Halo 4: First Look

[Zeh Don]

I'm actually a little optimistic about Halo 4. Not just because of the talent attached at 343 Industries - a lot of which are Halo vets, but also because they're moving into new territory and taking a chance with the narrative.

They could have easily whipped up some kind of plot that retconned away most of the currently established lore for convenience purpoises, much in the same way Activision Blizzard has done with Starcraft and Diablo. They didn't. I applaud their attempt to, at least, try something different and move it forward in a meaningful way.

Delving into the Chief is an interesting concept; he's a solider, that's all he knows, and it defines him. He's a living weapon. I like the idea of exploring that concept. However, it could also end up being another "Anakin Skywalker". But I at least like that they're willing to try, as opposed to simply building another "CoD" FPS.

Something that I'm a tad concerned about, however, is that "Halo" is now one of Microsoft's few on-going exclusives. The "Gears of War" trilogy is done with. Fable has gone to the crapper. Alan Wake was solid, but didn't sell well. There's a lot riding on a new Halo entry - this means they could end up milking it even more so than they've done to date. I'm thinking of "Mass Effect 3" levels of "Buy this pair of socks in a store, and get an exclusive skin for your Captain's chair in-game!".

So far, though, Halo 4 looks solid.

 

[IBlackKiteI]

Way too early to make a firm assumption on how it's going to turn out, but at least they're intending to make it a bit different and 343 are finally redoing the sounds which they've mostly had floating around for over 10 years.

While it didn't really sound bad, nothing in their mention of the campaign seemed noteworthy. The exact same kind of stuff is always being said by developers of damn near every game, 'We're going to really bring out the protagonist's character," "We're going to draw the player in and make the stakes higher than ever before."
Blah, maybe it'd just be best to assume that Halo 4 (and the majority of shooters) doesn't even have a campaign at least at this point.

I have a feeling that the reason the Spartans are fighting is gunna be really stupid, but not intentionally like RvB. It'll probably turn out something like the matches are training exercises or they're small elite forces fighting some sort of shady cold war within the UNSC.
Whatever their 'story' to the multiplayer is I hope it doesn't go beyond a short blurb on a loading screen or something, like Bad Company.

Anyway it's got me a lot more psyched for more info regardless.

 

[Awexsome]

Halo fan =/= Halo fanboy

I'm talking about the people from the Bungie forums who are still crying that Reach wasn't halo 3 repainted. Hell, the reason I came here was to get away from there.

*high fives*

True that. Community forum there is still great, sometimes the flood for lols but you gotta stay far away from the game specific forums.

As for Halo 4 I'm much more cautious without Bungie at the helm. A heck of a lot of variables that I've taken for granted with Bungie like knowing how they'll interact, and what they'll put priorities on for fixing after release aren't set in stone anymore.

343i still has to prove to me they won't kneejerk react to the loudest minority unhappy with the game (usually hyper competitive types) and keep the game fun for everything from Slayer to Action sack.

Then of course there's no telling what all the design choices they'll make for balance and gameplay. The BR being back could be good or bad depending how they handle it but the thing that gave me a bad impression was the sprint function seemingly inherent to the game controls that looks 100% exactly like how CoD functions with sprint. Still far too early to rush to any judgement though. Don't wanna turn this into Mass Effect 3 reaction times declaring everything revealed as "THIS" being the thing that ruins the game.

 

[Toy Master Typhus]

Shit 343I stepped into a hell of a minefield agreeing to make Halo4.

First they have the problem of making a new plot that fits in with the story. Then they have to problem of trying to recreate the same feel Bungie had which will either come down to copying bits of the older games and be hated for being lazy or end up straying to far from what Bungie did and be hated for trying to make it their own product.

They will need to make a miracle happen because they way it is looking they will be damned if halo stays stagnant and damned if it moves forward.

 

[Site Ser]

This shouldnt be happening. I just hope it's not an underwhelming piece of garbage like Reach was.

 

[Korten12]

I really don't know what to think. For one thing, the whole video they were basically saying "Bungie didn't do this right, and we're fixing that," and I thought Halo was just fine beforehand. That, and they're doing the three most over-used stories in Halo fanfiction: the story of red vs blue, the story of master chief, and the story of the SPARTAN-IVs. Why can't they do something that people are going to care more about?

Well Spartan IV's were introduced in Glasslands, so it's no suprise they're in Halo 4 and considering Halo 3 ended in a cliff hanger, it's only natural for them to continue it.

Shit 343I stepped into a hell of a minefield agreeing to make Halo4.

First they have the problem of making a new plot that fits in with the story. Then they have to problem of trying to recreate the same feel Bungie had which will either come down to copying bits of the older games and be hated for being lazy or end up straying to far from what Bungie did and be hated for trying to make it their own product.

They will need to make a miracle happen because they way it is looking they will be damned if halo stays stagnant and damned if it moves forward.

Well, Halo 3 ended with a cliff hanger, and Halo Glasslands and Cryptum/Primoridum have been adding a lot to the story. So it all does fit.

Plus, you do know that most of 343i is from Bungie? It's essentially Bungie 2.0.

 

[snagli]

So the Chief is in half a frigate when it crashes... somewhere. A random part of space, on a completely random, probably Forerunner planet. So it's unlikely there will be humans or even Covenant in this game. So how will 343 make thing interesting with only 2 confirmed characters? I'm curious, very curious.

 

[imnot]

I stil lthink its going to be tricky to have a larger threat than the flood/ Halos, without just saying 'Yeah theres a big machine that turns everyone int ovelociraptors, and then they kill each other'

Actually I'd buy that.

 

[Korten12]

So the Chief is in half a frigate when it crashes... somewhere. A random part of space, on a completely random, probably Forerunner planet. So it's unlikely there will be humans or even Covenant in this game. So how will 343 make thing interesting with only 2 confirmed characters? I'm curious, very curious.

If you read the books, it's a shield world and the UNSC is already confirmed to be in the game. Specifically the UNSC Infinity. A Human/Covenant/Forerunner Technology ship.

I stil lthink its going to be tricky to have a larger threat than the flood/ Halos, without just saying 'Yeah theres a big machine that turns everyone int ovelociraptors, and then they kill each other'

Actually I'd buy that.

Well most likely the threat will be the Precursors. The creators of all life in the milky way and possibly the flood.

 

[snagli]

So the Chief is in half a frigate when it crashes... somewhere. A random part of space, on a completely random, probably Forerunner planet. So it's unlikely there will be humans or even Covenant in this game. So how will 343 make thing interesting with only 2 confirmed characters? I'm curious, very curious.

If you read the books, it's a shield world and the UNSC is already confirmed to be in the game. Specifically the UNSC Infinity. A Human/Covenant/Forerunner Technology ship.

I'm sorry, I can't seem to find any info on that. In which book do they mention this?

 

[Section Crow]

they are making it their own halo while not ignoring but picking out the pieces that worked and utilizing the aspects to improve the game.

looking forward to it with a full heart and a open mind

 

[Korten12]

So the Chief is in half a frigate when it crashes... somewhere. A random part of space, on a completely random, probably Forerunner planet. So it's unlikely there will be humans or even Covenant in this game. So how will 343 make thing interesting with only 2 confirmed characters? I'm curious, very curious.

If you read the books, it's a shield world and the UNSC is already confirmed to be in the game. Specifically the UNSC Infinity. A Human/Covenant/Forerunner Technology ship.

I'm sorry, I can't seem to find any info on that. In which book do they mention this?

Halo: Glasslands. http://www.halopedian.com/Halo:_Glasslands

and: http://www.halopedian.com/UNSC_Infinity

 

[Esotera]

Looks pretty sweet. From the video it seems like they're actually making an effort to make it different, rather than just a rehash of all Bungie's previous work. The final test will be playing it though...

 

[Batou667]

I have very mixed feelings about this. I'll almost certainly pick it up for the multiplayer (and for the record, I'll be very surprised if the armor abilities from Reach don't appear in some shape or form - even if it's just the default Sprint) but I have big reservations about 343's ability to make a new trilogy that doesn't either a) retread familiar ground to death or b) screw the original plot sideways to the point of comical unbelievability. But, I'll be happy to be proved wrong.

Also, I don't like the new Spartan armor. It's all hips and shoulders and wasp-like waists - Nintendo called, they want their damn Metroid suits back.