Exactly my thoughts. I REALLY miss the halo 3 phantom/scarab explosions. Something that game really got right.
The single player is gorgeous, now patch in that campaign theater ASAP so i can take my screenshots
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Halo 4 |OT| Spartans Never Die
- Thread starter GhaleonEB
- Start date
The single player is gorgeous, now patch in that campaign theater ASAP so i can take my screenshots
zeioIIDX
Member
I just beat Halo 4 on Heroic (alone) last night. Didn't seem as hard as Halo 3 on Heroic. Should have just gone Legendary -_- Also, is it just me or...did anybody else get tired of seeing glowy environments everywhere? I mean, at times I'd get a slight headache from all the bright lighting effects in the natural environments plus the sorta Tron-esque Forerunner environments.
I am a bit into mission 4 now. The game got MUCH better starting with mission 3, the combat seems to have opened up in more interesting ways. I was getting really stupidly frustrated by the section near the end though... Where you're tossed into an area with a minimum of two enemy banshees, with no immediate cover. That was the first time i got stuck. The banshee gets ripped apart on legendary when you're flying it. That section alone took me about 40 minutes.
This game makes me wish i had a capture card. Truly stunning at times.
And a question: what is the easiest way to take out Prometheans? When i first encountered them i was wasting 100+ light rifle shots per knight, before realizing they seem to die much more easily under sustained fire. Do they have shields? I am always taking watchers out first.
To above: I'm getting headaches sometimes due to the high contrast/bright lights. It looks cool but in the interest of gameplay i could do without some of these effects.
This game makes me wish i had a capture card. Truly stunning at times.
And a question: what is the easiest way to take out Prometheans? When i first encountered them i was wasting 100+ light rifle shots per knight, before realizing they seem to die much more easily under sustained fire. Do they have shields? I am always taking watchers out first.
To above: I'm getting headaches sometimes due to the high contrast/bright lights. It looks cool but in the interest of gameplay i could do without some of these effects.
VanquishUK
Member
No, I thought the game was absolutely stunning.
Garrett 2U
Member
Way too many forerunner structures, not enough Requiem environments.
vatstep
This poster pulses with an appeal so broad the typical restraints of our societies fall by the wayside.
Finally started on MP tonight. Only played a handful of matches, but I'm loving it thus far. Flood especially is great. The last time I played Infection was when Reach first came out and it was mixed in with the Lone Wolves playlist it was the ONLY thing anyone ever voted for and I just got sick of it. But, it's great in small doses, and the little touches that 343 made to make it more unique are great.
My only gripe the text on scoreboards, on the commendation/challenge pop-ups, etc. is SO small. Surprisingly, while I don't have a big TV, this is the first time I've had this issue with a game. It's not crucial information, but it's kind of annoying.
Question: Since I haven't ranked up very far at all, I'm not positive of this yet, but am I correct that the Spartan Points are only used for loadout items, and that armor is unlocked by rank/commendations/etc?
My only gripe the text on scoreboards, on the commendation/challenge pop-ups, etc. is SO small. Surprisingly, while I don't have a big TV, this is the first time I've had this issue with a game. It's not crucial information, but it's kind of annoying.
Question: Since I haven't ranked up very far at all, I'm not positive of this yet, but am I correct that the Spartan Points are only used for loadout items, and that armor is unlocked by rank/commendations/etc?
D
Deleted member 1235
Unconfirmed Member
sounds like NAT problems. Do both of you have nat set to open?
VanquishUK
Member
Yes.
Krappadizzle
Member
22 kills 5 deaths 11 assists. 2nd place in BTB. I like the fact that even though I did the best on my team by a wide margin, that because of teamwork, someone scored better than me. It's great. Also, while I love Valhalarock, it just gets voted in over and over and over again. I wanna tackle CTF but none of the People I regularly play with are on and most people stick to party chat so I can't communicate with my team if I wanted to.
XANDER CAGE
Member
Have they said why they don't have an FFA Slayer playlist? Just not enough traffic to warrant it, or something? Getting tired of bouncing between people choosing Complex or people choosing Ragnarok.
FFA is getting added in one of the weekly playlist updates.
This. Especially disappointing after we get that amazing view after landing on Requiem, such a shame.
You're aware you need to take out the flying things around them first I gather? I like the Scattershot on them, up very close.
Just got done with the campaign on heroic.
Having recently played through all of them, this was definitely one of the weakest entries in the franchise, maybe worse than 2.
Fighting the prometheans wasn't nearly as interesting as fighting the covenants, and to be honest I fought the 3 same enemies so much in this game I hope they just dump them for the next games. Knights being such bullet sponges didn't help. In terms of level design this also seemed way more linear than past campaigns, and I got sick of the Tron Legacy structures halfway through. Didact looked straight out of a Warcraft game, and overall the story was pretty generic
Better luck next time, I guess.
Having recently played through all of them, this was definitely one of the weakest entries in the franchise, maybe worse than 2.
Fighting the prometheans wasn't nearly as interesting as fighting the covenants, and to be honest I fought the 3 same enemies so much in this game I hope they just dump them for the next games. Knights being such bullet sponges didn't help. In terms of level design this also seemed way more linear than past campaigns, and I got sick of the Tron Legacy structures halfway through. Didact looked straight out of a Warcraft game, and overall the story was pretty generic
Better luck next time, I guess.
D
Deleted member 1235
Unconfirmed Member
god damnit, played through the entirety of legendary yesterday with 3 buddies, no legendary ending. Went back and reviewed, somehow the prologue is tagged as 'heroic' wtf we did the whole thing in one sitting.
my buddy is pretty dark at me as well, he was being douchy and betrayed me a bunch on purpose later in the game. I booted him for a laugh and right after the cut scene for the end of the composer ran.
Now he has to do the entire composer mission again as well ahahaha.
my buddy is pretty dark at me as well, he was being douchy and betrayed me a bunch on purpose later in the game. I booted him for a laugh and right after the cut scene for the end of the composer ran.
Now he has to do the entire composer mission again as well ahahaha.
There are hints of it but I don't think the full theme plays. I think they really didn't want to rely on the theme, but they honestly should have used it at least once.
eso76
Member
Chapter 4 of the campaign.
Game's only just starting to show a few epic shootouts, hasn't really been too exciting so far to tell the truth.
Soundtrack is so meh.
Title music sounds like something out of 300 or any other movie, really.
So generic and completely out of place. The composer just didn't 'get it'.
Can't understand the reasoning behind basically dumping the iconic theme either.
Ingame music is useless.
Never been a huge fan of the series ingame music tbh, but this is so uninspired and never really picks up, seems completely unrelated to what happens onscreen at best.
So far Prometheans knights have been boring bullet sponges to fight, beautiful to look at but not as astute as the covenants. I always side with the covies whenever i see them fighting each other.
Still on the fence on 343. Besides great art, better modelling and a general greater attention to aesthetics. i don't think the stuff they introduced works too well, granted i haven't seen much but i feel the best part of H4 gameplay is what the game inherited from Bungie's titles.
Game's only just starting to show a few epic shootouts, hasn't really been too exciting so far to tell the truth.
Soundtrack is so meh.
Title music sounds like something out of 300 or any other movie, really.
So generic and completely out of place. The composer just didn't 'get it'.
Can't understand the reasoning behind basically dumping the iconic theme either.
Ingame music is useless.
Never been a huge fan of the series ingame music tbh, but this is so uninspired and never really picks up, seems completely unrelated to what happens onscreen at best.
So far Prometheans knights have been boring bullet sponges to fight, beautiful to look at but not as astute as the covenants. I always side with the covies whenever i see them fighting each other.
Still on the fence on 343. Besides great art, better modelling and a general greater attention to aesthetics. i don't think the stuff they introduced works too well, granted i haven't seen much but i feel the best part of H4 gameplay is what the game inherited from Bungie's titles.
far from my only gripe, but yeah this is another example of 343 making changes that don't make any sense or improvement. you have people on here accusing me of simply not liking change. that's bullshit. take the killfeed or scoreboard text for instance. it's tiny as shit compared to the previous games, for what reason? it hardly shows any different/additional info. the font is horrible and all caps on top of all that? the human brain processes all caps slower. no matter if it's only a fraction slower to read the killfeed , in a competitive environment its ridiculous and fucking annoying what were they thinking?
Palette Swap
Member
Ugh, when playing splitscreen on the first part of chapter 8, if one player dies, the screen shakes for both players. That's really annoying.
I ran into a game breaking bug yesterday 70% through chapter 7 on Legendary. An enemy basically followed me into the previous zone and killed me, I respawned next to my coop partner in the new zone. The door to the previous zone closed with the enemy trapped in it. We never managed to move on because this was a "kill all enemies" objective.
I ran into a game breaking bug yesterday 70% through chapter 7 on Legendary. An enemy basically followed me into the previous zone and killed me, I respawned next to my coop partner in the new zone. The door to the previous zone closed with the enemy trapped in it. We never managed to move on because this was a "kill all enemies" objective.
angelkimne
Member
Unfortunately, I feel the same way.
Marty has tons of experience making vg music. And he's not just at the helm of the soundtrack, he's at the helm of sound, allowing him to fit everything together perfectly.
I think that is the main problem here. There are countless neat refrains and tracks in Halo 4 but they just aren't used to great effect.
There's no point at which the music and game sync together perfectly... remember when you get in the hornet and Three Gates kicks in?. That skilful synchronization is lacking in 4.
As the video goes on and they land at the last gate, the music really loudens up, too, and it's much more effective. It drives the game forward. That's the other problem -- the music in Halo 4, even near the end of the last mission, when the soundtrack picks up, is too quiet to drive the game forwards. It's always quivering in the background, even when it's at its most energetic.
Fake edit: I actually posted this before, but it was at the bottom of the page and hey, I feel strongly.
Jex
Member
I've just finished the campaign on Normal. I think this might be the most underwhelming Halo campaign since Halo 2. I really can't think of a particular encounter that I enjoyed, let alone a whole level. I'm pretty disappointed in it overall and it feels like the only thing that 343 have brought to the plate is better graphics which, frankly, doesn't matter a jot when the the underlying gameplay systems aren't nearly as strong.
Diablohead
Member
flood playlist first thing in the morning is a good feeling
eso76
Member
Well, i'm not too fond of the music itself either, but yeah, the worst problem is the lack of a proper sound design.
Diablohead
Member
I think it's because people quit or can't connect to host because of their NAT type, before then the game is seeing the right count.
You just don't know how to use them. They're very useful.
1) They kill vehicle drivers without harming the vehicle if planted while boarding
2) They prevent enemy from going where you threw the 'nade. Situational but you can prevent the enemy's retreat.
3) Throw on a hill or a capture point or whatever, let's see if anyone dares to go there now.
4) If someone is caught in the field when the 'nade activates, it drains their shields fully (at least it seems to), leaving them open for a headshot.
5) Surprisingly good against vehicles, especially slower ones. A Wraith or Scorpion caught in the field takes quite a lot damage, and the drivers may well panic since they have no idea how to deal with that (normal 'nades just go BOOM, no need to think). That said, Plasmas are better against vehicles.
6) They're generally just fun to use.
EDIT 7) Flushing out enemies from cover works just fine with these too. Placement is tricky, gotta hit the roof or wall next to the player in cover.
Just one question... why the fuck are they limited to one? They ain't that good even though i like them and find them useful.
jediyoshi
Member
Well it's not because people quit because this'd be post game and there's only 4 people left who haven't quit. But if it's because the game thinks people have joined that haven't, I think that'd be a way worse assumption towards 343 than just giving them the benefit of the doubt that it's just a menu oversight.
Whenever people criticize the music in Halo 4 it's hard for me to understand their position at all. Music in Halo 4 is gritty and very atmospheric, there were many times when the music started and I got pumped as fuck with what I was about to do. The music in Halo 4 feels much more focused, whereas Bungie's Halos soundtracks felt random and scatterbrained.
Bungie's Halos were very mixed soundtrack wise. There were a lot of generic guitar riffs/songs that take me out of the experience completely.
Bungie's Halos were very mixed soundtrack wise. There were a lot of generic guitar riffs/songs that take me out of the experience completely.
The new music is beautiful at times but as others have said it's really generic and not memorable at all. I can rattle off a ton of tracks in my head from Halo 1 and 2, but for the life of me I can hardly remember the beautiful music that plays when you emerge from the wreckage in Requiem and look over the plains.
Granted, it's mostly certain riffs and recurring themes that I remember, such as this one.
Granted, it's mostly certain riffs and recurring themes that I remember, such as this one.
I guess it's the opposite for me.
gotten into the multpilayer grove and really loving it, especially the objective modes; ctf, oddball. dominion seems really cool but you definitely need a good communicating team or you get walked all over. the maps are all good, a few great even, with the only stinker being vortex (i think thats the map with the center structure you can go below?). complex is aweful in slayer, but works quite well for objectives imo - though one side may turn out to have an advantage in ctf
Diablohead
Member
this morning all my games hosts have been oversea, it's sunday lunchtime in the UK and I get american hosts? why.jpg
I binary rifle'd someone and it took them about a second to actually die, the game seems to think this is ok and it feels like i am getting shot through walls too often.
I binary rifle'd someone and it took them about a second to actually die, the game seems to think this is ok and it feels like i am getting shot through walls too often.
7 hours and 8 minutes for me on solo Legendary. Of course that doesn't take into account the cutscenes, but in total I'd say that adds up to maybe 30 minutes.
The soundtrack is good when I listen to it on it's own, it's just when I was playing the campaign it didn't stand out at all, more like background noise but if I listen to it outside of the game I quite like it. This is a new trilogy they wanted it to sound and look different than before, I understand the style change but they need better sound mixing and sync.
The campaign overall was forgettable to be honest, just like Reach. I don't remember much of either right now but I clearly remember 1,2,3 or even odst right now. well I still remember that horrible last encounter in Reach >.< Reach was just series of firefights and maps all were from multiplayer, it was really not good. 4 isn't a series of firefights and has more variety in environment
but enemy variety is far worse really, it's pretty bad. And vehicles, this game lacks vehicles very much, and vehicle based encounters. They needed more big levels like the mammoth one. I feel that with better hardware they can do much better and here their hands were tied really, still unfortunate.
The story telling is pretty poor too, Terminals shouldn't be about the main story but background of the areas you are in. Halo3 terminals were just a story in itself, not related to what was happening and gave more depth to the area. They should do something like audio logs in bioshock for the terminals and try making all these buildings and corridors more than just what they are, like the moment in Halo CE when you watch the log on Pvt. Jenkins helmet and their encounter with the Flood, Halo has had nothing remotely like that since then. Don't hide all the story in terminals, they are not for that. Really terrible decision this was and hurts the campaign quite a bit.
I'm really enjoying the multiplayer, it's something between CoD and Halo and not quite either, I like that so far. Spartan Ops was totally meh though. 343 should consider adding firefight back in in near future because this is not a replacement at all.
The campaign overall was forgettable to be honest, just like Reach. I don't remember much of either right now but I clearly remember 1,2,3 or even odst right now. well I still remember that horrible last encounter in Reach >.< Reach was just series of firefights and maps all were from multiplayer, it was really not good. 4 isn't a series of firefights and has more variety in environment
why no snow? though
The story telling is pretty poor too, Terminals shouldn't be about the main story but background of the areas you are in. Halo3 terminals were just a story in itself, not related to what was happening and gave more depth to the area. They should do something like audio logs in bioshock for the terminals and try making all these buildings and corridors more than just what they are, like the moment in Halo CE when you watch the log on Pvt. Jenkins helmet and their encounter with the Flood, Halo has had nothing remotely like that since then. Don't hide all the story in terminals, they are not for that. Really terrible decision this was and hurts the campaign quite a bit.
I'm really enjoying the multiplayer, it's something between CoD and Halo and not quite either, I like that so far. Spartan Ops was totally meh though. 343 should consider adding firefight back in in near future because this is not a replacement at all.
Had the same yesterday. The game hides it way better then previous Halo games, but you'll notice it when people start killing you very quickly. It feels like they kill you in 4 shots. It's frustrating as fuck.
bobs...onGaf
Member
Game feels like it does an awful job at getting me good connection matches - good skill matches are no good if my shots wont register.
stuminus3
Member
It doesn't count cut scenes and time between checkpoints if you die.
Diablohead
Member
Yeah it would explain my complaint about being killed too quickly to the DMR, the moment they spot you unless you are next to a rock you will most likely have no shields left.
Biggest problem is close range stuff, shotguns are ruined due to lag, I had host once and in zombies I was a walking shooting god with a shotgun, it felt like a sniper rifle.
In reach I used to set it to same region for searches and it seemed to work really well, it would pair me more with euro people then americans and the lag was a lot nicer.
7hrs 30min here.
Care to highlight these things? I see complaints that seems anything but trivial.
No reason why criticism shouldn't be allowed, and only a few people here have said they didn't enjoy the game.