I remember first picking up the halo series back in 2001. My friend got himself this big ugly black brick , called an xbox. Halo , for me, re-defined the console fps genre at that time. What was so different about Halo? Folks liked the original halo series for many different and varying reasons, which makes the answer to this question, highly subjective. So i will attempt to answer, keeping in mind that my answer is highly opinionated, based on my own experience.
1.) Halo :CE had innovative controls.- the use of the two joysticks, one for moving, and the other for looking, was pretty novel for the time. It was difficult at first to pick up , because i was not accustomed to it. Once i got used to it, the realization of how much more freedom you have with respect to motion and looking ,slowly sunk in.
2.) Halo: CE, brought to the consoles, vehicle play- Not just any vehicle play. They designed the warthog and scorpion tank in particular, to have a driver and a gunner, producing some really interesting co-operative gameplay elements- forcing communication in a split screen environment with a friend.- Couple this gameplay element with 16 player system link over 4 separate xboxes in different rooms- you have a recipe for great fun and enjoyment.
3.)Halo CE’s campaign- while i do agree the campaign at best can be boring due to its monotonous map design and repitition, The campaign shines in local co op with a friend. I cannot count how many times i played “the silent cartographer” on local co op with a buddy, and on every playthrough, discovering something new in the fine details of the game, for example the extreme fine detail given to the textures on the walls, or , maybe the fact u can gunbutt an elite 100 times and make your frames per second drop to 5 (lol).
That being said, the most fond memories i have of HALO:CE , is the multiplayer system link with (most of the time) 7 other friends. It was mind blowing at that time to frag your friend half way across the map with a sniper, and him not knowing where you are. Not to mention that you did this when the other team is physically in a different room, so there is no screen watching. Tactics became real. Trash talk became real. Friendships were formed. “Halo Night” was born.
Halo 2 brought to the table , everything that halo CE had, with the addition of online multiplayer. I was so “hyped” for halo 2, reading every little piece of information that came out. That being said ,I was, INITIALLY, disappointed with halo 2. To this day I cannot pin-point exactly what it was at the time, why my initial impression was not so great. Maybe it was the color palate used, (especially for maps like zanzibar and coagulation), maybe it was the way the vehicles handled ( not as “floaty” like the original halo CE), maybe it was the seemingly low quality textures. But as I played more, I came to realize how fine-tuned the gameplay was. Halo 2 was extremely polished in its small-medium sized map gameplay. Vehicle gameplay as well as gameplay on large outdoor maps, was not as exciting for me as the original. Campaign for halo 2 was OK at best. It was Halo 2’s online MP and competitive matchmaking system that kept me playing till halo 3.
Halo 3 was the icing on the cake. It was everything I wanted in a Halo game. It felt as though Bungie actively listened to the community at the time. Polished indoor AND outdoor gameplay, both feeling fun and unique. Great graphics and effects, Intuitive interface, LAN play still there and fun as ever. They added online 4 player co op with incentives/skulls, while still maintaining split-screen co op ( not to mention you can mix split screen and online) . They added forge- This greatly extended the life-span of its multiplayer with player-created content and recording epic moments in MP that you can show your friends with the click of a button.
The only quirk/Disadvantage with halo 3 would probably be the net code/servers. While OK at best, the online “favor the host” system was at times really detrimental to the other team. Its really disheartening to know you won because you were host, not because the other team was bad per se. This is why LAN was still viable.
Halo 3’s Campaign was great. Had allot more playtime in campaign than Halo 2, due to the aforementioned additions.
I hold the Halo 2 and halo 3 Matchmaking system superior to any other competitive match making system. You were always sure u were going to get a game that tested your knowledge and skills of the game, and the only way to get better was to practice, not only by yourself, but you had to know your team as well.
I played little Halo ODST- in short, campaign was boring, firefight was great.
I did not play Halo Reach- Please forgive me, I played the beta and I did not like it. Maybe I did judge the game based on the beta, and looking back I should have probably given it a chance. Maybe I thought at the time it did not seem like a “real” installment in the halo games. ( i did not like the idea of jetpacks/sprint and how that impacted the gameplay).
If you haven’t realized by now, I will say that MP is the most important aspect of a halo game for me. The lore is of secondary significance. That is just my opinion, you can agree or disagree, either is fine.
So here comes halo 4. Brand new dev, brand new approach to a halo game. Its called Halo 4, so you know its going to be a “real” installment to the series. I had to take this one seriously, but at the same time be cautious. Halo 4 is graphically beautiful. Credit must be given where it is due. Thats the only thing halo 4 has going for it. You begin to realize a few hours after playing, that Halo 4 brings nothing new to the table. Sure, you can say it brings in “new” mechanics (from other non-halo games) to the game play.
Heres my analogy of Halo 4’s MP- Imagine a bunch of headless chickens running around in your back yard, and you have halo 4. There is no semblance of order. You are running around with unlimited sprint, everything is fine then BOOM!!.A guy blasts you with a binary rifle that he got in an ordinance drop, that you had no idea he acquired. You don’t know what armor abilities your opponents have until they kill you. All these random aspects, IMO ruined the competitive scene, which ruined Halo for me. If halo 4 taught me anything, it taught me what made the original trilogy great.
What i can say is, Halo 4 did not innovate. Maybe i expected allot from this new dev, and yes, I did. We are talking about Halo. If you dont remember, Halo was the reason xbox was even a viable option. I got an xbox, and 2 xbox 360’s just for halo. If there was no halo, there was no xbox. Plain and simple, lol. That being said, i cannot believe microsoft would let this gem disappear.
After being burned by halo 4, I opted out of halo 5. It seems like a pretty good decision to me . I never Got myself an Xbox one.
THE END.