Reader Question: Halo 3 Online?
I answer parents questions all the time, but every so often we get a question here at GamerDad/GWC that
deserves a public answer. Here’s one about Halo 3:
We had an issue at our son’s school this week where a student was overheard remarking that another student was going to get stabbed. When he was questioned about it, he said he was talking about him getting stabbed playing Halo 3 online. My understanding of the game (which we are intending on purchasing for our son) is that this was impossible. i.e. you don’t kill other players online.
Is that true? Thanks for your time.
Good question:
The truth is that most Halo 3 multiplayer IS against other people. Stabbing isn’t usually the way to do it – most players will blow you up well before you get anywhere near them. The other big concern about online is that Xbox Live offers voice chat and there’s really no way to prevent players from yelling obscenities or derogatory names all the time. The only comfort with that is, most of these rude players are High Schoolers (judging from the sound of them). Anyway, this is what it means when you see that “Content Might Change Online” (or whatever) warning from the ESRB.
The online multiplayer I prefer is co-operative. In this mode, players can play together to defeat the single player storyline. Lots of fun. I hope this helps you make your decision but if you ask me, I’d bet this kid – the one threatening stabbing – is mainly just a jerk. A boy being a boy and using Halo as an excuse. Worth looking into, but probably not worth dwelling or worrying about.
Check out our GamerDad review of the game.
Above screenshot depicts the Halo 3 combat knife. I appears courtesy of Microsoft.
October 30th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Even back in my days of playing Doom 2 over the 14.4 kbps modem, the knife kill (or whatever the hand-to-hand weapon of the game might be) was the ultimate slap in the face.
Although in some newer games the melee kill is a one-shot every time, so if you’re sneaky it’s a valid strategy.
And even I threatened to “stab you in the face” that afternoon as a high-schooler. But I wasn’t very good at backing up my trash talk. 🙂
October 30th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Yeah, as a society we seem to be missing a couple things.
1. It’s far more likely your kid will be struck by lightning then die in a school shooting.
2. Kids, particularly boys, LOVE to talk about violence, gore, and stuff and they also love threatening each other. It’s 99.9% of the time nothing. Again, I’m not saying it should be ignored but over-reacting can be pretty harmful too.
3. It’s a violent videogame, sure, but it IS just a game. That is how most kids see it. As a game. These kinds of threats are more akin to a basketball player saying to another “I’m going to ram this ball right down your throat!” when challenging them to 1 on 1.
Thanks for the insight into Melee. I’ve probably logged 300 hours playing FPS online and never used melee weapons.
October 30th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
As a teacher, I hear some of this trash talk, but not too much.
However, I have heard many conversations about Halo 3 over the past couple of weeks. Just today I think I overheard at least two seperate conversations about this or that occuring during the game. Most of it was discussion of what a player did to a third party or what a third party did to them rather than any threats or smack talk about future events.
I’d place all this under the broad category of talking smack. On the one hand it is healthy to do between (typically male) friends, but it is also something that can easily cross a line and make the two parties actually mad at each other or become inappropriate.
To summarize: taken out of context it is very difficult for me to make a judgement call about how threatening that type of discussion actually is. Compare it to the smack talk thrown down in a heated game of pick-up basketball… it is expected and some would even consider it an important part of the game but it can also lead to crossing a line where futher trouble (beyond a spirited game of basketball) breaks out.
October 31st, 2007 at 7:38 am
Yeah, I agree about the melee attack. It’s one of my favorite attacks if you can get close enough. Unless I’m mistaken, you can block voice from specific players. I’m not sure if you can block all voice but I’m pretty sure I saw a tip about it while waiting for a map to load.
October 31st, 2007 at 8:29 am
You definitely can! I usually don’t bring up that – unless directly asked – just because I tend to get questions from parents who:
1. Wouldn’t be in a position to do the banning themselves.
2. May not be technically savvy enough or may be confused.
I do usually remind them that their kid is probably hearing the same or worse language among their peers.
Thanks for mentioning it though RJ.
Man, I didn’t realize so many folks used the melee weapons. I guess I haven’t run into you online much.
October 31st, 2007 at 2:16 pm
Andrew, this whole tactic is where the term “swordwhore” came from. 😉 Loosely translated, it means “I think you use the plasma sword too much and in a cheap fashion.” Usually used by the victim while waiting to respawn. There are also snipewhores (people who use the sniper rifle too much), and with the advent of the Gravity Hammer I have heard hammerwhore.
Yeah, the multiplayer mode in Halo is roughly equivalent to the old “vs” modes you find in other types of games. If you’re uncomfortable with your child playing that way, I recommend you have them spend their online play in what they call Cooperative mode, where you’re all working together to get through the game. This is new to Halo 3 – used to be to play that way you all had to be in the same room.
Here’s what I know about blocking voice:
You can block all voice chat, or set it so it only comes from Friends using the Parental Controls (instructions at http://www.gamerdad.com/detail.cfm?itemID=3089). Also in game you have the option to block voice from individual players. I can get some instructions together for that if you think it would help.
And I don’t know how well that individual block holds up in the endgame lobby. I’ll have to try this out. I play with people I know online for the most part so I don’t have to do this.
November 1st, 2007 at 10:05 pm
In the first Halo, some of my friends made it a point to sneak up and kill others with the butt of the rifle. They loved it. So the knife kill is no surprise.
Also, I remember talking smack with my friends growing up about all the turtle shells I would throw at them. (I played Mario Kart 🙂 )
January 9th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
how do i get the combat knife on halo 3??????????/