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Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...
By:Leviathan
Date: 3/17/13 1:46 am
In Response To: Re: My bet is H2 anniversary... (TDSpiral)

: I guess the reason why I wasn't bothered by it as much is just because it
: didn't replace the original. You can go out and buy a copy (I bought
: another copy of Halo: CE at Best Buy two years ago), and it's still in
: Anniversary as well. It's not like Star Wars, where it's nearly impossible
: to find a version that hasn't been toyed with.

If it was a brand new game, new engine, new level layout, new graphics - an adaption or reboot, I'd probably be less frustrated by it. But it's the original game with somebody's graphics mod placed atop of it. I think that's why I find it insulting. It's as if my friend wrote and illustrated a comic book, and ten years later, somebody pasted their 'better, more detailed' art atop his. But I don't believe in 'better' art, just 'different' art, and if it's different, it's not going to contribute to the same moods and impressions that the original designers wanted to convey.

And yeah, it definitely makes me happy that the original is still readily available, but it just saddens me to think newcomers to Halo will likely be seeking H:CE A for their first chapter. They're going to be seeing the new art first, and even with the magic button, the classic mode isn't 100% faithful to the original (visual glitches here and there since I believe they were using the PC port for Anniversary). For example, my friend who just started trying the Halo series after knowing me for years bought the Anniversary edition and didn't even realize he wasn't playing the original version (or knew their was a classic mode,), hah. :)

: The game should've been handled with more attention to detail, but my
: perspective of the game is if it was made to create a sort of continuity
: between CE and Reach. There are some people that prefer that, and there
: are those that do not. Personally, I think it's kinda neat to go from one
: game to the next with the visuals looking very similar.

Heh, I might have enjoyed that, but again, I don't see THAT much Reach art direction in it. I see copy-and-pasted versions of Reach files that they wrapped around mismatched animation skeletons. But I fixate on things very easily. The more I work on one of my own pieces of art, the more I can't even look at it because I don't actually see what's there; I just see uneven lines and blobs of color. I probably need psychiatric help on this issue. :)

: Although, I agree with you on the cutscenes. Those were horrid. If they were
: going to re-do the cutscenes, they should've re-done them well. instead of
: trying to make it like the first game's scenes with mo-cap, try some
: different compositions or lighting techniques. Give the game some new
: depth and life.

: Mo-cap just didn't fit the rest of the game because the animations in the
: game were created using older techniques. Really, they should've
: re-constructed a lot of the older animations, update them slightly, just
: to make them fit with the cutscenes. It also creates a pretty strong
: disconnect when you're playing in order from Reach to CEA. The animations
: are obviously from a different era of video gaming, and that makes it a
: bit jarring.

That's partly it for me, but also going to Reach's cutscenes, and seeing how Bungie handled the subtle movement and telling characteristics of their Spartans, you see how Anniversary's animations didn't pick up on any of that. That's probably my biggest disconnect.

: I might get a lot of flak for saying this, but I actually strongly dislike
: the interior structures in CE, and I was glad to see them changed up a bit
: in CEA. I know it's an older game, and you have to use your imagination
: and all that, but I still don't like them. Too basic.

See for me, it's not about using your imagination - I actually like what's there. :) Especially the Forerunner structures. For me, it still looks unique to this day. Way too many video games across the board today shove as many details and fancy techniques into their visuals because they can - but just because you can do it doesn't mean you should do it. There's completely different characteristics, moods, and ambiences created by minimalistic and subdued design. Plus, it's just simply easier to tell what's going on.

It's similar to how I compare the Return of the Jedi's Death Star battle to Episode III's opening space battle - in the latter, there is so much going on that it's hard to really understand how the battle is flowing, or sometimes even just to see where your heroes are. They had the technology and they used it, and no one told them when to stop. While RotJ's battle still has vast numbers, I can follow Wedge's X-Wing around a flagship and see where he's going as well as seeing the shifts in the fleets as the battle evolves.

Another example in Halo would be to compare one of the earlier titles to Halo 4's (or some of Reach's) skyboxes. For me, there's just always so much going on that it almost nullifies all the hard work put into it. I'm not impressed by this majestic pillar because there's a volcano over there and lasers shooting into the sky over there, not to mention all that's happening on the ground in front of me distracting me.

The 'classic mode button' doesn't help someone come to a fair conclusion about either versions of Anniversary's visual modes either. You go from new to old and it feels horribly bare and simple. But if I go from old to new, I feel it's way too busy and distracting, hah. Both conversions takes advantage of what your eyes were used to before and screws with your perception.

I could probably write a book on all these less-is-more theories of mine, but I'll shut up for now. But I wanted to end this on a good note - explaining all this makes me sound like I'm condmening everything about it, but I don't feel that way. While I'm frustrated with the idea as a whole, there were a number of areas I thought were handled well. Much of the human environments matched designs like that of Cairo Station and Reach, and the Covenant ships looked damn near perfect. Much of the natural environments were also well done, if a bit too shifted from the original in terms of color scheme and things like that. Also, the new lighting engine was really impressive.

I should also say that when I've mentioned 'Anniversary' here, I've only been referring to the campaign-remake. I thoroughly enjoyed the multiplayer maps and the Terminal Videos.


Messages In This Thread

What's Next for Halo This Year?MacGyver103/13/13 12:09 pm
     Re: What's Next for Halo This Year?tb25719893/13/13 12:18 pm
     My hopes (semi-unlikely)iForge3/13/13 12:26 pm
           Re: My hopes (semi-unlikely)ZaneZavin3/13/13 1:25 pm
           Re: My hopes (semi-unlikely)TDSpiral3/13/13 9:25 pm
     My bet is H2 anniversary...bryan newman3/13/13 2:54 pm
           Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...Grizzlei3/13/13 3:32 pm
                 Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...Revenant19883/13/13 3:41 pm
                       Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...Grizzlei3/13/13 4:02 pm
                       Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...bryan newman3/13/13 4:17 pm
                       Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...uberfoop3/13/13 4:37 pm
                             Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...Revenant19883/13/13 4:42 pm
                                   Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...uberfoop3/13/13 6:57 pm
                                         Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...Revenant19883/13/13 7:18 pm
                                   Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...thebruce03/14/13 1:08 pm
                                         Like I saidRevenant19883/14/13 2:19 pm
                                               Re: Like I saidthebruce03/14/13 5:51 pm
                       Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...Pkmnrulz2403/13/13 4:43 pm
                             I'll just barge in and say it's not worth buyingAvateur3/13/13 4:47 pm
                                   Re: I'll just barge in and say it's not worth buyiRagashingo3/13/13 4:53 pm
                                         Ditto *NM*thebruce03/14/13 1:12 pm
           The only way I would buy Halo 2:HD is if...RC Master3/13/13 6:21 pm
                 Actually, forget that...RC Master3/13/13 6:30 pm
                       Re: Actually, forget that...Revenant19883/13/13 6:50 pm
                 Re: The only way I would buy Halo 2:HD is if...Captain Spark3/13/13 6:54 pm
           Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...Leviathan3/13/13 6:50 pm
                 Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...Avateur3/13/13 7:11 pm
                       Don't make levi angry...Revenant19883/13/13 7:22 pm
                             Oh man! It's in Destiny too!!Revenant19883/13/13 7:27 pm
                                   Martian zombies=Covenant=Forerunner=Traveler??? *NM*Leviathan3/13/13 10:13 pm
                       Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...Leviathan3/13/13 10:15 pm
                             It'll be fine.uberfoop3/13/13 10:27 pm
                                   Doesn't look that bad actually :p *NM*Ragashingo3/13/13 10:44 pm
                 Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...Stephen L. (SoundEffect)3/13/13 8:42 pm
                 Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...TDSpiral3/14/13 12:36 am
                       Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...bryan newman3/14/13 2:49 am
                       Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...Leviathan3/14/13 8:12 pm
                             Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...Stephen L. (SoundEffect)3/14/13 8:17 pm
                             Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...TDSpiral3/15/13 8:12 pm
                                   Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...Flynn J Taggart3/16/13 2:06 am
                                   Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...Leviathan3/17/13 1:46 am
                                         Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...General Vagueness3/17/13 11:53 am
                                               Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...uberfoop3/17/13 1:04 pm
                                                     Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...Leviathan3/17/13 1:37 pm
                                                           Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...General Vagueness3/20/13 8:44 am
                                                     Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...General Vagueness3/20/13 8:35 am
                             Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...CHa0s3/15/13 11:59 pm
                             Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...stabbim3/18/13 6:24 pm
                                   Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...thebruce03/18/13 6:38 pm
                                   Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...Stephen L. (SoundEffect)3/18/13 9:02 pm
                                   Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...RC Master3/18/13 10:35 pm
                                         Re: My bet is H2 anniversary...stabbim3/25/13 6:14 pm
           i bet it's not. *NM*GrimBrother One3/13/13 9:12 pm
                 11-9-14Joe Duplessie (SNIPE 316)3/13/13 9:24 pm
                       Re: 11-9-14GrimBrother One3/13/13 9:31 pm
                             Re: 11-9-14Joe Duplessie (SNIPE 316)3/14/13 2:27 am
     Related question, re: Next-gen launch titles.Gravemind3/13/13 8:14 pm
           Re: Related question, re: Next-gen launch titles.TDSpiral3/13/13 9:49 pm
     Spartan Ops Season 2TDSpiral3/13/13 9:20 pm
           Re: Spartan Ops Season 2GrimBrother One3/13/13 9:23 pm
                 Re: Spartan Ops Season 2TDSpiral3/13/13 9:39 pm

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