Thoughts on halo infinite after halo mcc marathon

After playing all 5 mainline campaigns back to back again I have got to say....the best campaign belongs to halo 4.

Halo infinite needs to follow a similar formula for its campaign. Halo 5 was largely a campaign mis step by comparison that needs to be avoided completely in Infinite.

Who the hell thought is was a good idea to insert locke? The issues with him become even more evident when one does a full halo ce through halo 5 run. It was obvious they were grooming him to be the new protagonist and carry the torch (OMG Locke, I have never heard a sangheili address a human like that -vomits-) thank God for the huge backlash. Hopefully we get to see his demise (possibly at the hands of a grunt) just to make sure he does not come back eventually.

Ahem...anyway

Splitting the campaign was NEVER a beloved feature, making the support characters part of the playing team without an already established emotional connection just did not work well while focusing on Chief and Cortana, humanizing them and adding dimensions, flaws and vulnerabilities really worked with some of the best feels hitting moment in the series. (Which is why I really think halo infinite will be more about get Cortana back possibly using a halsey back-up)

Halo infinite needs to bring this back

The campaign needs to be more intimate, more personal and less Michael Bay (yes halo 4 had epic themes and moments but you know what the focus was). Adding a squad of four to the game took A LOT away from that feeling of intimacy because while before the back and forth was between Chief and Cortana (whom we cared about) in halo 5 it is between Chief and 3 Spartans that were not properly introduced (and therefore we do not care about) or Locke and 2 other poorly introduced characters...and one we wished was in Locke's place (buck)

Ok...sorry for the outpour I just wanted to get it off my chest.

4? I disagree. 4 had a good campaign but so much of the story was superfluous, and I really didn't appreciate how Chief and Cortana's personalities suddenly changed so much between games without any explanation. By the time Cortana "died," it was like "okay, this's the sad part that they've been setting up for the entire game;" when a character's life is threatened in the originals, you actually get a sense of dread because you've naturally become invested in that character—as opposed to being told that you care. I think the Cortana scene gets so much credit because it's Cortana, but replace it with any 343 character and it has no effect.

If they're to follow any of the previous campaigns, it should either be Reach or ODST. I know they probably want to shadow Halo 3 like they've done with CE and 2, but unless Infinite's a closing chapter, it's not a good idea. 343's characters are weak at best, and Reach and ODST serve as great examples of how to get players invested in an entirely new cast of characters in one game.

Alternatively, they could just tell a compelling story without following in the footsteps of the previous games, as crazy as it sounds.

Halo 1-3 best campaigns imo. 4 & 5 were not enjoyable for me at all. Big part being lack of split screen in 5 & the new addition of prometheans in each and lack of flood/brutes.

Story-wise Halo 4 story was ok but the problem was the campaign itself was that it seemed too linear, kind of repetitive while Halo 1-3 was great, had amazing environments while Halo 4's story was hit, miss at times...even felt like I was being cheated of a boss fight. Halo Infinite needs to take more inspiration from the trilogy but I wouldn't mind seeing the Didact return since I felt the events of what happened with the Didact was rushed.

Sordid Plebeian wrote:

The levels were too restrictive and linear, the AI was too dumbed down, The Didact was not properly established as an antagonist, and the story relied too heavily on EU materials. I think CE would be a much, much, much better template for Infinite to follow and expand off of in new and interesting ways.

Lol because the covenant was soooo properly introduced in halo CE...or the events just before the campaign...

Nostalgia is really one hell of a drug

Also, besides the cartographer Halo CE's level were VERY linear, they just added backtracking, the "action bubbles" were similar in size the halo 4 if not smaller...you were just SLOWER at traversing.

DropzOfCrimzon wrote:

After playing all 5 mainline campaigns back to back again I have got to say....the best campaign belongs to halo 4.

Halo infinite needs to follow a similar formula for its campaign. Halo 5 was largely a campaign mis step by comparison that needs to be avoided completely in Infinite.

Who the hell thought is was a good idea to insert locke? The issues with him become even more evident when one does a full halo ce through halo 5 run. It was obvious they were grooming him to be the new protagonist and carry the torch (OMG Locke, I have never heard a sangheili address a human like that -vomits-) thank God for the huge backlash. Hopefully we get to see his demise (possibly at the hands of a grunt) just to make sure he does not come back eventually.

Ahem...anyway

Splitting the campaign was NEVER a beloved feature, making the support characters part of the playing team without an already established emotional connection just did not work well while focusing on Chief and Cortana, humanizing them and adding dimensions, flaws and vulnerabilities really worked with some of the best feels hitting moment in the series. (Which is why I really think halo infinite will be more about get Cortana back possibly using a halsey back-up)

Halo infinite needs to bring this back

The campaign needs to be more intimate, more personal and less Michael Bay (yes halo 4 had epic themes and moments but you know what the focus was). Adding a squad of four to the game took A LOT away from that feeling of intimacy because while before the back and forth was between Chief and Cortana (whom we cared about) in halo 5 it is between Chief and 3 Spartans that were not properly introduced (and therefore we do not care about) or Locke and 2 other poorly introduced characters...and one we wished was in Locke's place (buck)

Ok...sorry for the outpour I just wanted to get it off my chest.

I liked the Halo 4 campaign. I'm actually playing through it right now and I don't think it is repetitive at all (compared to the other campaigns). Some of the level design could have been made better. I'm thinking specifically about the parts in which you ride the gondolas (moving platforms) and have to stop a couple times to reset the movement. But they also did that in Halo 2. Overall I liked it. Made me feel like it was a combination of the other halos. There were huge, open levels and closed levels alike.

King of Brunch wrote:

maxammo365 wrote:

DropzOfCrimzon wrote:

After playing all 5 mainline campaigns back to back again I have got to say....the best campaign belongs to halo 4.

Halo infinite needs to follow a similar formula for its campaign. Halo 5 was largely a campaign mis step by comparison that needs to be avoided completely in Infinite.

Who the hell thought is was a good idea to insert locke? The issues with him become even more evident when one does a full halo ce through halo 5 run. It was obvious they were grooming him to be the new protagonist and carry the torch (OMG Locke, I have never heard a sangheili address a human like that -vomits-) thank God for the huge backlash. Hopefully we get to see his demise (possibly at the hands of a grunt) just to make sure he does not come back eventually.

Ahem...anyway

Splitting the campaign was NEVER a beloved feature, making the support characters part of the playing team without an already established emotional connection just did not work well while focusing on Chief and Cortana, humanizing them and adding dimensions, flaws and vulnerabilities really worked with some of the best feels hitting moment in the series. (Which is why I really think halo infinite will be more about get Cortana back possibly using a halsey back-up)

Halo infinite needs to bring this back

The campaign needs to be more intimate, more personal and less Michael Bay (yes halo 4 had epic themes and moments but you know what the focus was). Adding a squad of four to the game took A LOT away from that feeling of intimacy because while before the back and forth was between Chief and Cortana (whom we cared about) in halo 5 it is between Chief and 3 Spartans that were not properly introduced (and therefore we do not care about) or Locke and 2 other poorly introduced characters...and one we wished was in Locke's place (buck)

Ok...sorry for the outpour I just wanted to get it off my chest.

I liked the Halo 4 campaign. I'm actually playing through it right now and I don't think it is repetitive at all (compared to the other campaigns). Some of the level design could have been made better. I'm thinking specifically about the parts in which you ride the gondolas (moving platforms) and have to stop a couple times to reset the movement. But they also did that in Halo 2. Overall I liked it. Made me feel like it was a combination of the other halos. There were huge, open levels and closed levels alike.

How can you not think it's repetitive? I'd wager at least 90% of the objectives are pushing various buttons.

Yeah, during some parts it is. But looking through the levels I really do think it was a good campaign.
http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/Halo_4
Maybe it's just me. It was definitely better story than Halo 5. My favorite story is Halo 2 though.

DropzOfCrimzon wrote:

Sordid Plebeian wrote:

The levels were too restrictive and linear, the AI was too dumbed down, The Didact was not properly established as an antagonist, and the story relied too heavily on EU materials. I think CE would be a much, much, much better template for Infinite to follow and expand off of in new and interesting ways.

Lol because the covenant was soooo properly introduced in halo CE...or the events just before the campaign...

Nostalgia is really one hell of a drug

Also, besides the cartographer Halo CE's level were VERY linear, they just added backtracking, the "action bubbles" were similar in size the halo 4 if not smaller...you were just SLOWER at traversing.

Introducing an enemy faction in a 2001 FPS for the first title in the series is not that same at all as introducing a character that has antagonistic motivations and whose identity is tied to an already known, very mysterious race. We're at war with aliens who worship ancient alien technology and want to kill us, that's pretty easy to understand and build off of. The Didact, who would constantly reference EU material like The Mantle of Responsibility, the Human-Forerunner War, among other references to The Forerunner Saga that a vast majority of Halo fans had no idea about, is not clearly communicated. It's not nostalgia, it's efficient and effective storytelling, something that Halo 4 lacked; also, I don't think the game had a bad story at all, it just wasn't well communicated to the average player.

CE was not an entirely linear game. While some levels like the Pillar of Autumn do fit that description, others like Halo, Truth and Reconciliation, Silent Cartographer, and Assault on the Control Room, do not. When it comes to arena spaces or "action bubbles," their size doesn't matter, I was referring to the frequency that they occur in a level. Once again, Halo 4 didn't do a poor job overall in the level design department, it's just that Halo: CE did it all in a much more fun way; I just replayed them both this summer and had a blast with CE and really gained a new appreciation for its design, so no nostalgia involved there either.