Before I start this, I just want to say that I usually support 343i. I quite like them as a company. They have kept us well up to date on all that they do and haven’t really upset me in any way…until now. In the Halo Bulletin: 5.16.12, they announced the limited addition and I was quite interested to see what they were offering. Usually companies get the limited and special (legendary) additions right. They should only ever be aesthetic and/or physical items, not content that effects the game in a major way and was produced before launch. However, 343i have effectively done what they should not do.
If you buy the legendary edition, for your £60 (I’m British, but the US price is: $99.99) you get: Bonus digital content through Xbox LIVE, Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn Special Edition and the UNSC Infinity Briefing Packet (see bulletin for more details). These I don’t have too much of a problem with. Assuming they were done when the art team had nothing to do, that is fine. Assuming they didn’t take any or very little effort of the programmers, that’s fine. The problem I have is this:
- You get access to the War Games Map Pack
and -
6 specialisations from the get go.
Let’s start with the first: - From experience in a game I am currently working on, I know that it takes a lot of effort to be able to produce a map. Not just from the artists, but also the programmers as well. This means that they have probably been working on these maps for a while. They would have to draw up the map, model it, do the programming for it, play test it, edit it further, play test it, etc. A lot of effort goes into one map. There are 9 available. Not to mention that they are releasing game modes with it as well. These are even more programme intensive! They should be available to all if they are taking up a lot of development. This could explain why they don’t release a beta (bearing in mind I defended this for the longest time), because they wouldn’t have enough people buf fizing.
Now, you may read it and think “It isn’t on the disk, so what’s the problem?” The problem lies in the fact that this content is being developed before the games release. DLC or not, content that is produced before the games release should be on the disk for everyone. This isn’t me being entitled, this is me being fair. If the content is being developed during development time, it should be on the same disk as everyone else as this development time should go towards everyone’s game. You are paying for a full game, and content not in the ordinary copy made before launch means you are not getting the full game. The content being post-launch DLC may make it seem not as bad, but knowing Microsoft the content will be released at most a week after the games release. I wouldn’t be surprised if they did what they did with Halo Anniversary and release this content to the Limited Addition holders the day after release; it’s still technically post-launch.
A day/week isn’t long enough to produce content for 9 maps by any teams standards. The content is obviously being made pre-launch. If the content was produced after launch, that would be fine. After launch, the devs could do all they like for the limited addition holders if it didn’t effect my gameplay. At least they’re releasing it as DLC for all later on down the line, but I can imagine that being a lot later, i.e. 6+ months. The only saving factor is the release of it for all later on, but they are effectively doing what happened with the ME3 incident, except they are disguising it cleverly.
- Some of you may question why I might get upset over the Specialisations issue (I use English spelling BTW). The issue here is the fact that Specialisations are quite important in Halo 4. They have an effect on your Spartan and any specialisation is a bonus for players. Giving 6 away from the get go is not fair. While not as bad as the DLC issue, it has to underlining problems: The first being it offers imbalance and a richer get richer situation whereby they are undoubtedly superior as they have abilities and you don’t meaning they can probably kill you more easily; and the second being the that they make the game easier. You are paying for AAA title, why would you want the game to be easier meaning you are more likely to stop playing sooner? Explain that one to me.
As far as I can make it out to be, you will probably unlock everything sooner, or these 6 specialisations are new ones that only the Limited Edition holders will have, which is even worse. If your going to do that, then have to make it available to all later on. Once again, this is content that should be on the disk already otherwise it is not a full game that you are paying for. This is effectively buying power (if they are new and exclusive specialisations) or buying initial power (if they are abilities everyone can unlock with progression). Some very skilled players will probably not be too fussed and be able to deal with it, but most will be at a disadvantage. What a stupid idea.
The reason I’m not complaining about the Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn Special Edition is because I’ll probably watch it on YouTube, and it isn’t taking a lot away from my gameplay, just a bit of lore if I’m really into the story.
As far as solving the problem, we’ll have to wait until E3 and when 343i releases more info on the Limited Edition. They better not make the same mistakes with the Legendary Edition, otherwise a boycott may have to happen to teach them a lesson. I don’t want to have to boycott the game, but if it teaches them not to do it again, then like ME3 I will boycott it.
These are my opinions alone, not anyone else’s. Feel free to post responses, but make your arguments justified and actually look at this from a company trying to abuse fans stand point. They should only release cosmetic and physical items in a game; not power or extra content that has a physical impact on the experience. The extra maps increase the longevity of the game while the start up specialisations give you power. Have a good think about that.