Let me start of by agreeing with most of you, that Halo Reach is the worst game in the series. Its styling and gameplay deviated greatly from any other halo game in the series. Ignoring AA and all that other wizardry 343 added to it, Halo 4 is more of a twitch shooter than the previous games (as a rule, I am ignoring reach when I say “previous games”). The rifles in the game require far less body shots to kill someone than in the previous games. In halos 2/3 body shooting with a rifle wasn’t even a viable tactic, because the amount of shots required too kill someone was too high relative to the pace of the game. Your option was too aim for the head once your enemy’s shields were down. If it took 12-15 secs to br someone to death aiming for the body it takes only 4 secs to do the same with an equivalent rifle in Halo 4. This shortened length of time in Halo 4 makes it only slightly disadvantageous to aim for the body than the head. This has an effect of closing the skill gap between the better players and the worse ones, for a better player who can aim for the head won’t have much over his lesser experienced counterpart.
Let’s talk movement speed, it is given that the spartans in Halo 4, jump higher and move overall faster than they do in Halo Reach. But to say that they move faster than the spartans of Halo 2 and 3 is false. The vertical jump height of 2/3 spartans was far greater than in Halo 4. The speed in which a spartan can travel among the horizontal plane is too decreased. How does 343 compensate for this? Why with AAs and sprint, now if your taking shots from guys above and you know that they have superior dmring skills, you can simply sprint away. YAY!!! What impact does this have on the game overall, besides the obvious, “those noobs can get away”, well know a player must pick and choose his battles wisely, considering the possibility the player he is about to kill can escape if he so chooses. This in large decreases the amount of battle opportunities in a game because a good player must only engage in battle, only if certain criteria are met:
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Is the enemy I am engaging close to cover he can easily escape to with the use of sprint?
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How quickly can said enemy interchange the shootout with his teammate?
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If battling my enemy due to smaller window of possible engagement demands more exposure on my part, is it worth it?
Since fulfilling the criterion decreases the total amount of engagement, Halo 4 becomes a slower shooter.
Finally, I want to address the added element of chaos in halo 4. The option to pick and choose which weapons a player starts off with adds unpredictability to the game. Before if it was all Br starts, I knew that I will be facing opponents with only BRs, I knew what I was getting into. Now I have no way of knowing if the guy down the corner is holder a BR, DMR or some other weapon. This uncertainty does not add to the required level of skill to the game, but only luck. I end up being fortunate or unfortunate that the player down the corner only has an AR. There is no way to control this variable and from the perspective of a good player being able to control the game with appropriate skill is what makes the game fun to play. AA’s and ordinance too pose the same problem, I don’t know which ordinance this guy will get, or what AA he is stashing. In the end chaos could be good and at times enjoyable but the line must be drawn at some point.
I can only hope as Halo 4 matures as a game its problems will be addressed.
Disclaimer: I am actually enjoying the game despite my crtique