| Keith 2004-11-13, 12:47 am |
| I missed this discussion when it occurred in August, and google groups
(formerly deja news) won't let me reply to the thread ... so I kept
the subject line in case your newsreader is able to thread them for
you.
To recap, there was an extended conversation about everyone's favorite
and least favorite levels in Halo 1. Assault on the Control Room was a
popular pick as favorite, and The Library was often picked as least
favorite. 343 Guilty Spark was knocked for not having enough combat.
Truth and Reconciliation was generally considered the hardest level.
My take varies in some ways. First, I like all of the levels. Naming a
favorite is hard, because I wouldn't want to be without any of them.
But the ones I play the most often are:
Two Betrayals
The Library
Keyes
Assault on the Control Room
The Maw
The Pillar of Autumn
The Silent Cartographer
Halo
343 Guilty Spark
Truth and Reconciliation
(I play all games on legendary solo, or sometimes heroic for a little
faster pace ... unless I'm goofing around and want to try to blow
vehicles over structures or the like.)
My reasons are a mix. These are the things I value:
- Skill improvement for multiplayer.
- Pure fun.
- Campaign theme - the sense of being part of a movie.
I actually think Keyes would be recognized as one of the game's best
levels, if it took place in more interesting surroundings. The
gameplay on that level is great. If you haven't tried it in a while,
load it up, on legendary.
The opening of Two Betrayals seemed impossible for me on legendary ...
until it dawned on me that a charged plasma pistol shot would knock
the sentinels down easily.  It's still pretty tough, in the hall and
at the base of the ziggarat.
I am one of the few who loves The Library. I recommend it for players
who want to get better with shotguns and other close-action stuff.
There's not a lot of strategy involved (just chokepoints), but you get
lots of hand/eye workouts.
I like Assault on the Control Room for the reasons others listed -
weapon variety, vehicles (including the Scorpion tank), and it's the
last big Covenant-only map.
The Maw is relatively easy on legendary (actually, on every level) and
it's kind of cool to trigger engine destabilization, and then to race
out on the warthog at the end. (I carry a rocket launcher to clear my
path a bit once I hit the barrels at the end and have to go on foot.)
Pillar of Autumn, I play mostly for the cutscenes. I also like to hit
Keyes with the pistol and crouch next to him, so the Marines who come
in to kill me accidentally kill him first.
I realize I rated The Silent Cartographer lower than most, but I
really do love it! I just don't play it as much as some of you guys.
It gives you great warthog experience and introduces you to hunters
and rocket launchers.
Halo (the level) is fun for sentimental reasons ... it's the first
"real" level, the first one set on the fabulous ringworld environment.
I remember it being really hard on Normal, when I first started. I can
breeze through most of it now on legendary, but some parts can still
be sticky.
I like 343 Guilty Spark for the cutscenes, but the gameplay is a bit
of a snoozer. For newbies, it's valuable in that it requires
jumping/body control.
Truth and Reconciliation just doesn't appeal to me that much. The
sniping early on is fun, but the rest of it, I feel like I can get
(with more variety) on other levels. I think it contains the hardest
single checkpoint in the game on legendary, when you first are
elevated into the Covenant ship. However, I don't think the level as a
whole is exceptionally hard, aside from that one checkpoint. (Hint:
plasma grenades.)
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