GameSpy continues their crusade to demonstrate just how retarded they truly are. In other words, GameSpy's countdown of the 25 most overrated games continues. Next up on their hit list? Halo.
Their commentary on Halo is one of the worst explanations I've ever read. The article contains references to Tribes 2 and Quake III - two games that have no business being in an article that was supposed to point out how much we were all duped by Halo (despite the fact that that is far from the truth). Halo sold Xbox's. Period. Overrated, been there done that games do NOT sell expensive consoles shortly after a launch with a small library and made by one of the most love/hate companies in the known universe.
The thing that ticks me off the most is how easily the writers brush off and understate the things that Halo did right while magnifying the things that it did wrong. This is not called pointing out hype; it's called digging for dirt. Their initial review of Halo (85/100) highlights the lack of true Internet multiplayer for 3 paragaphs while giving a passing remark to its included co-op mode, a rarity in FPS games to this very day that gamers are constantly demanding. The brilliance of certain Halo level designs is overshadowed by the repetitive ones. The inclusion of drivable vehicles and their brilliant implementation is merely checked off as just another feature, neglecting the fact that it was Halo which drove more game makers (PC developers!) to include player accessible vehicles in their games. And for the love of God, where is the mention of Halo's wondrous soundtrack? You know, the one that won several industry awards? The one that Bungie later released on CD because so many people demanded it?
Some of you might say, "Halo got an 85, that's pretty good so what's your problem??" To get some perspective, I looked at their entire list of Xbox reviews for titles rated higher than Halo. I found 36 titles above Halo's 85/100. Highlights of this list inlude ESPN Interational Winter Sports 2002 (87), Kelly Slater's Pro Surfing (88), Wakeboarding Unleashed (89), and Wreckless (86). Of the 36 titles, 22 were sports titles. None were FPS games (MechAssault and Steel Battallion coming the closest) and several were racers. I also considered their ratings on the Xbox's other launch titles (of which they reviewed 15). The highest rated launch title was Madden 2002 (90) and the lowest was Shrek (48). The mean (tossing out the highest and lowest) was 78, the median was 81, and the mode was 84. In other words, Halo was pretty much an average title right in line with the rest of the Xbox launch games in their eyes. Who can name 3 other titles available on launch day? Sorry, DOA3 wasn't available on launch day (and besides, it's on the list as well). We don't remember Halo because of the hype. We remember it because it was a fantastic work of art.
As if I needed more proof of the absurdity on display here, consider the fact that Halo is still being sold at full price despite its obvious place on the Xbox Platinum Hits list. Overrated games tend to be identified as such as time goes on. The only ones scoffing at what Halo has accomplished in terms of console FPS, indeed in the genre of FPS, are those of GameSpy. It'll be interesting to see how they rate the Halo PC release. I guarantee a rating no lower than 95 due to it's Internet multiplayer and the fact that its mouse and keyboard controlled, two things that every decent PC FPS game has had for years that no console FPS game had in 2001. So why is it held against Halo?