In Halo 4 the HUD shows you where most of the weapons spawn, where the objective is, when you are carrying out the objective, etc. The announcer is claimed by some to speak very frequently and tells too much of the game. Too many medals in the game, makes a player feel better than they really are? Ordinance drops after filling your meter, sprint as default? Some might considering this babysitting and is tending too much to new players and not to veterans.
But is it really? Some people may only go into multiplayer matches alongside their friends but disregarding those moments, how often do you pair up with players that have their mics on. How is one to know where the flag carrier is in order to stop them from scoring your flag if no one on your team can tell you where they are. This could compromise the whole match. Now most of the features on the HUD can allow someone to be much of a lone wolf, maybe this is why some new mechanics have been introduced? You automatically pick up the flag and you can’t drop it so that your team mates can escort you to the enemy base. Wasn’t there always teamwork involved in CTF? Ofcourse, but could you properly defend yourself? Sure you could always drop the flag and attack the enemy, but chances are, if your enemy is as skilled as you are, they’ll get atleast 2 shots on you and you might end up losing the match. So here we have the flagnum, you can now defend yourself somewhat while carrying the flag.
Also, who doesn’t like to feel good. I welcome the new medals, some seem more creative and it gets you into the game. The more medals you receive, the more you feel like you are trying to accomplish something other than pulling off the best K/D in the game or getting the most kills. Ordinance drops? It’s a nice incentive. If you do well enough in a match, you get a power up, a weapon, or a grenade. Doesn’t hurt anybody. Some might compare them to killstreaks in CoD but they are not one in the same. While both are rewarding a player, ordinance drops require you to get more than just kills. The more points you get from killing people with different skills, the better(assasination, headshots, vehicle kills) Let’s not forget that ordinance drops could be shared or stolen by the enemy team while kill streaks provide an unfair advantage in gametypes. The pot is just mixing a bit more with these new features. The game is still fair, you just have to use what you know and then some, get really involved into the game. You might want to; listen for enemy footsteps, notice what color an enemy glows to figure out what power up they have, determine if a player has received ordinance from either hearing the announcer or judging by their amount of points, and you can’t guess heavy weapon spawns until you figure out the combination/patterns that have been introduced.
Other features such as throwing the oddball which makes gameplay more immersive and definitely more entertaining than camping in a corner with a flaming skull. You can surely practice some plays and now several new skills have been added to the classic playlist of oddball and it’s now modernized. Also let’s not forget that you can now assassinate with the flag/oddball, something that couldn’t be done before. Who knows what changes havve been made to other game modes?
All in all, what I’m trying to say is that even though some mechanics introduced may not seem useful to some people and may be classified as babysitting new players, they are somewhat necessary to the experience and allow for better communication. Some of the new mechanics could have been lived without but it’s just a change of pace. The core of halo is still there. You can’t want Halo to stay the same forever but blame other games for not changing much over the last few years. The changes make the gameplay more immersive, allows you to be more strategic, adds a whole new mix of elements, rewards you for skilled plays, and creates more communication and teamwork.