Halo 3 A.I. "Largely Missing In Action"?

Mercury News Journalist, Mike Antonucci, writes:

"I'm about halfway through "Halo 3? playing on normal difficulty. I've been dividing my time with quite a few other games, although I like "Halo 3? a good deal more than "Halo 2."

For the moment - my opinion may shift by the time I've finished the game - I'd put "Halo 3? in the books as a very good game, but not the be all and end all. One thing I think is exceptional (and don't see mentioned much) is sound.

Now, a mild criticism that leads to some questions: I'm underwhelmed by the game's artificial intelligence, although I've seen it extravagantly praised by other reviewers...

So, why all the commendations for the A.I.? Don't get me wrong - it's great to be able to progress even when outgunned. Players shouldn't get relentlessly stuck on normal. But that doesn't negate the question. Per my example, isn't the A.I. largely missing in action?"

[Maddens Raiders]

We already know about this game. This guy is a million years late to the party. Halo reviews bounce all over the place. It is its own worst enemy. You either hate it or love it with this one.

[darkequitus]

...why is he playing at normal anyway? Did he not take notice of any advice. If he played it on Legendary he would ot have bothered writing his dumb article.

PC/PS360 Gamer

Steam/xfire/gamespy/PSN/XBL : darkequitus

Currently playing:

360 - PGR4 + Halo3 MP +Orange box
PC - Crysis MP beta + Tabula Rasa Beta
PS3 - Warhawk (when server works)
Wii - Sold

[felidae]

i never ever had any server problems when i was playing Warhawk.

What do you do man? ;-)

[InMyOpinion]

Well said Maddens.

[kewlkat007]

and stop being a Puss.

[2Negativecool]

This is to you and everyone below me that will defend Halo 3's embarrassingly stupid AI with an argument as dumb as "play it on a harder level."

AI shouldn't be dependent on the difficulty setting. So playing it on "normal" suddenly the AI is SUPPOSED to be completely inept? Incase you didn't notice the AI is not "normal" on Normal..it is f@#ing ape $hit retarded. The AI shouldn't actively seek cover, flank, and attack you in normal? Screw that! And when I played it on legendary, I don't recall seeing any friendly NPC's suddenly able to navigate or shoot on the Warthog with any skill level that would indicate to me that they weren't fresh off the short bus in legendary mode.

This criticism is not unfounded. The AI is bad, playing it on legendary just makes you easier to die and enemies harder to kill..friendlies are still dumber than toast.

[nobizlikesnowbiz]

At retard above--Yes.

That's exactly how it works.

When you have it set on Normal or Easy, the game basically plays itself. Your just along for the ride.

When you up the difficulty, the enemies all of a sudden start using their equipment effectively, throwing grenades effectively, charging at right times, creating bottlenecks, etc. I've seen it happen a hundred times, as I've played through the game on all settings, a few times at least.

So yes, to answer your stupid question. Bungie specifically stated that Normal and Easy have been tremendously dumbed down. AI on Heroic is tough, but Legendary is where it's at.

<ed.> No. You fail. On crappy difficulty do you see Brutes using equipment effectively? Charging when you go for cover? Throwing grenades to push you back, instead of just tossing them when they first see you?

I never let the AI drive the 'Hogs, so I never really saw how bad they were at driving. But I never expected them to be awesome. Have you ever seen AI pilot a vehicle for you in any game effectively? I haven't.

[DeadIIIRed]

Do the following: Hop into the turret on a Warthog, let one of the NPC's drive, and see how far you get. Doesn't matter if it's on Normal or Legendary.

The only difference I saw with Normal and Legendary is that the enemies do more damage and throw more grenades. You only think the enemies in Legendary maneuver more and are smarter because your behind cover half of the time. Where as in normal they don't have time to move before you plow them all down.

I just beat the game on my brothers 360 and this was my only problem with the game aside from the jagged character models (watch the scene where Johnson dies, his cheek is literally a triangle). Loved the multiplayer, but the levels were really the only thing new.

[a714generation]

...precisely because he's playing on normal, which Bungie warned gamers was not how the game was meant to be played. Kick it up a difficulty notch and you'll see the AI come to life.

[PS360WII]

Even on Legendary the enemies still sit in a nice grouped together mess that can be defeated by a throw of a grenade, wait, throw another one, done. In a few of the levels you can run out in the middle of the battle field and just melee all the enemies.

I just brought this game to a buddies house last night which we played on Legendary and after about 20 mins or so he wanted me to check to make sure we really were on Legendary.

Halo 3 is a great game but for all the positive talk it got for having the best AI ever is just jibberish. Although I may be able to tackle computer AI I still have a hard time with the human element. I don't think my matchmaking works... heh

[Munky]

The only ones that group together are the grunts, they usually have brute with them, kill him and they try to take off. Jackals you are spread all over the place, hunters as well. The flood always attacks, once they spot you that is. Legendary is the way to go, more enemies, smarter enemies, and much more resistant to attacks. FINISH the game on legendary and you will see.

[SmokeyMcBear]

I gotta agree with you a little bit, but i thinks its due to the coop mode, I was trying it a little bit with single player legendary and god damn that was hard, I couldnt walk 2 feet out of cover without some enemy shooting me in the head with a carbine, or some big ol dude, going hey, the demon is over there. It was crazy, but playing coop, it got pretty easy, and its a lot easier knowning you can die, and have your buddy just take some cover and respawn.. well thats my 2

[TheSadTruth]

It's funny kids play it on co-op and says it easy, but these are the same kids who wouldn't be able to beat it by themselves on legendary, no matter how much time they have.

Considering you die in about 1-2 seconds of fire from any enemy in the game, I really doubt you just run in and melee everything. You probably just ran up meleed an enemy and died, and then respawned by your buddy hiding. Good job, tool.

[PS360WII]

wow calling me a tool for being good at a video game. Nice form! No not every part you can melee in. In certain parts yes! No I didn't run in melee die and respawn. Both me and my buddy ran in bobbed and weaved, melee few shots melee again, repeat oh they're all dead, checkpoint, and no one died all the while on Legendary! It's not the end of the world and don't belittle someone for actually doing it. The easiest spot to do this onslaught I found was on the platform with all the Brutes with the jumppack thing-a-ma-jig.

Though yea having a wingman is a nice thing to have but shouldn't make it that much easier.

[Munky]

Finsh the game on legendary (alone) then say something. Gotta love gamercards ;)

[dexterwang]

urm, Hard AI and Smart AI are very different... smart is if they behave intelligently, hard is they have more health and incredible aim (not very hard to program)

Halo3 having finished the single player on normal and legendary, does not have exceptional AI. Its good in that the enemy works somewhat well together, but I don't know where the saying halo3 have revolutionary AI comes from... Some enemies are utterly retarded (stand in the open, guns blazing), while some are programmed better. Overall the AI about be no better than a B+.

I won't even go into teamates AI... thats just atrocious, and can't believe more critisism aren't thrown at that

[PS360WII]

well said dexterwang and you are absolutly correct.

One Word never said I was an expert but thanks for checking up on me. Least it shows I have and play the game and not some troller ^^ [edit - would like to add that I am on the flood Ship for legendary which I got there on my own so i think I can talk about the Subject a wee bit.

I just don't understand all this defense over this aspect. So the AI isn't revolutinary it's okay. They made the guys harder not smarter like in all games that have difficulty modes. It is still a great game. Calm down peeps.

[Funky Town_TX]

then it should be illegal to play it on normal. I'm now playing on Legendary and the AI is crazy. I try to hide but it does not work. Don't be a person that only wants to finish the game. Play the game to be entertained and Legendary offers to best for me.

[Munky]

i finished legendary alone, playing it on that difficulty is like playing a different game.

...too funny how ppl are disagreeing, its the truth ppl. ;)

[dhammalama]

I haven't finished legendary on halo 3 yet, but haven't put many hours in and I've already gotten pretty far. I've beaten it once co-op heroic and once solo heroic and now I'm working on legendary. I'm more than halfway done now.

I know this -- Halo 2 legendary was way harder. I beat that too.

[Munky]

Totally agree man, itt was much harder in H2 to beat it on legendary. I never got through it actually.

[Kleptic]

I couldn't beat H2 alone on legendary...never saw anyone else do it in person either...seemed like every 5 minutes would be a group of guys that took me hours and hours of deaths to get past...was fun, but pretty frustrating...

H3 legendary is easy in comparison; I agree with you guys...however I really haven't noticed ridiculous AI either...the difficulty is how much damage you can (or can't for that matter) take...even idiot grunts can hose you within a few seconds...Some people keep saying they will create bottlenecks, etc...I guess I never noticed...I do see guys hiding from me at the right times though, then coming back out with reinforcments...and killing me...

however what about the friendly AI?...that doesn't get better no matter what level of difficulty the game is on...I still see guys mindlessly shooting at cliffs and getting stuck behind barrels...its funny yes, but impressive?...no...

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

Normal is for newbs and PS3 owners.

[kevin1122]

so, does that make you a ps3 owner?

[mighty_douche]

killzone gets bashed time and time again for poor AI even when its still in pre-pre-alpha build and the 'player' has god mode activated.

now that someone mentions Halo's AI, its suddenly his fault for playing it on normal?

hmm... double standards huh..

either way, i think we all know halo is a great game, and we've also had enough reviews for it.

[darkequitus]

Bungie say if your have played a fps then start on heroic, for good reason. If the ai still sucked on heroic and lengendary, then maybe the argument is valid. The fact is, it may not be the hardest game of it type (I think fear is harder in place)-------but on lendary or even heroic, the A.I does not suck

PC/PS360 Gamer

Steam/xfire/gamespy/PSN/XBL : darkequitus

Currently playing:

360 - PGR4 + Halo3 MP +Orange box
PC - Crysis MP beta + Tabula Rasa Beta
PS3 - Warhawk (when server works)
Wii - Sold

[Kleptic]

no game has the edge on FEAR as far as realistic AI...that is the hands down winner imo...

Douche I do agree though...I used to hear about friendly AI mindlessly running into a burning transport and stuff in KZ2...and the game isn't even done...yet Halo 3 has guys staring at enemies that are wide open...then turning only to load a shrub full of lead right next to them...it is true bungie said the game was meant to be played on legendary, and that the rest was more or less a tutorial...but it does nothing to fix problems that are ok now, but were not ok back at E3 during a certain other game's demonstration...

[AllanWakker]

You can thank some idiot at 1Up for people making fun of the crappy Halo 3 AI.

After the Xbox fanboys at 1Up got over the shock of the Killzone 2 unveiling earlier this year they went into damage control mode and started trying out various was they could trash the game. Obviously graphics was tried and they were immediately laughed right back to the FUD drawing board.

They finally came up with AI and made up some silly bogus award for AI that, SURPRISE, they gave to Halo 3 and, SURPRISE, gave last place to Killzone 2.

And now people are calling them on their stupid attempt at fanboism. And people are talking a good look at how bad Halo 3's AI actually is.

Live by the FUD, die by FUD.

Oh well, even if Halo 3 has crappy AI at least it still has gorgeous 720p next gen graphics...oh wait...

[JHFKDFNFGJKFHDKF]

how can you even comment on the AI when you obviously havent played it?

the AI in this game is bloody amazing; enemies flanking you, retreating when their health is down... jackals going into tustudo formation, brutes dropping bubble shields to protect grunts (and staying in them!)

please - go play some lair; seeing as thats all sony is offering.

[andy001]

Lots of 'Artificial' but very little 'Intelligence' :o)

Its still a good game though. Will tackle Legendary after I finish R:FOM

[progx]

EVERYONE knows normal is the new easy difficulty. Heroic and legendary are COMPLETELY different experiences. Man up pussbag. And you sonyboys don't get all excited, killzone's AI sucked, period. This isn't some double standard.

"And people are talking a good look at how bad Halo 3's AI actually is."

Go play it dumbf**k and see how "bad" it is.

[JHFKDFNFGJKFHDKF]

""I’m about halfway through “Halo 3? playing on normal difficulty. I’ve been dividing my time with quite a few other games, although I like “Halo 3? a good deal more than “Halo 2.” "

"on normal difficulty."
"on normal difficulty."
"on normal difficulty."

theres your problem mate - the enemy AI is bloody amazing, that is if you dont play on the EASIEST DIFFICULTY.

[gw4k]

You know, this guy should play on a harder diffuculty and stop wasting our time with such stupid articles.

What I think they should focus on is the graphics. While the game starts off beautiful....it only get worse as you go on. By the time the game is over, they are TERRIBLE!

Not Impressed really.

The graphics in Multiplayer (1 person) is better than single player campaign!

[SmokeyMcBear]

one thing I did notice about the AI on legendary, its not that they are really different and good at tactics, like flanking, and teamwork, and things like that. For one they are incredibaly accurate, if you are standing still, that guy with carbine that is conveniently located far away and off to the side will get head shots with the carbine, like every time (whatever the level in jungle and water and such). The AI is very very accurate with their shots, and they are immediately aware of your presense, I can count a bunch of times, where I was hiding, with their back to me, and once i got out, or got close, they immediately turned around and started shooting. Also whats with immediately droping the shield when im like 100 ft away, never understood this. I just get out of cover, they see me, yell out something about the demon, and drop the bubble shield. Im not sure what exactly is the definition of good AI, but I know in Halo3, they are very accurate with their shots, and are immediately aware of you if any type of siteline is established between you and their position, whether they are facing you or not.

[RoseSapphire]

Glad to see I wasn't the only one that found the AI lacking in Halo 3.

[nobizlikesnowbiz]

Wow what a great article, written by an idiot, to give idiots a place to hate on Halo.

AI is great, if your playing on Heroic or above. Bungie stated this multiple times. If you've played an FPS at all before, play on Heroic, if you've beaten previous Halo's, and play MP, you should def play on Legendary, as did I.

It's very tough. Enemies actually do make good decisions. I'm just tired of typing it over and over for idiots to dismiss because they can't handle the truth.

[GutZ31]

If you want to see some AI at work how it should be, try Resistance Fall of Man, that was hard even with co-op.
Story was also great, Halo just doesnt do it for me, the books I hear are good lol.

[nobizlikesnowbiz]

Wow. I played R: FOM on my roommate's Ps3 on co-op. It didn't really do it for me.

Had some fun parts, but it wasn't that great. Just because the enemies have guns that shoot through walls doesn't mean they have great AI. Half of them just stood there shooting. And then there were those turds that just stand around like zombies waiting for the buttstock to the face.

[cherdman]

That's where I stopped reading...

[u got owned]

Legendary is the sweet spot...

If you're playing co-op play it on Legendary with all the skulls on, believe me it wont be easy.

[PS360PCROCKS]

No. This game's A.I. is good, normal is just super easy.

[mastershake100]

the AI isnt that great, especially friendly AI. i had heard that they were bad at driving, but i heard the same about halo 2 in a review before it came out and i let them drive a couple of times and sure they ran into stuff but it wasnt unbearable. well in halo 3 i decided to let the dude drive and he got stuck in between trees or some this, seemingly on purpose, thats how stupid it was. and i had to get him out of these AI tard traps multiple times and when we were nearing a cliff he was suppose to make a turn but instead he went straigt full speed and jumped the cliff steve o style and killed us.

the AI is straight retarded sometimes.

[heavyarms]

Can someone tell that moron that normal is for beginners, people who havent played halo. This was explain already, normal is so that you can actually have a fighting chance. If you really want a challenge play it legendary and than tell me about the AI. The AI in halo legendary is ridiculously hard. Playing on normal is for 10 year olds. LOL, if you are a fps type of player play the game on heroic or legendary to actually have some competition.

[ShiftyLookingCow]

"Tried it on Heroic, they aren’t any more smart, their bullets do more damage and you take more damage, but that’s about it… Next."

That pretty much shows this guy is a retard. So they dont use cover, dont work in groups, dont use equipment and other stuff?

[zonetrooper5]

The friendly A.I. in Halo has always been retarded, yes I'm a Halo fan but they have always been that way lol. Very funny though and why does he not play Halo 3 on Heroic or legendary?

Playing on Normal is really not that hard.

[okcomputer]

I've played through the whole thing on heroic and am about halfway through a replay on legendary, so the "play it on a harder level" thing doesn't apply. For starters the friendly ai is atrocious, on any level. The ai for the enemies can be really good at times but its wildly inconsistent. They use grenedes really well, and don't run right out at you everytime like some games, but they have a tendency to cluster together for easy grenade frags. Also, whats with the dumb ai tendency for the brutes to get up on top of rocks/boxes and just sort of stand there firing at you? You may as well paint a big "kill me" sign to their chests when they do that. And the enemies with the shields (don't know their names) exhibit some of the dumbest ai i've ever seen, basically just standing there holding up the shield while waiting for you to shoot at their weak spots. Overall the ai is decent, but doesn't live up to the hype. The best enemy ai i've seen so far has still been in gears and fear.

[IQUITN4G]

Halo3's AI isnt perfect but on legendary and with some 6 skulls, it makes for quite believable frantic action fights - better than any other game i have seen.A serious player will always play this way.Normal is a joke