To be truthful, I like Halo 4. I enjoy it for what it is even with all its flaws and respect 343 for trying to make Halo their own and breathe new life into the series. That said however, I went back and played Halo 3 and Reach because honestly I felt like there was nothing left for me to do in the game and I got tired of everyone only playing Haven and needed to mix it up.
What I found when I started playing those older Halo titles again was Halo 3 is still godly when it comes to balance and competitive gameplay. Reach’s replay value is through the roof with the journey to inheritor and all the different game modes. Hale 4 doesn’t compare to the replay value of Reach even though they brought in more commendations and things to unlock.
This brought me to the conclusion that the foundation of Halo 4 was built on the faster paced gameplay of Halo 3 with a modified version of the Reach gameplay. I think that these two styles are both amazing in their own right but it’s when they’re mixed together when they fall apart. Not to mention 343 tried to build on the Reach format with their own spin that went overboard with the support upgrades and packages that simply were too much.
I think the main entries in the series should focus on the old school combat of Halo 3; but give the people who love the re-imagining of Halo multiplayer (Reach) they’re own game kind of how Reach was a side entry/prequel to the series. I for one would love Halo 5 to play like Halo 3 did and then give us another trip to the Reach style multiplayer. Chief was on Reach too, give us the Fall of Reach story and leave the numbered Halo’s to the classic arena style. But for the love of god take away the support upgrades and stuff. Reach was different enough, let us fully adapt to that before you throw even more new stuff at us again immediately. Both versions still need additions to keep them fresh but not so much that it doesn’t play like people expect a Halo to play. Halo 4 was borderline no longer Halo. Doesn’t make it bad, just different. Halo is such an epic universe it can handle multiple styles of shooters in my opinion (as well as other spin offs like Wars…which I loved btw). I don’t want overexposure of the series however, this shouldn’t be a every other year release thing.