Feature: BioShock vs. Halo 3 (Page 4 of 7)
Arsenal
BioShock: Here, it's all about the Plasmids. As your genetic skills improve, you're able to equip powerful gene-boosting abilities called "Plasmids." Early Plasmids allow you to sling electricity, fire, and ice, but later models allow you to control killer bees, hypnotize enemies, and redirect security cameras.
Even the guns have a retro look.
The physical weapons are a bit more standard fare: pistols, shotguns, machine guns, and grenade launchers. What makes them special is the way you use them in conjunction with your Plasmid abilities to create useful combinations. A simple example: stun an enemy with Electro Volt, then swap to your handgun and give your foe a point-blank headshot. There are many, many more combinations, but you get the gist of it. BioShock's conventional arsenal gets another unconventional twist through the use of rare specialty ammunition, such as armor-piercing and electricity-infused rounds. Then there are the weapon upgrade stations, which allow you to increase damage, clip size, and other attributes.
Halo 3: Being the third game in a wildly popular series, it would've been easy for developer Bungie Studios to focus on adding a few bells and whistles, such as online co-op and matchmaking updates. Instead, Bungie blew the whole thing out of the water, not only tweaking old favorites, but adding plenty of new guns, vehicles, explosives, and new items in the form of deployable equipment.
Weapon tweaks, new guns, equipment and more!
Halo 3 is easily the most creative and ambitious game in the series from a weapons perspective, so much so, in fact, that it seemed initially overwhelming: Early on, we worried that the new weapons and equipment would drown out the classic Halo feel and turn it into a chaotic mess. On the contrary, the new additions have actually strengthened the game's core gameplay be emphasizing rock-paper-scissors strategies. Under fire? Drop a Bubble Shield. Blocked by a Bubble Shield? Find a shotgun and breach the field to slay the now-helpless occupant. Halo 3 could be the most diverse multiplayer game ever released, and its huge, balanced arsenal is the star of the show.
WINNER: Halo 3, but not by much. There's no denying BioShock's creativity and flexibility, but Halo 3's massive arsenal works like a well-oiled machine.
Controls
BioShock: While initially overwhelming, BioShock's control system is a vast improvement over other games of this style, such as Deus Ex and System Shock 2. Handy shortcuts, like assigning first-aid packs to the B button or holding the A button to auto-play voice recordings, prove that BioShock is far more than a pretty face - it's a superbly designed game with many smart design decisions.
Handy shortcuts make BioShock all the more pleasurable to play.
Otherwise, BioShock plays like many other first-person shooters, with the A button serving as the action button and the thumbstick clicks assigned to crouch and zoom. Pretty standard stuff, but well executed and highly polished ...much like the rest of BioShock.
Halo 3: Bungie has it down to a science. At first, Halo players are likely to fumble around with using the right and left bumpers to pick up and reload weapons, but after a few games it quickly becomes second nature. In fact, it makes perfect sense. With equipment assigned to the X button, virtually no button on the Xbox 360 controller is left unused, but Halo 3's controls are so familiar that they never feel overwhelming. Fluidity is the key here: early design decisions made in the first Halo now seem more genius than ever, particularly the slower movement speed and "floaty" jumps. These decisions are designed the make the game more accessible and less twitchy, ala the Unreal series.
Fluid and smart, Halo 3's controls are dead-on.
Another plus: Bungie continues to offer multiple control schemes, such as Southpaw (for lefties) and Boxer (for hand-to-hand enthusiasts). There's a reason why the Halo series has sold millions worldwide, and much of that success can be traced back to its controls.
WINNER: Halo 3. There's nothing lacking in BioShock's controls, but Halo 3's are pixel-perfect and incredibly polished.
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