Halo Discussion Thread

[Klizcool]

I think this might be too early, but what does everyone think that Halo 5 might have in store?

    Spoiler:- Thoughts:

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I personally would like to see part of Cortana trapped inside the Didact's armor. They just can't kill her off that easily. She's too important. Also, I want to see Blue Team show up. John and his old Spartan II buddies roughing up the Prometheans makes for some real epic ness.
 

[the3rdH0kage]

There is a confirmed Halo 5 and 6. This is the Reclaimer Trilogy. But anyway that would be cool but they could still kill her off. When Master Cheif fights the final battle with the Didact (given he isn't dead). Wouldn't she die when his armor would break if it broke.

[Klizcool]

There is a confirmed Halo 5 and 6. This is the Reclaimer Trilogy. But anyway that would be cool but they could still kill her off. When Master Cheif fights the final battle with the Didact (given he isn't dead). Wouldn't she die when his armor would break if it broke.

I'm not sure (I'll have to check his Halopedia page) but I think that the Didact is actually infused with armor. Not to mention, Forunner armor is much different than the Chief's. It allows one to reach virtual immunity (I think) and other really cool things. But for the most part, Cortana cannot be dead. Not that easily.

And yes, I know they confirmed 5 and 6. I can read, can't I? I'm just wondering what might happen in 5. No doubt there are allusions in the books. For example, I think that in either Primordium or Cryptum the talk about the Composer.

[ImAnOKIE12]

You don't have to do it in Co-op.

really?! -.- I already knew that. I meant if you play in co-op do u still get the armor.?

[EmphaticPikachu]

;_;...getting disconnected from xbox live right as the Gagillion elites drop down in the 3rd episode of the new episoes AIN'T FUN. ;__________;....That was just mean. I just got disconnected, and suddenly had to fight all of those guys by myself...;-;

[Klizcool]

;_;...getting disconnected from xbox live right as the Gagillion elites drop down in the 3rd episode of the new episoes AIN'T FUN. ;__________;....That was just mean. I just got disconnected, and suddenly had to fight all of those guys by myself...;-;

Wait, you don't need Live to do Spartan Ops?

[ImAnOKIE12]

Apparently you do! Just to play at least. Gah, I wish my grandpa knew how important the internet is. so I could get Xbox live then. Then they wouldn't have to worry about my internet bill on my phone. Im always on here, and looking for new games.

[Jolteon91]

really?! -.- I already knew that. I meant if you play in co-op do u still get the armor.?

I have seen people who don't have the Lone Wolf achievement who do have the Mark VI armour, so I'm going to say you can get it in co-op.

I'm so happy Episode 5 of Spartan Ops is out next week, I can finally get my 1000/1000... For like a week before DLC is released.

[EmphaticPikachu]

Wait, you don't need Live to do Spartan Ops?

You do need it technically...but if you get kicked from xbox live, you can still finish that fight. AND you get all of the achievements yourself...I got 5900 points or so. When I usually get 4000. Yet i seriously just would of prefered to do it with other people... >3>...it took me 3 times as long as it probably would with others. ****ing elites with energy swords and fuel rods X.X....

[Jolteon91]

You do need it technically...but if you get kicked from xbox live, you can still finish that fight. AND you get all of the achievements yourself...I got 5900 points or so. When I usually get 4000. Yet i seriously just would of prefered to do it with other people... >3>...it took me 3 times as long as it probably would with others. ****ing elites with energy swords and fuel rods X.X....

That's pretty much all you see on Legendary, fuel rods, fuel rods errywhere. 343 seem to have gotten lazy in the last two Spartan Ops though, they just seem like they want to throw wave after wave of enemies at you, which makes me wonder why they left out Firefight mode.

[ImAnOKIE12]

I know! I kinda wish they left the game types and firefights alone. I enjoyed firefight. 343 did do good, but there are exceptions I wish Bungie wouldve have stayed.

[Klizcool]

That's pretty much all you see on Legendary, fuel rods, fuel rods errywhere. 343 seem to have gotten lazy in the last two Spartan Ops though, they just seem like they want to throw wave after wave of enemies at you, which makes me wonder why they left out Firefight mode.

I do have to agree on that matter. There's no way that the Covenant army has access to an infinte stash of Fuel Rod cannons. And they don't just hand out Energy Swords. 343 is just lazy.

[EmphaticPikachu]

I do have to agree on that matter. There's no way that the Covenant army has access to an infinte stash of Fuel Rod cannons. And they don't just hand out Energy Swords. 343 is just lazy.

I always felt like legendary was un-realistic though x.x....I'd swear that the marines had more health then me all the time. I'm a spartan damnit ._....
yes i have regenerating shields, but they go down quicker and I die quicker then most marines I've seen. >3>...Either that, or I'm getting everything in the fight, and they're getting nothing. Point and case, I think it was purposely overpowered during legendary...xD

I feel like heroic is difficulty that counts as canon...Its hardish, yet you don't just die like that. I feel like a spartan, yet no plot armor. lol

[Klizcool]

I always felt like legendary was un-realistic though x.x....I'd swear that the marines had more health then me all the time. I'm a spartan damnit ._....
yes i have regenerating shields, but they go down quicker and I die quicker then most marines I've seen. >3>...Either that, or I'm getting everything in the fight, and they're getting nothing. Point and case, I think it was purposely overpowered during legendary...xD

I feel like heroic is difficulty that counts as canon...Its hardish, yet you don't just die like that. I feel like a spartan, yet no plot armor. lol

Well, they do say that this is the way Halo should be played. Lol

Remember the marines on the Pillar of Autumn when you shot the Keyes? If the UNSC deployed some of them, they wouldn't be losing as badly. I'm still kinda confused about how Johnson survived the flood too. I mean. I get that it was genetic modification, but wouldn't he die of loss of blood when the Infection Forms hit him?

[Jolteon91]

I always felt like legendary was un-realistic though x.x....I'd swear that the marines had more health then me all the time. I'm a spartan damnit ._....
yes i have regenerating shields, but they go down quicker and I die quicker then most marines I've seen. >3>...Either that, or I'm getting everything in the fight, and they're getting nothing. Point and case, I think it was purposely overpowered during legendary...xD

Have you played 4 on Legendary, or did you not pay attention to any Marines? They all died on me within seconds of encountering any enemies.

I feel like heroic is difficulty that counts as canon...Its hardish, yet you don't just die like that. I feel like a spartan, yet no plot armor. lol

Heroic is a walk in the park, completed it on Heroic after Legendary to get the campaign based achievements and didn't come close to dying.

[EmphaticPikachu]

Have you played 4 on Legendary, or did you not pay attention to any Marines? They all died on me within seconds of encountering any enemies.



Heroic is a walk in the park, completed it on Heroic after Legendary to get the campaign based achievements and didn't come close to dying.

Really? I confess, I'm probably more thinking Halo 3 and reach. I haven't honestly seen that many marines in halo 4. The main time I remember seeing them was when I was in the jungle and during the lab rescue op. In the first one, I really just mowed everything down with the two chain guns there. I only saw two dead marines...And the other one I've only played on on Normal as of yet, So I can't really give an opinion on that. The rest of the time all of my allies were spartan IV's. ._.;... But when playing halo 3 and a marine just sits there and takes fire from all ends with me, and I die first...somethings wrong. Not to mention it takese two spartan punches to kill a marine in halo 3...which means they have to have at least similar health length to spartans and elitles. Though I admit that the Marines tended to flinch (Or something like it) when hit with too much bullets...but that doesn't take that dang accuracy they have with guns away. >3>...

You honestly just are probably better at the game then me. My health decreases so quickly on legendary D:...there's a group of three elites at one point during spartan ops (one with an energy sword, one with a fuel rod and one with something else...that I can't remember at the moment.), and I tried doing that on legendary. I beat it, but the amount of times I died on that one little area with those 3 elites was ridiculous...

Well, they do say that this is the way Halo should be played. Lol

Remember the marines on the Pillar of Autumn when you shot the Keyes? If the UNSC deployed some of them, they wouldn't be losing as badly. I'm still kinda confused about how Johnson survived the flood too. I mean. I get that it was genetic modification, but wouldn't he die of loss of blood when the Infection Forms hit him?

xD

hmm...I dunno. I mean from what I remember in the books...didn't John almost get infected but before the flood spore got into him cortana sent an electric pulse up his spinal cord or something and shocked the flood spore to death?... I know it at least started digging...

[Charizard Champion#06]

Me and my friends getting Monster Trucks 3.0 working in Custom War Games. Basically Warthogs pushing each other off things.

[ImAnOKIE12]

Me and my friends getting Monster Trucks 3.0 working in Custom War Games. Basically Warthogs pushing each other off things.

Haha, me as well! Except me and my cousin are making one wheret there is holes in the floor. And when you die, you get all the noobtoobs, sticky detonator, and grenades, to try and blow the other warthogs into the holes. We are having a problem with when it ends, Theres not really a Victor. You have to just restart.

[Klizcool]

xD

hmm...I dunno. I mean from what I remember in the books...didn't John almost get infected but before the flood spore got into him cortana sent an electric pulse up his spinal cord or something and shocked the flood spore to death?... I know it at least started digging...

I get that, tis but a scratch though. At the begining of First Strike, John kinda scratch at it or something while he's on the Longsword alone, so it wasn't a mortal wound, whereas Johnson had the Infection Form on him for who knows how long before he got away. And wasn't Stacker infected too? I think that was the infected Marine that he tried reasoning with.

[Night_Walker]

Simply put this is now my favourite Halo game and I think it’s easily one of the best games of 2012 (overall, not just in the shooter segment).

In some ways I’d compare Halo 4 to Batman: Arkham City and Gears of War 3 - all three took the best elements of the previous games in the series and then polished them up so they functioned even better.

But in addition to that of course is the fact that Halo 4 had to launch the Reclaimer saga and so start up a whole new story, bring in new characters, a new faction, and (most difficult of all) make it all gel and balance with what’s come before both narratively and gamplay wise – and 343 succeeded incredibly.

Campaign:
Easily one of the best stories in a Halo game thus far.

The campaign narrative is engrossing and compelling.
As many have said the story benefits enormously from the return of John and Cortana; Reach tried to tell a more personal story than any of the others (with the possible exception of 3: ODST) but had the handicap of introducing us to an all new list of characters, in 4 it works because we know John and Cortana and care about them before the story even starts. It really was great to see them struggle with their own personal fights as well as then having the weight of the continued survival of humanity fall on their shoulders.
The score compliments the action and cut-scenes beautifully. And the graphics (for all modes) are nothing short of jaw-dropping, easily the equal of anything around on any gaming system – it almost makes me wonder why people are calling for next gen consoles when the 360 S can produce something that looks like this, aside from the fact it means dead bodies and weapons spawn out very fast.

In terms of the actual gameplay in the campaign, the game truly follows the series traditional strengths. Once again it’s a combat sandbox with a large arsenal and varied play spaces, which thankfully do not feel quite as open and or exposed as those in Reach did at times, allowing you to approach situations as you choose to against tough and intelligent foes.
The Covenant are most definitely the tried and true foes we’re used to playing in every respect, proving every bit as tough and diverse as in the past – if not in fact a little smarter and tougher than they were before.
But it’s the Prometheans who really change the landscape/sandbox – playing very differently to the Covenant, and taking the series' traditional 'Artificial Brilliance' up to the next level with their aggressive charges, flanking and deadly weapons.

Of course that serves to make some of the more scripted and focused elements of the game (defend an area while Cortana opens a door and ‘find and interact with 2/3 of these’ elements are a bit too) feel more restrictive and unimaginative, especially since it’s broadly not like the instances in Halo 3 where what you had to find and destroy things like AA Wraiths or Scarabs – instead in 4 you mostly fight your way up to something you just have to touch or chuck a grenade at.
However for me those moments didn’t come too often to reduce my enjoyment of the game. While I do understand the sentiment that we had stuff like that in prior Halo games because of hardware and software limitations and that 10 years on that sort of thing is no longer necessary, I also thought that the way it was done kinda tipped the hat to the other games and so it’s partially forgivable.

Multi-Player:
Tight fairly fast paced action, balanced game play, smooth controls, purpose made maps, and a wealth of diverse playlists/game-modes/game-types: Proof Halo is still the best FPS multi-player experience around.

Like many after hearing about some changes (enhanced load-out/create-a-class with weapons unlocking over time, call in ordinance, and attempt to quicken play up) I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Multi-Player this time around. But any concerns I had have pretty much evaporated.

The action feels faster and tighter than before, especially with the lower down time between dying and respawning, but not so fast that it’s utterly chaotic – resulting in a satisfying experience.

I certainly haven’t felt I’ve been outgunned by higher level players just because they’ve got access to a gun or perk I didn’t have or hadn’t ‘bought’. Just, as it should be, my opponent played better, is more skilled or went in with the right combination for the situation or their playstyle. Which just goes to prove the game hasn’t been made too easy or unbalanced – if it had been my K/D ratio would supposedly be a lot better than Reach but it’s not (0.52 from 134 games to 0.67 from 49 games).

It’s also pretty clear, to me at least, that a certain other franchise (*cough* CoD *cough*) has not managed to invade Halo… There’s none of this “aim down the sight or you can empty a whole clip into someone and still not get a kill” nonsense, no virtually invisible booby traps spread around left, right and centre, and (thank heavens!) no sudden death from above.

The maps are a vast improvement over those in Reach, know that’s not hard (since the best maps, in my opinion, were created in Forge rather than the recycled Campaign spaces) but anyway.

So far I’ve found all the maps feel balanced for the game types I’ve played on them: ie not favouring one team based on their starting position or if they managed to get to a particular point in numbers or even in Flood providing huge open killing grounds. I really like how each map has its own distinct feel from the others, not just in terms of looks but what playstyle/loadouts work better on a particular map.

The wealth and diversity of playlists is quite impressive as well, and very welcome after the fairly sparse set that were available in Reach.
I’ve yet to try every playlist yet but I’ve been very impressed by the revamped Infinity Slayer and Flood, the two playlists I was most concerned about as they were my favourites (and pretty much all I played) in Reach. I’ve really enjoyed the addition of Dominion, though I think some people need to learn how to play it – Lone Wolves die, quickly and often
The only other playlist I’ve tried so far has been Regicide but I wasn’t playing well at the time so I’ll have to give it another chance.

Spartan Ops:
An excellent replacement for Firefight.

Spartan Ops was pretty much the only thing that really gave me pause for thought in the lead up to Halo 4’s release.

I will admit I’d definitely lost interest in Firefight but I didn’t think the mode was beyond redemption, it just seemed to need reworking (better maps, more retrievable weapons and, most of all, more reward for playing a game).
In contrast I really wasn’t sure what we were getting with Spartan Ops. I liked the sound of it being semi-story driven, but wasn’t sure about it – could you play solo and or offline? What was it going to involve (as a true Halo mission style or just a glorified Horde mode)? And how well were you going to be rewarded for your time in missions?

Having spent nearly 9 hours in Spartan Ops (and finished 18 missions) I’m confident in saying the result is much better than Firefight. The story, such as it is, helps tie the missions together with a solid narrative and expands intriguingly on the Campaign; however the ability to connect more to the characters through the story is limited by the fact that the team featured in the cut-scenes isn’t the one players play as.
That said without doubt the delivery and story sets it apart from a lot of other Horde/Extra-Mission modes. As it is story driven and is delivered piece meal it’s almost like a TV show that, if the player becomes invested in the story, keeps them coming back each week for the new instalment. Similar modes in other games can’t do that as they usually don’t have a connecting story and either start with everything unlocked or gradually unlock things are people progress through the others.

Game play wise it sorta straddles the line between a genuine mini-mission set up and a standard Horde more, with large maps, a reasonable mix of reaching objectives and surviving waves of foes. Although in my opinion it leans more towards being a Horde mode with a few objectives, especially with some of the waves you are confronted with.

The weapon situation is definitely better than it was in Firefight, with ammo racks available to pick different weapons from as well as being able to scavenge (quickly) weapons from slain foes. With the amount of loadouts limited by level and various kinds of foes being thrown at the player, ie Hunters and Phantoms, this is welcome but also necessary really.

The reward system is also much better, with a completed mission being worth almost as much as a multi-player match, and so it is viable as an alternate mode to spend time in.

However it is held back by the fact that it’s more a co-op Horde mode than a co-op focused mini campaign as was originally suggested and that it can’t be played if Xbox live is down or the player isn’t a Gold Member.

Other matters:
I think the feature that sounds out the most for me has been the work on the weapons. It’s really clear they’ve received a huge amount of work from 343, in terms of appearance, sound and balancing.
Each of the weapons feels like it fits into its overall class but also feels distinct from the others in the class – quite the achievement given we’ve got weapons from the Covenant, Prometheans, and UNSC.

Another really good aspect is how useful the entire arsenal feels compared to in the past where, certainly in my case, you’d only pick up certain weapons if you had no other choice. I’ve happily swapped and changed weapons like never before.

The Assault class weapons have really impressed me this time around. Aside from in CEA I’ve tended to steer clear of the bullet sprayers due to their low accuracy and relatively low firepower. In Halo 4 the accuracy feels better and within the right range, which has received a nice little boost, they definitely pack a wallop. Indeed I’ve used the Assault Rifle, SAW, Suppressor and Storm Rifle more in one campaign run through than I have in all my time with the other Halos (aside from CE:A). In fact the SAW has become a favourite of mine.

And finally there’s Waypoint and the Challenges. As with Reach the stats tracking is thorough (if not even more thorough this time) and well presented. And the challenges help give extra incentive to play to those who wish to accept them – although some more variety for Spartan Ops challenges wouldn’t go amiss.

Overall this is a great game and I give it a 9.5