Halo’s two weapon limit always felt right too me because of level, encounter, and weapon design.

Can we talk about how good combat evolved looks, even today?

I’m actually a fan of a 3 weapon system where you can have 2 primaries and a sidearm. Something like pressing Y to switch between a primary and sidearm then double tap or hold Y to go to the 2nd primary. Not saying this would be best for Halo but it is a system I enjoy

“And an ancient alien has a bri’ish accent” Wait I thought that was pretty realistic

Halo CE was a masterpiece

I like this limitation, you need to plan ahead and prioritise

9:38 Thank you for not forgetting Unreal Tournament.

I think there's one thing about the mechanic that you forgot to mention. The carry limit and availability of weapons at various points along the map act as foreshadowing for what you're about to face (and in later games, storytelling, like showing what dead soldiers were doing when they were killed). Much like classic shooters and RPGs would have a stockpile of health in a room to hint that you're about to fight a boss. Every game in the series leaves these breadcrumbs for the player. The organic availability of weapons also serve as a kind of tutorial. Without telling you what weapons are best against what enemies, you'll find those weapons lying around before or during a fight (plasma rifles and shotguns for the flood, for example). It's a subtle hint that "hey, maybe this will be useful in the next room, wink wink!"

having an arsenal makes sense when its just you against an army of demons, aliens, or extradimensional beings, but when you've got a squad of marines by your side, vehicles to drive, and the ability to use grenades without swapping to your grenade weapon, limits make sense

It was a decade ago so it could be a fake memory honestly, but I recall one of the halo books being like “chief loaded up on the rocket launcher, assault rifle, pistol, some landmines, a captured needler, and all the grenades he could carry” (or something to that effect) And while he had the strength for it, I remember stopping like “....where the hell is he strapping all of this?” Course, even in Halo 3 and others, the amount of grenades you can carry is pretty crazy for storage too- Spikers aren’t exactly small...

I really enjoyed the weapon limits in Halo 1 and 2 when the sandboxes were small and full of unique weapons, but by the time they got to 3, I feel like they should have let you carry maybe 1 more weapon.

Always a great day when a SameToken video drops! Love your stuff dude, especially the little quips you toss in between sentences.

Perfect timing my man!

I guess there's something human about having two things in our physical possession to switch between; we only have two hands after all!

When armor abilities were introduced in Reach, they could have had an ability to carry 3 weapons.

Loved the video, as ever - you produce some of the most well put together and succinct content for halo :) Halo will always have a special place, and so in a sense the two weapon system will have a similar sentimental value to me... but objectively, I don't particularly mind how shooters implement their weapon carry system, so long as it's relatively intuitive and isn't a cause of functional jank - I'll just learn how to use it best.

I like the limit of how many weapons you can carry, it gives you a sense that you need to improvise with what you have, though I kinda wish Halo’s weapon carry limits were like Gears of war, but that’s just my opinion on that.

That transition from chief smacking grunt with plasma rifle to bioshock eve injection was fluid as hell 4:58

Another great video, SameToken :D The 2 weapon limit in Halo works nicely

Halos 2 weapon limit always made the gameplay feel a lot better having to pick up weapons off the ground and use those instead of your primaries I mean it just makes sense to have options and the average person is only going to be able to carry one to two weapons on them anyway. There's nothing that feels more badass than running out of ammo just to pick up the enemy's weapon that you just killed and then using that weapon to continue your slaughter I think to me that sounds dope

I found this video after another video on the same topic. This one is better by a longshot. You explained your points, anecdotes and arguments quite clearly, even re-emphasizing points to remind them in a shorter manner. Coupled with some very nice visuals as well, timed with the ambient music. This video was quite smooth and informative. It's a shame your sub count is rather low, here's hoping that you get more in the future!

Your voice reminds me of the Discovery Channels narrator but with gaming you sir have a earned a new subscriber

Surprised you didnt mention the far cry series for its handling of weapon/equipment wheels, by far one of the best in any game, up to 8 slots (4 weapon 4 equipment) but allows you to cycle between 2 at a press of a button ... that said Ghost recon did a similar thing, 3 wepons cycling between them with multiple rapid taps of the same button.

I love watching stuff about this

Gotta say after playing Doom Eternal, finding and playing the PC versions of The Master Chief collection not always having the multiply weapons option took a bit to get used to and was very frustrating!

He makes the most basic things so interesting. I could listen to this guy explain why water is important and I wouldn't get bored.

I like games that have a two weapon carry limit and games that don’t. I want more of each so that we have more variety in shooters. Always having only one or the other leads to shooters becoming stale. I like that now games like Doom and Halo with their very different gameplay styles can both coexist and both be successful.

I think if you wanted to be “realistic” three weapons wouldn’t be too bad - one in your hands, one on your back, and a pistol in a hip holster. But part of the reason for the two weapon rule was having to switch weapons on a controller, as mentioned. It’s clunky to switch between anything more than two weapons really, as Borderlands has proven - though, to some degree the d-pad could’ve been used for this, as I don’t remember it being used much in CE

Always liked this guy token giving us this great halo info

Show this channel some love! One of the most underrated channels on KZfaq.

Hey same token I just want to say that your content is of top notch quality and extremely underrated I cannot wait to see this channel grow I expect it to grow massively when Halo infinite releases and you're going to be doing hopefully some infinite lore videos because I know what I'm going to be playing through that campaign and you're going to be one of the first channels I go to and try and figure out a lot more about the lore.

My favorite thing was loading my team of marines with the best weapons I could find them. There's nothing as fun as a full team of odsts with beam rifles running around delta halo

I was actually just playing ODST with my friend and talking about how carrying 3 weapons could be better as then you could have the powerweapon with limited ammo, special weapon like plasma pistol and then primary rifle/pistol I can gun down large number of grunts.

I personally think it should be 3 weapons one pistal and two primaries. That way when you can carry a specialist weapon type without feeling like a waste of your slot.

IN CE on harder difficulties, the limited ammo and weapon availability mixed with the deliberate movement, made each encounter feel like a combat puzzle.

Good video, I find the two weapon limit works really well in Halo.

I finished H3 on legendary yesterday. In my memory the level Cortana was truly a horrific experience. Having me get stuck for ages because I couldn't get past certain points. The parts of the level I remember getting stuck all those years ago, were kind of a breeze yesterday. The first time I played that level on legendary I believe I must have died at least 30 times. Yesterday I think I died maybe 5 or 6 times. I feel like this is just because I got a little older and I am way more thoughtful with my weapons and ammo management. Also dropping a shotgun with 8 rounds left in favor of a nearly full Brute Shot or Carbine which would have been unthinkable when I was a teenager. Also saving up nades for when I actually need them. The importance of weapon selection really came to the surface as I think that back then my aim was better on controller then it is now.

The british accent line killed me. 😂

Absolutely love the musics you use in these videos. Always gives a chill and awesome vibe ! Would love to know what they’re called to listen to on the regular !

Oni also had a two weapon limit, but came before Halo was to be a Mac game. But One was also for consoles like the playstation 2, I guess someone knew what they were doing already. Would be nice to have a video about One as well, another one of my favourite Bungie games, which also includes the Myth and Marathon games :) Really enjoy your videos :)

Can we talk about how smooth the transition at 5 minutes is?

I prefer my enemies to drop dead by simply looking at them

Damn good video man

This video reminded me that they fixed the cutscenes in Halo CEA classic visuals and tbh I kinda paused this halfway through just to go play a mission real quick to test it.

IMHO, the 2 weapon limit is another extreme just like carrying a truckload of weapons. If they're going for simplicity and a bit of realism then 3-4 weapons would make sense. In our reality, military members carry 1-4 weapons depending on individual capacity, weapon choice, and job. A ship's engineer isn't usually armed at all (unless you count their tools which they actually practice fighting with), security personnel are usually armed with a pistol and powerful flashlight and train to reload rapidly, combat personnel are usually armed with a pistol, melee weapon of choice and rifle of choice. Special forces personnel often train to carry as many weapons as they are physically capable of carrying and using effectively which varies widely. I knew a 6' 4" hulking fellow who carried a pistol, knife, m4 carbine and a SAW plus ammo. But Spartans are wearing power armor, and are frontline special forces soldiers so 3-4 makes more sense. Ex. 1. A pistol or equivalent on each hip and a rifle or equivalent on each side of the back 2. A pistol or equivalent on each hip and a heavy weapon on the back (sniper rifle, rocket launcher, brute hammer, etc)

Definitely like both systems. Great video!

"The limitation of consoles and controllers means that large weapon inventories are impractical." Ratchet & Clank on PS2: Allow me to introduce myself.

I've spent pretty much my entire life with the two weapon limit. By the way I love your content, because it has so much insightful thoughts and deep discussion with an excellent production and high quality standard to top it off. You deserve more views

I always hated how watered down the 2 limit was in Halo 2, 3, and Reach after the BR/DMR became a meta. Just because you always had the BR and DMR the whole time where in Halo CE and SPV3 you needed the right tool for the job. This is why I love mods like Ruby's Rebalenced and Reach Evolved for fixing the games.

To Civvie 11's anger.

Great video, cheers

New subscriber and your videos are here class

I have mastered the speed controls on MCC for PC. A while back the scroll wheel on my mouse broke (it's old), so I couldn't middle click (which was my "change grenades" button). I could still scroll up and down like normal but the missing feature was definitely annoying. Since MCC only let me scroll in *one* direction to change weapons unlike most PC shooters, I naturally used ScrollWheel-Down to change my guns. This left ScrollWheel-Up completely unbound, so I used that as my "switch grenades" function. It's so fast, much faster than my old control scheme of middle clicking to swap between frags and plasmas. Now I scroll down to switch my weapon and flick the wheel up in a swift motion to ready a plasma grenade. I got a new mouse but kept the new binding. It's almost too fast, sometimes I feel like Halo itself, along with my eyes & hands can't keep up, but it's such a great layout

Absolutely brilliant analysis! I feel like a lot of the innovations Bungie made for CE have become staples of the shooter genre but not enough people are aware they originate from Halo. Things like melee/ grenades having a dedicated buttons, aiming with a thumbstick and a 2 weapon system are industry standards these days and it’s interesting to think that might not be the case if not for this masterpiece of a game.

Halo was the first fps for me that had a weapon limit. I remember being apprehensive at first, but quickly came to love it. I think what I like about games that have inventory management and other such restrictions is the frequent choices you're asked to make which is much more engaging than just mindlessly consuming everything you come across.

I think both approaches are good, they both encourage different kinds of game design and decisions throughout all aspects of a game.

My first Halo game was halo 2 when it came out, I was 10 years old. Before then, in 2002, I think, my favorite FPS was 007 Nightfire. No weapon limit. When my friends would come over to play split screen, they'd insist we'd change the settings to "realistic mode" or whatever it was to only be able to carry two weapons. Why? Because that's how Halo CE was.

You can actually carry 3 weapons on the level Pillar of Autumn, through a glitch.

What do you edit with dude!

I feel like the two weapon carry limit only became a problem when EVERY game afterwards started doing it. Never really minded it in Halo but I wish more games would just let you carry more.

I really like how F.E.A.R. gave you 3 weapon slots. Gave it some of the same interesting decisions on what to take or leave, but that extra slot really opened things up I feel

anyone know what the intro music is for these videos? its really catchy

It could have been two primary weapons one in hands, one on back) and a pistol on holster where you double tap y to switch to it

I'm personally a fan of the concept of a primary, secondary and a sidearm, maybe a melee, but that's more because realism than much else.

What song plays during the conclusion?

I'm a little surprised you didn't mention the Mass Effect games.

I feel like it would upset the balance when it comes to encounters. Much like Deadspace(Ignoring Halo 2) the enemies and the weapons you use were made to work together how they are now. You pick two weapons and try to work around that. If you have 3 weapons, it might make certain encounters too easy. Of course taking away certain weapons like the Sniper, Spanker, Fuel rods etc might help with this as in making them more scarce, but I feel like a better way would be making certain weapons like utility weapons a third option the plasma pistol, the sword, the concussion rifle all can be pulled out when the situation calls for it. So you are still considering what to take, but you can only get one not so easy to obtain weapon or a tool that needs more skill and attention to use effectively.

I would have liked a "disarm" punch like in Perfect Dark where you steal the enemy's weapon (if wieldable, of course).

Can Tf2 count as a combination of both? cus you only use 2 weapons (3 with the melee) but when you die (or by re-supplying at spawn) you can change your loadout to any weapons available for that character but still restricting you from using only 2 weapons (again, 3 with the melee)

3 weapons would be cool. 2 primaries and 1 sidearm. At least in the campaign.

Do you watch Ahoy? Your video style seems kindof similar

in halo, whenever I wanted 3 weapons, I would jungle the 3rd weapon as far as I was willing (constantly pick it up and throw it in front of me)

I love this channel

There are times when i wish i could carry a third or fourth weapon in Halo (Not talking about carrying a turret btw, not quite the same) Though of course, never more than four, otherwise the point of the system is completely ruined Also, one thing that really needs to happen is an armor ability that functions as an ammo expander Some weapons i want to use for really long periods of time, but it gets hard when i can't carry all the ammo i find at a resupply and then run out in the middle of a fight Perhaps even better, maybe op but certainly fun, an armor ability that functions like the ammo pack in the flash game Raze 2 (Basically, it's an ability that gives you one clip for your current weapon and then goes on cooldown to recharge) *_And if i could recharge plasma weapons that would make my year_* I love plasma rifles so much, it hurts to throw them away Anywho i've rambled enough, i just wish these sorts of things were investigated further when it comes to expanding the Halo sandbox Grapple hook is fun but i'd take plasma recharging over it in a heartbeat

Timesplitters was amazing back in the day.

what game and level is being played @ 6:30 ??? it looks like The Silent Cartographer

What's the intro song? Please.

I don't have a general preference of one over the other. I like both of them, as long as they mesh well with the rest of the game. That's why I enjoy the two-weapon-limit in Halo, but absolutely hated it in BioShock Infinite, as is clashed with the system that lets you upgrade your weapons. Say you upgraded your carbine, but then the game no longer gives you ammo for it. You now not only have to fall back on worse weapons but also need to choose if you want to still keep the empty weapon around, essentially blocking you from having a secondary, in the hopes of finding ammo somewhere, or just drop it, not knowing whether you'll ever find it again. It also breaks immersion if you DO find the same weapon type again, that it just happens to include the exact same upgrades you put into it (although losing all your upgrades would probably have been worse). It seems the developers realized this as well, as the weapon wheel fortunately returned for Burial at Sea, although they never patched it into the main game.

Oni had a one weapon limit, before Halo:CE. Though not sure how much cross-talk was between Bungie and Bungie West, there must've doubtlessly been something that made those two games, developed at roughly same time, have the weapon limit. Most likely the controller scheme, though.

I love halo. This is exactly what's missing today. Everyone needs to play together and be toxic in chat.

I'm fine with either as long as it adds to the realism and immersion. However the irony is not lost on me that Master Chief in Mjolnir is about the only FPS character that could lug around 10+ firearms and ammo but gets restricted to 2 but a lanky scientist with zero combat training can drag around a arsenal with zero implications.

I'd really like halo as an arena shooter. Bigger weapon limit, hiding behind cover will kill you, no reloading health and shield pick ups

Borderlands did it the best: you can equip 4 at a time, but have an arsenal to choose from in your pack, which you can only upgrade over time.

SameToken, battle rifle vs DMR? Installation00 and Halo Canon both say the BR, but I prefer the DMR.

I think 2 weapon limit makes the game way simpler to play. This is one of the things I still appreciate about Halo (CE in particular). In contrast with the fast-switching stuff of Half Life 2 which is complex and difficult to grasp and you're better of just embracing the fact that you have loads of weapons. That being said, I think there is room for both simple and more complex games. Both Halo CE and Bioshock are one of my favourite games and they both make the choices that is appropriate for their respective games.

What's the game at 4:17?

Oh I'm so happy some one is talking abt this topic. I had questioned how this will affect Infinite and I hope this video kinda squash my worries becoz I feel like 2 weapon limit in the semi-open world or whatever they r calling. I don't like that. Lets see P.S very insightful video, while I do agree 2 weapon limit works perfectly with previous Halo's, I believe Halo Infinite will run into problems becoz we know we will find different weapon variations in the world I don't want to lose that weapon which I scavenged off the beaten path. I probably am wrong but I'm imagining Halo Infinite to be like Destiny Lite or something with no Looter mechanics.

For me halo did it because halo was always about choosing a game path and experimenting with that path you choose If you had all the weapons on you this would remove halos more tatical apporch as you switch to shotgun and magnum all the time In some missions just picking a sniper rifle up makes you think Do I sacrifice my magnum or rockey launcher to perch up this hill Also halo has the 4-5 ways to kill Your gun Your melee Your 2-3-4 grenade options Your alleys and marines Vehicles and environmental hazards The melee and grenades are just prompts to click at while most games back then required you to select them separate from a weapon wheel this for me makes halo feel so much better than shooters before

the 1 dislike is a quake player

I prefer the weapon limit. Especially after applying Fallout. Sometime needing to switch over to the right gun in the heat of battle can be a big mistake.

Not to mention you can have weapons for the same role vs weapons that always need a specific role. If you had all the weapons in Halo, for example why would you use the Needler vs the shotgun? The shotgun is way better in close and medium ranges and outperforms the Needer in any way expect in long(er) ranges. But even than you get the magnum for those ranges. So if Halo didn't had the 2 carry limit, there is no reason to use some of it's weapons.

Funny thing is idk what i did on CE i actually had 3 guns. I had the Assault Rifle, Magnum and the plasma pistol. Dont even know how I got it.

The most realistic part is that halo can carry 4 frag grenades and 4 plasma grenades but not 8 plasmas and no frags, it has to be 4 or less because the frags don't fit in the plasma pocket.

I like the 2 weapon limit personally

I'm so glad halo came along, it changed everything about gaming.

2 or 3 weapon limits are great for any game that has even some vague attempt at realism. Doom doesn't even need to try, sure, but at some point people are going to wonder how many backpacks Jack Bioshock is using to lug around his 8 weapons and assorted healing items.

honestly i prefer the way gears of war has done with a primary, secondary, side arm then grenade

I prefer simplicity and reality. Weapon limits provide both. You only have so much space on your body and weight you can carry.

What about dual wielding that has 3 as does akimboing in call of duty

Bro where are you we miss you we thought you were gonna go back to weekly releases 😭