Halo Reach Thread


Recommended Posts

First of all let me say a few things about the campaign. I think they really kind of cheated with the death of spartans. Jorge dies so stupidly and I really didn't feel a single thing. It was so sudden and unemotional. I don't know. Just wasn't really great.

Kat, dies with a sniper shot. Okay, that was a bit of a shocking moment and I felt bad. I felt most emotions about Kat and Noble 1 because they were the ones who actually had communication and talked the most in the game. We connect with them. Those 2 deaths were really done to get to us. One heroic and one shocking.. I didn't really feel emotional even when Noble 6 dies in the end. It was just stupid.

Here's my beef. I really expected Noble 6 to be master chief. The only one who survives and becomes master chief. Actually I wouldn't mind the way it ended for the whole Spartan team if we at least saw how Master Chief got into the whole thing. I really expected Reach to end where Halo begins and we see how Master Chief looks like in this new engine. I would be up cheering if I saw him at the end of this game.

But no.. it ended so plainly. Nothing. No bang, no master chief, nothing. Kortana is on board of Pillar of Autumn and that's it.

To be honest, what was the whole point of Kortana saying how she chose Noble 6. Chose for what? Wasn't that the thing about master chief. Kortana chose him. So natural assumption was that Noble 6 ends up being master chief.

Whatever the case, i really expected to see master chief and how he gets into the events of Halo 1.

I was really disappointing. Campaign felt more like preparation for Firefight than story based thing and homage to previous Halo games.

Well, it seems you never read the books nor cared to look into who you were playing in the game and who MC was.

Master Chief, or John Spartan-117, was a Spartan II from the initial batch of the Spartan Program. Noble 6 is a Spartan III, from an entirely different line of Spartans headed up not by Halsey but Ackerson. This is why the only spartan to say "Mom" was Jorge, because he was the only Spartan II of the group. It also explains why the Spartan III's had no comprehension of who Halsey was. Second, The ending of the game completely contradicts the book. The story was good, but in Fall of Reach the Pillar of Autumn and Cortana (yes, it is spelled with a "C" not a "K") were never on the surface during the Covenant attack. They were in orbit during the initial assault.

In all honesty, though, the game leads perfectly into the first game. There was really no "reason" for the MC and the Pillar of Autumn to go to Halo. It was a random vector jump that Cortana plotted via impulse at the interception of Covenant data while Reach was under assault. Their original orders were entirely different than the events of CE seeing as the attack on Reach was unexpected.

Well, Boz, I guess we're just going to have to disagree, because I didn't think any of the previous Halo games even had a good storyline. This one's is decent, just like the others. I fully get that major Halo fans are going to read the books and all that mumbo jumbo, but that doesn't change how good the GAMES' stories are. As far as the gameplay, the gameplay in Reach is far better than any of the other Halo games as far as I'm concerned, personally.

I agree with you on most aspects, but I don't agree on the music. I loved the music, which is really rare for a video game.

Random, but I think one of the things that impresses me so much about Reach is the atmosphere. The atmosphere in the previous Halo games were all absolute crap. The map designs were so bland -- inside buildings, there was literally nothing except a button on a wall and an elevator (in most). The buildings in this actually seem like they were inhabited, and most have a really unique design. It kinda reminded me of Half-Life 2 in that regard.

So, kudos to Bungie for taking what I've long considered one of the weakest aspects of Halo and making it into one of the best.

The game was overall uninspiring. Bland story, bland graphics and bland music. This wasn't a hot ride. Given that the 360 is now five years old the graphical limitations are to be expected. And I completely agree on map design; some of their worst! Most if not all of the missions were multi-player maps, which felt cheap. The over all design was quite spartan :p And funny you mention Half-Life 2, there were moments where I wondered what game I was playing and began looking for a crow bar.

Bigger rant on overall game design and mechanics: I've been playing way to much Crysis so far, and love what Crytek did with their power suit. That being said it would have been great if Bungie adopted a similar approach to suit powers instead of equipment power-ups. There were moments where I wanted to simply dash and then jump and fly. That would have been great and I would have appreciated it if sprint or dash had become a standard power.

Well, it seems you never read the books nor cared to look into who you were playing in the game and who MC was.

In all honesty, though, the game leads perfectly into the first game. There was really no "reason" for the MC and the Pillar of Autumn to go to Halo. It was a random vector jump that Cortana plotted via impulse at the interception of Covenant data while Reach was under assault. Their original orders were entirely different than the events of CE seeing as the attack on Reach was unexpected.

No Keyes loop or massive armada fight above Reach; the original book puts the game to shame. I don't know what changes have been made to the current book, but having read the original years ago I was anticipating an epic story and received a stroll in the park that made no sense to what had previously been published.

It was good to hear Capt Keyes again though I didn't like his overall design update as he looked too young.

Why no Foehammer love Bungie? Seriously? And Johnson? This should have been a grand'ole class reunion!

SP: 6/10.

Soon to start up xbox live.

It's so sad, every major event in the game is done so badly and you really wonder what kind of monkeys were responsible for the directing of the game's various scenes. There's so many possibilities in this game, where Bungie could add some sweet music and do some very cinematic events, get that epic feel going - bit like that trailer released a while back ( Deliver hope ). But everything is done so badly, so rushed. Some cheap psychedelic bongo-crap music and a feel like they just needed to get 'the scene over with'. The rest of the game is just a bland adventure with such a weak telling of the story, then you basically just move from area X to Y, clear area, activate something, move on.

To make it clear; not bashing the story, that's not the issue. The issue is whoever at Bungie responsible for directing it all must be blind and deaf.

Have not finished the campaign yet, but I was really disappointed to hear that it is only 8-10 hours long. Seems games are only devoted towards multiplayer these days while all the single co-op players are left behind. Even COD MW2 was not geared towards single players.

Looking forward to the next Fallout, Mass Effect, and Gears as these games still seem to offer good single player options and campaigns.

For me, I won't ever use MW2 as a comparison for poor multiplayer, I will now use Reach :laugh: Multiplayer in this game is probably the most terribly terrifying hunk of junk ever created by man.

- Weapon damage? Non-existent, they are only there to shoot out the shield in a 30 seconds duel only to end with a melee kill. Obviously sprinkled with a few insta-kill weapons just to give random players the ability to get free kills.

- Grenades are useless, guess that is part of the above

- Hit detection must be the worst detection system since Bad Company 1 or Headshots aren't actually made by shooting the head, just random body parts - Like a sort of "crit" system.

- Lobby system is laughable at best, COUNTDOWN-O-MATIC and then you end up playing game-modes you wouldn't even consider to save your life - Always hated that crappy Halo vote system (N)

- Sprint + That lame ass energy sword, what retard at Bungie thought that was a good idea?

- Assassinations, yes they are fun for 0.5 of a second but then it just gets pathetic, ESPECIALLY in a game like this.

I just can't fathom why it's so attractive about having to shoot people a MILLION times, it's SO frustrating! Whenever there's two enemies and only you, no need to bother because you can't win that situation unless you have a free-kill combo ( Rocket launcher etc. ) or they make some serious mistakes ( i.e. being very green ). This game is either made for people very insecure of themselves online, always knowing the game will hold your hand most of the way or very slow thinkers because you certainly don't have to think fast whatsoever, it's made for senior citizens, so much leniency.

Why are there even normal weapons in Halo?

Story is weak and shallow; characters are never flushed out nor is any sense of purpose established in moving from point a to b, you just do it. Most of the new weapons are pointless particularly on the Covenant end.

What was Bungie thinking? Granted FPS's can only do so much, however in terms of presentation this is the weakest of all six installments. Reach has the prettiest coat of paint but there is nothing running under the hood.

What was Bungie thinking? Granted FPS's can only do so much, however in terms of presentation this is the weakest of all six installments. Reach has the prettiest coat of paint but there is nothing running under the hood.

I sort-of agree - I'd say this game has the most under the hood of all the games as it's basically a mash of everything Bungie ever did. Problem is, it's stale as hell. Gameplay is like a virtual depression now and everything is so bland, like licking air.

I just can't fathom why it's so attractive about having to shoot people a MILLION times, it's SO frustrating! Whenever there's two enemies and only you, no need to bother because you can't win that situation unless you have a free-kill combo ( Rocket launcher etc. ) or they make some serious mistakes ( i.e. being very green ). This game is either made for people very insecure of themselves online, always knowing the game will hold your hand most of the way or very slow thinkers because you certainly don't have to think fast whatsoever, it's made for senior citizens, so much leniency.

Why are there even normal weapons in Halo?

:laugh: But Halo has always been like that, you first take down shields and then score a kill (unless you have rockets snipers etc). It is perfectly possible to "win a situation" of two enemies, how is that different from other games? I haven't started MP on Reach yet but going by beta, it hasn't changed much from Halo:CE in terms of basic mechanics of killing a player with rechargeable shield.

I actually prefer this way to MW2 (as an example) unbalanced weapon system where a guy has better weapons than me just because I started later than him (or don't play as often).

:laugh: But Halo has always been like that, you first take down shields and then score a kill (unless you have rockets snipers etc). It is perfectly possible to "win a situation" of two enemies, how is that different from other games? I haven't started MP on Reach yet but going by beta, it hasn't changed much from Halo:CE in terms of basic mechanics of killing a player with rechargeable shield.

I actually prefer this way to MW2 (as an example) unbalanced weapon system where a guy has better weapons than me just because I started later than him (or don't play as often).

At least the Call of Duty series allow you to pick a game-mode ( Soft / Hardcore ) Secondly, the "Better weapons, higher rank" thing is complete and utter BS. The best weapons are unlocked from the very beginning, the ones you unlock at the later levels just decrease in stats and are mainly there for variation. Also, at least in Call of Duty, even in Softcore your enemy dies fairly quickly so in a situation where you have the advantage you can quite easily come out on top. In Reach ( i.e. all Halo games ), as soon as there's more than one your chances go to the toilet and as soon as you lose the element of surprise you are truly boned. I've even seen some fantastic players on the enemy team be completely useless in situation where they are outnumbered 2:1 because it's nearly impossible to overcome two players due to the crappy shield / health system.

And yes, you are right - Halo has always been like that but I never played much Halo MP because it sucked. Especially now after playing e.g. Call of Duty 4, it stands out that much more and becomes so much more frustrating.

MW2 was a disaster, it was a horrifying game and the multiplayer was based on random luck and chance - Nothing else. It was a disgusting way to build on CoD 4. Which is why it amazes me to have found a multiplayer game that is worse.

At least the Call of Duty series allow you to pick a game-mode ( Soft / Hardcore ) Secondly, the "Better weapons, higher rank" thing is complete and utter BS. The best weapons are unlocked from the very beginning, the ones you unlock at the later levels just decrease in stats and are mainly there for variation. Also, at least in Call of Duty, even in Softcore your enemy dies fairly quickly so in a situation where you have the advantage you can quite easily come out on top. In Reach ( i.e. all Halo games ), as soon as there's more than one your chances go to the toilet and as soon as you lose the element of surprise you are truly boned. I've even seen some fantastic players on the enemy team be completely useless in situation where they are outnumbered 2:1 because it's nearly impossible to overcome two players due to the crappy shield / health system.

And yes, you are right - Halo has always been like that but I never played much Halo MP because it sucked. Especially now after playing e.g. Call of Duty 4, it stands out that much more and becomes so much more frustrating.

MW2 was a disaster, it was a horrifying game and the multiplayer was based on random luck and chance - Nothing else. It was a disgusting way to build on CoD 4. Which is why it amazes me to have found a multiplayer game that is worse.

No different than Arena and standard playlists or perhaps SWAT vs. Slayer. Not really sure what your complaint is there. Speed does not necessarily make the game any less interesting and your chances against 2 people are entirely fine unless you play poorly or they play smart. Even in CoD you'll lose if two players are being smart about dealing with you. It seems your point of view is based entirely on the fact you can't deal with long kill times. That is up to you but honestly no reason to hate on the game.

No different than Arena and standard playlists or perhaps SWAT vs. Slayer. Not really sure what your complaint is there. Speed does not necessarily make the game any less interesting and your chances against 2 people are entirely fine unless you play poorly or they play smart. Even in CoD you'll lose if two players are being smart about dealing with you. It seems your point of view is based entirely on the fact you can't deal with long kill times. That is up to but honestly no reason to hate on the game.

The maps are poor as hell, way too open or just a massive melee cluster****, way too bland and there's little to no tactical gameplay involved ( Standing in a corner with the energy sword isn't really tactics ) or anything that can be used to your advantage. Add the shields crap, weak ass weapons and the fact a skilled player can do little to improve his chances in 2:1 because of the TERRIBLE hit detection - Then adds to an overall poor product, worst MP experience in years. Plenty of reason to hate on the game, even a lot of my friends joined that hate train over the last few days.

And yes, two players ganging up on you in any game will leave you at a disadvantage but not as much as in Halo - Because headshots are impossible to get apparently, I tried and even hit the helmet square on and nothing happened. Then you can start the classic Jump, shoot, throw all your grenades and hope for the best manoeuvre which is the ONLY thing you EVER see people do in Halo - It's so sad :laugh: At least in other games you can use the map, the game's features or tactical knowledge to your advantage, not in Halo. When I meet a skilled player that is able to counter a 2-man attack in Halo with ease I'll come back and take it back but that hasn't happened in any of the Halo games I've played, only on those random headshots or because they had the easy-kill weapons and sometimes because the enemies he was facing couldn't hit for sh ... Under normal circumstances it's almost impossible.

Halo multiplayer is all about slow, forgiving gameplay and I guess that's a great polar opposite of the usual competitive multiplayer where player abilities and reaction times win the day.

The maps are poor as hell, way too open or just a massive melee cluster****, way too bland and there's little to no tactical gameplay involved ( Standing in a corner with the energy sword isn't really tactics ) or anything that can be used to your advantage. Add the shields crap, weak ass weapons and the fact a skilled player can do little to improve his chances in 2:1 because of the TERRIBLE hit detection - Then adds to an overall poor product, worst MP experience in years. Plenty of reason to hate on the game, even a lot of my friends joined that hate train over the last few days.

And yes, two players ganging up on you in any game will leave you at a disadvantage but not as much as in Halo - Because headshots are impossible to get apparently, I tried and even hit the helmet square on and nothing happened. Then you can start the classic Jump, shoot, throw all your grenades and hope for the best manoeuvre which is the ONLY thing you EVER see people do in Halo - It's so sad :laugh: At least in other games you can use the map, the game's features or tactical knowledge to your advantage, not in Halo. When I meet a skilled player that is able to counter a 2-man attack in Halo with ease I'll come back and take it back but that hasn't happened in any of the Halo games I've played, only on those random headshots or because they had the easy-kill weapons and sometimes because the enemies he was facing couldn't hit for sh ... Under normal circumstances it's almost impossible.

Halo multiplayer is all about slow, forgiving gameplay and I guess that's a great polar opposite of the usual competitive multiplayer where player abilities and reaction times win the day.

Only thing I agree with ya about is maps. **** poor selection and with nearly half the maps being based in Forge-world. That's just about as bad as MW2 map packs and with some many maps being based upon or remakes of former (great maps), it really is poor.

Don't get what you mean by hit detection. I have zero problems hitting anyone with any weapon and it doesn't take but 2-5 seconds to kill anyone. If it's possible and you have the time. Please upload a few videos to your fileshare and tell us names so we can search and watch and figure out what ya mean.

The maps are poor as hell, way too open or just a massive melee cluster****, way too bland and there's little to no tactical gameplay involved or anything that can be used to your advantage. Add the shields crap, weak ass weapons and the fact a skilled player can do little to improve his chance because of the TERRIBLE hit detection - Then adds to an overall poor product, worst MP experience in years. Plenty of reason to hate on the game, even a lot of my friends joined that hate train over the last few days.

Well, to me who has played this game and every iteration of it I just hear someone who hasn't played the game long enough to understand the nuances of its playstyle. Everything you have listed is, again, entirely opinionated and in no way a reason to say it sucks. You may not like it, but don't assume the game sucks cause you can't deal with the differences between it and other shooters. The hit detection is superb, but I might choke some of your poor experiences to be the issues present in Halo 3 due to it not being hitscan. Halo 3's hit detection was poor compared to Halo 2 and Reach. Of course you aren't that new to the Halo universe. People who hate Halo cause its different than other shooters. It isn't fast like other shooters, it doesn't play to twitch like other shooters, melee is a bigger part than in other shooters, etc. But it is your choice to not give the game even the slightest of chances as it seems you are dead set on doing exactly the opposite.

And yes, two players ganging up on you in any game will leave you at a disadvantage but not as much as in Halo - Because headshots are impossible to get apparently, I tried and even hit the helmet square on and nothing happened. Then you can start the classic Jump, shoot, throw all your grenades and hope for the best manoeuvre which is the ONLY thing you EVER see people do in Halo - It's so sad :laugh: At least in other games you can use the map, the game's features or tactical knowledge to your advantage, not in Halo. When I meet a skilled player that is able to counter a 2-man attack in Halo with ease I'll come back and take it back but that hasn't happened in any of the Halo games I've played, only on those random headshots or because they had the easy-kill weapons and sometimes because the enemies he was facing couldn't hit for sh ... Under normal circumstances it's almost impossible.

Then stop running in alone. If you don't like dying when you are outnumbered, play as a team and go in with a buddy. Halo 3 and Reach put emphasis on team play and if you love to lone-wolf it against other good players than Reach isn't going to make things nice and easy for you. Second I ask if you know how the bloom works in the game. Spamming your gun will screw up your shot. Slow you finger down and maybe some headshots will show up (only gun I've had difficulty getting headshots with is the pistol; needle rifle, sniper and DMR seem to work fine).

BTW, it is not surprising you see a lot of poor gameplay choices when the game JUST CAME OUT. Seeing that many of the people playing Reach also haven't ever played Halo before or are still adjusting to the differences. You are so ready to hate the game you don't even consider other reasons for why things are happening. BTW - I have already had games where I was easily able to counter two players, if not three or four. I still see your complaints as ignorance more than actual experience. You initial complaint was just the number of times you had to shoot someone, which has nothing to do with the game being good or bad. IF that was the first thing to pop into your head I doubt the rest of the experience was good for you regardless of whether or not the game was operating properly.

Besides, comparing Halo to MW2 is just wrong in the first place.

Only thing I agree with ya about is maps. **** poor selection and with nearly half the maps being based in Forge-world. That's just about as bad as MW2 map packs and with some many maps being based upon or remakes of former (great maps), it really is poor.

Don't get what you mean by hit detection. I have zero problems hitting anyone with any weapon and it doesn't take but 2-5 seconds to kill anyone. If it's possible and you have the time. Please upload a few videos to your fileshare and tell us names so we can search and watch and figure out what ya mean.

Seems like they are just relying on the community to keep it afloat and they just teased with a bunch of bad maps.

I won't be going through a bunch of old games, would take a million years to find those golden moments but I will definitely keep it in mind and upload a video or two when it happens. Just gets tiresome after a while to just blast bullets into the head of your opponent with a rifle or even a DMR / Needler Rifle and then you die 3 seconds later by a headshot from the guy. It seems there is little correlation between any of it.

They could somewhat salvage the game for me by adding the equivalent to Hardcore mode on a permanent rotation, no voting crap - Doesn't even have to be like Hardcore in other games, just remove the shields perhaps and that's it - God it could actually be good.

I did enjoy SWAT where the Hit Detection does seem to work (?) but it's still a far cry from what I want to play.

They could somewhat salvage the game for me by adding the equivalent to Hardcore mode on a permanent rotation, no voting crap - Doesn't even have to be like Hardcore in other games, just remove the shields perhaps and that's it - God it could actually be good.

I did enjoy SWAT where the Hit Detection does seem to work (?) but it's still a far cry from what I want to play.

Fairly certain, SWAT is the "hardcore" mode of Halo and has been and will be. Wouldn't hold your breath for that, though I do wish a playlist without armor abilities and maybe one without voting or vetoing. Big Team Battle should just be called, Big Team Slayer. Only way we've been able to get in some CTF games is 8 of us and if we vote for the bottom third option and the other 8 vote for one of the two above us, those get selected.

Everything you have listed is, again, entirely opinionated and in no way a reason to say it sucks.

It gives him every right. It's his opinion to say something sucks based on his criteria. Not yours, not mine, not anyone else's. Disagree with it, all you want but please don't say he can't do/say X thing because it's just his opinion when you yourself turn around and say opinionated things. :)

Well, to me who has played this game and every iteration of it I just hear someone who hasn't played the game long enough to understand the nuances of its playstyle. Everything you have listed is, again, entirely opinionated and in no way a reason to say it sucks. You may not like it, but don't assume the game sucks cause you can't deal with the differences between it and other shooters. The hit detection is superb, but I might choke some of your poor experiences to be the issues present in Halo 3 due to it not being hitscan. Halo 3's hit detection was poor compared to Halo 2 and Reach. Of course you aren't that new to the Halo universe. People who hate Halo cause its different than other shooters. It isn't fast like other shooters, it doesn't play to twitch like other shooters, melee is a bigger part than in other shooters, etc. But it is your choice to not give the game even the slightest of chances as it seems you are dead set on doing exactly the opposite.

I also played every iteration ( except ODST ) and back in the day, the game was good - Why? Because the competition couldn't keep up. Back then, it was like a freshly baked bread and they just let that bread sit for too long and now it has gone bad.

As you mention, everything I list is an opinion thus I can say the game sucks because ... are you ready for it, IT'S AN OPINION. None of what you or I say is a fact. I bought an Xbox to play Halo, bought Halo 2 on launch and purchased Live subscription to play. Got Halo 3 on launch and completed it on legendary with a friend and proceeded to play a sea of playlists with a friend in a desperate attempt to give it a try. Now I buy Halo: Reach on launch, play it for hours and hours, even spend time giving my opinion on a forum and you say I don't give it any chances? You have to be taking the **** mate. Seems like you a dead set on defending the game to the hilt. Oh and I just bought Bungie Pro today after spending 3 hours in Forge - Yes, I'm really not giving it a chance :rolleyes:

Then stop running in alone. If you don't like dying when you are outnumbered, play as a team and go in with a buddy. Halo 3 and Reach put emphasis on team play and if you love to lone-wolf it against other good players than Reach isn't going to make things nice and easy for you. Second I ask if you know how the bloom works in the game. Spamming your gun will screw up your shot. Slow you finger down and maybe some headshots will show up (only gun I've had difficulty getting headshots with is the pistol; needle rifle, sniper and DMR seem to work fine).

BTW, it is not surprising you see a lot of poor gameplay choices when the game JUST CAME OUT. Seeing that many of the people playing Reach also haven't ever played Halo before or are still adjusting to the differences. You are so ready to hate the game you don't even consider other reasons for why things are happening. BTW - I have already had games where I was easily able to counter two players, if not three or four. I still see your complaints as ignorance more than actual experience. You initial complaint was just the number of times you had to shoot someone, which has nothing to do with the game being good or bad. IF that was the first thing to pop into your head I doubt the rest of the experience was good for you regardless of whether or not the game was operating properly.

Besides, comparing Halo to MW2 is just wrong in the first place.

Don't start lecturing me on FPS games, you'd be surprised about my background in them. I appreciate the teamwork aspect but it's a dead-duck method on how to force teamwork - Instead of creating great gameplay that entices you to work together, they create a system that FORCES you to work together. So I'd in 9/10 cases have to follow a bunch of players around like a little puppy because most players I've seen won't wait nor have the ability to cover your back or use their microphones. Yes, forcing teamwork with randoms on live is about the dumbest thing you can do, especially for us Europeans where finding a person that speaks, isn't in a Party and also speaks English is like winning the lottery.

So like my early-preview, you are just defending the game because you are a bit biased - Which is fine, but don't start this BS like I've never played an FPS or a Halo game before.

Fairly certain, SWAT is the "hardcore" mode of Halo and has been and will be. Wouldn't hold your breath for that, though I do wish a playlist without armor abilities and maybe one without voting or vetoing. Big Team Battle should just be called, Big Team Slayer. Only way we've been able to get in some CTF games is 8 of us and if we vote for the bottom third option and the other 8 vote for one of the two above us, those get selected.

It's a shame as SWAT seems more like a 'fun for the sake of it' mode, rather than a core mode I'd play - So do most modes, like a sort of variation. Bungie should really change how the playlist works, add more choices and lose all the voting and craziness if players don't want it. Then it would be so much harder to hate the game :) Also why I'm so much more annoyed, most games have problem at the core level meaning it won't change - Halo could be a good game with a TINY addition by Bungie yet it has never happened, it's just frustrating. Then you are stuck with crappy gamemodes. ( No, this isn't my only problem with the game - For the daft who didn't bother to read, it'll just push the game up enough to be 'playable'. Game still has issues. )

Big Team Battle should just be called, Big Team Slayer. Only way we've been able to get in some CTF games is 8 of us and if we vote for the bottom third option and the other 8 vote for one of the two above us, those get selected.

Big team battle has always been a disappointing matchmaking set, I don't know why they would try to lump swat on medium indoor levels and CTF on large outdoor levels together but chances are people are interested in one or the other, not both. They should narrow the matchmaking categories and then allow you to queue for multiple so that if you want a broader range of modes or game sizes it would give you variety without requiring everyone else to play the amount of variety that is required now, or they could just give us the damn custom game search already.

It gives him every right. It's his opinion to say something sucks based on his criteria. Not yours, not mine, not anyone else's. Disagree with it, all you want but please don't say he can't do/say X thing because it's just his opinion when you yourself turn around and say opinionated things. :)

He isn't saying "the game sucks in my opinion". He is makiing an objective judgment that the game sucks from his opinions. The game has no clear problems, therefore it isn't a bad game but a game he doesn't like.

And I'm not sure what you mean with your analogy. Some people can eat the same bread their entire lives and never get tired of it. To others it can get pretty bland quickly. To me, Halo is a bread I can eat forever regardless of it changing or not. That may just not be the case for Sethos. I'm also not lecturing you, I'm giving you the options available. My background is pretty FPS heavy to (Goldeneye, Battlelfied 1942/2/Bad Company), Counterstrike CS1.6 and Source, Half Life 1/2, Quake III and IV, UT2k4, FEAR 1/2 and all the Halo games and I like all of them for the specific reasons. I think I have yet to run into a shooter I really absolutely think was a BAD game. Yet still I disagree with your observations and find them an exaggeration.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • 7 Days: Windows 11 turns five, Ford made a mistake, and Starlink plans direct mobile service by Aditya Tiwari 7 Days is a weekly roundup of picks of what's been happening in the world of technology - written with a dash of humor, a hint of exasperation, and an endless supply of (black) coffee. This week's highlights include Apple's $4 billion class-action lawsuit, a smartphone with a 14,000 mAh battery, Google catching up with Anthropic, and the Steam Summer Sale 2026. Let's get started. You can check out the recent issues of the 7 Days weekly roundup. Windows 11 turns five Microsoft's Windows 11 operating system completed five years of existence on June 24 this week. According to the latest data, the controversial operating system now runs on almost 72% of Windows PCs worldwide. The launch of Windows 11 had several dramatic twists and an entire preview build leaked ahead of launch. Ford made a mistake Many would agree that one of the biggest mistakes the automobile industry made was surrendering to the giant touchscreens and removing physical buttons. However, Ford made even more. The company executives said they made a mistake by replacing human engineers with AI. Ford admitted that AI couldn't replace experienced engineers and the company is rehiring veterans to improve quality and cut recall costs. Starlink mobile service Elon Musk's SpaceX wants to use its massive constellation of satellites to power your phone's network. The company is reportedly considering building a terrestrial mobile network to complement Starlink’s satellite coverage and planning to sell mobile phone plans directly to customers in the US as part of a wider expansion of Starlink. Our Features Our coffee-powered team published a platter of editorials, opinion posts, hands-on experiences, and guides. Check them out: Hey Google, these are the Gemini features I want in 2026 You've tried DuckDuckGo and Brave Search, now get serious with SearXNG Why Delta Chat is the best decentralized messenger you have probably never tried We check out the SKG PS700 Neck Massager SKG Hand Massager with Heat OS500 hands on Hands-on with BOOX Tappy: cute little reading accessory Hands-on with the ProtoArc EM25: Affordable ergonomic mouse that focuses on the right things Hands-on with iFlyTek AINote 2 E-Ink tablet: insanely thin and smart This week in software news Catch up on some of the latest software news updates that arrived throughout the week: Firefox 152.02: The latest browser update brought fixes for performance, translation, and cloud storage services. It addressed problems with localization, playback issues with certain MP4 files, and performance issues on websites that perform multiple encryption operations simultaneously. Ubuntu Livepatch: Canonical's zero-downtime service Livepatch arrived on Arm64 devices running Ubuntu Core 26 and Ubuntu 26.04 LTS. Livepatch allows users to apply important kernel updates without any service interruption or rebooting. AMD 26.6.2 driver: The new driver version for Radeon hardware owners brought FSR 4.1 upscaling tech to an entire generation of its products: the RX 7000 series. However, the 26.6.2 FSR driver flew dark clouds over users, breaking many Windows PCs and causing a yellow bang or other launch failures on Windows 10. AMD later pushed the 26.6.3 Hotfix update to fix the issues. Goodbye Notion email: It's been a little over a year since the AI-powered email client launched. The company has announced its shutdown, which will take effect on September 22, and said it doesn't see the point in maintaining a frontend email client when people are moving towards automation. Ventoy version 1.1.14: The biggest change in the Rufus alternative is an updated Secure Boot shim file to resolve the UEFI CA 2023 issue, a compatibility problem that affected Secure Boot environments on some systems. This week in hardware news Image: Valve Catch up on some of the latest software news updates that arrived throughout the week: 14,000 mAh battery: Yes, that's something that iPhone users can only dream of. But a Chinese company is reportedly developing a smartphone with a 14,000mAh battery. If it ever sees daylight, it would be the largest battery ever on a smartphone, possibly offering a week of backup on a single charge. Steam Machine prices: Valve finally confirmed the Steam Machine's pricing. Starting at $1,049 for the 512GB option, storage and the included controller are the biggest differences among the four variants presented. Xbox just got more expensive: Rising costs of storage and memory prompted Microsoft to raise prices. Xbox Series X|S models wth 512GB storage will cost $100 extra, and 1TB models will cost $150 extra. However, the Redmond giant discounted the 2TB models. New NVIDIA supercomputers: The company announced plans to deploy 35 high-performance (HPC) AI supercomputers across Europe this year, primarily at national supercomputer centers, AI factories, and research institutes. Fast fast memory: Samsung built the UFS 5.0 storage solution, which pushes the data transfer speeds to 10.8 GB/s on mobile devices. It can open doors for faster local AI performance, which otherwise doesn't look promising under the current scenario. Custom chips for TikTok: Qualcomm is reportedly in talks with ByteDance to build custom video chips optimized for its massive data center workloads. ByteDance needs hardware that can help it ingest, process, and serve billions of short-form videos daily. OpenAI Jalapeño: The AI giant announced its first custom-designed AI chip developed in partnership with Broadcom. Jalapeño is designed specifically for large language model inference and is the first product from a multi-generation compute platform being developed by OpenAI. Galaxy A27 5G: The new mid-range smartphone from Samsung arrived with a platter of updates over A25 5G, including a 120Hz refresh rate, Infinity-O punch-hole camera design, expanded AI features, and more. Qualcomm takes on NVIDIA: The chipmaker baked the new Dragonfly CPU, High Bandwidth Compute technology, and AI chips to challenge NVIDIA in the AI data center market. Qualcomm said its new lineup improved per-watt performance, token throughput, and total cost of ownership for AI data centers. IBM goes sub-1nm: The company reached a semiconductor milestone by announcing the world's first sub-1-nanometer chip technology, based on a 0.7nm (7-angstrom) node. It can pack nearly 100 billion transistors onto a chip the size of a fingernail. This week in Google News Image: Google Catch up on some of the latest Google news updates that arrived throughout the week: What to expect from the Pixel 11 series: The upcoming lineup is expected to feature four different variants and a price hike due to the global memory shortage. Read our detailed coverage to know about the expected Pixel 11 specs. Stopping Google: The Free Software Foundation Europe urged the European Commission to stop Google from silently reinstalling AI models and requiring registration. Users should be able to fully uninstall AI-based features from Android devices and access interoperability features. Chasing Anthropic: The Claude-maker is making new strides every day in the AI world, but the search giant is struggling to catch up. Google is said to be reshuffling its AI coding "strike team" it created roughly about two months ago, turning it into a broader model-training group amid talent losses at DeepMind. New Google Play billing: Google has faced a long legal battle with Epic Games, and the search giant is rolling out a redesigned Play Store billing and fee structure. Available in the US, UK, and the European Economic Area, it will take effect on June 30. Error-free Sheets? A new feature in Google Sheets allows Gemini to inspect formula errors and apply corrections directly in the spreadsheet. Google said the new feature can handle pretty much everything from basic arithmetic to very complex calculations. Breeze through airports: Google Wallet became the first digital wallet to integrate with TSA PreCheck Touchless ID, a program that enables travelers to move through airport security checkpoints using facial recognition instead of a physical ID or boarding pass. Built-in computer control: Gemini 3.5 Flash got a built-in tool called Computer Use, which allows developers to build agents that navigate browsers, mobile interfaces, and desktop applications. Google Finance: The redesigned platform is now out of beta. Google has added several new features, including portfolio tracking, scheduled market briefings, and a dedicated Android app. An iOS app is planned for later in 2026. This week in Apple News Image: Apple Catch up on some of the latest Apple news updates that arrived throughout the week: Trade secrets reportedly exposed: Apple's manufacturing partner in India, Tata Electronics, confirmed a cybersecurity attack on its systems that may have exposed trade secrets of Apple and Tesla. Hackers reportedly stole up to 630 GB of data and posted up to 200,000 files on the dark web. Grab your payout: Apple is facing a class-action lawsuit in the UK and might end up paying $4 billion (£3 billion) if it loses. The iPhone-maker has been accused of trapping users in iCloud by restricting rivals from fully accessing iOS. The tribunal recently set a full trial date for October 2028. iOS 27 Beta 2: Apple's latest iPhone update is moving forward, and a new beta was pushed this week. While iOS 27 Beta 2 for developers pushed several bug fixes across the system, the AirPort Utility was deprecated; it's no longer available to new users. Price hike: Just like others, Apple has raised prices of several MacBook and iPad models, including the MacBook Neo, which now starts at $699. This comes after reports that this year's iPhone will also become expensive. Second-gen iPhone Fold: While the world is desperate to see Apple's foldable iPhone, leakers have started to talk about its second generation. Apple is expected to launch a successor in Fall 2027, featuring a wider folding display while reusing the same screen found in the first generation. The search for memory: Apple is reportedly looking at blacklisted Chinese companies amid rising memory chip prices. The company is seeking clearance from the Trump administration to purchase memory from ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT). This week in Meta news Image: Meta Catch up on some of the latest Meta, WhatsApp, and Instagram updates that arrived throughout the week: WhatsApp gets a new final boss: Mark Zuckerberg announced that CRED's Kunal Shah will become the next global head of WhatsApp, as Will Cathcart steps down and moves to a new role at Meta. The social media giant invested money in CRED through a Series H funding round. AI glasses in 26 styles: A new line of Meta Glasses launched in partnership with EssilorLuxottica. Starting at $299, it comes in more than two dozen styles across different colors, lenses, and frames. More ways to doomscroll: Instagram for TV is now available on Samsung smart TVs launched in 2020 and later years. The company also announced that it's testing several new features on Instagram for TV, bringing it closer to YouTube and Netflix. This week in AI news Image: Microsoft Catch up on the latest artificial intelligence news updates that arrived throughout the week: Water-saving data center: Microsoft is building a gas-powered AI data center with a capacity of 2 gigawatts. The company will deploy a closed-loop cooling system, saying that its total lifecycle water use will be "only a fraction of that consumed annually by a typical fast-food restaurant.” OpenAI beats Claude Mythos: GPT-5.5-Cyber got a limited release for verified defenders. It scored 85.6% on CyberGym, compared with 81.8% for GPT-5.5 and 83.8% for Claude Mythos 5. The AI giant also announced a limited preview of its new GPT-5.6 model series, whose flagship model, GPT-5.6 Sol, is targeted at demanding reasoning and agentic workloads. Proceed with caution: The Trump administration instructed OpenAI to limit the distribution of GPT-5.6 to a small group of government-approved partners rather than the general public, as has happened in the past. Claude Tag: Anthropic launched its new AI teammate for Slack, enabling teams to delegate tasks to Claude directly within Slack channels. What makes it different is that it's designed to operate as a shared assistant for an entire team rather than a single user. Challenging US dominance: The UK government has funded £60 million ($70 million) to Oxford and UCL to keep the country in the AI race by building open-source, low-hardware alternatives. The two organizations will share the money over six years. Paying for AI development: One cost is the loss of human jobs. Oracle laid off about 21,000 employees (13% of its workforce) amid increasing AI adoption. The software giant said that AI advancement and adoption "may continue to result in reductions to our workforce." GitHub strips features: It removed the ability to manually detect an AI model from its Copilot Free and Student plans. In other words, its automatic routing system is the only way to choose a model. Are you a copycat? Anthropic accused Alibaba of creating about 25,000 fraudulent accounts to copy Claude's capabilities at scale. It told US lawmakers that operators linked to Alibaba generated 28.8 million exchanges with Claude between April 22 and June 5, 2026. Reserve my memory: The semiconductor company Micron revealed that AI companies are spending billions to lock up its memory years in advance. Its customers have locked in $22 billion worth of memory supply commitments. Another AI battle: A publisher group that collectively owns 400 newspapers sued OpenAI and Microsoft for scraping their content to build AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Copilot without compensation. Anthropic AI ban: The US government partially reversed the Anthropic AI ban, allowing it to restore Claude Mythos 5. However, it can only be deployed for a limited set of US organizations that operate and defend critical infrastructure. This week in Microsoft News In some of the hottest stories of the week: Windows 10 quietly gained a year of support and updates, Windows 11 KB5095093 released with a long list of features, and Windows 11 26H2 is finally getting the ability to disable web search results in Windows 11 Search. You can check out Taras's freshly baked Microsoft Weekly roundup to catch up on all the interesting stories this week. This week in science news Image by Pascal Küffer via Pexels Catch up on some of the latest science and out-of-this-world updates that arrived throughout the week: 13 billion-year-old secret: Scientists found that the universe's first molecule (helium hyride) reacted with hydrogen much faster in cold temperatures than previously believed. It's a new breakthrough that changes our understanding of early star formation. Cosmic Living Fossil: Astronomers found CR3, a surprisingly pristine 11.5-billion-year-old galaxy dubbed a "living fossil." It suggests the universe's first generation of stars formed much later than previously assumed. Einstein's 100-year-old theory: Thanks to relativity, researchers calculated that clocks on Mars tick 477 microseconds faster per day than on Earth. This minute gravitational difference is crucial for synchronizing future interplanetary space missions. Don't panic: NASA's James Webb Telescope finally eliminated the threat of asteroid 2024 YR4 striking the moon in 2032. The rocky giant will give us a safe fly-by without causing any harm. This week in gaming? The latest issue of Pulasthi's Weekend PC Game Deals curates several exciting games on sale this week. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition and Voidwrought have replaced the old titles in this week's Epic Games Store giveaway. For Xbox Free Play Days, the new titles include House Flipper 2, Blades of Fire, and Assetto Corsa Competizione. Steam Summer Sale 2026 kicked off with discounts for everything from the newest games and retro gems to all sorts of DLC packs, until July 9. Meanwhile, NVIDIA GeForce NOW added support for several new titles, including Dark Scrolls, SAND: Raiders of Sophie, and EMPULSE. That said, here are some more stories from the gaming world: Age of Empires Mobile comes to PC, here's how to carry over progress from your phone Xbox Insiders get Xbox 360 achievements and Gamertag character upgrades Grand Theft Auto VI pricing revealed alongside Ultimate Edition and pre-loading details Sony announces Bungie layoffs that will affect "significant number of employees" From the review corner This week, Steven published a review of the TerraMaster F4-425 Pro AI-powered NAS, featuring an all-metal exterior on the lines of the four-bay F4-425 series. Powered by the octa-core Intel Core N350, the TerraMaster F4-425 Pro is highly energy-efficient, operates quietly, and offers three M.2 slots. On the flip side, OpenClaw support requires removing security hardening (SPC), AI requires a paid subscription, the software feels like a beta, and the rubber feet constantly come unstuck. ZimaBoard 2 1664 Starter Kit Another NAS setup reviewed this week is the ZimaBoard 2 by IceWhale Technology. It comes in a small footprint with great modern hardware through a combo of Intel N150 and DDR5 memory support. On the downside, the memory is not upgradeable, ZimaOS is a bit barebones, factory reset requires USB flashing, and there is no automatic backup via the mobile app. Synology's BeeCamera software Christopher wrote his review of the software that powers BeeCamera Plus and said "the BeeCamera app is a great way to add private home monitoring to your network but there are some limitations." It's free with an easy setup process, fast response time, and good AI and detection features. However, there is no desktop version; it only works with Synology cameras, some configurations are difficult to set up on a phone, and it lacks the features of the surveillance station. More price drops! We got you covered with some hot tech deals all week. For some reason, if you missed out on a great discount, here is a summary of some recent deals that are still alive: Onkyo Dolby Atmos AV receivers are really solid deals 4TB TEAMGROUP MP44Q, 2TB T-Force G50, and 2TB WD My Passport SSDs drop to great prices Edifier S3000MKII hi-fi audiophile grade bookshelf speaker is at its lowest price now The best controller for XBOX and PC is down to the lowest price Limited time Prime Day deal cuts price of this Hisense 65" 4K smart TV in half To view all of our recent deals, click here. So, these were some of the biggest tech news and other updates from this week. There will be more issues of our 7 Days series in the coming weeks and months, so stay tuned. You can also support Neowin by registering for a free member account or subscribing to extra member benefits, along with an ad-free tier option. Have a great weekend!
    • Zen Browser 1.21.4b by Razvan Serea Zen Browser is a privacy-focused, open-source web browser built on Mozilla Firefox, offering users a secure and customizable browsing experience. It emphasizes privacy by blocking trackers, ads, and ensuring your data isn't collected. With Zen Mods, users can enhance their browser experience with various customization options, including features like split views and vertical tabs. The browser is designed for efficiency, providing fast browsing speeds and a lightweight interface. Zen Browser prioritizes user control over the browsing experience, offering a minimal yet powerful alternative to traditional web browsers while keeping your online activity private. Zen Browser’s DRM limitation Zen Browser currently lacks support for DRM-protected content, meaning streaming services like Netflix and HBO Max are inaccessible. This is due to the absence of a Widevine license, which requires significant costs and is financially unfeasible for the developer. Additionally, applying for this license would require Zen to be part of a larger company, similar to Mozilla or Brave. Therefore, DRM-protected media won't be supported in Zen Browser for the foreseeable future. Zen Browser offers features that improve user experience, privacy, and customization: Privacy-Focused: Blocks trackers and minimizes data collection. Automatic Updates: Keeps the browser updated with security patches. Zen Mods: Customizable themes and layouts. Workspaces: Organize tabs into different workspaces. Compact Mode: Maximizes screen space by minimizing UI elements. Zen Glance: Quick website previews. Split Views: View multiple tabs in the same window. Sidebar: Access bookmarks and tools quickly. Vertical Tabs: Manage tabs vertically. Container Tabs: Separate browsing sessions. Fast Profile Switcher: Switch between profiles easily. Tab Folders: Organize tabs into folders. Customizable UI: Personalize browser interface. Security Features: Inherits Firefox’s robust security. Fast Performance: Lightweight and optimized for speed. Zen Mods Customization: Deep customization with mods. Quick Access: Easy access to favorite websites. Open Source: Built on Mozilla Firefox with community collaboration. Community-Driven: Active development and feedback from users. GitHub Repository: Contribute and review the source code. Zen Browser 1.21.4b changelog: New Features Updated to Firefox 152.0.2 and 152.0.3 Added 'Edit pinned tab' context menu item to manually set a pinned tab's URL Added 'Add Route for Domain' context menu item to quickly add a tab's domain to the Space Routing settings Fixes Prevent sidebar from flickering when moving a tab (#14131) Full-screening while on a glance tab will now expand the glance tab to a normal tab (#11766) Fixed space routing tabs opening in background when it should be in foreground (#14183) Other minor bug fixes and improvements. Download: Zen Browser | 90.2 MB (Open Source) Download: Zen Browser ARM64 | Other Operating Systems View: Zen Browser Home Page | Screenshots 1 | 2 | Reddit Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • I was using searxng for about a year , self hosted, but results were starting to timeout and eventually it became unusable so I switched to degoog. Much better for my needs, more polished and add-ons like maps and calculations etc
    • Fake Superman doing the Anti-Trump PR for us, good man !
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      Excellence2025 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Excellence2025 earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      flexorcist earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Woland13 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Woland13 earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      504
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      205
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      149
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      72
    5. 5
      FloatingFatMan
      68
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!