@kanerobot: I had to rewind because I did a double take when I heard it the first time. That is the one thing I really miss from these older generations. No one is really going at each other like this anymore, especially not on a stage as big as E3.
Your feelings definitely echo my own as I work my way through the game again. By the time I got to Noveria I was basically unstoppable (playing as a soldier) so I didn't have much frustration there. I never really got into a sweet spot with the combat. Early on it was frustratingly difficult because of the way your weapons handled compared to the enemies and now its trivially easy because my gear and abilities far outclass my opponents.
@spaceinsomniac: For this play though I am really trying to roleplay every choice so I wanted to make it just using the info Shepard would have at hand.
Reach is still my favorite Halo game and I would argue the best game in the series. I had never taken the time to think about some of the scenes such as that early interaction with civilians in the way you described before but it does make sense. Interested to see your take on Halo 4 since that game seems to be one of the more divisive in the series, although I have heard most fans have no qualms with the campaign.
@csl316: I wonder if they really need to match the scale of the Reaper war. I think I would really enjoy something a bit more personal. For example maybe you are the first-in colonists on a new world in a new galaxy and simply have to survive against new threats. After the Reaper war I even wonder if they could create something on the same scale and have it feel credible.
@darth_navster:I think that is certainly some of it. My habit as a player of any open world game is to tackle all the side content before the main quest and that is how I handled it. It was probably the only part of the playthrough that was decidedly not done with any roleplaying motivations. Of course I have done this before and never had problems with this on my previous playthroughs. I think another aspect is that I have just done this so many times. This is something like the 7th or 8th time I have gone through the game. I too am a huge fanboy and I think the best part of this retrospective is that I really get an opportunity to look at some of those flaws and both criticize and admit they exist but also say, you know what I know its a flaw but it doesn't detract from the experience for me. It's not something I have ever really done for any of the other games I love.
@csl316: As @darth_navster said you definitely need to play Citadel. Its the best piece of DLC from a series that has put out some pretty strong stuff. In terms of returning to the game, as I have said in both posts, the gameplay is certainly not easy to go back to. That being said I still think its worth revisiting, even if you turn it to easy and just experience it from a story perspective. There are still a lot of things that the first game does so much better than the other two, especially in terms of world building.
@hippie_genocide: I certainly don't think the game is without gameplay problems but I have found different things are frustrating me this time. The Mako and the repetitive nature of exploring planets hasn't bothered me. After putting more time in I still think the Mako is remembered as much worse than it is. Also I still get a rush from the idea of exploring a planet so that carries me through the repetition.
Combat continues to bother me. I just still haven't gotten into a groove with it and still feel like I am fighting the game itself more than the enemies.
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