I love Halo, it’s my favorite game series to date. But the beloved franchise has found itself in dark times. I love Halo 4 and I think it’s a step in the right direction, but Halo isn’t what it used to be in terms of multiplayer. To be honest if I didn’t know any better I’d say Halo Reach and Halo 4 are generic games meant to look kind of like a Halo title when it comes to multiplayer. It’s my theory that other FPS’s have maintained their popularity because they’re very consistent with every game. The core gameplay is never very different from the last iteration even though the developer might add new features. Halo 2 and 3 shared that consistency, they were pure works of art and almost perfect when it came to online play. They were balanced, fun, competitive, and they really had something for every type of player.
When the developers of Halo changed the identity of the game by completely changing the way it is played they threw that consistency out the window. thus ruining the fabric of Halo’s once iconic multiplayer. Change is not always the way to go, and with the next installment of the Halo series I hope 343i will take Halo back to it’s online multiplayer roots so to speak. The developer showed us they are willing to listen to the community and they are capable of making a game worthy of playing for hours. They just need a little push in the right direction from the community.
When 343i begins development of Halo 5 It’s all up to them to ensure they send this franchise out with a bang as a certain Sgt. would want, and it’s my hope that the next two Halo titles will run on an updated Halo 3 engine. Though the developer has done some good in the last few years and we’d all like to see some of those features return. I speak for the majority when I say we just want to see a game based around what we’ve come to recognize in a Halo title, and not something completely random and unpredictable like the multiplayer in the last two major Halo titles.
Keep up the good work 343i, I hope to hear word from you soon, and I can’t contain my excitement for the next Halo game.