Post by Devil Mingy on Jul 7, 2016 8:30:19 GMT -5
On the other side, we have SPV3, a fanmade reboot of Halo (well, the first half of it. The second half is still in development) that utilizes later elements. Story-wise, it's the game that started it all with a fresh coat of paint (though still not as graphically impressive as Halo Anniversary). However, the game has been reworked almost entirely. To list everything SPV3 adds to this game would take a very long time, but needless to say that it makes even the parts that take place on original parts of the levels feel like an entirely new experience.
Once upon a time, I paraphrased from another source that Halo's core gameplay revolves around its sandbox and its versatility, letting the developers do a lot without actually having to create a lot. Halo's weapons, enemies, and environments can be subtly tweaked to alter the combat in very significant ways. SPV3 serves as a major overhaul to Halo's sandbox, adding several new enemies, weapons, and environments.
In addition to shaking up the core of Halo PC, we have have minor refinements such as armor abilities from Reach (though only Sprint, health regen, and VISR), new power-ups, vehicle hijacking and vehicle stalling, optional side objectives that can help you if you choose to do them (one very fun one is on the Pillar of Autumn, where you can reactivate artificial gravity at terminals or simply keep them off and enjoy some low gravity combat), skulls, terminals, starting loadouts in certain levels, and the best thing Halo ever got: a true quicksave option.
The amount of work that went into this thing is immense, and you can see its ambition in every section. There isn't a single encounter in these 6 levels (The first five levels of Halo 1 along with a completely reworked interpretation of the Silent Cartographer) that hasn't been radically altered. Best of all, it's exquisitely balanced. The game's philosophy is very close to Reach's: Every weapon and vehicle has a distinct purpose, and you are discouraged from relying on one weapon wholly, and you're given plenty of weapons for experimentation. The game's encounters are also open ended, true to its Halo 1's roots (and ODST and Reach), giving the player an ability to flank or even evade certain encounters entirely. And oh yes, SPV3 is very speed run friendly.
It took me a lot, but I did successfully complete the game on Legendary, and it occupies a great spot right on par with Reach: incredibly unforgiving but rarely unfair. However, even the difficulty metric has been reworked in SPV3 with the introduction of Noble difficulty: a step above Legendary that doesn't just add more, higher level enemies. Instead, it reworks the encounters (some almost entirely). I am not a huge fan of Noble difficulty, as it derives its sadistic difficulty largely just by limiting your ammo and setting up a bunch of cheap ambushes to kill you. With a quick save option and a dash of luck, I'm sure anyone can eventually brute force their way through it. However, I think it overshoots the sweet spot that Legendary absolutely nails.
Anybody who happens to have a copy of Halo PC should definitely give it a shot. It's a brilliant mod, and after seeing them completely transform the Covenant, I eagerly await to see what they do with the Flood in part 2.
Once upon a time, I paraphrased from another source that Halo's core gameplay revolves around its sandbox and its versatility, letting the developers do a lot without actually having to create a lot. Halo's weapons, enemies, and environments can be subtly tweaked to alter the combat in very significant ways. SPV3 serves as a major overhaul to Halo's sandbox, adding several new enemies, weapons, and environments.
In addition to shaking up the core of Halo PC, we have have minor refinements such as armor abilities from Reach (though only Sprint, health regen, and VISR), new power-ups, vehicle hijacking and vehicle stalling, optional side objectives that can help you if you choose to do them (one very fun one is on the Pillar of Autumn, where you can reactivate artificial gravity at terminals or simply keep them off and enjoy some low gravity combat), skulls, terminals, starting loadouts in certain levels, and the best thing Halo ever got: a true quicksave option.
The amount of work that went into this thing is immense, and you can see its ambition in every section. There isn't a single encounter in these 6 levels (The first five levels of Halo 1 along with a completely reworked interpretation of the Silent Cartographer) that hasn't been radically altered. Best of all, it's exquisitely balanced. The game's philosophy is very close to Reach's: Every weapon and vehicle has a distinct purpose, and you are discouraged from relying on one weapon wholly, and you're given plenty of weapons for experimentation. The game's encounters are also open ended, true to its Halo 1's roots (and ODST and Reach), giving the player an ability to flank or even evade certain encounters entirely. And oh yes, SPV3 is very speed run friendly.
It took me a lot, but I did successfully complete the game on Legendary, and it occupies a great spot right on par with Reach: incredibly unforgiving but rarely unfair. However, even the difficulty metric has been reworked in SPV3 with the introduction of Noble difficulty: a step above Legendary that doesn't just add more, higher level enemies. Instead, it reworks the encounters (some almost entirely). I am not a huge fan of Noble difficulty, as it derives its sadistic difficulty largely just by limiting your ammo and setting up a bunch of cheap ambushes to kill you. With a quick save option and a dash of luck, I'm sure anyone can eventually brute force their way through it. However, I think it overshoots the sweet spot that Legendary absolutely nails.
Anybody who happens to have a copy of Halo PC should definitely give it a shot. It's a brilliant mod, and after seeing them completely transform the Covenant, I eagerly await to see what they do with the Flood in part 2.