Halo 4 Campaign Feedback

Games Other Halo
1

I love the Halo 4 campaign, so this is by no means a hate thread and I understand that many of these could be due to the limitations of the Xbox 360, but I will list them anyway for feedback purposes.

Cons

  • Length of the campaign is too short and has too few missions
  • Missile launch at the end of Reclaimer is pointless, I have tried to make it miss and it is impossible, so what is the point?
  • Weapons disappear from the ground too soon
  • No boss fight at the end with the Didact is pretty disappointing, how you kill him is cool, but a boss fight leading up to it would have been appreciated
  • Too many switches (should be more variations, and they last a bit too long IMO)
  • No snowy missions (I love adore missions)
  • Can at points feel like one long mission rather than 8 unique missions
  • Promethean weapons look a bit too similar, Light Rifle and Binary Rifle could be more distinguishable
  • Lack of comedy in the game. Yes the story can be as serious as you like, but you can still have some lighthearted moments
  • On the mission when we get to drive a Pelican, it felt a bit empty in terms of enemies, it would have been nice to have some Phantoms or Banshees chasing and attacking us for a bit more of a challenge
  • Enemy AI, Banshees constantly crashing into walls and staying there
  • Master Chiefs armor is getting a little too dark/colorless for my liking. Please don’t continue down this path of taking color out of Halo
  • The UNSC pistol sounds a bit weak to me
  • Half of the Phantom seems to disappear when it is destroyed
  • The look of the Elites - I understand that they are the storm, but they just don’t look great to me
  • Lack of likeable characters
  • Every time I go up the really slow/long lift during the Midnight mission, I get the urge to look behind me and all around because it is so awe-inspiring, but you are limited to looking forward which is frustrating!

Pros

  • Great graphics
  • Beautiful artwork and mission designs - I have to stop and stare constantly during Halo 4
  • Prometheans are great enemies, they take more thought to kill than the Covenant
  • Voice acting
  • Sound effects
  • Soundtrack is incredible
  • Motion capture
  • The new vehicles (Mantis, Broadsword, Pelican, Mammoth) were really cool and fun
  • Lots of new, awesome weapons
  • The new look of Cortana. I really like how she looks in this game (I’m talking about her face and hair)
  • How the enemies dissolve when they die, I love this effect
  • CG cut scenes - Stunning and fun to watch
  • The design of the Mammoth, one of the coolest looking things in any Halo game IMO
  • The design of Chiefs armor is cool
  • It is not my favorite Halo campaign to date, but it is the most re-playable for me, I have no idea why though
  • Lasky - Nice to have someone to like in the game besides Chief and Cortana

What do you like and dislike about the Halo 4 Campaign?

2

Pretty much what you said. My only con I have to say is the soundtrack. Really disappointing. There were like several places where really good music could have gone in from the past Halos, like the Epilogue suite from halo 2 into halo 4’s ending (if you try it, it really fits). That’s only my opinion, so I dunno what other people think.

3

> Pretty much what you said. My only con I have to say is the soundtrack. Really disappointing. There were like several places where really good music could have gone in from the past Halos, like the Epilogue suite from halo 2 into halo 4’s ending (if you try it, it really fits). That’s only my opinion, so I dunno what other people think.

I’ve never tried using old Halo music with Halo 4 lol, I’ll have to pop it on my to do list ;).

What exactly didn’t you like about the Halo 4 soundtrack compared to the originals?

4

Pro - Chief and Cortana, soundtrack

Con - Pretty much everything else.

5

I actually really liked the campaign, excluding Reclaimer, I hated that mission. At least the outside part, level design sucked. Artwork sucked. Mammoth was cool, though.

The soundtrack was pretty decent, some hits and misses, particularly to the opening of Composer. That is the worst Halo track ever… of all time. I’m not dissing Star Wars… but that was way too Star Wars. And not the good Star Wars soundtracks, the bad ones.

Also, this goes for the series going forward, I hate the new faces of the Elites. Make them more like the Halo 4 models, the ones that weren’t incredibly ugly. They’re still immediately recognizable, of course, but certain features just don’t look right.

I also hate how only 1 person gets the Pelican during the Pelican mission. Why can’t everybody get one?

But other than those things, I thought the campaign was pretty good. I don’t mind the absence of a boss fight since Halo has never been built around boss fights. The death of 343 Guilty Spark was pretty lame because all you do is stay alive until you get the Spartan Laser. I also liked Didact as a character, and the backstory of the Prometheans was good, too. I just wish the terminals were CGI, I liked the story but not the style it was made in.

I give the campaign a solid 8/10.

6

i really liked the campaign

7

> Also, this goes for the series going forward, I hate the new faces of the Elites. <mark>Make them more like the Halo 4 models</mark>, the ones that weren’t incredibly ugly. They’re still immediately recognizable, of course, but certain features just don’t look right.

Did you mean to say Halo 4? I’m assuming you meant one of the older Halo’s seeing as you said you hate the faces of the new Elites.

8

> Cons
>
> - Weapons disappear from the ground too soon
> - No boss fight at the end with the Didact is pretty disappointing, how you kill him is cool, but a boss fight leading up to it would have been appreciated
> - Too many switches (should be more variations, and they last a bit too long IMO)
> - No snowy missions (I love adore missions)
> - Can at points feel like one long mission rather than 8 unique missions
> - Promethean weapons look a bit too similar, Light Rifle and Binary Rifle could be more distinguishable
> - Lack of comedy in the game. Yes the story can be as serious as you like, but you can still have some lighthearted moments
> - On the mission when we get to drive a Pelican, it felt a bit empty in terms of enemies, it would have been nice to have some Phantoms or Banshees chasing and attacking us for a bit more of a challenge
> - Enemy AI, Banshees constantly crashing into walls and staying there
> - Master Chiefs armor is getting a little too dark/colorless for my liking. Please don’t continue down this path of taking color out of Halo
> - Half of the Phantom seems to disappear when it is destroyed
> - Every time I go up the really slow/long lift during the Midnight mission, I get the urge to look behind me and all around because it is so awe-inspiring, but you are limited to looking forward which is frustrating!

Wow, man you’ve got some really good points.

-glad to see this at the top
-exactly, it didn’t have to be with the Didact. There could have been a fight leading up to it. Promethean Commanders are way cheap and overpowered, they do NOT qualify. We could have had a new Promethean rank or something instead.
-yes, I’ve pointed out several times how repetitive the button pushing animation is. There should also be a purpose to it, like on Composer (at second airlock, you can grab some easy kills if you clear the room from a safe distance). Atm, it’s overused and artificially lengthens gameplay. :confused:
-yes
-try Spartan Ops, that’s a lot worse
-true, this is also the case with Carbine and Storm Rifle
-there are some Grunts dancing about on Dawn and some cheerful Grunts on Composer. But honestly, it’s mostly been Grunts. How about some Elites for a change?
-yep
-not necessarily the AI pathfinding. The Banshee lacks control. Also, level design where enemy Banshees are placed into enclosed environments. If H4 had CE’s vehicle physics, it’d be happening less often IMO
-agreed
-much like the other vehicles. I miss the H3 Phantom
-sad truth

There’s a lot I have to say but it’s been said too often.

9

> > Cons
> >
> > - Weapons disappear from the ground too soon
> > - No boss fight at the end with the Didact is pretty disappointing, how you kill him is cool, but a boss fight leading up to it would have been appreciated
> > - Too many switches (should be more variations, and they last a bit too long IMO)
> > - No snowy missions (I love adore missions)
> > - Can at points feel like one long mission rather than 8 unique missions
> > - Promethean weapons look a bit too similar, Light Rifle and Binary Rifle could be more distinguishable
> > - Lack of comedy in the game. Yes the story can be as serious as you like, but you can still have some lighthearted moments
> > - On the mission when we get to drive a Pelican, it felt a bit empty in terms of enemies, it would have been nice to have some Phantoms or Banshees chasing and attacking us for a bit more of a challenge
> > - Enemy AI, Banshees constantly crashing into walls and staying there
> > - Master Chiefs armor is getting a little too dark/colorless for my liking. Please don’t continue down this path of taking color out of Halo
> > - Half of the Phantom seems to disappear when it is destroyed
> > - Every time I go up the really slow/long lift during the Midnight mission, I get the urge to look behind me and all around because it is so awe-inspiring, but you are limited to looking forward which is frustrating!
>
> Wow, man you’ve got some really good points.
>
> -glad to see this at the top
> -exactly, it didn’t have to be with the Didact. There could have been a fight leading up to it. Promethean Commanders are way cheap and overpowered, they do NOT qualify. We could have had a new Promethean rank or something instead.
> -yes, I’ve pointed out several times how repetitive the button pushing animation is. There should also be a purpose to it, like on Composer (at second airlock, you can grab some easy kills if you clear the room from a safe distance). Atm, it’s overused and artificially lengthens gameplay. :confused:
> -yes
> -try Spartan Ops, that’s a lot worse
> -true, this is also the case with Carbine and Storm Rifle
> -there are some Grunts dancing about on Dawn and some cheerful Grunts on Composer. But honestly, it’s mostly been Grunts. How about some Elites for a change?
> -yep
> -not necessarily the AI pathfinding. The Banshee lacks control. Also, level design where enemy Banshees are placed into enclosed environments. If H4 had CE’s vehicle physics, it’d be happening less often IMO
> -agreed
> -much like the other vehicles. I miss the H3 Phantom
> -sad truth
>
> There’s a lot I have to say but it’s been said too often.

If there’s a lot you have to say, I would definitely encourage you to say it!
Because the more people who give their opinion of the game, the better idea 343 can get of what was good and what was bad based on what things seem to pop up the most in peoples feedback.

10

I LOVED the campaign however there were a few small things I didn’t like too much.

  1. The 3 way battle between the Storm Covenant, Prometheans and You only lasts a single mission.

  2. Halo 4 feels a bit…disconnected from the rest of the series. I can understand this a bit since its the start of a new trilogy and it is set 4 years after Halo 3 however I hope Halo 5 can fix this a bit, maybe by bringing back old characters like Lord Hood and the Arbiter as well as new ones like Lasky and Palmer.

  3. Small errors like the Post-War UNSC logo being on the Forward Unto Dawn and the Pillar of Autumn being called a frigate bug me.

  4. The prologue is full of errors, why do the Spartan-IIs all use John’s customized Mark VI? Only John has that armor and even so a model for the standard Mark VI is in the game already(Multiplayer) so couldn’t 343i have done some minor tweaking to it and used that instead? Also the Elites are using the armor used by the Storm Covenant and not the armor used by the Covenant military at the time.

  5. This, I highly doubt it but I hope 343i fixes it in a patch one day.

  6. I feel like the reason why we were fighting Elites again could have been explained better for the players who never read the books, I mean its a bit obvious but I feel like if John had asked about that in a cutscene and Del Rio or Lasky could have answered his questions it would have been better.

11

A large amount of plot holes regarding the ‘storm’ and the forerunners cannot be ignored. The lack of variety in mission objective (button pushing AGAIN???) just felt like lazy design to me.
The game looks great from a distance but when you get up close things can appear muddy or just plain ugly.
The prologue was a little disappointing, all the spartans were using john’s mark 6?
The end fight with the Didact was such a huge let down. I mean all that build up for a QTE seriously?

12

As horrible as it is to say, I liked Reach’s abysmal failure of a Campaign far more than the atrocity that is Halo 4. At least Reach’s Campaign was entertaining and its shiny commendations and distinct challenges incited replay value. Reach’s story may be so canon-rending and awfully written that I personally don’t consider it canon (in favour of the original edition of The Fall of Reach), but at least the game felt like a Halo game.

Halo 4 feels like a generic sci-fi game complete with a bland and unmemorable soundtrack, a tragic UI (in contrast to Reach’s beautiful masterpiece which made playing Reach so much easier), bland and boring commendations and challenges, dull achievements, silly writing, and a complete cannibalization of the Halo universe and formula.

Most of the game’s bad plot (though a tad better than Reach’s abomination) actually was not contained within the Campaign; being relegated to Spartan Ops, Terminals, and the novelizations. The Prometheans were horrible additions to the sandbox, the Covenant were stripped down and repetitive, the Didact (basically a hideous cliche supervillain who ruined the Forerunners for me) got things done so quickly that it made the Covenant’s achievements feel utterly worthless redundant… I could go on and on.

I’m comparing Halo 4 to Reach because the latter was the latest released game before Halo 4 and if I tried comparing Halo 4 to the original trilogy, I’d weep for the Halo series. Oh, too late, I already am.

I’m going to cut this harsh but honest review of Halo 4’s Campaign short with a 2/10 rating for a lacklustre plot, utterly uninteresting gameplay, and no replay value whatsoever.

PS. No Campaign theatre? Really?

PPS. The Didact “boss fight” quicktime event was the single-most disappointing thing I’ve ever experienced in regard to gaming.

13

> 1. The 3 way battle between the Storm Covenant, Prometheans and You only lasts a single mission.

This is single-handedly my greatest in-game disappointment (the lack of Campaign theater is my utmost displeasure of all time).

Pre-H4, I remember people being excited about the possible matchups between Covies vs. Prometheans. To see a Hunter pair fighting a Battlewagon pair, that’d have been a wow moment.

It didn’t happen. :confused:

All we saw were pretty standard matchups. Not a single Zealot appears in the confrontations, which could have been a game changer due to Active Camo and sword, and would have been reminiscent of the countless Stealth Elites deployed at Installation 04 to fend off the Flood. You’d think Zealots would have been deployed to handle these kind of encounters given the nature of the battle… On the Promethean side, we didn’t see a single Commander (also a game changer) and there were rarely any meaningful assistance from Watchers. Thus, I was under the impression that these were just a bunch of pissed off mooks taking it out on each other, rather than a full-fledged war…

And what’s worse, the alliance is only apparent in a story context. In the Campaign, there are hardly any interesting matchups in their alliance, not to mention they often fight in turns… much like in H2, but without the characterization/story perspective, one level features Covies then the next level features Prometheans. It gets repetitive.

I only recall one moment in Shutdown where Elites and Knights can be seen alongside each other and there’s nothing signifying an alliance, they just appear together (somewhat distant not to mention you can kill the Elites before the Knights show up). There was a noticeable lack of scripted animations that would have conveyed the situation better… and conveyed who is in charge (do Knights have more command than Elites?).

And of course, Spartan Ops E1-E5 was equally disastrous, there were barely any moments where I was pleasantly surprised, like the time where the Prometheans showed up in front of the switch at Galileo Base. Most of the time, I did not notice any distinction between Covies and Prometheans, I slaughtered them with indifference. It wasn’t until after Spartan Ops returned from it’s break that there was proper cohesion between the two forces. We saw things like Crawlers assisting Hunters (a suitable replacement for the Drones and Hunter combo) and Elites (security guards and their dogs), and Elites using Promethean weapons. But these should have been in the game from the beginning.

By the end of Campaign, I had seen all their tricks, knew how to handle every one of them. Ever since Spartan Ops, it’s been nothing but grinding for commendations and XP. There was one instance where sleeping Grunts occurred but it was very artificial and I’d rather forget it exists.

14

I don’t understand why 343 made the campaign coloring so bland and almost all shades of gray. I’m lso surprised I’m the only one commenting on this. Sure, the graphics are HD and great but where did the color go?

They ruined the grunts, elites and the prometheans are so gay they make perez hilton look manly LOL Yea I don’t respect 343 for the creation of prometheans. The knights look like jellyfish(less the jelly) walking on their tentacles and the crawlers are mechanical dogs.

Why mount guns in prometheans mouths? Who thought of that -Yoink-? I’m amazed a group of developers couldn’t envision better looking aliens.

I don’t hate the campaign but it was definitely disappointing.

I don’t get anyone hating Reach either. That was GREAT!