Support NeoGAF

[Trey]

Well that's good, but I still think stickies should kill ghosts, with or without perk.

They don't?

 

[Havok]

They don't?

It takes two to kill a Ghost at full health. Which is the right decision, considering anyone can spawn with a plasma pistol and plasma grenades.

Oh, I thought it increased the splash and decreased the damage you take from grenades lol.

I believe this is accurate. The wording is a little vague, but "Alters grenade performance, increasing blast radius and decreasing grenade damage received" indicates that both changes are benefits to the user, otherwise it would say "decreasing grenade damage dealt" or something like that. I'm sure someone has tested it to make sure, it's only a matter of time before it's common knowledge.

 

[Silly.Mikey]

Legendary solo started hard. The first 3-4 chapters were painful. The second half of the game became much easier. (But maybe i just got better). There were a few times i ran past enemies because there was no way i would take them down.

On heroic for me, it was the complete opposite. The first few were easy peasy and from 4 on became much more challenging.

 

[Mizzou Gaming]

I don't understand this. The Terminals in Halo CEA play in game.

Correct, but if you go into Waypoint they have them in there too and I think u get some sort of reward if they are unlocked but in WayPoint they are all locked even though I found and watched all of them in the actual game. Ive seen several people ask about this very same issue but no one seems to be able to answer it.

 

[Deleted member 30609]

The fiction is a bit of a catastrophe. They had a chance to keep things lean and to the point in this game after the last trilogy, and somehow, somewhere, someone decided that a similarly convoluted story would be a great direction for Halo 4.

 

[Silly.Mikey]

It takes two to kill a Ghost at full health. Which is the right decision, considering anyone can spawn with a plasma pistol and plasma grenades.

Thats true. Makes sense.

 

[daedalius]

The fiction is a bit of a catastrophe. They had a chance to keep things lean and to the point in this game after the last trilogy, and somehow, somewhere, someone decided that a similarly convoluted story would be a great direction for Halo 4.

Its really not.

 

[Surface of Me]

It takes two to kill a Ghost at full health. Which is the right decision, considering anyone can spawn with a plasma pistol and plasma grenades.

Yes, but overall I don't think plasmas are as prominent in games as past halos, since not everyone can pick them up. And what about the sticky pistol? You have to play matador with a boosting ghost to get it on one really, I think you should be rewarded for that.

 

[Diablohead]

I always expect a railgun shot to knock over a warthog or at least tip it over, instead it tickles it and as my reward I get chaingun'd

 

[Trey]

The fiction is a bit of a catastrophe. They had a chance to keep things lean and to the point in this game after the last trilogy, and somehow, somewhere, someone decided that a similarly convoluted story would be a great direction for Halo 4.

Really? I felt the game was too lean on its story to the point you couldn't understand what was going on without supplemental material.

 

[Emperor Bohe]

where is team swat?!?!? D=

 

[Deleted member 30609]

Really? I felt the game was too lean on its story to the point you couldn't understand what was going on without supplemental material.

That's what I mean. I have no idea what's going on and what's at stake. I barely even understand my current objectives.

 

[Squall ASF]

Legendary solo started hard. The first 3-4 chapters were painful. The second half of the game became much easier. (But maybe i just got better). There were a few times i ran past enemies because there was no way i would take them down.

I hope it's difficult as every other Halo has been far too easy. I have fun regardless, but it would be interesting for a campaign to be challenging for a change. I probably made it easier playing Co-op first as I know the most effective ways to take down Knights now and what to do in general. What can you do? Promised my friend I wouldn't play any new levels without him haha

 

[BearPawB]

On heroic for me, it was the complete opposite. The first few were easy peasy and from 4 on became much more challenging.

Trying to think when i got stuck the most. The part in the jungle with the turrets had me stuck for awhile.

Spoiler

As well as the first time you met the promethians and they were battling together against the covenant.

 

[Surface of Me]

Any part where you get into a banshee was the hardest IMO.

 

[Squall ASF]

Really? I felt the game was too lean on its story to the point you couldn't understand what was going on without supplemental material.

That's what I mean. I have no idea what's going on and what's at stake. I barely even understand my current objectives.

What? What confused you guys? I haven't read the books and still haven't watched the terminal footage but everything made perfect sense to me. I want more details, but this is the first installment of a trilogy and more will be fleshed out going forth. I hear the terminals add a lot of background to the plot as well and are well worth watching.

 

[BearPawB]

Any part where you get into a banshee was the hardest IMO.

I felt wayyyy too fragile.

Spoiler

and the floor of the level was way to close, plasma pistol shots killed me more than anything

 

[J-Roderton]

I'm really liking this MP so far. I think it's miles ahead of Reach's. The fact that I can randomly get a sniper rifle dropped down to me for an ordinance is too good. So far haven't played much besides Infinity slayer but waiting til I can full screen it to jump into the objective games and BTB. Really good so far, though.

This is, however, the first time I have not had any fun at all playing a Halo campaign. Been co-oping it with my buddy and after 4 missions completed I didn't want to play anymore. We're playing on Heroic, so it's challenging enough for us, but it's so damn boring. Wish I could just watch someone play it instead of having to go through it myself. I'm hoping it will pick up in the scond half. The opening video was really cool, though.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to trying out the Spartan Ops and unlocking some of those specializations for MP. Seems like they have some cool stuff to them.

 

[Havok]

Yes, but overall I don't think plasmas are as prominent in games as past halos, since not everyone can pick them up. And what about the sticky pistol? You have to play matador with a boosting ghost to get it on one really, I think you should be rewarded for that.

Give it a month, plasmas/plasma pistol will be super prominent in BTB loadouts as everybody starts to figure out that they can make vehicles totally irrelevant with a simple loadout choice. As for the sticky detonator, I believe if you hit close to the driver, it'll kill him. Obviously not ideal, but it's something.

 

[AndresON777]

I always expect a railgun shot to knock over a warthog or at least tip it over, instead it tickles it and as my reward I get chaingun'd

lol yep. I hate that.


What's that tiny map with the banshee and tank? Looks like a mini blood gulch with some foliage and tunnels and shit. If the other team gets on the vehicles and they half know what they're doing you can get demolished. smh

 

[Diablohead]

Oh, I thought it increased the splash and decreased the damage you take from grenades lol.

That is what I thought too, bad wording.

 

[NullPointer]

The fiction is a bit of a catastrophe. They had a chance to keep things lean and to the point in this game after the last trilogy, and somehow, somewhere, someone decided that a similarly convoluted story would be a great direction for Halo 4.

And even if the story does make sense, they gave the basic player next to ZERO information to work with. Its really the worst of any Halo game, as far as coherence goes.

I thought the point in putting more fiction INTO the game itself was to provide the gamer some of the experience only found in the books and extended fiction. And to a small degree they did - new players or those who only know the previous games did get a sense that the world was deeper and more meaningful, but that same audience was cast adrift with no explanation for anything important. Not only things that drive the larger fiction, but things that drive the core elements of THIS game.

I mean, I honestly don't understand how they dropped the ball so bad on this. They got so much right otherwise.

 

[Trey]

That's what I mean. I have no idea what's going on and what's at stake. I barely even understand my current objectives.

I too think the campaign could have done much better fiction-wise. It's decidedly less concise than all other Halo games.

What? What confused you guys? I haven't read the books and still haven't watched the terminal footage but everything made perfect sense to me. I want more details, but this is the first installment of a trilogy and more will be fleshed out going forth. I hear the terminals add a lot of background to the plot as well and are well worth watching.

I knew what was going on because I have read all the supplemental material. If I was introduced to the

Spoiler

Didact, Librarian and Prometheans

in game I'd be wondering what the fuck was going on. The game omits key information from the main storyline only to relegate said information to the terminals which don't even play in-game.

 

[Diablohead]

holy shit 4 spawns in a row I get instagibbed by the gauss cannon of the same warthog, auto aim up the wazoo and nothing I can do :/

 

[Surface of Me]

I want to say the confusion in the story is on purpose, almost like Cloverfield or something. Chief had almost no idea what was happening through most of it, he just had to trust Cortana, so the player also didn't know a lot of information. I hope this is what it was.

I want to believe.

 

[Trey]

Give it a month, plasmas/plasma pistol will be super prominent in BTB loadouts as everybody starts to figure out that they can make vehicles totally irrelevant with a simple loadout choice.

OPERATOR laughs at you once again as he spins your pulpy remains from the treads of his tires.

God, this game will be dumb random in a month. May god bless whichever poor souls have to manage matchmaking.

 

[zethren]

I don't understand. Nothing about the fiction was a catastrophe. The game told you the bare minimum of what you need. Want more elaborated, read the extended fiction.

It's all pretty straightforward.

 

[Squall ASF]

And even if the story does make sense, they gave the basic player next to ZERO information to work with. Its really the worst of any Halo game, as far as coherence goes.

I thought the point in putting more fiction INTO the game itself was to provide the gamer some of the experience only found in the books and extended fiction. And to a small degree they did - new players or those who only know the previous games did get a sense that the world was deeper and more meaningful, but that same audience was cast adrift with no explanation for anything important. Not only things that drive the larger fiction, but things that drive the core elements of THIS game.

I mean, I honestly don't understand how they dropped the ball so bad on this. They got so much right otherwise.

What the heck are you talking about? I'd understand the complaint that the terminal information should just have been in-game but what else can you really complain about? Everything made sense, none of it requires prior knowledge to understand (I had none) so what's the problem? I'd like to know more about a few characters and apparently the terminals do that, not to mention we could learn more in the next one. Remember, it's the first game in a trilogy that is sharing the same over arching plot. That said, I still think everything that happened in this game was explained and made sense and it's more of a matter of figuring out where the next game will take the story and maybe some more background information, depending on how much the terminals reveal.

 

[Trey]

I don't understand. Nothing about the fiction was a catastrophe. The game told you the bare minimum of what you need. Want more elaborated, read the extended fiction.

It's all pretty straightforward.

Catastrophe is strong wording but the campaign's fiction leaves a lot to be desired. Only thing 343 delivered on satisfactorily was Cortana and Chief's interaction.

I really need to write my review.

 

[SlasherJPC]

TLDR: Bravo 343! Campaign is fantastic and can't wait to see what happens next. Bring on MP!

Had a blast playing through the campaign with you and our other friends! Good times. On to Spartan Missions!

 

[Wizman23]

Game is blast so far. Hit level 31 in MP and it is the most fun playing a MP game since back in the Halo 2 days. As far as campaign is concerned I just finished the 3rd mission and Bra Fucking O so far. Can't wait to see what the remaining 5 levels are like. The areas visited so far are hands down some of the best in the series so far. I have yet to have a problem finding weapons and ammo either like a lot of people keep bitching about here. Like past Halo games just look around and explore and you will be rewarded.

My only minor complaints so far:

1. Campaign and Spartan Ops NEED scoring and medals. I hope this is the number one thing the game receives in a future update. Even before campaign theater.

2. Spartan Ops seems like a HUGE WASTE of resources. I went through the first 5 levels of Spartan Ops on Legendary with friends and I have no desire to ever play them again. Scoring and medals might change that, but at this point I'm more looking forward to the release of the first map pack then the upcoming episodes of Spartan Ops. Through the first 3 levels alone in campaign there were some pretty kick ass firefight areas that probably would have been a hell of a lot easier to port to a firefight mode then mass undertaking of what is being put into Spartan Ops. For Halo 5 instead of a new episode per week how about release a new map/firefight space each week. Not only would this please the community greatly but it would also free up tons of resources for the people making these missions and cut scenes.

 

[Riggs]

I am playing this and really loving it. But I have no idea what is going on in the campaign, I thought maybe that is because I am fucking dumb ... but apparently I am not the only one who is kind of lost here. I never read Halo lore, I played the first 3 but only one time each so I didn't remember a lot of things.

Also never played Reach.

 

[BearPawB]

What the heck are you talking about? I'd understand the complaint that the terminal information should just have been in-game but what else can you really complain about? Everything made sense, none of it requires prior knowledge to understand (I had none) so what's the problem? I'd like to know more about a few characters and apparently the terminals do that, not to mention we could learn more in the next one. Remember, it's the first game in a trilogy that is sharing the same over arching plot. That said, I still think everything that happened in this game was explained and made sense and it's more of a matter of figuring out where the next game will take the story and maybe some more background information, depending on how much the terminals reveal.

I liked the story. i still dont think parts made sense?

Spoiler

How did MC survive a nuke? if it was the light bridge wrapped around him how does a light bridge survive a nuke? How did cortana do this? Was cortana made corporeal in the end? was that a vision?

 

[NullPointer]

What the heck are you talking about? I'd understand the complaint that the terminal information should just have been in-game but what else can you really complain about? Everything made sense, none of it requires prior knowledge to understand (I had none) so what's the problem? I'd like to know more about a few characters and apparently the terminals do that, not to mention we could learn more in the next one. Remember, it's the first game in a trilogy that is sharing the same over arching plot. That said, I still think everything that happened in this game was explained and made sense and it's more of a matter of figuring out where the next game will take the story and maybe some more background information, depending on how much the terminals reveal.

My initial impressions after beating the campaign:

Here's the thing (full game spoilers, beware):

Spoiler

Nobody, at any point in this campaign stops for a moment and asks "Who is this Didact person?", "Why does he hate humanity?", "Who is the Librarian?", "What does this conductor do exactly?", "Why is it a threat?", "What is meant by 'Prometheans are ancient humanity'?"

To leave the audience absolutely, 100% bereft of any background, motivation, or any semblance of the stakes is mind-boggling to me. You get one extremely vague conversation with the Librarian and thats supposed to provide for everything? Not good.

Not only that but 95% of your objectives fail. You do all this work to get comms with the Infinity but it crashes down anyway. You try to constrain Didact from leaving and he does anyway. You try to save a research base and fail. You try to detonate the Conductor, and fail. And all of this even though you successfully complete all of your objectives. This game is one cock-block after another, all to destroy an enemy most Halo players had no idea about when they booted up the game and still have no idea about by the end.

And at 5 hours, thats crazy short for a Halo campaign. If anything its making me think of Spartan Ops as a Xbox Live Gold gated half of a campaign, rather than anything "extra".

I'll still play it plenty, but I just think the ball was dropped big time on campaign.

Those are my main issues. That and no in-game explanation for why

Spoiler

you're fighting the covenant again. The Chief says they look different and act 'more zealous'. Not good enough.

Core motivations and backgrounds needed to be explored in-game. I'm fine with leaving more details and exploration to terminals and the like, but this stuff was important to this game's central conflicts.

 

[Squall ASF]

I knew what was going on because I have read all the supplemental material. If I was introduced to the

Spoiler

Didact, Librarian and Prometheans

in game I'd be wondering what the fuck was going on. The game omits key information from the main storyline only to relegate said information to the terminals which don't even play in-game.

I haven't read any of the supplemental material and it all made sense. I need some /spoiler talk in here to find out what you guys don't think was explained well because I feel like I'm in the twilight zone with multiple people saying it was convoluted and didn't make sense. What didn't? I never heard of

Spoiler

Didact, Librarian, or Promethean (well, Promethean I did form E3 footage) but the game explained everything. I would like more background info but my buddy said that's pretty much what the terminals are all about

The terminals being displayed in Waypoint I can see as an issue. I guess they expect you to want to reap the benefits of your discoveries but it makes it inconvenient for those that don't have a Gold subscription and it literally takes you out of the game to get background info. This info is supplementary though and isn't needed to make sense of anything that happens in this game, it simply satisfies curiosity and adds depth.

My initial impressions after beating the campaign:


Those are my main issues. That and no in-game explanation for why

Spoiler

you're fighting the covenant again. The Chief says they look different and act 'more zealous'. Not good enough.

Core motivations and backgrounds needed to be explored in-game. I'm fine with leaving more details and exploration to terminals and the like, but this stuff was important to this game's central conflicts.

Spoiler

Every question in your first paragraph is answered in one cinema in Chapter 5. Well, you don't get a 'personal' reason for Didact but it's explained that the Forerunners were at war with Humans, that Humans were invading worlds (though really running form the flood) and Didact was the leader that fought back and crushed us. I think that explains well enough why he hates humans. We then learn that to counter the flood, Didact came up with a plot to digitilize all life forms so they couldn't be affected by the flood and he tested this on humans, their conquered foes. The process had a side effect where it mutated the humans after they became digital and those are the prometheans. The Composer is the machine that digitalizes living beings and he wants to use it again to continue his work. The librarian is another forerunner that categorizes all life and she and others sympathized with the humans and didn't want them wiped out as Didact did. She and the others imprisoned Didact because of this disagreement. All of this is explained in that one cinema.

 

[zethren]

Catastrophe is strong wording but the campaign's fiction leaves a lot to be desired. Only thing 343 delivered on satisfactorily was Cortana and Chief's interaction.

I really need to write my review.

Cortana and chief's interaction was wonderful, yeah.

But here's something people need to keep in mind I think:

The

Spoiler

Didact and the Librarian

have been a part of the Halo fiction for 5 years now. They were introduced in Halo 3 in the terminals, which by now people have had ample time to read and know about (HaloGAF has no excuses on this one).

I've read Cryptum and Primordium, so I personally had a good understanding of things happening in Halo 4 as they were happening. I can understand people feeling like they might have been getting lost with all of this seemingly "new" fiction being thrown around, but honestly the game told you everything you "needed" to know.

Spoiler

Didact

bad,

Spoiler

Librarian

good, Promethians

Spoiler

repurposed human warriors/civilians

. Bam.

The reason this game has "seemed" more flustered than previous entries is precisely because Bungie rarely dipped into the extended universe in their games, and that was their right. I have nothing but respect for Bungie.

But me, as someone who loves the fiction in its entirety of forms, I couldn't be more pleased with 343's use of the extended universe.

 

[Trey]

I haven't read any of the supplemental material and it all made sense. I need some /spoiler talk in here to find out what you guys don't think was explained well because I feel like I'm in the twilight zone with multiple people saying it was convoluted and didn't make sense. What didn't? I never heard of

Spoiler

Didact, Librarian, or Promethean (well, Promethean I did form E3 footage) but the game explained everything. I would like more background info but my buddy said that's pretty much what the terminals are all about

The terminals being displayed in Waypoint I can see as an issue. I guess they expect you to want to reap the benefits of your discoveries but it makes it inconvenient for those that don't have a Gold subscription and it literally takes you out of the game to get background info. This info is supplementary though and isn't needed to make sense of anything that happens in this game, it simply satisfies curiosity and adds depth.

Nullpointer ASSIST +5

Core motivations and backgrounds needed to be explored in-game. I'm fine with leaving more details and exploration to terminals and the like, but this stuff was important to this game's central conflicts.

 

[jediyoshi]

I need some /spoiler talk in here to find out what you guys don't think was explained well because I feel like I'm in the twilight zone with multiple people saying it was convoluted and didn't make sense.

These aren't exactly mutually exclusive scenarios.

 

[nbraun80]

Correct, but if you go into Waypoint they have them in there too and I think u get some sort of reward if they are unlocked but in WayPoint they are all locked even though I found and watched all of them in the actual game. Ive seen several people ask about this very same issue but no one seems to be able to answer it.

you can unlock the CEA terminals on waypoint by hitting x or y on them on waypoint. At this point you will be prompted to enter in a glyph code which flashes on screen at the end of each terminal, so go on YouTube go to the end of the videos and write down the code.

 

[zethren]

And core motivations were explained.

Spoiler

The Librarian clearly explains that humans fought the Forerunner/Didact, and the Didact is afraid of the destructive potential of humans.

That's all you need to know for his character to make sense to the average player playing the campaign.

Edit: saw that the original post referred to

Spoiler

the covenant being enemies again. They speculate in game that they are a fanatical sect that is exploring The forerunner world for their God. I don't know how much more they could elaborate on without some Deus Ex Machina like the Arbiter coming out of nowhere and explaining further what that group of Covenant is up to. Chief can't just ask nicely what they're doing there

 

[RedSwirl]

Is this the first time I've been able to

Spoiler

fly a Pelican? I think you could in Halo 3.

 

[zethren]

Is this the first time I've been able to

Spoiler

fly a Pelican? I think you could in Halo 3.

Nope. First time.

 

[NullPointer]

The

Spoiler

Didact and the Librarian

have been a part of the Halo fiction for 5 years now. They were introduced in Halo 3 in the terminals, which by now people have had ample time to read and know about (HaloGAF has no excuses on this one).

I've read Cryptum and Primordium, so I personally had a good understanding of things happening in Halo 4 as they were happening. I can understand people feeling like they might have been getting lost with all of this seemingly "new" fiction being thrown around, but honestly the game told you everything you "needed" to know.

Spoiler

Didact

bad,

Spoiler

Librarian

good, Promethians

Spoiler

repurposed human warriors/civilians

. Bam.

I'd argue that its a very, very tiny portion of the Halo 4 playerbase that hase read the Halo 3 terminals (and understood them), much less read them, understood them, and have kept up with the latest novels.

Its one thing to have novels and cinematic shorts outside of the game provide more depth and background, its an entirely different thing to require them to have any sense of WTF is going on and why. That's the problem, and that's where 343 dropped the ball big time.

And core motivations were explained.

Spoiler

The Librarian clearly explains that humans fought the Forerunner/Didact, and the Didact is afraid of the destructive potential of humans.

That's all you need to know for his character to make sense to the average player playing the campaign.

It might have been helpful to let Halo 4 players know that

Spoiler

the humans being referred to here are not the humans we know, but an entirely separate humanity that arose, explored space, fought the flood and forerunner, got devolved by the forerunner, and then got wiped out entirely by the firing of the rings before re-emerging on Earth thanks to the Librarians indexing program. Yeah, that would've helped quite a bit don't you think?

 

[Trey]

Is this the first time I've been able to

Spoiler

fly a Pelican? I think you could in Halo 3.

It was an easter egg in Halo: Reach.

 

[StalkerUKCG]

Nope. First time.

Nope. Second Time.

You could do it in Reach

 

[zethren]

Nope. Second Time.

You could do it in Reach

Whaaaaat. Haven't played Reach in forever. Haha.

 

[Cake Boss]

If you're wondering why it's not working for you it may be because of whatever mode you're playing. It doesn't show up in a few modes, can't think of them off the top of my head.

No I just want to know how many points you need to get, I kept thinking it was every 5 kills or something.

 

[Petrichor]

And core motivations were explained.

Spoiler

The Librarian clearly explains that humans fought the Forerunner/Didact, and the Didact is afraid of the destructive potential of humans.

That's all you need to know for his character to make sense to the average player playing the campaign.

Edit: saw that the original post referred to

Spoiler

the covenant being enemies again. They speculate in game that they are a fanatical sect that is exploring The forerunner world for their God. I don't know how much more they could elaborate on without some Deus Ex Machina like the Arbiter coming out of nowhere and explaining further what that group of Covenant is up to. Chief can't just ask nicely what they're doing there

Cortana regularly gleans information from the covenant battle net - it wouldn't have hurt to throw in some discussions of their motives.

 

[Phaethon0017]

A whole bunch of truth and solid criticisms.

I agree with everything you've been saying. I just wanted you to know that.

 

[Squall ASF]

I'd argue that its a very, very tiny portion of the Halo 4 playerbase that hase read the Halo 3 terminals (and understood them), much less read them, understood them, and have kept up with the latest novels.

Its one thing to have novels and cinematic shorts outside of the game provide more depth and background, its an entirely different thing to require them to have any sense of WTF is going on and why. That's the problem, and that's where 343 dropped the ball big time.


It might have been helpful to let Halo 4 players know that

Spoiler

the humans being referred to here are not the humans we know, but an entirely separate humanity that arose, explored space, fought the flood and forerunner, got devolved by the forerunner, and then got wiped out entirely by the firing of the rings before re-emerging on Earth thanks to the Librarians indexing program. Yeah, that would've helped quite a bit don't you think?

I responded to you in my last post on the previous page, sorry it took so long but there were no other posts and I didn't want to double post ha