[12/1/2023]
Halo 3 and Halo: Reach were both appropriate endings to the Halo franchise, both for the narrative and for the series. Historically speaking, however, if it's popular and the people keep asking, it'll never end.
As 343 Industries's debut game, Halo 4's largest issue (of which it has many) is that it has to follow up what is probably the best first-person shooter trilogy ever. This challenge is made even more difficult when the trilogy in question is famous for its story, and that said story was already wrapped up. The Covenant is gone, the Flood is gone, and humanity is saved. Even Bungie knew this, and their final two releases were set during Halo 2 and before the trilogy respectively.
So what exactly happened during the time that Master Chief was asleep, and what does he deal with now? Well, the Covenant. Again. They're a splinter faction of the original Covenant, though, which I can honestly see. As for the new enemies, we have the Prometheans. God, these guys suck. There's only three, so unlike the Covenant's six(?) that have unique roles, these guys serve multiple purposes and they're unfun to deal with. The Knights are the main enemies, being pretty tanky while also having the heavy weaponry, the ability to teleport short distances, and the ability to summon a Watcher. Crawlers are fast, fragile enemies that are the least annoying to deal with, not much to say about them. Watchers, though, fucking suck. They fly, pester us with their pistol shots, can shield other Prometheans, can throw grenades back, can ressurect fallen Knights, can spawn in Crawlers and Turrets... man. They force you to take them out first. But you want to kill the threats with more firepower first. But you'll have a harder time if Watchers are present. There are too many roles for only three enemies to fit into, and it makes Prometheans such a chore to deal with.
Ammo, for some reason, is also another issue. Why do I feel like I'm using the Famine skull whenever I play this game? Constantly swapping weapons is a thing, but this is too much.
Jumping from aliens to the people responsible for everything in the series is such an odd jump. This doesn't change in the next game. All in all, Halo 4 is definitely... a first step. Surely they don't fuck up even more.
Halo 3 and Halo: Reach were both appropriate endings to the Halo franchise, both for the narrative and for the series. Historically speaking, however, if it's popular and the people keep asking, it'll never end.
As 343 Industries's debut game, Halo 4's largest issue (of which it has many) is that it has to follow up what is probably the best first-person shooter trilogy ever. This challenge is made even more difficult when the trilogy in question is famous for its story, and that said story was already wrapped up. The Covenant is gone, the Flood is gone, and humanity is saved. Even Bungie knew this, and their final two releases were set during Halo 2 and before the trilogy respectively.
So what exactly happened during the time that Master Chief was asleep, and what does he deal with now? Well, the Covenant. Again. They're a splinter faction of the original Covenant, though, which I can honestly see. As for the new enemies, we have the Prometheans. God, these guys suck. There's only three, so unlike the Covenant's six(?) that have unique roles, these guys serve multiple purposes and they're unfun to deal with. The Knights are the main enemies, being pretty tanky while also having the heavy weaponry, the ability to teleport short distances, and the ability to summon a Watcher. Crawlers are fast, fragile enemies that are the least annoying to deal with, not much to say about them. Watchers, though, fucking suck. They fly, pester us with their pistol shots, can shield other Prometheans, can throw grenades back, can ressurect fallen Knights, can spawn in Crawlers and Turrets... man. They force you to take them out first. But you want to kill the threats with more firepower first. But you'll have a harder time if Watchers are present. There are too many roles for only three enemies to fit into, and it makes Prometheans such a chore to deal with.
Ammo, for some reason, is also another issue. Why do I feel like I'm using the Famine skull whenever I play this game? Constantly swapping weapons is a thing, but this is too much.
Jumping from aliens to the people responsible for everything in the series is such an odd jump. This doesn't change in the next game. All in all, Halo 4 is definitely... a first step. Surely they don't fuck up even more.