Has Halo run its course?

[Onyx Oblivion]

Eh.

Reach was a nice idea, and a good send-off to the Bungie developed games of the series. To end at the beginning and all that.

But really, Halo 3 DID end on a sort-of cliff-hanger, so there was room to continue on. I suspect that was Bungie's intent at the time.

Also, 343 had ex-Bungie personnel, so that's a good sign.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

to anyone who doesn't like halo : they wished it had died after the first game and they constantly curse it for "milking" even though the track record has shown it has 4-1/2 official games in roughly estimate of 9 years, that isn't milking by any means. (halo wars wasn't bungie made and wasn't even close to any of the other games, and ODST wasn't even a full game basically considering it sold with the entire multiplayer of H3 with it.)


i do/did enjoy halo quite a bit, reach was a breath of fresh air, and the mechanics of it were wonderful.

I'm sure i'll look into it once the game comes out with gameplay/trailers for it, but until then not really much to say, besides the fact that if microsoft were to stop selling halo they would be retarded to do so, seeing as how much revenue it brings in

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

I think the so-called fans of the series are very open to the idea.

By this, I sincerely hope you mean the people who pretend to be fans, not the people who love it.

OT: I love Halo more than most and although I am curious to see where they go, the reveal trailer for 4 told me everything I needed to know about the project.

1) I already knew this, but Microsoft. Just, Microsoft. No Bungie, no quality.

2) That trailer....... Ugh. Total Michael Bay. Zany action for it's own sake.

3) The fact that they are honestly trying to make not one, not two, but THREE new games is just depressing. I really hope the first one flops and they next two disappear.

And you know what? Shame on you guys you guys. I don't feel guilty about being a hardcore Halo fan and neither should you!

 

[cthulhumythos]

as a huge halo fan, who's loved the game from combat evolved to reach, who's gone to three midnight releases for the series, who's read nearly every book, yes.

bungie made a great series. then they left. then the anniversary halo 1 got announced. it was being made by the company who made timeshift. halo 1 is not even old enough to warrant a hd remake. and then i saw the trailer. everything in it made me cringe. they managed to make the game look worse than it's decade old counterpart (at least in my opinion)

and then the new trilogy was announced at e3. i knew microsoft would try to milk it's late cash cow, but Damn. 3 games. technically 4.

and it was going to focus on master chief. you don't have to be a cynic to understand that the chief wasn't particularly interesting in game. but i could handle the playing as the chief again. but then i saw the teaser. they somehow managed to get the chief wrong. how does that even happen i don't know. but they converted him from near unstoppable juggernaut to super fast ninja man. and that was the last straw.

but then my doubts were cemented EVEN FURTHER SOMEHOW.

when 343 announced the changes they were placing on reach. without going into detail, i fear they have irreparably damaged reach multiplayer.

and it also makes me sad that i had to switch sides from halo fanatics to halo nay-sayers. :/

 

[ZZoMBiE13]

Resident Evil has been going since the mid-90s. Mario and Zelda even longer. When a game has solid mechanics and people enjoy it, why wouldn't it keep going?

CoD is a franchise that is being milked. Yearly releases of the exact same thing. Madden is a series being milked. Yearly roster updates for another sixty beans each August. Halo, is a constantly evolving storyline with a dedicated fanbase and a simple but engaging multiplayer experience. No, it has not run it's course. Each game has sold more than it's previous title (not counting RTS diversions, mind). Halo fans enjoy it and want more.

Gaming relies on the same kind of mindset that the old movie theatre serials did. Familiar characters and settings and storylines that lend themselves to episodic style installments. That is why sequels always sell.

If you are tired of Halo then by all means when the next release comes out then please vote with your wallet and do not purchase it. But don't begrudge those who do want to play these games. It's a diverse and wonderful world full of all different types of people and personalities. And gaming should reflect that. I'd hate to think of a world where the only sci-fi FPS option was CoD 13 Future Warfare.

 

[Snowblindblitz]

Well yeah, it would be better in my opinion to let the series die, but it would also make much less money. Thus, like everything else, it will be milked until every last penny of profit is taken.

Really, the thing that annoys me the most is Halo: Anniversary. Are we really so shallow as to buy the same game twice, just for a minor graphical update? Halo: CE isn't even old, and it still looks fine. Better than most most games in fact, it has a nice colourful aesthetic. If it makes money (as it no doubt will) I'll be pretty damn annoyed. Why should companies even bother making new games at all, when we're all happy to buy the old ones again?

I can't even blame them for this, it's our fault there's almost no innovation in mainstream games.

I kinda have to agree with a Yahtzee to put your point down: I love when my favorite games get re-released. Just like as movie collections evolve, I look forward to my favorites being released on Blue-Ray. Imagine a world where people said "It's on VHS, FFS, why should we put it out again?". Most of this planets media history would go up in smoke.

Plus, most old games look like shit on my HD tv...

 

[Awexsome]

I think it would've been a good idea to come out with the anniversary edition then let it lie for a while. One thing about the releases in Halo's main series is that they aren't nearly as frequent as the undeserved cries of "milked franchise" would lead you to believe but from what I've heard Microsoft plans to move the cycle from 3 year releases to a 2 year cycle (with who knows how many spin offs).

I'm ok with it so long as 343i can keep up the quality that Bungie set as the standard for the series. I'm not going to judge 343i until probably Halo 4 but this Reach title update seems to be going down the wrong path already with catering to the more assholeish players that give competitive online games their bad rep.

I'm a Halo fan but it's Bungie that's earned my deep-rooted respect. This new team will have to prove that Halo is in good hands before they find me at one of their midnight releases.

 

[jboking]

Look, I don't like Halo in the least, but I do recognize one thing about it. It sells like hot cakes. The best way to determine when a game series has 'run its course' is when it stops selling well. Guitar hero did this pretty effectively. It was a big deal for a while, Guitar hero 2 and even 3 sold amazingly, but eventually you hit band hero and they just stop selling. Then the producer decides to can the entire series.

basically, if it sells, it hasn't run its course.

 

[flaviok79]

I think Halo has run its course of original games. Now begins the watering down. Some of the new games might be good, but the well of innovation tapped by Bungie has dried up. Now is just revamp, rewrap and reskin.

 

[darksakul]

Has Halo run its course?

I hope so, I do not understand how Halo was popular or even any good.
Unfortunately Halo 3 saved the Xbox 360, and Halo games afterwards made Microsoft money
So Microsoft is going to continue to make Halo games while they can still turn a profit from their sheep err I mean their customers.

for every Halo fan out there God starves a child to near death in a 3rd world country
Just remember that before every time you play a Halo title.

 

[The-Epicly-Named-Man]

I think Halo had run it's course long before the announcement of this reboot. Just because something sells well, or is better than a few alternatives, doesn't mean it should be spun into an endless franchise. By that logic, things like the Godfather should be on their 7th installment.

 

[Rabid Chipmunk]

I generally feel that any game franchise shouldn't have more than three games, but since Halo 4 is being made by a new developer with a new story focus besides the Human-Covenant War, I'm willing to give them a chance on this one.

And as for Halo: Anniversary, I saw a lot of people on various forums begging for an HD Halo: CE remake before Reach came out, so this is just 343i making what the fans were asking for.

 

[Kukakkau]

I really can't understand the people who want the Halo 1 reboot - exact same as 1st game's campaign only looking prettier, and the multiplayer is the same as Reach from what I can tell.

The new trilogy perks zero interest in me either since Halo 3's selling phrase was finish the fight and the ending (even though the story was terrible) was fine, it left off with no answer about what happened to Chief. They didn't need one, he had nothing left to fight.

But now they are no doubt going to throw in a new enemy and have no characters from before in it, since they are mostly dead. In fact why even use Master Chief in this trilogy besides fan service?

 

[DEAD34345]

Well yeah, it would be better in my opinion to let the series die, but it would also make much less money. Thus, like everything else, it will be milked until every last penny of profit is taken.

Really, the thing that annoys me the most is Halo: Anniversary. Are we really so shallow as to buy the same game twice, just for a minor graphical update? Halo: CE isn't even old, and it still looks fine. Better than most most games in fact, it has a nice colourful aesthetic. If it makes money (as it no doubt will) I'll be pretty damn annoyed. Why should companies even bother making new games at all, when we're all happy to buy the old ones again?

I can't even blame them for this, it's our fault there's almost no innovation in mainstream games.

I kinda have to agree with a Yahtzee to put your point down: I love when my favorite games get re-released. Just like as movie collections evolve, I look forward to my favorites being released on Blue-Ray. Imagine a world where people said "It's on VHS, FFS, why should we put it out again?". Most of this planets media history would go up in smoke.

Plus, most old games look like shit on my HD tv...

Halo isn't old, and it still looks pretty good. This is nothing to do with preserving the game on a new format, because we can already play it on the 360. Maybe in the future when we get a new console that can't run the game, I could understand it a little. However this is just releasing the same game again, and what's worse is that people will actually pay £40 for it.

 

[Jabberwock xeno]

I do not.

Like the games or not, It has one of the largest, most expansive and complex universe of ANY game series, if not THE largest and most expansive.

Thus far, the Halo games have had a 3 year release pattern (2001, 2004, 2007, 2010), and thats even only counting in the release dates. Bungie does a LOT of pre-production and concept work.

They also listen and interact with their community SO much more than other devs. I won't get into it because it's a whole other topic, but so far 343 has shown the same level of interaction.

343 has made it clear from their actions and statements that they have no intrest in using it as a cash cow, and have legemiate care and concern for the franchise and it's universe.

I wish the same could be said for the higher ups at microsoft...

 

[Atmos Duality]

Nope. Still plenty of milk left in that cash cow.
Only thing to do when that rolls around is to bite your lip and endure the Hype-storm as always.

Which reminds me of a trend I keep noticing: Now, these games get hyped beyond reason for months, and yet aren't worth discussing for much longer than a week or two after launch (specific and "official" forums notwithstanding).

Seriously. Halo: Reach was supposed to be the Swan Song for Bungee's series. The creme de le creme. Their best effort. And in all honesty, I thought it was. It was the first Halo game I found to show a significant improvement over Halo:CE.

As expected, the fanboys jizzed themselves for months in anticipation, then jizzed even harder for about 2 weeks...and around then Black Ops came out. And Halo Reach was never relevant again...

Swan-song. Best effort. Masterpiece.
RENTAL GAME.

Oh gaming industry, times are a-changin.