Halo 4: First Impressions

Mickeroo · 26-01-2013 2:29pm

A Funky Unicorn wrote: »

Stuck on lvl 70
Hate 343 studios

You shouldn't be, they released two more specialisations last Monday. Check the spartan hub. The others will be released the next couple of weeks too.

honeybadger · 26-01-2013 2:32pm

A Funky Unicorn wrote: »

Stuck on lvl 70
Hate 343 studios

check out ebay for halo 4 codes,mite have the specilsition code on it to level up on auction

A Funky Unicorn · 26-01-2013 3:23pm

Okay thanks

kaimera · 27-01-2013 8:14pm

haha, was playing spartan ops earlier with one of y'all and got a nice fail on ep3ch4 I think.

The last covey somehow got stuck up on a hilltop that neither of us had line of sight on, the two dropships I shot the main gun off so we couldn't die to respawn with nades - and then somehow the covey managed to fall half way down inside the cliff face judging by the marker!

hahaha. wasn't in the mood to replay it!

Synyster Shadow · 28-01-2013 12:36am

kaimera wrote: »

haha, was playing spartan ops earlier with one of y'all and got a nice fail on ep3ch4 I think.

The last covey somehow got stuck up on a hilltop that neither of us had line of sight on, the two dropships I shot the main gun off so we couldn't die to respawn with nades - and then somehow the covey managed to fall half way down inside the cliff face judging by the marker!

hahaha. wasn't in the mood to replay it!

haha yeah it was awfull...that and the lag of my very reliable 3 internet finished me off lol

DeSelby83 · 28-01-2013 2:18pm

spartan ops always lags for me, im using upc 25mb broadband and it still lags, has to be on the 343 side of things

Sierra 117 · 28-01-2013 2:58pm

Spartan Ops lags for me, also. Every button press isn't registered until a second later. Firefight in Reach was the same.

maximoose · 28-01-2013 3:05pm

Yeah Spartan Ops has been very laggy from day 1 for me, well when playing with others anyway - going solo is fine.

Synyster Shadow · 28-01-2013 7:58pm

ah ok was thinking it wasn't my net cos went on H3 ranked after and it was perfect....must be 343 so

aaronjumper · 29-01-2013 9:20am

Dont think I have touched ops since episode three.
War games hardly lags for me at all and is just way more fun.

Mastered the Bolthshot. My kills have gone up but my rep has gone down.
It is unsporting to use it apparently haha.

Its like my own personal shotgun. Got a bulltrue with it on Adrift two or more nights ago.
That guy was very angry. :pac:

maximoose · 29-01-2013 9:39am

aaronjumper wrote: »

Dont think I have touched ops since episode three.
War games hardly lags for me at all and is just way more fun.

Mastered the Bolthshot. My kills have gone up but my rep has gone down.
It is unsporting to use it apparently haha.

Its like my own personal shotgun. Got a bulltrue with it on Adrift two or more nights ago.
That guy was very angry. :pac:

It's a piece of sh*t and I hate you all :pac:

aaronjumper · 29-01-2013 9:53am

maximoose wrote: »

It's a piece of sh*t and I hate you all :pac:

Guess I was wrong then, I can keep using it :P

maximoose · 29-01-2013 9:56am

I think getting killed by a camping boltshotter definitely is the most annoying thing in this game.

aaronjumper · 29-01-2013 10:03am

maximoose wrote: »

I think getting killed by a camping boltshotter definitely is the most annoying thing in this game.

I generally dont camp with it or anything else, Promethean Vision keeps me on the move. I have yet to play a game where no one was using it.

Plus if someone has a power weapon I consider them fair game.
One time I went around a corner to Boltshot somebody, only to find they had the same idea. . . no survivors

Slugs · 29-01-2013 10:04am

maximoose wrote: »

I think getting killed by a camping boltshotter definitely is the most annoying thing in this game.

Promethean Vision sorts this **** out straight away. My playstyle has evolved considerably since playing H4. Before I'd jump in order to avoid gunfire, take corners tight and enjoyed getting in close. Now, it's strafing around enemies, Taking corners wide and anticipating enemy movements and I've had to keep my distance, which has led me to stick to the DMR instead of the good feeling, fun loving BR... Alas, how I weep...

In all seriousness, if you know someone is camping with boltshot, don't run in, take it wide, take it patiently, and 75% of the time, you'll outplay him. It's all about outplaying...

maximoose · 29-01-2013 10:10am

Slugs wrote: »

In all seriousness, if you know someone is camping with boltshot, don't run in, take it wide, take it patiently, and 75% of the time, you'll outplay him. It's all about outplaying...

When you know where they are camping, yeah it's easy to get rid of them. It's just very annoying getting killed by some mong who has been hiding the whole game and you haven't seen him there yet :pac:

29-01-2013 10:56am

maximoose wrote: »

When you know where they are camping, yeah it's easy to get rid of them. It's just very annoying getting killed by some mong who has been hiding the whole game and you haven't seen him there yet :pac:

Generally if i'm killed by anyone camping with anything, or sniped too many times, or teabagged, or anyone does anything remotely embarrassing or annoying to me, they are target priority #1 for the rest of the game. It's straight out with Promethean vision, plasma pistol, explosives, and DMR, and I just spend the rest of the game following, hassling and double teaming that person, and generally f*king up their fun and making sure they don't get a fair fight against anyone else.

I'm looking forward to getting the nemesis support upgrade that puts a dot on my HUD for the last guy that killed me, it's gonna make doing this so much more fun

.

maximoose wrote: »

I think getting killed by a camping boltshotter definitely is the most annoying thing in this game.

It's not as annoying as shotgun campers in H3, or cross-map sword/rocket launcher glitching in H2. I wouldn't be the biggest fan of the loadout perks in H4 but at least they make it harder to get away with BS like this for more than one or two kills.

kaimera · 29-01-2013 11:00am

is the boltshot that good in MP?

Pardon the ignorance, but it seemed pretty **** from my bit of usage

29-01-2013 11:06am

kaimera wrote: »

is the boltshot that good in MP?

Pardon the ignorance, but it seemed pretty **** from my bit of usage

It's a pistol that doubles as a shotgun at close range and is available by default on every loadout. How would that be anything but overpowered?

Seriously, whoever dreamed that one up needs a good slap with the cop on stick...:mad:

aaronjumper · 29-01-2013 11:08am

kaimera wrote: »

is the boltshot that good in MP?

Pardon the ignorance, but it seemed pretty **** from my bit of usage

If you time it right and then charge it up by holding the shoot button, it is like a shotgun. Short range but get in close and it is usually an instsakill.

Push back the range and it takes away shields, you can then mop up with whatever primary weapon you are using, in my case the AR.

maximoose · 29-01-2013 11:08am

Deleted User wrote: »

I'm looking forward to getting the nemesis support upgrade that puts a dot on my HUD for the last guy that killed me, it's gonna make doing this so much more fun .

I could be wrong, but I think it only shows for a few seconds

kaimera wrote: »

is the boltshot that good in MP?

Pardon the ignorance, but it seemed pretty **** from my bit of usage

You are right, it's pretty sh*t yeah. But is a campers dream weapon, if someone doesn't know you are there it is basically a shotgun.

29-01-2013 11:19am

maximoose wrote: »

I could be wrong, but I think it only shows for a few seconds...

Yep, for about 3 seconds after you respawn, but it tells you exactly where they are at with a red "X". Here's a vid of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=et4-t3awT-0#t=83s

There's actually not much point in it for the likes of finding campers and guys who killed you in a CQB battle (they'll still be where they killed you a second ago) but it will be useful for finding snipers and DMR users who took you out from long distance in big team battle games.

Slugs · 29-01-2013 11:23am

Deleted User wrote: »

It's a pistol that doubles as a shotgun at close range and is available by default on every loadout. How would that be anything but overpowered?

Seriously, whoever dreamed that one up needs a good slap with the cop on stick...:mad:

I think the idea behind it is very sound.

Bear in mind that the Halo Reach playerbase was extremely hardcore. Although they didn't intend it to be this way, the Halo 4 player base has also turned into this. Halo quite simply does not have the same appeal as it did in the past. Just take a look at the avg player count. 30k every evening.

Anyway, knowing that their players would find it infuriating dealing with hardcore players of a greater skill level, they had to bring in a weapon to give n00bs an edge, similar to the n00bt00b in COD. Knowing they've lifted enough from COD, they needed a different weapon like this to allow newer players to hold their own, and not get their ass handed to them every game. Thus the Boltshot.

EDIT: Took me 30 minutes... Didn't realise it was recently released.... *Facepalm*....

DeSelby83 · 29-01-2013 11:30am

any word on when the true skill rank is coming in?

maximoose · 29-01-2013 11:31am

DeSelby83 wrote: »

any word on when the true skill rank is coming in?

April. Fresh ratings ie not counting stats so far, and as it stands - only visible in Waypoint.

In other words, a waste of time.

29-01-2013 11:33am

Slugs wrote: »

...Halo quite simply does not have the same appeal as it did in the past. Just take a look at the avg player count. 30k every evening....knowing that their players would find it infuriating dealing with hardcore players of a greater skill level, they had to bring in a weapon to give n00bs an edge, similar to the n00bt00b in COD...

This is true. Not to re-tread old ground, but they have most definitely dumbed it down and made it more accessible since it's heyday, which was Halo 2 & 3 in my opinion. They made a conscious, business driven decision to change gameplay to cater more to players who came into FPS through the likes of COD, and it worked. A lot of people i know who played COD heavily and had no interest in halo 3, ODST, or Reach seem to enjoy Halo 4 and find it accessible and easy to get into.

DeSelby83 · 29-01-2013 11:35am

maximoose wrote: »

In other words, a waste of time.

totally agree, maybe there will be enough pressure put on them to actually bring it in game....hopefully

29-01-2013 12:01pm

DeSelby83 wrote: »

totally agree, maybe there will be enough pressure put on them to actually bring it in game....hopefully

I doubt it. It comes down to their desire to make/keep the game accessible to casual players, who (like it or not) outnumber the hardcore players by multiples, and all pay over their €45-50 for the game as well, and buy map packs on an ongoing basis.

Trueskill was well implemented in Halo 2 and 3, which (arguably) was Halo at it's best and most hardcore, and there was no real competition around. Halo 4 is operating in a different environment. It's well down the list of the most popular shooters, and has far from a hardcore player base. It's a casual-friendly FPS, and 343 and Microshaft aren't going to pander to the hardcore minority and risk annoying the casual players and biting the hand that feeds them, because they'll just go play COD, or Battlefield, or whatever.

Trueskill will be there for the hardcore who care enough to go find it in waypoint, but won't be in-your-face enough in-game to alienate the majority, the casual players, who probably won't even bother to ever look for it.

Slugs · 29-01-2013 12:31pm

Deleted User wrote: »

This is true. Not to re-tread old ground, but they have most definitely dumbed it down and made it more accessible since it's heyday, which was Halo 2 & 3 in my opinion. They made a conscious, business driven decision to change gameplay to cater more to players who came into FPS through the likes of COD, and it worked. A lot of people i know who played COD heavily and had no interest in halo 3, ODST, or Reach seem to enjoy Halo 4 and find it accessible and easy to get into.

What they've actually done is alienated the hardcore. By trying to appeal to other games, they've pissed off the majority of their home fans. Perfect example: mate of mine, Halo Reach rank: Eclipse (not sure on this, but regardless, he no lifed reach) has now moved to Black Ops 2, due to his frustration and boredom with Halo 4. I spent a ridiculous amount of time on Halo 3 (My Bungie profile speaks for itself), despised Reach, and despite being satisfied with Halo 4 and being reasonably good at it, find myself playing GOME instead. The game has no more flair, no more interest, and has been watered down for the palate of COD boys...

I understand what they did... I don't agree with it and think it's a backward step for the franchise... There's the taste and ambience of a Microsoft executive's cock around there somewhere...

I could go on an hour rant about the faults and design decisions of Halo 4, but I won't...

maximoose · 29-01-2013 12:33pm

Also see that MLG have dropped Halo 4, although different reports about the reason behind it.

Weekly challenges back today, someone must have made a booboo yesterday and forgot them. Damnit, would have had that 20k To Be Precise already :pac:

29-01-2013 1:11pm

Slugs wrote: »

...I could go on an hour rant about the faults and design decisions of Halo 4, but I won't...

Yeah me too. I agree with a lot of your points, especially the bit about the microsoft executive (although you put it a bit more graphically than i might have

) but overall i just don't think H4 is going to stand the test of time in terms of replay value. I find myself having a love hate relationship with it already, and losing interest in the multiplayer. I haven't played now in over a week and haven't really missed it.

I'm gonna rank up to 50 this weekend and see what these specialisations are all about, and probably play through the campaign again for as many achievements as i can, but after that i have a feeling it's only gonna take the next big thing to come along for my attention to wander.

Shame about spartan ops. Pain in the @rse to play on your own, uselessly laggy to play with other people...

Mickeroo · 29-01-2013 4:00pm

maximoose wrote: »

Also see that MLG have dropped Halo 4, although different reports about the reason behind it.

It's still in the AGL though, there was a live stream on over the weekend. MLG has picked up CoD instead, Halo 4 is a much more competitive came imo, the ranked playlists in CoD were practically empty the last time I played. Would rarely go in them as it took too long to get a game. I reckon the fact that BLOPS 2 is released on so many different platforms and is a more popular game in general is the main reason MLG took it up.

Synyster Shadow · 29-01-2013 7:26pm

Slugs wrote: »

What they've actually done is alienated the hardcore. By trying to appeal to other games, they've pissed off the majority of their home fans. Perfect example: mate of mine, Halo Reach rank: Eclipse (not sure on this, but regardless, he no lifed reach) has now moved to Black Ops 2, due to his frustration and boredom with Halo 4. I spent a ridiculous amount of time on Halo 3 (My Bungie profile speaks for itself), despised Reach, and despite being satisfied with Halo 4 and being reasonably good at it, find myself playing GOME instead. The game has no more flair, no more interest, and has been watered down for the palate of COD boys...

I understand what they did... I don't agree with it and think it's a backward step for the franchise... There's the taste and ambience of a Microsoft executive's cock around there somewhere...

I could go on an hour rant about the faults and design decisions of Halo 4, but I won't...

i agree with you very much....the fact is H4 will never come close to H3's online pop. as it stands its still not even a 1/4.

if 343 released a map pack for H3 again i would guarantee population would explode.....MLG has even jumped ship....there is not enough competitive gamers for H4

right H4 rant over.....lol i think i hate H4 and i've followed Halo from combat evolved bundle copy with my first xbox haha

kaimera · 31-01-2013 11:55am

Q - mid-game, when it seems to be changing host I guess? (I have the scoreboard and loading screen)

What the **** is taking so long for me to get back into the game? I can see the scores refresh and ****, and my deaths going up but I'm not in game. Most annoying thing so far from the dozen or so games I've played.

Q2 - is it worth paying for the season pass?

maximoose · 31-01-2013 12:15pm

kaimera wrote: »

Q - mid-game, when it seems to be changing host I guess? (I have the scoreboard and loading screen)

What the **** is taking so long for me to get back into the game? I can see the scores refresh and ****, and my deaths going up but I'm not in game. Most annoying thing so far from the dozen or so games I've played.

I dunno, that seems to be happening to some people alright. What speed is your bb? Quite a few times I've been in a party and it goes to blackscreen, and I'd be back in the game a good minute or two before some of the others would spawn again (if they even do, sometimes would be booted out - and it's mostly Mickeroo I see it happen to :pac:)

31-01-2013 12:21pm

kaimera wrote: »

...is it worth paying for the season pass?

I wouldn't personally. The jury's still out on how long the game will be popular for. Halo isn't the juggernaut it once was, and there's no telling how long it will take till the population dwindles to low enough that there's no real point in playing.

Also there's the issue of paying for maps that may prove to be a load of crap and get voted down every time they come up in the DLC matchmaking hopper...

Slugs · 31-01-2013 12:54pm

At least 343 had the sense not to make the maps mandatory (like bungie did for H3) and have restricted it to just one playlist, otherwise they'd seriously piss off their playerbase...

Mickeroo · 31-01-2013 2:10pm

The DLC maps pop up a lot outside of the dedicated playlist when I'm playing on my own or in a party where everyone has them. The map pass has been worth it so far for me anyway.

TBH I think 343 are doing a pretty good job of listening to what the community wants. Every week since christmas they've been adding new playlists and tweeking the existing ones. Grifball last week, Forge test before that and team doubles next week. Team Snipers and a competitive playlist with more traditional Halo settings are on the way too. THe only thing they don't seem to be getting swayed on is having the trueskill rank in game, which is a shame.

super_furry · 04-02-2013 1:01pm

Finished the single player game on heroic. Very disappointed with the whole experience, there's nothing that's changed in it as a game since Halo 1. They even managed to reset the whole ending of Halo 3 and bring the Covenant back in as enemies. I mean it's just lazy to return to shooting the same Grunts, Brutes and Jackals and still trying to convince people that you're trying to move the franchise forward.

There was no personality to the enemies they did bring in, they felt like characterless robots and even the Cortana stuff felt like they just went back to the Flood controlled Cortana plotline from Halo 3. Worst of all though was the terrible story telling and the fact that they decided to hide anything interesting they had to tell away in Halo Waypoint. I only checked that stuff out after finishing the game as I thought it might spoil stuff, only to find that they gutted the game's main story and squirreled it away in a daft app for God knows what reason.

Maybe if I had known who the Didact or the Librarian were during the game, I might have cared about their actions and motivations, as it was they were two strange looking aliens from a dead race doing things that made little sense.

Luckily the multi-player remains great but as a single player experience, it only ranks ahead of Halo 2 and way behind Halo 3 and Reach.

Tinie · 06-02-2013 1:51pm

Big h3 and reach player, see this is 25 in Argos now. Is it worth getting or just stick with reach? Main playlists I play are team snipers and TDM.

Turtyturd · 06-02-2013 2:22pm

Tinie wrote: »

Big h3 and reach player, see this is 25 in Argos now. Is it worth getting or just stick with reach? Main playlists I play are team snipers and TDM.

It depends on if you like COD or not, I am not a huge fan of it but I still play it, just not as much as I did Halo 3 or Reach. It is a big departure from Reach, just as Reach was from Halo 3 but there was a lot more to Reach for me than there is to this. Lack of maps are also a pain in the hole.

Synyster Shadow · 06-02-2013 11:08pm

Tinie wrote: »

Big h3 and reach player, see this is 25 in Argos now. Is it worth getting or just stick with reach? Main playlists I play are team snipers and TDM.

stick with reach....it's not great. 343i might have it right by H6

murphyebass · 06-02-2013 11:22pm

Synyster Shadow wrote: »

stick with reach....it's not great. 343i might have it right by H6

I have to say I disagree.

Halo 4 > Reach for me.

I think 343 did a damn good job. First game I bought new in a long time and so far I've racked up nearly 24 hours of multiplayer which for me is a huge amount. I get bored of games quick normally.

24quid for halo 4 is a great price only what 3 months after release.

Slugs · 07-02-2013 2:56pm

Tinie wrote: »

Big h3 and reach player, see this is 25 in Argos now. Is it worth getting or just stick with reach? Main playlists I play are team snipers and TDM.

I despised Reach and I'm fond of H4, so take that as you will...

I think Halo 4 has a more refined multiplayer feature, found the campaign to enjoyable, but have taken major issue with the Spartan ops storyline...

If you're in it for the multi-player, and want an improvement for Reach, I highly recommend it

Story/campaign.... Mehhhhh.... It won't keep you entertained for long

Mickeroo · 07-02-2013 2:57pm

Can't go wrong for €25. Team snipers will be up and running next monday along with a few more playlists in the coming weeks.

Synyster Shadow · 09-02-2013 1:02am

murphyebass wrote: »

I have to say I disagree.

Halo 4 > Reach for me.

I think 343 did a damn good job. First game I bought new in a long time and so far I've racked up nearly 24 hours of multiplayer which for me is a huge amount. I get bored of games quick normally.

24quid for halo 4 is a great price only what 3 months after release.

fair enough each to their own...i'm more of a competitive player so it bores me with its over all quality.

maximoose · 05-03-2013 10:06am

Really like all 3 of the new DLC maps, been playing a lot of rumble pits on them.

New star of the show for me though is that Settler map in the CTF playlist (might be in others but that's only place I've seen it) - cracking map!

Mickeroo · 05-03-2013 1:34pm

maximoose wrote: »

Really like all 3 of the new DLC maps, been playing a lot of rumble pits on them.

New star of the show for me though is that Settler map in the CTF playlist (might be in others but that's only place I've seen it) - cracking map!

Is it a forge map? Think it only got added into the CTF playlist yesterday along with Simplex.

maximoose · 05-03-2013 2:12pm

It is indeed. Mid/Large size, big sniping ledge on one side of the map, Blood gulch style bases at each end and lots of warthogs. Had it come up 3 times in a row lastnight and I love it!

Tinie · 05-03-2013 2:55pm

I wish Valhalla was included in the team snipers playlist and not just BTB.

Halo 4: First Impressions

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