So recently I’ve been playing spartan ops and it dawned on me that some of the levels are better than the campaign levels. Anybody else think so?
Pretty sure most of the levels were ripped from the campaign itself. There are some good ones, but they don’t come anywhere near the quality of the main campaign.
I think most of 1-5 of Spartan Ops missions were ripped from the campaign, and others were multiplayer maps, could be wrong.
The main Campaign has way more things going for it:
- it’s playable Solo and Co-op (though there is no enemy scaling for Co-op like there was in Reach)
- it’s legitimately challenging (death carries a heavy price, you can run out of ammo)
- skulls can change gameplay up and add replay value
- you play as a superior Spartan that is better than Spartan-IVs in every way possible, but you’re not invincible
Spartan Ops in a nutshell:
- designed with Co-op in mind, it’s easily a deterrence to players who want to play it by themselves due to the XBL Gold restriction and ridiculous enemy scaling
- there is no worthy cause. You have a large supply of ammo crates, you can die repeatedly with no consequence. Mundane repetitive objectives: You’re often defending immaterial minor things that have no bearing on the story, wave fights with little to none pockets of fighting
- no scoring, which can add a ton of replay value to these kinds of challenges. There aren’t even skulls (the option at least)
- you play as a severely nerfed Spartan that cannot even get around without armor mods or assistance from other Spartans
An ODST sequel would have been more promising.
> Pretty sure most of the levels were ripped from the campaign itself. There are some good ones, but they don’t come anywhere near the quality of the main campaign.
> I think most of 1-5 of Spartan Ops missions were ripped from the campaign, and others were multiplayer maps, could be wrong.
EPISODE 1-5:
Quarry: Taken from H4 campaign Mission 5: Reclaimer. Map is the area with the three shield generators, along with the next area in which you fight the Lich. Both the entrance and the exit to the canyon is blocked off by a rockslide/rock formations.
Sniper Alley: Taken from H4 campaign Mission 5: Reclaimer. Map consists of the area where the Mammoth stops due to a blockage and the road being too narrow (bullcrap you can ramp right over that) to continue towards the particle cannon control room. Map extends from that area all the way to the entrance to Librarian’s Rest/the Sniper Alley Forerunner Complex. The road at the base of the rocky hill leading to the structure is blocked off by rock formations.
Fortress: Taken from H4 campaign Mission 3: Forerunner. Map layout matches the Forerunner structure and surrounding area right outside the first pylon, only with an arctic environment/palette.
Refuge: All new map. Refuge main area (center room) is reminiscent of the layout of the Midship/Heretic/Zealot maps (only upsized, and with additional paths).
The Cauldron: All new map. A structure/area in it bears a resemblance to a S1.5 map, which I will elucidate on later.
The Gate: Ripped straight out of H4 Campaign Mission 2: Requiem. The only two changes to the map are:
- The tunnel path leading from the ‘Gate Approach Canyon’ to the Gate structure itself has undergone a cave-in, most likely induced by the Covenant forces in the area.
- The left approach to the Gate structure from the direction of the cave now has more rocky cover, unlike the Campaign version.Heck, 343i didn’t even let us get into the Cartographer structure itself…
Galileo Base: Direct rip of the map Complex from WarGames multiplayer.
EPISODE 6-10:
Lockup: All new map. Note: The circular area from Epi6M1 where Fireteam Crimson was being held seems to be large-size Midship/Heretic-esque (only with a heckuva lot less cover, and fits heavy vehicles like the Wraith artillery tank).
Control: Taken out of H4 Campaign Mission 2: Reclaimer. Map is the Cathedral structure (as far as I can tell, the Terminus node and the interior of the Cathedral does not appear on this map) and it’s immediate surrounding area/plaza in the section “The Gateway”. A few changes are in effect, most notably the structure in the center of the plaza now has a roof, there are two beam emitters right near the tunnel leading to the bridge connecting the Cathedral to the Cartographer, and it’s night-time. Oh, and two other things: the gigantic beam being pulsed out of the Cathedral is now yellow rather than orange, and the structure’s ‘Tron Lines’ are now green rather than orange (also, there are considerably more ‘Tron Lines’ over the structure than in the Campaign version).
Warrens: All new map. Note: The ‘small’ structure in the back of the cave that acts as an outpost guarding the [back-door] entrance to Apex bears a resemblance to the structure(s) designated Forward Base Magma on the level ‘The Cauldron’.
Cyclone: Near-direct copy of H4 WarGames multiplayer map designated Vortex, (though not as bad as Galileo Base/Complex was) with a few changes: Removal of various grav lifts, and the central structure is more fortified than in multiplayer. Also, the map appears to be a bit darker (and more ‘sharper’) than it’s WarGames version. The wind effect is missing from the central structure, and only wisps of wind can be seen around the structure in the ‘back’ of the map. Blue ‘Tron Lines’ are added (or were made more visible) to the various Forerunner structures in the map.
Apex: All new map. (Would make one of the best BTB maps ever, IMO).
Harvester: All new map.
insert comment about Requiem Map Pack and how I wish it was a reality here