As most people know, technology is innovative and is constantly evolving. The majority of the evolution seen is a good thing given time. Sometimes with a brand new piece of hardware or software there are kinks, quirks, and bugs to fix. The majority of video game franchises follow this same progression. From Tony Hawk Pro Skater, to Halo, and Mass Effect. Every single franchise evolves and learns from the that evolution.
Halo 4 is the next step in the Halo Universe. It implemented new ideas into the Halo Universe and is learning from that. There are bugs that are being fixed, quirks that are being discovered, and kinks that are being ironed out. Some of the newest additions are under close scrutiny. The main ones I'm talking about are the specializations, the loadouts and the instant spawns. A large group of people don't like that idea because it's reminds them of CoD or other franchises.
I'd like to take a closer look at these changes. The specializations is a new idea in the Halo Franchise. Never before have you had that option. Now here comes the kinks, quirks and bugs I mentioned earlier. Some people have yet to receive their codes. Due to many reasons. A changed email address, unverified email addresses, and the location that the individual lives. The kinks are being worked out and people are receiving codes, albeit slowly. I can understand the frustration felt, however this is the first time in the Halo franchise that something like that has been offered. Things can go wrong from time to time. As for the people who claim to be die hard fans and say that because they don't have a code they will never play Halo again, I find it hard to believe that you are die hard fan. This is the first game something like this has been implemented, as a die hard fan you should be more concerned with the game play and game mechanics themselves. Which for the most part is the same. It's still the same Halo with or without the specializations.
Pertaining to loadouts. The majority of first person shooters now have loadouts. I believe that is part of the evolution of First Person Shooters. As for this being copied from CoD, I don't believe that. I find there are some KEY differences between CoD loadouts and Halo loadouts. In Halo you have the choice betweeen assault rifles, in CoD you can choose anything from a sniper to a shotgun. You have the ability to have more power weapons. Halo balances that by not letting you have those power weapons from the beginning. In order to gain a power a weapon you have to find the weapons on the maps.
Instant Spawns; are also a new addition. Again people claim this to be like CoD. I don't see it that way. In Halo there are only certain gametypes that you can instantly respawn. In CoD the majority of the time you can instantly respawn. Also as video games evolve and become faster and faster, in order to keep up the pace you have to have enemies to kill. To have enemies you have to have people respawn faster. Again, that's just my thought on it.
And I didn't mention it before, but the other big thing: Ordinance Drops. Yes, CoD has these. But again there are some major differences. In CoD your drops can be anything from radar for the team, missiles that can demolish an entire team, or a helicopter that stays in the air until someone shoots it down. In Halo the drops are a single power weapon, an armor ability meaning speed boost or damage boost, or another grenade type. Not nearly as powerful as some of the possible drops in CoD.
These are just my thoughts on everything that has been said about Halo 4. I think the game evolving. Some of the evolution that has occurred hasn't been the best and will have to be tweaked for future games. I've been an avid Halo fan since Halo 1, and I'm actually a fan of the majority of new features in Halo 4. I admit there are some changes I'd like to see. Some tweaks that should be implemented in future game updates. But I'm no concerned if they don't get fixed right away because I really enjoy the game. These are my thoughts. If you disagree, so be it. Let's stay civil.