Halo 4: First Impressions

Turtyturd · 09-11-2012 4:52pm

maximoose wrote: »

Had a first blast at Spartan Ops lastnight and did the first two chapters, they're pretty damn enjoyable

Haven't had a chance to try campaign or Spartan Op's yet, just a couple of games of Multiplayer.....what exactly are the Spartan Op's?

maximoose · 09-11-2012 5:07pm

Turtyturd wrote: »

Haven't had a chance to try campaign or Spartan Op's yet, just a couple of games of Multiplayer.....what exactly are the Spartan Op's?

It's like a little mini side-story campaign, like firefight but more to it. Can play on your own or 4-player coop. The first "episode" now has 5 chapters, and each is like a little objective game

1st chapter - neutralize 5 enemy camps scattered across the map, was very vehicle centered

2nd chapter - make your way through a big valley killing waves of enemies to blow up a generator, very long range weapon centered

That's as far as I got - basically seems like each chapter will have different aspects to it requiring you to go about them differently, and a little story to tie them together (which I wasn't paying much attention to tbh). Each took about 15 mins on legendary by myself.

Not sure what the schedule is for future episodes. EDIT: Just had a look and there will be another ten episodes!

Turtyturd · 09-11-2012 5:40pm

maximoose wrote: »

It's like a little mini side-story campaign, like firefight but more to it. Can play on your own or 4-player coop. The first "episode" now has 5 chapters, and each is like a little objective game

1st chapter - neutralize 5 enemy camps scattered across the map, was very vehicle centered

2nd chapter - make your way through a big valley killing waves of enemies to blow up a generator, very long range weapon centered

That's as far as I got - basically seems like each chapter will have different aspects to it requiring you to go about them differently, and a little story to tie them together (which I wasn't paying much attention to tbh). Each took about 15 mins on legendary by myself.

Not sure what the schedule is for future episodes. EDIT: Just had a look and there will be another ten episodes!

Sounds good, is there a time limit on how long they will be available for?....would rather get the campaign out of the way before starting on them.

maximoose · 09-11-2012 5:44pm

Was wondering that myself but I'm not sure, cant find any info here (damn work filters!)

Wouldn't surprise me if they are only playable for a certain amount of time, then playlist updated and the new episode takes over.

martomcg · 12-11-2012 10:36am

I agree the needler is ridic over-powered, copped this half way through the campaign and tried to keep one as a secondary weapon for the rest. havent played MP yet so dont know how it will fair there.

I think they've completely nerfed melee. 2 melees to kill a jackal that has no shield?! you fcuking kidding me!! Too often i've sprayed an elite to run in and melee expecting a kill, to be counter melee'd (having a full shield) and die!

343 did a great job in fairness. The visuals and sounds are great. Campaign was a little short for my liking!

Also there will be a ranked playlist introduced after xmass.

http://blogs.halowaypoint.com/RYRUM/post/2012/11/02/Halo-4-Competitive-Skill-Rank-Announcement.aspx

maximoose · 12-11-2012 10:39am

martomcg wrote: »

I agree the needler is ridic over-powered, copped this half way through the campaign and tried to keep one as a secondary weapon for the rest. havent played MP yet so dont know how it will fair there.

Also there will be a ranked playlist introduced after xmass.

http://blogs.halowaypoint.com/RYRUM/post/2012/11/02/Halo-4-Competitive-Skill-Rank-Announcement.aspx

Yeah the needler on legendary is shockingly overpowered.

Excellent news on the ranked playlist, I miss the old Halo 2 ranking system

Korvanica · 12-11-2012 11:45am

I am SO happy to see a true skill coming back !

Cant wait for the "OH **** ITS A 50, WE'RE FOOKED" remarks again... :pac:

343 are doing an excellent job !

12-11-2012 11:49am

maximoose wrote: »

Yeah the needler on legendary is shockingly overpowered

I agree the needler is way too good. It reminds me of dual wield needlers in Halo 2, which was mad overpowered. In campaign it's the absolute best way to deal with elites, and in multiplayer it's a guaranteed kill if you get your opponent at mid range without any cover near them.

I think i'm leaning towards Promethean Vision, Battle rifle/DMR, needler, and sticky nades as my default loadout, with a "noob combo" variant of that as a second (just switching out the needler for a plasma pistol). As long as i avoid going toe to toe with anyone and stick to mid range battles, i should be very safe.

I finished the campaign last night on heroic. The story felt a little trumped up, but the action was quite good, very good in parts. I thought there was far too much "activate 3 switches to proceed" crap in it, but there were a lot of good action sections. I thought the whole experience improved greatly from the

space station

onwards. The last level in particular was a lot of fun, and got the balance just right between being enjoyable yet difficult enough. The

flying sequence

was good, not too difficult, and the

waves of promethean knights

took a lot of careful strategy to get through.

I figured out late in the campaign that the best way to kill knights is to wipe out their flying watchers and their little doggie pet things, and then just rush them and empty a full clip of a surpressor into their face without stopping. Anything else and they do that annoying thing where they teleport up on top of you and have a swipe at you which is very disconcerting if you've been using your scope.

I'm liking the light rifle. I think it's my favourite of the forerunner weapons so far.

maximoose · 12-11-2012 11:55am

Deleted User wrote: »

I figured out late in the campaign that the best way to kill knights is to wipe out their flying watchers and their little doggie pet things, and then just rush them and empty a full clip of a surpressor into their face without stopping. Anything else and they do that annoying thing where they teleport up on top of you and have a swipe at you which is very disconcerting if you've been using your scope.

It took me a while to get the hang of killing knights easily - get rid of the flying things asap, then a noob combo or scattershot-melee-scattershot absolutely destroys them.

I'm just after the flying sequence on the last level on legendary, must say I've loved the campaign! Story is a little messy at times, but it has been really enjoyable and will def give it another playthrough, maybe on coop.

12-11-2012 12:32pm

maximoose wrote: »

It took me a while to get the hang of killing knights easily - get rid of the flying things asap, then a noob combo or scattershot-melee-scattershot absolutely destroys them.

Ah, gotta love the noob combo. If you don't know what's around the next corner, it's always a good option to carry.

Getting rid of those flying things is priority #1 for me. It just means you waste half your ammo trying to kill everything else if you don't. Four or five shots from a light rifle from a nice safe distance makes short work of them.

maximoose wrote: »

I'm just after the flying sequence on the last level on legendary...

Without giving too much away, from there till the ending was probably my most enjoyable section of the game, just in terms of pure FPS action. Get hold of your favourite bit of knight killing equipment, you'll need it shortly.

What's people's impression of the AI in this one? I didn't notice anything particularly dumb, but i would have to say, i thought the elites and brutes from halo reach were cleverer and more mobile, and made better use of flanking, choke points, pincer attacks, etc than anything in this one.

The knights were tough to kill, especially in groups, but were very much just "i'm gonna guard this general area, if you want it, come get it" which made it easier because you could approach them at will, from wherever suited you.

maximoose · 12-11-2012 12:53pm

Deleted User wrote: »

What's people's impression of the AI in this one? I didn't notice anything particularly dumb, but i would have to say, i thought the elites and brutes from halo reach were cleverer and more mobile, and made better use of flanking, choke points, pincer attacks, etc than anything in this one.

As always, the biggest problem with the AI is the marines on your side :pac:

You can't rely on them to drive a warthog while you gun, cuz they'll drive off a f*cking cliff or park right infront of a wraith. You can't rely on them to gun while you drive cuz they won't shoot at anything and just get you killed. It made the mammoth level a lot more drawn out than it should have been.

Korvanica · 12-11-2012 1:14pm

Deleted User wrote: »

I think i'm leaning towards Promethean Vision, Battle rifle/DMR, needler, and sticky nades as my default loadout, with a "noob combo" variant of that as a second (just switching out the needler for a plasma pistol). As long as i avoid going toe to toe with anyone and stick to mid range battles, i should be very safe.

Roughly what I am using.

BR
Magnum
Stickys
Promethean Vision
AA Efficency / Ammo

How'd you get a needler as your sidearm ? I can only use one of the 3 handguns. I usually pick up a DMR from a dead enemy aswell. Switch to it instead of reloading the BR when in br battles. Allows me to easily take down 2/3 people without reloading.

Have a seperate noob class for king of the hill/oddball ..

AR
Plasma
Stickys
Regen Field
AA Efficency / Sprint

Allows me to get to the action fast, annoy the opponents loads with AR and Plasma and support the carrier with regen field.

12-11-2012 1:33pm

Korvanica wrote: »

How'd you get a needler as your sidearm ?

I haven't done it yet, so it may not be possible, but isn't there a "perk" that allows you to carry 2 primary weapons instead of one? The "firepower" package.

EDIT: yup, here ya go:

http://www.omfgnetwork.com/2012/halo-4-tp-firepower/

12-11-2012 1:39pm

maximoose wrote: »

As always, the biggest problem with the AI is the marines on your side :pac:

Yeah, sorry, i should have said the enemy AI. The friendly AI have always been dire, all through the series. They are a total liability behind the wheel of a warthog.

I just didn't find the enemy AI to be that much of a challenge, ampart from their physical stamina. It was easy to approach and snipe them, they didn't use space that well or try any sneaky maneuvers etc, they just generally guarded an area and were hard to kill.

I think bungie had it down to a fine art with AI patterns by the time reach came out. 343 i'm not so sure. They've certainly showed themselves capable, but i would have liked to see more in the way of enemy AI sneakiness or something, i dunno. several times in reach i would be locked in battle with some gold elites or something, only to find i was being flanked suddenly by brutes and grunts etc and was in a crossfire, and had to retreat quickly and adjust my tactics on the fly. That never happened to me once in this game.

FutureGuy · 12-11-2012 2:40pm

They REALLY need to get new maps in the Team Slayer. I feel like I'm playing the same two or three every time. :mad:

Also, where is FFA oddball???

Korvanica · 12-11-2012 3:11pm

I love how you can throw the oddball between teammates now.Adds so much to the game.

12-11-2012 3:28pm

Korvanica wrote: »

I love how you can throw the oddball between teammates now.Adds so much to the game.

Yeah, Halo Globe trotters....like Harlem globe trotters only it's HALO instead of Harlem...Geddit?

Nevermind, i'll get my coat....:(

Mickeroo · 12-11-2012 4:34pm

Foxhole Norman wrote: »

Playing the campaign solo on Legendary at the moment. It's absolutely awesome, the visuals, the sound, the HUD is just stunning. Played about 9-10 hours or so on the Campaign and an hour or so online. Having great craic with it.

Haven't gone online yet but was playing campaign on legendary lastnight. The first two missions weren't too bad, fighting the covenant got me back into it again, but the difficulty seems to ramp up big time once the promethean knights show up. Getting that achievment for the third mission where you have to carry a UNSC weapon all the way through is not going to be easy, if only the Magnum could carry more ammo!

Loving it so far though, great to have The Chief back!

maximoose · 13-11-2012 10:06am

Finished the campaign lastnight,

that last knight with the incineration cannon was an awful prick

Loved the ending, gonna be interesting to see where it goes in the next games but I can't wait

FutureGuy · 13-11-2012 1:25pm

Yeahhh...i'm pretty buch done with Halo 4 I think. Uninspiring to say the least. I have really tried to like it as I was a massive fan of 3 and Reach.

Average single player, a multiplayer that is incredibly samey and lacking the fun modes of Halo 3 and Halo Reach. The same maps (ones that arent a patch on previous games) appearing again and again. Rediculously overpowered Prometheus Vision destroying games (too much of an advantage). A leveling up system that provides very little incentive to play further (new armour that no one cares about). The same old "you are dead if I get the drop on you" or melee melee dead system. I really miss many of the little things like the medals screen post game. It's like the fun has been taken out of levelling up and it's been sterilized. Where the fcuk are all the FFA games that I loved???

I'm actually disgusted with myself that, despite publicly stating that I would never prepurchase future map packs, I blew 2000 MS points on the War Games pack on day 1 of purchase.

I might even just trade it in for Black Ops 2, which I thought would never happen. The fact is that, BO2 seems to have taken the MP and pushed it further, while the MP here has completely regressed imho.

Master Chief has been officially demoted to Major Dissapointment.

13-11-2012 1:47pm

FutureGuy wrote: »

Yeahhh...i'm pretty buch done with Halo 4 I think. Uninspiring to say the least....

...a multiplayer that is incredibly samey and lacking the fun modes of Halo 3 and Halo Reach.

...Rediculously overpowered Prometheus Vision destroying games (too much of an advantage).

...The same old "you are dead if I get the drop on you"...

While i'm not done with it, and i'll probably get a good bit of play time out of it yet, i have to agree that i preferred Halo 3 and Reach, for many of the reasons you mentioned. Lots of good modes from reach are missing, especially firefight which was great, and promethean vision IS way too good, and changes how the basics of the game are played. It's the Halo 4 equivalent of "armor lock" from reach. If you run into a team of guys all using it, you're toast. The only way to have a chance in that situation is to go over to the dark side, and start using it yourself.

Try coupling it with plasma pistol, sprint, and battle rifle on a loadout, and it makes it super easy to get the drop on people coming round corners and kill them before they have a chance to do anything about it. You're one step ahead of the other guy at all times. It takes the mind games out of being locked in a head to head in multiplayer anywhere using cover is concerned. There's no more trying to second guess what your opponent is doing, where he's coming from, whether to use up your grenades or ammo, or hang back, reload, etc, and i think that's going to be bad for the overall MP gameplay.

FutureGuy · 13-11-2012 2:24pm

Deleted User wrote: »

While i'm not done with it, and i'll probably get a good bit of play time out of it yet, i have to agree that i preferred Halo 3 and Reach, for many of the reasons you mentioned. Lots of good modes from reach are missing, especially firefight which was great, and promethean vision IS way too good, and changes how the basics of the game are played. It's the Halo 4 equivalent of "armor lock" from reach. If you run into a team of guys all using it, you're toast. The only way to have a chance in that situation is to go over to the dark side, and start using it yourself.

Try coupling it with plasma pistol, sprint, and battle rifle on a loadout, and it makes it super easy to get the drop on people coming round corners and kill them before they have a chance to do anything about it. You're one step ahead of the other guy at all times. It takes the mind games out of being locked in a head to head in multiplayer anywhere using cover is concerned. There's no more trying to second guess what your opponent is doing, where he's coming from, whether to use up your grenades or ammo, or hang back, reload, etc, and i think that's going to be bad for the overall MP gameplay.

Just to clarify, I'll probably trade it in today for BO2 but will probably buy it back super cheap in 6 months time. Hopefully all the modes that are missing will be added in.

Re Prometheus Vision again, it's so good that means that no other power in the same category is considered. It's the same with unlimited sprinting. Nothing comes close. Again with the Battle Rifle, there isn't another loadout weapon I'd rather use, and that includes many of the ordinace weapons as well!

I said in the summer that I was going to buy either Halo 4 OR BO2 and play into the new year. I planted my flag alongside Halo, but now admit it looks like I made the wrong choice. I could be saying the same about BO2 in a week but I don't think I will be.

13-11-2012 3:47pm

FutureGuy wrote: »

...It's the same with unlimited sprinting. Nothing comes close. Again with the Battle Rifle, there isn't another loadout weapon I'd rather use...

I'm loving the universal sprinting, I'd have to say that that was one big downside to the motion system in halo before reach, but i think a limited universal sprint was a better idea than an infinite sprint perk. Unlimited running just changes the whole dynamic of things too much again.

I'm just assuming that eveybody can see me through walls, and can run as fast as they want all the time, and playing accordingly. It's a safe bet...

FutureGuy wrote: »

I said in the summer that I was going to buy either Halo 4 OR BO2 and play into the new year. I planted my flag alongside Halo, but now admit it looks like I made the wrong choice....

In fairness to halo, if you don't like "whoever gets the drop on the other guy wins" gameplay, then COD isn't your game either. That series is a pain in the arse for that.

You're dead before you even know what's happened to you so often in COD multiplayer it's not even funny. There are a multitude of ways to rain down fiery stingy painful death on people from out of the blue. It drives me mad.:mad:

FutureGuy wrote: »

I'll probably trade it in today for BO2

Don't trade it in, all the game shops will give you a pittance and sell it on for a fiver shy of full retail cos it's so new. Sell it on adverts.ie. You'll get more for it.

TerrorFirmer · 13-11-2012 5:39pm

I have Black Ops 2 and Halo 4, I actually prefer the SP in the COD titles but the multiplayer in MW has been driving me increasingly mad with each iteration of the series, played a bit of BO2 online earlier and while hates a strong word, I really don't like the MP. I was a mad fan of COD4, thought MW2 was decent, but somewhere along the line I feel it lost its way but that's just my opinion, obviously being the best selling game of all time it's doing something right for the fans. The biggest annoyance is though, the completely random respawns. Take Halo; by and large, say you're playing a big team battle, there is good cohesion with the respawns, so there's always a fairly distinct front line of sorts. I find that in COD the last few years, it's just simply all over the place. I was playing earlier and 60-70% of the time I was killed was from being shot in the back.

If you seriously think Halo has the same old 'dead if I get the drop on you' gameplay (which I disagree with strongly), then you'll have a stroke playing BO2. At least in Halo it's entirely possible to turnabout and return fire with a respectable chance of coming out on top if your aim's good - which is why I strongly disagree with your strike against Halo, despite COD not being remotely as forgiving in that regard.

I actually think the Halo 4 MP is excellent, sure, it's no improvement on Reach, but then again, in my opinion, COD's MP has been stagnant for years now. Doesn't mean millions of people don't still enjoy it, it's hard to be hugely innovative in the FPS genre year on year. That said though, Halo 4, like Reach, is still infinitely more customizable than COD is, and new playlists will arrive in time.

I must have played about 50 matches of Ragnarok so far in H4, it's absolutely awesome. I was skeptical about this mech business, but in a good BTB, it's a fantastic addition. I also, initially, thought the maps were a bit crap compared to a few standout classics in Reach, but with time they've actually grown on me.

I don't find the loadouts negatively affect the game too much either; I suppose it would depend on the gametypes; but as someone who plays a lot of Big Team Battle, I haven't had any problem with enemy perks or equippment the way I frequently would in COD. I have noticed a bug though that whenever we played local MP, or online on the one console, it keeps resetting my loadouts which is incredibly annoying!

One thing I would agree with however is that the single player in BO2 is actually far more engaging and interesting than Halo 4, which so far I'm finding enjoyable but not overly memorable.

13-11-2012 8:29pm

@terrorfirmer: I would have to agree with every point you made there. Without wanting to turn this into a fanboy COD bashing thread, I do think that call of duty games since COD4, WAW, and MW2 have been getting steadily worse in both single player length and multiplayer frustration. I mainly play them for the story and spec ops co-op modes and hardly touch the online competitive modes anymore, and since that's been fleshed out more and more at the expense of shortening the story mode, I really don't see the point of forking out €50 or so for a game I'll get 8-10 hours play out of at best.

Halo 4's single player was good. Not great, but good, and the online multiplayer, while I think it will have its flaws, still has a lot going for it. Halo games have always, always had people giving out about the quality of the maps immediately after release, how theyre not as good as the last one etc, yet every game in the series has yielded a few classics. Similarly, there have always been issues with halo multiplayer. The pistol in H1, sword glitching and dual needlers in H2, shotgun campers in H3, and so on, and this will be no different, but it doesn't look as maddening as anything I've seen in the last 2-3 COD games, and even with some of the loadout imbalances, you still have some chance to survive if someone gets the drop on you...(UNLESS they're using PV and Noob combo with mobility. That one really is TOO good on the smaller, tighter maps. Whatever about big team games, I'm not even that good and I was getting 2or3 to 1 K/D ratio using it in team slayer last night)

But hey, have faith. That's what balance patching exists for, and halo and XBL were never a slouch in that department before. I'm sure 343 are all over the online forums looking for feedback on multiplayer. Give it time.

What I really want is firefight mode back...

Korvanica · 14-11-2012 10:30am

FutureGuy wrote: »

The same old "you are dead if I get the drop on you" or melee melee dead system.

Sure you've played any halo games ? Seriously, none of the Halo games are like this. This is why i Love halo.. you always have a chance at killing your attacker... And the melee melee dead issue ? It takes 2 Melees to kill someone... If someone melees you once you still have a chance at killing them. (Melee back and run backwards, br to the FACE). In some other notable games, the drop is everything. You get the drop on someone they're dead. You meele someone ONCE, theyre dead...

Last 3 games of Team Slayer went well... (4v4)...

^ this is how you carry...

FutureGuy · 14-11-2012 10:52am

Korvanica wrote: »

Sure you've played any halo games ? Seriously, none of the Halo games are like this. This is why i Love halo.. you always have a chance at killing your attacker... And the melee melee dead issue ? It takes 2 Melees to kill someone... If someone melees you once you still have a chance at killing them. (Melee back and run backwards, br to the FACE). In some other notable games, the drop is everything. You get the drop on someone they're dead. You meele someone ONCE, theyre dead...

Last 3 games of Team Slayer went well... (4v4)...

^ this is how you carry...

Just to clarify, I was a HUGE fan of both Halo 3 and Halp reach multiplayer. I'm not some noob or some COD fan boy. In fact, I was enjoing both games in equal measures.

Just to clarify regarding the "getting the drop on someone comment". If you have 2 players with comparable skill, he who shoots first often wins. In COD, there is so much cover everywhere that you can get out of danger quickly, reassess the situation and respond. Also, anyone running around in open spaces in COD deserve to be shot! Given the open nature of the Halo maps, you are out in the open alot more and generally there is no other option but to keep shooting/meleeing until someone is dead. Running for cover will invariably get you killed.

Regarding "melee melle dead" comment, close quarters combat is exactly like this. First to 2 connected melees wins.

I should have clarified, alot of my annoyance with this game is the criminal lack of game modes and the blandness of the levels, not the gameplay. No free for all and no oddball is a disgrace imho, and they were two of the modes I thoroughly enjoyed in other Halo games.

If I do get rid, I will get it back in 3-4 months time when its 15 euro second hand. By then, hopefully there will be more to keep my interest. But for now, it isn't. And trust me, I never thought I'd say that about Halo MP...

EDIT: Nice scores btw

maximoose · 14-11-2012 11:27am

I love dominion. That is all.

Korvanica · 14-11-2012 11:42am

Dominion is a great gametype... And I love how a good organised team can show this by winning in a matter of minutes.

Futureguy there is an oddball playlist ? or maybe you mean FFA Oddball ? I havent touched FFA Regicide but it seems like an interesting gametype.

FutureGuy · 14-11-2012 12:02pm

Korvanica wrote: »

Dominion is a great gametype... And I love how a good organised team can show this by winning in a matter of minutes.

Futureguy there is an oddball playlist ? or maybe you mean FFA Oddball ? I havent touched FFA Regicide but it seems like an interesting gametype.

Yeah but it's not FFA. It's team. I loved oddball FFA. FFA regicide is ok, not a massive fan of it tbh.

Halo 4: First Impressions

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