First I would just like to say I’ve been a halo fanatic since i was in eighth grade. A friend of mine was telling me about this new game on the Xbox called Halo. He brought in the booklet to school and I spent the entire day pouring over it, completely intrigued. At the time, my favorite game was Tribes: Aerial Ascent on the ps2, So its easy to understand that I had never seen anything quite like it. I babysat, mowed lawns and painted all summer long to buy my first Xbox and a brand new copy of Halo. I have never been disappointed and bought and loved each halo game since.
Now were in a new age of Halo. Bungie has left the series in the very capable hands of 343i. But there seems to be an uproar. Everyone is complaining about everything and speculating about how terrible this game is going to be. There’s nothing but hate for Halo: Reach…most of which, I’ve noticed by checking service records, comes from high ranked and very active reach players. Quite strange for people to be playing a game that they hate so much.
Personally, I think things are looking up for the series. We have a very talented staff running the show, and already they have shown us that they’re deeply motivated and know what we want from the series. Before you flame me for that last statement, consider this:
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343i’s first major task was the creation of “Halo Waypoint” (the very site your on now)an application that seamlessly integrated all of your bungie.net stats, brings you news and updates, videos and all sorts of content. I don’t hear anyone complaining about it. It was widely accepted as a huge success and is constantly growing. Its a nice addition to the halo franchise.
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During the transition period from Bungie to 343i, 343i worked in close collaboration with Certain Affinity to bring us the Defiant Map pack which was also heralded as a success. I personally love Highlands for BTB snipers btw. Certain affinity was the company that brought us the Halo 2 map pack. Ascension, a community favorite, was on that disc. I’m happy to know that 343i will have experience from working with guys like them. Who knows, they might even collaborate with them again.
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Since taking over Halo: Reach MP they have integrated the Title Update. They addressed alot of balance issues, sped up kill times, reduced bloom (in some playlists, Zero Bloom) and generally made the multiplayer a more enjoyable place. Even most of the haters and complainers can’t disagree.
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Halo: CEA : We asked for it, and we got exactly what we wanted. A complete HD remake of the awesome game that got us all started with the series. We asked them for prettier graphics, we got em. We begged them not to change the gameplay, they didnt touch it. We wanted our favorite multiplayer maps back, and we got em. What can you complain about? The price was reasonable. We didnt have to buy the 40$ game to get the maps. We dont need the disc to play the maps. Grunt funeral is amazing. Im rocking my Master Chief avatar outfit. I’m Tickled pink. They even created a proper classic gametype and playlist for use on the new (old) maps.
These are all things we wanted. They nailed them all.
Forget about that other fps franchise that everyone keeps comparing the game to for a minute. Pretend it never existed.
What are a few things you wish for, irritate you or wish would be changed/added to/from halo reach?
me personally?:
Quitters…i cant stand it when people quit games or lag out and disconnect, forcing me to complete a 4v1 teem snipers or 8v2 btb and ruin my kdr even further. Or when people have to go but are afraid of the quit ban, so they stand in one spot the whole game, feeding the other team points. How do we fix it? How about if people could fill in empty spots in a game. Not right at the end when the team is about to lose, but say in the first 1/4 of the game. Would be nice too when i want to play with someone but have to wait till the damn game they just started is finally over.
Armor Lock…i hate it i hate it i hate it…and its gone…sweet
I love sprinting. Its the only Armor ability I ever use. I’m damn good with it, chase jetpackers around and combine it with plasma grenades for extra jumps…I’m more mobile with it than a jet pack I would say. but there’s plenty of times when i could use a hologram or invisibility but wont, because I cannot afford to lose my mobility. Now sprint is standard, and i can use it in conjunction with all the other goodies i wanted before but couldnt use. Another note: always having sprint means we can expect larger and more vertical maps.
Double melee -Yoinks!-/ brawlers…As much as I love sprint, noobs abuse it…cant shoot? just charge! now my dmr or br can slow you down, and brings the melee back to what it was meant to be: a last ditch effort.
I hate it when a team will sit on a power weapon spawn and hold down fort, forcing repetitive encounters in the same areas( Reflection anyone?). Granted it makes it nice for a tactical approach, but slows down game play. Now weapons will spawn in their determined locations only once and then will mix it up…This still allows for call-outs though.
Everyone! lets freak out about the customizable loadouts!!! personally I’m excited to be able to always start with my beloved BR…i imagine this will also stop alot of AR rushing and you’ll be able to pinpoint the experienced players from the noobs just by what he’s carrying around with him. Its unlikely that anyone will be able to ever choose a power weapon as a loadout…most likely just the dmr, br, Ar, Assault carbine, plasma and human pistol, needle rifle and other standard infantry weapons…i worry not.
Another good thing to point out: Frank O’Connor used to be Bungie’s Community Manager…Who could be a better pick for Franchise Director than someone whose job when working with the creators of the series, was to listen to and interact with the community? Worry not, he hears our concerns and he leads a team of people who love their jobs and love playing the game. They wont let us down.
I havn’t written this much since high school…my fingers hurt.