To understand why H4 will not resonate with the core Halo fan we have to look at the past…
Basically, we have one group of players that have a deep appreciation and understanding of what they liked about Halo. Halo CE, Halo 2 and Halo 3 were three games in the series that were well received by players of Halo as a whole. Halo 2 became the benchmark for online Halo play, in general, and the competitive designs in it’s map, movement, weaponry and ranking system became the key stone of this franchises online play. It was the first. It was what we feel in love with. Halo 3 showed a direct lineage to Halo 2 and also some refinements in graphics and sounds, some improvements in ranking and other various changes that improved and advanced game play and reduced glitches and other issues found in Halo 2. There was still no doubt it was a sequel to Halo2. The game still played very much the same. We now had a consistent style of game play even as the game progressed from the original game. When Reach hit, all of that changed. That is a fact, like it or not.
Reach brought a completely new set of wholesale changes to the Halo franchise. The graphics were improved over the prior game, you were still a Spartan, be it an earlier version, and the maps still were similar, but little else seemed to remain. The movement was slower and the game now incorporated “abilities” that significantly altered the way the game was played. These “abilities” changed the core play of the game. There was already a continuous thread that bound the previous titles together and now that thread was not there. These “abilities” altered game play so much that to those of us who played the original games at the times of their release and throughout Halo’s history now saw what can best be described as a whole new game. Some of us referred to it as a “stand alone” game. To us it was not Halo, period. Regardless of how someone describes the changes, their feelings or expresses their opinions it was a complete departure from the three games in the series we had played from the beginning. It has nothing to do with “adapting”, “being stuck in the past” or about “not being able to deal with change”.
There is no doubt Halo is changing DRASTICALLY, far more than it ever has before. With change will come wide exodus of old fans and what 343 hopes is a new influx of “Halo noobs”. We saw it with Reach most notably, the fans of the original Trilogy and Sandbox elements did not take kindly to the changing of the core gameplay, there was wide-spread complaints on the forums of Reach “lacking the Halo feel” and mass population exodus of the veteran fanbase.
Not only is 343 changing the core gameplay once again, they are changing the entire basis of the game from Sandbox Arena shooter to Class-based progression shooter ala CoD and BF. This will undoubtedly wipe out the majority of the trilogy-style of play fans still remaining, and make way for a an entirely different Halo experience for years to come. 343 is not looking back, they are not looking at preserving the Halo name they are looking to re-create it.
The core fans of the trilogy style of play will most likely not like H4, because their perfect vision of Halo is dead. Its gone, never to return. 343 has made it clear that they will not be catering to the veteran core fans of Halo, it was clear to me ever since I saw the bolded title “How 343 is re-creating Halo multiplayer” in the H4 GI issue. H4 is re-introducing Reach elements like “abilities” and turning the game into a completely different game whether you like it or not.
So please, be prepared for wide controversy when H4 comes out and the forums are repeating like they did with Reach “This is not Halo” because they will be right. This will not be the Halo they grew up with and love catered to them, this will be the new Halo meant to expand the Halo audience, not to cater to nostalgic fans. Whether you take the leap to H4 will be you’re choice, but be prepared for an entirely different Halo experience because the trilogy-style of Halo will not be returning.