So far we’ve had next to nothing about infinite, but what we have reflects a shift into the classic halo art style we knew. I was happy for some of the stuff we got to see so far, but at the same time it feels frustrating. 343 came with a clear idea of not wanting to be bungie and in H4 I could understand and accept most of their new vision for halo. Granted, some things like the prometheans, elites, grunts, pelican, warthog, shotgun, sniper, BR and marines should look more familiar, and it inherited tons of gameplay problems from Reach. I can’t say the same about H5 as it was their second game, and nearly everything they had achieved was thrown away for no apparent reason. In the story of 4 they gave Cortana an ending, started evolving the chief and brought the forerunners to the table, in a new conflict against a humanity that had suppassed the covenant and the flood. i loved it, I wanted to see how they would polish more their original plan to not just connect a bit more with Halo what was necessary, but how it would carry on after H4. Ignoring everything but the worst point of H5’s plot (Cortana is alive) and trying to not be themselves and mimic bungie is what I was fearing the most after it. It’s still too soon for Infinite but I’m worried it will be the force awakens or the cursed child that H4 bravely refused to be.
343 made a mistake in Halo 5 by not continuing the story they began in Halo 4. It was a great story, and the Didact was a villain I wanted to see again. That had very little to do with Halo 4’s poor reception.
But as far as art style, and fundamental gameplay goes… Yes those have to be scrapped. It’s important for a franchise to maintain a consistent art direction for their series, and provide the gameplay experience fans of said franchise want. Think of how long it took people to come around to Zelda: The Wind Waker, tons of people skipped it over until the HD remake released just because they didn’t like the art style and it was a bit of a shock to the series.
That doesn’t mean experimenting with Halo 4 was a mistake, but it does mean that continuing to experiment in Halo 5 to the extent they did absolutely was. After Halo 4 fans wanted to dial back to a more classic experience and Halo 5 didn’t give it to them. I think the lesson learned is that experimentation should be done to a smaller degree than it has been in the past. People don’t like Armor Abilities? Reduce it to JUST thrust and give it a go instead of an entire arsenal of “spartan abilities”. People don’t like sprint, but still want a faster experience? Why not try an increased base movement speed to what players are used to in Halo instead. Even on the topic of art style, it changed quite a bit between CE and Reach. But maintained a thematic consistency that 4 and 5 completely ignored. That thematic consistency is what people want and you know what? Halo Infinite so far certainly has it’s own art style. But the thematic consistency with the original trilogy is why people are really excited for it.
Heck considering Master Chief’s armor is straight out of Halo Legends: The Package / Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn as opposed to the original trilogy just proves that 343 can use their own designs and still get praise for it thanks to the consistency it has with the original series.
What I like and respect most significantly about 343’s games is their willingness to iterate and use different design philosophies for their Halo games, and I think that as the franchise takes a different path Halo 4 (and in time, possibly even 5) will be recognized for it’s (or their) difference from the rest.
That said, I did not like the exact way in which they did design the games differently. They completely shifted up Chief’s character/personality, his relationship with Cortana, retconned several designs/changed them unnecessarily, imitated typical sci-fi music (and sometimes Star Wars) in their soundtrack, sometimes unbalanced gameplay with apparently unnecessary changes, and seemed to just totally throw away what Halo was up until that point so that it could be “their vision”. If it wasn’t for the Master Chief and Cortana’s appearance, returning enemies (who faintly resemble past versions), and returning weapons (which also faintly resemble past versions), Halo 4 could’ve been a completely different game.
Would Mario still be a Mario game if I added gun powerups, changed the goombas from brown mushroom things to resemble more bug-like mushrooms with scales, added double jump, added a new group of enemies who look out of context, added guitars into the soundtrack, and made Mario depressed and broken because he had to save Princess Peach all the time? If no, then why isn’t that just “my vision” of Mario?
I can have a vision of anything, but that doesn’t mean I should force it. And that’s what Halo 4 and 5 feel- forced. Nobody else envisioned Halo: Reach and down as being the type of games that 4 and 5 were, and yet that’s what they got. Why is listening to fans who want what they originally came for “bending over backwards”?
TL;DR Why would listening to the fans be bending over backwards? They basically just unnecessarily changed a bunch of things just so that it could be “their vision” which was no other Halo fan’s.
Did they have a vision from the beginning? I mean, I probably shouldn’t be commenting on this because I dont know a lot, but i dont even really know what 343’s vision is or was. And honestly i dont care so long as the story the game tells is good. That’s the biggest thing for me. The story. A game can have -Yoink- art and music, etc. but as long as it jas a really interesting story and characters, I’m interested.
At first I was a little iffy about Halo 4 and the direction they were going, but it grew on me and I really like it. Do I like it as much as the original trilogy? Not really, but it is a good game. Now Halo 5? I like the multiplayer, but the storyline really caught me off guard and seems a little out there. I mean how do you go from the Didact returning and bringing back the prometheans to Cortana rising up and creating an AI rebellion? That is the question I hope Halo Infinite will answer.
As for the art style, it’s not bad. I’ve grown used to it and I like that it sets the new trilogy apart from the old. As far as the music goes. Sorry, but you just cant beat Martin O’Donnell. Idc what any of you say. The man is a music legend. Dude really knows how to make good video game music. It’s a damn shame that he didnt stick with the Halo franchise.
Who are they bending over for exactly? Seems to me 343 has been perfectly capable of trampling over their own “vision” and this is coming from someone who genuinely excited for the future of the narrative circa Halo 4(despite some misgivings).
If their response to their own self sabotage is to do their best Bungie impression without their own voice than that says more about their own creative limitations than it does about the audience they are supposedly “bending over” for.
Putting that aside I find the “Now 343 is listening to the fans too much” line of criticism to be incredibly tiresome. No one at 343 was forced to join a studio that was dedicated to a pre-existing IP. If you want full control of your “vision” start a new IP otherwise you are just going to have to deal with the expectations of your built in fanbase. If your response to setbacks is to dive headlong into superficial nostalgia bait that is either a creative failure on the part of developers and/or unfortunate meddling by shortsighted corporate overlords.