After Halo, now what?
October 11, 2010 11:16 PM Subscribe
What other games would my Halo obsessed Dad like?
When we got an Xbox 360, we gave my dad our old Xbox, and with it, Halo 1 and 2. He got super into Halo, so much so that for Fathers' Day this year, I got him a 360 and Halo 3. He got really into the plot, although he has little interest in Halo: Reach because it's a prequel. I know he'll end up buying it used eventually, but for now, I want to get him some other games. He likes FPS and flight simulators. Growing up, his favorite games were Top Gun for the NES, Doom/Castle Wolfenstein, and one of the Star Wars games - Jedi Academy, maybe? We've already let him borrow Call of Duty 3 and most recently, another Star Wars related game (I don't know which one - it was the mister's game that I never played.) He does not have an Xbox live account. Older games are good, because he wouldn't want me to play full price. And not Modern Warfare, please.
When we got an Xbox 360, we gave my dad our old Xbox, and with it, Halo 1 and 2. He got super into Halo, so much so that for Fathers' Day this year, I got him a 360 and Halo 3. He got really into the plot, although he has little interest in Halo: Reach because it's a prequel. I know he'll end up buying it used eventually, but for now, I want to get him some other games. He likes FPS and flight simulators. Growing up, his favorite games were Top Gun for the NES, Doom/Castle Wolfenstein, and one of the Star Wars games - Jedi Academy, maybe? We've already let him borrow Call of Duty 3 and most recently, another Star Wars related game (I don't know which one - it was the mister's game that I never played.) He does not have an Xbox live account. Older games are good, because he wouldn't want me to play full price. And not Modern Warfare, please.
Halo 3: ODST combines the graphics of Halo 3 with the gameplay mechanics of the first Halo (fall damage, health bar, no dual wielding or vehicle boarding, etc.).
It's also arguably the most plot-driven of the three, focusing on The Rookie, a lone human soldier who must traverse the rainy film noir backstreets of New Mombasa after the events of Halo 2, trying to piece together the story of what happened to his squadmates after they were separated earlier that day. Their stories (voiced by some of the stars of the Firefly series) are told through playable flashbacks as the Rookie happens upon the detritus of their earlier missions, which are scattered across the open-world city for the player to find.
It also contains a nice side-plot told through collectible audio logs, which relate the story of the eccentric AI controlling the city, the daughter of the engineer who programmed it, and her desperate attempt to reach safety in the midst of the Covenant invasion.
posted by Rhaomi at 11:54 PM on October 11, 2010
It's also arguably the most plot-driven of the three, focusing on The Rookie, a lone human soldier who must traverse the rainy film noir backstreets of New Mombasa after the events of Halo 2, trying to piece together the story of what happened to his squadmates after they were separated earlier that day. Their stories (voiced by some of the stars of the Firefly series) are told through playable flashbacks as the Rookie happens upon the detritus of their earlier missions, which are scattered across the open-world city for the player to find.
It also contains a nice side-plot told through collectible audio logs, which relate the story of the eccentric AI controlling the city, the daughter of the engineer who programmed it, and her desperate attempt to reach safety in the midst of the Covenant invasion.
posted by Rhaomi at 11:54 PM on October 11, 2010
Mass Effect 2 is already down to $20, so I wouldn't worry about the price. ME1 and ME2 are both great games, but do keep in mind that they have much more involved storylines than games like Halo and other traditional shooters. A runthrough of either game will take anywhere from 40-60 hours depending on skill level, sidequests, etc. Also, Mass Effect is a third-person shooter instead of first-person.
If he liked COD3, maybe try the other CODs? World at War is pretty cheap now.
There's also ODST in the Halo series.
Borderlands is pretty fun as a fairly mindless FPS with a few RPG elements.
posted by kmz at 12:01 AM on October 12, 2010
If he liked COD3, maybe try the other CODs? World at War is pretty cheap now.
There's also ODST in the Halo series.
Borderlands is pretty fun as a fairly mindless FPS with a few RPG elements.
posted by kmz at 12:01 AM on October 12, 2010
Response by poster: Ooh, should have mentioned that he's already played ODST (it came with the 360) and he didn't particularly care for it (it's late, and I have the memory of a goldfish, so I don't remember why exactly), although he's played it through a couple of times for lack of other games to play.
I just looked at our games, and the mister has Mass Effect, so I'll have my dad borrow that next. Considering that my dad talked about Halo like an elderly woman talks about her stories, an involved story line like that sounds perfect for him.
posted by Ruki at 12:23 AM on October 12, 2010
I just looked at our games, and the mister has Mass Effect, so I'll have my dad borrow that next. Considering that my dad talked about Halo like an elderly woman talks about her stories, an involved story line like that sounds perfect for him.
posted by Ruki at 12:23 AM on October 12, 2010
Since it appears your father cared more about the plot than the game mechanics, why not get him The Orange Box? Half-Life 2, with Episodes 1 and 2, and Portal all on the same disc.
posted by Bangaioh at 12:48 AM on October 12, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by Bangaioh at 12:48 AM on October 12, 2010 [4 favorites]
He got really into the plot [of Halo]
Doom/Castle Wolfenstein
Sounds like he'd enjoy Marathon: Durandal.
(disclosure: worked on it)
posted by secret about box at 1:27 AM on October 12, 2010 [1 favorite]
Doom/Castle Wolfenstein
Sounds like he'd enjoy Marathon: Durandal.
(disclosure: worked on it)
posted by secret about box at 1:27 AM on October 12, 2010 [1 favorite]
You say he doesn't have an xbox live account, but does this mean his xbox isn't hooked up to the internet at all, or just that he doesn't have live gold (the multiplayer service)? Because if he gets into mass effect and wants to play mass effect 2, it has a ton of downloadable levels that are really, really excellent* and it would be a shame for him to miss out. It's worth mentioning as well that mass effect 1 is rougher around the edges than its sequel (the framerate in particular takes regular dives on the 360) but worth it for the amazing last third. Plus, beware of second-hand copies of mass effect 2, since a new copy will get him a code to download an extra character and some extra missions for free, something he'd have to pay $10 for with a second-hand copy.
*The lead game designer said on her blog that you only really "get" how to design for a game until after most of the levels are already done, and the downloadable content reflects that, with overlord and the shadow broker being better, imo, than any of the missions that ship with the game.
Seconding the orange box. Amazing value, fantastic games, and with a sequel to portal on the way early next year, too! He might want to quickly read the wikipedia summary of half-life 1's plot first, though.
(disclosure: worked on it)
I really liked your game.
posted by ArmyOfKittens at 1:53 AM on October 12, 2010
*The lead game designer said on her blog that you only really "get" how to design for a game until after most of the levels are already done, and the downloadable content reflects that, with overlord and the shadow broker being better, imo, than any of the missions that ship with the game.
Seconding the orange box. Amazing value, fantastic games, and with a sequel to portal on the way early next year, too! He might want to quickly read the wikipedia summary of half-life 1's plot first, though.
(disclosure: worked on it)
I really liked your game.
posted by ArmyOfKittens at 1:53 AM on October 12, 2010
I really enjoyed the gameplay in Gears of War. The story in the first one is a bit unpolished and jumps around a bit much, but the characters are likeable in their too stupid to wear a helmet sort of way. Gears of War 2 has a much more complete story. It's still not high art, but it is affecting. And there's a third one in the works as well. Both 1 and 2 should be down to at least $20 now, if not cheaper.
posted by cali59 at 4:35 AM on October 12, 2010
posted by cali59 at 4:35 AM on October 12, 2010
What did he like in Halo? What's unsuitable about Modern Warfare? Is he looking for space opera specifically? Is he looking for other in-depth, well-constructed worlds? Does it have to be an FPS?
The two Bioshock games are well-plotted FPS' with a fantastically conceived world to explore. Away from science fiction, Far Cry 2 does some pretty interesting things; Red Dead Redemption won't be cheap yet, but is one of the most engrossing experiences I've had in a game for a long time (my girlfriend basically lost me for two weeks).
posted by dudekiller at 5:54 AM on October 12, 2010
The two Bioshock games are well-plotted FPS' with a fantastically conceived world to explore. Away from science fiction, Far Cry 2 does some pretty interesting things; Red Dead Redemption won't be cheap yet, but is one of the most engrossing experiences I've had in a game for a long time (my girlfriend basically lost me for two weeks).
posted by dudekiller at 5:54 AM on October 12, 2010
BioShock and its sequel have pretty good art/story and the gameplay should be fairly easy for a Halo player, so I'd recommend them. (Looking at the comment above me, gonna +1 that)
If he was into Star Wars, then he'll definitely love Knights of the Old Republic I and II - they're both classic-style RPGs, so there's no direct shooting, but they have deep plots and are excellent games. They should come cheap too now.
(If he likes this or Mass Effect, then Dragon Age: Origins should be an easy bet)
Dead Space is a third-person shooter, "survival" horror that's basically a gorey shootfest with a sci-fi survival plotline straight out of the 80s. Should be a safe bet.
posted by Senza Volto at 6:26 AM on October 12, 2010
If he was into Star Wars, then he'll definitely love Knights of the Old Republic I and II - they're both classic-style RPGs, so there's no direct shooting, but they have deep plots and are excellent games. They should come cheap too now.
(If he likes this or Mass Effect, then Dragon Age: Origins should be an easy bet)
Dead Space is a third-person shooter, "survival" horror that's basically a gorey shootfest with a sci-fi survival plotline straight out of the 80s. Should be a safe bet.
posted by Senza Volto at 6:26 AM on October 12, 2010
Came in to recommend Bioshock and Gears of War based on your description of your Dad, but I see others have beaten me to the punch. My kids enjoyed both of these (and so did I), and they also love Halo but not ODST.
I'm also going to throw this one out there from left field: Aliens vs Predator. It's an FPS, and you can play as the rookie marine (actually scary!), the alien or the predator, so there's some good plotting going on, with three different perspectives.
Another game with a totally different setting that surprisingly won my kids over: Red Dead Redemption. It's a western, but then Star Wars is basically a western set in space.
posted by misha at 6:52 AM on October 12, 2010
I'm also going to throw this one out there from left field: Aliens vs Predator. It's an FPS, and you can play as the rookie marine (actually scary!), the alien or the predator, so there's some good plotting going on, with three different perspectives.
Another game with a totally different setting that surprisingly won my kids over: Red Dead Redemption. It's a western, but then Star Wars is basically a western set in space.
posted by misha at 6:52 AM on October 12, 2010
If he was into Star Wars, then he'll definitely love Knights of the Old Republic I and II - they're both classic-style RPGs, so there's no direct shooting, but they have deep plots and are excellent games. They should come cheap too now.
For what it's worth, my kids hated these games. They didn't like the way the shooting and action was taken out of your hands and made into cut-scenes. And if you like FPS, there's no reason to suppose an RPG is going to win you over--completely different gameplay.
posted by misha at 6:54 AM on October 12, 2010
For what it's worth, my kids hated these games. They didn't like the way the shooting and action was taken out of your hands and made into cut-scenes. And if you like FPS, there's no reason to suppose an RPG is going to win you over--completely different gameplay.
posted by misha at 6:54 AM on October 12, 2010
Nthing the Orange Box. The Half-Life series remains one of the best signle-player FPS's out there. The Bioshock games are also good traditional single player shooters. Mass Effect is more questionable. it has shooter elements, but there is also a lot of non-shooter elements thant he may find to be a bit of a slog.
posted by rtimmel at 8:58 AM on October 12, 2010
posted by rtimmel at 8:58 AM on October 12, 2010
I thought Bioshock was only so-so but if I were a huge shooter fan I'd probably think much more of it.
I think Fallout 3 is one of the best examples of shooter influenced 'other' I've played. If he hates RPGs at all, forget it though.
Portal (part of the Orange Box) is kind of the gold standard for innovative shooter games, at least that's what I've heard. Haven't played it yet. (I know.....)
posted by tremspeed at 9:18 AM on October 12, 2010
I think Fallout 3 is one of the best examples of shooter influenced 'other' I've played. If he hates RPGs at all, forget it though.
Portal (part of the Orange Box) is kind of the gold standard for innovative shooter games, at least that's what I've heard. Haven't played it yet. (I know.....)
posted by tremspeed at 9:18 AM on October 12, 2010
He might be very surprised with Halo:Reach. I found the plot outstanding and interesting how the stories from the other games kind of fit in. I also thought the improvements to graphics and enemy AI were great. To me it's the best Halo game yet. He can always rent it to give it a try. I loved it. Echoing what the others said Orange Box is awesome. To me half-life is still the best FPS ever. I also liked the stories with both Bio Shocks and Fallout was just plain fun. I'm an "old guy" (50) and like good stories in my FPS but graphics and game play are also important.
posted by white_devil at 11:34 AM on October 12, 2010
posted by white_devil at 11:34 AM on October 12, 2010
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posted by ntartifex at 11:27 PM on October 11, 2010