Halo 4 Multiplayer

I've played loads of FPS on consoles. But i've always appreaciated HALO.
The original sucked me in with it's balanced game style. Each vehicle, map and weapon woven together into a ying-yang type balance. Something no other game I'd seen had done so well.
The combat was deep and engaging.
This countinued into Halo 2, offering more weapons and game types. Maps which were tightly designed around game types and player movments.

As other games emerged I started to appreciate Halo's combat more and more. Many games (COD mainly) fell into a generic run and gun type game, where there was no real stratergy to the combat. just run about and kill stuff.
Halo always offered games that required tight teamwork to control the key areas of the Maps, to lock down the weapons spawns and tight teamwork and coordination to overthrow the enemy.
Halo 4 has taken a massive step back in this side of things.

The ability to spawn with the BR/DMR means you don't need to hunt out better weapons at all, the DMR has the stopping power, range and accuracy to stop anyone anywhere.
The forerunner boltshot is a pocket shotgun you can spawn with totally overpowered.
shots no longer de-scope anyone meaning snipers are untouchable with some range between them.

The change to armour abilities I feel is another addition of randomness. You get a standard ability much like in Halo Reach. A shield, a jet pack, thrust pack, protheon vision.. etc. then you get to add secondary passive effects such as faster reloading, unlimited sprint, better second weapon spawn etc.
It's just not needed, all it does it add in more random effects into the balanced combat. In previous games you always had a change of levelling the playing field. You could see if your enemy had a jetpack and a rocket launcher strapped to his back and you could adjust your approach. But now you have no idea if you go toe to toe with someone do they have better stopping power, or will they reload faster than your load out?. Battles degrade into just run and gun's. Strategic use of armour abilities or equipment is lost compared to Reach and Halo 3. Also thrustpack is the worst power up ever created, i'm not sure if it actually moves your spartan or just makes the camera zoom out.... either way you end up dead 9/10 times.

Oh weapon drops...
so lets just copy Call of Duty...
And lets give the players who perform well weapons at their feet so they then perform better...
This is just killer. All maps become redundant, why bother trying to secure choke points and power weapons when they just land at your feet?. The natural Ebb and flow of Halo has been lost completely. This addition truly has ruined this game, you don't need to have any form of teamwork or map control. You spawn rack up some kills with a DMR/plasma pistol, get a weapon dropped at your feet then just run around beating everyone till you get a new weapon thrown at you... The best one I got was sniper ,then shotgun, then new rocket launcher thingy that basically is a rocket launcher.

Speaking of Promethean weapons. There is no need. they are just re skins of the human ones. with the removal of the plasma rifle for the storm rifle thats three guns which all have the same function... And the SAW machine gun just makes it silly.
At least in previous halo games the covenant weapons had an advantage usually being more damaging to shields and less effective against the health bar. It was useful to mix covenant with UNSC weapons.  Now the Prometheon weapons just add to the weapon count and bring nothing new.
Why is the rail gun even in this game?.... its just a powered down spartan laser...
All these weapons just make combat muddy and diminish the uniqueness of each weapon.

Aside from the the removal of many custom options is another blow. You instantly pick up the flag and always have a pistol when being flag carrier... It can't be turned off... IT'S NOT BETTER THIS WAY TURN IT OFF! Forge mode has a loss of functionality as well. Race mode is gone.. for a sequel it's pretty lacking.. Graphics are very shiny though...


I'm just amazed it is such a step backwards. Do these things not get play tested? I've barry played this part of the game and the faults are glaring! The Fan outcry alone is words enough. The population has dropped quickly. I'm not surprised if I wanted to place Call of Duty I would play it.. if I want to play Halo I'll stick with any game but Halo 4...


I think the thing that really frustrates me most is that this game even appeared in this state.. As a project it must have been thought and planned out.. But it feels like everyone on the development team sat round a team and just thought "how can we add COD into HALO"
"what cool things can we add just to be cool" "rail guns" "mech walkers" "lego enemies" "new maps" "new armour abilities".... CHECK!
But nobody said wait.... Does this break a perfectly good formula and make it too much of a clone?... " what does a mech walker add that the scorpion tank doesn't?". It just feels like a desperate attempt to reboot a game which didn't need that much of a reboot. Too much focus shoehorning new shiny things into the game that simply add nothing but cosmetics...
Get the basics nailed then add the shiny bits... Or at the very least make the changes options... at least reach brought in armour abilities and allowed them to be turned off... The forced options in Halo 4 make it impossible to adapt to old school halo styles, and without the new additions being an obvious improvement... it's in no mans land..


HALO 5 had better have a stunning launch trailer to draw me in or it's lost a fan...