> 2535473635314008;1:
> All throughtout these forums its nonstop complaining from gamers nitpicking a certain gameplay mechanic they don’t like and claiming it’s ruining Halo. Sprint isn’t halo. Ground pound isn’t halo. Clamber isn’t halo. Etc.
I think you’re misunderstanding the point. I don’t dislike sprint/clamber because “it isn’t Halo”, I dislike these mechanics because they add nothing of value to the gameplay and were introduced for the sole purpose of making the game more accessible. Being accessible isn’t a bad thing, but being accessible by introducing mechanics that accomplish something that can already be done with preexisting mechanics (arguably in a deeper or more balanced way) that makes those things irrelevant? Introducing something with clear negative impacts on the game, just for the sake of immersion or appealing to the familiarity of a modern market?
That’s not good design. My stance on the subject has nothing to do with “Well X mechanic is from CoD and therefore it sucks!” and everything to do with “this mechanic has no benefit to the depth of the gameplay and comes at a detriment to the overall experience.”
> 2535473635314008;1:
> Halo 5 has brought back balanced arena style gameplay.
See, and this is where the problem is going to come up. You’re going to say that we should change with the game, but that’s okay with you because you already like the game.
> 2535473635314008;1:
> When I play with my company this game feels like it used to. It feels like halo.
In your opinion. Like you said, everyone has different expectations from the series and what it’s supposed to deliver. The radical change in art style, combined with the change in pacing and flow, has rendered this game almost completely unrecognizable. It’s more akin to a game in the same Genre as Halo than a Halo game itself. In fact (multiplayer wise) if you were to tell me that this was a different game entirely I would absolutely believe you. If you were to show me a game of 4v4 arena, and told me it was “storm united” or something, I wouldn’t even blink.
> 2535473635314008;1:
> I think it’s time to stop putting all the blame on 343. They’ve made the best halo since 3.
Again, in your opinion. I would argue that, as far as Halo games go, Reach is a much better example of a Halo game than Halo 5 is. Reach had problems with its multiplayer, sure, but as an overall “Halo Experience” it managed to deliver something far more memorable than Halo 5 has. All the balanced gameplay in the world won’t help you if the rest of the game isn’t strong enough to support it, and all the various quake clones that have released over the years can attest to this.
Halo is far more than just competitive 4v4, and even then, “competitive” isn’t an adjective I would use to describe the design of Halo 5. Equal? Balanced? Sure. But competitive means more than either of those two things.
> 2535473635314008;1:
> Everything now depends on how the community plays this game. Get in a company, use your teammates, make some great friendships online. Halo should never be played without a mic other than free for all.
Until you remember the fact that 343i screwed over every “community” oriented aspect of the game. Forge is non-existent for the time being, customs are lackluster, theatre is probably its worst incarnation, the fileshare doesn’t exist and when it does we already know it’s going to be less functional than Halo 3’s. Armor cusotmization has been heavily constrained for the sake of 343i’s “artistic integrity” and emblems have too. Requests for playable elites have been completely ignored (despite overwhelming support on 343i’s official forums) and splitscreen outright removed.
You know what I did, when I was goofing off and playing with other community members I met either on waypoint or online? I played customs. Infection gamemodes, more often than not. And yet infection, the most popular custom games gamemode in the series, doesn’t exist. Why? How about race, arguably the second most popular gamemode? It isn’t there.
It depends on how the community plays the game, sure, but 343i have show such a complete lack of connection and utter disregard for the community that I’m not even sure there’s going to be one left to play. The game doesn’t even have a -Yoink!- social playlist because one of the developers thought having only ranked would “make players play the game ‘properly’.” 343i have (understandably) made the game that they wanted, but in the process have lost a significant part of the what really drove Halo.
> 2535473635314008;1:
> Halo is is like Star Wars.
The new trilogy sucks, but the story is deeper than people realize and totally underated? (I’m sorry, I had to. I’m not a fervent hater of the prequels, I rather like them honestly. I also don’t hate 343i nor their games as much as I make it out.)
> 2535473635314008;1:
> No movie will ever be as good as empire. But that doesn’t mean they won’t be good movies coming.
The issue is that there are pretty indentifiable ways that 343i could improve over the experience that bungie offered (or you know, even attempt to match it for that matter) and they’ve chosen not to. This isn’t a matter of “what has happened can’t possibly be replicated or captured again” as is often the case with movies. 343i could very well improve on the legacy that Bungie has left behind, on the overall player experience. Whether or not they choose to is the question.
> 2535473635314008;1:
> 343 has done a lot of things wrong. One thing they did right was try their best to create a game dependant on map control and communication (content is coming). The rest really depends on the community. Step it up people.
No, but that’s the easy part. Creating a game dependent on map control and communication isn’t difficult. In fact most games are dependent on map control and communication. Capturing gameplay that forces the player to make deep and meaningful choices, creating an experience that the overall playerbase can benefit from regardless of preference, offering something that drives the community to want to make content and participate? That’s the difficult part, and something 343i seem to be actively working against with each successive title.
If the rest depends on the community, 343i can’t keep shortchanging them. Their first game didn’t even attempt to appeal to fans of the previous games, their second game was broken and unplayable on release. Their third game may as well be the Halo equivalent of a Steam Early Access title.
If the community is the deciding factor, and it is, then 343i needs to create something that engages the community in a positive way. They need to do more than bungie did, they need to actively support and design for depth, they need to work with the forgers and machinima makers to deliver a quality experience, they need to actually take some modicum of interest in what the community is doing and encourage that community to do great things.
I too agree that the community is the most important aspect of a games success, it’s a self perpetuating hype machine that can generate endless content which in turn attracts more players. However I still think the ball is in 343i’s court, and it will be until such time as they decide to deliver a Halo experience (not a spartan experience) that even scratches the surface of the potential that this franchise has.
