Halo and the "never on PC" policy
Seeing as Halo Wars has come to PC, and is available on Steam, I thought now would be a good time to come to this issue. It's something that has been in place ever since Halo 3 became a thing. I want to make the point that both Halo 1 and Halo 2 were available for PC, and that the PC versions are, by far, the superior versions of the game. I don't mind the original Xbox versions, but being able to use a mouse + keyboard for first person shooters seems to still be, in my opinion, the best option for phenomenal aiming and movement, outside of VR simulations that allow light gun use or things like that.
So why has Halo been shifted to Xbox 360 exclusive? It would make more sense, I think, to continue making it for PC as well and make all of the Halo games available for PC instead of just Xbox. It would expand the market, rather than detracting it, and of late, Halo certainly hasn't been a prime system seller...so why is it that Bungie insists that Halo still shouldn't come to PC?
This was particularly an issue when Halo Wars was announced for Xbox 360 and had no thoughts for a PC version. RTS's have always thrived on a point and click system for micromanagement and accurate positioning. Say what one will, making an RTS for a controller is incredibly difficult and just doesn't make sense. The sticks don't allow for the same level of micromanagement ability as a mouse, and the ability to look all across the map is limited. This is not to mention all of the keybindings that most RTS's have for accessing specific buildings, units, etc. that is missing from the original Halo Wars.
Maybe it's just me that wants it for PC so that I can play the games myself? I have tried multiple shooters across different platforms with controller, and I can't bring myself to do first person shooter with a controller. I can do third-person shooters just fine with a controller, though I would prefer if I could learn how to do it with keyboard and mouse. I often don't like playing first-person shooters on a controller if I have a keyboard+mouse option available to me. Most console versions don't have that, and the games are made for the console version first, meaning that PC ports are often lacking in key features or optimizations that make the game fun for PC. I miss older games built for PC first, like Half-Life and Half-Life 2, or Doom 3.
Just a small rant, I know, but it is something that has been bothering me. Maybe one day I'll look into it more and figure out why they waned to do Halo as a console exclusive...
So why has Halo been shifted to Xbox 360 exclusive? It would make more sense, I think, to continue making it for PC as well and make all of the Halo games available for PC instead of just Xbox. It would expand the market, rather than detracting it, and of late, Halo certainly hasn't been a prime system seller...so why is it that Bungie insists that Halo still shouldn't come to PC?
This was particularly an issue when Halo Wars was announced for Xbox 360 and had no thoughts for a PC version. RTS's have always thrived on a point and click system for micromanagement and accurate positioning. Say what one will, making an RTS for a controller is incredibly difficult and just doesn't make sense. The sticks don't allow for the same level of micromanagement ability as a mouse, and the ability to look all across the map is limited. This is not to mention all of the keybindings that most RTS's have for accessing specific buildings, units, etc. that is missing from the original Halo Wars.
Maybe it's just me that wants it for PC so that I can play the games myself? I have tried multiple shooters across different platforms with controller, and I can't bring myself to do first person shooter with a controller. I can do third-person shooters just fine with a controller, though I would prefer if I could learn how to do it with keyboard and mouse. I often don't like playing first-person shooters on a controller if I have a keyboard+mouse option available to me. Most console versions don't have that, and the games are made for the console version first, meaning that PC ports are often lacking in key features or optimizations that make the game fun for PC. I miss older games built for PC first, like Half-Life and Half-Life 2, or Doom 3.
Just a small rant, I know, but it is something that has been bothering me. Maybe one day I'll look into it more and figure out why they waned to do Halo as a console exclusive...
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