I’ve been seeing a lot of people when discussing issues or new things in Halo 4 either say “No this isn’t how Halo should be/ This isn’t Halo.” or “Yes this is how Halo SHOULD be.” And it got me thinking, what REALLY is Halo? A lot of people will tell you the story is the heart and soul. Master Cheif John 117 and his adventures across the Halo rings and everywhere else that’s interesting with his romantic interest Cortana the hologram. Other people will say that Halo is the multiplayer . And I want to find out just what makes Halo multiplayer, Halo multiplayer. Is it the weapons you find? The iconic AR? Or some other weapon? OR maybe it’s the maps? The movement speed? Melee strength? Shields and/or health? Teabagging?
Well, that’s not really easy to ask is it? I mean, not everyone shares the same interest that sparked their love for Halo. I think a lot of people will say balance is what keeps Halo high in the ratings. Others will say changes and innovations. I think what really defines Halo for me is the flow of each match. No, I’m not talking about it being fast paced. I’m talking about how it feels, how everthing works together. I kind of find it difficult to explain. I think the what really makes a Halo game work is how everything works together. The weapon placement,weapons, movement, melee, maps, mentality, choice, strategy, team, and just the Halo feel all create the structure that forms a Halo game. And if one of these don’t work in harmony with any other, it doesn’t feel right.
I think one of the best examples of a Halo game having flow is the warthog. I know right? Call me crazy. But think about it, the warthog nearly has everything to do with most of the aspects of the game, and it’s a good example no matter the game type. If you’re driving the warthog, and you stop near your team, does someone get in? Do they ignore your invite to join you on your warthoggy adventure? Well, let’s look a bit at what the flow really impacts. It impacts teamplay, it impacts strategy, it impacts balance. So if the flow is off, then you may have no reason to want to hop in a gunners position because maybe rockets spawn really close to spawn and they’re super OP. Or maybe the warthog is super OP and you may not want to get in because you have some dignity, or the the warthog is super powerful but hard to drive and yu don’t wanna drive off a cliff. OR if the warthog is OP in all aspects, you know you’re a target with a huge banner waving over you saying “MURDER MY FACE PLS”. But anyway, look at a game like Halo 3, if you’re driving a hog, 9/10, there WILL be SOMEONE on the gunner seat and even passenger. Even while Reach it’s had flaws, it had flow(maybe not the best), and you almost never have someone say Reach isn’t a Halo game. Now I know what you’re think “Well, of course someone is going to get on gunner, who’d pass up easy kills?” And to that I say; park next to the rocket launcher or sniper. Will you see two people fight over it and try to kill each other and ignore you or get in and let the other grab the weapon? Either way, I don’t think we can say Halo 4 is no longer Halo because we haven’t felt the flow of it yet. And everyone feels a different flow, but everyone’s flow means represents Halo in the end.
P.S. I know my warthog example probably makes next to no sense, and is probably flawed and contradicting and I probably set myself up to get flamed, but eh, what ever.
Edit:
<mark>TL;DR; Halo is defined by how it flows, and how it flows is different to everyone, but for everyone, is still means Halo (by their definition)</mark>