I have been very skeptical these past few weeks about how halo 4 is going to turn out. However, after seeing the Conan/Br clip I was ecstatic to see the return of this thing called a strafe, that bungie defiled with reach, as well as the jump height. But I actually think we will see the return of a skill gap and the game may have the potential to turn out ok.
There is obviously controversy over Halo 4. The overwhelming argument seems to be that these changes (loadouts, sprint, etc) are radical, and altering the core of Halo into a more COD like game. But one must ask themselves,“what defines Halo’s core gameplay?” I believe the answer to that question is map design, weapon sandbox, kill times, movement speed, and jump height. After seeing the ability to strafe, solid map design with gameplay flow in mind (so far from what I can tell),on top of a hitscan br I believe this game may not be as big of a let down as a lot of people think.
And seriously, we shouldn’t be so critical of 343. I wish more than anyone to have halo ce, and halo 2 remade with an online capability, and loathe the idea of loadouts and a permanent sprint implemented in a halo game, but we have no idea of the pressure microsoft is putting on 343 to make sells, and “shiny new features” is way to appeal to a wider range of prospective buyers. I think as long as we have kill times that stay true to halo’s roots, an appropriate movement speed with the ability to strafe (which means no movement acceleration, if you don’t know what I’m talking about youtube videos comparing halo CE’s strafe to Reach), an acceptable jump height, good maps, and plenty of options (which 343 has confirmed that their will be options) then ultimately it will still feel like halo, not exactly maybe, but with options and core components intact their is hope.
I also believe that a numbered ranking system is essential to the longevity of this game (It doesn’t have to be 1-50, but it must be numerical, and displayable at the very least in the ranked playlists)