- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
I'd like to suggest a possible concept that could be applied to Halo 3, or perhaps even in a modified version of Halo 2 for Windows Vista. This concept would only apply to Campaign.
In Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, there are four difficulties: Easy, Normal, Heroic, and Legendary. On Easy, the Master Chief is a nearly invincible juggernaut that either has to die willingly or commit suicide. the Normal difficulty is similar. On Heroic, the Master Chief is about as powerful as a blue-armored Elite. On Legendary, the Master Chief could be the weakest object in the game, with the exception of Flood Parasite forms, and the small Forerunner drones. Even Grunts and Drones can often take more punishment than does Master Chief. For instance, one sniper shot anywhere on the body instantly kills the player, while a grunt takes multiple body shots to go down. Ultra Elites take 4 direct shots in the head to die.
So there's really not much between ridiculous difficulty and utter boredom. Either you can't be killed, or you can't kill.
Instead, or perhaps due to their popularity, in addition to, the four difficulty levels, a few degrees of greater control could be added to change the game mechanics. A player could select one difficulty level for the enemies, and another for the player himself. This would make for some interesting gameplay possibilities, including tricking and jumping. Some enjoyable varied styles of play would include:
Everyone is difficult to kill. The game is an ammo-burning brawl, insane melees and explosions are everywhere, and neither the player nor his adversaries drop too quickly. This would be rather entertaining for people who enjoy games like Quake. Which is to say, a lot of people.
The player is slightly stronger than the covenant This would play a little like Halo 1 Heroic, where you can't be careless, but it's very run-and-gun. A lot of people (me included) liked this style of gameplay.
Everyone is very easy to kill This would play in the way that the Halo novels describe combat; it's more about using tactics and getting shots in than pounding away defensively at Elites' shields. In one of the books, an Elite dies after just 17 shots from the Assault Rifle, as they nearly do on Easy, and Master Chief's shields go down after just a few bolts of plasma, as they do on Legendary. The gameplay described here is also more realistic and believeable.(why should an elite take a half clip in the brain and not die; their skin isn't harder.) Also, it is considerably less frustrating I imagine. The joy of staccato-firing at a grunt and taking him down in a few peppered shots from an Assault Rifle or planting a few needles in his face for a quick kill, combined with the thrill of not being invulnerable would combine nicely into an even more excellent game. After all, your weapon is your real defense.
The normal difficulties could certainly be kept, and the usual ultra-hard Legendary would still be required to unlock any inevitable secrets in the game, but such variables would add another level of playability, with the player able to adjust the game to exactly his liking. A lot of people disliked Halo (or just got angry about it)because of either boredom or frustration, depending on what difficluty level they played on.