For anyone who'd still like to talk about FPS's, I'll throw a few cents out on them.
Half-life 2: very pretty, nice physics, and a decent bag of fun to be had, but it felt more like a dangerous playground than a focused FPS experience. While that's what they were going for to show off their physics engine, that's not what I want in an FPS.
Should be mentioning: F.E.A.R. was far, far more enjoyable than Half-life 2. None of this Gravity Gun geek toy silliness. Great atmosphere, perfectly timed scripted events, excellent particle effects, and AI that flanks every open angle you leave. Despite ending with shooting out the reactor and then running from an explosion (not to mention a few other fun cliches), it was pretty inventive.
Halo 2: Good for a totally different reason. The AI was good, but nothing explosive or noteworthy. The charm of the game comes in the weapons and their balance as much as it comes from the strong lead character, interesting (though unfinished) story, and memorable one-liners from other characters. Every weapon in Halo 2 has a purpose all it's own (except the Alien sniper) and players with practice can all find their own combination of weapons that can be just as effective as any other. This all depends on a player's skill. Even the feared triumvirate of weapons (sword, rockets, and shotgun) can be overcome by skilled application of even the Pea-Shooter and the Pistol.
Furthermore, everything is properly balanced for the limitations of using a joystick. Thus, it becomes difficult to compare Halo 2 to a finer PC shooter, as the demands made of the input set-up are so different.
I'm trying to think hard, but my roommate has a voice like a gun-shot and I can't think straight enough for long enough to write a sentence even THIS long without having to back-track and re-read it.
Curse you, voice chat.
Half-life 2: very pretty, nice physics, and a decent bag of fun to be had, but it felt more like a dangerous playground than a focused FPS experience. While that's what they were going for to show off their physics engine, that's not what I want in an FPS.
Should be mentioning: F.E.A.R. was far, far more enjoyable than Half-life 2. None of this Gravity Gun geek toy silliness. Great atmosphere, perfectly timed scripted events, excellent particle effects, and AI that flanks every open angle you leave. Despite ending with shooting out the reactor and then running from an explosion (not to mention a few other fun cliches), it was pretty inventive.
Halo 2: Good for a totally different reason. The AI was good, but nothing explosive or noteworthy. The charm of the game comes in the weapons and their balance as much as it comes from the strong lead character, interesting (though unfinished) story, and memorable one-liners from other characters. Every weapon in Halo 2 has a purpose all it's own (except the Alien sniper) and players with practice can all find their own combination of weapons that can be just as effective as any other. This all depends on a player's skill. Even the feared triumvirate of weapons (sword, rockets, and shotgun) can be overcome by skilled application of even the Pea-Shooter and the Pistol.
Furthermore, everything is properly balanced for the limitations of using a joystick. Thus, it becomes difficult to compare Halo 2 to a finer PC shooter, as the demands made of the input set-up are so different.
I'm trying to think hard, but my roommate has a voice like a gun-shot and I can't think straight enough for long enough to write a sentence even THIS long without having to back-track and re-read it.
Curse you, voice chat.