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This topic has moved here: Subject: Actual constructive criticism of Halo 4 trailer
  • Subject: Actual constructive criticism of Halo 4 trailer
Subject: Actual constructive criticism of Halo 4 trailer

[Enter extremely funny joke here]

Instead of going "omfg this looks awesome" or "omfg this looks stupid", I want to give my two cents in a bit more constructive manner.

I think the biggest complaint I have is the pacing of the trailer. Halo trailers, the teaser trailers at least, were traditionally more moody and atmospheric, with the "big bang", so to speak, coming in around the end, and even then it was evenly paced.

The Halo Reach teaser was a good example. For those of you who haven't seen it or don't remember it...get out.

Anyway, in this teaser the first dozen seconds or so were pretty good, but the minute Chief wakes up there's no subtlety, no time to build up any kind of emotion except "WAKE UP EXPLOSION EPIC RUN RUN FLY LOOK GIANT FORERUNNER EYEBALL DEATHSTAR THING".

I do wonder what, exactly, will make Halo 4 any more different than Halo 3 or Halo Reach. Also, I have less doubts about its campaign since Bungie will have an indirect but nonetheless visible hand in its storyline, but it's as easy to screw it up than make it epic in the hands of other people.

Anyone else have anything to say about the trailer, as short as it was, beyond a sentence?

tl;dr: pacing was a bit off, otherwise trailer was epic

  • 06.06.2011 11:17 AM PDT
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the reason that i haven't ranked up anymore in H3 is simple.
if im general and lose a single game, i will get about 20 messages asking me how much i paid for the 50 on ebay.
if im brigadier, i would get messages saying, cant get a 50, noob?

cortana looked a bit different and masterchief's armor was different to, but the armor changed from halo 2 to halo 3 so thats not such a big issue.

  • 06.06.2011 11:19 AM PDT
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"Time was your ally human. But now it has abandoned you. The Forerunners....have returned. And this tomb... is now yours". - The Didact

I loved it

  • 06.06.2011 11:20 AM PDT

I have a few ideas about where the jetpack came from.

Perhaps Cortana was modifying Chief's armour when he was in cryo, or this is not the first time Chief has awoken from cryo since the incident on the Ark.


As for your comments on the pacing and comparing it to the Reach teaser. I thought the Reach teaser was great and the atmosphere it created was perfect for the setting. The problem was that the actual campaign of Reach did not carry that atmosphere very well, in my opinion. A change in teaser atmosphere could mean a better campaign in that respect.

  • 06.06.2011 11:21 AM PDT

What spectagon are you in?

I don't really see how there could have been any secrecy about it, it's a Halo 4 announcement trailer. A chance for them to announce their new game and set the scene. Reach was different because it wasn't simply labelled 'Halo 4' so nobody really knew what to expect from it, which is why we had so much speculation.

  • 06.06.2011 11:22 AM PDT

Oh yeah It's Rayzed.

I can't say I like it. I agree when it comes to the pacing. The majority of Halo teasers have been slow story hints, while this one just went *EXPLOSIONS! YEAH! RUNNING! YEAH!*. I can't say I expect 343 to treat Halo right.

  • 06.06.2011 11:23 AM PDT

[Enter extremely funny joke here]


Posted by: Raylette
I can't say I like it. I agree when it comes to the pacing. The majority of Halo teasers have been slow story hints, while this one just went *EXPLOSIONS! YEAH! RUNNING! YEAH!*. I can't say I expect 343 to treat Halo right.


They nailed it in the first few seconds, but when Chief woke up it went downhill.

That's not to say I'm not optimistic about Halo 4 since I have high hopes for it. I also think 343 won't treat Halo like Bungie did, but I think they have the ability to make it damn near close. I just hope further announcement trailers are a bit more Halo-ish rather than catering to those with short attention spans.

  • 06.06.2011 11:25 AM PDT
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Deva Path


Posted by: DecepticonCobra

We are all going to get banned aren't we?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnRA9-yZ0Uk link


1. all mark V and VI suits have thrusters for space ops, so we can stop that now.

2. the armor looks different due to graphics and it being more canonically accurate. the armor was big and bulky (not as much as older versions).

So people raging and honestly stop playing halo and go elsewhere because this is how he should have looked.

  • 06.06.2011 11:26 AM PDT

This teaser was all anime like.

Though I guess canonically spartans are supposed to have super reflexes, something bungies games never really showed.

Also, I really can't tell if Jen Taylor is still voicing cortana.

[Edited on 06.06.2011 11:36 AM PDT]

  • 06.06.2011 11:35 AM PDT

Brains beats brawn get used to it

Fear the Red Comet

Variety is the spice of life.
Long live games.
Death to all fanboys.


Posted by: grey101
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnRA9-yZ0Uk link


1. all mark V and VI suits have thrusters for space ops, so we can stop that now.


I do not recall any MJOLNIR suits having internally integrated thruster packs for space environments. Instead I recall Spartans using separate packs for Mk IV (Kurt) and V (James) If you could point out where its been stated before it would be much appreciated. Mk VI had already had all its features detailed thanks to the encyclopedia, frankie's own statments, and various other canon material like the comics and an integrated thruster pack was again not mentioned as a feature as far as I'm aware, so correction with source would be great.

Now yes, teasers do tend to jump ahead with their concepts and add things that won't show up till way later, but I would rather like this issue of thrusters clarified by itself.

  • 06.06.2011 11:36 AM PDT

What spectagon are you in?

Posted by: Wazooty
This teaser was all anime like.


In what way?

Also what was that attachment the pistol had, looked like some sort of grenade.

[Edited on 06.06.2011 11:39 AM PDT]

  • 06.06.2011 11:36 AM PDT

I really can't tell from that one minute trailer, so I'm just going to stay neutral on this whole thing until more information is released. But like I said, I'm not holding my breath. Halo 3 sucked. I'm not expecting Halo 4 to be much more.

  • 06.06.2011 11:39 AM PDT
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Deva Path


Posted by: DecepticonCobra

We are all going to get banned aren't we?


Posted by: Sir Muffinator
Posted by: Wazooty
This teaser was all anime like.


In what way?

Also what was that attachment the pistol had, looked like some sort of grenade.

silencer, i noticed that too.

  • 06.06.2011 11:41 AM PDT
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Deva Path


Posted by: DecepticonCobra

We are all going to get banned aren't we?


Posted by: ThePredkiller2
Halo 3 sucked. I'm not expecting Halo 4 to be much more.


Due to bungie being rushed (like always), a change in development (which changed the story plot), and the fact bungie didn't do certain things because they though casual fans would be too stupid to understand them (hunters fighting on both sides).

thats why halo 3 sucked.

  • 06.06.2011 11:43 AM PDT

The Frigate looks different, could just be me though. also the first glimpse you get of cortana when she's standing up, she looks really basic graphics wise. just some things that stood out to me.

  • 06.06.2011 11:46 AM PDT

Think before you post

I'm just throwing this out there... But could the giant object John and Cortana found be the entrance to the Dyson Sphere on Onyx?

  • 06.06.2011 11:47 AM PDT

On Waypoint I'm rocketFox;
http://halo.xbox.com/forums/members/rocketfox/default.aspx

Old GTs; RebelRobot, Flamedude

I like the look, I like the graphics, but I dislike the pacing. It made no sense. It didnt feel like a Bungie trailer, which always tend to have a sense of grand drama and emotion, which is something that defines Halo games. I'm hoping this was just a quick trailer by 343, and not a true reflection of Halo 4. Anniversary looks great, so I am still quietly hopeful.

  • 06.06.2011 11:49 AM PDT

It seemed... to fast paced for me.

Like after the wake up, everything was a blur until Chief stopped moving outside the ship.

  • 06.06.2011 11:50 AM PDT


Posted by: Cmdr DaeFaron
It seemed... to fast paced for me.

Like after the wake up, everything was a blur until Chief stopped moving outside the ship.


To be honest, he's a -blam!- supersoldier with extreme augmentations. The way he acts instantly and moves so powerfully in this trailer seems to be more in tune with canon-book abilities.

This makes me happy.

  • 06.06.2011 11:52 AM PDT

Stupid ass washing machine...

I liked it!

After four years of waiting for Halo 4 since Halo 3 ended, and having mild disappointment with ODST, Wars and Reach, having the Chief - bigger, better and more bad-ass than ever - back on my screen is nothing short of wonderful.

I actually thought the pacing was pretty good. As a teaser for a brand new Halo story (note: Halo Reach wasn't brand new - we had known what had happened for years and as such the trailer was simply realising those thoughts into trailer form) it's job is to surprise the audience, make them think "he's back!", make the story look massive, action-packed, adventurous, bad-ass and exciting. It doesn't need to be as much of a slow, daunting trailer like Reach's was.

Please note: I loved Reach's trailer.

I thought the nerve-system, body thing was very well done, and it eased nicely into the action. It was also cool to see that Chief had such a strong connection to Cortana (as shown by the Cortana Flashes in Halo 3) that he could hear her out of cryo.

Also, I like Cortana's new look. It's smarter and more befitting to her cryptanalysis role as an AI, and is sexier than before, I think.

As for the now (within mere minutes) infamous topic of Chief's armour, I'm not actually in a position to say anything due to how little we've seen. As far as I can tell, Chief's armour is thus:

- New torso
- New, very bulky gauntlets (some sort of black-coloured attachment)
- New knee pads
- New, large shoulder pads
- New torso-back
- Jetpack? Well, actually, I just looked at the back of my Chief action figure and those large "vent" parts on the back of his armour fit very well as thrusters, so I'm guessing it's not an all-new feature.

As for the rest of the trailer...

- New, larger Magnum pistol
- Grenade-launcher-like attachment for the pistol.
- FoD is obviously being destroyed by something/someone or is just falling apart (more likely)
- The mysterious Forerunner planet that we all speculated upon for years is a reality!... and, dangerous, it seems.

That's all I can think of for now. No TL;DR for you, I'm afraid. If you want to know the details, take the time to read them!!




  • 06.06.2011 11:54 AM PDT

(\.(\
(='.' )
(,(")(")

i truly enjoyed the fact that 343 in those few seconds have already done more to show a canon fitting master chief.

just to list them

directional thrusters (never before seen but in canon)

changing of armor permutations fitting the mission(speculation, but as far as i know it's the only explanation for the looks of the shoulder pads.)

extremely quick reflexes (the run through the hallway and the grabbing of the titanium beam to save himself from flying out of the ship.)

and magnetic boots (at the very end when he locks himself to the deck of the ship.)
if 343 keeps up with the small details like this and adds an epic story to back it up, this may be the making of a new halo era for the better.

  • 06.06.2011 11:56 AM PDT

Signatures are for squares.

Favorite announcement trailer, ever.

  • 06.06.2011 11:57 AM PDT

Has Cortanas voice changed? It was har to tell. But I like it and can't wait to play this. Hopefully we will met Blue team in this game.

  • 06.06.2011 12:00 PM PDT

I don't get why everyone is angry about the pacing in the trailer. I agree that the jetpack appearing out of nowhere and all the explosions... well, we've never seen that in a Bungie trailer.

But that being said, it's not like they can reveal anything yet. As far as we know, the Chief is stranded in space, and that's it. Now we know that he wakes up in hostile Forerunner (I think) territory. All they can reveal, all we must know for now.

It was an awesome trailer.

  • 06.06.2011 12:01 PM PDT