Well we’re months into the game and I have noticed a few things good and a few things bad. Let’s start by getting the good things out of the way.
Good:
Campaign- I feel the Campaign was great I got to see a part of the Master Chief I’ve never really seen before in any Halo Game. That is the communication aspect I feel 343i succeeded in trying to explore his character a bit more after 3 games. I also like how futuristic and angular the Forerunner technology is. It was also cool to see the Sentinels again on the planet. My favorite moment is when you reach Requiem and you first get a glimpse of the floating Forerunner towers that you also see on Shutdown. You may not get that super exploration sense you get in Halo 3: ODST or Halo Combat Evolved but that was the first time in awhile I felt the environment was huge.
A bit shocked at how fast we fought Prometheans because of the E3 trailers but things were bound to change.I also loved seeing the Infinity in action, anyone who’s read the books know the UNSC usually gets destroyed in Space to see us finally destroy the Covenant like that made me smile. I like the use of the Pelican Gunship and Broadsword mission. The Broadsword mission especially reminded me of the Star Fox series on a smaller scale I thought it was amazing when you finally see Earth and the Infinity defending it even the small Frigate explosion showing just because they are a powerful ship they aren’t indestructible. Even during the end you felt sorry for Chief it was like the last person who truly understood him was truly gone and he felt empty.
Bad:
Campaign- I honestly felt it was short or rushed at times. I agree with people that I’ve talk to many did not understand why we were fighting the Covenant again. Some even said they shouldn’t have to read the books or look at terminals to understand the story right away. Which I agree to some extent is true. I also wish we could have explored a bit more of Requiem as the Chief or even that 3rd Halo ring which I feel will play an important role in Halo 5. I also wish the Didact had a bit more dialogue or for him to explain why he even hates Humanity without looking at the Terminals.
I was always interested in why we rushed to go to so many different places in 1 game? In Halo 1 we stayed on Halo albeit we started off in Space. Halo 2 had this same problem Halo 4 had we started out on so many different places but it was excusable because we were learning two character stories. Halo 3 we played on Earth for the majority of the campaign, then the Ark, then on a Halo Ring albeit the Ark was in Orbit. Halo 3: ODST started off in space but played the majority of the game on Earth. In Halo 4 I never really had time to adjust to where we were especially since we were lost for almost 4 years in space.
Good:
Multiplayer- I feel Multiplayer had a few innovative aspects. I like the concept of ordnance drops, armor abilities, and load outs. I feel they bring a new aspect to Halo that we never really got to explore in Reach. It creates some interesting matches especially for casual gamers who may need help. I feel if this is done correctly this could be a whole new game mode featured in Halo 5. I also like the change to Oddball, instead of a skull we now have this interesting Data energy ball that has assassinations. I think you can even pass the ball like in Griffball. I do love Dominion it’s the closest thing I have to a base outside of Halo Wars. I also like how certain bases have unique properties such as weapons and vehicles.
I like the new aspect to Capture the Flag with the holding the gun feel, I thought it was cool to be dual wielding a one hit melee weapon(flag) and a gun. They even gave it an assassination! I feel 343i are trying new things so I wont be so hard on them it is their first game by the way. I also like the amount of weapon variation we have for Multiplayer probably the Highest weapons since Halo 3. We also have new armor abilities which I thought were pretty cool such as the Hardlight Shield and the Auto Sentry.
Bad:
Multiplayer: Oh man you knew this was coming. Though I feel many things were done right too many things were done wrong. I agree 100% we need a competitive setting in Halo where there is some equality. Infinity Slayer is good to hang back and play with you friends and or random people. But when I think competitive I think of equal opportunity and equal ground. Infinity Slayer is too random to be considered competitive. Bringing back Team Doubles was a step in the right direction, but we also need more playlist and game type variation. Things like Assault, Invasion, and Race need to make a return. I miss Invasion in my opinion it combined Slayer and Objective elements something that’s rarely seen in the Halo Universe, it felt like a spec ops mission on a smaller scale. I also think this game desperately needs a Big Team Heavy, we have many vehicles not as much as Halo 3 but we have a decent amount. I do miss the Hornet and Falcon, and think the Prometheans should have had a vehicle for god sake they’re supposed to be a warrior class for crying out loud.
Certain weapons are underpowered or make the game very annoying to play. Say what you want but the Boltshot should not be a starter weapon anything that kills in one shot should not be accessible in the beginning. Some argue that it takes skill, well so does the Sniper and we don’t spawn with that as a primary. The Boltshot just makes close quarter engagements very annoying, yes it can be countered I’ve done it plenty of times but the risk factor is ridiculous. Armor Abilities should be a pick up item seriously this is hard to get used to, maybe on Infinity Slayer it works but when you’re being competitive this makes things a bit too hectic, a full team of Active Camo and Jet Packs versing each other. The random outcome is too much at times. The Ordnance can be unfair at times when you don’t have the Priority feature on. There have been too many situations where I was given a Sticky Detenator on Ragnorak but the enemy gets a Binary Rifle! Again too random and unfair at times but it can be dealt with.