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Subject: Halo 4: A Comprehensive Door Review

Now that Halo 4 is out, and I've finally played through it, I have decided to share my thoughts on the game. WARNING: This is spoiler heavy, so read at your own risk.

Now, the first thing that we need to get out of the way is that this game ripped off the Halo franchise so much. Similar characters, similar aliens, similar weapons, similar story canon, etc. It REALLY ripped off the Halo franchise. For a game that isn't Halo, it really ripped it off. Heck, even the TITLE copied the Halo games. However, because this is such a rip off of the Halo series, we have to compare it to some extent.

1. Story:
The beginning of this game really sold me on it at first. The Master Chief adrift in space, found a strange world, and is instantly called back into action by Cortana to try and survive. The opening is SO much fun. It really feels like you're trying to survive, and there is a real sense of urgency. Then, after arriving, that sense of survival is enforced even more, and the game truly shines with the feeling that instead of fighting a war, you're simply trying to fight to survive and get home. A really good plot for this point in the series.

However, this gets completely thrown out the window when the humans come in. If the human ship had either been destroyed or was simply the ultimate goal in order to leave the planet, this plot would have been fine. However, instead, we get more human characters. This removes the feeling of survival and brings us right back to the standard and deteriorated Halo formula of taking the fight to the Covenant. Except now there are Prometheans, too. Huh.

Either way, The Chief gets his rear in gear to clear the gravity well and free the human ship. On the way, however, he runs into The Didact, a still living Forerunner who has survived this long and still harbors a grudge against humankind for some odd reason. After committing super villain sin #23, monologuing and not finishing off the hero when you have them in your grasp, he goes off in search of The Composer in order to digitize humanity. Instead of trying to fight The Covenant, who are a much more invasive and devastating threat, his target is humans, and he's willing to ally himself with The Covenant in order to kill the humans. A great big "wat" was stamped onto my forehead at this point.

Now you team up with humans and go to fight him and stop his plot. So far so standard. However, we get a curve ball in a tried and true formula in that we learn that The Master Chief is really the culmination of thousands of generations of planning. Any and all seriousness or ability to take this series seriously is completely thrown out the window. I can accept The Didact surviving. I can accept the Reclaimer subplots. Heck, I can even accept that Cortana is becoming more unstable and seems to be more lovey-dovey over the Master Chief. Not even the Forerunners' appearance looking like Lord Voldemort even COMPARES to this! The absurdity of this claim is absolutely ridiculous!

More fighting the Didact, we get to an asteroid, meet some annoying characters, then he gets the composer and fires on Earth. Oh dang! -blam!- just got SERIOUS! However, through a VERY pathetic fight scene, The Master Chief kills The Didact and sets off a nuke to destroy the Composer and the ship it's on.

My thoughts on the story? It started VERY strong. They should have continued with Chief just fighting for survival and to get back home. His war is OVER. He is NOT the soldier he once was, so why is he still operating in this manner? Heck, they should have exemplified how old he is with making him weaker and adding more of a stealth focus and strategy rather than the all-too-common run and gun set up with linear point-to-point encounters.

2. Gameplay:
The game is your standard Halo affair. Slight changes like Sprint have been added, but do not break the game. Armor abilities are back, but armor lock is not, so everything is good. Heck, we even get a few new cool armor abilities like the Sentry Gun and Hardlight Shield. Not a bad trade if you ask me. Armor lock was a bit overpowered anyway. However, as for actual MULTIPLAYER, there are a lot of problems if you ask me.
1. Ordinance needs to be activated before assuming direct control of the grenade changing buttons. Can't tell you how many times I tried to shift to a plasma grenade and got a drop instead.
2. The Valhalla remake needs to be fixed. I don't know how, but it needs it desperately.
3. There needs to be more appreciable difference between the BR and DMR. Thus far, the BR is far superior, and the DMR is just redundant.
4. The railgun has too much delay between firing and the projectile hitting the target in multiplayer. This issue was not present in single player, but reared its ugly head in multiplayer. FIX IT.
5. Sticky bombs need to fly faster and further.
6. The weapon drop system is pretty silly. I've faced a team where EVERYONE had rocket launchers. EVERYONE. That's just absurd.
7. The assassinations have glitched a couple of times on me and just not happened. Might just be a simple software glitch, but it needs fixing.
8. There is WAY too much emphasis on rank progression. Ranks need to be applied ONLY to armor, and MAYBE a few emblems, if at all. Otherwise, NO RANKS. It creates a gap between skilled players and new players that shouldn't be present.
9. Grenades need more pushing power against vehicles. They don't do hardly anything to warthogs anymore outside of a wee bit of damage.

3. Sound:
I'll put it frankly. The sound design in this game is just silly. What happened to the entire sound library of any of the past games? Could you not get the rights to those? All the guns sound essentially the same with slight modifications here and there, and they don't sound like what they're supposed to be. They don't exude the power that they're supposed to have. Also, the music sounds like Star Wars more than it does Halo at some parts. Just saiyan.

Overall, this game was a step backward. There are a lot of steps forward, and a lot of good ideas which are well-executed, but it really truly lacks a lot as well. If I can make a comparison: This game was like Duke Nukem Forever. We expected so much, and it just didn't deliver. Sure, it's nowhere near a BAD as Duke Nukem Forever, but that feeling of "What have you done to the series?" is quite apparent. I really wanted to like this game. I was fighting for people to stop arguing about how bad it was and wait for it to come out before making their opinions. However, upon finally playing it, I must say that I'm concerned more than I am changed. 343, do you really expect this to live up to the Halo franchise name? Each Halo brought something new and innovative to the table. Outside of better graphics and Lord Voldemort aliens, what is new and innovative in this game?

Overall, the game is underwhelming, rips off Halo like crazy, and is worth the multiplayer at a reduced cost.

-My two bits.

[Edited on 11.10.2012 1:28 AM PST]

  • 11.09.2012 9:03 PM PDT

I now have cancer...

  • 11.09.2012 9:05 PM PDT

Posted by: x Foman123 x

Posted by: TH3_AV3NG3R
What house has a rocket pod, has legs, and has a long narrow barrel that probably shoots something powerful?

Sounds like you're describing the lower half of my body, actually.

Door. You came to the wrong site.

Fanboys incoming!

[Edited on 11.09.2012 9:07 PM PST]

  • 11.09.2012 9:07 PM PDT

Ok.

  • 11.09.2012 9:07 PM PDT

It's not my fault, I was just trying to tie my shoe!

Join TFS, the grooviest private group on bungie.net! We r cewl gaiz who dun fraid of nething. Join for heated debates, game nights, and lols. We're waiting! (Be a man) We must be swift as the coursing river. (Be a man), With all the force of a great typhoon. (Be a man), With all the strength of a raging fire. Mysterious as the dark side of the moon!

I thought the story was amazing, but I still respect your opinion.

On a slightly off-topic note, the Mantis wins my award for the most fun vehicle to use in a video game.

[Edited on 11.09.2012 9:12 PM PST]

  • 11.09.2012 9:11 PM PDT
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  • Honorable Heroic Member

http://www.bungie.net/fanclub/halohaven/Group/GroupHome.aspx

Join Halo Haven! (Group Leader: A 3 Legged Goat)

(To discuss Halo 4.)

You're a dumb door. Why should I take your opinion for value?

  • 11.09.2012 9:12 PM PDT


Posted by: A Dumb Door
Slight changes like Sprint have been added, but do not break the game.

The absurdity of this claim is absolutely ridiculous!

  • 11.09.2012 9:13 PM PDT


Posted by: Quantam
You're a dumb door. Why should I take your opinion for value?


You're Quantam. What, were you not good enough to be named quantam physics or something?

  • 11.09.2012 9:14 PM PDT

Door you are aware the Covies worship him right?

  • 11.09.2012 9:14 PM PDT

Halo lulz

I know right I can't believe this game Halo ripped of another game called Halo its outrageous I demand to sue!

  • 11.09.2012 9:14 PM PDT

Covan was here, December 20th.

Come back later, after he's out of Parris Island.

*Slams the door*

If you get what I mean.

  • 11.09.2012 9:16 PM PDT
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Join Halo Haven! (Group Leader: A 3 Legged Goat)

(To discuss Halo 4.)


Posted by: pwnage79

Posted by: Quantam
You're a dumb door. Why should I take your opinion for value?


You're Quantam. What, were you not good enough to be named quantam physics or something?

0/10

  • 11.09.2012 9:16 PM PDT

Posted by: Edmi Wohusee
I thought the story was amazing, but I still respect your opinion.

On a slightly off-topic note, the Mantis wins my award for the most fun vehicle to use in a video game.
They story had a TON of potential for amazing plotlines and great, deep emotional themes. However, the addition of humans turns it into a standard Halo affair. If they'd kept it to simply the Master Chief and Cortana surviving on the planet with that ship of humans being an outsider, the relationship between the Chief and Cortana could have been developed in a far superior fashion. We could have really had a great undercover story with Chief launching a solo strike with Cortana being the only thing keeping him alive, and focused way more on a strategic operations style game. That would have really made the game shine. Also, we need to take out the subplot that the aliens planned for Master Chief and Cortana. That's just absurd.

  • 11.09.2012 9:17 PM PDT


Posted by: Quantam

Posted by: pwnage79

Posted by: Quantam
You're a dumb door. Why should I take your opinion for value?


You're Quantam. What, were you not good enough to be named quantam physics or something?

0/10


I'm bored, plus it's better than whatever you're coming up with.

  • 11.09.2012 9:18 PM PDT

Posted by: General Dripik
Door you are aware the Covies worship him right?
Yes. However, if he is so focused on preservation of data, the Covenant are the ones glassing worlds and assimilating other cultures. His plot to destroy humans just seems backwards when The Covenant has always been more invasive. It's just silly.

[Edited on 11.09.2012 9:19 PM PST]

  • 11.09.2012 9:18 PM PDT

Posted by: Recon Number 54
Life is a journey, if you spend all of it with your nose in your map, you may miss some of the best parts.

you also forgot the insane amount of bright light on practically every map

  • 11.09.2012 9:18 PM PDT

The man with a hammer begins to see everything he encounters as a nail

It doesn't have the feel of past Halos, Reach even, but it does play a little too much like CoD.

The campaign wasn't that bad. If anything it at least met my expectations: a story more driven by character development than run-n-gun superhero plot. Even though it becomes a shooting gallery once in a while, it's nowhere near as often as H3.

I also think the graphics are too bright and shiny. Lots of glare, not enough contrast.

  • 11.09.2012 9:19 PM PDT
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LeaveItYeah

10/10 would read again.

And I totally agree with everything said.

  • 11.09.2012 9:19 PM PDT

( \ / ) The Bunny
(O.o) Add him to your signature
(> <) Help him rule the world
/_||_\ Prosper at his side

Seriously, check this out.

Meh, clearly a Bungie fanboy reaction. Halo 4 exceeds all expectations and blows Reach out of the water in every single aspect.

  • 11.09.2012 9:28 PM PDT
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Oh Yes!

I actually enjoy the sounds of this game much more than I thought I would.

  • 11.09.2012 9:34 PM PDT

Posted by: Fuzzy McDoodle
Meh, clearly a Bungie fanboy reaction. Halo 4 exceeds all expectations and blows Reach out of the water in every single aspect.
Hardly. I went into this WANTING to like it. I really wanted to love it and really enjoy it. However, as much as I tried, I just couldn't bring myself to love the campaign after the strong beginning. It just fell so short.

  • 11.09.2012 9:38 PM PDT

http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=39477223

Plot/storyline was silly and cookie-cutter.

  • 11.09.2012 9:57 PM PDT
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Posted by: Mabian
If you get a chance to talk to K-Mart, tell him Mabian misses him...

He won't remember me, but it's always nice to let a complete stranger on the internet know that you care.


Posted by: Exile78
Sir I can't help but get the sense that you don't want to really talk about this, you want to "nail" me.


Posted by: derka derka
10/10 would read again.

And I totally agree with everything said.

  • 11.09.2012 10:12 PM PDT

Good post. I agree with a lot of it, especially in regard to how parts of the story are unexplained.

Posted by: RustedEdge
you also forgot the insane amount of bright light on practically every map
This. This. This. This. This.

I think I may have been sunburnt through my monitor. The glare seemed to be that bad sometimes.

  • 11.09.2012 10:15 PM PDT

Posted by: Recon Number 54
Life is a journey, if you spend all of it with your nose in your map, you may miss some of the best parts.


Posted by: dazarobbo
Good post. I agree with a lot of it, especially in regard to how parts of the story are unexplained.

Posted by: RustedEdge
you also forgot the insane amount of bright light on practically every map
This. This. This. This. This.

I think I may have been sunburnt through my monitor. The glare seemed to be that bad sometimes.


You need sunglasses to play Halo 4

  • 11.09.2012 10:17 PM PDT

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