I’ve been thinking how to express my feelings on Halo 4 over the last week. Thinking about how I felt about playing it, after playing it, giving some time to think it over, reading up on how other people played it. Everytime I read something it added to my thoughts, made me realise more. But if I go over everything I’ll be here all day, so I’ll try to trim some of it down.
First off, multiplayer, get this out of the way. No local only search option. I really can’t say anything about it beyond the first day where the connection was fine (Australia). Since then the game is a lag filled mess. So until that’s fixed I have no opinion on the matter.
Second, the story is full of plot holes, discovering more after reading other peoples comments. But that’s a whole thread itself as well, so for now I’ll just stick to what really bothered me on my first go and mainly talk about the gameplay.
Now, when Halo 4 was announced, I rolled my eyes over the idea that they’re trying to milk the franchise. Especially after Reach which I found to have an excellent campaign (no, Reach isn’t where I started with Halo). As the time drew closer the campaign intrigued but also worried me. But, I thought it wouldn’t be fair to go into Halo 4 thinking it couldn’t live up to Reach, nor would it be fair to go in and think it will be awesome. Going either way can make you hate something trivial or love a flaw. So I went in with a neutral attitude and would let the game speak for itself.
The game began the classic way, teaching you how to look around. But when the first bit of action was a quick time event I got real worried. Thankfully the horrors of quick timed events wouldn’t surface again until the final cutscene, which only made the very start and very end a nuisance. So really they were pointless.
In the control room the room is breached much like in Halo: CE and Halo 2. I thought that was rather neat, but didn’t realise until after the game how much of a problem this moment was. Which brings me to my first problem with the game, the developers were apparently afraid you would forget you were playing Halo. So they decided to re-create too many scenes and moments from previous Halo games. In the second level I found myself walking across that double-floor bridge and rolled my eyes. I ran up that area similar to the entrance to the control room in CE and 3 and said, “Wait, haven’t I ran up this before?”. Later in the campaign I got on the gondola ride and said, “Really!? Another gondola ride!? Are you serious!?”.
There were many moments like this that just kept pulling me out of the game. Like running into that old highschool friend, who seems interesting at first, but then you realise he’s doing nothing but talking about what happened in highschool and hasn’t done anything with his life since.
Honestly, the first 4 levels were really boring to me. When I got on the Mammoth I got a little bit more excited. Seeing something new, wondering how this would play out. But this sequence was rather limited. When that “new” Covenant ship came along it reminded me of the Scarabs, except in a good way. It was taking something old and presenting it in a new way. The problem was, this only happened once, and there was only one way to do it. There was no “sniping” level, no stealth levels (that could be botched), not even a support level where you could have easily put in.
The Mantis was interesting, but that left quickly once I realised that the Covenant didn’t have the right weapon to repel you, or the A.I. to help.
and why was there no Promethean vehicle!? Would have been the perfect time to pull out the Forerunner tank that was cut from Halo 2.
Speaking of A.I. The new enemies were a disappointment. After their first firefight you’ve seen everything they have to offer. Their A.I. wasn’t as great as previous Halo games since they pretty much just shoot you, and sometimes teleport away and run back to where they teleported from. The Watchers barely did anything for me. Since they floated above their allies, they took the first bullet. The dogs didn’t do anything with their ability to run on walls, and Knights pretty much acted like elites. Worse though since you could never tell what weapon they’re carrying. Sometimes they’ll get cheap and teleport to your face with a melee.
Since the Covenant had less weapons, enemy units and no AAs, fighting them felt more like a chore. They seem more in the way and there weren’t any real moments where they did get help from the new enemy.
The weapons, as far as campaign goes, are only different skins. When there’s UNSC weapon pods around, you use the BR/DMR and AR. When fighting the Covenant, you use the Carbine and Storm Rifle. When fighting Prometheans, it’s the Light Rifle and Suppressor. All these weapons function the same basically, only the grenades and pistols have some variety to them (and grenades are now underpowered). While you could argue that previous Halos were nothing but Magnum, BR and DMR fighting, at least I had the option to use different weapons. In Halo 4 it seems more like I’m given two weapons that change colour. It’s also especially annoying when every gun dissappears in 10 seconds. Yes, every Halo game has removed weapons before to safe room on processing, but in Halo 4 they go away way too fast, leaving you relying on whatever weapon pod is in the area.
The story is the best part, as the relationship with Chief and Cortana mainly, but it’s not as great as it could have been. They really needed two games together or maybe even three to make me truly care about them. When that ending pops up I might actually have cared about what happened. Developers needs to learn that you can’t simply kill off a character and expect me to feel sad. You need to build it, AND actually show me the character dying. The ending just makes me feel like they’re planning on a lame way to bring her back, or thought it would be a lame way to remember the game.
Also, the villian needs to be more then a “twirl mustache, kill Earth” cliche. There really was no reason why he should even be aware humanity exists. and no, I didn’t buy that cop-out reason that humanity is the strongest force in the universe, forever and ever. Especially after Mass Effects main theme of, “Humanity is irrelevant to the universe” (because that’s really self-centered to think so).
Last annoying thing that I can fit in, is that they seemed to have followed with CoD. NO! Not like that lame excuse people have been using. I mean how CoD thinks the player hates sitting still for 5 seconds and will constantly throw them into something like a fight, or zip lining down into a slow-mo breach. In previous Halo games, there were moments you had to wait that while may seem like lame hidden loading screens were really ways to let the player explore the world and view his surroundings. Being lifted in the Falcon in Reach gave the player a moment to view the world, smell the roses, immerse in the atmosphere, appreciate all the tiny details that Bungie slaved over. Wonder how battles could work on that collapsed bridge, how the windmills work, how people live, why the trees grow flat, looking at a Grunt and realising he has a motor in his spine that’s still moving. In Halo 4, I win a fight, a pelican arrives, black screen, loaded up right next to a firing Scorpion. This happened a whole lot, particularly with the teleportations.
