Im a story guy. For me, a good game is defined by how well it tells a gripping story. Especially if its done in such a way that really makes me feel part of it or integral to it.
After watching the gameplay trailer, im even more hopeful than I was before that this Halo, as far as gripping stories go, will be reminiscent of all that was great about Halo 2 and Halo 3’s story (especially Halo 2). Not to mention, it appears as though the game is returning to more of a gritty “war story” feel rather than Halo 4 and Halo 5’s cheesy and arcade like “Sci-Fi” story, look, and feel.
What was so great about the first 3 Halo’s is that they really felt like they were these gritty, thrilling, intense war stories following a couple of key soldiers and leaders. Diving into their personalities, quirks, and character as they battled in a multifaceted and ever evolving war spanning multiple planets. Even Reach captured much of this but fell somewhat flat with underwhelming character development.
Then, in Halo 4, things really changed. Gameplay felt much less “Halo” and much more “typical multiplayer shooter”. Not entirely, but definitely much more than ever before. Almost everything that had made Halo so great, unique, and intoxicating was stripped and replaced with a plastic version.
The story felt rushed, clunky, and underdeveloped. The look was entirely overhauled to favor a Sci-Fi look rather than a more Military or War look. The feel of the game was replaced with a significantly faster pace mess capitalizing on much of what made Reach so frustrating with few improvements as compared to previous titles. The game was clearly made to play online rather than the emphasis being the story and telling it well.
It felt as if the game was made to pump out as quickly as possible with as few improvements as possible from Reach with a total disregard of the longtime fans of the series. It was a decent game for new players but a royal disaster to veteran players.
Then came Halo 5. The game we had all hoped would be Halo’s salvation after the painful experience that was Halo 4. Instead of being the saving grace, it was a mediocre, albeit somewhat better, sequel to Halo 4. It didnt feel nearly as rushed or underdeveloped of a product but it still lacked much of the greatness Halo once possessed.
Halo 5 reworked the gameplay for a second time and definitely made some improvements. It was still a little too fast paced, however, it was more balanced of a gameplay experience online. My biggest issues with the online play was the horrific look of the multiplayer maps, which genuinely looked like Combat Evolved, and the inability to purchase customizations with in game currency or earn them through gameplay. It was all based on chance. This ultimately resulted in countless hours invested without ever getting the armor or helmet that I wanted. I absolutely hated that and it couldnt be further from the previous legitimately well designed systems in place for earning customizations. The options were excellent but I could never get them regardless of how many packs I opened.
Now for the storyline. Again, definitely an improvement from the massively disappointing Halo 4 campaign but, much like Reach, really fell flat in how it captures and delves into the characters and their experiences. Very little of the story is actually told whether its through gameplay or cutscenes. Its just kinda felt like things happened and I was somewhere in the mix. It never felt like I was experiencing the story, experiencing the war, experiencing the new places and the conflicts and the struggles. I just killed stuff at a few different locations alongside some NPC’s and then the game ended. That really disappointed me.
two games in a row that underperfomed and underdelivered for a number of different reasons. However, even though what I know and what I have seen is limited, it appears as though 343 has finally seen and understood what makes Halo great. It looks like this may finally be the game that returns Halo to a great story driven franchise as it once was under Bungie (not that Bungie did no wrong, they did create the Halo 2 pistols).
So I am hopeful and I am eager to see what Infinite has in store.
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> Im a story guy. For me, a good game is defined by how well it tells a gripping story. Especially if its done in such a way that really makes me feel part of it or integral to it.
> After watching the gameplay trailer, im even more hopeful than I was before that this Halo, as far as gripping stories go, will be reminiscent of all that was great about Halo 2 and Halo 3’s story (especially Halo 2). Not to mention, it appears as though the game is returning to more of a gritty “war story” feel rather than Halo 4 and Halo 5’s cheesy and arcade like “Sci-Fi” story, look, and feel.
> What was so great about the first 3 Halo’s is that they really felt like they were these gritty, thrilling, intense war stories following a couple of key soldiers and leaders. Diving into their personalities, quirks, and character as they battled in a multifaceted and ever evolving war spanning multiple planets. Even Reach captured much of this but fell somewhat flat with underwhelming character development.
> Then, in Halo 4, things really changed. Gameplay felt much less “Halo” and much more “typical multiplayer shooter”. Not entirely, but definitely much more than ever before. Almost everything that had made Halo so great, unique, and intoxicating was stripped and replaced with a plastic version.
> The story felt rushed, clunky, and underdeveloped. The look was entirely overhauled to favor a Sci-Fi look rather than a more Military or War look. The feel of the game was replaced with a significantly faster pace mess capitalizing on much of what made Reach so frustrating with few improvements as compared to previous titles. The game was clearly made to play online rather than the emphasis being the story and telling it well.
> It felt as if the game was made to pump out as quickly as possible with as few improvements as possible from Reach with a total disregard of the longtime fans of the series. It was a decent game for new players but a royal disaster to veteran players.
> Then came Halo 5. The game we had all hoped would be Halo’s salvation after the painful experience that was Halo 4. Instead of being the saving grace, it was a mediocre, albeit somewhat better, sequel to Halo 4. It didnt feel nearly as rushed or underdeveloped of a product but it still lacked much of the greatness Halo once possessed.
> Halo 5 reworked the gameplay for a second time and definitely made some improvements. It was still a little too fast paced, however, it was more balanced of a gameplay experience online. My biggest issues with the online play was the horrific look of the multiplayer maps, which genuinely looked like Combat Evolved, and the inability to purchase customizations with in game currency or earn them through gameplay. It was all based on chance. This ultimately resulted in countless hours invested without ever getting the armor or helmet that I wanted. I absolutely hated that and it couldnt be further from the previous legitimately well designed systems in place for earning customizations. The options were excellent but I could never get them regardless of how many packs I opened.
> Now for the storyline. Again, definitely an improvement from the massively disappointing Halo 4 campaign but, much like Reach, really fell flat in how it captures and delves into the characters and their experiences. Very little of the story is actually told whether its through gameplay or cutscenes. Its just kinda felt like things happened and I was somewhere in the mix. It never felt like I was experiencing the story, experiencing the war, experiencing the new places and the conflicts and the struggles. I just killed stuff at a few different locations alongside some NPC’s and then the game ended. That really disappointed me.
>
> two games in a row that underperfomed and underdelivered for a number of different reasons. However, even though what I know and what I have seen is limited, it appears as though 343 has finally seen and understood what makes Halo great. It looks like this may finally be the game that returns Halo to a great story driven franchise as it once was under Bungie (not that Bungie did no wrong, they did create the Halo 2 pistols).
> So I am hopeful and I am eager to see what Infinite has in store.
Same here