I pretty much ignored all Halo 4 news up until a week ago. I thought to myself “I’m getting pretty burned out on Halo, and now they just announced 3 more games? It’s not even Bungie anymore? This can’t be good, the game’s peaked at 2 and have gone downward little by little with each game since.” Now that I have taken about a year and a half break from Halo, I have allowed myself to start playing Reach again and started looking into Halo 4 news, right before Pax, and now after, and here’s my thoughts:
LOVING the maps:
The biggest turn off to Reach, was the maps. By far the worst in the series as a whole, and whereas I usually enjoy all but maybe 2, I found myself struggling to like any of them. The addictive fun factor just wasn’t there in the maps. Halo 4 however, WOW! I can say that the 4 announced thus far, truly seem to not only play well, but they look fantastic to boot! Looks are very important to me as an art major, I don’t want to play different layouts in the same red/brown/green/grey/purple/island environments over and over. Give me snow(Longbow), canyon(Exile), UNSC/Space(Adrift), Forerunner(Haven), and keep adding more variety and unique locations. I want volcanic as seen in Spartan Ops, forest, swamp(best thing about Backwash), city, glacier, covenant, cave/cavern(ala Waterworks) etc. They seem to be making some beautiful maps, that look to be tailor made for specific gametypes, and I couldn’t be happier. Let’s hope the remaining 6 as well as the 9 DLC continue along this trend.
Bad, rehashed environments and poor layouts resulting in unfun gameplay = getting bored and playing something else. I played Halo 2 for 3 years without being bored due to great maps, Halo 3 for a couple years due to good maps, and Reach I was bored only a couple months into it because most of the maps are average and uninspired imo.
Really like the Grifball/Oddball/CTF changes:
I am very pleased with the ability to toss the ball. Such a simple addition, can really add to the fun factor and strategic element of the game(dive in Black Ops anyone?). Being able to toss the ball will really add to the fun and give players more reason to pay attention and work as a team to their advantage. Same with the CTF changes. Some people don’t like it, but I for one enjoy the idea of having so much emphasis on teamwork. That’s what objective games are all about. The only thing I will miss about not being able to drop the flag, is the strategy that passing it to a teammate can have. I enjoy objective more than slayer, so this will add a nice fresh feeling to these gametypes.
Digging the improvements to Forge World:
There’s not much to say, but it’s great to be able to duplicate, snap, and lock items. To be able to see what you are grabbing is great. The interactive lighting will definitely make the maps better to look at, as well as adding more possibilities with light/dark factors. Lastly, the zones where you can change the gameplay properties will surely add some great fun, especially in action sack.
Liking the new weapons/abilities:
I think the forerunner weapons look fun, the evaporating effects look cool, and the sticky grenade detonator looks sweet. Some of the new armor abilities look nice as well, but I’m not huge into abilities etc. and prefer more classic gameplay, so not really much to say on those.
Sprint is mandatory:
Glad to see sprint being something you have at all times. It feels weird and slow after being able to sprint, to not being able to. I used the sprint AA in Reach 95% of the time, so I am glad it’s standard now.
Indifferent about Infinity slayer/ordinance drops/armor abilities/classes:
Not sure how I feel about it. Still not totally sold on these new gameplay mechanics, as I think it’s getting too close to COD, and less like Halo. I prefer weapons on the map, and for everyone to start out with the same stuff. I am willing to try this new stuff, as long as you give me classic Halo to fall back on if I don’t like it.
Don’t really care for new medals:
It’s not something that makes or breaks the game by any means, but I don’t see why they would make every medal look blue. Why change them? They looked fine before, they looked unique from one another, why change it all to look the same? That’s something I don’t understand nor do I think was for the better. However, it’s a minor complaint.
DO NOT WANT Jetpack:
Worst thing to have in multiplayer matchmaking imo. Any decent thing about the map layouts in Reach was tossed out the window when you have a jetpack that can scale 3 floors, big gaps, and get on top of buildings/ledges etc. It just trashes the integrity of the layout. Maps are designed a certain way for a reason. Multiple layers, multiple walkways and ramps. Covers and open areas… They are meant to be boundaries and guidelines for EVERY player to abide by. The jetpack just throws all that out the window and lets the players who choose to use it, go where they please in a much quicker fashion. That’s how I see it. These maps have a flow, the jetpack takes that away. It can turn an otherwise great map into a plain mess.
Take some of the best maps in Halo history, mostly from Halo 2, add the jetpack ability, and none of these maps will feel the same or play as great. Zanzibar, Lockout, Midship, Sidewinder, Containment, Coagulation, Construct, Relic etc. Jetpack would completely screw over so much of what makes those maps so fun to play. Even if you design a map with jetpack in mind, it’s still just a choice. A choice that certain players can ignore elevations/ramps/walkways etc. It should be limited to Campaign, Spartan Ops, Firefight, and Customs/Fun Action Sack games. I seriously hope it’s nerfed to where it doesn’t do nearly what it could in Reach if it remains in matchmaking.
Those are my main feelings so far about what I found worth noting. I have to say that 343 have definitely given me faith in that they are passionate about this series, and they are capable of making an amazing game. I just hope they don’t stray away from what we know as Halo, refuse to listen to the community, or get lazy with the maps/gameplay. They made me go from “Meh…i’ll probably get Halo 4 because it’s Halo, and i’ve bought the rest I may as well get this one.” with not much interest, to seriously being excited for this and very pleased with the game and the enthusiasm and passion they are putting forth towards the series I have loved for 10 years now.
I’ve got my fingers crossed, hype in check but hope intact, that this game will be a solid Halo game. It doesn’t have to beat Halo 2 as my all time favorite, but I will be happy and satisfied if it’s at least on par with the original 3.