Injustice Leagues Asks: Halo 4

[PsychicTaco115]

Oh Escapist! Dear sweet Escapist. How long has it been since we last saw each other? A week? It seems longer. We should hang out more, maybe share a cup of coffee

We have returned from our valiant battles with the vile Brovengers to ask of you your opinion, as is our Schtick way. We do this in order to test various mind control and propaganda techniques because we care, dear Escapist.

This week's question pertains to the oldishly new game Halo 4. Perhaps you've heard of it?

What are your thoughts on it? Let us tell you why you're wrong.

 

[Zhukov]

It was... ok, I guess.

It had a weird feel to it. Like it was made by, well... by fanboys. Like the folks that make up 343 Studios were people who had loved the first Halo game(s) and were excited for a chance to make one of their own.

That might sound like a good thing, but it kind of isn't. They end up slavishly sticking to the conventions of the previous games while at the same time giving the characters a loving tongue bath. For example, I feel that the rogue Covenant were invented purely because they couldn't conceive of a Halo game where you don't fight them for once. Although maybe it's just as well, since the new enemies were mostly annoying and a bit boring. Meanwhile, now Master Chief is not merely hyper-competent, but is also apparently The Chosen One. Urgh.

The gunplay lacked that satisfying feel. Way too much "pew-pewpew" and nowhere near enough "thump-boom" if you know what I mean.

On the upside, some of the interactions between Chief and Cortana were surprisingly good. Also, I was glad to see that they didn't pussy out of the whole Cortana going rampant thing.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I have yet to play it and since the Halo games are known to go down to about $20 after enough time has passed so that's going to be when I get my copy. Apparently there isn't a space-flight/space combat section so I'm more than likely going to wait until then. The addition of Mechs is great but Reach made me thirsty for space combat.

 

[Brendan Stepladder]

I really liked the balance the Armor Abilities have now; that's about it on the multiplayer side of things. The campaign was good. The relationship between Chief and Cortana was dealt with fantastically. Still, the Didact and especially the Covenant just felt like distractions from that developing relationship. I wish the campaign was done very differently, maybe like having large swaths of the game being in control of Chief, but actually seeing the world through Cortana's eyes. It would have brought a great twist on some uninteresting, bland gameplay.

 

[Fractral]

They took armor lock out! I loved armor lock. It was so fun to use, and funny how people raged about it.
That aside, it was decent. The multiplayer, while still good, felt a little too CoD-ish, and the whole 'unlock weapons' thing annoyed me, especially as the AR is an awful weapon to spawn with when there are people with DMR's. Also, the ability to change loadouts annoyed me at first, but then when I'd played with it a little I realized that it allowed you to play how you wanted more, which for me is running around the map with a DMR and plasma grenades killing people.
The campaign is too short, and has very little original stuff in it. There's the pelican level which plays just like New Alexandria from Halo:Reach, and there's one level that plays just like Tsavo Highway from Halo 3. Not worth full price, as far as I was concerned.

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

I really like it but I'm kind of a biased fanboy so, yeah...
That said, I did find a lot of the objectives really video game-y is that makes any sense. Without giving too much away, every level was just a different set of go-here-do-this. I know that's pretty much the basis of nearly ALL games but at least they have the creativity to make you feel like you were doing something bigger, you know? Halo 4, level-to-level was just
"You're going to activate this thing," Next level "You're going to deactivate these two things," Next level "You're going to destroy these three things."
Don't get me wrong, I thought the gameplay was fun, it's just that the objectives when you got through them were so bland.

Spoiler: My thoughts on the story are in here so yeah, spoilers. It's a little long too.

I might as well start with the good.
Persoanlly, I think they did a REALLY did a good job on the Chief/Cortana relationship. Especially that ending, I'm not going to lie, I probably would've cried if I wasn't playing co-op with my sister and I had to keep up my tough big-brother facade.Which she can see right through anyway so there was no point. Anyway. Speaking of the ending, it was kind of a twist in itself, you know? You expect there to be some magic mcguffin that's going to fix Cortana, but nope. All you have been through, all your strength, and not only can't you save her, her last act is saving you.
Anyway. On to the negative!
The chief was pretty jumpy in the game wasn't he? When Cortana was first going rampant, he freaked out, "Halsey! We have to find Halsey!" I was thinking "Whoa, Chief, slow down. You have no idea where you are or where Earth is relative to here. You should probably find THAT out."
They also throw a lot of information at you without really giving you time to process it. After the cutscene where the Didact shows up, not once using the word "Didact" in said scene, Cortana wakes you up shouting "Chief, the Didact's getting away!"
I was like, "What? Who's the Didact, that preachy guy? When did he say he was the Didact? When did YOU learn he was the Didact?" I had almost the same reaction to the Librarian but at least she introduced herself.

 

[Zantos]

I enjoyed it. It looked pretty, it had a nice mix of vehicle sections (though I'm not sure Halo gets marks for that any more), I liked the story, the enemies were fairly well balanced. I particularly liked the flying section. Also, I like the Spartan Ops, just wish I'd got it new to join in with everyone else. I've not spent that much time on the Multi, but it's pretty fun. And despite me and the Battle Rifle falling out, we have rekindled our love. Though I am thinking of leaving it again for the lightrifle.

That said, I'd definitely agree that the missions could have had a bit more variety than "Go to waypoint, hold X", and towards the end I was spending time wondering what the hell is even going on any more. And I know that they've been building him up to be more than Spartan anyway, but they're starting to take the piss a little bit now.

 

[TheSapphireKnight]

As a whole I really enjoyed it. Its not without problems, brief length and of the campaign and too many: push this button objectives. Still, I felt they did a great job keeping the moment to moment gameplay varied and interesting especially with the new enemies. My only issues with them is that 1: They didn't play a big role in vehicle combat. and 2: They teamed up with the Covy remnant to fast for my liking(gameplay wise not story wise) as I feel Halo campaigns are at their best when you are sandwiched between two or more factions and the full sandbox is being utilized.

Story wise I also really enjoyed it though I understand why some would have issues if you don't keep up with the lore or miss some in game context clues. It is not very friendly to new players in that way.

Spartan Ops is a disappointment but it has been slowly improving and finding ways to shake off the repetitiveness. I have hopes for part 2, though I have enjoyed story aspect a lot. In the end I feel it will be a better feature than firefight but I still hope that feature returns before trilogy ends.

As for multiplayer it is a mixed bag. On the one hand the core mechanics of running, jumping, shooting, and grenades are all great, maps COULD be great(more on that in a bit), and the loadout system shows more promise that I though it would(though boltshot is OP).

However one thing I can say for sure is that I HATE the playlist setup. No BTB objective. Normal Objective is unconsolidated and has a low pop spread out. The best new gametype is not a playlist or in objective(extraction). Personal ordinance sucks and would be instantly improved by removing laser/rocket/fuel rod/icannon/binary from the PODS and leaving them map only to encourage map flow and control as well as keeping them rare so vehicles like the Warthog are not constantly threatened by them in BTB.

One other big issue is that many custom game options are flat out broken(such as changing instant[which also sucks] respawn in some objective games)

Despite my issues with the multiplayer I really enjoy it(I <3 Light Rifle) As with all Halo games I expect a true title update will fix many of these issues.

 

[VeryOddGamer]

It's pretty good.
Yeah, not amazing, not bad, just... pretty good.

The playlists are kind of bad though.

 

[daveman247]

It had a weird feel to it. Like it was made by, well... by fanboys. Like the folks that make up 343 Studios were people who had loved the first Halo game(s) and were excited for a chance to make one of their own.

^^ I'd say this sums it up. Especially with the story (which apparently incorporates some books). Which is unfortunate for me because i havnt read any of them, which means i lost what the story was about four levels in -_- Luckily i dont enjoy halo for its overblown story.

I see it as being made by fanboys as a good thing, because with reach (bar the space section) it felt like it was being phoned in a little. Already i'm enjoying this game more than reach, they actually managed to make forerunner buildings look somewhat interesting (even if it was to just go full tron-neon).

But once again its the multiplayer that will keep me playing for a long while. Unlike halo purists i think nearly all the changes they have made are for the better, letting you become a little more specialised in what you like to do. The hard light shield is a more balanced version of armour lock.

The only thing i dont like is they have removed some of the stats for post-game. I LIKED seeing who was the mvp, who made most headshots etc. Also the medals seem to be gone (unless i just havnt found them becuase the menu is a bit confusing).

TLDR: I like it, like the changes despite losing track of the story.

 

[fix-the-spade]

It doesn't have Grifball.

There is no greater damnation than that.

 

[coblen]

If nothing else it is beautiful. I haven't finished the campaign. I'm enjoying the variety of guns, enemies and environments, but not really following the plot super well.

I was really hesitant about the multiplayer changes they made, but I actually like most of it better then halo 3.

I miss the bubble shield dearly though. I will never forget it.

 

[daveman247]

It doesn't have Grifball.

There is no greater damnation than that.

i know... where did it go??? In fact, where did the more arcadey things go??? (Multi-team, rocket race etc.)

 

[Fijiman]

It's a good game, but there are so many things that 343 either left out or didn't do quite right. Things they left out include: a theater mode in anything other than War Games, firefight, and...

It doesn't have Grifball.

that.

Things they didn't do quite right include: the matchmaking system, games are frequently starting with fewer than the minimum number of players and I've still yet to see certain maps pop up in the multiplayer; the file browser system, still almost completely broken, you have to search for a person's fileshare to see anything they've made. I'm hoping that 343 will eventually get these things fixed, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Sassafrass]

Go read this [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.396999] and you'll find out what I thought about it.

 

[TheScientificIssole]

It was... ok, I guess.

It had a weird feel to it. Like it was made by, well... by fanboys. Like the folks that make up 343 Studios were people who had loved the first Halo game(s) and were excited for a chance to make one of their own.

That might sound like a good thing, but it kind of isn't. They end up slavishly sticking to the conventions of the previous games while at the same time giving the characters a loving tongue bath. For example, I feel that the rogue Covenant were invented purely because they couldn't conceive of a Halo game where you don't fight them for once. Although maybe it's just as well, since the new enemies were mostly annoying and a bit boring. Meanwhile, now Master Chief is not merely hyper-competent, but is also apparently The Chosen One. Urgh.

The gunplay lacked that satisfying feel. Way too much "pew-pewpew" and nowhere near enough "thump-boom" if you know what I mean.

On the upside, some of the interactions between Chief and Cortana were surprisingly good. Also, I was glad to see that they didn't pussy out of the whole Cortana going rampant thing.

I disagree wholly! I like Chief being "the one" as much as I did when he was before! He was the last super soldier, he saved the universe a couple times now; being "the one" doesn't change much. Also, play Reach again, it will give you a large sense of "The One" plotline. Noble Six has to sacrifice his life to transport Cortana, because there is a larger plan at play; like there is already some sort of destiny. I just love the space alien mythos non-sense convolutery all together.
I also love the interaction writing too, I love the fact that The Chief is a sociopath who only understands murder and honor, and sees Human beings as numbers.
I just wish the main character was the Rookie from now on though. The Rookie was just a cool dude. He roamed around a desolate ruined city, and killed stuff, without wacky Spartan Modification. Also I want the ODST non-linear plot back, I love that game.
And I love the gun play, in multiplayer at least. Multiplayer adds an impact to a kill, whether it is a head-shot or and Railgun shot, it feels right to me. And the shield;damage model feels right and fair in gun fights.

 

[monkeymo4d]

My opinion of it was pretty meh.

Halo communtiy opinion ranges from "343i ruined Halo, life isnt worth it anymore" to "Halo 4 is the second coming of Christ". Its honestly funny to watch how the community is tearing itself apart over this game

 

[Full]

It had a weird feel to it. Like it was made by, well... by fanboys. Like the folks that make up 343 Studios were people who had loved the first Halo game(s) and were excited for a chance to make one of their own.

What was your first clue, the fact that the were named after one of the main characters, or the letter when you open the game about how they are all big fans of the series and don't want us to hurt them. Also, Bungie would never let us a drive a Pelican.


On topic, the main gripe I had with it was a problem shared with all of the games after 2; you need to read the books to actually understand what the hell is going on. If you don't, it's all a bunch of cliche gibbery-joo. How are video games going to be a respectable story-telling medium if you have to grind through some books to fully enjoy the narrative?

Overall, though, I liked it. The Spartan Ops were just complete meh, the multiplayer is fun but I'm not as compelled by it as I was 2 and 3's (probably because it's slightly different and I'm subconsciously afraid of change), and the Campaign is ok I guess. Well, there was never a really boring part in the middle I almost fall asleep to like in all the other games. So, the length helped in that.

They removed way too many things to shoe horn those fancy CGI scenes, though.