Xbox 360 My concern for Halo 4 and Halo's future

[BitesizeCrayons]

I'll start by saying that I truly enjoy Halo 4, and it's been one of the best experiences of this generation. However, one thing that is clear to me and many other players, is that Halo 4 has quite a lot of Call of Duty influence. Coming from somebody who plays Call of Duty quite regularly, I still want Halo to be Halo, not yet another CoD imitator. While I can still say that Halo 4 still feels like a Halo game, I'm concerned that 343 will keep the trend of CoD influence going for future Halo titles until the hardcare fans can barely recognize it as Halo. Maybe my worries are unfounded, but let's look at all of the CoD-esque attributes of Halo 4 (note that I don't necessarily take issue with all of these, and these aren't all just CoD conventions):

Sprinting
Perks
Grenade indicator
Loadouts
Rank = time investment
Unlock system
Ordnance drops similar to pointstreak rewards

I understand that some of these were implemented in Reach, but they became even more CoD-esque in Halo 4 (sprint is independent of armor abilities, loadouts are no longer pre-set, etc). I don't loathe these things, and they actually work well in Halo 4, I just hope that future Halo titles can innovate in their own way, and most importantly, still feel like Halo.

 

[Graydon]

You bring up a lot of valid points and I, for one, have been thinking along the same lines. It's still Halo, it's still awesome, but where are we going from here? I certainly hope we don't see any more CoD-esque, as you call it, attributes being introduced.

 

[djgoesnomnom]

I honestly believe that even though CoD's franchise did it first, the high customizability that was introduced in H4 was a good decision. In a growing gaming era, where we're getting increasingly more used to free reign and choice, it almost seemed natural.

From another perspective, I hope that 343 can come up with more original additions and advances to the series, such as Spartan Ops. As BitesizeCrayons said, it seems that in a struggle to remain relevant, a lot of FPSes are just riding the coattails of CoD =/

 

[CrispyEggos]

It's understandable that they want to mirror some aspects of CoD (I mean, look at the franchise's success).

I play both Halo and CoD, and let me tell you, the most recent CoD is getting extremely stale, and the fact that they are charging small amounts of money for even more gun skins, reticule sights, etc and creating updates that don't pertain to the public opinion, but rather to the competitive gamer, it goes to show you that they are concerned more about money.

Looking at Halo, yes it mirrors CoD, but it doesn't seem to be focused on making money, but rather focusing on giving people variety and just trying to bring more people over to play. You still have longer gun fights and the gameplay is still very Halo-like and not a rushy CoD style. And the updates that they put out for Halo are geared towards making people happy. I would hope to see 343 work a bit with MLG (The competitive aspect of Halo, Major League Gaming) to implement a playlist or at least a set of game variants that allow for more people to play competitively aside from the generic, public players. This was why Halo 2 and 3 were successful: they had many game variants, and people who ONLY played competitively could play the Hardcore playlists or Custom games and the casual player could enter all the different matchmaking modes. With Halo 4, they are starting to get it right and I hope they continue to build both aspects of the game. Right now it still feels like everybody is casually gaming (both the feel of the gameplay and the lack of competitive play that's available right now), but they are very close to becoming another huge success like Halo 3 was.

 

[SuperSustenance]

I agree for the most part. In my opinion Halo 4 is not truly Halo from a gameplay perspective. The multiplayer is not the Halo experience that I've come to love, it has become something else. Don't get me wrong, I love the game and find it extremely fun, but have a hard time comparing it to it's predecessors because of the gameplay differences. I do believe Halo will slowly become a Call of Duty imitator over time, at this rate. As far as I'm concerned though, as long as they don't destroy campaign they can change MP all they want.
So in a nutshell, I believe Halo is becoming a different game from a gameplay standpoint. Not in a bad way, but not the Halo I'll always remember. I feel the same way with the Battlefield franchise too, but that discussion belongs elsewhere

 

[SteeelWoool]

Yup, I agree with everything you said, and it's been what I've been saying since long before release. I thought Halo 4 was going to be an ode to Halo 3 fans, not improve upon the terrible scheme Reach had. I've since stopped playing Halo as much as I used to because of it. On the plus side, Halo managed to grab a lot of casuals from CoD and even got my IRL friends to enjoy it more. Unfortunately, just like CoD, they are building a temporary fanbase for a quick buck.

 

[CrispyEggos]

At least 343 is doing what the public suggests, like adding certain maps and playlists that were always popular. They seem to be focusing on getting it into the competitive world again. With competition, the customization won't be there as much, making it close to Halo 2 and Halo 3.

Look at CoD and you see that while people complain of lag issues, certain guns being overpowered and other issues, they try to sell more camos and beef up certain guns that nobody even complained about and are very powerful to begin with.

343 seems to care more, and I think even though they are using some CoD aspects, the game will still actually play like Halo, despite more customization.

 

[Graydon]

At least 343 is doing what the public suggests, like adding certain maps and playlists that were always popular. They seem to be focusing on getting it into the competitive world again. With competition, the customization won't be there as much, making it close to Halo 2 and Halo 3.

Look at CoD and you see that while people complain of lag issues, certain guns being overpowered and other issues, they try to sell more camos and beef up certain guns that nobody even complained about and are very powerful to begin with.

343 seems to care more, and I think even though they are using some CoD aspects, the game will still actually play like Halo, despite more customization.

You bring up some good points and I, for one, have a real problem when I feel like we're not being heard. I mean, we're the ones playing these games and the companies making them need to listen to us, right? Theoretically, but that isn't always the case in their minds. I have to give 343 credit where credit is due on this one. Thanks for bringing that up.

 

[SteeelWoool]

At least 343 is doing what the public suggests, like adding certain maps and playlists that were always popular. They seem to be focusing on getting it into the competitive world again. With competition, the customization won't be there as much, making it close to Halo 2 and Halo 3.

Look at CoD and you see that while people complain of lag issues, certain guns being overpowered and other issues, they try to sell more camos and beef up certain guns that nobody even complained about and are very powerful to begin with.

343 seems to care more, and I think even though they are using some CoD aspects, the game will still actually play like Halo, despite more customization.

I think with the 1-50 ranks that they'll be adding, it's clear that they want to cater more to the competitive community more than Bungie did during Reach. Arena was a joke. I guess once time goes on and the regular players are established, they'll understand that it's the competitive fanbase that's still playing.

 

[CrispyEggos]

I think with the 1-50 ranks that they'll be adding, it's clear that they want to cater more to the competitive community more than Bungie did during Reach. Arena was a joke. I guess once time goes on and the regular players are established, they'll understand that it's the competitive fanbase that's still playing.

Yes, if they implement the actual, visible ranking system, I will be playing this game A LOT more often. I just remember playing Halo 2 and Halo 3 to just get my rank up and watch myself progress. It's a good feeling and it definitely adds that competition that I think the game needs.

Any idea if/when they will release it? I heard January but that obviously didn't happen. I understand that the ranks are there, they're just not visible at the moment. Now I'm eager.

 

[djgoesnomnom]

The somewhat accurate, at least visible ranking system was a lot of the reason I even kept playing H3 until it's ultimate end. It was an amazing game, but a lot of the server transfer issues made superior networking basically a god mode button. That being said, I would jump at the opportunity to have a visible ranking system again, solely for my ego lol

 

[CrispyEggos]

The somewhat accurate, at least visible ranking system was a lot of the reason I even kept playing H3 until it's ultimate end. It was an amazing game, but a lot of the server transfer issues made superior networking basically a god mode button. That being said, I would jump at the opportunity to have a visible ranking system again, solely for my ego lol

I posted earlier saying I wasn't sure, but now I'm hearing that this month (April) is when it can be rolling out. This was off of a few websites that posted this a few months ago, but I've heard it a few times before, so maybe there's some truth to it.

I just feel with the competitive edge gone from Halo (no more MLG tournaments for now, less players), that a ranking system is what it needs to keep my interest. Give me that and I'll be good for a while!