Halo 4

[Frost Mage]

Actually, CoD is completely random [&@%!], that's why it's made for more casual players, who don't always play to win.

[BetaB17]

In all truth, cod and even now Halo 4 require less skill, hints why more people play. Currently that's what is popular, easier games especially for younger kids. The problem here is that doesn't make it better. Some of the best all time games in history were so unique and difficult that they were in a whole new tier. Its a fine line that must be taken

[Frost Mage]

Yes, but Halo 4 has been had a huge letdown in sales, so I think they know what they did wrong, and hopefully they will make Halo 5 much much better, if not continue working on making Halo 4 the great game that it could be.

[Velvet LeChance]

It isn't that Halo didn't do well in sales, it did reasonably as can be seen here. Halo 3 has been out 6 whole years and it has sold 11.75 million units as can been seen here. It is also important to remember that Halo 3 came out before COD became huge with the release of COD 4 (it was released a few months later) and a large number of casuals defected from our ranks to play COD.

So in terms of sales I think Halo 4 did well. It's a changing market and Halo is no longer the leading FPS it now has COD, Battlefield and GOW (it's not FPS but it's still a popular shooter) to compete with.

What is disappointing is the low population numbers in matchmaking which many if players found to be lacking. Halo 4 has a pretty nice campaign. It excels in that aspect. Sales won't be a problem until they start putting out DLC which I for one won't be buying, I don't know about you.

But yes I am hopeful that Halo 5 will be an improvement.

[Frost Mage]

It's still the leading FPS, it may not be Halo 3, but anything is better than more CoD, even if I do play it at least once a day for fun.

[BetaB17]

In truth, alot of cod's popularity now stems from Zombies >_> I can agree on some terms many cod games are okay, but I don't like it BECAUSE it's so seriously overrated. Even though I'm a big fan of halo and to the extent Bungie, I still hate it when ppl overrate the series. Give credit where due I say. I literally tore out a new [&@%!] on some players who were doing such. To be honest, even skyrim gets on my nerves, not the game.. but ppl who refuse to understand it yet only bought it because it was popular. Yea I understand new fans being born >_> but if you hate any game but shooters.. go in skyrim.. and complain that it has no guns.. =_=
Really could go on a rant rampage rite now.... >_<

[Frost Mage]

Ignorant noobs who make you want to gauge your eyeballs out with spoons will always be there, regardless of the series, and we don't like these people until they understand the ways of the trade... What did I just type out.

[scribbane]

"No Easy Way Out" Achievement....holy [&@%!] that was a pain.

[BetaB17]

It's not that hard Lone Wolf Legend was much harder, then again in Reach I did the original LASO with one other guy.. glad they took out blind>_< but to be honest I did miss one
Anyways congrats on getting the tricky achievement

[scribbane]

It was just a pain because I didn't realize that it was glitched at first and that the description was actually horribly off. So I played it roughly three times before I realized what I had to do, so I spent over an hour trying to get the achievement.

[BetaB17]

That sucks>_< yea the wording is horrible, but achievement hunter did a guide that warned of the glitchyness

[scribbane]

That sucks>_< yea the wording is horrible, but achievement hunter did a guide that warned of the glitchyness

Yeah I always avoid watching guides if I plan on playing the game so that I can experience it fully. I finally decided that I needed to see if they covered that one, and thank god for Ray and Geoff, or else I might still be trying to get that one.

[DikaSmausha]

I mainly play Halo for the campaign, and I just beat if for the first time last night. I got choked up myself. That was a big part of my childhood.

[Linkuya]

I don't know much about the Halo series, but I have a friend who is a major fan of Halo; it's his favorite series. However, he says Halo 4's story is about as good as a fanfic and that the game has been CoD-ifyed. From what I've heard, this game is terrible..
What did you guys think about it?

[BetaB17]

I am a die hard halo fan, been that way since the first year Halo CE. I love the lore and how much care was put into it. It's just one of those things that always keep you at fathom. But you know it's sad when such a fan won't even consider Halo 5.. It's just.. 4 ruined it.

Hidden:

The story was poor and rushed, and 343 tried resetting the lore, creating a bridge between Canon and Noncanon. Too many things contradict. It never has been that way before unless some random fan tried making their own story that wasn't accepted.. It's just, the Forerunners were meant to stay as a mystery, those guys who seem so merciful in contrast to the flood. What made halo so great were not the battles, but the scenery and the feeling everything was against you. Nothing says that like wandering through the unknown, not being bombarded by convenient enemies every minute.

I must address though, the story was rushed, and the game lacked replay value. For starters, they tried being too much like Cod. Reason why so many people loved that series was bc it was different >_< 2nd..

Spoiler:

Why is it, that in the 3rd mission I'm already in the core of the planet? Like no joke, couldn't it have just been more suspenseful. Your on a unexplored planet, yet you only see about an inch of what it has

One more thing.. Spartan Ops.. they clearly were running out of ideas and things grew repetitive. I will say the cinema's were great, but the end result was just horrible. Okay for the end of halo 4, how about we just destroy the whole planet so that we never have to worry about it again? Why?

In truth, the story just seemed way too rushed and they were already on move for the next installment. Little replay was there. They just focused too much on what's popular, listening to "hardcore" gaming groups that ironically think more of what they want>_> not the actual community. Hence why forge got messed up.
If I for one was to make the story, I would of spread it out more, capitalize on the aspect that your alone. Make you feel like only hope can push you forward as you slowly watch Cortana break down. Exploring the ruins and fighting a guerrilla war against AI'S and Covenants, all the while being hunted by a guardian. Rather than have at the midpoint the UNFC show up, that would happen at the climax. While you can reintroduce the beloved assistance and gear, it's short lived as both will know they are trapped. As the hero you are, you make the ultimate call, either attempt to escape together and risk everything or stay behind and provide cover, ensuring they can escape. So just as it started, it now ends with you alone. However now the follow up in the series would show the climatic point of Cortana's downfall To me that would seem so much better

Lastly while I'm on this, I must say.. cinematic look amazing.. graphics why you no be good then?! I honestly believe Reach had better looks. For one the dynamic lighting doesn't work and just puts a load on the system. Shadows are nice, but not when your map breaks before you hit your budget>_< and the armor.. just doesn't look so grand.. plus the armory is all shuffled up. Reach did it nicely and all in order. Even the small things matter to a gamer

[Frost Mage]

Well, it's official. 343 has stopped trying to fix the Halo 4 multiplayer. They promised us a ranking system in June, and there seems to be no plans for it to happen any time soon. Too bad.

[Stendarr]

Agreed with Beta.

Thing is, they don't seem to care that much about making a good campaign anymore. Games are more like playable movies sometimes and it is directly reflected in the pacing. In Halo CE and 2, the missions were long and you truly felt like exploring the spaces. 3 was uneven on that aspect, it still had pretty decent lengths for a good number of missions but others felt like teasers (like the first one) and disabled you a bit from being truly immersed. Reach... did that too in a way. The game felt more immersive than 3 and you had really well paced missions and others with took you from one place to another too fast. The space mission could have been incredibly epic but every part of it was too short, you really felt like being part of a movie rather than a video game universe. Still, it was relatively well made overall and the story had an nice progression even if its main problem is how some parts are too fast. I think what [&@%!] me off most was the first mission. The setting was awesome and it was over too fast...

But with Halo 4 it really felt like they were making just another Halo game. By themselves, some missions were long enough and had a nice pacing but the most interesting ones were the shortest. Except bits here and there, the environments were kinda boring and not unique. But then, after 5 Halo games, the environments and mission design must be truly mind-blowing in order to be impressed and interested. Particularly if you're not going to change the gameplay one bit. By now, I think I'm fine with the original trilogy, ODST and Reach. Why expand beyond? Sure the universe is interesting and all but I kinda grew out of it. There's so much you can say about such sci-fi universe, it's gonna be repetitive which was what Halo 4 was, besides introducing embarrassing bits in the story. There's some neat stuff in the books but I doubt we'll ever see something like this in the games, it seems to be all about killing the baddies and finding this and this artifact in order to do so before they kill everyone or something.

What was nice about the original trilogy, is that it didn't take itself too seriously (maybe except 3 at times). I mean, they didn't try to appeal to our emotions for a universe that couldn't be more removed from our own. Why try to make us feel bad for the possibility of live being completely destroyed? Or Cortana dying when she barely has any character writing? The first game got it right, we got in this huge new world after barely escaping an attack on a ship and they left us trying to gather forces and guess what to do to beat the enemy. You were running from one place to another, discovering cool new vistas and aspects of the ring and its inhabitants. There was something about killing aliens that was different, now it's too much mechanical and automatic. The games are made around specific encounters, rather than the objectives and environment and that's why the new ones are much less good than the first games.

[BetaB17]

In my view, my favorite halo games go in this order. These relate to story and feel, excluding multiplayer and the works. Plus it's my opinion.

Hidden:

1: Halo CE
~The story alone was above all else, it really hits hard and defines halo. Anniversary kind of tags along, but it's only a reskin. Try as you might, it'll be hard to recap on the original in full
2: Halo ODST
~It was different, it brought a much needed change. Now you felt like your vulnerable and weak, wandering a dark and dead city alone where strategy out shines firepower. The free roam aspect was just what we needed
3: Halo 2
~What can I say, it aimed to be epic, packed full of conflict, yet still carried that aspect from the original. It may not of had the same epic in story, but it sure as hell did on other fronts. Plus Arbiter? Yea that just wins it there..
4: Halo Wars
~It dared to make the jump few would try. Yea the game mechanics could of been better and it appealed to only a few fans, but the story was well done and the game was nice
5: Halo 3
~Of all of the original trilogy, this one focused on the drama, the climatic point. It was a good finisher and added a unique zone. Sadly I felt it could of been better, going over the top than anything. However it ties up with the next...
5.5: Halo Reach
~This would of been higher, if not for the fact that it was rushed. However it was generally good, it did focus heavily on combat but the story was of that of survival.. I was disappointed that it still went for the lone wolf feature despite making you feel like your apart of a squad<_< only once did you and it was short lived.. they needed more of that and less of the rushed features.. still, if Bungie was lazy on this, imagine how it would of been if they weren't?
Honorable mentions: Halo 4
~Yep, it gets a mention, that's it. I cannot accept this game for what it is. Not because Bungie didn't make it, but because it lacked that passion, it wanted to rewrite the lore to fit it's will rather than work with the flow. It wanted to simply make money off of popular demands, not off of creativity

@Frosty: They promised to fix alot of things>_> and it took months for them just to scratch the tons of bugs and glitches when it first shipped. In truth, alot of things could of been prevented with an open beta. Lets be honest<_< if you have a closed group of employees and people who helped, it's no shock they'll like it.

Hidden:

The last thing they were to do was that weapon tune up.. which threw off an already unbalanced multiplayer.. why make certain weapons that are already overpowered into more overpowered versions? Yes.. I'm looking at you Mr Light Rifle =__=
Only thing I like about the tune up was the carbine, it needed a lil boost. The assault rifle didn't<_< I feel like the suppressor and storm rifle got ignored.. And for the BR... why.. it worked the way it was with the DMR, one had better handling in mid-range and was harder to determine how many shots left till you drop.. while the other was better at range and can overcome the other with skill... and so now they nuked the DMR and made it completely inferior.. why all the love on BR.. it even get's its own gametype..

Anyways, the one good thing I can actually say about Halo 4 is certain features in gametypes and forge.. though it doesn't compare to the loss. Gametypes were well done, I will admit, though they did remove assault and 1CTF.. and I do like the new oddball, but there should be a choice on whether it can or can't be thrown.. As for flood.. same thing, it's like infection, but I wished I could toggle off the feature for customs
As for forge, I like some of the map editor features like the boundaries. I love the duplicate command.. not a fan of the magnets. Why? They don't always work and are not the most accurate. Plus the 3D materials don't relate to their actual surface, leaving holes or dips where I wished there weren't. Alas, dynamic lighting doesn't work and I miss.. miss flying around at full speed as a monitor.. can't even fling myself because it takes too long to switch between and you lose all momentum
Lastly, I do enjoy the delete all of this object feature and what not, and the locking and unlock all.. but why no lock all feature?

Still, I'll drop this off for now.. it just breaks my heart though