I have been a Halo fan for a very long time and I have many concerns with Halo 5 that I want express with 343 and get people’s opinion on.
1.) Halo doesn’t need to evolve, it needs to change - Halo 1-3 made small incremental changes to the Halo gameplay formula by adding features such as dual wielding, equipment, weapons, game types, and maps. They did not, however, make massive changes to the formula such as sprint and thruster packs. People who tell me to quit complaining and adapt are not real fans of Halo because as a consumer and long time fan I want to preserve what made Halo magic. If I don’t like something in a game and I think it is ruining a series I have loved for many years and put several hundreds of dollars and hours into, I should have every right to complain. In fact it would be a disservice to quietly watch a series become just like every fps on the market and not share my thoughts with the developers. So please make smaller changes to halo like we saw in 1-3, although I have to admit that Halo 5 is closer to the Halo I love than 4.
2.) Halo is falling from it’s team orientated slow pace game play - Halo used to be all about the team and not empowering individual players. Equipment, for instance, for the most part was team oriented with bubble shields, the health regen, and the shield drainer that everyone benefited from. People could not sprint, meaning it was easier for teammates to stay together. Map control also use to play a major role in Halo where there used to be only 1 or 2 ways to enter a defendable area encouraging teams to work together to hold areas. Today’s Halo seems to be following the same suit as almost every other game, empower the individual. Sprint, thrusters, and other new features allow individuals to separate from their teammates faster. Sprint makes holding territory harder. It is easier for enemy players to run past the easily defendable areas into the more open areas trying to be defended and thrusters and clamer increase the entrances into areas, decreasing a teams ability to defend. Sprinting also makes it less important for teams to communicate the location of enemy players because about time the team is oriented to the threat the enemy player could have easily changed location. Faster game play means teams have less time to think, plan, and move as team. Halo 5 is all about individual movement, the focus is on making a game that is faster and more player independent and this concerns me.
3.) Objective games are becoming less relevant - Sprint decreases the amount of time it takes to get to locations on the maps or to reach objectives. In capture the flag the flag bearer is more likely to get killed because the enemy can die, respawn, and sprint right back to their location (this is why flag bearers had pistols in Halo 4). King of the hill also becomes more chaotic and less tactical because teams that capture a territory have less time to set up a defense before the opposing team respawns and sprints to their location. These are just two examples of objective games I am concerned about, but there are many more.
4.) (most important) It’s becoming harder to distinguish Halo from other FPSs - I loved that 343 brought back the Halo arena style of no weapon drops and customizations. But with the new spartan abilities, kill cams, etc. Halo is becoming too much like COD, Battlefield, and Titanfall. I am completely aware that thrusters and such were in Halo 5’s development before the new Cod or Titanfall. But when describing the difference between halo and these games I have less and less things to say. As of now the only big differences, in my opinion, is 4 v 4 focused, power weapons on maps, shields, and low customization. This list is considerably smaller than what it once was and maybe this is a good thing, but as games become more and more alike there is fewer variety in the game market. For those that say go play the MCC I will but for how long? Eventually there won’t be a credible online game for gamers like me to play, leaving us older gamers with an adapt or stop playing video games complex.
I have many more concerns, but these are the highlights. I love Halo and 343 for all their hard work, but in my opinion Halo 5 is going to be an amazing game, just perhaps not a good Halo game. I will reserve my final judgment when I play the final version of the game and thank you for making it through this long post and please tell me what you think. Once again these are only my opinions and I will try to keep an open mind.
-Tom