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Re: Yet more Halo 4 thoughts *SP* *long* *IMG*
Posted By: Lurono	Date: 11/25/12 2:31 a.m.
In Response To: Yet more Halo 4 thoughts *SP* *long* *IMG* (Arithmomaniac) : GAMEPLAY (on Normal) : Gotta hand it to 343i: this feels like Halo. : Something about the game made the Golden Triangle more attractive than in the : past (is melee packing a higher punch than it used to?) The geometry felt : right to me, too. I know some people think AOtCR is the best Halo level : ever, but I'm into more compact spaces where I can't get lost and am : shooting something within every "thirty seconds of fun". This : game hit my sweet spot pretty well (though it could have used a couple : more vehicular carnage zones.) : The new enemies get a B in my book. The Watchers fit the niche that's gone : without the flood - the "Aaah I'm out of ammo to shoot the : popcorn" category. Knowing that I have to enter a fight by picking : off the Watchers is also fun. But I just didn't feel like the Knights had : any combat character. They reminded me of Halo 2 Brutes - stupid bullet : sponges - but with poorly-utilized teleportation. Hmm... I'm curious about what you thought of them on Heroic/Legendary. I still haven't played the game below Heroic (aside from running around on Easy to gather remaining terminals). : The new guns were similar - some good ones, but others just lacking a place. : The returning weapons all felt right to me (and sounded awesome). Despite : being derivative (I started calling them by their human equivalents in my : head), most of the Forerunner weapons had good niches: The Suppressor was : my favorite weapon in its class for its steadiness and rapid fire rate, : the Incinerator Cannon was a great long-range infantry tool, and the Pulse : Detonator was great against crowds of Prometheans. But I didn't bother : with the Binary Rifle, didn't really get the secondary mode of the : Scattershot, and found the Boltshot to be worthless (what's with the : unsteadiness and the FOV-blocking flaps on charging?) On the organic side, : I liked the Storm Rifle, Railgun, and Sticky Detonator, but didn't grok : the Saw. Yeah, there were a few weapons that felt useless in the campaign. They are all pretty much useful in MM, though. : I ended up using the Auto-Sentry a lot - it's almost like playing co-op. I : also liked charging close to enemies with the Hardlight Shield so I could : pick them off easier (or, of course, using it while running for cover.) : Thrusters seemed useless, and the Jetback seemed too short. Auto-Sentry was my go-to whenever I had the chance. My first playthrough was on Heroic, and the auto-sentry made it completely bearable (unlike in Reach where the last two levels seemed to have the singular goal of kicking my ass over and over and over and over and...). : Oh, and one too many push-button levels. I chalk that down to plot failure : (see below.) Arguable. Honestly the push-button stuff didn't really bother me. : --------------------------- : ART DIRECTION (on a 30" CRT) : I don't really have an opinion on Covie retcons. I think the Prometheans are : uninspired, but that doesn't bother me much. I do like the new UNSC : industrial design, though - it has just a touch of the futurism Halo has : lacked to date, but rarely too much of it. : Environments were either stunningly beautiful, or gray/orange. I'm not : inherently opposed to Forerunner orange - it still felt Forerunner, and : was a great contrast to that brief section of Librarian blue. But there : was a bit too much of it. One of the things that drew me to Halo was the : color, and when it wasn't there blowing my mind (as in Requiem), it felt a : bit lacking. The welcome addition of dynamism to the Forerunner : architecture didn't quite make up for it. Pretty much matches my opinion, though I was a bit more positive on the Prometheans and Forerunner architecture. /Also: a CRT? Damn son, you need to upgrade! =P Hell, most people my age couldn't even tell you what CRT stands for! You shouldn't be such a disgrace to us young'uns! : --------------------------- : PLOT : As I blankly watched the Epilogue and Post-credits, I realized two things : went very wrong. Together, they could be summarized as "there's may : be a great plot here somewhere, but you're not showing it to me". As : the lore is probably my favorite part of Halo (and as I think 343's been : doing a good job on this score in general), this was a bummer. : The first one has been touched by a lot of people here. What the heck is : bothering the Didact? I watched the terminals, and still didn't feel like : I was getting the whole story. Why are the Covenant there? (No, I'm not : going to read TTW.) What really drives Tillson and Del Rio? I was also surprised at the lack of a cliffhanger/hint-y ending. Makes me curious at what they're playing. Perhaps Silentium will answer all? : I find the second problem more fundamental, though. When the game ends, the : Composer is destroyed, the Didact is dead, and we can go back to dealing : with the Covenant nuisance, right? No? Then at least give me a hint that : something broader is going on here! I don't see a "threat to the : universe" that could set up a trilogy - just a major threat neatly : tucked away, a la Halo Wars. In another thread, people are batting around : ideas for Halo 5. But in truth, no one has the faintest idea. I'm betting that much of this will be handled in Silentium and K-5 book 3. Sure, 343i has said that story is important and that they want to make their games be a stand alone experience, but I won't complain if they end up being things that you can only understand by having read the previous books. Maybe I'm an elitist in that way, ormaybe I understand that most people don't care about SP and that I appreciate the care that story is given in general. : This vagueness crept into a couple of other places, too. It took me about two : minutes to figure out how I released the Didact. The Librarian's : exposition was gorgeous, but phrased vaguely. And what was the Didact : waiting for in Shutdown? : On the plus side, the Cortana/Chief dynamic was well done. I'll miss her. We'll all miss her (and, as some others have said, I hope she's actually gone, if only to keep that moment having a lasting impact). : --------------------------- : STRAY THOUGHTS ON CERTAIN LEVELS (just some brief thoughts) Okie dokie, so here's my brief responses =) : Dawn: Too much QTE, and spaces were a bit tight. Atmosphere was great, : though. As was the zero g. But why where the shields down AGAIN? No thoughts. : Forerunner: Should have been shorter and folded into the previous level. Wish : you could have actually lost the Ghost run by going too slowly. Interesting idea. Could have worked. : Infinity: The Mantis plays like Halo, but the leg mechanics just don't LOOK : like Halo. Still bugs me. Looked fine to me. : Shutdown: Game would have been better-balanced without this mostly pointless : level. B...b...but I enjoyed piloting the Pelican! : Composer: So a Broadsword can't travel through Slipspace, but a SPARTAN with : his knife in a ship can? That's just wrong. Well, technically he hitched a ride on the ship/in its slipspace field. : Midnight: Run and chuck the nuke, dangit! Don't just stroll there! The last : part was QTE done right - you doing something pivotal, but would have had : to be left for a cutscene. Like the missing "Press B to fire : Halo" in Halo 3. I completely agree. That QTE made me pause, made me think through my actions, made me question in general. I WAS the Chief at that moment. I made the decision. : --------------------------- : ALL IN ALL: 4/5. Thanks, 343i. Needed more polish and originality, but I : appreciate that you're still learning. Of course. They are a new studio, after all, and they are still perfecting things (if SpOps is any example). : --------------------------- : CONCEPT ART : Because Wu asked for it. lol

Message Index

Yet more Halo 4 thoughts *SP* *long* *IMG*	Arithmomaniac	11/25/12 12:09 a.m.
Re: Yet more Halo 4 thoughts *SP* *long* *IMG*	Lurono	11/25/12 2:31 a.m.
Re: Yet more Halo 4 thoughts *SP* *long* *IMG*	uberfoop	11/25/12 3:25 a.m.
Re: Yet more Halo 4 thoughts *SP* *long* *IMG*	Arithmomaniac	11/25/12 2:37 p.m.
Re: Yet more Halo 4 thoughts *SP* *long* *IMG*	uberfoop	11/25/12 6:15 p.m.
Re: Yet more Halo 4 thoughts *SP* *long* *IMG*	Lurono	11/25/12 4:22 p.m.
Re: Yet more Halo 4 thoughts *SP* *long* *IMG*	Urban Reflex	11/25/12 3:45 a.m.
Re: Yet more Halo 4 thoughts *SP* *long* *IMG*	Leisandir	11/25/12 8:43 a.m.
Re: Yet more Halo 4 thoughts *SP* *long* *IMG*	Sl'askia	11/25/12 12:26 p.m.
Re: Yet more Halo 4 thoughts *SP* *long* *IMG*	Lurono	11/25/12 4:38 p.m.
Re: Yet more Halo 4 thoughts *SP* *long* *IMG*	Arithmomaniac	11/25/12 2:34 p.m.
Re: Yet more Halo 4 thoughts *SP* *long* *IMG*	Lurono	11/25/12 4:48 p.m.
Re: Yet more Halo 4 thoughts *SP* *long* *IMG*	Ragashingo	11/25/12 9:18 a.m.
Re: Yet more Halo 4 thoughts *SP* *long* *IMG*	DHalo	11/25/12 10:12 a.m.