HALO IS HALO

Games Halo Infinite
1

In Halo 4, when people saw that you could sprint without having to use a pickup as well as being able to use loadouts in matches, people lost their minds saying that Halo and Call of Duty were basically the same game.
In Halo 5, when people saw you could clamber and boost, everyone lost their minds saying that it was the same game as Titanfall.
In Halo Infinite, when people saw you could use a grappling hook, everyone said that Halo was a carbon-copy of DOOM. When they heard that the game was semi-open world, people said Halo was ripping off Destiny.

These comparisons are fair. Yes, some elements and implementations of gameplay mechanics into Halo have been inspired by other games. But that doesn’t mean that Halo isn’t Halo. If Halo decided to put “dungeons” or “raids” into the game, the game would still be nothing like Destiny, not even close. Just because we can sprint doesn’t mean that Halo is the same thing as Call of Duty, because it never will be. If 343i does go through with the BTB 2.0 game mode, it still will be Halo and not Battlefield. I really think that knocking new content and ways to play the game, just because they’re inspired by other games, isn’t cool. There’s more to what makes Halo, Halo than small-player game modes and no sprint. Halo is Halo, and no matter what gameplay elements are added, or what modes are put in, that won’t change the fact that the game at it’s core plays and looks and feels like Halo. Halo is supposed to be evolving combat, not devolving it. Let it grow and branch out like an oak. If we shape the game to only please old fans like myself, we’ll never get a next generation of players and Halo will begin to fade.

2

So no matter what is added it will always be Halo because…well because basically?

I think it’s fair to expect a certain type of gameplay. If I wanted cod gameplay…well I would go and buy cod wouldn’t I? Why would I buy a half baked knockoff pretending to be something it’s not?

Fans of Halo are exactly that. Fans of Halo. I think instead of trying to hop on to the yearly trend, 343 would have been much better off trying to work and improve on what made Halo great in the first place.

No one is saying Halo can’t change. I want Halo to change. I just want it to change for the better.

3

> 2535415744086631;2:
> So no matter what is added it will always be Halo because…well because basically?
>
> I think it’s fair to expect a certain type of gameplay. If I wanted cod gameplay…well I would go and buy cod wouldn’t I? Why would I buy a half baked knockoff pretending to be something it’s not?
>
> Fans of Halo are exactly that. Fans of Halo. I think instead of trying to hop on to the yearly trend, 343 would have been much better off trying to work and improve on what made Halo great in the first place.

And that’s what they’re doing with Infinite it seems, building upon what makes Halo great. But just because we can sprint doesn’t immediately make it a Call of Duty game. The maps, environment, player and enemy shielding and recharge, sandbox, gunplay, TTK, player customization, Campaign gameplay and story, game modes, etc are all vastly vastly different from those of Cod, Destiny, DOOM, Titanfall, Apex Legends, Fortnite, yada yada. I can agree with Halo 4’s loadout system though, that was like communism. Cool on paper but terrible in practice.
I want it to change for the better too, but I reckon we as a community are divided on what is better and what is outdated.

4

There will always be some cross-polination between game franchises, and that’s okay. But Halo has a core of gameplay elements that makes it feel unique: the big healthpool with rechargeable shields; the verticallity of maps with emphasis on high jumps; the golden triangle of combat… that core is what makes Halo feel like Halo and must be preserved. But that core is sturdier than many fans give it credit for, Halo will still feel unique with or without sprint, clambering and grappling hooks.

5

> 2533274938827434;4:
> There will always be some cross-polination between game franchises, and that’s okay. But Halo has a core of gameplay elements that makes it feel unique: the big healthpool with rechargeable shields; the verticallity of maps with emphasis on high jumps; the golden triangle of combat… that core is what makes Halo feel like Halo and must be preserved. But that core is sturdier than many fans give it credit for, Halo will still feel unique with or without sprint, clambering and grappling hooks.

Exactly. It’s still gonna feel like Halo, be Halo, no matter what as long as that core element stays strong. Anything added upon that is just evolution!

6

I’ve always found the idea that Halo plays anything remotely like Call of Duty to be baffling. They feel like completely different games. Good post OP.

7

The Halo franchise =/= Halo the mainline FPS. You can slap the Halo setting and name onto all sorts of games in different genres and subgenres, but that is not the same thing as a mainline ‘Halo’ game.

Halo isn’t some abstract concept to me its a specific series of games that I have a certain set of expectations for. When those games abandon the gameplay that set them apart from other shooters in favor of chasing trends or fulfilling arbitrary genre “standards” it starts feeling less like Halo to me regardless of any narrative trappings. I am perfectly happy to see the franchise as a whole expand and go in new and different directions, but I still care about the gameplay legacy of the 2001 shooter because it is that core gameplay that drew me to the franchise in the first place.

Gameplay is in fact important aspect of the identity of this video game franchise, in fact it is the most important part given the medium.

If Halo truly can’t survive without completely altering its core gameplay identity than just let the franchise die so something new can take its place. I really love Halo but it it only going to continue in name only then I really don’t care how long the brand sticks around for in the mainstream.

8

Nearly everyone agrees that a franchise needs to evolve over time. That’s why everyone celebrated when Bungie revealed you could board vehicles in H2 and use Lasers in H3. No one wants to see CE rehashed every 3 years. That’s why H2 and CE feel so different. And yet, you know you are playing Halo.

The problem lies with how far that evolution dial gets turned. Turn it with restraint and you get quality games like Bungie’s and Ensemble’s (Halo Wars, for anyone confused) masterpieces. Turn it too far and you get a highly-flawed game with some incredibly good elements like Halo 4 (for me, the game is technically solid and BTB is a chaotic blast). Break the dial and you get broken, dishonest, and/or incomplete cash grab games that were MCC at launch, Halo 5, and Halo Wars 2.

Every single game that launched on the Xbox One is disgraceful for a multi-billion dollar company based on the standards set by every game on the 360. It looks like 343i has turned that dial back and bit and finally understands that you need your core fanbase to like your work to be successful. New elements aren’t bad and time will tell how Infinite turns out.

Halo cannot be Halo without certain elements like the art style and gameplay, much like Call of Duty would suck if it got recharging shields and power armor. At that point, it is no longer Call of Duty no matter how much people claim it is. Ethos matters.

The grapple hook is a good way to navigate a huge open world. I think people clamored about its inclusion because they are understandably worried it will cause the game to play like something else, much like how a lot of H5’s gameplay makes it feel like no other Halo game. With Joe Staten back on the team, I think a lot of the criticisms people had with the trailer will be addressed and perfected, eg., plastic graphics.

9

> 2533274824050480;8:
> Nearly everyone agrees that a franchise needs to evolve over time. That’s why everyone celebrated when Bungie revealed you could board vehicles in H2 and use Lasers in H3. No one wants to see CE rehashed every 3 years. That’s why H2 and CE feel so different. And yet, you know you are playing Halo.
>
> The problem lies with how far that evolution dial gets turned. Turn it with restraint and you get quality games like Bungie’s and Ensemble’s (Halo Wars, for anyone confused) masterpieces. Turn it too far and you get a highly-flawed game with some incredibly good elements like Halo 4 (for me, the game is technically solid and BTB is a chaotic blast). Break the dial and you get broken, dishonest, and/or incomplete cash grabs that were MCC at launch, Halo 5, and Halo Wars 2.
>
> Every single game that launched on the Xbox One is disgraceful for a multi-billion dollar company based on the standards set by every game on the 360. It looks like 343i has turned that dial back and bit and finally understands that you need your core fanbase to like your work to be successful. New elements aren’t bad and time will tell how Infinite turns out.
>
> Halo cannot be Halo without certain elements like the art style and gameplay, much like Call of Duty would suck if it got recharging shields and power armor. At that point, it is no longer Call of Duty no matter how much people claim it is. Ethos matters.
>
> The grapple hook is a good way to navigate a huge open world. I think people clamored about its inclusion because they are understandably worried it will cause the game to play like something else, much like how a lot of H5’s gameplay makes it feel like no other Halo game. With Joe Staten back on the team, I think a lot of the criticisms people had with the trailer will be addressed and perfected, ie., plastic graphics.

You bring up some good points bro. I would strongly disagree with your statement about Halo Wars 2 and Halo MCC being cash-grabs, I really don’t think that’s fair. MCC was ambitious and yes, very very broken at launch. But it’s had a strong comeback similar to that of No Man’s Sky. Halo 5’s marketing campaign straight-up lied, i’ll agree with that 100%. Not sure what happened to Halo Wars 2, I thought that game was amazing.

You bring up a great point about how much is too much. Joseph Staten being back on the team in a head posititon, and his kind words regarding the game after he played it, is sure to be a blessing. I believe Infinite is gonna be the perfect combo of everything we love and nothing we don’t. And even if it launches with something or things we hate, it’s a live service game and it can always be changed. I do think that Halo’s core gameplay hasn’t changed it’s values really. It’s shifted, evolved, but every Halo feels like Halo to me.

10

> 2533274882898126;3:
> > 2535415744086631;2:
> >
>
> And that’s what they’re doing with Infinite it seems, building upon what makes Halo great. But just because we can sprint doesn’t immediately make it a Call of Duty game.

The reason people felt like H4 was a COD clone wasn’t because it had sprint. It was because it had kill streaks and weapon load outs. Not to mention, the original COD Modern Warfare games (1 through 3) all released just after H3 and through H4’s dev cycle. Add all that up, and I think it was reasonable for folks to see H4 as just ripping off the latest trend rather than being true to its own legacy.

11

> 2533274882898126;1:
> […]In Halo Infinite, when people saw you could use a grappling hook, everyone said that Halo was a carbon-copy of DOOM. When they heard that the game was semi-open world, people said Halo was ripping off Destiny.
> […]There’s more to what makes Halo, Halo than small-player game modes and no sprint. Halo is Halo, and no matter what gameplay elements are added, or what modes are put in, that won’t change the fact that the game at it’s core plays and looks and feels like Halo. Halo is supposed to be evolving combat, not devolving it. Let it grow and branch out like an oak. If we shape the game to only please old fans like myself, we’ll never get a next generation of players and Halo will begin to fade.

While I agree that Halo should change, some should say the combat needs to evolve over time, my complaints will always be rooted in lore as far as introduction of mechanics/materiel. Convergent evolution in sci-fi is expected, to a greater or lesser degree, whether that be gameplay mechanics or in-game tech.

I hated the Mantis not because I don’t want Halo to change, but because piloted mechs are extremely inefficient uses of whatever power source is running it and are badly balanced, they’re top heavy as designed and worse on two legs. They’re a bad war platform. The HRUNTING/YGGRASIL from Halo Legends was more of a mech/suit hybrid skunkwork, and was cool, but I never wanted a dang AT-ST in Halo because they are ineffective and that is pretty well established.

I liked the addition of sprint and clamber; I disliked their initial implementation. When sprint became unlimited in Halo 5, I was very pleased; SPARTANS “running out of breath” is ridiculous in the light of the lore, and I still think you should be able to shoot or at least reload while sprinting (that armor mod in Halo 5 doesn’t count). Clamber itself is amazing, the design of the levels in campaign suffered for it. Far too vertical in most places, and in any other place the level was far too flat, but narrow; no room to roam a la Halo 3. Perhaps fittingly, the best sections for the clamber mechanic, in my opinion, was the level Blue Team and perhaps half of Reunion. The Breaking suffered the same as the rest of the campaign in narrowness of level design.

I’m resistant to the grappling hook for the same reasons. There are more efficient/broadly applicable methods of movement enhancement than a grappling hook limited by the amount of cable you can carry. A better-tooled jetpack/thruster pack is the preeminent example in my mind. Doctor Halsey even outlined a glide/limited flight solution for MJOLNIR in her journal. Heck I would even swallow reverse-engineering the Didact’s constraint fields to give you the utility of grabbing guns, ammo, fusion coils from a distance a la Prey’s Remote Manipulation ability; I’d even take it being able to deflect an active grenade if used properly. Because the lore is there and it provides unique functionality.

I’m not saying the game should be min/maxed for “the most effective solutions,” but consider the addition of a throwing knife to Halo. You’d laugh your helmet off at the suggestion. Now consider a grenade launcher that used your carried grenades as ammo, that might pique your interest.

For Your Consideration,
John

12

There is fair criticism in the H4 multiplayer, because that was the farthest stretch from Halo the series had.
But Halo has a certain style and flow, which mainly includes hipfire focus and out maneuvering your opponent during an extended ttk (not saying movement isn’t part of other games, but Halo’s requires a bit extra focus on that area).
If Halo added raids, power levels, and loot dungeons, that would be stretching Halo. Destiny is a semi open world “looter shooter” whereas a game like Halo CE could feel semi open world, but there were no power levels, or high tier loot from boss fights. Halo just never really had that grind, but still gave my friends and I loads of fun.

You can’t just add any mechanic to Halo and have it still be Halo. It may look like Halo, but when you start adding things like double jumps, sliding, throwing knives, custom mp loadouts, etc, it changes the flow of the gameplay. Being able to call in a power weapon at anytime when you have enough points is a killstreak (H4) and I do see that as following the cod trend at the release of that game, and that changed the way the multiplayer played. No more weapon spawn memorization, you can just get it from a package.

And can you imagine going through a Halo CE mission, and coming to an area that says you need to “increase your power level” to enter?

Now I’m not saying Halo needs to stay the exact same as the Bungie ones, because somethings do need to evolve. Tbh, I really like the grapple… at least in campaign (I’ll have to check out how it works in mp). I think it’s a great innovation for the single player mode, but I do understand concerns about it looking too weak or out of place. I’m also really liking the way the open world has been described so far (by Joe Staten himself), and it looks like that was a really positive advancement for the campaign. If you look at some past Halos, especially reach and odst, you notice a heavy environment and atmosphere focus, and I think they nailed it with the idea to let us explore the world we want to be invested in.

As a quick side note: for those that think that Halo is copying other games (we’ll ignore H4 rn), the games industry is so big that it would be hard not to take some inspiration from others. Even some games took inspiration from Halo. There’s a difference between an inspired idea vs a copied mechanic.

13

What is Halo is different to every person… and it’s fair to say that some are more inflexible in their definition than others.

To me it’s Spartans… floaty jumps… shields / longer times to kill… skill gap with the headshot… the juggling of two weapons… and the golden triad (nade / shoot / melee).

I’m ok (and actually prefer) a bit of advanced movement. I like sprint and slide. I’d keep thrusters (at least for lateral movement). I’m all for clamber. Guns don’t have to be up all the time.

I don’t like Spartan Charge however, and I’m non-plussed about Ground Pound.

I’m happy for Halo to evolve. A bit of innovation plus a bit of cut and paste from other games - and I’m happy to see where it leads.

14

I loved Halo because of the awesome story and because of the gameplay.

The story was good, I always had the feeling of fighting an hopeless fight against alien invaders, especially in Reach.
The gameplay was very Halo in Halo 1 to Reach. Of course in Reach were some big changes like JetPack and Sprint etc - but it still was a Halo, it was still totally outstanding from CoD, BF and other games, that made the series so special.

With Halo 4 and 5 I have the feeling that the Story is way more an alternative story of a fan that can’t direct good stories. Like the Star Wars Sequels, which are poorly written fanstories.

Also the gameplay was/is getting waaaay more mainstream. You kill your opponents faster, you have to react faster etc.

I have to underline - I’m not against developement - except if it’s develop in a really bad direction.

Only if there is written “Halo” doesn’t mean that it’s still a good Halo. Or Halo at all.

To be honest, I really doesn’t care much for Halo nowadays because th last two FPS games really killed it for me and I don’t have that much hope for Infinite even if its looking way better than the last games. Asking myself more why don’t they just let the game die - but hey, money money money