140°

343 Industries "made a lot of mistakes" with Halo 4, "we can do better"

"So let me save you the trouble of trolling my statement: We have a lot to learn. We made a lot of mistakes. We can do better. And we know this, and we will. But I don’t want to spend the first moments of the year thinking about the negatives, because frankly, I am incredibly proud of both the team and the game that team created."

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strategyinformer.com
TrevorPhillips4099d ago

What mistakes? I thought the game was incredible! Can't wait for Halo 5 :)

Eldyraen4099d ago

Probably network problems--for myself and most friends around the US it was the laggiest Halo yet. It wasn't near as bad as some games though but when it was at its worst was just beyond bad. Other times though was fine but just consistenty wasn't there even compared to other p2p server games (looking at you Gears, which is saying something).

I haven't played in over a month though so may be better now, no clue. We've just never had that kind of problem even playing custom games among ourselves. The game itself though seemed great.

edawg118854098d ago

True. The main problem was they didn't do a beta for this game.

Gazondaily4098d ago

Of course they'll make mistakes- they are only human but the game itself was excellent. Taking over such a huge franchise is no mean feat and I can't imagine the various pressures 343 would have faced in the development of the game.

The Halo community is a force to be reckoned with and you simply cannot make everyone happy.

Now that 343 have proven themselves capable of handling Halo, here's hoping they have the courage to take some more risks and push the envelope as far as the franchise is concerned.

Still, a cursory glance at their statement shows how enthusiastic and devoted they are to the IP and that is reassuring. Halo is in good hands. I can't wait for what 343 have in store for us next-gen.

Perjoss4098d ago

Before Halo 5 maybe we will get a remastered version of Halo 2, just like they did for Halo 1.

Mainsqueeze4098d ago

I thought they could of done a much better job of supporting the competitive crowd in alot of regards. other than that it was a really good game.

DasTier4097d ago

well, they killed custom games, there was a glaring lack of variables (some of which were also absent from reach).
They still have no browser for forge maps or custom games, Forge it self was a let down. Also there was too much randomness in competitive multiplayer, namely ordinance. Oh and the fact that now vehicles are incredibly weak, Spawn with plasmas? ridiculous and the DMR and the Battle rifle are far too effective vs all vehicles.

antz11044094d ago

Great game, and its good to see a dev saying "we did good, but we can do better."

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4094d ago
Steelmanner4099d ago

Other than network difficulties I love this game, it was easily the best shooter of 2012.

4098d ago Replies(2)
TheRealHeisenberg4098d ago (Edited 4098d ago )

I enjoyed the game trmedously but I must say it is the first Halo game in the Halo series that I was not compelled to go through a second playthrough on.

I'm referring to the campaign. I don't have Live Gold anymore so no multiplayer for me. Never used the trial that came with the game.

Avraj454098d ago

The scale of the missions was so down scaled. I expected so much more and the last part where the tried to pull an mw2 really saddened me. I hope they improve on this.

-Gespenst-4098d ago

A few months after Halo 5:

343 Industries "made a lot of mistakes" with Halo 5, "we can do better"

If devs think or know there's something wrong with their game before they release it, they should just make it better. Eff the greedy, impatient masses.

If they know there's something wrong with it and they release it anyway, that's dishonest and dickheaded.

If they're forced to release it (by publishers etc.) and there's stuff wrong with it, they should be vocal about that. That somewhat absolves them and I might be more inclined to buy the game and support them, despite it's flaws. Three strikes policy though. If they keep releasing crap games, claiming they'll improve so long as you keep buying them and supporting them, then they're clearly taking the piss- clearly lying.

Let me know straight away that your game isn't as good as you wanted it to be. Don't pretend it's the best thing ever but then admit further down the line (when everyone's bought it) that it's not as good as you wanted it to be. Like I said, that kind of honesty would encourage me to buy the game (within financial reason) if it meant supporting the devs on possibly much improved future titles. At the same time, others might decide they want to avoid the game because of this, but that's fine. You shouldn't be tricking customers into buying incomplete products - making them possibly waste loads of money on games they couldn't help but get excited about because of the false hype. Some will still buy the games for the sake of supporting devs, others will choose not to in order to save money they desperately needed to not spend- to not be drawn into buying luxuries with.

Just be honest and noble for chrissakes.

theWB274098d ago

You do realize what you're saying right?? Every perfectionist looks at what they do and nitpick about what they could have done better. Stig Asmussen stated after GOW3 that they wanted more Titans...Gran Turismo 5 surely wasnt everything Kaz wanted. Everytime he releases a game he says how much more he wanted to do. Most developers will tell you that they wanted to do more with a game but there are limitations to hardware and time. Time doesnt mean everything either...just look at Duke Nukem and Too Human. You're being very short sighted with those comments.

-Gespenst-4098d ago

There's a difference between honestly being a perfectionist and in retrospect being unsatisfied with your work- and withholding doubts about the game until everyone's bought it.

Who's to say that 343 didn't know the game was flawed long before they released it? Who's to say they didn't just hype the game (and they did) to make people buy it, when they knew it had problems? If it was the case that the game was flawed early on, they should have said something.

How am I being short-sighted? I've covered pretty much all the bases. You just need to read my comment closely. If 343 just plain lied about the game's quality and are only coming out about it now (when everyone's bought it) that's deceitful. If it was a matter of time constraints and publisher / producer pressures, refer to my second last paragraph.

Perjoss4098d ago

You should read up a little about game design. There is a fine balance between quality and profit. In an ideal world every dev would hold onto their games until they are honed to perfection, in reality this rarely happens as it gets to a point where they have to draw the line or the profits just start flying out the window.

theWB274098d ago

No game is perfect...every game releases with flaws. Thats why its short sighted. Games have glitches...games have flaws...developers look back and regret decisions. It's going to be the same way next gen.

aviator1894098d ago

....implying that we live in a perfect world with perfect outcomes.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4098d ago
TotalSynthesisX4098d ago

I think it's a great game, apart from the multiplayer lagfest. War Games has its hiccups, but SpOps is nearly unplayable in multiplayer. A solid second of latency is not something you just deal with. Shit's insane.

Anyway, the campaign could've been better, but by no means was it "bad." The rest of the game is all right by me. Best Halo yet.

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50°

Master Chief Became More Than A Machine In 343's Halo

In Halo 4, 5, and Infinite, Master Chief became a more nuanced, human character.

In spite of the Halo series’ struggles, 343 deserves praise for adding nuance and characterisation to the ever-beating heart of Halo - The Master Chief. Playing through Infinite, it's abundantly clear that the events of the current and previous trilogies have irrevocably changed the iconic hero. He’s no longer the ‘blank slate’ that was previously presented by Bungie. He’s a fatigued, damaged and fallible protagonist, and one who is meandering through currents of grief, while reveling in his newfound agency. Giving the Chief a compelling and meaningful voice was no small feat, and 343 should be proud of that victory.

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thegamer.com
kingnick398d ago

This article completely misses part of the appeal of the original iteration of character in the original game trilogy. It was the Chief and Cortana vs an entire alien collective. The blank slate Bungie displayed in their games was genius, he was an mysterious hero a wide audience could identify with because he wasn't as clearly defined as most characters.

The books added a lot of lore and backstory but most Halo players just want a fun game with exposition that doesn't get in the way of gameplay, it's why the Cortana level in Halo 3 was derided.

Not every character has to be a damaged soyboy, a soldier has to suck it up and do his duty.

BandarHub397d ago

A lot of people give the 343 version of Master Chief a lot of slack.
But Fundamentally he is still the same character, he just has a couple more dialogues. He has not changed in terms of attitude.
"Not every character has to be a damaged soyboy, a soldier has to suck it up and do his duty."
And that's what he has done at the end of the day, he did his duty. Watch his partner die, and was ready to destroy the weapon in Halo infinite....he is still the same soilder that everyone remembers

Halo Infintes one was a nice balance between both.

slate91397d ago

Chief and the halo franchise became a joke under 343

Sciurus_vulgaris397d ago

The 343i Master Chief has is based on the books. However, in Halo 4-Infinite, the Master Chief overtime become. gradually becomes more willing to show some emotion.

Obscure_Observer397d ago

"However, in Halo 4-Infinite, the Master Chief overtime become. gradually becomes more willing to show some emotion."

Which is awesome! I love how Master Chief become more John and less soldier.

Sciurus_vulgaris397d ago

I didn’t even notice my typos,lol

50°

Halo's Identity Problem Began With an Admirable Mess

It’s a law of nature that eventually, every long-running game franchise will have a particular entry that gets dinged for straying too far from what made it so fun in the first place. Your Super Mario Sunshine, your Dragon Age II, Assassin’s Creed III, and so on. Whether or not that opinion changes more favorably over time, the initial specter of negativity will forever hover it. Microsoft’s Halo is no exception, except that negative specter hasn’t hovered over one particular game, but one whole studio.

The3faces517d ago

True Halo 4 was a sign of 343i's incompetence and the decline of Halo.

180°

10 Years Later, Halo 4 Proves Itself a Disappointing Omen for Halo Infinite

Halo 4 released 10 years ago today, and its disappointing reception was just an omen of things to come with 343 Industries at the helm.

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gamerant.com
Sonyslave3526d ago (Edited 526d ago )

Halo 4 and infinite have a 87 on metacritic and five a 84🤣. 343i need contents and everything else will play it self out.

ChasterMies525d ago

Halo 4, 5, and Infinite reviews are good examples of the pressure on review sites to score everything between 8-10 out of 10.

ChubbyBlade525d ago

As if reviews scores are any indication of a franchises health.

Halo has been in shambles for YEARS

-Foxtrot526d ago

Halo 4-6 are like the Star Wars sequel trilogy

They all just seem like a brand new games with small connections to the last one but no solid arc connecting them, you’re just told stuff that happened off screen in between the games and nothing makes sense

It’s like they didn’t plan a new trilogy out

CoNn3rB526d ago

That's actually a pretty good way to sum it up

LucasRuinedChildhood526d ago (Edited 526d ago )

I would argue that the new Star Wars trilogy is still better. lol

Most Halo fans would kill for the equivalent of The Force Awakens at this stage (a competent rehash of what came before it). Halo Infinite tried to be that but was undercooked and failed. Halo 4 wasn't that either - they started messing with the formula straight away although the story was okay.

There was nothing particularly compelling about Halo 5's story besides the fake plot they advertised. The Last Jedi is a divisive movie but as RedLetterMedia would say, it was "sporadically interesting" because it tried some new things and set up things that could have been great (like Kylo teaming up with Rey after backstabbing Snoke). That conversation with Yoda is great and it felt like the real Yoda, not that CGI thing in the prequels.
- "Skywalker, still looking to the horizon. Never here, now, hmm? The need in front of your nose."
- "The greatest teacher, failure is ... Luke, we are what they grow beyond. That is the true burden of all masters."
- "That library contained nothing that the girl Rey does not already possess." (because she already took them, haha).

The Rise Of Skywalker is the only one where loads of stuff happens off screen ("Palpatine has returned") in between and nothing makes sense because ... they just needed a main villain and 100 star destroyers to blow up. They could have done something much better.

MrChow666525d ago

no, all disney star wars sucks also disney marvel and everything godamn disney touches

526d ago Replies(3)
Yui_Suzumiya526d ago

Um, didn't Halo 4 have the best campaign out of the new Trilogy? Lol

ChubbyBlade525d ago

Yep and even then it wasn’t very good.

Levii_92526d ago

I'm getting a good gaming laptop soon and i'm finally going to play through the Halo franchise again plus Infinite but i never played Halo 4 before .. can anyone tell me how's the campaign in comparison to the games before it and compared to Halo 5 ?

Stanjara526d ago

Halo 4 campaign great, multi bad.
Halo 5 campaign trash, multi good.

Best Cortana halo 4.

ChubbyBlade525d ago (Edited 525d ago )

Halo 4 was when they started turning it into a “modern” game. Aka taking tips from CoD.

The older titles were sandbox based with weapons that all filled a niche and vehicles that did the same. Open levels with multiple ways to approach in different spots with different weapons etc.

Halo 4/5 doesn’t have that. It’s a linear shooter and nothing else. The story is alright but that’s about it. If it wasn’t a halo game, it would be ok but because it is a halo game, it’s outshone by the previous games.

It’s a hell of a lot better than 5 though. I found infinite pretty meh

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