Can Halo forever be Microsoft's trump card?

Quentyn from AnalogHype writes: "I think it would be an understatement to simply say that Halo is a big franchise. It is one of the most widely recognized entities in the gaming world, and has quickly become THE first person shooter to beat. Has it really come down to just one game for Microsoft?"

[slak]

but i have halo wars and its fu*king awesome...Halo is a big franchise.....h3=9B dammmmm

[ogwilson]

Yea it seems like Halo Wars will do alot better than I'd originally thought.

[MisterNiwa]

Im looking forward to Halo Carts and Halo Intergalactic Tennis.

[Information Minister]

Sonic says hi!

[Trollimite]

"can sonic forever be segas trump card"

[JsonHenry]

If someone who has ever played an RTS on a PC, if you could PM me and let me know what you think of Halo Wars on the 360 and give me the pros and cons I would appreciate. I might buy a new (my 3rd) 360 if the game is any good.

[Kill Crow]

If you're not sure how it plays get the demo .... I played loads of RTS on PC but this is the first one I've found playable on console.

Like FPS it's never going to be as good as on PC, but some previous attempts at RTS on console have been dire ... and many expected Wars to follow suit .... but it's actually pretty good ... !!!

[SupaPlaya]

just in the word forever alone. It will last quite awhile, but not forever. Unlike Mario where it has a casual appeal and people would buy them up just because there is the Mario name in it. It also helps that Mario is one of the most well known character/franchise since video games become mainstream.

Master Chief on the other hand is mostly known to gamers, so how it long it last will depend on if future titles can live up to or exceed the quality of current Halo games. Hopefully future spin offs (you know they're coming) would be better than Mario Olympics...

[evrfighter]

Sure as hell is working for Nintendo and a certain plumber. But master chief seems like such a generic character.

Out of curiosity's sake and with nothing to do with the article I wonder who's more popular. Gordon Freeman, Master Chief, or Duke Nukem. These are the poster boys of FPS gaming

Although I just threw master chief up there for the sake of console fans. He looks too much like the Doom space marine for me to take him seriously.

http://www.supaquake.com/bo... (space marine)

http://upload.wikimedia.org... (master chief)

[Elven6]

If the quality keeps up then yes, no Halo title has gone below 80% on Metacritic. Although Microsoft does know better then to play their card for too long, previous franchises are a prime example of that.

Its a shame though, Halo is a victim of its own success, their is just so much to explore in the Halo universe (including Marathon), it can all make for a really intriguing story line.

I also picked up Halo Wars and am really enjoying it, reviews above 8 is really what the game deserves, not sure how people have thought it should deserve less. I've played RTS games on console and PC and Halo Wars is a really good console implementation.

When it comes to sales, Halo Wars will probably to better in the long run then Killzone 2. Although both will sell great (Which they both deserve) the Halo name make take Halo Wars further in the long run. Halo 3 is a prime example, it still shows it up in the top 50 (IIRC) sales charts in Europe.

[ThanatosDMC]

So... umm... i bought the game. First of all, yes it is playable on the 360. Tons better than End War that's for sure. It's "ok" for a console RTS but if we were able to use a mouse then the game would be even better.

It lacks the definition of "strategy"... you know how say in AoE3 or any Age of Empires game or all strategy games for that matter... your siege units or ranged units shouldnt do stupid stuff that will make them go closer to melee units. But in this game, it's hard to micromanage that.

So to adapt (why do i have to adapt?!)... i dont control them and move melee units first then move the siege/longer range units. Not moving them will make them attack anything in their range.

Also, i found most missions linear without being able to actually explore the map properly. Linear pathways... why cant it be open? or have multi paths where i could attack.

For the most part, it's a turtle type of game. Compared to starcraft... both sides are always turtles.. and not dynamic bases.

Passable... but at least it's not my money that got me the game... hehehe... It'd be better if they put it on the PCs... preferably Steam.

/end rant

Not for hardcore RTS fans. Losing units because you couldnt go to a certain part of the map instantly... will piss you off.

[chidori666]

garbage game is halo.... KILL ZONE 2 PWNDS HALO 3 FACT.

[NewZealander]

halo is a good game, i dont think it needs to be compared to KZ2 though, yes the art direction for both games is completely different but both games seem to offer a pretty solid experience.

where halo falls short is story, the wooden emotionless characters seem a bit last gen, i would like to see a bit more seriousness in the story telling.

gears is the new trump card to me, i loved all aspects of the first game and gears 2 added so much more, either way halo and gears are both great games that can easily sell on hype alone.

[Eiffel]

Comparing a last gen game to a next gen game.

Talk about a dumbass.

/I agree NewZealander.

[euchreprof]

Killzone 2 > Halo 1-2-3-Wars

[die_fiend]

lol is that why Killzone 2 scored lower than all of them not including Halo Wars? I think you're confusing graphics with gameplay. If Killzone 2 was absolutely amazing, the reviews would've reflected it

[Sez]

only thing KZ2 does right is the graphics. halo owns KZ2 in gameplay,replayabilty,more features, bungie still support the game with fresh content,forge is great,controls,ect.

[Sez]

hey dude do me a favor talk what you know. yes i own KZ2 the gameplay for halo is much better. the controls is better and the replayablity is better,more features and bungie still makes content for halo. i'm at the end of KZ2. yes i do own the game. and can't wait til i finish it(which will be tonight) so i can trade it in for RE5 for the 360.

i hate sonyfan that think because someone gives their honest opinion about a game. they automatically think you don't own/played the game. get a F'''in life dude.

@edit: as i said before. the only thing KZ2 does right is the graphics. their nothing in KZ2 that screams innovation. to me it's more of a CoD4 clone with better graphic and alittle more chaotic. thats it thats all. get over it

@below.
thanks man. but i'm not worry about him calling me a troll or whatever. he's a kid. and like all little kids they have to resort to name calling because someone doesn't like what they like. he assumes that everyone must love KZ2 because he does. he's no different than the rest of the sonyfan on this site.

[II Necroplasm II]

UltraNova, why are you on this article if you hate the 360? and don't call vega a troll he is just a gamer and I agree and I'm sure many other gamers would also agree with what he said.

and far as gameplay...
Gameplay
HALO>>>Killzone

[Eiffel]

LYKE HOLY SHEET THIS ARTICLE HAS SO MUCH TO DO WITH KILLZONE2!!?!!

Get the F off my screen.

[MicroSony4Life]

I am not a big fan so just wondering if they ever showed his face.

[Eddie20101]

Vega75, The guy wasn't really giving a opinion , he was measuring how good Killzone 2 is by MetaCritic scores. well, guess what the metacritic score is 91, in my opinion if a game gets 90 or above it is equal in quality and gameplay to any game that scores in the 90's, because only idiots would measure a game by tenths and say a game is better because it scored overall a couple of tenths higher, is a couple of tenths even a measurable difference when playing a game. Another thing , even though I don't think any game deserves a perfect score, most of the major gaming sites (Not blogs) scored the game in the upper 90's to a perfect 100, in fact most of the scores are in the upper 90's including blog scores.

After the first Halo, the single player in 2 and 3 were not the greatest nor were the graphics in Halo 3, multi player is great though.

Sorry Ultra Nova.

[LinuxGuru]

Nothing lasts forever.

[ogwilson]

Yea right, tell that to Nintendo.

[v1c1ous]

sony is experiencing that right now

[Parappa The Rappa]

Youre halfway there.

Crap doesn't last forever.

BUT GREATNESS DOES.

[UltraNova]

Three guys talking about the same thing but with totally different end points and opinions while all being right!! Wow just wow!

[LinuxGuru]

You're all wrong. Nothing lasts forever. The statement ends there.

[Cajun Chicken]

Not if MS isn't fully prepared for when Bungie walk away from the franchise.

[Kushan]

Halo Wars isn't made by Bungie and it seems to be doing fine. They'll just pass the torch on to someone else.

[jadenkorri]

didn't bungie already walk away from MS

[king dong]

get a clue ey!

bungie will never walk away from halo! they went indie because they wanted and rightly so, a bigger share of the jackpot everytime they got a halo on the market.

to think that bungie will drop the safety blanket, and guaranteed millions that they will get from every future halo game just shows how niave, and the willingness to believe everything negative that gets wrote by sony fanboys.

why now that bungie are an indie studio, would they risk commercial failures with new i.ps, when they are guaranteed bumper paydays by doing what they know best....and microsoft will always get bungie contracts for halo games!

[silvacrest]

in that case i hope rare is up to the job...

[Foxgod]

Lurk more will ya, Halo Chronicles will be made by Peter jacksons studio.
And MS game studio's will be working on Halo4, which consists of former members of Kojima, ensemble and other studio's.

[Cajun Chicken]

Well, well, well. It seems like you people seemed to of forgotten what happens when publishers have full control over franchises and whore the franchise out to any developer under the sun after the main developer has lost the scene.
Now Halo Wars is just one game, well guess what, Crash Bandicoot worked for about 1 game after Naughty Dog left the scene, the Spyro games basically collapsed when Insomniac left, don't even mention Earthworm Jim 3D (again, same franchise, same publisher, different developer).

I can't believe how you think that now MS is in total control of the Halo IP as Bungie are moving away from the franchise think that just because of one considered successful jump in genre that everything is safe. Peter Jackson may make a good game, yes, Halo Team might be worthy of what Bungie do, but bear in mind, MS can now alter and retcon anything in the Halo mythos, since virtually owning all full rights and the whole bible again look at;

-Crash Bandicoot
-Spyro
-Earthworm Jim

Its obvious you care more about defending MS as a publisher than the actual Halo franchise and as a Halo (Single Player FPS) lover myself, well, I find that sickening. Because as of now, there is no proof that MS have any equivelent of Ready at Dawn (Daxter, GoW:CoO) and High Impact Games (R&C:SM, SAC). I mean, do you people even realise that Bungie is responsible for the creation of Halo? Guess not. You care more pointlessly praising MS as a publisher who can apparently do no wrong.
MS make mistakes, believe me.

I hope that MS care more about Quality Control than just selling a few more copies of a Halo game. Because this is what it sounds like. Its a very dangerous risk and I worry very much for the future of MC and Halo as a lover of Halo: Combat Evolved and steadily seeing the Halo franchise dip and peak throughout the years.

[dj55555555]

Make it a PS3 game, come on Bungie make Halo all it can be no longer will you have to suffer with limited disk space, no longer will you have to choose between graphics or game content.

Be free, choose the PS3

[die_fiend]

Lol yeah right. Dream on mate. Go back to your fantasy world where all good things come to you for free. By the way, you do realise that Microsoft own the Halo franchise don't you? Didn't think so...

[dj55555555]

Yes i know they own it, and Halo 3 less of a game because of that

[die_fiend]

If you knew, then y would you say "Make it a PS3 game, come on Bungie make Halo all it can"
If you knew this was impossible I doubt you'd say that somehow. Halo 3 is clearly more cos Microsoft paid for so much marketing, hence it outselling any PS3 game.

[dj55555555]

much to bungies annoyance, they have been trying to pull away from microsoft for over a year now but microsoft know they cant afford to loose them, which is a shame because as developers they are being held back. They want to make games for other platforms but because microsoft is such an aggressive company they will cut funding to bungie. So as a halo fan i would like to see them have the freedom that they deserve and make games that they want to.

[butbutbuttehcell]

clueless ^^^

[die_fiend]

They're a completely independent studio now, what are you talking about?
"much to bungies annoyance, they have been trying to pull away from microsoft for over a year now" They've always said Microsoft were great partners and they owe them a huge amount for making Halo what it is today. Just because they wanted to become independent doesn't mean they dislike Microsoft. Microsoft didn't have to let them be independent either but clearly valued that they wanted to, and let them.
"they will cut funding to bungie" What? Microsoft don't own them anymore, so they don't fund them either, unless it's for games exclusive to 360. U don't expect them to fund them to make games for other consoles when they're not even owned by Microsoft do you?
You need to work on your English and logic pal

[dj55555555]

fine ok microsoft dont own bungie but they own the rights to halo and as a halo fan i would like to see halo move away from this generation of xbox because with the 360 limitations the halo games suffer, wouldn't you like to see halo progress instead of stagnating on a poor system?

[butbutbuttehcell]

Lol 360 is a poor system now is it? Y's that? Because for once the PS3 has better graphics with one game? 360 has so many sweet games, more than the PS3...Don't really care if Halo doesn't progress, I've only ever played the 3rd and it was good but I'm not that fussed. Lol I think you're just bitter that the PS3 is gonna be in last place for a looooong time. Speaking of limitations, don't you have to have about 5gb to install most games that can run perfectly fine (or better) from the disc on the 360? Also, can you install the whole game or just the mandatory part? Oh right, that's unfortunate

[dj55555555]

with the xbox you have to choose between graphics or content because microsoft put a dvd drive on it. with the PS3 you can have both, and i do care if halo pays the price for this because it is a fantastic series

[butbutbuttehcell]

So Gears of War 2 (which has pretty damn good graphics unless you're a blind dellusional fanboy) doesn't have any content? It doesn't have a long single player/co-op online mode as well as 7 other multiplayer modes and a large amount of maps? What the hell are you talking about? Obviously a Dvd drive can't hold that much but there are so many games with good graphics and lots of content on 360, such as res 5, u poor deluded little soul

[dj55555555]

well get hold of rockstar as GTA4 had content taken out because of the 360 limitations, as well as id software Rage can no longer use mega textures because of the 360, also the new command and conquer the PS3 has a better version because the 360 wasn't able to cope with it, and the list is getting bigger. Please do google this if you don't believe me.

And why settle for good when you can have better. Even gears of War would benefit if it moved to the PS3

[butbutbuttehcell]

Wasn't GTA4 delayed because of PS3? I heard about Rage but that's about it. What about all the sub-par PS3 ports you're neglecting? there are literally dozens of multiplats that are better on 360 lol. So how is that in any way better? I'll get a PS3 soon anyway, but all this stuff you're saying is rubbish, 360 can hold it's own just fine.

[dj55555555]

Rockstar has stated that they will not be able to pull off the next Grand Theft Auto due to the struggles with Grand Theft Auto IV (source) on a disc that holds only 8.54 GB compared to a Blu-ray that is currently holding 50 GB. This may harm them in the long run because you see developers now a days wanting to expand their games while saving as much money as they can. Making a game on a Hi-Definition Blu- ray disc not only allows for more uncompressed raw data and more audio support, it also benefits the developer at cutting cost of production.

John Carmack, game programmer and co-founder of id Software, has brought this up many times relating to his upcoming title, Rage. He has stated thatin order to put the game onto the Xbox 360 and have it look identical to the PlayStation 3 version, they would need to put it on about four discs which would cost them a lot in production costs.He also stated thatif Microsoft does not allow for them to put this game on four discs without charging them extra, he will have to compress the game massively to have it fit on two discs degrading the visuals of the game.Developers will adopt Blu-ray because of advantages in size, as well as price. Who would not want to make a larger, cheaper game?

[MicroSony4Life]

No fanboyism intended, can you imagine HALO with Killzone 2 Graphics.

I know allot of PS3 owner hate Halo but it would be interesting to see what the sales would be like if HALO was released on the PS3 and 360 and Wii, I think the Wii sales alone would dwarf Micro and Sony.

[IQUITN4G]

I think MS know that they can't allow a Chief fps to be done by any company other than Bungie.Sure they will explore the possibilities but sensibly it's best in Bungies hands and maybe they will even match the overal quality set by the first game(overal experience i'm talking here not gameplay)

The universe of Halo is wherever it wants to go and so long as quality games emerge, i really don't see a problem - Nintendo have the right idea and even MS realises it can't abuse the Halo franchise as it's way too important

[destrosio]

halo isn't just a game. halo is a worldwide analogy for FPS, now. every other game is a runner up. sorry, KZ2, try again.

[archpsyker]

I agree with your comment.

Unfortunately gamers are too blinded to see beyond certain titles and will forever have this idea that every game should be exact like their Magnum Opus of a game.

I own both Halo 3 and Killzone 2, both which are great games but ultimately it comes down to personally preferences. A runner up in one persons eyes could be the top game of the generation in another persons eyes.

[Munky]

In one word yes...anybody familiar with a gaming icon named Mario?

[Kushan]

It depends entirely what they do with it. Remember the early 90's? Nintendo had Mario and Sega had Sonic, at the time they were both company's trumph cards, but now look at it - Mario is bigger than ever, but Sonic is now synonymous with "bad game".

[archpsyker]

sorry replied to the wrong person.

[JokesOnYou]

So true. It goes without saying Halo name is a huge success but whether it continues to grow to "Mario status" or decline to "Sonic status" ALL depends on what micro does with the name and how much quality other titles bring to the table. For the record personally Mario has been whored out extremely too much imo, but nintendo can get away with putting Mario in a few gimmicky games, while Master Chief or Halo franchise would suffer alot from such tactics. Halo Wars is a great example of what they should do with the Halo name= make quality games and ONLY in genre's that make sense for the Halo Universe= FPS/RTS are a perfect fit.

JOY

[johnnywit]

@jokes on you

I would like to see halo in an RPG such as mass effect or fallout. Maybe not with master chief but with your own character. It would be awesome to start out as a grunt and work your way up to master chief status. Just dreaming though.

[JokesOnYou]

Now that you said it, that actually does sound fcking cool...if they put alot of time into, something sorta like Mass Effect but in the Halo Universe, OMG seriously that would be a fcking blast.

JOY

[SRT4Chris401]

OMG, halo is not innovative, it was just the first serious fps game made for a game console. It plays just like the quake games, they just added a melee button, and the forge is just a level editor for the 360. People with pcs have been doin that for years, so please shut up already with your fanboy homoism about this franchise, yes it's good, but it isn't original.

[DARK WITNESS]

lolololololol " It plays just like the quake games " lolololololol i can't believe you said that...

ok, in what way does it play like quake ? are you talking about online or the campaign ?

[blackboyunltd]

halo will be around forever, i can see a squad based halo similiar to rainbow 6 coming eventually, they will be consistent

[Parappa The Rappa]

Im sorry that you dont have an SRT-4(and even if you did, you'd still drive a car made for wanna-be tuner p*ssys). Its ok buddy, Im here for you.

And Im sorry you haven't played Halo 3(which is surprising). Hell maybe you have played it, and youre just not that good at it. Its ok buddy, im here for you.

And Im sorry that you prolly arent even old enough to remember Quake----I think you just assume, that b/c its old--its bad. Its ok buddy Im here for you.

*HUG*

[Xbots play games]

Halo Wars (in stores now): Wow! Ensemble was really onto to something big. This has made me an RTS believer. Bungie's inclusion of the mythic pack definately was a fan must-buy

Halo:OSDT (Sep): Bungie's swan song will be a retail beast! This games launch will sell more first day than any game in 2009.

Peter Jackson's Halo (2010): If it is not show at this year's E3..surely it will show at the next one. Probably a holiday release. Since we never got the movie..this will be the closest thing to it. If Peter Jax's EFX team pulls off a breakthrough movie/gaming experience; the 360 will start doing Wii numbers.

Halo 4 (2012): This will probably be launched at least a year and a half after the launch of Microsoft new system. Similiar to the 360 , this will allow for max install base and build excitement to a frenzy.

There will easily be more IPs at that point that have risen to the top of the pack. But, no matter how the interent Halo haters cry and whine about why this franchise has destroyed everything in it's site..Halo is not a fad..Halo is a franchise!

[PotNoodle]

MasterChief and Solid snake at the olympic games!

[bigjclassic]

Nintendo dosent only have Mario, Zelda and Pokemon are just as big as Mario. And now with the Wii, Wii branded games are also big sellers for BiG N.

Sony dosent have just one gaming icon as well. Jak, Ratchet, KZ, Kratos,
Nathan Hale, Drake and others have become the big name on PS platforms, but they all bow down to Gran Turismo on Ps.

MS needs Halo, Gears and maybe one or two more big name franchises.
*edit- MS needs a stable of exclusive gaming icons of their own.*

[SpoonyRedMage]

I'd like to see a Halo on the DS, not necessarily an FPS(Althought you could do one like Metroid Prime Hunters) but may be a fun game based around the vehicles, do some vehicle combat or something or a Metal Slug style game...

Or Halo Mongoose Racing, I'd buy it to play a grunt! It'd be like Mario Kart Double Dash and people seem to be forgetting that spinoffs of successful games aren't bad if they're fun, I think a lot people forget games are supposed to be fun.

[The BS Police]

If Halo countinues in the direction it is going (less on story, random gameplay elements) then Microsoft won't enebale to always count on Halo.

One thing they need o realsie is tghat Halo doesn't have to always have The Flood in it, nor does it need to always have Forerunner structures, planets, or ringworlds.

[Bumpmapping]

No Halo will not last forever hes going down the sonic route *Halo 3*.M$ cannot rely on one game, that's where Sony shines ;)

[azmanmanz]

It's true all xbox360 games is last gen

[Sitdown]

not if we are using my definition of trump card. Trump cards give you an advantage over another.......and at this point in time, I am not really sure the advantage that Halo gives Microsoft over Sony. Anyhow.....am I the only one who does not remember why Crackdown 2 did so well?...as a matter of fact, I don't even remember Crackdown 2 being released.

[ForROME]

If they spaced it out correctly, it could run 3 consoles strong, however one thing kills a series fast

SPIN offs, over saturating...

So I would say max 2 HALOs per sys both in the beg and end of the cycles

I think HALO should be a 5 part series not a 3....

After beating it on Legendary, that planet hes floating towards make that the next 2 games....and end it their, make it nothing on the ring but more of a Cryptic Alien Dark world.....

BRING IT

[Kylen08]

im gonna tell you guys a secret:

Forever is a very very long time.......

[anubis12]

halo vs FF humm which has more????????? lame article

HALO WARS FTW ....LONG LIVE HALO!!!!!!

[Rhezin]

you don't deserve to live.

[Magic_The_Celt]

No. not with the recent failure of Halo Wars

we all know it sucks, its just a plain failure, didnt sell as much as microsoft hoped even with the Halo name and it got less than stellar reviews

man i was in town today, with a group of guys and i heard:

One say he wants killzone 2 desperately(as many students, low on cash)
One say he just got Halo Wars and it SUCKS
and then the other guy turned and said "finaly someone agrees with me!

LOL

[commodore64]

man i was in town today, with a group of guys and i heard:

One say he wants killzone 2 desperately, but the ps3 is just too damn expensive, too expensive for poor students Not only that, but he acknowledged that KZ2 offer little in innovation apart from pretty graphics.
One said he just got Halo Wars and it's the best RTS on any console to date
and then the other guy turned and said "finally someone agrees with me!"

LOL
FIXED.

[otherZinc]

however, I hope Bungie will still play an important roll in the evolution of the original Halo series with Halo 4.

I hope Halo 3:ODST is the best of all Halo games so M$ can come to an agreement with Bungie to continue working with the Halo Universe.

Killzone 2 is a very good game with a great ending, however, its no Halo.

[Ldubbz]

Lets see...Halo has been arpund since 2001....4 games total that are all quality and make massive amounts of dough. Halo 3 is oe of the fastest/best-selling games in history...

Yeah, I think we will be seeing plenty more of Halo....

[Xbots play games]

@ otherZinc,

Great post and bubbles up (since the other side has more numbers and N4G allows them to unfairly wound us) As you can see from my above post what I feel is the blueprint for the future of the series. And to be honest, If I saw members of Bungie I would bow down for the amount of enjoyment they have given us gamers since the original Halo. Additionally, OSDT sounds like it will be the best game this system has seen since it's inception. But I love the whole 'Dream Team' thing that Microsoft is coming up with for H4. Bungie sounds like they have a few tricks up their sleeve and want to bless the world with a new IP. I say let em' do it. Just return to us for H5. Or maybe they could do all of the map packs. But, after what Ensemble pulled off, which feels so much like Halo that almost forgot it was an RTS during the early indoor level; I think with new blood the best is yet to come.