Does anyone else feel there’s a lack of set pieces and cinematic events in halo? Now before ppl go crazy, I know halo is a sandbox shooter and that should never change. However, i think we can all agree that 30% to 40% of the almost every halo game is linear. Taking Reach for example, there’s always a break between levels where you’re in corridors or a set linear path.
I believe that’s the best chance for halo 4 for implement some epic cinematic gameplay, now of course i don’t mean the kind where you can only move the camera and you basically just watch stuff happen. I’m talking buldings falling, or aircrafts crashing close to your face. I could tell in Reach the “long night of solace” mission, bungie tried to incorporate some memorable gameplay, which is why they showed off that level during E3. But it seemed like they slacked off because there weren’t many other missions like that.
And let’s not forget the scarabs…
i don’t understand why they didn’t even include one scarab in reach after having like 5 in halo 3. I thought fighting the scarab was probably the most well-fitted cinematic aspect of halo 3. It allowed you to fight a giant robot, in a sandbox environment, with total freedom, that’s why it was so memorable.
I’m just thinking what halo 4 could do to make it memorable because let’s be honest, cinematic gameplay is standard nowdays. The only trick is to implement it with 4 player co-op.
I was thinking of a hypothetical level to be like this:
Start off in the midst of a crazy cinematic battle, as in the odst trailer (skip to 0:32), after it’s over they could switch to more sandbox gameplay, perhaps only your squad survives, and you can grab any vehicle left on the battlefield. Now all of a sudden you have the whole environment to explore in search of a relay station or something. This is where an open environment is beneficial because the bigger they make it, the more areas there are to explore and you’re not just dropped into it, you just fought an epic battle . I have other ideas for exploration too, i’ll probably make another thread on that.
> Even if not the scarab, I’d love to see some big enemy like the scarab appear in Halo 4. The scarab was just so satisfying to fight.
Really? Not for me. The scarabs in Halo 3 were too easy. It seemed that I would only die from one if I was playing stupidly (running out into the open with an AR, shooting at it with a ghost, not being in cover or not moving when not in cover). The scarabs (or equivalent) should be a little tougher, imo.
I feel like this is the one thing that Halo should be willing to change for the better. I love how Halo is a sandbox game unlike many shooters out there today, but once in awhile we need a little break from the standard run-and-gun that we’re used to.
I feel like Halo 3 did a great job of this by offering more vehicle combat than other Halo games and in the end it really helped. The Scarab battles, the FUD landing on the Ark, Cortana’s cryptic messages, etc. These things all helped Halo 3 stay fresh which is what Reach lacked. The crashing ship on LNoS was pretty cool, but other than that setpieces were mostly missing. Even ODST had more setpieces than Reach did. The collapse of the orbital elevator, the Covie cruisers, and don’t forget the epic drop pod sequence.
I don’t want Halo to pull a CoD and become filled with scripted events, but having maybe 1 scripted event per mission wouldn’t hurt.
> Even if not the scarab, I’d love to see some big enemy like the scarab appear in Halo 4. The scarab was just so satisfying to fight.
Exactly my thoughts. I do hope they have something like that in Halo 4. It was so fun to find your way on board and take it out. I would love to see more of that kind of thing even if it is not a Scarab.
It will be kind of hard to implement cinematic set pieces cause like you said, Halo is built like a sandbox shooter where at times there are multiple ways to handle a situation and from different angles. The only time in Halo where set-pieces start to come into play are those infamous warthog runs.
This is a great example of amazing cinematic gameplay that’s built like a Hollywood movie. Bear in mind that it is pretty linear compared to the warthog runs, but you get the idea. Here is another good one. In fact, this whole scene in my opinion is the perfect “definition” of pure, cinematic gameplay (though like I mentioned, fairly linear).
More vehicle combat would definitely make a great addition to gameplay. I’m anticipating to see what 343 comes up with next. :]
> It will be kind of hard to implement cinematic set pieces cause like you said, Halo is built like a sandbox shooter where at times there are multiple ways to handle a situation and from different angles. The only time in Halo where set-pieces start to come into play are those infamous warthog runs.
>
> This is a great example of amazing cinematic gameplay that’s built like a Hollywood movie. Bear in mind that it is pretty linear compared to the warthog runs, but you get the idea. Here is another good one. In fact, this whole scene in my opinion is the perfect “definition” of pure, cinematic gameplay (though like I mentioned, fairly linear).
>
> More vehicle combat would definitely make a great addition to gameplay. I’m anticipating to see what 343 comes up with next. :]
Yes, yes, and more yes. I LOVE Uncharted, and while the cinematic portions and set pieces are linear, they are breathtaking to look at, and just exhilarating to play.
I would absolutely love for these to be in Halo 4, no question.
> > Even if not the scarab, I’d love to see some big enemy like the scarab appear in Halo 4. The scarab was just so satisfying to fight.
>
> Really? Not for me. The scarabs in Halo 3 were too easy. It seemed that I would only die from one if I was playing stupidly (running out into the open with an AR, shooting at it with a ghost, not being in cover or not moving when not in cover). The scarabs (or equivalent) should be a little tougher, imo.
I wouldn’t argue with them being a bit tougher to defeat. If you’ve ever played the titan mode on battlefield 2142 to get a general idea, a multi-layered defense you’d have to break through to finally defeat it would be really fun.
> > It will be kind of hard to implement cinematic set pieces cause like you said, Halo is built like a sandbox shooter where at times there are multiple ways to handle a situation and from different angles. The only time in Halo where set-pieces start to come into play are those infamous warthog runs.
> >
> > This is a great example of amazing cinematic gameplay that’s built like a Hollywood movie. Bear in mind that it is pretty linear compared to the warthog runs, but you get the idea. Here is another good one. In fact, this whole scene in my opinion is the perfect “definition” of pure, cinematic gameplay (though like I mentioned, fairly linear).
> >
> > More vehicle combat would definitely make a great addition to gameplay. I’m anticipating to see what 343 comes up with next. :]
>
> Yes, yes, and more yes. I LOVE Uncharted, and while the cinematic portions and set pieces are linear, they are breathtaking to look at, and just exhilarating to play.
>
> I would absolutely love for these to be in Halo 4, no question.
I’m glad everyone agrees. I think instead of labelling the game as “sandbox” and sacrificing linear gameplay, even though it’s there, 343 should try to master sandbox AND linear gameplay both.
Imagine actually playing through this cutscene with warthogs, tanks, falcons, etc.
of course it would have to be within the technological limits but i was really dissappointed after that cutscene, it was like a tease.
> > > It will be kind of hard to implement cinematic set pieces cause like you said, Halo is built like a sandbox shooter where at times there are multiple ways to handle a situation and from different angles. The only time in Halo where set-pieces start to come into play are those infamous warthog runs.
> > >
> > > This is a great example of amazing cinematic gameplay that’s built like a Hollywood movie. Bear in mind that it is pretty linear compared to the warthog runs, but you get the idea. Here is another good one. In fact, this whole scene in my opinion is the perfect “definition” of pure, cinematic gameplay (though like I mentioned, fairly linear).
> > >
> > > More vehicle combat would definitely make a great addition to gameplay. I’m anticipating to see what 343 comes up with next. :]
> >
> > Yes, yes, and more yes. I LOVE Uncharted, and while the cinematic portions and set pieces are linear, they are breathtaking to look at, and just exhilarating to play.
> >
> > I would absolutely love for these to be in Halo 4, no question.
>
> I’m glad everyone agrees. I think instead of labelling the game as “sandbox” and sacrificing linear gameplay, even though it’s there, 343 should try to master sandbox AND linear gameplay both.
>
> Imagine actually playing through this cutscene with warthogs, tanks, falcons, etc.
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn84-U_6jE8
> of course it would have to be within the technological limits but i was really dissappointed after that cutscene, it was like a tease.
>
> Bulletstorm is another great example:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPX0clZVXys
> i would love to see something like this
> > > > It will be kind of hard to implement cinematic set pieces cause like you said, Halo is built like a sandbox shooter where at times there are multiple ways to handle a situation and from different angles. The only time in Halo where set-pieces start to come into play are those infamous warthog runs.
> > > >
> > > > This is a great example of amazing cinematic gameplay that’s built like a Hollywood movie. Bear in mind that it is pretty linear compared to the warthog runs, but you get the idea. Here is another good one. In fact, this whole scene in my opinion is the perfect “definition” of pure, cinematic gameplay (though like I mentioned, fairly linear).
> > > >
> > > > More vehicle combat would definitely make a great addition to gameplay. I’m anticipating to see what 343 comes up with next. :]
> > >
> > > Yes, yes, and more yes. I LOVE Uncharted, and while the cinematic portions and set pieces are linear, they are breathtaking to look at, and just exhilarating to play.
> > >
> > > I would absolutely love for these to be in Halo 4, no question.
> >
> > I’m glad everyone agrees. I think instead of labelling the game as “sandbox” and sacrificing linear gameplay, even though it’s there, 343 should try to master sandbox AND linear gameplay both.
> >
> > Imagine actually playing through this cutscene with warthogs, tanks, falcons, etc.
> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn84-U_6jE8
> > of course it would have to be within the technological limits but i was really dissappointed after that cutscene, it was like a tease.
> >
> > Bulletstorm is another great example:
> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPX0clZVXys
> > i would love to see something like this
>
> 343 needs to hire you. Seriously.
LOL thanks dawg, i’d be happy enough if they just read this thread and listened to the people contributing to it.
What they really, really should avoid is things like the Scarab in Reach. I was excited when I saw it, I was wondering why we hadn’t seen a scarab for the whole game, and there it was.
I spent about 20 minutes trying to figure out a way to get onto it before I finally accepted that it was covered in invisible walls and barriers. Such a let down, to be taken out of the game and simply disappointed. That sort of thing is a horrible idea. It’d be fine if the object was fully out of reach, or if it was an object which has little interaction, like as you say a building falling over. I hope they do try to do more of this sort of stuff. Every enemy in Halo games has a scripted, set spawn point, I don’t see why anyone would mind if the scenery was just as scripted.
Best thread in the forum. Agreed 100%, nothing adds atmosphere like cinematic events. Even in large sandbox battles, you can have events like aircraft falling out the sky and buildings collapsing, they look just as epic regardless of where you see them from.
Halo 3 and Halo 3 both managed to hit the soft spot in terms of balancing cinematic, epic sequences and allowing for complete freedom and exploration. That very fact is what made Halo 2 the best Campaign and Halo 3 the best overall (and probably my favorite game ever).
Halo 4 needs the first half to be very sandbox and exploitation (because this IS a mechanical, seemingly hollow planet that we don’t know sh*t about) but I think that the second the story progresses and everything comes to place, we need an epic, amazingly unforgettable ending (basically how Halo CE’s ending felt back when it released, but 11 years in the future- they need to make something absolutely bada$$).
That way, the first half is a classic Sandbox Halo game as we discover what is going on and the second half (while still allowing multiple ways to achieve any goal) will be more epic than any Halo game before it with mind blowing set pieces akin to Halo 3’s Warthog Run (an the whole ending, it was just so good!).
Yea i think the worst is when they tease you with something epic but you never get to experience it.
> Halo 3 and Halo 3 both managed to hit the soft spot in terms of balancing cinematic, epic sequences and allowing for complete freedom and exploration. That very fact is what made Halo 2 the best Campaign and Halo 3 the best overall (and probably my favorite game ever).
>
> Halo 4 needs the first half to be very sandbox and exploitation (because this IS a mechanical, seemingly hollow planet that we don’t know sh*t about) but I think that the second the story progresses and everything comes to place, we need an epic, amazingly unforgettable ending (basically how Halo CE’s ending felt back when it released, but 11 years in the future- they need to make something absolutely bada$$).
>
> That way, the first half is a classic Sandbox Halo game as we discover what is going on and the second half (while still allowing multiple ways to achieve any goal) will be more epic than any Halo game before it with mind blowing set pieces akin to Halo 3’s Warthog Run (an the whole ending, it was just so good!).
Exactly, this is what i was thinking. This would keep the campaign from being a drag. I can imagine small sandbox battles with some memorable introductions to the new enemies, vehicle exploration in the beginning and slowly an all out war with crazy set pieces. Or they can balance it out going back and forth between linear and sandbox gameplay, with linear being cinematic. As long as it’s there at least.
They just can’t rely on that dropship gameplay for everything. This is what made me mad because majority of every level in halo reach was basically firefight mode. Even though the game was great, most of the setup was just dropships dropping enemies in waves.
> Halo 3 and Halo 3 both managed to hit the soft spot in terms of balancing cinematic, epic sequences and allowing for complete freedom and exploration. That very fact is what made Halo 2 the best Campaign and Halo 3 the best overall (and probably my favorite game ever).
>
> Halo 4 needs the first half to be very sandbox and exploitation (because this IS a mechanical, seemingly hollow planet that we don’t know sh*t about) but I think that the second the story progresses and everything comes to place, we need an epic, amazingly unforgettable ending (basically how Halo CE’s ending felt back when it released, but 11 years in the future- they need to make something absolutely bada$$).
>
> That way, the first half is a classic Sandbox Halo game as we discover what is going on and the second half (while still allowing multiple ways to achieve any goal) will be more epic than any Halo game before it with mind blowing set pieces akin to Halo 3’s Warthog Run (an the whole ending, it was just so good!).
i agree with the epic ending, but they need to try making new stuff this time. A lot of stuff from halo 3 and reach was reused from halo CE for nostalgic reasons, specially the ending of halo 3. They should make something new and original for halo 4, something that would have new notalgic references for future halo games.
I agree with the OP…especially on the scarab battles. Finding different ways to attack scarabs was my favorite part in all of the Halos’ campaigns, and I was shocked that in reach, the only interaction we had with them was driving past them in mongooses. That and only getting to watch the opening cutscene in Tip of the Spear instead of getting to play it were the most frustrated I have ever been with a Halo game.
