Vidya Meme
30 Day Vidya Meme
Since I know I am too lazy to finish the whole thing/too scatterbrained to remember (Only got to day 3...), I'm just going to jump to #30, drag my fangirling over from plurk, and tell you all about #30: My favorite game.
This series - not just game - is my favorite series of all time. Yep, it even trumps all my childhood games, my first FPS experiences, and any and every RPG I've played that I've loved. A lot of people may balk at that, call me a 'casual', or whatever, but this series means a lot more to me than just a great string of games to play.
FPS have always been "my thing" when it comes to video game genres; I've played practically every FPS I could get my hands on, whether they were small demos that never came to fruition to huge franchises that now exist as legends in the video game community. And, to be honest, I've played other FPS whose game mechanics I enjoy more than Halo's in certain areas, but Halo is still my favorite game.
You see, I have never played another series where, at the end of every single game, I have sat back and consistently went "Wow. Now that was a great game."
It's not just how a game plays that decides my opinion on it, but rather the feeling it leaves me with at the end of the day. With the creation of Halo has come such a huge and vast primary and secondary canon that rivals most RPG worlds, and the intricacies of this world are not lost at all in any one of the games, consistently creating a genuine-feeling environment to play in. The storyline at it's base is a simple one, but pulled off brilliantly, with not just memorable and likable characters, but ones that can live on in the video game community as the notable characters of our time. Each one has a distinct personality, a distinct life and depth to them, even the secondary characters. You get a feel for every character you meet, leaving them feeling like you know part of them, you can relate to them, that they're important. This is something extremely rare in games in general, not to mention even rarer in FPS.
Those aspects combined leave me awed when I finish the campaign part of a game; to see how all of those plot elements combine flawlessly to create such an engaging story is really a rare thing to see in many FPS games these days, and in my opinion, puts Halo in a league of its own.
Aside from the story element of the games, I do enjoy the technical parts of the game. I've never had a complaint about the interface or style of play; I'm usually picky about how my FPS games run, but Halo is one I've never really had complaints about. It's adaptable and easy to customize; Bungie is a developer that really puts its fans first, and that is something that shows in their game designs.
Aside from the game mechanics, the aesthetic parts of each game are just stunning. While Halo: CE looks so primitive now compared to other games, I remember being awed at the graphics when it came out so long ago. Each new installment, Bungie has up'd their standards, and each game has come equipped with beautiful and breathtaking landscapes, and engaging and clear gameplay. The colors are creative and well placed, the lighting is awesome, and the game is detailed without being overly distracting - something I appreciate in an FPS.
The music is something else I love, but I won't go into in depth, because I think most of you know how huge of a fangirl I am of these soundtracks and how long I could talk about them. I will say the one thing I am blown away by is the consistency of them, and the underlying melody that has evolved but is still present in every single game soundtrack; that tell-tale chorus of voices that Martin O'Donnell somehow finds a way to include into so many songs, and somehow keep it from being too repetitive. Beautiful, beautiful composing. And so well placed in the game, too.
Something else I have really loved about this series is watching it grow and change over time, but especially in regards to how Bungie has handled player demand. When people were upset about certain aspects of changed gameplay in Halo2, Bungie listened, and not only did they change things back in Halo 3, but delivered even further on suggestions that had been floating around since the game's birth. Bungie really takes their fans into account, and Halo has become such an amazing series because of it.
One of the things that really puts this game in a special place in my heart is the sentimental experiences I have had with it. When I was younger, playing it on LIVE was how I grew closer with my brothers and with my friends; I have never laughed harder playing a game with people than I have with Halo. It really has been a great bonding experience, because like the gaming community often says (like this is a bad thing for this game), Halo is more of a "casual" game - it's easy to pick up, easy to learn, but most importantly, extremely fun to play with others of any skill level. It's a game for anyone, and I appreciate that. Fuck exclusive and "hardcore" games; give me something I can play with my friends and bond over, and I'll pick that over a classic any day.
Also, I will say this in only one line, which should be self-explanatory, but another reason why I love this game is Red vs. Blue wouldn't exist without it. Mhm.
Creatively, Halo has been such a huge inspiration for many things I have done. Using Halo's secondary canon, I have created and imagined some of my most inspiring ideas for other stories and characters, and seeing how in-depth and amazingly intricate Halo's world is has set a standard for me when it comes to my own world building. I really can't ramble enough about how amazing I find the secondary canon to be, but I'll stop because this entry is already tl;dr.
Anyways, that is why the Halo series in general are my favorite games. I will stand up for and stand by these games any day. I understand that FPS games (and Halo) are not everyone's cup of tea; I also know that in the vidya community, saying you're a Halo fag usually gets a big ol' CASUAL stamped across your forehead. I don't really care what you think about this game series, as long as you can respect that these games are special to me, are a lot more than just something to play, and definitely, by far, my favorite games of all time.
Since I know I am too lazy to finish the whole thing/too scatterbrained to remember (Only got to day 3...), I'm just going to jump to #30, drag my fangirling over from plurk, and tell you all about #30: My favorite game.
This series - not just game - is my favorite series of all time. Yep, it even trumps all my childhood games, my first FPS experiences, and any and every RPG I've played that I've loved. A lot of people may balk at that, call me a 'casual', or whatever, but this series means a lot more to me than just a great string of games to play.
FPS have always been "my thing" when it comes to video game genres; I've played practically every FPS I could get my hands on, whether they were small demos that never came to fruition to huge franchises that now exist as legends in the video game community. And, to be honest, I've played other FPS whose game mechanics I enjoy more than Halo's in certain areas, but Halo is still my favorite game.
You see, I have never played another series where, at the end of every single game, I have sat back and consistently went "Wow. Now that was a great game."
It's not just how a game plays that decides my opinion on it, but rather the feeling it leaves me with at the end of the day. With the creation of Halo has come such a huge and vast primary and secondary canon that rivals most RPG worlds, and the intricacies of this world are not lost at all in any one of the games, consistently creating a genuine-feeling environment to play in. The storyline at it's base is a simple one, but pulled off brilliantly, with not just memorable and likable characters, but ones that can live on in the video game community as the notable characters of our time. Each one has a distinct personality, a distinct life and depth to them, even the secondary characters. You get a feel for every character you meet, leaving them feeling like you know part of them, you can relate to them, that they're important. This is something extremely rare in games in general, not to mention even rarer in FPS.
Those aspects combined leave me awed when I finish the campaign part of a game; to see how all of those plot elements combine flawlessly to create such an engaging story is really a rare thing to see in many FPS games these days, and in my opinion, puts Halo in a league of its own.
Aside from the story element of the games, I do enjoy the technical parts of the game. I've never had a complaint about the interface or style of play; I'm usually picky about how my FPS games run, but Halo is one I've never really had complaints about. It's adaptable and easy to customize; Bungie is a developer that really puts its fans first, and that is something that shows in their game designs.
Aside from the game mechanics, the aesthetic parts of each game are just stunning. While Halo: CE looks so primitive now compared to other games, I remember being awed at the graphics when it came out so long ago. Each new installment, Bungie has up'd their standards, and each game has come equipped with beautiful and breathtaking landscapes, and engaging and clear gameplay. The colors are creative and well placed, the lighting is awesome, and the game is detailed without being overly distracting - something I appreciate in an FPS.
The music is something else I love, but I won't go into in depth, because I think most of you know how huge of a fangirl I am of these soundtracks and how long I could talk about them. I will say the one thing I am blown away by is the consistency of them, and the underlying melody that has evolved but is still present in every single game soundtrack; that tell-tale chorus of voices that Martin O'Donnell somehow finds a way to include into so many songs, and somehow keep it from being too repetitive. Beautiful, beautiful composing. And so well placed in the game, too.
Something else I have really loved about this series is watching it grow and change over time, but especially in regards to how Bungie has handled player demand. When people were upset about certain aspects of changed gameplay in Halo2, Bungie listened, and not only did they change things back in Halo 3, but delivered even further on suggestions that had been floating around since the game's birth. Bungie really takes their fans into account, and Halo has become such an amazing series because of it.
One of the things that really puts this game in a special place in my heart is the sentimental experiences I have had with it. When I was younger, playing it on LIVE was how I grew closer with my brothers and with my friends; I have never laughed harder playing a game with people than I have with Halo. It really has been a great bonding experience, because like the gaming community often says (like this is a bad thing for this game), Halo is more of a "casual" game - it's easy to pick up, easy to learn, but most importantly, extremely fun to play with others of any skill level. It's a game for anyone, and I appreciate that. Fuck exclusive and "hardcore" games; give me something I can play with my friends and bond over, and I'll pick that over a classic any day.
Also, I will say this in only one line, which should be self-explanatory, but another reason why I love this game is Red vs. Blue wouldn't exist without it. Mhm.
Creatively, Halo has been such a huge inspiration for many things I have done. Using Halo's secondary canon, I have created and imagined some of my most inspiring ideas for other stories and characters, and seeing how in-depth and amazingly intricate Halo's world is has set a standard for me when it comes to my own world building. I really can't ramble enough about how amazing I find the secondary canon to be, but I'll stop because this entry is already tl;dr.
Anyways, that is why the Halo series in general are my favorite games. I will stand up for and stand by these games any day. I understand that FPS games (and Halo) are not everyone's cup of tea; I also know that in the vidya community, saying you're a Halo fag usually gets a big ol' CASUAL stamped across your forehead. I don't really care what you think about this game series, as long as you can respect that these games are special to me, are a lot more than just something to play, and definitely, by far, my favorite games of all time.