Has Halo been surpassed as the "cool" shooter with kids?

SAWYER

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
16,742
42
91
I have two kids and they are all about wanting to play COD multiplayer with their friends but won't even give Halo mp the time of day. I wonder if this is the case with most kids, what d you think?
 

warcrow

Lifer
Jan 12, 2004
11,078
11
81
I suppose, but I really wish adventure games would come back in a big way.

When I was a teenager I loved Doom AND Monkey Island and Full throttle, like, just as much. Then I played Grim Fandango and I was blown away.

I just wish we had more well written, funny, story driven games for kids.
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,339
6,150
126
well the kids this generation are bombarded with new COD games every year. there have been what, 6 COD games released since 360 came out, with 3 halo games being released, and really only 2 of them were "new". ODST was more of an expansion.

my bet is that has a lot to do with it.

also, halo gets played a lot more than i think you realize.
 

AstroManLuca

Lifer
Jun 24, 2004
15,628
5
81
It seems like it to me. Halo used to be disparaged by older gamers as a "kiddie game." Now the kiddies have moved on and I almost think Halo has come full circle, with the earlier installments evoking feelings of nostalgia in gamers who are now in their mid to late 20s (remember, the original game came out ten years ago, when we were teenagers!).

I'm certainly looking forward to the Halo CE remake coming this year.
 

Queasy

Moderator<br>Console Gaming
Aug 24, 2001
31,796
2
0
CoD is the new "it" for screaming 10 year olds, yes.

Even though I let my son play Halo: Reach, I won't let him play COD. Just a different level of maturity needed IMHO.
 
Mar 11, 2004
23,410
5,823
146
It seems like it to me. Halo used to be disparaged by older gamers as a "kiddie game." Now the kiddies have moved on and I almost think Halo has come full circle, with the earlier installments evoking feelings of nostalgia in gamers who are now in their mid to late 20s (remember, the original game came out ten years ago, when we were teenagers!).

I'm certainly looking forward to the Halo CE remake coming this year.

I had completely forgotten about that. I wish they'd put it on PC as well, but I guess I can always play it later when I almost certainly buy the replacement for the 360.

As for the OP's question, yeah I think so. I think its even been passed as the shooter with adults.

I don't think that would be the case if they'd had made Reach an actual squad based shooter like Team Fortress 2, or else had made the experience more meaningful than buying just visual mods (i.e. make it more like Call of Duty where you upgrade abilities).

That's not to say that it doesn't still get played a lot though, but there's no longer the big hype. Even Reach felt more like the first game in that it felt a lot more low key than 2 and 3.
 

Kabob

Lifer
Sep 5, 2004
15,248
0
76
Even though I let my son play Halo: Reach, I won't let him play COD. Just a different level of maturity needed IMHO.

I actually understand that. Plus I think the violence is much more realistic in CoD.
 
Mar 11, 2004
23,410
5,823
146
I suppose, but I really wish adventure games would come back in a big way.

When I was a teenager I loved Doom AND Monkey Island and Full throttle, like, just as much. Then I played Grim Fandango and I was blown away.

I just wish we had more well written, funny, story driven games for kids.

I do too, and I haven't even really played most of them, so I've still got a lot that I can go back and play that will be new experiences for me.

Have you played this yet: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/hectorbadgeofcarnage/review.html
 

AstroManLuca

Lifer
Jun 24, 2004
15,628
5
81
Even though I let my son play Halo: Reach, I won't let him play COD. Just a different level of maturity needed IMHO.

I actually understand that. Plus I think the violence is much more realistic in CoD.

Double agreed. I can see why Halo was rated M, but it's on a different level than COD. Assassinations in Reach are probably the most violent thing in the entire series, whereas COD has all sorts of blood and gore (especially in the campaign).
 

gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
30,739
452
126
Halo used to be the only semi-decent MP shooter you could play on the consoles. Now we're drowning in shooters and I think it just got lost in the crowd. IMO the arcadey style with aliens and taking a full clip to kill anything turns some off, like me.
 

JackSpadesSI

Senior member
Jan 13, 2009
636
0
0
I will never buy a CoD-type game. They bore the living crap out of me, and they're WAY too numerous with the countless sequels.

They seem to only appeal to people who salivate over the 2nd Amendment, and lack any real substance as a game. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the FPS genre, but CoD is just a cookie-cutter formula for people who like to stare a guns.
 

Ruptga

Lifer
Aug 3, 2006
10,246
207
106
For a bit more than a year some friends had a lan party every Monday, with Halo 3 and then Reach being the game of choice. It's still going, but a couple 10-14 year olds keep showing up and ruining it. The host never had the balls to tell them to go play with legos and now I think it's too late anyway.

So, no, in my neck of the woods Halo is still the cool game for kids.
 

chedrz

Senior member
Sep 6, 2006
252
0
76
I think there's a lot of different factors that play into the progression of today's video games. Online gaming revolutionized the way we game. I grew up playing Halo at LAN parties just like many others my age did. Now when I game with my close friends, we'll party up in Reach. If I'm just getting online to play a game with random people, I'll probably play MW2 or Black Ops. It's much easier to be a solo gun in a CoD game than in Halo.

Another factor is the game's pacing. The CoD games are faster-paced than Halo. Your character moves quicker, twitch reflexes are needed, etc. I think that plays a part in it. I actually have to focus a bit more when I switch from one game to the other simply because of the change in pace. With kids today needing to have virtually every minute filled with some sort of massive stimulus, they may want something that's faster-paced.

Yet another thing I see is that the guys I play Halo with are people who've had the entire series to play through. There's a connection of sorts to the game and the story, whether it's nostalgia or just being drawn into the universe's storyline. Teenage kids probably never played Halo: CE, so they don't really understand how the newer games impact the rest of the series. With CoD, you don't really need to know anything that's going on in the story. Yeah, CoD4/MW2/MW3 are connected, but in between you have WAW & Black Ops, solo games with no connections to other games.
 

vshah

Lifer
Sep 20, 2003
19,003
24
81
halo was awesome in that it had a great and memorable story as well as great shooter dynamics. modern shooters like COD are severely lacking in the story department.
 

bowdenball

Golden Member
Jan 13, 2002
1,172
0
0
I will never buy a CoD-type game. They bore the living crap out of me, and they're WAY too numerous with the countless sequels.

They seem to only appeal to people who salivate over the 2nd Amendment, and lack any real substance as a game. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the FPS genre, but CoD is just a cookie-cutter formula for people who like to stare a guns.

That's a giant reach there. I love the COD series mainly for the multiplayer. As one of the older gamers amongst my XBL friends (I'm 38) I don't like to stare at guns. It's a great game for a party of guys/girls to enjoy especially when you work as a team. The single player is a bonus for me (I'll play it through at least twice) but the multiplayer is what makes it a must buy for me along with many others it would appear.
 

Monster_Munch

Senior member
Oct 19, 2010
873
1
0
The first couple of COD games on the PC were amazing for the time. It's just the series never really progressed that much.
 

chalmers

Platinum Member
Mar 14, 2008
2,565
0
76
halo was awesome in that it had a great and memorable story as well as great shooter dynamics. modern shooters like COD are severely lacking in the story department.

If you're saying that Halo is a retro shooter.... /facepalm

Anyone under 20 doesn't know jack about real shooters.
 

AstroManLuca

Lifer
Jun 24, 2004
15,628
5
81
If you're saying that Halo is a retro shooter.... /facepalm

Anyone under 20 doesn't know jack about real shooters.

He didn't say it was a retro shooter. He said it wasn't a modern shooter.

The new trend is to have guys die in like 3 hits, you fully regenerate your health if you hide for 5 seconds, jumping and dodging are either impossible or nerfed to be useless, and the setting is always the present day middle east. Halo isn't that. But it's not old school Quake/UT either.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
Halo was pretty popular when I was in college, but I never saw it much outside of that.
 

vshah

Lifer
Sep 20, 2003
19,003
24
81
If you're saying that Halo is a retro shooter.... /facepalm

Anyone under 20 doesn't know jack about real shooters.

i never said it was retro, i just said that it has a memorable story. it basically created a universe within the game, which you can't say for modern military shooters like cod. I'm 25 fyi.
 

FeathersMcGraw

Diamond Member
Oct 17, 2001
4,041
1
0
I suppose, but I really wish adventure games would come back in a big way.

When I was a teenager I loved Doom AND Monkey Island and Full throttle, like, just as much. Then I played Grim Fandango and I was blown away.

I just wish we had more well written, funny, story driven games for kids.

Did you mean Loom?

Anyway, you're looking for http://www.telltalegames.com/

(And before people start telling me this is the console forum, they've got console ports for Monkey Island and a couple of seasons of Sam and Max :p )

At the very least, you can get your hands on some more Monkey Island. I haven't played through the full season, but the gameplay and sense of humor are very much intact from their Lucasarts roots. But what I would give for sequels to Full Throttle and/or Grim Fandango.

There's also The Adventures of Zack and Wiki for the Wii, one of the great overlooked titles for the platform.
 

Krynj

Platinum Member
Jun 21, 2006
2,816
8
81
He didn't say it was a retro shooter. He said it wasn't a modern shooter.

The new trend is to have guys die in like 3 hits, you fully regenerate your health if you hide for 5 seconds, jumping and dodging are either impossible or nerfed to be useless, and the setting is always the present day middle east. Halo isn't that. But it's not old school Quake/UT either.

I grew up on Quake and UT, and modern day shooters don't really appeal to me either. I wouldn't say they're bad games, but I just don't like how complex they've become. Can't aim well while jumping, recoil, dying easily. I understand the want for realism, it's just not for me. Slows down the pace of the game to a point that I just don't find enjoyable.

I want rocket jumping with quad damage and pentagram of protection.
 

Pr0d1gy

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2005
7,774
0
76
I grew up on Quake and UT, and modern day shooters don't really appeal to me either. I wouldn't say they're bad games, but I just don't like how complex they've become. Can't aim well while jumping, recoil, dying easily. I understand the want for realism, it's just not for me. Slows down the pace of the game to a point that I just don't find enjoyable.

I want rocket jumping with quad damage and pentagram of protection.

Agreed, it used to be about who was the fastest, most accurate, and most skilled. Now it's about who has the best team, most patience, and uses the cheapest weapons & tactics. I've grown so bored with modern shooters I am considered giving up the genre altogether.
 

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
80,287
17,080
136
Even though I let my son play Halo: Reach, I won't let him play COD. Just a different level of maturity needed IMHO.

WOW!
:eek:

You're like the only parent I know who gives a shit if his kid sees murder and rape in the video games.
Most parents still dont have a clue. I thought the Mortal Kombat scare of the 90's woke them up.