Review and Thoughts on the Champions Bundle

[Victory Element]

I thought it would be a good idea to hear some opinions and comments about the recent release of the champions bundle. I plan to give my own review here and i would love to hear what others have to say about this DLC release

 

The Good

 

Weapon Skins- Adding new weapon skins into the game was a smart idea on 343i's part. Weapon skins allow for more in depth player personalization, that can actually be viewed in the first person perspective. the new skins are creative and overall well designed. The steel skin pack has skins available for EVERY loadout weapon, and this style adds an almost "bioshock" look to them. The black with some worn down, gold details gives a unique style to weapons and is new compared to usual sci-fi design of halo weapons. Other skins were also included with the bundle for the BR, magnum, and AR. The BR and magnum skins are simple, but still have a unique feeling to them. The AR skins are extremely cool and intimidating, with the blood stain and shark head

 

Stances- New stances were another good add on for halo 4. They allow the player's spartan to have much more personality customization options. Stances range from heavy combat, to cocky, or relaxed within a few scrolls of the menu. 

 

Maps- it is always good to add new DLC maps into a game, but it is possible that these new maps could be thrown into the dumps just as the previous halo 4 DLC ones were. Otherwise, the maps are great addition. Bringing back one of the most popular maps in halo was a good idea, because who could say they don't like it?? The completely new map will be a cool change to halo. The electric shocks on the main platforms will provide a new experience in halo because players will have to interact with the map to gain an advantage

 

Ricochet- when i first saw gameplay of ricochet, i thought it was a such a clever gametype to add into halo. I have not yet gotten the chance to play it, but the concept of the game is creative and requires much strategy and teamwork

 

The Bad

 

Bugs- there have been many bugs and glitches reported with the release of the champions DLC. New weapon skins can't be used in spartan ops, and the new armors show up as other types of armor during online matches. Some players have even had problems accessing their xbl accounts and playing in matchmaking. You can read more about these in this thread http://www.343industries.org/forum/topic/30910-halo-4-champion-bundle-issues/?do=findComment&comment=278747

 

The Ugly

 

New Armors- At first, adding new armor types into halo seemed like a great concept. The pictures shown of the new armors were very clear and made the armor look nice and fresh. after going to check these armors out for myself, i was very disappointed with their turnout. All of the new armor is very "round" and bulbous. It looks almost unfinished compared to the other armors that are already in the game. they look like they are still in stages of development and their details are no where near as precise as the old armors. Others may have the complete opposite opinion, but i feel that 343i did not put very much effort into these armors and they lack in graphic quality

 

Stance Glitches- i know that this is not a very big issue, but it appears as a pet peeve to me. It completely ruins a stance when the chin of a helmet can be seen sticking through the shoulder or chest piece because of angle of the stance. 

 

 

Overall

In the end, 343i did not do a bad job with the champions bundle. New customization features and multiplayer content is always good for the long term enjoyment of a game. 343 has made some big changes to halo, and they have shown that they can do well when it comes to the big picture. But once again, it is the small details that killed this DLC addition. Its the simple things such weapon balance and good servers that hold a game together. 343i puts out a lot of great things that generally would please fans, but they cannot be enjoyed much when the small details are not catered to. As i said before, 343i has a good grasp on the big picture of halo, but they need to put more focus on the small tedious things to hold the bigger concepts together

 

 

 

that is my unprofessional review of the champions bundle. If i left anything out or you would like to share your own thoughts, please leave a response below. I would love to hear what the rest of the community thinks of this DLC

 

 

 

[Azaxx]

   That's quite an interesting opinion/thought you have on it, quite similar to mine in fact, but one thing in particular is vastly different for me.   

 

   Good (in order from the best to the least best):   

   The Maps      -   The map s were absolutely amazing, as soon as I jumped into Forge I ran around remembering the times that I had a blast on The Pit (Now Pitfall), the iconic features of the map brought back hundreds of memories I had of the map. The little shoot where the Sword spawned in The Pit was a good change to the map, would make for very good KoTH moments when the Hill is under that room. There is one thing I find very disappointing about the map though, the lack of the two "secret" hideouts up high each side of the map. Those were awesome to spawn in and kill people from, it's a shame they took away that area, because Jet Pack would've been very useful to get to that place.

Armour and New Armour Skins - These are quite fantastic, except Ricochet, I genuinely hate that armour variant. The Prefect armour looks wicked and the Mrk5 and ODST variants are great for people who loved the old H3 armour. The skins are quite awesome too, the best being Bayonet in my opinion for the Venator armour class. Though, I haven't tried every armour, so I can't comment on all of the skins. However the ones I have, they're pretty darn cool.

  Weapon Skins    -  I quite hon estly thought these were terrible before purchasing the DLC Bundle, however when I downloaded it and went through my loadouts, my opinion changed rapidly. All of a sudden, they looked awesome and when I tried them on, they looked just as good in first person as they did in a 3rd person viewing. I love the Trauma skin for the Assault Rifle in particular, it gives me a ruthless look about me and how I kill my opponents (I wish).

 Stances  - These  aren't overly great, but are still pretty cool. Some do look pretty stupid like the Loyalty one and also Lookout, but they still add variety which is something that stances lacked since everyone went with the highest 'ranked' one they could get. Personal favourite is Flank, makes me look like how I play, a silent assassin.

 

The Meh:

Ricochet - This gametype though I haven't played it doesn't seem a whole lot of fun in my opinion, to people who aren't American Football fans, this doesn't exactly have the same sort of appeal and seems very meh. It's not bad by any means, another gametype to muck around in is always nice. But it's certainly no where near the great gametype everyone keeps saying it is, in my opinion from watching games of it.

Of course my opinion isn't as proper as it could be, if I actually played it, but lack of XBL Gold prevents me from doing so.

 

The Bad:

The bugs - not as bad as the Season Pass DLC packs of course, those were horrendous, and looks like 343 did a good job of fixing those so they don't happen again. However, there were some other bugs that weren't taken into account for, such as the forearms not being the same as set in the settings when playing. This is a terrible bug and must be fixed quickly, there are also numerous other bugs, but I won't mention them since this isn't a "Name your bugs thread".

Spartan Ops missout - the fact that 343i did not make the Spartan 4 armours carry over to Spartan Ops and have no plans in doing so is a massive downfall for this DLC pack, this would've been great if they had common sense and made it for all game modes, not just War Games. However, it's not something absolutely vital to the game, and can be looked over, unfortunately.

 

Conclusion:

By far the best DLC Halo 4 has had, and it's good they took their time to fix past bugs and add things that people would genuinely want this time. The massive variety 343 Industries added for player customisation and the maps are fantastic, shoutout to Vertigo. Though the bugs and lack of Spartan Ops interaction is a let down, this DLC is well made and thought about, and I'd certainly give it a 8/10 for what it is.

[BaconShelf]

As a hater of Grifball, Ricochet surprised me. I managed to score five goals in one match o.O

 

 

Nice review:D

[SternuS]

I still haven't bought it,  and for what I can read on here and for the rare occasions when I play Halo 4 multy I won't buy it. Yes, for what I've seen, it's good to have the Mk. V back, finally they remembered ODSTs exist, but that Prefect Armor... is indifferent to me. Pitfall, it's great to have The Pit back. Vortex, I don't know.

 

I'll wait for the Firefight DLC. This way I'll save up money for the next Halo.

[BaconShelf]

I still haven't bought it,  and for what I can read on here and for the rare occasions when I play Halo 4 multy I won't buy it. Yes, for what I've seen, it's good to have the Mk. V back, finally they remembered ODSTs exist, but that Prefect Armor... is indifferent to me. Pitfall, it's great to have The Pit back. Vortex, I don't know.

 

I'll wait for the Firefight DLC. This way I'll save up money for the next Halo.

 

 

Vertigo, not Vortex.

[SternuS]

Vertigo, not Vortex.

 

Yeah Vertigo. Is Vortex another map or is it just my imagination?

[Victory Element]

Yeah Vertigo. Is Vortex another map or is it just my imagination?

 

yes, vortex is the BTB map with the dark, rocky landscape and a forerunner "ship" or structure in the center of the map. 

 

also, saving your money on this DLC is good idea if you generally don't play halo 4. I think this pack was meant to treat the fans that have remained loyal to the game with some small additions, rather than try to bring back their old fanbase

[Spartan-104]

  

The Meh:

Ricochet - This gametype though I haven't played it doesn't seem a whole lot of fun in my opinion, to people who aren't American Football fans, this doesn't exactly have the same sort of appeal and seems very meh. It's not bad by any means, another gametype to muck around in is always nice. But it's certainly no where near the great gametype everyone keeps saying it is, in my opinion from watching games of it.

Of course my opinion isn't as proper as it could be, if I actually played it, but lack of XBL Gold prevents me from doing so. 

I personally wasn't that exited about ricochet before playing it, however I now can say that as someone who cares NOTHING about football, I LOVE ricochet.

 

My thoughts, 9/10.

 

The weapon skins look amazing, the new abilities really add to gameplay, the armors are awesome, and the maps are probably the best yet.

However the fact that your armor does not carry over to spartan ops really sucks, and a little more development would have done the armor some good.

[SternuS]

yes, vortex is the BTB map with the dark, rocky landscape and a forerunner "ship" or structure in the center of the map. 

 

also, saving your money on this DLC is good idea if you generally don't play halo 4. I think this pack was meant to treat the fans that have remained loyal to the game with some small additions, rather than try to bring back their old fanbase

 

Ah yeah, that's one of my top ten Halo maps.

Well I play Halo4, but just the Campaign. Though I surely prefer playing Halo 4 multy instead of Reach's. Far better.

[A trippy hunter]

The new armor besides ricochet armor set I agree looks crumby. And the dlc for use only with war games also bugs me. Many of us like the wepons and new skins. No one like to run around with a recruit helmet on when they have some other helm on. I personally regret buying the pack... I could've gotten the map pass instead or dlc for saints row the third but I decided to give 343i another chance n they blew it

[BeckoningZebra1]

I completely agree with your review. I, like you, am really annoyed with the detail in the new armor. I feel as if the ODST helmet is too round and the Mark V chest plate looks weird. I think the biggest issue for me is the ODST armor can't be colored like an ODST. Also I hate that the DLC armor can't be used in spartan ops. But other than those issues I'm absolutely in love with this DLC! Ricochet is the funnest non-generic game type I've ever played. Ricochet armor is really cool looking and I love how they have a home team helmet and regular helmet. Great review VE

[vinceagashi]

Consider the insane number of problems I am having with the DLC, what with it not actually working and more, I have to say this DLC is just  awful. If you want some clarification check out my forum post. http://www.343industries.org/forum/topic/31058-champions-bundle-utterly-broken-in-every-way/

[CHa0s]

On the new stances it doesn't look like the heads are on right O.o

 

On a positive note, I love Ricochet, I love the new maps, and I'm now using the new AA that ejects me if my vehicle is about to explode (brain-fog: can't remember name of it... survival? or is that the other one...)

[Skulmuk]

It's hard not to like Ricochet. It's a fast-paced game type that Halo 4 really needed. Before Ricochet, all I played was (Big) Team Infinity Slayer. The problem there is the maps are big and "snipy". Ricochet encourages you to grab the ball and hit as many people with it in the face as possible. I'm not an American Football fan (I prefer real football), but the "Oddball Expansion Pack" that is Ricochet has really won me over. The additional maps are great, too.

 

Other than that, however, the DLC is better bought as independent items. The new armours and skins don't really serve much purpose, and now everyone I see is running around in a complete set of Mk. V armour. People need to learn to leave the Chief alone. He's been around for a while. We know who he is. We don't need thousands of "John-117" gamers reminding us we're playing Halo.