Oh really, not ANYWHERE near as awesome FPSs? HAHAHAHA, that's funny! For all we know, FPSs could've been BETTER without Halo... I didn't know that Halo set the bar for FPS games at all.. I for one think it's a boring game, taking place in an uninteresting universe (as in boring story, characters, boring environment, etc) and not anywhere near one of the best FPS games out there in any aspect. I also clearly remember that I played loads of better quality FPS games (for their time) long before Halo was even an idea. So how Halo is a reason for today's awesome FPS games is solely in the mind of you, the blind Halo fan. Unlike you, people were "hardcore gamers" before the age of 11-12, when you bought Halo and started your precious "life of hardcore gaming"...

To me, you comment makes you look very close-minded, or blind. Claiming that your favourite game, Halo, is the reason to why I get to play/have played other awesome FPSs on PC and consoles, not even remotely related to Halo in any way, even LONG before Halo existed. To me, the best FPS games are those who are as FAR FROM Halo in style as possible, like FPSs from WW2, FPSs in a modern, realistic settings and RPG-FPSs. The console FPS scene would probably be a lot smaller without Halo yes, but don't try to give Halo credit for games like Bioshock, Modern Warfare or other FPS like games like Fallout 3. As far as I know, Bioshock has close ties to System Shock series and even though Ken Levine said there would be no Bioshock without Halo (link please), I can't see any similarities between the two games that would make his statement "correct". Got some inspiration from Halo? Yes maybe, but as BenVTrigger so nicely put it "could have never happened"? Gimme a break! One of these games is a gloomy, story-driven, engaging piece of art with great storytelling and great emotional reward for taking different approaches to the game's mechanics and such, the other one is a straight forward shooter with mediocre SP and CO-OP, and MP.

As for Modern Warfare, I still remember let's say Delta Force, and I can't see how Halo, which is nothing like MW, inspired MW more than a game like Delta Force, Rainbow Six or CoD, games similar to MW in many aspects. Just look at Battlefield (although 2002), Half-Life, CS, Rainbow Six, Doom, Quake, System Shock, GOLDENEYE, Medal of Honor, Perfect Dark, Duke Nukem or Wolfenstein as examples to great games that made the FPS scene what it is today. Hell, even MYST has probably done more for today's FPS scene (and Bioshock) than Halo. You should try to give credit to games that actually deserves it.

In my eyes, it's actually the opposite of what you think. HALO would not be anywhere near the game it is today, Halo could simply not even exist, and still all these other GOOD FPSs made today, could've been created. No sorry, WOULD'VE. Halo's popularity probably gave us more shovel-ware FPSs if anything, not the epic, well-made FPSs we already had years before Halo's existence, NOR the epic, well-made FPSs that is to come, like Rage, Fallout: New Vegas and... whatever...

If Halo never existed..? Well, MS would've left the business a long time ago.

Sure, I can go with amazing, Halo CE on Xbox was impressive on a console at the time, Halo 2 finally had online with XBL being ready, and Halo3 had the amazing gravity hammer that was pure lol, ODST meh, Reach looks nice though I can only play that at a friend's place since I don't have a 360 now, but it should be worthwhile.

which part are you even talking about? I can debate about Halo all day because I actually know enough and am not a fanatic about it. It's a fun game sure, but master piece is pushing it way too far.

Halo:CE,Halo 2 and definitely Halo 3.

1. Without it, there would be way less annoying fanboys on websites.

They might have meant like publishers and budget on the business side rather than the idea side, everything we see in Halo has been done before, but because it became a success on consoles, publishers were willing to let out the money and allow devs to work at a higher budget to create the games that they wanted rather than doing a lot of cutting on the side. So in that regard, Halo gave us both great games and well, shovel ware trash on PC like MW2, 2 sided coin imo.

so how many FPS games have you played before Halo?

I don't know, should I have counted them? A lot.

And Halo CE, without perfected dual analog control, no online competition, massive amounts of reused assets for you to get lost in, and a story full of holes when it first came out that they had to offset with novels, is a master piece to you? This is lost before it even began for you. The moment you even mentioned Halo CE already determined the fate of where this is going and renders anything you have to say about afterwards invalid to start with, and anybody who spent day after day playing the game can tell you the samething I just did. Fanatics are never valid in a real discussion. Next person in line please.

I'm sorry if you feel that way, but that is one of the best single player fps-games ever. I don't mind reused assets, how do they bother you? Is it any less fun?

Are you referring to yourself with the fanatic?

Ohhh... I'm not the only one who thinks this:

http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbx/halo