SGP

Halo 4 => Halo 4 General Discussion => Topic started by: ColdGlider on June 13, 2013, 13:21:38

Title: Debating the Merit of Halo 4
Post by: ColdGlider on June 13, 2013, 13:21:38
There are a couple parts of Halo 4 which are just absurd and impossible. The only interesting thing is the last cutscene and you can watch that on youtube. The rest is "CHIEF GET TO THE SHIP! NOW KILL THIS WEIRD DUDE!" nonstop.

Wow.  I just can't disagree more.

I think the main disconnect between our opinions is due to interest in the story.  If you didn't take the time to read (and try to understand) the hidden terminals in Halo 3, then you're not going to care about that "weird dude" or understand the context of the interactions you are having with the new characters.

Furthermore, the enjoyment of the campaign story is enhanced if you have read some of the Forerunner Trilogy (Cryptum, Primordium) and/or spent the time unlocking and digesting the terminals in Halo Anniversary.  That's the idea, anyhow.  As always, the writers intentionally lead the players into forming their own connections and conclusions in order to tie the factual information together into a cohesive understanding of the story.  It's an approach that has arguable merit- especially in the context of a first person shooter- but like it or not it's one of the hallmarks of this franchise.

The producers of this new batch of games could have chosen to take the story in so many different directions.  They could have focused on Earth, for example.  Or the members of the Infinity making their way to Requiem.  Or the Arbiter.

Instead, they chose to delve into the Forerunners.  Long-time fans who have been tantalized by the drips and drabs of Forerunner information dropped throughout the series have no choice to be excited about this.  It's pure fan-service, in my opinion.  It was also a risky decision to focus the series on an aspect of the story which was only apparent to a smaller segment of fans: the fans who cared enough to investigate the subtleties of the real Halo story under the surface of all the the shooting and switch flipping.   

So if you're only paying attention to shooting and switch-flipping, perhaps the campaign in this game is not for you.  For these people, there is a wealth of fun to be had in the competitive multiplayer modes- of which there are many.  "Competitive" in this game means caring enough to equip your player properly as you level up and unlock new abilities.  It's a new aspect of this particular installment, and it would be foolish for the designers not to reward players who invest the required thought and effort into learning the game's new features.

Please don't think I'm saying Halo 4 is perfect or even the best installment in the series.  For my money, you can't beat Halo 3 when you weigh all of the different aspects of play (campaign, multiplayer, content creation, content sharing, unlockables, etc, etc.)  Spartan Ops does suffer greatly from the "hurry up and flip this switch!  Oh, no- more enemies!   Hurry up and flip this other switch!" syndrome.  But it IS FUN to play Spartan Ops with your friends.  The levels set on the recreation of Valhalla (which explain its backstory) are standouts.

Finally, I am not saying that the story itself is perfect!  Every fan feels that they might have done something differently in one way or another.  But the story is at least consistent across the media that 343 has been utilizing.  There is an unprecedented amount of continuity between the new novels and the events in-game.  And I am thankful for that.  It may still confuse the hell out of me sometimes, but it's more than you will get from the average shooter.
Title: Re: Debating the Merit of Halo 4
Post by: Scatcycle on June 13, 2013, 17:25:36
I didn't understand half the story, and if I HAD to read Halo 3 terminals to understand that, I think that's really poor design. I should be able to follow the story of halo even if I don't find some really hidden terminals. The forerunners drove themselves to extinction. I don't get why this guy is still alive. Even if the story is enjoyable if you actually read all the back details and know what's going on, I can't really see anyone justify fighting the dogs and orange guys. They aren't fun. They TP to you, take forever to kill, usually drop mediocre weapons, and just endlessly come to you.
Title: Re: Debating the Merit of Halo 4
Post by: Imppa on June 13, 2013, 21:25:12
Wow. To think opinions could vary THIS much!

Well, I guess I could borrow it and try it out first...Then again, if the price has already come down, I might as well as buy it. We'll see!

Thanks for the opinions, and, uh, feel free to debate, but I feel, you might be missing each other's points...or something. Different viewpoints to the game, that's it!
Title: Re: Debating the Merit of Halo 4
Post by: Insane Monx on June 14, 2013, 15:02:06
I applaud 343's work on Halo 4. They have something for everyone (except the MLG crowd). Speaking from a person who doesn't closely follow the Halo story line or hasn't read any of the books, I can tell there was a plethora of information to dissect and they did a good job of taking the Halo fiction seriously. And casual gamers can have a field day with this game, there's a variety of modes and playlists to play. A lot of things 343 did to Halo was stuff I wouldn't have, but yet am still content with.
Title: Re: Debating the Merit of Halo 4
Post by: nightcrafter27 on June 16, 2013, 04:30:53
Ok, I caved in. I got it. And I have to say...

You have to be at ranke 21 to have an emblem background? What is wrong with you 343?!

Also, the only sound that is the same as any of the other games is the warthog's honk. Everything worse is different. I'm three campaign missions in and I'm still not used to it. I nearly cried  when I firsts drove a 'hog and the engine noise was different  :'(
Title: Re: Debating the Merit of Halo 4
Post by: Scatcycle on June 16, 2013, 05:16:54
Sound is actually a pretty intense thing in video games. In halo 1 - 3 the wraith mortar sound has been the EXACT same file as halo 1, and whenever you hear that sound, it's really just a special moment. It just brings you back. But I did like the sounds in Halo 4. They sound awesome. But the equalization's off so it gets tedious. Guns are too loud voices are too soft.
Title: Re: Debating the Merit of Halo 4
Post by: nightcrafter27 on June 16, 2013, 06:52:02
Actually Scat, I haven't had that problem. Everything sounds pretty 'balanced' to me.
Title: Re: Debating the Merit of Halo 4
Post by: ColdGlider on June 17, 2013, 03:59:34
@Night: Welcome to Halo 4!

I was pretty peeved about the sound of the hog as well.  It's funny, though... I don't even think about it anymore.  The hog may sound better in Reach, but it drives better in H4.  (I HATED the handling in Reach.  Gravity-schmavity.)

I played earlier today with Lil' Glider.  He got over 10 kills today in Big Team, so I was pretty proud.  So I watched his the replay of his game in theater mode and was pretty impressed with the look of the game.  I don't often just sit and watch Halo 4 without actually playing it. 

Having to unlock standard emblems is kind of lame.  They should give you all of the old ones and have you unlock new ones.  But whatever.  If you care enough about your multiplayer emblem, you're probably going to play enough to get access to the ones you want. 

But these are little gripes.  After a day of playing Big Team here and there (got to 80 finally) I have to reiterate that it's a lot of fun.  And it's always MORE fun if you go into matchmaking partied up with some friends.

Scat, they have apparently tuned the matchmaking big team playlists so that there is more Slayer Pro.  Which means no armor mods.  Might be more up your alley.  Also- my sound is totally awesome.  Maybe you have another "bad adaptor"?
Title: Re: Debating the Merit of Halo 4
Post by: Imppa on June 17, 2013, 14:48:02
More than a bad adaptor, I think your problem just might be in your sound system's EQ. Or something.

Anyway, going to buy it today, I think! Or tomorrow. Or someday. >.> (nah, tomorrow at the least)
Title: Re: Debating the Merit of Halo 4
Post by: nightcrafter27 on June 18, 2013, 04:11:05
Finished the campaign. I'm not going to lie, when I read 343's little message, I laughed at the line "Thanks for trusting us with the universe you love." By the end of it all, I'm about ready for the Chief to retire. I feel like the fact that nearly everything got changed, it should have been about the Muster Chef and his AI named Contra.
Title: Re: Debating the Merit of Halo 4
Post by: Imppa on June 19, 2013, 21:37:33
I'm only 2 levels in, and, well, it seems quite nice! Graphics look great, but it is true that the Warthog has the sounds of an RC car..-.- So far it's just different, not bad. I think. :P
Title: Re: Debating the Merit of Halo 4
Post by: Scatcycle on June 19, 2013, 22:30:03
My TV's bass frequencies were off the chart for some reason, so that stuff was on my end. Turns out I had played almost all of the MW2 campaign, so yesterday when I hit "Resume Campaign" I beat it within the hour. Spoilers for both endings, Halo 4 and MW2: I consider the endings to be the same thing. Crawl your way to the enemy and press a final button to activate a cinematic where you kill them. But damn, I actually liked MW2's. It just seemed awesome. Halo 4's felt extremely cheesy. Especially since the Didact could have killed chief easily. Sure, he can't laser chief to death because of some blasphemy angel gift, but he can chuck him off the cliff. But no. Gotta give Chief the time to pick up a grenade and stick it in you. In my opinion, in the Halo universe, that just wouldn't have happened. All the other endings seem logical to me. But this one I just can't see. The outrageousnous of surviving a point blank nuke and the most important character allowing himself to die so easily isn't Halo.

I couldn't find any highlight function in this BBC palette so I used HTML. Annnd that didn't work. If you haven't completed Halo 4 or MW2 and plan to, just don't try to read what it says.
Title: Re: Debating the Merit of Halo 4
Post by: ColdGlider on June 24, 2013, 00:58:55
Congratulations, Night!   And how are you faring, Imppa?

You guys ready to rock online?  When is a good time?
Title: Re: Debating the Merit of Halo 4
Post by: nightcrafter27 on June 24, 2013, 05:37:05
It's summer for me, so I'll be online quite a bit :) Can anyone explain to me how 343's matchmaking system makes any sense at all? I have been in a FFA Slayer match with a SR109 and someone in their first game. Hardly seems fair at all.
Title: Re: Debating the Merit of Halo 4
Post by: Scatcycle on June 24, 2013, 17:38:04
i may be mistaken, but I think it is actually SR1 09. SPartan 1 who is level 9. I had the same confusion for a bit.

On xbox, excuse errors.
Title: Re: Debating the Merit of Halo 4
Post by: nightcrafter27 on June 24, 2013, 19:29:03
i may be mistaken, but I think it is actually SR1 09. SPartan 1 who is level 9. I had the same confusion for a bit.

On xbox, excuse errors.

Definitly over 100. That was just an outrageous example. I am rank ~18, and I am consistently in games with people rank 30-80
Title: Re: Debating the Merit of Halo 4
Post by: Imppa on June 25, 2013, 21:05:40
Congratulations, Night!   And how are you faring, Imppa?

Haven't played any more yet, since I spent the weekend at my family's summer cottage. But I thought of playing some right now! :D I think maybe tomorrow. Today was, in the end, quite exhausting.
Or the day after tomorrow, since I've got a early shift the day after tomorrow, so I can't stay up too late tomorrow...


And what comes to online get-together, I suppose I am free any day, for now, except for the days I'm in the countryside or when I need sleep (the days before work). I just need to know at least a day in advance to know which night I have to stay up late!
Title: Re: Debating the Merit of Halo 4
Post by: Insane Monx on June 27, 2013, 19:58:25
i may be mistaken, but I think it is actually SR1 09. SPartan 1 who is level 9. I had the same confusion for a bit.

On xbox, excuse errors.

Definitly over 100. That was just an outrageous example. I am rank ~18, and I am consistently in games with people rank 30-80
I think you have to start playing several games each day for the hidden rank system to sort itself out. Then again, the visible ranking system is only based on playtime, so don't be fooled. I only recently started playing for around 2 hours at least every day or so, and now it's matching me up quite evenly. It may be like Reach's Arena system, if you ever played that. Had to play at least 3 games each day to get a score, and had to get a score 7 times or so in one month to earn a Division Standing. Then it would be able to pair you against others in the same Division. It may be something like that.