As Halo fans, it is fairly evident that the game we all fell in love with 10 years ago has changed.
Some will say for the better, others who hold the originals true to their heart will embrace the changes with remorse and not gladness.
343 has taken a great franchise and changed it. But have they changed it for the better? Lets talk about not only Halo 4, but the future of the great Halo IP.
Halo 4 is introducing many things I once prayed them to not introduce. The first being loadouts.
Loadouts in Halo have been unwanted because not only has it been one in basically every fps since cod 4 (halo and a few others excluded) but the concept of loadouts means everyone starts with different equipment meaning some are at a disadvantage or advantage depending on specific circumstances. Halo was always equal ground at the start, fight for you weapons, use teamwork.
Halo 4 has changed this. But is it ok? The loadout system has never really been done in a game like Halo before. Its always been in modern shooters where you die in less than a second. Halo has always had an emphasis on map control, balance, and precission weapons were always the go to firearms ( power weapons not included).
So lets see what we have. In our loadouts we can choose our primary/secondary weapon/grenade. Fairly typical in most loadout systems. But here is where Halo’s loadouts differ. You can choose your armor ability, a feature unique to Halo. Other games have perks and such but none of them truly have a component that alters the very way your character is played. Someone who picks jetpack as opposed to hardlight shield will play their game very differently than someone who picks camo or hardlight shield.
Which means you will have multiple sandbox elements going at the same time, something you would seen in a class based shooter like team fortress.
Another thing that stays true to Halo is map control. Unlike most games where you just pick your loadout and run around essentially a collection of rooms looking for someone to kill, Halo maintains that element of map control. Power weapons are not included in the loadouts and instead must be found on the map classic style. This very detail alone differentiates itself from most shooters.
Now the armor mods. You could say they were like perks and you wouldn’t be wrong. But from what I’ve seen all the mods, for the most part, effect aspects that are unique to Halo. Like shield timers, armor ability length, etc. They are not as game altering as say last stand or martydom or some of the insane perks cod has.
Finally I want to talk about the ranking system. Ultimately the point o the ranking system should be to add longevity to the game and incentive to play. In Halo 4 it has been greatly improved from Reach’s system. But I still fear it can only take us so far.
We now have a 50 level system where we can rank to the top much like call of duty. That should take some time in it of itself. But I feel like the game really gets interesting when we reach 50 and choose a specialization. Unlike most games where your progression ends at 50. Halo 4 has actually done something fairly unique and I think our own arrogance has prohibited us from seeing it. When we hit the max rank we will be able to choose from 8 specializations with their own set of levels. We will be able to continue unlocking armor and even new abilities. And then when we finish our first specialization, we will have 7 more to go and 7 more armor sets and abilities to unlock. This should provide a lot of quality content and longevity to the game.
However it can only go so far. i fear without a competitive ranking system, there will be no reason to play other than for just messing around once all those tasks are completed. The 1-50 system kept players coming back for years. Yes it was flawed, but there are other ways to give players that feeling of earning their rank without simply doing away with their entire system.
We still have classic playlists which are armor mod loadout free, but we have those in Reach as well, and personally, I have no interest in playing them because there is no ranking system or reason. If I’m going to mess around I might as well do it in playlists with jetpack and camo and fun stuff.
Competition is synopsis with Halo. It’s been their since day one. Halo players want to be challenged, they want something to win for. If Halo 4 doesn’t have it. Halo 5 is going to need it or else the franchise will die.
So if anyone at 343 is reading this, you better start planning. Because in some way shape or form Halo needs competition. And though what you’ve done with specializations etc should add some life, it can only go so far.
Now i leave it to the community to discuss.
Do you like the changes?
If not, why not?
Do you like the direction Halo is heading or do you fear its crossed the point of no return?
Does Halo need a competitive ranking system or is the progression system enough?
Keep it clean