Halo Reach: A Psuedo-Rant (NSFW)

I've had it. I've tried to keep quiet but I can't take it anymore. I am so fucking sick of all the gooddamn whining that permeates every gaming forum I am a part of. Every time I turn around some other fucking moron is complaining about how Reach is broken. Now I'm not going to say it's perfect because it isn't. No game is. However, Halo Reach is still the best online MP game I have had the privilege to praticipate in. Then I go to the gaming forums that I usually enjoy participating in and every other post is "this game sucks", "the [insert weapon of choice] is unbalanced", "the [insert map of choice] is unplayable", blah bla-blah bla-blah bla-blah.

FUCKING ENOUGH ALREADY! STOP PISSING IN MY FUCKING CHEERIOS! GAH!

If you really don't like the game, GO FUCKING PLAY SOMETHING ELSE!

If you only play because your friends play, STOP! GO OUT AND GET NEW FRIENDS!

If you only play because it's the latest Halo game and you feel some perverse need to play the latest, GET THE FUCK OFF OF MY SERVERS YOU WORTHLESS SCUM SUCKING BAND-WAGONING DOUCHE BAG!

Oh, and if you insist on spending every chance you get between games complaining about how much you don't like the game and the way Bungie did things or listing all the ways they could change it to suit your way of thinking the game should be played, DON'T FUCKING PLAY WITH ME AND GO DESIGN YOUR OWN FUCKING GAME YOU ASININE LITTLE WASTE OF PROTOPLASMIC DETRITUS!

Now granted all this can easily paint me as a Halo/Bungie fanboy who's upset at the idea that people seem to be disrespecting Halo Reach. I'm not. Yes I think Halo is among the best games out there but it's not my favorite. Yes I think Bungie is far more responsive to it's community then just about any other developer out there. I also think they could improve in that area. When it comes to MP I am a fanboy. When it comes to overall game quality, I think the God of War series is superior. When it comes to listening to their community I think they're one of the only ones that really do. At the end of the day though, they do what they think is feasible within the framework of the game they designed, even if it isn't what the majority of the community really wants, and I'm okay with that.

I have my fair share of "what the fuck" moments while playing this game. Yes there are times when I think events should have transpired differently then they did ("I know I hit him in the head first!", "Oh FU. I was full shields! How did he kill me?", "He was one-shot! How did my shotty not kill him?!", "What the hell happened to my AA? Fuckin' laggin out bastards! GET A REAL FUCKIN' CONNECTION YOU FUCKIN' DICK!"). However, I don't chalk this up to being because the game is broken or Bungie went and made the game all "nooby" for the "casual" player. I recognize that sometimes shit just happens (although the aa loss on host switch thing is an exception) and usually if I go back and look at the game in theatre I can see how those wtf moments actually went down and why things transpired the way they did.

I, like many of you, have been looking forward to this game ever since rumors about it first started floating around the net. As release day got closer and closer I became even more excited. Then I had the game in hand. I could feel my heart racing. As soon as I got home I put the game into my 360 and fired it up. First thing I did was fire up the campaign on Legendary. I was floored by the intro cinematic and cut scenes (although I still think Halo Wars has better cut scenes). The game played smoothly. Okay, it was rough going on Legendary but the only real frustration I felt was at the fact that the enemy AI seemed to have prefect aim and I died more often than I would have liked. Well, that and the ally AI was about as stupid and unhelpful as it gets. In the end though, even as sad as the game was for me, I was still ecstatic about what I had just experienced. I couldn't wait to get into MM with my friends but I knew I needed to sleep. As soon as I woke up though I was back at it. I played some co-op campaign with some people. I played some MP. I played some FF. Pretty much I mixed it up as much as I could so that I could get a decent idea of all that Reach had to offer. The one thing I didn't do, until recently, was really venture into Forge. Fact is, Forge is not a part of Halo that I have a real interest in. Not that I won't use it. Actually I have several ideas that I hope to eventually put together and maybe offer up for those who may be interested. It's just that what I really look forward to is playing the game. Especially playing with people that I have come to call friends. Lately though, I've begun to not enjoy playing with much of anybody anymore. Largely because of all the complaining I hear. I really want to enjoy playing this game but everytime I wind up in a room listening to people bitch and moan about how this or that is broken or doesn't work the way it should I feel my joy fade. More and more I'm starting to play this game just so that I can complete the daily/weekly challenges. Don't get me wrong, I also complain about how something didn't seem to be working for me in-game or how I think there are issues with one map or another especially as it relates to certain game-types. However, rather than bitch and moan to everyone who'll listen I'll say my piece and move on. I may, from time to time, post something in a thread somewhere, but for the most part I would rather adjust my style of play to suit the game then insist that the game be adjusted to suit my style of play. I still really want to like this game but I'm finding it harder and harder to get up the interest to play without going ninja (that's setting my preferences so that I appear offline even though I'm not, for those that aren't familiar with the term).

I do really like my friends, but there are some that I play with very infrequently now because during the last few days of Halo 3 all I'd hear form them is cries of "cheater", "laggy bastard" or something else along those lines and it just made the game feel like a chore. I play to escape the doldrums of chores not reinforce them. I don't want Reach to start feeling like H3 did toward the end. The more time I spend listening to the complaints, the closer this game gets to being just that.

Now I have taken to avoiding many of the threads in the Halo forum. I have also taken to avoiding threads where Reach is in the title. Unfortunately, the only way I have to avoid people who insist on complaining in-game and/or between games is to not play, to play alone, or to mute my teammates. I don't like those options. As it is I find myself sometimes staying in a room longer than I really want to only because I really want to play with friends which then leads me back to one of the points I made above. If that's the only reason I have to play then I may as well go out and find new friends. Problem is, I like my friends. I also don't want to find new ones just because they're voicing their opinions. So I'm stuck. The only solution I have is, if I want to keep playing then I just have to deal with it or start playing with... randoms (fucking randoms).

I don't know. Maybe all I really needed to do was get this off my chest. At least it's better than losing it in the lobby and telling people to shut the fuck up and play the game or get the fuck out and go play something more your speed like Barbie's Magical Pony Adventures. Although that could be cathartic to.

I would like to say that this is not directed at those who, for as long as I've known you, have a natural tendency to complain. I'm pretty much used to you. Although at times, if others are complaining, your complaints can be the final straw for me. Still, as I said, I'm pretty much used to you.

I guess, if I want to continue to enjoy this game, I'm just going to have to adjust to this like I'm adjusting my style of play to suit the game.

Oh, one last thing. If you don't like the way I play the game, SHUT THE FUCK UP! I don't complain about how you play the game so back off you whiny little bitch. If it really bothers you then play with someone else. If there's a way you think I can improve my game then that's different. Just don't be a bitch about it.

/rant?