HALO 4 - WHAT INNOVATION CAN IT BRING?

Games Other Halo
1

Halo 4 needs to be its own. forget people who say: ‘It needs to be exactly like Halo CE/2/Wars etc.’. However, it needs to be strongly influenced by the previous titles in terms of who it aims at captivating and how it plays.

Personally my favourite innovations of previous Halo’s are as follows:

Halo CE - The AR, the maps (mostly) and the Campaign was generally epic (even if you always got lost in the replicated style corridors)

Halo 2 - Though the pistol in CE was awesome, the BR is the ultimate weapon of the franchise. Matchmaking was also very good and had the most competitive gameplay of all.

Halo 3 - Though Halo 2 brought with it customisation, Forge, Custom Games and Theater came into their own, and as the population reflected a Matchmaking that catered for all!

Halo ODST - Ashamedly, I din’t play this game much due to me going over the disc on a swivel chair and snapping it (accidently I might add!!).

Halo Reach - This once again added new depths into the realms of customisation (most notably the Armoury), though the Multiplayer was somewhat disappointing in my opinion, the amount of social playlists and fun gametypes made it the most Casual-friendly multiplayer of them all.

Halo 4 - So long as it can bring all these elements together and improve upon them, the game will be awesome. Halo doesn’t need to change drastically like some people suggest with killstreaks, aiming down site and so on, if it builds on its foundations. Expand and add new ideas and the game will flourish under 343i.

However… it frustrates me that so many people here idolise Halo’s CE and 2, claiming them to be perfect. Yes, they were amazing games, revolutionary in man ways, but both had flaws and not so good bits. Playing them doesn’t make you the adjudicator of what was right and what wasn’t. Stop with the arrogance fellow Forum members, just because you played Halo 2, CE, the Marathon series, Zelda: Ocarina of Time (best game ever made by the way) etc. doesn’t mean your opinion is any way more important, not is it wrong though.

Please comment on what Halo 4 needs to incorporate from its predecessors to make it great and what innovation it can bring to the series and FPS market in general.

Have a nice Day,
Peng C:

2

Since you don’t have a memory of ODST, let me give you some of mine.

ODST- Proved that story integrity and ingenuity could allow some beautiful set pieces and make one of the best campaigns in terms of variety, charm, and story. Also, Firefight showed that campaign style fights could be turned into a multiplayer game mode.

> However… it frustrates me that so many people here idolise Halo’s CE and 2, claiming them to be perfect. Yes, they were amazing games, revolutionary in man ways, but both had flaws and not so good bits. Playing them doesn’t make you the adjudicator of what was right and what wasn’t. Stop with the arrogance fellow Forum members, just because you played Halo 2, CE, the Marathon series, Zelda: Ocarina of Time (best game ever made by the way) etc. doesn’t mean your opinion is any way more important, not is it wrong though.

I don’t understand why people complain about these things. Iron sights doesn’t make sense in Halo, given that there is a story explanation for the HUD crosshair. Halo is not COD, there are reasons for this, and it plays differently. Also, it has this magical thing called balance.

Also, don’t worry about people like that, they will always try to self validate by using nostalgia or somekind of edge they think gives them a leg up. However, please don’t do what I did when people did this to me in the past, don’t discredit the games because of those people. Maybe they are trying to suggest elements like you are that were superior in the game.

3

> Halo ODST - Ashamedly, I din’t play this game much due to me going over the disc on a swivel chair and snapping it (accidently I might add!!).

Halo 3 ODST brought the idea of using a hub map to link the flash backs and stories together, and also the visor system.

4

> Halo ODST - Ashamedly, I din’t play this game much due to me going over the disc on a swivel chair and snapping it (accidently I might add!!).

-Yoink!- Willis! Buy the game again, it is too good for you to miss out on it.

5

> ODST- Proved that story integrity and ingenuity could allow some beautiful set pieces and make one of the best campaigns in terms of variety, charm, and story. Also, Firefight showed that campaign style fights could be turned into a multiplayer game mode.

I played the start with the Visor, and thought that if it was incorporated into the HUD of an ODST, then why not into MK-VI armour, this would be a great addition, or something similar.

6

I agree with this list, those are the main important things that need to return to Halo 4 in some way. Though if I may add something that should NOT be in Halo 4, it would be 2 hit melee. Halo 3 and Reach were extremely annoying when somebody could run up to you (especially with Sprint in Reach) and just smack you twice to kill you before you have the chance to kill them.

7

If it was exactly like Halo 2 I’d buy two copies.

But sadly it won’t be.

It needs to incorporate what the series did well at the beginning, go back to it’s roots and take things that CE and H2 did well. I don’t include Halo 3 because it was basically a poorer, slower version of Halo 2’s gameplay with a smaller skill gap catered to people who didn’t like H2 in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong Halo 3 was a good game, but it was the boring game in the series. Did everything okay, but nothing special, which is why it was overshadowed by CoD 4 in the end.

ODST was a great campaign and hopefully they can take some elements of it and include it in Halo 4. Especially the darkness, I’d love some sequences to be covered in darkness with only the flashlight to illuminate your way. ODST had a great atmosphere.

As for what H3 and Reach does… The only thing that game really innovated was miscellaneous features like Forge and Theatre. I don’t really care about armour customisation.

So basically it needs to return and respect it’s roots. Go back to the simple, fast, easy to play, hard to master, fun Halo formula that was so special. If 343i want to add new features, I hope they do so on top of the roots of what Halo did good without totally ruining them. Halo in terms of core gameplay hasn’t improved since Halo: CE to Halo 2 in my opinion. Hopefully Halo 4 will be a step in the right direction.

8

The Battle Rifle sucks. Burst fire is terrible. I would perfer a DMR type weapon with no bloom and less aim-assist and a faster kill time.

9

Multiplayer I agree has to back to the formula that made it successful, but how to put things on top of that like everyone says, idk what they would do. Anyone that says innovate on top the first 2 Halos please throw out some ideas.

As for campaign, I think they will and have to make it more interactive for the player and MC. The traditional style, since it is an fps, was walk into a room, kill things, walk into room, kill things etc…Yes there were some exceptions but overall I think they need to make the big new worlds a mystery.
We always love going through these giant landscapes, but they should try and make it more mysterious and suspenseful. Maybe not as many enemies to mow down, and instead when there are some it is more difficult to take them down. Have things like narrow walkways, bridges, cliffs etc, to make it a bit more difficult to navigate through so we feel a sense of danger and more like we are controlling the MC through these obstacles.

I know they have stated they want to bring it more into a personal level, so I think that is what they have to do. Even though he is a Spartan, he is still human and they need to incorporate that into the gameplay for us to feel connected.

10

> The Battle Rifle sucks. Burst fire is terrible. I would perfer a DMR type weapon with no bloom and less aim-assist and a faster kill time.

See, there I have to disagree, the burst fire of the BR is unique in terms of the weaponry in Halo and in many ways having that adds yet more depth into the gameplay. Also, in terms of creating a skill gap (i.e. for more competitive gameplay), a burst weapon increases it as accuracy through the shot has to be maintained unlike with a single-shot weapon. Also I hope that both weapons can be incorporated into the game in some way effectively.

> So basically it needs to return and respect it’s roots. Go back to the simple, fast, easy to play, hard to master, fun Halo formula that was so special. If 343i want to add new features, I hope they do so on top of the roots of what Halo did good without totally ruining them. Halo in terms of core gameplay hasn’t improved since Halo: CE to Halo 2 in my opinion. Hopefully Halo 4 will be a step in the right direction.

I agree mostly with this, Halo does not need to change, just incorporate more innovative ideas whilst keeping similar gameplay to what Halo’s CE, 2, and 3 had. I think difference between the average kill time and fastest possible kill time should increase to allow for more exciting gameplay while having the interesting features to appeal to more casual players.

11

You have to remember that this is an entirely new trilogy being dev’ed by an entirely new house. They can do whatever they want to the series and make it “their own”.

12

> You have to remember that this is an entirely new trilogy being dev’ed by an entirely new house. They can do whatever they want to the series and make it “their own”.

True, they could turn it into ‘Halo 4: Kinect in Space’, though I don’t think it would go down too well :smiley:

In terms of a business, they are better off keeping it the within the typical structure. If they implement loads of crazy ideas into this one and no-one likes it, then Halo’s 5 and 6 wouldn’t make it into the market.

13

> However… it frustrates me that so many people here idolise Halo’s CE and 2, claiming them to be perfect. Yes, they were amazing games, revolutionary in man ways, but both had flaws and not so good bits. Playing them doesn’t make you the adjudicator of what was right and what wasn’t. Stop with the arrogance fellow Forum members, just because you played Halo 2, CE, the Marathon series, Zelda: Ocarina of Time (best game ever made by the way) etc. doesn’t mean your opinion is any way more important, not is it wrong though.

Sooo… having more experience with something doesn’t give my opinion more credence over someone with less experience? Next time you are out camping, don’t ask the wilderness expert what to do to avoid attaching bears. Ask the fourteen year old girl who spends all of her days updating her facebook status.

The internet never ceases to make me question my faith in humanity…

OT, Halo 4 is going to be a financial success no matter what 343 does with it. And they know this. But it’s up to us long time fans to keep there eye on what makes Halo unique from all the other FPS’s on the market. That means, spend less time trying to find things from other franchises to incorporate, and more time finding ways to improve the already great formula. Sometimes improving means reworking something, definitely. And i’m all for that. halo 2 was a huge step forward for the franchise BECAUSE it build upon it’s predecessors strong suits. And for that, I do agree with the rest of the OP in this respect. he pretty much summarized what I also feel should be done to make Halo 4 the best that it can be.

14

> > However… it frustrates me that so many people here idolise Halo’s CE and 2, claiming them to be perfect. Yes, they were amazing games, revolutionary in man ways, but both had flaws and not so good bits. Playing them doesn’t make you the adjudicator of what was right and what wasn’t. Stop with the arrogance fellow Forum members, just because you played Halo 2, CE, the Marathon series, Zelda: Ocarina of Time (best game ever made by the way) etc. doesn’t mean your opinion is any way more important, not is it wrong though.
>
> Sooo… having more experience with something doesn’t give my opinion more credence over someone with less experience? Next time you are out camping, don’t ask the wilderness expert what to do to avoid attaching bears. Ask the fourteen year old girl who spends all of her days updating her facebook status.
>
> The internet never ceases to make me question my faith in humanity…
>
> OT, Halo 4 is going to be a financial success no matter what 343 does with it. And they know this. But it’s up to us long time fans to keep there eye on what makes Halo unique from all the other FPS’s on the market. That means, spend less time trying to find things from other franchises to incorporate, and more time finding ways to improve the already great formula. Sometimes improving means reworking something, definitely. And i’m all for that. halo 2 was a huge step forward for the franchise BECAUSE it build upon it’s predecessors strong suits. And for that, I do agree with the rest of the OP in this respect. he pretty much summarized what I also feel should be done to make Halo 4 the best that it can be.

At first I was going to disagree with what you said since I was going to say that anybody who plays Halo is equality allowed to say what they think is better, but then I rethought about it and realized that you’re right. Those of us who played Halo 1 and Halo 2 multiplayer have more experience and can judge which game was the most fun in all of the series. Those who’ve only played Halo 3 and Reach can say which they prefer out of those two, but cannot compare to the first two games.

If 343 Industries listens to those who’ve been there since the days of Halo 1, despite which game they like the best, they can tell what the majority of people like the best. Let’s be honest here, if 90% (random statistic, not real) of the people that played Halo 2, 3 and Reach online think that Halo 2 is the best multiplayer game, it’s safe to assume that those who have only played Halo 3 and Reach would agree with them if they were there in the days of Halo 2 online.

15

Someone post a thread in the Halo 4 forum, wondering what new innovation it can bring to the series.

By the first page, it has become a thread about whether the first 2 Halo games were better than Halo 3 and Reach.

OT: I’m thinking Halo 4 needs soome kind of innovation in user content again. It made Halo 3 spectacular, and it’s the only thing keeping Reach alive. Maybe a Forgable Firefight map, or Forgable AI, something like that.

16

[/quote]
OT, Halo 4 is going to be a financial success no matter what 343 does with it. And they know this. But it’s up to us long time fans to keep there eye on what makes Halo unique from all the other FPS’s on the market. That means, spend less time trying to find things from other franchises to incorporate, and more time finding ways to improve the already great formula. Sometimes improving means reworking something, definitely. And i’m all for that. halo 2 was a huge step forward for the franchise BECAUSE it build upon it’s predecessors strong suits. And for that, I do agree with the rest of the OP in this respect. he pretty much summarized what I also feel should be done to make Halo 4 the best that it can be.
[/quote]
At first I was going to disagree with what you said since I was going to say that anybody who plays Halo is equality allowed to say what they think is better, but then I rethought about it and realized that you’re right. Those of us who played Halo 1 and Halo 2 multiplayer have more experience and can judge which game was the most fun in all of the series. Those who’ve only played Halo 3 and Reach can say which they prefer out of those two, but cannot compare to the first two games.

If 343 Industries listens to those who’ve been there since the days of Halo 1, despite which game they like the best, they can tell what the majority of people like the best. Let’s be honest here, if 90% (random statistic, not real) of the people that played Halo 2, 3 and Reach online think that Halo 2 is the best multiplayer game, it’s safe to assume that those who have only played Halo 3 and Reach would agree with them if they were there in the days of Halo 2 online.
[/quote]
Agree with you totally Halo 2, was an AMAZING game! I preferred Halo 3 though because I played it more and my friends did but H2 overall was better. But Reach tryed to innovate the series and that went wrong. I’ve been playing since CE and the old formula is good with just added layers of butter. 343 shouldn’t change it like Bungie tried to do with Reach. By added layers of butter I mean dual weild, forge etc.

17

Awesome post, nice information.

18

> Someone post a thread in the Halo 4 forum, wondering what new innovation it can bring to the series.
>
> By the first page, it has become a thread about whether the first 2 Halo games were better than Halo 3 and Reach.
>
>
> OT: I’m thinking Halo 4 needs soome kind of innovation in user content again. It made Halo 3 spectacular, and it’s the only thing keeping Reach alive. Maybe a Forgable Firefight map, or Forgable AI, something like that.

Forgeable firefight would definitely be the most welcome addition in my book. It’s something that many of us forgers have wanted to mess with since ODST. My fingers are crossed, I have my doubts, but a man can dream eh?

19

> > Someone post a thread in the Halo 4 forum, wondering what new innovation it can bring to the series.
> >
> > By the first page, it has become a thread about whether the first 2 Halo games were better than Halo 3 and Reach.
> >
> >
> > OT: I’m thinking Halo 4 needs soome kind of innovation in user content again. It made Halo 3 spectacular, and it’s the only thing keeping Reach alive. Maybe a Forgable Firefight map, or Forgable AI, something like that.
>
> Forgeable firefight would definitely be the most welcome addition in my book. It’s something that many of us forgers have wanted to mess with since ODST. My fingers are crossed, I have my doubts, but a man can dream eh?

What about the ability to forge bots in multiplayer also? I would mean you could play against an opponent and offline in a custom game with one controller.

20

I must admit i was never a big fan of Halo 3 ODST.
I seem to be the Minority on that note though.
I know Halo 4 is gonna be outstanding, i can just feel it already,
The anticipation surrounding the game and the whole mystery of it has become huuuuUUUUUge.
Well done 343i for keep so shush about it, Not many can do that for so long.

PeacE
ShadEO9