the ending of Half Life 1 linking up with being on the train in half life 2)

I prefer halo... I enjoy both.... Halo's story falls apart in halo 2 and 3... but at least it is a continuation of the story.... where at half Life 2 treats half Life as a "mention point" .... it mentions black mesa... and all of the characters are for some strange reason all from black mesa... but it seems that nothing FROM black mesa actually affected the story what so ever.

Black Mesa is what stated it all. The residence cascade is what allowed the Columbine to access our dimension/world and take control.

The reason there's little continuity is because Gordon Freeman was put in stasis for some 20 years.

and nobody seems to notice/ be suprised when he just shows up after 20 years?

"your HEV suit seems to still fit you well".... if I remember correctly, I was WEARING that suit when I got on the monorail car in Xen



the games do not go together other than a couple of characters and the name of the game...


I WANT BULLSQUIDS BACK

Rasq'uire'laskar wrote:Well, Bungie tried innovation with dual wielding, and then equipment with squad support weapons.

Unfortunately, these innovations were rather evolutionary.

HOWEVER, I'd like to point out that Halo and Halo 2 were far more influential than the Half-Life series. Core gameplay features in Halo have become core gameplay features in a lot of FPSs.

For example, before Halo, it was dirt-common to carry around a lot of weapons. In RTCW, if you picked up a weapon, it stayed in your inventory, until you were carrying a Luger, two Colts, an MP40, a Thompson, a Sten submachine gun, a Mauser (with scope), a 'Snooper rifle' with night vision, an FG-42, ten potato mashers, two pineapple grenades, a Panzerfaust with five reloads, a Flammenwerfer, a 'Venom' chaingun with fifteen hundred rounds, a Tesla gun, and the most massive hernia this side of the Eastern Front.
And you mostly just used the Sten, the Panzerfaust, and the FG-42. Except on one stealth level, where you had to either use a silenced Luger or a Sten.

Half Life was rather similar, where you kept every weapon you came across. Halo comes around, and now most people are limiting you to two weapons, or thereabouts.

Something I would like to incorporate into games (if and when I am a game designer) is to have a feature where it is possible to carry more than two weapons, but have to attatch them to different kinds of holsters on the body.

Unfortunately for me, Fallen Earth seems to have beaten me to it.

In Fallen Earth (I've got the beta, so I've seen this in action and it works) you can attatch different weapons to different slots on the body, with each slot depending on weapon size.

There are several belt slots, thigh slots, back slots, and chest slots, some of which are for armor, and others for weapons with no overlap so you don't have to choose between either one.

There are hot keys to grab each weapon from each slot.

Halo Revolutionized online gameplay, with regeneratng Health and some of the best Veichle controls and battles i have seen in an FPS, with balance enough so that it's still viable to go on foot, and having veichle base maps and veichle-less maps.

Half-Life is an aboslutely fantastic single-player FPS, with great controls, puzzles, and fun and innovative gameplay.

They are both great, can we just leave it at that?

No.

There can only be one.

cue unnecessary youtube video

PiEman wrote:

Rasq'uire'laskar wrote:Well, Bungie tried innovation with dual wielding, and then equipment with squad support weapons.

Unfortunately, these innovations were rather evolutionary.

HOWEVER, I'd like to point out that Halo and Halo 2 were far more influential than the Half-Life series. Core gameplay features in Halo have become core gameplay features in a lot of FPSs.

For example, before Halo, it was dirt-common to carry around a lot of weapons. In RTCW, if you picked up a weapon, it stayed in your inventory, until you were carrying a Luger, two Colts, an MP40, a Thompson, a Sten submachine gun, a Mauser (with scope), a 'Snooper rifle' with night vision, an FG-42, ten potato mashers, two pineapple grenades, a Panzerfaust with five reloads, a Flammenwerfer, a 'Venom' chaingun with fifteen hundred rounds, a Tesla gun, and the most massive hernia this side of the Eastern Front.
And you mostly just used the Sten, the Panzerfaust, and the FG-42. Except on one stealth level, where you had to either use a silenced Luger or a Sten.

Half Life was rather similar, where you kept every weapon you came across. Halo comes around, and now most people are limiting you to two weapons, or thereabouts.

Something I would like to incorporate into games (if and when I am a game designer) is to have a feature where it is possible to carry more than two weapons, but have to attatch them to different kinds of holsters on the body.

Unfortunately for me, Fallen Earth seems to have beaten me to it.

In Fallen Earth (I've got the beta, so I've seen this in action and it works) you can attatch different weapons to different slots on the body, with each slot depending on weapon size.

There are several belt slots, thigh slots, back slots, and chest slots, some of which are for armor, and others for weapons with no overlap so you don't have to choose between either one.

There are hot keys to grab each weapon from each slot.

The problem is, YOU DON'T USE ALL OF THEM!
On the Library, you get a shotgun, and you keep using that weapon to the end of the level, occasionally pulling out a handgun to cut down the Flood that are a long ways off. Games just give you so much ammo, you are safe with sticking to one gun.
You should have to pray for more ammunition! You should keep running out of ammo and having to switch to a different weapon! The weapons and enemies should be constructed so that you have to drop weapons and pick up new ones that will work better to defeat new enemies! What if, during the Library, you got the shotgun only as a perk, and had to pick up the needler, the plasma rifle, or the assault rifle, to get a chance at survival?

Technically speaking, Counter Strike, which is kind of part of Half-Life, beat Halo to limiting players to two weapons, but that's just a technicality.

Rotaretilbo wrote:Technically speaking, Counter Strike, which is kind of part of Half-Life, beat Halo to limiting players to two weapons, but that's just a technicality.

That... was a mod back then.

Oh, and I forgot some of the other stuff you were carrying in Return to Castle Wolfenstein:
A dagger (Man alive, Blaskowitz can stab fast!) a silencer for the Luger, ten bundles of dynamite with the timers and detonator caps, flak vests, a helmet, bars of gold and Norse Helmets that were found in just about every level, a journal, and a pair of binoculars.

Rasq'uire'laskar wrote:

Rotaretilbo wrote:Technically speaking, Counter Strike, which is kind of part of Half-Life, beat Halo to limiting players to two weapons, but that's just a technicality.

That... was a mod back then.

Oh, and I forgot some of the other stuff you were carrying in Return to Castle Wolfenstein:
A dagger (Man alive, Blaskowitz can stab fast!) a silencer for the Luger, ten bundles of dynamite with the timers and detonator caps, flak vests, a helmet, bars of gold and Norse Helmets that were found in just about every level, a journal, and a pair of binoculars.

Mod can still be named for innovation. I know some games that the mod was better than the original game.

I mean, I'll give Halo credit for making dual wielding, weapon carrying limits, and things of that nature popular, but I think Half-Life's journey into realistic physics is worth more as far as innovation goes.

yes.... because the 2 physics puzzels you ever have to do (either push someting down or push something up) add SO much to the gameplay


also Bungie had Duel wielding in marathon... so don't give that to halo


Halo is IMO a pretty vehicle oriented FPS.... and halo's vehicle driving is the best i've ever seen in a video game

You obviously haven't played enough Half-Life if you think there were only two physics puzzles.

Zaki90 wrote:

Rasq'uire'laskar wrote:

Rotaretilbo wrote:Technically speaking, Counter Strike, which is kind of part of Half-Life, beat Halo to limiting players to two weapons, but that's just a technicality.

That... was a mod back then.

Oh, and I forgot some of the other stuff you were carrying in Return to Castle Wolfenstein:
A dagger (Man alive, Blaskowitz can stab fast!) a silencer for the Luger, ten bundles of dynamite with the timers and detonator caps, flak vests, a helmet, bars of gold and Norse Helmets that were found in just about every level, a journal, and a pair of binoculars.

Mod can still be named for innovation. I know some games that the mod was better than the original game.

Except that modding isn't done by the companies in question.

Rotaretilbo wrote:You obviously haven't played enough Half-Life if you think there were only two physics puzzles.

That's what I remember in the original. Maybe the second one was better, but Portal was where the puzzles REALLY were.