So before you read what I have to say please take these points into account.
First, I am not attacking Bungie or 343i I am simply being honest with what I see.
Second, these are my thoughts and opinions I claim them as neither right nor wrong so do not assume otherwise. Third, if you post at least take the time to read what I’ve written.
I’m not quite sure where to start so I guess I’ll begin by talking about how I think Halo really changed direction starting with Reach. For the past few years I have continued to play Halo 3 instead of Reach, I even resisted ever owning my own copy of Reach. Now this is not because Reach was/is bad but simply because I never quite saw the logical jump from H3 to it. I started playing halo back when 2 was launched and when I had a chance to get H3 I jumped on it. The jump from H2 to H3 felt natural, easy like it was the logical progression. Sure the game had changed but on the base level it still felt the same. Weapons had changed, maps had changed but at the core it still had the same feel of H2.
Halo in those days was not what I would consider a very fast game, instead opting for a slower more calculated playstyle. In lower levels of matchmaking players could get away with a lone wolf playstyle. However, in higher levels teamwork was required to have any hope of winning. If your team wanted map control you would need coordinate when and where to push and keep track of where the power weapons where. A sniper rifle could (in the right hands) lock down large portions of a map and win you the game. That’s why small maps only had one, to promote balance and force players to work together. Halo games at this point never had that rushed COD feel to it. Don’t get me wrong I really like COD, but I played halo because it was a slower game. In COD you die in a blink, Halo always gave you time to prevent your death. At heart I think this fact alone is what drew me into the game.
Fast forward a few years
Halo REACH comes out, new weapons, new maps, and armor abilities. From a Halo 3 point of view it’s not the same game. Sure it has Halo in the title but it fails to play like the Halo that I love. The game is faster, jet packs now add a new level of play. Sprint is like a bad dream, the game no longer has that feeling of calculated play. I feel like it’s reverting to who sees who first....and I hate it. So I don’t play it, I ignore it. I keep playing halo 3 because what else can I do? So I wait hoping that H4 will be my savior. Hoping that H4 will return Halo to the play style that I love.
Halo 4
- Weapon spawns are no longer a huge part of the game
- Power weapons are given out like candy
- Everyone has sprint AND an armor ability
- Ordinance drops
- A single player with a DMR can hold down just about anything they want to
- Perks, I really miss powerup spawns
Halo 4 is also quite unbalanced. For example plasma pistols have always had the abality to shutdown vehicles, but now you can simply spawn with one....see the problem here?
My point is I think Halo has gotten too fast. Before it was never about speed but about tactics and true skill, I just don’t get that feeling anymore. I don’t feel like I’m playing Halo at all anymore but some hybrid monster. I don’t have the satisfaction of trying to gain rank as it’s exp based and not skill based. I doubt very many players would call H3 a “Stale copy” of H2, so why was the decision made to fix things that weren't broken. As a long term player I’m sad to see how the game has evolved, just another shooter with little to separate it from the rest. I will continue to play H4 because it's at heart a decent game, but the Halo that I knew died a while back.
Thanks for reading
Happy Gaming
