33
well...
hey, all.
before you start yelling, yes, this has nothing to do with minecraft.
but still...
at heart we PMCers are all gamers, and halo 4 is a game.
i rest my case.
(in addition, many minecraft players with an xbox play halo themselves)
- fun fact - at one point, this blog had 3 diamonds, 43 views, and 7 comments.
must be a sign :)
introduction
with those unpleasantries out of the way, i can now tell you my opinion on the
bestselling halo 4. simply put, it is an amazing game, better than even the most
obsessed fans would've dared to hope. 343 industries did a good job overall, producing
sharp graphics, smooth and intuitive gameplay, and an engrossing story. but that's
what pretty much what every review said, usually giving it roughly 95% out of perfect.
still, they failed to mention some of halo 4's downfalls.
the campaign
first, the campaign. the environments are varied, as well as the things you do in said
environments. usually. most of the time you'll be flipping switches, and that's the honest
truth. still, there's a nice pelican sequence, for those who couldn't figure out the one in
reach. in addition, there's a death-star-like broadsword flight that is pretty cool,
which disappoints me in that space combat has been removed. there are also the
typical tank and warthog runs. the enemies appear as both covys and the
forerunner prometheans. you never figure out exactly why the covenant return,
but it's on the wikis and in the terminals (maybe) if you're interested.
that being said, no brutes will be roaring along with the elites. no drones either,
but those are replaced by watchers, who are not nearly as fun to fight.
there are nearly zero epic battlescapes, almost to the point where the environments are
claustrophobic. this makes the game feel strict, and freedom of gameplay is limited.
the vehicles
second, the vehicles. an interesting addition is the boost meter for covenant vehicles,
which i'm sure many players will appreciate. only one truly new vehicle was introduced:
the mantis. it's basically a mech with a machine gun and rockets, and can step on people.
however, there are, shockingly, no promethean vehicles. i feel a lot of potential was lost here. 343 could have created motorcycles, gliders, tanks, or any number of transportation options. also, the brute vehicles and
the hornet were removed, leaving the banshee as the only viable flight option. interestingly,
all turrets have a cooldown period if you let them overheat. the wraith mortar now has a very steep firing arc
that makes aiming difficult except in close quarters.
the weapons
thirdly, the weapons. all of the usuals have received a visual and auditory overhall. the DMR,
bane of reach players, has been nerfed enough to make it bearable. many players were disappointed
about the lack of dual-wielding, even though only 3 pistols are available anyways. i, personally,
wish that 343 had tried to put it back in. the brute shot and spiker have been deleted, mostly to
the chagrin of no-one, except those who intended to impersonate agent maine. thankfully, our
favorite gravity hammer remains. the plasma pistol has regained its ability to lock onto a target.
spike grenades have been replaced by the field-of-effect pulse grenades, and the flamethrower
and fire nades are nowhere to be seen. the shotgun feels really bulky, and is underused in
the campaign. it does, however, have greater range. i'm sure sarge was proud.
the armor abilities
fourthly, armor abilities. these rechargeable items were part of what made reach such a huge success,
and, as such, 343 would've had to have been mad to remove them. the thruster pack is ridiculously
underpowered, and practically useless. the once place where it is utilized in the campaign, it is actually effective notable additions are the promethean vision, which works like thermal vision, and the autosentry, which is like halo 3's forerunner autoturret. bubble shields are gone, and if you want to dodge vehicles, you are out of luck, seeing as
the thruster pack sucks, and the evade ability is not there to begin with.
forge mode and maps
fifthly, forge mode and maps. while not necessarily instant successes, halo 4's maps
are fun and varied (i enjoyed exile, complex, and adrift the most). no weapons are placed anywhere, but appear
in the form of ordnance drops, to (mostly) prevent camping by the big hitters and racking up kills.
forge is unequivocally fantastic, although you won't find any huge forge-world-style maps to use.
the most innovative new feature is trait zones, which allow you to determine players' abilities
and strength (among other things) in a certain area. magnets allow you to line up your structures neatly.
the three forge maps (ravine, impact, and erosion) give players adequate space to build to their hearts' content.
i was greatly impressed by the palette of structure items, but was disappointed because structure items are limited
to the forge-centric maps.
the multiplayer
sixthly, multiplayer. although a mostly aesthetic choice, elites are not playable, nor promethean knights,
which would've been cool. flood mode takes the classic infection/zombies gametype and tosses in
some different loadouts and visual effects. extraction is a new type, which has players moving around and defending mobile bases (kind of). loadouts are fully customizeable, with various upgrades you can purchase by leveling up.
once you've reached level 50, you can choose a specialization (class) which provides a relatively minor benefit.
cool-looking armor and emblems are definitely not lacking, and different-colored visors are available for reaching certain milestones, an elegant way to flaunt your skills. the options for using custom gametypes and maps with random people during multiplayer are a bit disappointing. the spartan ops mode allows you to play new
missions every week, but the narratives are rather weak.
spartan ops
i guess i partially covered this above, but it never hurts to add more information.
the way i would describe these ops: difficult, but not challenging. even on easy, you will die repeatedly
throughout the course of the missions. nevertheless, this is negated by the fact that there are no checkpoints.
after dying, you respawn away from the battlefield, losing no progress at all. UNSC, covenant, and promethean
forces alike provide you with an almost unlimited supply of powerful weapons. for example, in episode 2 chapter three, there are literally around 10 spartan laser and rocket launchers. in my opinion, we would have been
better off with a customizeable firefight mode, or even a make-your-own-mission option in forge.
spartan ops' maps are sadly lacking. you will trudge through the exact same scenery, even as often as every other mission (ep. 1 ch. 5, ep. 2 ch. 2). one of spartan ops' good points are the red vs. blue easter eggs. i won't spoil them, but i think you'll like 'em! (which is essentially a spoiler in itself). spartan ops does, however, provide lots of XP, and the missions are roughly as long as an average MP match. many fans were disappointed that spartan ops has no scoring system, so the replay value is next to zero.
video and audio
halo 4 sounds and looks great. the beginning and end cutscenes are unbelievably realistic.
explosions and gunfire are worthy of a call of duty or battlefield game, perhaps even better.
the soundtrack is not the epic score we have enjoyed in past games, and while playing, i failed
to notice it most of the time. still, its intent was to help the game's mood, and it definitely does.
the banshee's hovering and the mantis' pistons moving feel unique, and if you were to close
your eyes and listen to someone driving, you would almost certainly identify the vehicle.
specializations
like prestige from CoD, (or so i'm told), specializations allow players to take advantage of a powerful passive ability.
once reaching SR50, players can take one of six paths. these are engineer (prior knowledge of ordnance drops),
operator (increases vehicle health and reduces vulnerability to EMPs), pathfinder (slower overheat, faster cooldwon while using turrets, increased speed while holding turrets), pioneer (bonus XP), rouge (reduced reticule jump while being fired upon while in scope), stalker (HUD icons for enemies who recently have killed or wounded you),
tracker (re-roll personal ordnance), and stealth (increased general speed, faster assassinations, reduced noise).
world's longest run-on sentence^^^ :D
(grammar nazis: while technically not run-on, i could've split it into a few smaller sentences)
these specializations give players a sense of achievement and reward them for their hard efforts.
some problems may arise with the rogue modification, however. (see below, reticule jump)
general gameplay
halo 4 plays smoothly, i noticed literally zero framerate issues in single-player, and only a small bit of lag in
multiplayer. sprinting is a worthy addition, you increase your speed, but sacrifice the ability to fire at will.
when you fire your weapon, however, (even sniper rifles and automatics) you don't need to control your aiming
reticule. instead, your reticule 'blooms' (crosshairs get larger and make aiming more inaccurate). this, however,
takes a lot of the challenge out of lining up your targets. another complaint: when one is shot while scoping, they will not go out of scope. instead, their aim will jump upward. this can be seen as both a blessing and a curse, as you can continue to accurately aim at your target while taking fire, but when you take a sniper unawares, they will still be able to kill you (maybe) because your bullets will not prevent them from getting a good look at you.
conclusion
to sum it up, my main criticisms of halo 4:
in addition, props to Conquer, who suggested that i add headers.
hey, all.
before you start yelling, yes, this has nothing to do with minecraft.
but still...
at heart we PMCers are all gamers, and halo 4 is a game.
i rest my case.
(in addition, many minecraft players with an xbox play halo themselves)
- fun fact - at one point, this blog had 3 diamonds, 43 views, and 7 comments.
must be a sign :)
introduction
with those unpleasantries out of the way, i can now tell you my opinion on the
bestselling halo 4. simply put, it is an amazing game, better than even the most
obsessed fans would've dared to hope. 343 industries did a good job overall, producing
sharp graphics, smooth and intuitive gameplay, and an engrossing story. but that's
what pretty much what every review said, usually giving it roughly 95% out of perfect.
still, they failed to mention some of halo 4's downfalls.
the campaign
first, the campaign. the environments are varied, as well as the things you do in said
environments. usually. most of the time you'll be flipping switches, and that's the honest
truth. still, there's a nice pelican sequence, for those who couldn't figure out the one in
reach. in addition, there's a death-star-like broadsword flight that is pretty cool,
which disappoints me in that space combat has been removed. there are also the
typical tank and warthog runs. the enemies appear as both covys and the
forerunner prometheans. you never figure out exactly why the covenant return,
but it's on the wikis and in the terminals (maybe) if you're interested.
that being said, no brutes will be roaring along with the elites. no drones either,
but those are replaced by watchers, who are not nearly as fun to fight.
there are nearly zero epic battlescapes, almost to the point where the environments are
claustrophobic. this makes the game feel strict, and freedom of gameplay is limited.
the vehicles
second, the vehicles. an interesting addition is the boost meter for covenant vehicles,
which i'm sure many players will appreciate. only one truly new vehicle was introduced:
the mantis. it's basically a mech with a machine gun and rockets, and can step on people.
however, there are, shockingly, no promethean vehicles. i feel a lot of potential was lost here. 343 could have created motorcycles, gliders, tanks, or any number of transportation options. also, the brute vehicles and
the hornet were removed, leaving the banshee as the only viable flight option. interestingly,
all turrets have a cooldown period if you let them overheat. the wraith mortar now has a very steep firing arc
that makes aiming difficult except in close quarters.
the weapons
thirdly, the weapons. all of the usuals have received a visual and auditory overhall. the DMR,
bane of reach players, has been nerfed enough to make it bearable. many players were disappointed
about the lack of dual-wielding, even though only 3 pistols are available anyways. i, personally,
wish that 343 had tried to put it back in. the brute shot and spiker have been deleted, mostly to
the chagrin of no-one, except those who intended to impersonate agent maine. thankfully, our
favorite gravity hammer remains. the plasma pistol has regained its ability to lock onto a target.
spike grenades have been replaced by the field-of-effect pulse grenades, and the flamethrower
and fire nades are nowhere to be seen. the shotgun feels really bulky, and is underused in
the campaign. it does, however, have greater range. i'm sure sarge was proud.
the armor abilities
fourthly, armor abilities. these rechargeable items were part of what made reach such a huge success,
and, as such, 343 would've had to have been mad to remove them. the thruster pack is ridiculously
underpowered, and practically useless. the once place where it is utilized in the campaign, it is actually effective notable additions are the promethean vision, which works like thermal vision, and the autosentry, which is like halo 3's forerunner autoturret. bubble shields are gone, and if you want to dodge vehicles, you are out of luck, seeing as
the thruster pack sucks, and the evade ability is not there to begin with.
forge mode and maps
fifthly, forge mode and maps. while not necessarily instant successes, halo 4's maps
are fun and varied (i enjoyed exile, complex, and adrift the most). no weapons are placed anywhere, but appear
in the form of ordnance drops, to (mostly) prevent camping by the big hitters and racking up kills.
forge is unequivocally fantastic, although you won't find any huge forge-world-style maps to use.
the most innovative new feature is trait zones, which allow you to determine players' abilities
and strength (among other things) in a certain area. magnets allow you to line up your structures neatly.
the three forge maps (ravine, impact, and erosion) give players adequate space to build to their hearts' content.
i was greatly impressed by the palette of structure items, but was disappointed because structure items are limited
to the forge-centric maps.
the multiplayer
sixthly, multiplayer. although a mostly aesthetic choice, elites are not playable, nor promethean knights,
which would've been cool. flood mode takes the classic infection/zombies gametype and tosses in
some different loadouts and visual effects. extraction is a new type, which has players moving around and defending mobile bases (kind of). loadouts are fully customizeable, with various upgrades you can purchase by leveling up.
once you've reached level 50, you can choose a specialization (class) which provides a relatively minor benefit.
cool-looking armor and emblems are definitely not lacking, and different-colored visors are available for reaching certain milestones, an elegant way to flaunt your skills. the options for using custom gametypes and maps with random people during multiplayer are a bit disappointing. the spartan ops mode allows you to play new
missions every week, but the narratives are rather weak.
spartan ops
i guess i partially covered this above, but it never hurts to add more information.
the way i would describe these ops: difficult, but not challenging. even on easy, you will die repeatedly
throughout the course of the missions. nevertheless, this is negated by the fact that there are no checkpoints.
after dying, you respawn away from the battlefield, losing no progress at all. UNSC, covenant, and promethean
forces alike provide you with an almost unlimited supply of powerful weapons. for example, in episode 2 chapter three, there are literally around 10 spartan laser and rocket launchers. in my opinion, we would have been
better off with a customizeable firefight mode, or even a make-your-own-mission option in forge.
spartan ops' maps are sadly lacking. you will trudge through the exact same scenery, even as often as every other mission (ep. 1 ch. 5, ep. 2 ch. 2). one of spartan ops' good points are the red vs. blue easter eggs. i won't spoil them, but i think you'll like 'em! (which is essentially a spoiler in itself). spartan ops does, however, provide lots of XP, and the missions are roughly as long as an average MP match. many fans were disappointed that spartan ops has no scoring system, so the replay value is next to zero.
video and audio
halo 4 sounds and looks great. the beginning and end cutscenes are unbelievably realistic.
explosions and gunfire are worthy of a call of duty or battlefield game, perhaps even better.
the soundtrack is not the epic score we have enjoyed in past games, and while playing, i failed
to notice it most of the time. still, its intent was to help the game's mood, and it definitely does.
the banshee's hovering and the mantis' pistons moving feel unique, and if you were to close
your eyes and listen to someone driving, you would almost certainly identify the vehicle.
specializations
like prestige from CoD, (or so i'm told), specializations allow players to take advantage of a powerful passive ability.
once reaching SR50, players can take one of six paths. these are engineer (prior knowledge of ordnance drops),
operator (increases vehicle health and reduces vulnerability to EMPs), pathfinder (slower overheat, faster cooldwon while using turrets, increased speed while holding turrets), pioneer (bonus XP), rouge (reduced reticule jump while being fired upon while in scope), stalker (HUD icons for enemies who recently have killed or wounded you),
tracker (re-roll personal ordnance), and stealth (increased general speed, faster assassinations, reduced noise).
world's longest run-on sentence^^^ :D
(grammar nazis: while technically not run-on, i could've split it into a few smaller sentences)
these specializations give players a sense of achievement and reward them for their hard efforts.
some problems may arise with the rogue modification, however. (see below, reticule jump)
general gameplay
halo 4 plays smoothly, i noticed literally zero framerate issues in single-player, and only a small bit of lag in
multiplayer. sprinting is a worthy addition, you increase your speed, but sacrifice the ability to fire at will.
when you fire your weapon, however, (even sniper rifles and automatics) you don't need to control your aiming
reticule. instead, your reticule 'blooms' (crosshairs get larger and make aiming more inaccurate). this, however,
takes a lot of the challenge out of lining up your targets. another complaint: when one is shot while scoping, they will not go out of scope. instead, their aim will jump upward. this can be seen as both a blessing and a curse, as you can continue to accurately aim at your target while taking fire, but when you take a sniper unawares, they will still be able to kill you (maybe) because your bullets will not prevent them from getting a good look at you.
conclusion
to sum it up, my main criticisms of halo 4:
- lack of dual-wielding
- some missing/weak armor abilities
- no forerunner vehicles
- many removed vehicles and weapons
- spartan ops is a bit of a drag
- less-than-bombastic soundtrack
in addition, props to Conquer, who suggested that i add headers.
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( Its probably better than Halo 3 ODST, my least favorite Halo game)
personally, i thought ODST was great...
but then again, i've only played that, 3, and 4.
conversely, i'm actually getting reach for christmas :)
(there was an achievement for that)
and there's good 'ol couch co-op and system link for firefight...
i actually enjoyed the story, the characters were actually human and believable...
i will indeed do that...
yeah i spent a lot of time thinking...
thnx :)
i enjoyed reading this article and i hope you make more to say the least!
I like your thinking, also Good job!