Halo 4, One Year Later: What Happened?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Though Reach does retcon out that glassing a planet is even possible.

Then one of it's map packs unretcons it.

I really don't know what the hell was going on there.
They only "retconned" the idea of glassing the entire surface of a planet. Glassing certain areas or cities as seen in the multiplayer maps, and campaign(and Halo 3 and Halo 2, and books 'n' stuff) is definitely still a thing.
 
I finished playing the campaign last night and really enjoyed it. I think it's my second favourite after ODST. I liked the new enemies, but I would make the knights less bullet spongy. They take ages to kill if your stuck with a rifle.

Been pushing through solo Legendary since launch and am deep into the final level finally. Barely played the entirety of last year, but getting back into it I would rank the campaign higher than most other Halo campaigns. Game is still phenomenal looking too.

Knights are shit though, way too much of a bullet sponge and not very fun to fight. Either they stay at incredible distances tossing all sorts of hell at you, or they do their teleport rush at you for a deadly melee kill. Most weapons do suck against them as well and it can be difficult to really get a sense how damaged they are. Love fighting the covenant in this game, but I hate sections where I face off against the new stuff. Dogs are alright at least.
 
My problem is Halo is that I always seem to get my ass kicked online more than often, compared to something like COD where I can hold my own. I don't know if its me, but just my opinion.

haloaccess_25223.nphd.jpg


Have you tried Halo 4? Should be right up your alley.
 
CoD is twitch "I saw you first so you're dead". Halo takes a different kind of skill set - being able to duke it out and give 4-5 shots while being shot at yourself.

This is why I vastly prefer Halo-style MP...its actually much more skill based dueling rather than just memorizing maps and, running around trying to get the drop on fools. Titanfall, as addictive as it is, has the same general problem. If you're getting shot you're usually already dead. It takes away from an otherwise fun game and reduces gunfights to snipe fights and kick battles.
 
This is why I vastly prefer Halo-style MP...its actually much more skill based dueling rather than just memorizing maps and, running around trying to get the drop on fools. Titanfall, as addictive as it is, has the same general problem. If you're getting shot you're usually already dead. It takes away from an otherwise fun game and reduces gunfights to snipe fights and kick battles.


Why on Gods Earth did you bump this?
 
I'm not a multiplayer FPS person for the most part (Halo 2 and COD Black Ops were only ones I played for a while) so the multiplayer sucking never really effected my enjoyment of the game but that's a crazy decline in players. I really enjoyed Halo 4's 1 player and didn't consider it a disappointment but it's wild how much people on GAF seem to hate it, though I'm sure the crappy multiplayer is a big part of that.
 
Me and my friend play Halo: Reach on his Xbox360 in regular bursts, but recently we tried going back (or forward) to Halo 4 again... only to be greeted by the reason we stopped playing it in the first place.

The online is, for some reason, EXTREMELY laggy. We always play split-screen and online at the same time since I don't have my own Xbox, I just have a gold account for Halo until next year. But it is practically unplayable. We tried several maps but it felt like it was the xbox that couldn't handle the split-screen and the overly bright lighting effects in the maps, so the controls got laggy and delayed. Impossible to aim that way.

I just don't get it. It's a fundamental flaw, and the game is unplayable in online + split-screen because of it. And here I thought the issue of Halo 4 was its poor balancing of weaponry and etc.
 
I found Halo 4 pretty boring compared to Reach. I don't have much confidence in Halo 5, but I'm still interested to see what direction they take.
 
I've always played the halo games for the campaign that up until reach were awesome, halo 4 was terrible man, a love story on space
 
This thread is really good.

For me, Halo 4 died with the bullshit 343 pulled when THEY screwed up with the map pack. Lying like that to the community that believed and supported them is something that I still can't forgive.

But even if they didn't do this, I know that this game would not have legs with my. The multiplayer is broken and not fun. And the campaign, whole it had a good story and I liked how the Chief talked more, was way too linear and had no replay ability.

Sincerely, my hopes for Halo 5 aren't that great. We'll see...
 
Such a great topic.
I actually liked the Halo4 SP but the multiplayer is in no way to the level of other halos. I didn't like Reach take on it, and I didn't like halo4 also.
 
All I know is I wasn't nuts about the single player, and I've never seen a Halo game plummet in price so quickly.

With Bungie gone the Halo franchise isn't what it used to be.
 
It continued down the path laid by Reach. The continued use of armour abilities, the unbalanced gunplay, the loadouts.

It was a horrendous continuation of what Bungie did when it should have been a fresh start for the series.
 
All I know is I wasn't nuts about the single player, and I've never seen a Halo game plummet in price so quickly.

With Bungie gone the Halo franchise isn't what it used to be.

The Halo franchise wasn't what it used to be under their watch either. Are we forgetting just how much of a departure Reach was from the core Halo experience?
 
The Halo franchise wasn't what it used to be under their watch either. Are we forgetting just how much of a departure Reach was from the core Halo experience?
More people are forgiving of Reach's deviations because it was a spin-off/prequel, Bungie's last Halo game and they clearly wanted to try some new ideas. When a lot of that stuff wasn't received very well people couldn't help but be baffled that 343 would continue down that path. I also think a lot of people associated the return of Master Chief with the return of classic Halo gameplay, which also wasn't the case.
 
I'm not sure if I'm the minority or not, but I enjoyed H:4s campaign more than H:Reach. Multi player wise, I didn't like the additions to Reach and that compounded with H4.
 
Halo 5 is doomed to mediocrity.

No, this post is.

The game hasn't even been shown yet. We've been told 343i has learned a lot from Halo 4 - which was their first real game as a studio. With another great marketing campaign, where MS pulls out all the stops like they usually do with Halo, you can bet on it the game will gain a lot of traction and hype in the months leading to the release. Will it actually be good? Halo 4 was disappointing to a lot of people. I think Halo 5 has a good chance of turning that around.

With Halo 2A all but confirmed for this year, I can imagine Halo 5's MP will be based on it and Halo 3 for the most part. That's a step in the right direction.

Bottom line, posts like yours are not only premature, they add nothing of value. You can do better.
 
What happened is simple. Multiplayer makes Halo. The multiplayer in Halo 4 is crap with too much added shit and the fact there is no MLG mode in what is known as a competitive game is a sin. I forgot but it comparable gametype was so horrible and not the same with multiple weapons and only 3 maps.
 
I just don't get it. It's a fundamental flaw, and the game is unplayable in online + split-screen because of it. And here I thought the issue of Halo 4 was its poor balancing of weaponry and etc.

Halo 4 has a lot of issues, but yes, it does not play as well online as Reach. Reach isn't doing so hot either thanks to a large percentage of players in Mexico (internet infrastructure in that country is abysmal for gaming).
 
I still see around 10k online players, if we compare those numbers with the previous halo games then sure they are not that great but you have to look at how many shooters are available right now in the market. COD is a huge thing and since Battlefield 3 came on console its a pretty big success as well. Compare Halo stats vs something like Killzone, came few months ago and already dead.

People are just over exaggerating, Halo is fine and next Halo will be successful.
 
I still see around 10k online players, if we compare those numbers with the previous halo games then sure they are not that great but you have to look at how many shooters are available right now in the market. COD is a huge thing and since Battlefield 3 came on console its a pretty big success as well. Compare Halo stats vs something like Killzone, came few months ago and already dead.

People are just over exaggerating, Halo is fine and next Halo will be successful.

Yep. Halo hasn't been the #1 popular FPS since Modern Warfare.
 
I still see around 10k online players, if we compare those numbers with the previous halo games then sure they are not that great but you have to look at how many shooters are available right now in the market. COD is a huge thing and since Battlefield 3 came on console its a pretty big success as well. Compare Halo stats vs something like Killzone, came few months ago and already dead.

People are just over exaggerating, Halo is fine and next Halo will be successful.
It certainly is still a valuable property, but now its success is tied to Xbox One. I would imagine a large percentage of Xbox One owners will buy the next Halo games that release, simply because, regardless of the relative quality when compared to Bungie's work, they will be some of the best games on the system. Halo has a chance to regain mindshare because of the dearth of quality competitors.
 
343 as many have said here need to simplify the multiplayer. Get rid of loadouts, and the extensive armor abilities. Go back to the simplistic multiplayer that was both current and retro and I'll be happy. Halo 3 had everything right, that was the last time the multiplayer really hooked me for Halo.

Phil Spencer's comments on making sure Halo 2's MP was true to its roots or whatever has me hyped the most out of anything any developer or PR person has said in the past two years haha.
 
I still see around 10k online players, if we compare those numbers with the previous halo games then sure they are not that great but you have to look at how many shooters are available right now in the market. COD is a huge thing and since Battlefield 3 came on console its a pretty big success as well. Compare Halo stats vs something like Killzone, came few months ago and already dead.
l.

Are you seriously comparing the numbers of people playing on a platform with a 70M playerbase versus one with ten times less than that? It's not like Killzone even has the low on games library going for it since both BF and COD franchises are already available on PS4.
tl;dr That's a stupid, meaningless comparison
 
Are you seriously comparing the numbers of people playing on a platform with a 70M playerbase versus one with ten times less than that? It's not like Killzone even has the low on games library going for it since both BF and COD franchises are already available on PS4.
tl;dr That's a stupid, meaningless comparison

6 months old Killzone with 7million + user base vs 2 year old Halo with around 50millions(Xbox Live users).

well not a fair comparison but its definitely not meaningless. Since Killzone is a new game, I think it should have way more people playing right now.
 
I know most people will disagree with this but personally I would love for the Halo multiplayer to be more like Battlefield. Big maps, with 64 players and tons of vehicles (ghosts, banshees, tanks, etc..) Have it feel like an all out war, like it does during the campaigns. To me that would be amazing and keep me engaged for years potentially.
 
Here are just a few simple things that are on the top of my list.

1. SPLIT MULTIPLAYER!
The community is clearly split between the old school gameplay and new gameplay, why not have both? Have Halo Classic Multiplayer (No sprint, armour abilities, ordanace and loadouts) and have War Games.

2. BRING BACK THE GOD DAMN MAIN THEME.
It didn't feel like Halo without the main thing (the theme being played for 10 seconds when you arrive at a Halo doesn't count). Marty O'Donnell brought the franchise certain rhythms which have become a ideology of the franchise. Props to Kazuma Jinnouchi, in my eyes he should have been main composer and given full creative freedom.

3. NO QUICK TIME EVENTS
No QTEs. Everyone hates them, enough said. Ruined a great build up to a boss battle.

When Cortana rises up from the Hard Light bridge, she should have damaged the Didact's armour so he couldn't use his "force-esque" abilities, that way Master Chief could have had a fair one on one fight, reminiscent of the battle with 343 Guilty Spark,

4. NO REPETITIVE TASKS
Halo 4 just felt like pushing endless buttons and putting cortana in various machines. In light of what happened in Halo 4, I can see this being different in Halo 5.



Apart from this, I do believe 343i get a lot of hate when they do deserve some praise. Look at the Master Chief for example, his redesign is amazing. They keep the core designs of his suit while bumping it up to be more practical looking. They also gave him a true voice, Steve Downes did a exceptionally good job in Halo 4, his voice acting has improved very well.

Good luck to the people at 343i for Halo 5, it's make or break to win the community back.
 
Very interesting read - thank you!

I personally "liked" the game but that's not a good thing since I loved every other Halo game.

I also was looking forward to no more Flood until I ran into the Prometheans, who completely sucked and I think showed little imagination especially with weapons that were just the typical gun archetypes in every game.

Oh, and I really missed Firefight. The episodic content, whose name I can't even remember now, seemed just like generic missions and included the most annoying characters. It just wasn't that big a deal to play those.
 
This thread is really good.

For me, Halo 4 died with the bullshit 343 pulled when THEY screwed up with the map pack. Lying like that to the community that believed and supported them is something that I still can't forgive.

But even if they didn't do this, I know that this game would not have legs with my. The multiplayer is broken and not fun. And the campaign, whole it had a good story and I liked how the Chief talked more, was way too linear and had no replay ability.

Sincerely, my hopes for Halo 5 aren't that great. We'll see...
Ohh those were good times on the waypoint forums. I still remember laughing my ass off at some of the members over there protecting 343i and claiming that 343i wasn't lying. Fun times, sad times....
 
I still see around 10k online players, if we compare those numbers with the previous halo games then sure they are not that great but you have to look at how many shooters are available right now in the market. COD is a huge thing and since Battlefield 3 came on console its a pretty big success as well. Compare Halo stats vs something like Killzone, came few months ago and already dead.

People are just over exaggerating, Halo is fine and next Halo will be successful.

Halo Reach held 100K players 2 years after release. That was with BF3, MW3, and Blops on the market. Halo 4 couldn't hold 100K after a month.
 
343 as many have said here need to simplify the multiplayer. Get rid of loadouts, and the extensive armor abilities. Go back to the simplistic multiplayer that was both current and retro and I'll be happy. Halo 3 had everything right, that was the last time the multiplayer really hooked me for Halo.

Phil Spencer's comments on making sure Halo 2's MP was true to its roots or whatever has me hyped the most out of anything any developer or PR person has said in the past two years haha.

You know it's funny when I look at Reach combined with CE Anniversary or Halo 4 with TU, Throwdown, AGL, Proving Ground etc I see that simplified Halo game. CEA/Reach even had a huge remake map pack too.

I still play Reach/3/Halo 4 fairly regularly and they all have their merits and sore points.

I guess for some if it's not a direct blast from the past it's nowhere. Halo 4 should have had arena style play at launch but it's been there since 6 months post launch.
 
I want 343i to focus less on graphica and more on gameplay. halo 4 felt like a corridor shooter compared to the previous games. They need wide combat arenas and variety of enemies. Old style combat arrnas with large vehicle battles. Remember that epic battle with two scarabs in Halo 3? That needs to be brinh back, organic scale.
 
This thread is still relevant.

In any case, though... It would be wrong to not forgive 343, in spite of their flaws. I am hoping that their second attempt shall prove to be far better. They may have been ignorant, but I am sure that they are not stupid.

But I have been wrong before.
 
Halo: Reach held 100K players 2 years after release. That was with BF3, MW3, and Blops on the market. Halo 4 couldn't hold 100K after a month.
We can't fairly compare them.

Halo 3 and Halo: Reach reported concurrent users like Halo 4 does, but they each used a different method for counting players. Halo 3 uses a more liberal approach and thus counts higher than Reach with the same number of actual players. We don't know how Halo 4's counting works compared to these at all. On top of that, I don't think the counters are working properly for either of Bungie's games anymore (all Bungie-controlled server support ended on March 31, 2012).

Furthermore, counting concurrent or peak concurrent players isn't really the best metric for understanding or comparing player populations. Players per day is better, and Halo 3 and Halo: Reach reported player counts per 24 hours on Bungie.net. Halo 4 does not have this reporting.
 
I wonder if MS/343 care as much about your complaints on GAF as they do about the money you spent on the game and DLC? My mind says no but my heart also says no.
 
All the Halo threads lately got me to replay some of Halo 3, the level design in that game is magnificent in some parts. The Ark and The Covenant FTW. Think I'll throw in ODST today.
 
At least they're gonna give us H2A. I don't have any faith in Halo 5 being a return to classic gameplay, that shit doesn't fly today.
 
I've been playing Halo since CE and I really enjoyed the singleplayer campaign.
I don't have much to say about the multiplayer though, as I barely touch it and it's not what made me interest in the franchise.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom