Just to Clear Things Up: A Note to the Public

Games Other Halo
1

Ive been reading a lot of posts recently of people complaining that Halo 4 is going to be too much like reach which is too much like COD. These complaints while understandable are illogical. The things people are complaining about, for example weapon skins, arent things that make halo bad or too much like COD.

Its understandable that people dont want halo 4 to be like Call of Duty, if its just like call of duty then why spend the time to play two games that are so similar.

There are things about Call of Duty that are good, it is a good game and does very well for itself, however Halo was never meant to be just another FPS along with Call of Duty. Halo has its own story to tell and thats what the designers at 343 are interested in doing with perfection. But the complaints ive been reading arent about the campaign or story mode of halo but rather the online multiplayer. Again Call of Duty has excellent online matchmaking and is a lot of fun to play but Halo is its own game and has always been different from COD.

The only thing that made halo a “copy” of COD is the lack of a true skill ranking system in halo reach. With out the ranking system, that we were all used to from halo 2 and halo 3, reach loses a lot of its competitiveness that halo has always had apart from any Call of Duty games where the ranks dont matter because they are entirely a testament to how long youve played and in no way reflect how good you are. With out the true skill 1-50 ranking system there is no way for players to stand out or truly compete against each other, and no sense of achievement from playing the game, no motivation to do better and win in order to increase in rank; after all you will rank up weather you win or lose, weather you do good or bad, as long as you play the game you will continue to get credits and rank up. There for the ranks in reach mean nothing just like the ranks in Call of Duty mean nothing.

<mark>THIS IS A LONG EXPLANATION OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF BOTH HALO AND COD. SKIP TO THE NEXT HIGHLIGHTED TEXT FOR A SHORT SUMMARY OF THE DIFFERENCE</mark>

The reason players like me who like to play for competition and prestige choose to play a game like reach rather than say Modern Warfare 3 is because even though the ranks in reach mean nothing just as the ranks in MW3 mean nothing reach still takes a lot more skill to be good at than MW3.

The way Call of Duty works is every person is allowed to create there own classes of guns outside of matchmaking for use during matchmade games. This creates diversity for the players allowing them to customize there guns and classes creatively unique from everyone else. However because everyone is able to use different guns right off the start of each game the programing must be configured so that all of the guns do about the same amount of damage, because automatic guns are a lot easier to master than say a sniper rifle, the game becomes unbalanced and too easy to be good at. This is because with an automatic weapon the player is able to just spam the trigger or spray bullets at the other team and get kills whereas with a sniper rifle you have to be precise with your shots in order to hit your target. This same programing, where some guns are harder to master than others, is used for any FPS including halo.

What makes Halo different from Call of Duty is The power of the weapons. In MW3 all of the weapons do about the same amount of damage, the only difference among them is how fast they shoot. If a weapon shoots faster it will take more bullets to kill someone than a gun that shoots slower. What doesnt work about this system is that because a gun like the mp7 shoots so much faster than any other gun it really doesnt matter that you have to put more bullets into your target than you would with a slower shooting gun because you will be able to get more than enough bullets into someone to kill them before they are able to kill you due to their gun shooting so much slower.

The way halo works is everyone spawns with the same gun and has about the same opportunity as anyone else in the game to pick up and use the guns that spawn on the map. This helps to balance out the game and the deciding factor for who wins is who is better with the guns available to them.

Because everyone has to spawn with the same gun the programing for how the guns work can be configured so that the guns are lot more balanced. Meaning it doesnt just come down to which gun shoots the fastest. While the range of the fight, meaning how far players are from one another, can effect the outcome the player who is more skilled will win regardless of what weapon they are using as apposed to what weapon the other person has.

<mark>The Main Difference</mark> between the two games, which I havent mentioned yet, is that in COD you can kill your opponent almost immediately without them ever having a chance to fight back, i.e. who ever sees the other person first will win. Where as in halo who ever is more skilled with the guns will win because the first shot doesnt necessarily kill the person and in most cases they will have a chance to defend themselves. In my opinion this is what makes Halo unique and harder to master than any other FPS.

Your complaints are illogical because you are saying that halo is becoming too much like COD when in fact halo has always played completely different from Call of Duty.

You say that 343 is copying COD by putting things like weapon skins, kill streaks, weapon drops etc. in halo 4 and this will make halo just like Call of Duty. The truth is game designers copy and mimic each others ideas all the time. I mean why not? If something is innovative and allows the player to have more fun with the game why not use it as long as it doesnt change the structure of your game. Things like weapon skins and armor abilities might be mimics of other games but they wont change the fact that the player, or team, that is more skilled will still be significantly better and will most likely win.

It doesnt matter if my gun is tiger skinned and the person im playing has a pokadotted gun, it doesnt matter if im using sprint and they are using jet pack. <mark>If I am able to use my gun and my load out more effectively than they use theres I will win, and THAT is what halo is all about.</mark>

<mark>READ THIS!!!</mark>

In conclusion, while in my opinion a true skill ranking system would make halo stand out even more from other FPS’s and make it more balanced and more worthwhile to play, as along as 343 does not change the structure of halo so that it plays just like Call of Duty they are not ruining halo or making it too much like COD and will continue to make halo the way it is meant to be.

“It feels like Halo, it does NOT feel or act like the other game(s) it’s being compared to”- Frank O’Connor

2

i agree fully, but haters gunna hate and one thing haters hate is change (jesus that was a mouthful XD ) i for one am certainly looking forward to and welcome the changes.

3

Just because they are complaining about things that Cod has, doesn’t mean they are illogical. Its only the stupid, dumb things that are illogical.

“Oh! Cod has guns. Halo has guns! Halo 4 sucks!” = Illogical.

“Oh! Cod has killstreaks. Halo 4 has ordnance. If its like killstreaks (Infinity ward ones, which reward noobs), then it sucks!” = Logical.

4

very interesting, I agree though!

5

> Just because they are complaining about things that Cod has, doesn’t mean they are illogical. Its only the stupid, dumb things that are illogical.
>
> “Oh! Cod has guns. Halo has guns! Halo 4 sucks!” = Illogical.
>
> “Oh! Cod has killstreaks. Halo 4 has ordnance. If its like killstreaks (Infinity ward ones, which reward noobs), then it sucks!” = Logical.

thats basically what I meant. They are saying things like “COD has weapon camo, Halo 4 will have weapon skins. Halo 4 sucks” but weather I used the correct word to describe what I was trying to explain doesnt matter. The point is halo has always been and will always be completely different in terms of how it plays than any other FPS.

> Your complaints are illogical because you are saying that halo is becoming too much like COD when in fact halo has always played completely different from Call of Duty.

6

I was reading through the Halo 4 news and link hub and found a post by Frank O’Connor that goes perfectly with what im trying to say. I added it to the end of the first post.

7

The complaining/comparing to COD will finally be legitimate when Halo starts using killstreaks, ditches energy shields, deathstreaks, 4 hour Campaigns, and ADS.

I do not see any of those features in Halo 4 nor did i see that in the screenshots or gameplay (however short they appeared, it looked like Halo to me).

As for the OP, good read. Not much to say without repeating my thoughts on the ranking system business :stuck_out_tongue:

8

> The complaining/comparing to COD will finally be legitimate when Halo starts using killstreaks

> I saw two different ordnance drops. The first was called by someone on the other team; I was running on the lower level of Wraparound, and suddenly saw a green indicator on my HUD, showing me that a Rocket Launcher was available up ahead and to my left. I headed that way immediately. I ran right into a trap. Three members of the other team were standing at the top of the ramp above the RL pod… I was turned to hamburger before I could even pick up the tube. Perfect example of a honey trap… and I fell for it. The second drop was mine - at some point during the game, I was confronted with a representation of my D-Pad, with three weapons attached to three of the four buttons. I hit D-Pad Left, which was linked to a Spartan Laser, and the image disappeared. Soon after, I saw that the Laser had dropped. (It was nowhere near me - clearly, as players learn more about the maps, this sort of thing won’t happen as often.) Again - I have no clue what GENERATED the drops; Frank suggested that there are multiple types of drops, and in the games we were playing, these were PERSONAL drops…

You were saying? Halo 4 also has its own perk system.

Anyway, I’m in the process of writing a response to the OP. I just felt like pointing this out.

9

> > The complaining/comparing to COD will finally be legitimate when Halo starts using killstreaks
>
>
>
> > I saw two different ordnance drops. The first was called by someone on the other team; I was running on the lower level of Wraparound, and suddenly saw a green indicator on my HUD, showing me that a Rocket Launcher was available up ahead and to my left. I headed that way immediately. I ran right into a trap. Three members of the other team were standing at the top of the ramp above the RL pod… I was turned to hamburger before I could even pick up the tube. Perfect example of a honey trap… and I fell for it. The second drop was mine - at some point during the game, I was confronted with a representation of my D-Pad, with three weapons attached to three of the four buttons. I hit D-Pad Left, which was linked to a Spartan Laser, and the image disappeared. Soon after, I saw that the Laser had dropped. (It was nowhere near me - clearly, as players learn more about the maps, this sort of thing won’t happen as often.) Again - I have no clue what GENERATED the drops; Frank suggested that there are multiple types of drops, and in the games we were playing, these were PERSONAL drops…
>
> You were saying? Halo 4 also has its own perk system.
>
> Anyway, I’m in the process of writing a response to the OP. I just felt like pointing this out.

That is not a killstreak, where a player is rewarded for getting X amount without dying so he/she can use bombing runs or tactical nukes. Clearly the player died on his first attempt to get to a drop area.

All this player did was first get trapped by the opposing team the first time (and dies) and on the second he picks up this drop. By moving around the map, not camping in a corner and calling in UAV recon drones.

He didn’t mention about controlling Pelicans or Longsword bombing runs either. He even admits that the drop was no where near him when he spawns the laser (though the entire wording of his post is weird anyways). The player never says he killed 10 guys for the personal drop either, he just found it when it spawned on the map.

Plus had no idea how the ordnance system works (beyond what Frank told him that it was more of a personal drop) so how can one just assume it’s kill streaks when the player who wrote the article knows very little of whats going on? Let’s not forget this is an incomplete build where ideas can be cut from now till release date. We might not even see this weird D-pad personnel drop thing.

10

> > > The complaining/comparing to COD will finally be legitimate when Halo starts using killstreaks
> >
> >
> >
> > > I saw two different ordnance drops. The first was called by someone on the other team; I was running on the lower level of Wraparound, and suddenly saw a green indicator on my HUD, showing me that a Rocket Launcher was available up ahead and to my left. I headed that way immediately. I ran right into a trap. Three members of the other team were standing at the top of the ramp above the RL pod… I was turned to hamburger before I could even pick up the tube. Perfect example of a honey trap… and I fell for it. The second drop was mine - at some point during the game, I was confronted with a representation of my D-Pad, with three weapons attached to three of the four buttons. I hit D-Pad Left, which was linked to a Spartan Laser, and the image disappeared. Soon after, I saw that the Laser had dropped. (It was nowhere near me - clearly, as players learn more about the maps, this sort of thing won’t happen as often.) Again - I have no clue what GENERATED the drops; Frank suggested that there are multiple types of drops, and in the games we were playing, these were PERSONAL drops…
> >
> > You were saying? Halo 4 also has its own perk system.
> >
> > Anyway, I’m in the process of writing a response to the OP. I just felt like pointing this out.
>
> That is not a killstreak, where a player is rewarded for getting X amount without dying so he/she can use bombing runs or tactical nukes. Clearly the player died on his first attempt to get to a drop area.
>
> All this player did was first get trapped by the opposing team the first time (and dies) and on the second he picks up this drop. By moving around the map, not camping in a corner and calling in UAV recon drones.
>
> He didn’t mention about controlling Pelicans or Longsword bombing runs either. He even admits that the drop was no where near him when he spawns the laser (though the entire wording of his post is weird anyways). The player never says he killed 10 guys for the personal drop either, he just found it when it spawned on the map.
>
> Plus had no idea how the ordnance system works (beyond what Frank told him that it was more of a personal drop) so how can one just assume it’s kill streaks when the player who wrote the article knows very little of whats going on? Let’s not forget this is an incomplete build where ideas can be cut from now till release date. We might not even see this weird D-pad personnel drop thing.

Firstly, a kill streak is a bonus given to play for obtaining a number of kills (something that’s not out of the question for triggering drops). It has nothing to do with bombing runs, tactical nukes or UAV drones; those are just CoD’s kill streaks.

Secondly, he dies when he tries to intercept the opposing team’s drop. When he calls in his own he gets it, but it spawned away from him because drops are still on a spawn system. Players now just have the ability to call them in when they want, instead of them spawning on a timer or randomly. Also, the fact it’s called a personal drop infers a kill streak-esque system in which a player will be rewarded for accomplishing a set task. Just like how Halo 4’s Specialisations (?) aren’t exact copies of Call of Duty’s perk system they do come from the same vein. Comparing Halo 4 to CoD is legit.

11

> Firstly, a kill streak is a bonus given to play for obtaining a number of kills (something that’s not out of the question for triggering drops). It has nothing to do with bombing runs, tactical nukes or UAV drones; those are just CoD’s kill streaks.
>
> Secondly, he dies when he tries to intercept the opposing team’s drop. When he calls in his own he gets it, but it spawned away from him because drops are still on a spawn system. Players now just have the ability to call them in when they want, instead of them spawning on a timer or randomly. Also, the fact it’s called a personal drop infers a kill streak-esque system in which a player will be rewarded for accomplishing a set task. Just like how Halo 4’s Specialisations (?) aren’t exact copies of Call of Duty’s perk system they do come from the same vein. Comparing Halo 4 to CoD is legit.

Camparing Halo 4 to CoD isnt the problem. I mean they are both first person shooters, of course they are going to be compared. The problem is saying that Halo 4 is going to be just a copy of CoD. Of course there will be similarities, again they are both first person shooters and as game developers come up with new and innovative ideas those ideas will be mimiced for similar games, this does not make them copies. Its like When mario kart came out with a way to boost your car to make it go faster and then when need for speed came out they made it so the cars could use nitro as a boost. even though these two racing games are entirely different they both use some of the same ideas because it works for the game.

Again the point is Halo is not becoming CoD. It will always be unique and different from any other FPS.

12

The overload of unnecessary gimmicks is what made people liken it to COD, it became too much in reach imo with too many medals, too many different armour pieces etc.

It looks like that trend is going to be continued in Halo 4, if you were a proper Halo fan you wouldn’t need shiny things to keep you entertained, all you needed was good gameplay. However due to all these unnecessary things they add gameplay will no doubt be neglected and it will be a bad game compared to other Halo games.

13

> > > > The complaining/comparing to COD will finally be legitimate when Halo starts using killstreaks
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > > I saw two different ordnance drops. The first was called by someone on the other team; I was running on the lower level of Wraparound, and suddenly saw a green indicator on my HUD, showing me that a Rocket Launcher was available up ahead and to my left. I headed that way immediately. I ran right into a trap. Three members of the other team were standing at the top of the ramp above the RL pod… I was turned to hamburger before I could even pick up the tube. Perfect example of a honey trap… and I fell for it. The second drop was mine - at some point during the game, I was confronted with a representation of my D-Pad, with three weapons attached to three of the four buttons. I hit D-Pad Left, which was linked to a Spartan Laser, and the image disappeared. Soon after, I saw that the Laser had dropped. (It was nowhere near me - clearly, as players learn more about the maps, this sort of thing won’t happen as often.) Again - I have no clue what GENERATED the drops; Frank suggested that there are multiple types of drops, and in the games we were playing, these were PERSONAL drops…
> > >
> > > You were saying? Halo 4 also has its own perk system.
> > >
> > > Anyway, I’m in the process of writing a response to the OP. I just felt like pointing this out.
> >
> > That is not a killstreak, where a player is rewarded for getting X amount without dying so he/she can use bombing runs or tactical nukes. Clearly the player died on his first attempt to get to a drop area.
> >
> > All this player did was first get trapped by the opposing team the first time (and dies) and on the second he picks up this drop. By moving around the map, not camping in a corner and calling in UAV recon drones.
> >
> > He didn’t mention about controlling Pelicans or Longsword bombing runs either. He even admits that the drop was no where near him when he spawns the laser (though the entire wording of his post is weird anyways). The player never says he killed 10 guys for the personal drop either, he just found it when it spawned on the map.
> >
> > Plus had no idea how the ordnance system works (beyond what Frank told him that it was more of a personal drop) so how can one just assume it’s kill streaks when the player who wrote the article knows very little of whats going on? Let’s not forget this is an incomplete build where ideas can be cut from now till release date. We might not even see this weird D-pad personnel drop thing.
>
>
>
> > Firstly, a kill streak is a bonus given to play for obtaining a number of kills (something that’s not out of the question for triggering drops). It has nothing to do with bombing runs, tactical nukes or UAV drones; those are just CoD’s kill streaks.
>
> I know it’s not out of the question but that would blatant rip off of COD if the drops were triggered by X amount of kills without dying. I am against such an idea as you don’t further reward the winning team by giving the losing team no chance to come back.
>
> But…
>
> When you mention the word “killstreaks” and compare to it Halo, you compare the entire list of things that make up killstreaks in COD. This is what people will generally assume that Halo will be doing next and not just this care package similarity either.
>
>
>
> > Secondly, he dies when he tries to intercept the opposing team’s drop. When he calls in his own he gets it, but it spawned away from him because drops are still on a spawn system. Players now just have the ability to call them in when they want, instead of them spawning on a timer or randomly. Also, the fact it’s called a personal drop infers a kill streak-esque system in which a player will be rewarded for accomplishing a set task. Just like how Halo 4’s Specialisations (?) aren’t exact copies of Call of Duty’s perk system they do come from the same vein. Comparing Halo 4 to CoD is legit.
>
>
>
>
>
> However, you just admitted right there that it was still on the random spawn system that cycles through pre determined locations even after he called in a Laser drop. That would mean that the player can determine the next drops contents and not the actual spot. A care package contents is something you can’t determine but you can pick where you want it to go. Seems like a flipped idea to me where the former is more Halo and the latter is more COD. So yes, it’s similar but deceptively so, I’ll explain.
>
> As a noob player would benefit from the COD take on the idea rather than Halo’s (as they can pick an advantageous spot to get the care package where in the Halo 4 system the player has no control over where the drop will be) and therefore, players cannot have free power weapons at their feet as most fear without set up for the drop.
>
>
> The other team who set up the first trap simply had control (by setting up near the rocket drop) and baited anyone who came near. The player fell for it and he died for pushing alone instead of with his team and playing cautiously. How was that player rewarded? He wasn’t even though he knew the rockets had spawned via UI elements. The better, smarter team won in that situation. How is that not Halo by rewarding the better team with kills and power weapons through control? The noob was killed for his efforts.
>
>
> So as far as personal drops are going to work in a nutshell:
>
> 1.Player A picks up the drop, which is a personal one.
>
> 2.Options of several weapons pop up on the d pad and he selects Rockets instead of Laser.
>
> 3.Instead of spawning right in front of him (like a care package would from COD), the game will randomly choose a drop off point in a pre determined location for the Rockets. UI elements will alert both teams to where and when the drop will occur.
>
> 4.Unless Player As team sets up and out slays the other team, they are not guaranteed that they get the drop. Player A has only influenced the contents that will drop next.

14

> The overload of unnecessary gimmicks is what made people liken it to COD, it became too much in reach imo with too many medals, too many different armour pieces etc.
>
> It looks like that trend is going to be continued in Halo 4, if you were a proper Halo fan you wouldn’t need shiny things to keep you entertained, all you needed was good gameplay. However due to all these unnecessary things they add gameplay will no doubt be neglected and it will be a bad game compared to other Halo games.

It’s what happens in the gaming industry. New technology becomes available and new ideas are introduced. The game developers for halo are trying to evolve and make halo better than what it’s been in the past, not just keeping making the same game with the same experience and outcome with the only difference being upgraded graphics. Halo will still continue to be halo but offer new ways to play and new experiences.

15

> > The overload of unnecessary gimmicks is what made people liken it to COD, it became too much in reach imo with too many medals, too many different armour pieces etc.
> >
> > It looks like that trend is going to be continued in Halo 4, if you were a proper Halo fan you wouldn’t need shiny things to keep you entertained, all you needed was good gameplay. However due to all these unnecessary things they add gameplay will no doubt be neglected and it will be a bad game compared to other Halo games.
>
> It’s what happens in the gaming industry. New technology becomes available and new ideas are introduced. The game developers for halo are trying to evolve and make halo better than what it’s been in the past, not just keeping making the same game with the same experience and outcome with the only difference being upgraded graphics. Halo will still continue to be halo but offer new ways to play and new experiences.

And what new ideas are being introduced in Halo 4, just sounds like a load of features that have been done hundreds of time before.

Halo 4 isn’t going to be as popular as Halo 2/3 were and that will pretty much prove the point that these ‘new technologies’ are what is needed in Halo.

16

> > > The overload of unnecessary gimmicks is what made people liken it to COD, it became too much in reach imo with too many medals, too many different armour pieces etc.
> > >
> > > It looks like that trend is going to be continued in Halo 4, if you were a proper Halo fan you wouldn’t need shiny things to keep you entertained, all you needed was good gameplay. However due to all these unnecessary things they add gameplay will no doubt be neglected and it will be a bad game compared to other Halo games.
> >
> > It’s what happens in the gaming industry. New technology becomes available and new ideas are introduced. The game developers for halo are trying to evolve and make halo better than what it’s been in the past, not just keeping making the same game with the same experience and outcome with the only difference being upgraded graphics. Halo will still continue to be halo but offer new ways to play and new experiences.
>
> And what new ideas are being introduced in Halo 4, just sounds like a load of features that have been done hundreds of time before.
>
> Halo 4 isn’t going to be as popular as Halo 2/3 were and that will pretty much prove the point that these ‘new technologies’ are what is needed in Halo.

Your contradicting yourself. First you say it should be the same then you complain because its going to be something that has already been done. Popularity cant accurately be measured. When Halo CE came out it was a brand new game that had never been played before, it broke ground in the gaming industry and introduced all kinds of new ideas for game developers. When Halo 2 came out it led the charge so to speak for Xbox Live as it was one of the first games to introduce online multiplayer. Halo 3 introduced the ability to save and watch your games in a theater mode as well as being able to create your own maps from scratch with forge. It also fine tuned the multiplayer experience with new ways of matching people by skill level. Halo 4 will have its own innovations that change the way it plays and what is available to the user. As far as popularity goes, the audience changes as the game changes. Some people stop liking a game because of the changes while new players emerge due to the changes. Halo will always be popular, the only thing that might change is who its popular with. You cant always please everyone, 343 is just going to make Halo as close to there vision of what it should be as they can.

17

> Quick note: this is multiplayer centric, because it’s why I, and a lot of others play Halo.

Hm… where do I start. For one, Halo and Call of Duty represent different sub-genres of first person shooters (which is a sub-genre onto itself!). Halo is, or, was, an arena shooter franchise, whilst Call of Duty has always been a tactical, class-based shooter. The main gripe a lot of players have with Reach, and Halo 4, is that the franchise is going away from being an arena shooter and coming closer to becoming a tactical class-based shooter, like Call of Duty. The announcements of things like perks, weapon customisation and skins furthers the notation that the franchise is changing sub-genres as these mechanics are popular in tactical class-based shooters and are almost non-existent in arena shooters.

But what are arena and tactical shooters?

Let’s go back in time, to the year 1991. Id software released their new game, Hover Tank 3D. A classic shoot 'em up, but it had an interesting gimmick. The game was played in three dimensions! Yes, this was an early first person shooter; a shooter game played from the first person perspective. With id software’s next release, Catacomb 3-D, the game featured new mechanics: powerups, items and weapons that spawned on the map awaiting use from players. Thus the sub-genre of first person shooters was born, arena shooters! Id software continued to refine and play with this sub-genre throughout their career with games like Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake. In order for a first person shooter to be classified as an arena shooter it needs to follow the basic outlines of one, which means it must have an arena (map) containing powerups, items and weapons.

Tactical shooters came after arena shooters, and were a product of wanting to do something different; to break away from the norm, because believe it or not, back in the early days, if you played a FPS it was an arena shooter. The tactical shooter sub-genre of first person shooters simulates realistic combat situations, which means tactics and caution are of centre focus. This is polar opposite to arena games, where caution is hindering and twitch-reflexes and thinking are a must, though tactics are a large factor in both sub-genres. The actual level of realism in a tactical shooter can vary from anything to combat simulation games like Red Orchestra, to arcade games such as Counter Strike or Call of Duty. Since this sub-genre focuses on realistic combat situations games that fall into this category tend to lack map-spawned powerups, items and weapons. However, theoretically, a game can become a tactical arena shooter. I’ve yet too see one though.

18

Halo’s multiplayer is arena shooter-esque… but was it meant to be?

Halo CE’s multiplayer component fits squarely with what defines an arena shooter (though CE is slower paced than the normal arena shooter), and that’s probably because the multiplayer was rushed and based of what was popular at the time: Quake 3 (an arena shooter by id software). If Bungie had more time to develop Halo: Combat Evolved I have no doubt in my mind the multiplayer would be very different to what it eventually became. I imagine it would’ve been a lot more like Reach. The fact that Bungie calls Halo: Reach their definitive Halo game and their original vision of CE strengthens this notation. Though if Halo: CE didn’t turn out the way it did I, and others, probably wouldn’t of started playing Halo.

Regardless, I say this because Halo’s multiplayer and campaign components are extremely disjointed. The campaign component of Halo is quite realistic in its universe of discourse; Master Chief can’t magically carry an infinite amount of weapons, weapons need reloading, he fights alongside squads of troopers, etc… Everything is explained to the user, and everything behaves in a realistic military manner (in terms of science fiction, anyway). However, when you look at the multiplayer component you have strange play spaces that make no fictional sense, weapons, items, powerups and players that magically appear on the map: nothing makes sense and things are there simply for the purpose of what’s fun.

With Reach they removed things that didn’t make sense, such as powerups (a vital aspect of arena shooters), and added in things that made multiplayer seem more realistic, and comprehensible. How do Spartans jump so high? Jet packs. How are Spartans able to run so fast? They sprint. How do Spartans turn invisible? A ‘magical’ powerup doesn’t make sense, but a sophisticated electronic cloaking device does. Guns don’t shoot perfectly straight (even in the future!) so bloom was added to add that level of realism in the Halo universe. Reach also introduced more realistic multiplayer scenarios, such as the Invasion gametype. Whilst Reach’s multiplayer isn’t quite the definition of a tactical shooter, Bungie were heading in that direction. This is why a lot of Halo players “hate” Reach; they like arena shooters, not tactical shooters.

343 want to continue fleshing out the multiplayer component of Halo, and the result of that is a game that resembles a tactical shooter more than an arena shooter, because that’s what the Halo universe calls for. 343 want a game that simulates realistic combat situations in the Halo universe.

> Tactical shooters are designed for realism. It is not unusual for players to be killed with a single bullet, and thus players must be more cautious than in other shooter games. The emphasis is on realistic modeling of weapons, and power-ups are often more limited than in other action games. This restrains the individual heroism seen in other shooter games, and thus tactics become more important. Overall, the style of play is typically slower than other action games. Jumping techniques are sometimes de-emphasized in order to promote realism, with some games going so far as to omit a jump button. In contrast to games that emphasize running and shooting, tactical shooters require more caution and patience, and games are sometimes designed so that shooting becomes inaccurate while running. Some tactical shooters lack the crosshair seen in other first-person shooters, in order to achieve a high degree of realism.
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> Many tactical shooters make use of group-based combat… Many games also offer a multiplayer online play, allowing human players to strategize. Team-based tactics are emphasized more than other shooter games, and thus accurate aiming and quick reflexes are not always sufficient for victory.
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> The level design usually reflects the game’s setting… Some games take place in entirely fictional universes, and incorporate elements of science fiction. Each level will have different objectives. Although some levels may simply require that the player defeat their enemy, other levels may challenge the player to escort a VIP safely to a specific location. Levels are often designed with check points or alternate routes. It becomes important to exploit a superior position, or take the enemy by surprise.

Gameplay from Halo: Combat Evolved. Gameplay from Halo: Reach.

Players aren’t bashing Halo 4 because it has feature similar to Call of Duty, but because the game is gradually moving away from being an arena shooter and more towards being a sci-fi tactical shooter, and the CoD-esque features back up the notation (and their ‘fears’). Can you really blame them though? The original trilogy’s multiplayer targeted fans of arena shooters, and now it’s changing.

19

I just want a better ranking system in Halo 4, and I don’t even care if it’s not the 1-50 system as long it’s not like Reach’s ranking system. You get credits just for forging, and saying you are better than someone else is just plain dumb.

What would be better if you could get ranks for differnet game types. You can be a general in Forge, while being a Sargent in Matchmaking.

20

> i agree fully, but haters gunna hate and one thing haters hate is change (jesus that was a mouthful XD ) i for one am certainly looking forward to and welcome the changes.

This reflects my opinion as well, just sayin’