..Halo 4 can't afford to make mistakes again..

Games Other Halo
1

The reason vanilla Halo is where it is now is because of the departure from core gameplay mechanics between Halo 1 and Halo 2. They played/controlled very differently, but each game after Halo 2 played very similar with how the physics were and how the player actions/movements were handled. Each successive Halo game thereafter became subpar in terms of gameplay mechanics, etc., and somehow lost that perfect balance of skill-demanding AND casual-friendly that Halo 1 gameplay mechanics had.

-Continue below for each Halo’s glory moments-

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For Halo 4, they need to seriously return to what made each Halo game better than the others. For this, I will point out the absolute BEST parts of each Halo game that beat the others.

Halo 1:

-Each weapon was POWERFUL! Each had its own niche in the sandbox with unique abilities and it was so simple. From the extremely skill-based Pistol (might as well throw a rifle skin on it because that was its role in the sandbox since there were only a few number of weapons) to the most difficult weapon to use in Halo game (Halo 1 Sniper) to even the slow-stun effect of the PR, each weapon was useful (except the Needler lol).

-This is where we need to be again and honestly, Reach was the closest of any other Halo game to get to this point. All the weapons in Reach, for the most part, have their beneficial roles that make them useful. Halo 2 and Halo 3 had so many weak weapons that were virtually useless to pick up. Point here is to never nerf (unless it’s obviously overpowered), just buff the weaker/useless things.

-Amazing color palette. Halo 2 began the trend of a more bland color scheme, but Halo 3 brought some colors back. ODST was dark and vibrant in many areas, but Reach brought the grit and dullness back to Halo. We need Halo back to being vibrant and EYE POPPING with blues being blue. Greens being green. I don’t want to see sand/brown/dull colors being abused anymore. The fact we’re going Forerunner in this Trilogy gives me hope to seeing more futuristic lighting/colors/vibrancy to our worlds again.

-Diversity in environments both in the campaign/multiplayer.

-The gunplay was the most satisfying. This was due to the mechanics/gameplay and the simplified nature of the game.

-Most skill-based.

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Halo 2:

-Maps. MAPS. MAPS! The multiplayer maps in Halo 2 was by far the best maps in all of Halo. Halo 1 had great maps, but the DLC option in Halo 2 added so many great maps with various settings that it was glorious! I think most people would agree with this right here.

-Dual wielding. Why not have it in Halo 4? The problem Bungie created with dual wielding was that they made each individual weapon weaker when dual wielded. For example: the Halo 3 Pistol was 5 shots to kill (5 trigger presses), but when dual wielded, it took 7 shots to kill (4 trigger presses when L/R are pressed simutaneously). How does that make any sense? It should stay at 5 shots to kill, meaning only 3 trigger presses. Like I said before, always buff, never unnecessarily nerf.

-Ranking system. They should make it somewhere between Halo 2 and Halo 3. Halo 2 was wayyyy too difficult to rank up whereas Halo 3 was too easy. A medium between the two would work best.

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Halo 3:

-The Vehicles. Reach had some additions that were better, but the Vehicle combat in Halo 3 was far superior with Halo 2 close behind.

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Halo ODST

-The music I believe was the best in this game than any other Halo game as a whole.

-Firefight maps. The Firefight maps in ODST were way better than Reach, so let’s take a note from them.

-Nickname system.

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Halo Reach

-The sheer customization options in all gametypes, including Firefight, even to customizing your armor (although buying armor based on how much you play is pretty bad IMO).

-Forge/Custom Games/Theater (aside from the lack of 4 people watching together).

-Online matchmaking. Everything from the voting system to the party system to the less laggy games.

-Weapon/Vehicle diversity.

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So with all that being said, 343i don’t let us down! One last note I just thought of… Maybe they should make the Pistol hitscan, but the DMR projectile like the Halo 1 Pistol so you’d have to lead your shots (also like the Halo 3 BR except without spread). Hmmmmm… Oh and let’s not make this same mistake again.

Thoughts? Additions?

2

> Reach was the closest of any other Halo game to get to this point. All the weapons in Reach, for the most part, have their beneficial roles that make them useful.

Odd. I’ve felt the opposite – the weapon sandbox in Halo 3 was more diverse and more useful overall than Reach’s. Half of the weapons in Reach feel like clones, and every single Reach weapon that isn’t a power weapon, a DMR, or a Plasma Pistol feels completely and utterly worthless and ineffective. :\

3

> > Reach was the closest of any other Halo game to get to this point. All the weapons in Reach, for the most part, have their beneficial roles that make them useful.
>
> Odd. I’ve felt the opposite – the weapon sandbox in Halo 3 was more diverse and more useful overall than Reach’s. Half of the weapons in Reach feel like clones, and every single Reach weapon that isn’t a power weapon, a <mark>DMR, or a Plasma Pistol feels completely and utterly worthless and ineffective.</mark> :\

  1. Then play the TU playlist
  2. wat
4

> 1. Then play the TU playlist

I did. The sandbox still sucked.

> 2. wat

Three Plasma Pistol shots and a melee are a very quick kill in Reach.

5

Sees thread is not about campaign

Backs out slowly

6

> Sees thread is not about campaign
>
> Backs out slowly

Campaign > Multiplayer

No doubt about that. Not at all. All Multiplayer is for is to keep you playing. I love both, but Reach’s Campaign was not very good and that made my impression of the whole game go down.

The game needs a good story as the top priority and good multiplayer as a second priority. I personally don’t understand how people can play games like CoD where its just for the multiplayer.

7

Again. Halo: 4 has net even seen the light of day yet. The only mistake was Bungie not doing what 343 is doing right now to Halo: Reach.

8

Reads title

Hmm…can’t be anymore TRUE.

9

> > Reach was the closest of any other Halo game to get to this point. All the weapons in Reach, for the most part, have their beneficial roles that make them useful.
>
> Odd. I’ve felt the opposite – the weapon sandbox in Halo 3 was more diverse and more useful overall than Reach’s. Half of the weapons in Reach feel like clones, and every single Reach weapon that isn’t a power weapon, a DMR, or a Plasma Pistol feels completely and utterly worthless and ineffective. :\

agreed.

weapons are either

1.) pointless because you spawn with something better (AR / Plasma Repeater / Plasma Rifle / Plasma Pistol (when they know where you are)

or

2.) redundant, like NR and DMR fulfilling almost the exact same role, except one is a covenant counterpart.

what, exactly, is the point of a weapon when its not even better than the one you should spawn with (a good utility weapon), in ANY situation?

10

Agreed, besides the part about Reach’s weapon balance. The power weapons are OP compared to the utility weapon.

11

Halo 2 had the BR/PP combo, Rocket, Sword and Sniper. There was never a reason to use any other gun because those weapons ALWAYS beat out everything else.

Halo 3 the weapon usage got better but we still had many useless weapons that were beat out in their main area of use.

The reason I said Halo Reach is because in close range, the AR has a better chance against a DMR than an SMG ever did against a BR in Halo 2. You see what I’m saying?

> > Reach was the closest of any other Halo game to get to this point. All the weapons in Reach, for the most part, have their beneficial roles that make them useful.
>
> Odd. I’ve felt the opposite – the weapon sandbox in Halo 3 was more diverse and more useful overall than Reach’s. Half of the weapons in Reach feel like clones, and every single Reach weapon that isn’t a power weapon, a DMR, or a Plasma Pistol feels completely and utterly worthless and ineffective. :\

Not true. Reach has less weapons in the multiplayer sandbox so you’re basically only calling the Pistol, AR and Needler useless when they’re far better in Halo Reach than they ever wear since Halo 1.

12

> Halo 2 had the BR/PP combo, Rocket, Sword and Sniper. There was never a reason to use any other gun because those weapons ALWAYS beat out everything else.

Not true at all. Dual wielding allowed you to turn two underpowered weapons into contenders, especially at close range. I’ll take an SMG/pistol, or SMG/plasma rifle, or SMG/SMG, or PP/Pistol and beat your BR, sword and sniper in the right situations… The rockets is of course going to beat everything most of the time lol.

13

I have to agree with most of this post.
343 better not screw multiplayer up.

14

> > Halo 2 had the BR/PP combo, Rocket, Sword and Sniper. There was never a reason to use any other gun because those weapons ALWAYS beat out everything else.
>
> Not true at all. Dual wielding allowed you to turn two underpowered weapons into contenders, especially at close range. I’ll take an SMG/pistol, or SMG/plasma rifle, or SMG/SMG, or PP/Pistol and beat your BR, sword and sniper in the right situations… The rockets is of course going to beat everything most of the time lol.

BR/PP combo kills in under a second, dual wielding does not.

15

After playing over 10thousand games and achieving several 50s in halo 3 i would say that all the weapons is pretty balanced to each other.

Another way to tell it, this is how you have to use the weapons in halo 3. People saying most of the weapons were useless in halo 3 speaks -Yoink-, every weapon is usefull in their situation.

Close range. Sniper Rifle > 2 Maulers > Shotgun = Sword > Hammer > 1 Mauler > 2 Plasma Rifle > 2 SMG > 2 Spikers > 1 Plasma rifle > Assault Rifle = SMG > Battle Rifle > Spiker.

Medium range Sniper rifle > Battle rifle > 2 SMG > 2 Plasma rifle > 2 Spikers > Assault rifle > 1 SMG > 1 Spikers > 1 Plasma rifle > 2 Mauler > Shotgun > 1 Mauler > Sword.

Long range Sniper rifle > Battle rifle > Assault rifle > 2 SMG > 2 Spiker > 2 Plasma rifles > 1 SMG > 1 Spiker > 1 Plasma rifle > Rest.

The plasma pistol is a good weapon compined with the Battle rifle.

Made by me.

16

You pretty much nailed it. It is not whether future Halo titles shoulc be like CE, or Halo 2 or whatever. It is that we are taking all the best aspects of all the past titles and then pushing them even further.

I would add a couple things though.

CE: *The mechanics of CE also seem to go without being talked about. CE had an equal health and shield system 75 hitpoints of health and 75 hitpoints of shields. Simple. Balanced. Every other halo title afterwards has yoinked its up with uneven health and shields. 45 health hitpoints to 70 shield hitpoints. This is the root cause of both the H3 deathcharge and Reach grenade being OP. It has to go.

*Second thing is a weaker melee. 3 melee strikes(barring backsmacks of course) if I remember correctly and it should be the same for H4-6. First hit takes away 2/3 of shield, second attack takes away last 1/3 of health and 1/3 of health, the third consequtive melee strike takes away the last 2/3 of health.

ODST: *ODST filled to previously unfulfilled niches the series has desperately needed to be filled.

One was a scoped non-headshot weapon the M7S SMG(I would prefer a scoped 32 round AR unsuppressed) as it it was a casual friendly weapon balanced by recoil and spread if it wasn’t burst fired. Even if it wasn’t included as a starting weapon in casual multiplayer playlist is is a perfect weapon to spawn with in Firefight along with the next weapon.

*The M6S also filled a role that needed to be filled: One to bridge the gap between Versatile headshot weapons(BR/DMR/Carbine/N’ifle) and Long range power weapons(Sniper/Beam/Focus). 4x scope, laser accuracy, and a high RoF balanced by low mag cap per kill(7-8 shot kill(headshot) out of a 12 round mag), recoil(but predictable and controllable) with sustained fire, and lag of overall damage output for body shots 12 shots to kill a fully shielded spartan with shields.

Sidenote: Hitscan for all human like projectiles. It is just more fair in an online environment unless we get dedicated servers(With custom games it is doubtful).

17

The mistake that 343 could do is listening to everybody and following in the path bungie laid.

There is a lot of talent at 343. I would prefer to see them make their vision of halo 4 even if it means alienating all the ‘hardcore’ halo fans.

Halo has been around for a decade and has barely evolved yet I find it funny that there is so much hate for the CoD series in these forums. I know some of you are going to say but the AA’s or bloom bla bla bla. At it’s core Halo still feels like Halo and it always has.

I want to see what 343 can do on their own without having to pay lip service to the ‘hardcore’ halo fans or any crowd for that matter.

just my two cents.

18

All I know is that if Halo 4 isn’t more like Halo 2 I’m done with the series. CE might have had a more balanced sandbox, but Halo 2 had the better maps and I liked the glitches that plagued H2 more than those found in CE.

Give me Halo 2 styled gameplay with a sandbox that rivals CE, great maps, and no/less gimmicks and I’d be happy. 8 nades really need to make a return too…

19

> I liked the glitches that plagued H2 more than those found in CE.

Probably the stupidest thing I have seen on this website.

Anyways, it seems 343 are following in Bungie’s footsteps and want to improve AA’s rather than remove them.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh0E4wO6C-4

Somewhere the interviewer asks about grenades and melee and Frankie brings up the Golden Triangle, then dismisses it quickly and includes AA’s, as though its some kind of evolution.

20

> > I liked the glitches that plagued H2 more than those found in CE.
>
> Probably the stupidest thing I have seen on this website.
>
> Anyways, it seems 343 are following in Bungie’s footsteps and want to improve AA’s rather than remove them.
>
> Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh0E4wO6C-4
>
> Somewhere the interviewer asks about grenades and melee and Frankie brings up the Golden Triangle, then dismisses it quickly and includes AA’s, as though its some kind of evolution.

I think a few AA’s wouldn’t hurt, like Sprint and… well… Sprint is the only vastly annoying one. Sprint is fine on the updated playlists that allow for faster kill times, but extremely annoying on vanilla Reach because people get shot twice and BOLT away and it takes forever to kill people ;\