So I recently did a thread here where I asked everyone to submit some questions for me to answer when I got my hands on Halo 4 here at PAX. Well, I did play, and now I'm here to deliver. I'll answer questions first and post my own impressions later. I'd like to preface this by saying that my time with the game was uncommonly short due to some absolute jackwad on my team who power-capped 3 flags in the span of 5 minutes.(WHO DOES THIS AT A CON WHERE YOU WANT TO PLAY THE GAME FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN!?) I was very upset that I only got to play for such a short time, but I did get a lot of information as I began testing the second I started playing.
- Do armor mods/tacpacks have a large or small impact on gameplay?
This one was very dependent on which one you chose. The one I noticed the most was the reload speed up mod/tacpack. This one REALLY sped up how fast you could get back in the fight. But here's the takeaway; Most of this stuff was "under the hood". When I was fighting another player in a duel, all I was paying attention to was my strafe, my aim, and my shields. I wasn't thinking "Does he have this or this armor mod?!".
- Does it feel more like Halo 3 or Halo Reach?
Halo 3. The game was simply faster, more responsive, and the weapons felt very tight. Even the bloomy DMR felt accurate and strong. I actually preferred it to the BR, but this could have been because I was in a bigger team environment. I played CTF on the new map, Exile.
- Does 5sk BR feel slow? Compared to DMR?
The BR fired pretty damn quick. It felt like you could melt someone's shields at the right range. The DMR was very powerful too, though, and I unfortunately think that the DMR will suffer from the same problem it had in Reach: Because it has bloom, it'll be very effective at both close, medium, and long range. I think it has the POTENTIAL to out-pace the BR if the user knows what they're doing. I certainly preferred it, but I like my semi-auto weapons.
- Grenades other than Frag, Stick, EMP?
Pulse grenade is the EMP grenade. It is deployed once it hits the ground and pulses EMP for a second or two, then explodes doing damage. It's more like a deployable mine than a grenade. It didn't seem to stick to walls.
- Any more Brute weapons?
I didn't notice a single brute weapon.
- Has Promethean Vision Changed?
I did not personally try PV, but I did see it in use. It has a much shorter usage time and a much longer recharge time. This meant that if you used it, you got one shot and it could not be spammed. The guy who was using it only got to use it once every 15 seconds or so, and only got a second or two of looking at other players at a distance. This AA was very efficient at close range, but no longer the god-ability at long-range that it was at E3.
- Are there any new abilities they haven't talked about yet?
Yes! There was a regen field that looked like the Regenerator from halo 3, an Autosentry that was deployed at a stationary position, and I THINK that was it. I don't honestly remember any more, but I'm sure you can find a picture.
- Opinion on the Pistol.
Didn't get enough time to play with it at all. I blame the jerk who ended the game so early. I had a loadout set up for it.
- Jetpack?
Yep. But it was much more sluggish, with less thrust and duration. It's pretty similar to Reach, but I think it's been toned down in effectiveness. I didn't feel like I could fly that far or high with it.
- Any noticeable countdown to death barriers?
Nope.
- How's the strafe?
Responsive. The base movement speed felt a tad slow, but that was made up for with Sprint. Strafing seemed effective if I wasn't a total re-re and got myself in a bad situation.
- Fall damage?
Couldn't test. Game ended too soon. Sorry.
- How does the camo AA work?
Same as Reach, as far as I could tell. Didn't use it, saw it being used. Looked a lot like TU camo.
- General weapon balance.
VERY balanced. BR was very good at making you feel like your shields are just crumbling, DMR was accurate and precise, but slow if you wanted that accuracy. Light Rifle was a beast when you could land the shots. I didn't get the Carbine, unfortunately.
- Is the pistol really a fast-draw or is it barely noticeable?
It was a super, super-quick reload. Never saw it getting drawn...
- Try new promethean weapons.
Boltshot was a lot of fun to use, Light Rifle is a fun alternative to the other staple rifles, and I didn't see a Promethean Repeater.
- (If there's Spartan Ops) AI intelligence, behavior, and exploitability.
I have not played Spartan Ops yet, but I don't think I could get this in-depth with it.
- Do the shadows cast by players and moving objects line up with shadows cast by hardcoded geometry?
Sorry, no time to test this =C.
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Okay, that's out of the way. On to the impressions!
I think the biggest question on everyone's mind is "Does this feel like Halo? Do all the changes ruin everything?" My answer is "Yes, the game is Halo through and through, and the changes only re-enforce those ideals". I was fairly skeptical that all this would make the game feel different, but I was wrong. What 343 has done with the armor mods, new AAs, and all that junk is build a wonderful support system for an already well-developed formula.
When I was playing against other players, my focus was on strafe, aim, and positioning. I wasn't worried about what AA they had, or what armor mod they'd picked. I wasn't obsessing either. The AAs complimented the gameplay very well, and it really came down to skill. Even something as strange as the Autoturret felt like it wasn't out of place. I honestly don't know if there won't be something that rises to the top as the "Armor Lock" of Halo 4, as there are a LOT of factors to consider. However, from my brief time with the game, I think that this feels like what Reach was supposed to be. It takes that basic Halo formula and just adds this great support network that compliments, not overrides, that Halo feel we're all familiar with.
I know I'm now much more excited about the game, and I would love to play again (If the line wasn't nearly three hours long).
As a side note, I'm still angry at that player. Seriously, you're playing Halo 4 for the first time, and you POWER CAP THE FLAGS?! Why? Why would you want to only have five minutes with this game? Nobody cares if you win or lose, we all just want a lot of time with the game. I can safely say that whoever that was, they ruined MY time with Halo 4. If anyone else is playing Halo 4 today, do your best to extend the time you have with it. Don't rush and try to be "teh winrar". Just enjoy the time you have with it so everyone can get their fill.
Okay, done. That's it. Hope you liked it!
