I’ll reserve the first ten slots of this post to the nonconstructive "Uh no --insert no reason – ".
So it seems like 343i has been trying to make their mark on the Halo franchise since inheriting it from Bungie. Unfortunately, it seems the more they try to make this legendary series their own, it appears they only fall further in the shadow of the predecessor. What use to be a culture of pride and really creative game planning has now turned into a bogged down mess of micro-transactions and players begging for fixes through monthly updates.
Remember the word LAN? Some teenagers might be thinking I’m a dope missing the D at the end, but before Halo was ever a universe that supported internet and online, it was your buddies bringing over their Xboxs and linking those bad boys up with some serious Ethernet cables. Those days of simplicity have been sorely complicated by the expectation that as hardware improves, so should software.
Graphics, expensive CGI scenes, and other cosmetic features have taken over this series, ripping it’s soul out. Yes, Halo does not have a soul anymore. Long before Cortona and Master Chief were sent drifting across space, there was a real hope that Microsoft had the next Mario on their hands. Now it really looks more like Halo will soon be one of those mega franchises, that repeatedly disappoints fans until the cash cow officially runs out of milk…err cash.
So my suggestion? Get rid of all these annoying features and shiny new armors, and focus on what made this franchise so enjoyable. Get back to making maps that don’t have the same general lay out, get back to a story that is passionate and compels players to choose single player, and most of all, get rid of this habit that we, the gamers, will accept a piece of trash because with the ability of hot patches, we’ll wait for an update. Get it right the first time, enough failed launches and rushed releases because money is what matters. Do you want to be the next Tony Hawk? Look at Street Fighter V, it’s entire legacy is in jeopardy because the developers believed the name would carry its profits.
This is Halo, it is our baby, and as much as it is your game, its ours too. Don’t let us down with the next one, -Yoink!-.