Still, if there’s work to be done with the multiplayer then Halo 4’s campaign, and thus the series’ overall sense of purpose, is back on track. Perhaps resolving just one problem at a time is the most we can expect. 343 Industries has certainly done that; Halo 4 isn’t a reinvention so much as a recalibration, a common-sense repair to a drifting narrative, with a hero who is now back in play and back at his best. Halo 4’s biggest victory is that it gives us Master Chief back.
Original Destiny artist Darren Bacon recalls how Bungie reacted to the art style change of Halo 4 by 343 Industries.
Bungie at that time became the most wonderful bunch of hypocrites in the gaming industry. Knowing this now, gosh the entitlement they felt was out of this world.
Nothing like buying yourself from Microsoft because you don't want to be the Halo Studio anymore, and the FIRST THING you do is sign your next IP over to Activision, for a DECADE, while they are in the middle of ousting the heads of Infinity Ward so they can exert even more control over COD while screwing out the devs at IW...
Should've come as no surprise then that Activision gutted the content of Destiny 1 before launch and was a horrible partner through Destiny 2, until history repeated itself and Bungie had to split from Activision only to wind up in the arms of another major conglomerate that also doesn't know how to handle these unmanageable devs.
Tti their credit they praised the technical abilities of 343 and I remember at the time thinking halo 4 was a huge graphical leap above reach everything else was rubbish when I actually got to play it but there was no doubt it looked good for the 360 and is probably the best looking game on the system.
But ultimately I think bungie has always had a leadership problem and going independent ultimately proved this it's only getting worse with studio heads being outed by Sony for abuse allegations seems like all bungies past success has been in spite of management not because of it.
But really I think the bungie we have today is not the same one we had in that Xbox era of Bungie
I liked the artstyle change. For the most part. Something looked worse but most of everything else looked better. Weapons and vehicles for sure. The wraith come to my mind instantly.
And how can they get mad when the bungie changed it with Halo Reach?
I know a lot of people dislike Halo 4’s arts style, but there’s thing about it I like and dislike. Personally, the Halo 4 design of Master Chief’s armour is my favourite depiction of the character’s armour.
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.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
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.
A surprising score considering they gave Halo ODST a 9...
Hmm a little surprising. Who knows but on he grounds I don't always share their opinions, I'll wait until I've played the game. Halo3 got a 10/10 and it was an inconsistent quality. Halo ODST was on the money though as was the Halo1's 10/10
So pretty review .
Great review!
"These powers are also the focal point of a multiplayer game that’s slowly losing its identity. The bold, simple template of old featured no variable loadouts and no rechargeable powers, instead relying on a beautifully balanced weapon set and accomplished controls. This slowly eroding system has now been nudged a little closer to frenetic Call Of Duty standards thanks to the inclusion of sprinting for all players, item drops as a reward for kill streaks, and customisable loadouts. At the core remains the solid, steady hand of Halo, but those hoping Halo 4 would roll back Reach’s intricacies and deliver an alternative to the current wave of console shooters will be disappointed."
Wait a second there, item drops for killstraks? customizable loadouts? I really respected Halo because it had it's own tried and tested formula for multiplayer, as mentioned, it was all about the great controls and skill, not about items and loadouts. It had managed to keep it's own rules without getting some of that COD bug that every game has been having recently.
It will still be a great game, I'm just confused as to why 343, doing such a good job on the single player, would add those things to the MP which is the core of Halo.
I'm going to have to rent a 360 and find out for myself.