- xXxKilllgxXx
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- Exalted Legendary Member
OutputI've been disconnected from the Halo forums for quite some time, although I used to scour the wastelands of Zanzibar and Halo 3 multiplayer forums like a shark, looking for the blood that often leaks out of the whambulances that speed by hundreds at a time, at speeds unknown to man. But with the announcement of Halo Reach, and the revelation that it's an FPS I was sort of disappointed. I thought for one that Bungie was going to create a new IP. Maybe Halo Reach falls within this parameter legally, but I doubt it; Microsoft is too smart for such a thing. With the announcement I was thinking of the Halo books, and all the battles that took place on Reach. With squads of Spartans, and towards the end, squads of Spartans each with a piece or two of specialized equipment from the new upgraded suits (while I may be extremely into the Halo franchise and story, I can't be bothered to remember every little detail, name, and number throughout; so I apologize to those of you who are more dedicated than I, for this may feel like having one of your favorite stories butchered by someone who doesn't understand it. I assure you I am not one of those people). To translate the books into a game would likely be a bad thing aside from the story told, and even then I don't see Bungie retelling a story that has already been told. I believe they will tell a new story, possibly mixed in with what's there already. But if book was translated straight into story, I'd imagine it to play out like a tactical squad based shooter, possibly third person; I know this is not the case. At least the third person part, considering all we know is that Halo Reach is a FPS.
I'm hoping, and speculating that Halo Reach will have RPG elements. I know Xbox.com has labeled Halo Reach as a shooter, but that in no way means it can't have RPG elements. Just like Mass Effect is labeled an RPG, it still has shooter elements and lots of them. What I'm suggesting is a robust system of upgrades to weaponry by putting points awarded to the player when he/she completes a task, or gains enough experience; whatever the delivery, I'm looking for some light RPG elements. Maybe as you upgrade the assault rifle skill the reticule becomes smaller, making your shots more accurate. Once again, all of this is just me hoping and speculating on what could be. This could translate well into multiplayer, so long as everyone is forced to specialize, and everyone has the same amount of points to put into their character, so no one person's character can have an unfair advantage through overall higher stats than another's. So a system where you can place a total of ten points in each skill would add interesting and refreshing RPG elements into the Halo franchise. Now I feel I need to explain this a bit better, as I feel even I could get confused reading this. Each different skill has ten empty slots, and in each slot you may place a skill point, you will only be awarded a certain number of points; and maybe every two skill points you add into a skill it will cost double to add another skill point. So for Assault Rifle level 3 it will cost 2 skill points, level 5, 4 skill points, level 7, 8 skill points; so on and so forth.
There could be a skill set for every weapon, or for different sets of weapons, vehicles, maybe upgrades for faster movement speed, shield strength, motion tracker range, accuracy, stealth systems, thermal vision (increased range with added points). I feel this would be an extremely refreshing way to revitalize the franchise into something new and exciting. And yes, I know Bungie already has a direction for their game, so either I'm close, right on the button, or so far out of the ball park that someone from Bungie is reading this and wondering how I could possibly be more wrong. But it's always fun to dream right?
As for the story I feel that the title Halo Reach can have so many implications on what exactly the story is, and the time frame it spans that it's impossible to be sure. Of course the teaser trailer revealed that in the game Reach will be invaded, it's the Fall of Reach. But because the title is not "Halo The Fall of Reach" we can speculate that Bungie might just be having us play through the Spartan II training, and maybe doing some early Spartan missions, or playing as Spartans without the armor. If you've read the books I'm sure you remember in "The Fall of Reach" the Spartans were moved into a storage facility inside of a mountain where they played CTF against trainers in an early version of the Spartans exoskeleton. Wouldn't it be cool to play what the Spartans were doing in that mountain for days? Remember how Mendez remarked at how the Spartans had found the black suits and rope, stolen it from somewhere inside the storage facility, and that no matter where the cameras were placed they always managed to either find and destroy them, or erase the saved video tapes? I personally think this would be the greatest thing ever. Giving the player an open, almost free roaming area, with tons of resources and interesting gameplay mechanics ranging from shooing, stealth, and acrobatics, all in a mini free-roam environment, with different resources you can choose to find, or not. And side missions like taking out the cameras, and drawing out a plan with your squad to make it even more immersive and interesting.
These are just my thoughts, hopes and dreams. And if anyone has any comments or points of discussion of their own to share I'd be happy to discuss them, even if you have ways to fill the voids of canon, like the exact Mark # of the upgraded armor the Spartans received in "The Fall of Reach", or the name of the mountain they trained in; I'd be happy to go back and edit my post. I love discussing the Halo story, and gameplay ideas and mechanics, so please, write back and let me know what you think, the good and the bad; just don't let it get ugly.