Halo 4

[RudeCurve]

Just finished Spartan Ops chapter 5 solo (skipped 2, 3 and 4 for now)...it seems I really need to play these in coop as the open areas are more better experienced with other players. Graphics style for this chapter kind of reminds me of Phantasy Star Online. I also just purchased the jetpack hehe but haven't used it in MP yet. Oh and the music and sound effects are also very nicely done. I ordered the Infinity map pack pass just because the MP so far was well done and fun. Oh and I finally was able to equip my pre-order Pulse armor...got an email from MS Store yesterday with the redemption code. Pulse helmet looks very cool...stylistically very Japanese.

I really like the weekly challenges. Anyway I need to finish Dawn on Legendary to get those XP only 1 day left to do it...(edit just did/got it). Wasn't too tough but it took patience, trial and error and many deaths...lol. Oh and one final note I don't get motion sickness from this game! Only one thing I don't like so far...no sound adjustment setting for background music, FX etc.

 

[BoardBonobo]

My copy is languishing at work, I was hoping to get it for this weekend but it wasn't to be.

Mind you I haven't finished Boarderlands 2 yet, or Dragons Dogma, or Skyrim for that matter. And I'm about half way through The Unfinished Swan. Though I did just finish a run through the original Killzone (HD - really...? lol).

But Halo is the reason I have a 360 and I'm chomping at the bit here!!

 

[RobertR1]

Laa Yosh and team, take a bow. That cutscene....

Played the campaign for a few hours. I can sum it up easily. Thanks for your work Bungie but you will not be missed. 343 is giving me the best halo to date in all areas.

 

[NRP]

Reach was brighter overall. H4 is darker overall. I prefer bright over dark.

Also, the enemies in H4 are lifeless and generally uninteresting. It's hard to tell which of the group is the tough one because they aren't really that visually distinct. You only find out after you engage which is which because one takes a lot more damage than the others. It would be nice to know "Ok, that's the one I should use my last rocket on" before you actually commit. The grunts are no longer funny, the elites don't talk any of their typical nonverbal trash, and the NPCs don't speak interesting dialog (even with that skull enabled). To me, this all means the "second to second" combat experience is not as good as previous Halo games. This kind of attention to detail is lacking in 343's effort.

Also, there's nothing new here. The entire game is a collection of memorable encounters from previous Halo games (escape exploding platform, fly a spaceship, etc). It's clear 343 has technical chops, but I'm worried they have no creativity and original ideas.

So yes, Bungie will be missed, at least by me.

 

[function]

So a few thoughts on the game's engine, in terms of plus and minus:

Plus:
+ No AO
+ no motion blur
+ higher resolution
+ finally some acceptable AA!

Minus:
- Lighting quality took a big hit.
- No dark bits in the game
- Bloom on your bloom (on your bloom)
- Post process filters (including bloom) jumping and jittering all over the place as pixels popped

Overall better in appearance than Halo Reach but I'd have happily seen a resolution cut, Halo 3's lighting and less reliance on bloom (based on popping pixels) instead of lighting.

Overall: yeah, probably time for some new consoles now.

 

[warb]

After finishing legendary co-op, some singleplayer and playing through Spartan Ops twice, Bungie will be missed by me as well, but then 343i are just getting started.

The only thing I'd put above other 360 Halos is the story telling in the video cutscenes. I like the clear visual style, attention to detail and humour of Bungie's Halo. And the music/sound in general. 4 is very good, but not quite 1, 3, or Reach.

 

[RudeCurve]

Speaking as a Halo noob I learned very quickly that the bigger the enemies the more powerful they will be just like most other games. I don't feel they need to be that much visually distinct to convey that message. I think if they made each class of enemy with different brightly colored armor like previous games this game would look very strange.

With that said I was never a fan of the Halo games before 4 specifically because of the art direction. No matter how good a game is it has to look good to me first and foremost. I think Bungie did a fantastic job building up the franchise over the years, but personally I find the new change in style fresh and more of what a modern Halo game should be.

 

[function]

Reach was brighter overall. H4 is darker overall. I prefer bright over dark.

I thought that Halo 4 wasn't bright, except when bloom made everything look washed out, and at the same time didn't have any really dark bits. It felt like they were really limited by lighting in this game.

Also, the enemies in H4 are lifeless and generally uninteresting. It's hard to tell which of the group is the tough one because they aren't really that visually distinct. You only find out after you engage which is which because one takes a lot more damage than the others. It would be nice to know "Ok, that's the one I should use my last rocket on" before you actually commit. The grunts are no longer funny, the elites don't talk any of their typical nonverbal trash, and the NPCs don't speak interesting dialog (even with that skull enabled). To me, this all means the "second to second" combat experience is not as good as previous Halo games. This kind of attention to detail is lacking in 343's effort.

Yeah, basically. They weapons handle well but the single player experience is about much more than that, and all that other stuff was missing.

Also, there's nothing new here. The entire game is a collection of memorable encounters from previous Halo games (escape exploding platform, fly a spaceship, etc). It's clear 343 has technical chops, but I'm worried they have no creativity and original ideas.

I think they were just hamstrung by needing to copy COD a bit, be more cinematic, meet a tight production schedule, needing to have a mostly self contained episode and not rocking the Halo boat too much. Halo 4 had no really memorable gameplay moments for me and no really memorable battles, but it often felt like a pale imitation of bits of other games. Halo 3 and ODST excelled at this IMO.

Still, it's their first shot and it won't really be fair to judge them until Halo 5 on a next gen system, when they'll be flushed with feedback from the community and be less constrained by power, continuity and the need to pair everything back to make the nicest screenshots they can to compare to a generation of entrenched franchises and genres.

So yes, Bungie will be missed, at least by me.

I almost shit out my eyeballs with rage at the story badness and reduction in scale of Halo Reach, but after Halo 4 I've stuffed my eyeballs back in and yeah, I miss Bungie too.

 

[Acert93]

343i fixed the AR. About time. Rapid fire weapons clearly trump the DMR/BR in close/medium range now, as they should.

I personally think 343i did a MUCH better job with the set pieces, gameplay sandboxes, and evolution than Bungie did in ODST or REACH. 4 builds on 3 with a lot of large "open" play grounds with a lot of different approaches, weapons, and tactics. Some are crazy huge where you and your team can be so far across the map you can barely see them. I founds all weapons useful and none unbalanced (Heroic), something I always thought Bungie had a problem with (as good as they did there would be stupid weapons). I like the evolutionary changes and just common sense things--like sprint + armor abilities. The presentation, everything from the HUD to cut scenes and voice acting, is much improved.

I liked the previous Halo games but for me I think 343i has built on the franchise and corrected some of the "wrongs" on my view. Although QTE endings in shooters should be illegal!!

 

[function]

343i fixed the AR.

Yes! For the first time since CE it's actually a joy to use. I often picked it over more powerful weapons simply because I enjoyed running at things while pulsing trigger. And it's not completely useless at range either.

I liked the previous Halo games but for me I think 343i has built on the franchise and corrected some of the "wrongs" on my view.

I don't feel that 343 have so much built on the franchise as taken over without wrecking it - which is no mean feat considering how easily even the same company can wreck a franchise. Next game where they'll have more freedom (both in technical and gameplay terms) will be where can can judge them fairly on nothing but their own merits IMO.

Although QTE endings in shooters should be illegal!!

This. Times 10. Times Infinity x 10 ^ infinity.

Rotten bastards that make finely tuned gameplay but then reduce your final and most crucial interaction with the game to a prompt-and-press tumour (that incredibly manages to be both moronic and able to catch out experienced players, souring the whole finale) are quite simply Rotten Bastards.

Don't be that guy, 343.

 

[Acert93]

I like the new tabbed menues a LOT. Much clearer and easier to use--and player cards rule. BUT not seeing how far the game in progress is and still not course of action to resolve dropped players Matches are fairly quick.

RobertR1 and I just had a great romp with a friend of mine. We won 7 of 10 games and we both had a very good KDR (mine is above 2 which is good for the first 10 matches and not knowing the maps, no loadouts, etc).

As for load outs ruining the game: MEH. They are fine. You get start with the AR or DMR and an armor ability and there were power weapons all over. And unlike COD you don't always insta-die so you can follow a pack of guys and pick up some dead dudes weapons.

The power weapon perks/drops are very cool and it is nice to save them for when you need them. I prefer that method over power weapons littered/respawning all the time. **Big kudos for the power weapon and objective one screen ways points--good job 343i**

Mech is awesome but not too powerful.

RobertR1 isn't a big Halo MP guy but he told me he is really excited about this and was having fun and WILL play more. So those on the fence jump on in--the fragging is good.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

I don't understand the complaints about bloom... Everything is fine here, contrast is good and the lighting supports this completely. I dunno, maybe adjust your TV set?

As for the ending, I've read some comments where people believed it to have some deeper meaning...

Spoiler

Chief is so completely dedicated to his role as a soldier and protector of mankind that he really sees no other option but to get to that nuke and punch it.

It also makes you participate, more than just watching a non-interactive cutscene. Gameplay would've ended at the point

Spoiler

where you stepped on the hardlight bridge

otherwise.

Other than this, the only other option would've been to just assign the action to the X button and allow the player to roam the area until they notice a waypoint marker indicating where they should go. Far less intense IMHO.

 

[Dominik D]

I like the new tabbed menues a LOT. Much clearer and easier to use--and player cards rule.

There are still way too many magic buttons to be pressed. Play here, back there, X somewhere else, Y in yet another place. I always hated it about Halo games: why can't they have a holistic approach to UI? ARGH!

 

[warb]

Chief must have had some strong pupil dilating eye drops for the examination when he came out of stasis in Halo 4, and they didn't wear off for the entire game.

 

[Acert93]

Spartan Ops: Back when Halo 3 released I had noted a number of times how I really, really liked the large sandboxes and how a 4 player coop mode in set pieces as such would be great.

5 years later: Spartan Ops--exactly as I described it. Exactly. I should go find my posts. So far it is pure awesome. It can only get better, too. I hope 343i adds scoring (I also liked how IW had "stars" on each mission to denote what difficulty you beat it). Any who, hit me up if you want to play some Spartan Ops.

 

[BRiT]

I don't understand the complaints about bloom... Everything is fine here, contrast is good and the lighting supports this completely. I dunno, maybe adjust your TV set?

My plasma TV set is ISO Calibrated. The game has extremely harsh contrast/bloom. It hurts the eyes. It really does. It's the game that needs adjustment.

 

[N_B]

I don't understand the complaints about bloom... Everything is fine here, contrast is good and the lighting supports this completely. I dunno, maybe adjust your TV set?

It can be overdone,

Here for example:

Every part not in shadow has bloom, and it tires the eyes after a while. And as a multiplayer map, clarity of the enviornment should have been prioritised over correct or pretty lighting.

 

[RudeCurve]

I don't understand the complaints about bloom... Everything is fine here, contrast is good and the lighting supports this completely. I dunno, maybe adjust your TV set?

Yeah I don't understand either...I play using the default game brightnest setting and it's fine. I'm thinking some people have crappy tvs or crappy settings on said tvs...

 

[warb]

Halo 3 had the better bloom balance. Perhaps too much to replicate at 720p on the same system, but the sunny outdoor sections were more believable, had more depth.

I'm getting used to the glare/bloom in 4.

 

[NRP]

Yeah, Ragnorok looks terrible. Way too washed out, and the pupil dilation effect is too distracting. Bungie played with this same effect in H3, and wisely toned it down so it wouldn't affect gameplay.