Killtrocities, etc. are nice, but a lot of the time are luck-based given your team weakened them and you just picked 'em off, or they were idiots, bunched up together, and you only had to throw a nade and pick 'em off, but whatever.

I love those triples and even doubles where they're both/all on you, they clearly have the advantage, and you somehow kill them. Or those quick-scopes with snipe on their head when they're BR'ing you are gratifying as hell.

This is all opinion, and you're bringing your assessment that older games are inherently better than modern games like Halo 3 because they were the first. Well, OK. But look at the MMO genre; WoW brought nothing new to the table - only, and I use this word lightly, 'perfected' many features of the MMO. Now its the largest MMO of all time.

Halo 2 brought [good] online FPS play to the Xbox. It brought nearly a million people to the before-then 500,000 live subscription base. At the time, most Live players didn't have much of an option that PC gamers did, and even currently the top two FPS games Live subscripters play is the Halo series and COD4. Thus, perhaps when live players state such a thing that Halo is the greatest FPS of all time it's understandable from their eyes; not neccesarily right, but understandable. However, I absolutely hate the fact that so many people judge this game on their inability to explore everything about it.

Thus I doubt this thread would've even been created had the Halo series been solely made for the computer.

So who cares if anyone - Live players or not - think that H3 is the greatest FPS. It's all opinion. However, I can prove to you as to why Halo (in at least online play) is a good FPS having played h2 and h3 online now for over two and a half years.

So here's my opinion:

First off, anyone who has put enough time into the game knows that as you become better, there are always new things to learn. There are hundreds of different possibilities in killing your opponent at any one point in time, and skill along with constant teamwork, adapting to any situation, using the map in your favor, and being able to think on your feet aren't neccesarily new to the FPS genre, but Bungie's usage of such and appliance to the Halo gameplay set this game off in my opinion apart from other FPS's.

These are general terms that more or less basically apply to the majority of FPS's out there, but unlike COD4 or the majority of FPS games, for the most part in Halo you have every chance of killing that other guy should he attack you or see you first. Of course in reality it depends on weapon usage, thus the reason for knowing what spawns where and, should said guy out-range you with his weapon, the option of outsmarting him by running, nades, power-ups, etc. are always there. And hell, in the end its your fault that you died because you didn't pick up said weapons, nades, didn't work as a team, etc.. Basically you have a great number of options - in games such as COD4, 1) guy sees you 2) guy scopes 3) guy kills.

Moreover, the map you're playing immensely determines your style of play. Some maps require great nade placement, others BR skill, and some maps need your team to control snipe spawns or power weapons.

Overall Halo has a basic premise: a chaotic environment that needs to be controlled. To counter and reduce your opponent's diverse options in being able to hurt or kill you, map control equals a win. Meaning control over weapon spawns, high-traffic areas of the map, and skill that follows control of your weapons. Such control relies on your team's ability to work together. Moreover its how well your team can adapt as a whole to what the other team does whether it be rushing, holding off another portion of the map, or relying on their snipe spawn to take over your team's controlled area and thus the entire map. Teamwork is vital in higher ranks (at least 45+ in hardcore, possibly slayer), and in my opinion is why I've kept playing Halo online.

At the higher ranks, everything you do in Halo matters. Your very position on the map during every second of the game, knowing when and where to look at even a fraction of a second, knowing and using the map to your advantage, and adapting to the other team's actions. Mastering such and winning a match because of it has been more gratifying than any other modern FPS I've played.

But again, most of what I've stated isn't new to the FPS genre, but I do believe Halo's great success derives from its gratifying gameplay, equality at the start of a game (no 'classes' such as snipes, etc.), and longevity.