This week on Geeking Out, I weigh the pros and cons of Halo’s different grenade types.
Plasma “Sticky” Grenades - Nothing was more satisfying than throwing a sticky grenade on an opponent and watching them run around hopelessly. There is nothing they could do to remove the grenade from their body. Once stuck on, it was only a matter of seconds before they meet their maker. It was even better when an enemy with a grenade stuck on him ran towards his teammates, causing a Multi-Kill.
The downside? It’s not very discrete. That bright blue glowing ball flying towards you is always a tell-tale sign that you should step to the side to avoid getting stuck. A plasma grenade will also not bounce off walls and around corners, meaning it’s an all-or-nothing stick this grenade on my enemy or it’s over situation.
One massively lucky plasma grenade throw
Human Frag Grenades – Frag grenades are the basic hand-lobbed explosives that you’ve seen in action since the first World War. No, they don’t stick to enemies. If you throw it at someone, they’ll just bounce off their chest and roll around on the floor. On the bright side, if you see an enemy around the corner, you can use your physics and geometry skills to bounce a grenade off the wall and around the corner.
Also, unlike plasma grenades, the human grenades are not massively obvious. If there’s a grenade at your feet, there’s no blue glow emanating from it. By the time you realize it’s there, BOOM, too late.
Spike Grenades – Spike grenades were first introduced in Halo 3. Used by the Brutes, these grenades stuck to a player through spikes that covered the outer layer. The initial explosion is generally weaker than the other two grenade types, but the blast would scatter the spikes outwards, causing additional damage. While not as obvious as the plasma grenades, spike grenades still emit an orange glow, making them noticeable to an opponent. These grendes are best used when attacking groups of enemies, because the initial explosion will push the spikes out, causing damage to surrounding enemies.
Verdict? I’d say the grenades each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Frags are good for corners and less obvious attacks. Plasma grenades are for those accurate enough to stick it at an enemy for a guaranteed kill. And the spike grenades? Kinda lame. I’ve never really found the use in them.
I was cool once, then I took a spike grenade to the head.
