Halo 4: Review Thread

I tend to disbelieve that going against the very obvious design of the game would be any fun. Can you maybe walk through those long sections on foot? Perhaps. Survive against wave after wave of ghosts or wraiths or (whatever the heck the newer covenant vehicles are named)? Sure, I suppose. Would it be any fun? I don't know, you might be wired that way, so who am I to say. Whatever floats your boat.
Have you ever actually tried before poopooing the idea? Yes, completing The Ark without setting foot in a vehicle IS fun. Just the other day I played Swordbase without setting foot in a vehicle and it was fun. It's an alternative way to play out different encounters for added challenge. That's the beauty of Halo campaigns, you can tackle each encounter any way you want. Don't want to walk across large stretches of land? Then grab a Mongoose!

Dax, come post some of your Ark on-foot screenshots, pronto.
 
Soooo you ever play Assault on the Control Room? How about the mission "halo"?

I specifically mentioned AOTCR and TTB as the non point-A to point-B vehicle sections, but even then, they didn't make up a majority of those missions. Halo, you're driving the warthog, sort of just tooling around. That's it. You might have a gunner, but he doesn't tend to survive very long on higher difficulty. Then it's just you and the wheel. Silent Cartographer, same thing. Then you fly off in a banshee at the end of Keyes. The rest of the game is on foot. Edit: GLARING omission of the trench run at the end. Still, Warthog. Just driving. Frantically.
 
What do you guys think of the OST based on what you've heard so far? Does it reach Marty levels of greatness?

I've been listening to a bunch of Halo music today (on ODST at the moment) and it's so damn good.

Its a great soundtrack, its just different. On a personal level I feel Marty's experience writing commercial jingles gives his OST an edge because it gives me urges to whistle the tune.
 
Under what grounds? How can an object in a sandbox environment be considered over saturated? They are means of fast travel from point A to point B in an optional sense to pick up the pacing from an encounter to encounter bases. Vehicles add layered depth to a combat scenario when mixed ground, air, and foot. Not to mention that the sense of feedback and responsiveness in control are juxtaposed to their physics based nature which adds to the possibility of "fun Halo moments" of flipping vehicals and collateral damage. Halo would be a shell of an experience without vehiclas.

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Vehicles in Halo works when you're in an actual open environment and driving a Warthog feels like you've gained an advantage in land traversal. It's true, after Halo 1 vehicle sections feel very linear. If I have to drive on some fucking future highway again I'll barf.
 
Are you talking about the trip back to the turret with the Elites and Engineers?

No, there's a section before that, it's the same area as one of the Invasion maps. You have a little shack with some DMR ammo and it's like you're facing off against the entire remainder of the Covenant ground troops on Reach.

Halo 2's legendary was the hardest. I couldn't get past the first level with the covenant boarding parties for years. Other than a few spots halo3, ODST, and reach weren't that bad.

H2 was cheap and unfun. That first mission was one of the hardest. But after that you have to face sniper alleys, which are nothing but stop and pop roadblocks that lead to a lot of unfair deaths.
 
I specifically mentioned AOTCR and TTB as the non point-A to point-B vehicle sections, but even then, they didn't make up a majority of those missions. Halo, you're driving the warthog. That's it. You might have a gunner, but he doesn't tend to survive very long on higher difficulty. Then it's just you and the wheel. Silent Cartographer, same thing. Then you fly off in a banshee at the end of Keyes. The rest of the game is on foot.

You can drive ghosts or the occasional tank then. Last time I checked tanks beat everything and ghosts ram everything. The chopper, oh the chopper, it was a motorcycle with blades and duel mounted guns. Splattering people in all of these vehicles will remain super satisfying, to me, and its super strange when someone poos the idea of these optional "sections" of the game
 
Vehicles in Halo works when you're in an actual open environment and driving a Warthog feels like you've gained an advantage in land traversal. It's true, after Halo 1 vehicle sections feel very linear. If I have to drive on some fucking future highway again I'll barf.
Huh? Tsavo Highway, The Ark and The Covenant From 3 had huge open spaces for verhicles. Reach big sections were Winter Contingency and ONI: Sword Base. Reach was also the only Halo with forced linear vehicle sections.
 
I only ever used to take cool screenshots, besides that, I never touched it.

I used it a bit, but it's the Spartan Ops omission that bites even harder, IMO. I'm an enthusiast of Firefight, and took scores of pics and videos from that mode to share with the community and for my own. I think it's pretty unfortunate that 343 built Spartan Ops with the stated goal of creating great co-op experiences, and then removed the ability to review, save or share those experiences.
 
Huh? Tsavo Highway, The Ark and The Covenant From 3 had huge open spaces for verhicles. Reach big sections were Winter Contingency and ONI: Sword Base. Reach was also the only Halo with forced linear vehicle sections.

Halo 2 had that awful Flood section as the Arbiter, and good luck getting through there without a vehicle.
 
I think so.

Pretty easy on co op, but a big challenge solo.
It was a fairly large area, that tended to make it easier, in my opinion.

The hardest part for me (that I remember) on Legendary solo was on board the Covenant ship, on the way back from the control room, that little hallway with like four super elite elites. I was stuck with a shitty weapon.
 
Spartan Ops First Mission Video

Disclaimer, the guy playing isn't very good - but it shows how huge the first level is!

Ok, I watched it.. That guy playing was making a ton of frustrating choices, damn... But my god, that looks like it will be a blast with 3 others. It looked like it was fun to do solo also, but just not the way he played it haha.

So a few things:

-Grunts jump now?
-Wraith splash damage seems pretty low
-Halo 4 definitely has a glitch with sound where things just do not make noise when they should.

I used it a bit, but it's the Spartan Ops omission that bites even harder, IMO. I'm an enthusiast of Firefight, and took scores of pics and videos from that mode to share with the community and for my own. I think it's pretty unfortunate that 343 built Spartan Ops with the stated goal of creating great co-op experiences, and then removed the ability to review, save or share those experiences.

I really hope they talk about why it was cut.. Im really going to miss it, so many cool things to do with that mode. Im especially sad now that we have an entire new race and sandbox to take pictures of. I really can't believe it didn't at least make the cut for SpOps.. It must have been a technical hurdle they didn't have tome to tackle or something.
 
-Halo 4 definitely has a glitch with sound where things just do not make noise when they should.

Interesting. That was the case at PAX as well, often things like a Gauss Hog tagging you would just result in your Spartan crumpling up, silently. I figured it was a late glitch, to be fixed.
 
It was a fairly large area, that tended to make it easier, in my opinion.

The hardest part for me (that I remember) on Legendary solo was on board the Covenant ship, on the way back from the control room, that little hallway with like four super elite elites. I was stuck with a shitty weapon.

That's Long Night of Solace I think. Loved that whole mission on Legendary. I'm not sure why, but I've always enjoyed the Covenant ship levels throughout the series. Even in H2, those were practically the only ones I enjoyed. I don't know if it's the setting or the combat or what.
 
Length of the campaign doesn't bother me. ODST has the shortest campaign of them all and it's my favorite Halo game. Can't wait until Tuesday.
 
Yeah, Halo 2 still was more open in the vehicle sections then Reach. At least no control was taken away from you.

Oh yeah, I forgot those parts in Reach. I thought they were... okay. Not exactly a high point, but inoffensive. Wouldn't miss them if they were gone.
 
Have you ever actually tried before poopooing the idea? Yes, completing The Ark without setting foot in a vehicle IS fun. Just the other day I played Swordbase without setting foot in a vehicle and it was fun. It's an alternative way to play out different encounters for added challenge. That's the beauty of Halo campaigns, you can tackle each encounter any way you want. Don't want to walk across large stretches of land? Then grab a Mongoose!

Dax, come post some of your Ark on-foot screenshots, pronto.

Perhaps if I ever replay those Halos, I'll see if it's enjoyable to skip the vehicles where possible. I doubt I replay any of them, though. I've played through Halo 2 a few times, have never liked those sections. I've played 3 maybe three times, I think. ODST and Reach were just single playthroughs, did not like those games at all.

In multiplayer, I'll basically never get in a vehicle. I take that back, if I'm playing against a friend, and usually in person and not online, we would go to blood gulch and get in warthogs and play chicken for a bit. But it has been years since we've done that. In regular online multiplayer? No way. Hate them, won't use them, won't ride in them. I think they're cheap and unfair and won't participate in that nonsense. (But then, I hold the same beliefs about swords, lasers, hammers, needlers, etc. Won't use them. I don't think it's fun when they are used on me, so I won't use them on anybody else.)
 
Interesting. That was the case at PAX as well, often things like a Gauss Hog tagging you would just result in your Spartan crumpling up, silently. I figured it was a late glitch, to be fixed.

Yeah I have noticed it in every gameplay video put out recently, including the stream. I did notice it back from the different show footage like PAX and I will say it did seem worse there, but there are numerous times where sounds just do not seem to happen still. I really hope it isn't as noticeable or frequent when actually playing the game.
 
I used it a bit, but it's the Spartan Ops omission that bites even harder, IMO. I'm an enthusiast of Firefight, and took scores of pics and videos from that mode to share with the community and for my own. I think it's pretty unfortunate that 343 built Spartan Ops with the stated goal of creating great co-op experiences, and then removed the ability to review, save or share those experiences.

There has to be a real reason for this though? Right?
 
There has to be a real reason for this though? Right?

I've read two theories. The first is they simply broke it by updating the game engine to the point where it was incompatible with Theater, and didn't resource getting it fixed. We have signs that the game came right down to the wire, it could have been a casualty that way.

The other is the new graphics or game engine just cheats too much and they didn't want people to see it. I thought it was rather brave of Bungie to let everyone poke around with Theater; most of the time it impressed but it pulls the curtain back a bit on what's happening just off screen. Perhaps 343's new engine keeps its facade a lot closer to the player and it got ugly real quick when players broke out with the free camera.

Between the two, the first is what I think is most likely. They updated the tech, and didn't value Theater enough to resource bringing it along for the ride. Damn shame.

Would like to have someone from 343 address it.
Has 343 talked about this for Halo 4? The lag was horrible in Halo 3/Reach. Shit felt like I was on an ice rink without skates on.

Nope, not a bit. I'm pretty nervous about the co-op input lag. Firefight in Reach was not good most of the time unless you had host.
 
In multiplayer, I'll basically never get in a vehicle. I take that back, if I'm playing against a friend, and usually in person and not online, we would go to blood gulch and get in warthogs and play chicken for a bit. But it has been years since we've done that. In regular online multiplayer? No way. Hate them, won't use them, won't ride in them. I think they're cheap and unfair and won't participate in that nonsense. (But then, I hold the same beliefs about swords, lasers, hammers, needlers, etc. Won't use them. I don't think it's fun when they are used on me, so I won't use them on anybody else.)

When you play online and see a sword you don't pick it up? Something is obviously wrong with you.
 
In multiplayer, I'll basically never get in a vehicle. I take that back, if I'm playing against a friend, and usually in person and not online, we would go to blood gulch and get in warthogs and play chicken for a bit. But it has been years since we've done that. In regular online multiplayer? No way. Hate them, won't use them, won't ride in them. I think they're cheap and unfair and won't participate in that nonsense. (But then, I hold the same beliefs about swords, lasers, hammers, needlers, etc. Won't use them. I don't think it's fun when they are used on me, so I won't use them on anybody else.)

Why are you even playing? :lol
 
How is this thread already 5 pages long and we still have 20 minutes before reviews come out?

I'm only here to see people freaking out about scores of a game they are going to buy anyways. Maybe it ends up being as funny as that Uncharted 3 review thread.
 
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