It's been almost a year since I joined GAF, but I never really got involved in the Halo community here, so at the behest of Ryaaan14 I'd like to take this chance to formally introduce myself.
I grew up a PC gamer, I never owned any of the quintessential consoles that most gamers of this generation have claim to, such as SNES, N64 and PlayStation. I was able to experience those to varying degrees via friends and relatives, but they never became a cornerstone of my childhood.
When the original Xbox was announced in 2000, something about it struck me deeply. The colour scheme was engrossing, green being my favourite colour, and the general image it presented seemed to call to me. I followed every bit of information surrounding it and I picked up the Launch Special of the Official Australian Xbox Magazine, which explained everything about the console's hardware and accessories. It also provided details about every game currently in production, three of which had multipage previews; Dead or Alive 3, Project Gotham Racing and Halo, all of which I bought at release.
Halo was the lead article in the magazine and I spent months reading it over and over, studying every inch of the screenshots and absorbing every detail hidden within the text. I even downloaded the game manual when it was made available online well before launch. I was captivated by the game and it was the sole reason I bought the first console I ever owned when it came out in March 2002 in Australia. I was thirteen.
Since then I have bought every Halo title without hesitation, even Halo Wars, and have loved them all. The most enthralling aspect of the franchise for me is unquestionably the story and I assert that the extended Halo universe is, or at least has the potential to be, just as intriguing and culturally influential as Star Wars. To that point, I always enjoy exploring the vast canon through various different media, such as the novels, graphic novels, comics, Halo Legends and miscellaneous content included with the games. One of the things that interests me the most is thinking and speculating about the Forerunner and their connection to Humans, particularly Spartans.
The addition of the Theater mode in Halo 3 changed the way I value the game. As an avid photographer, I was excited to have this new avenue in which to apply my artistic creativity in a controlled medium. I started to spend much more time in custom matches just doing random stuff trying to find photo opportunities and less time in matchmaking. Competitive matchmaking was often an issue for me anyway since I almost always experienced severe lag due to being in Australia with an unreliable wireless connection.
I started to emerge as a known entity in the screenshot community and began earning Bungie Favorites honours. I joined a group of screenshot takers called Ar7is7s of Halo and I helped out bs angel on her site i <3 halo screenshots, which no longer exists since she has more important matters to attend to. I even earned my Recon armour by submitting the winning screenshot for a contest on Bungie.net. I probably got more enjoyment out of taking screenshots than actually playing the game, almost. However, my interest in screenshots started to wane not too long after the release of Reach. In fact, the last screenshots I ever took were a set of shots used to make panoramas of the skybox in Highlands, four months after my previous screenshots.
In late 2008, I joined Real7alk, the group founded by Ryaaan14. After a lot of shit went down, I eventually became an administrator of the site alongside Ryan, who implored me to join GAF.
So thats a brief overview of where I stand in the Halo community. Now Id like to end with my impressions of Halo 4.
Throughout the Halo trilogy, one consistent theme is that Master Chief never talks while you are playing. In this way, you feel as though you are assuming his identity, that you actually are a Spartan. Now, he is chatting away with Cortana like you're just hitching a ride in his helmet. Its such a subtle change, but I believe it breaks the fundamental tone of the franchise. I understand that its probably a symbol of the deeper relationship between John and Cortana, particularly since the end of Halo 3 when she mentioned his name for the first time, but it just bothers me from a gameplay perspective.
I think 343 are trying a bit too hard to compete with Mass Effect 3, which is entirely unnecessary. The gameplay demo had barely started and the first signs emerged. The cutscene with the Infinity crashing through the atmosphere was epic, but as soon as the spherical machine appeared, the music suddenly changed to a more digital theme and it sounded exactly like something out of Mass Effect.
This new "race" is called Promethean. Really? Prothean, Promethean, Prometheus. Do you see a pattern here? Perhaps they all refer to a common term from an ancient civilization, most likely the Greek god Prometheus, who was a champion for mankind. I can understand how this theme is fitting for Mass Effect, Halo and the Prometheus movie, but there is no sign of creativity to make them at least somewhat distinct.
Change is good, but not if it's only for the sake of changing. The story has always been able to justify minor changes and additions in the games, such as the upgrade from Mark V to Mark VI armour and the battle rifle, but why does the same Mark VI suit that MC entered the cryo chamber with look so different? I'm not against graphical upgrades, but artists can get carried away and he now no longer has that iconic look. In addition, the square scope on the battle rifle doesn't make any sense, some things don't need to change just to convince people it's a new game.
Lastly, and this is more of a point of interest rather than a criticism, but the way the Watchers catch grenades thrown at them reminds of something out of Half-Life 2.
Those are the only real gripes I have about the game based on the keynote demo, at least in terms of single player. Multiplayer looks solid.
