Yes, I completely trust and support 343.
Here's why:
1. They take over a beloved franchise. First game, a complete remaster of the original game, with the ability to switch graphic modes, new content, and a return to Halo CE's MP, online for the first time (though admittedly, the game as a whole wasn't great since not all of the maps were back and it was basically added Reach content). That said, effort, and something fans would enjoy.
2. Their second title is Halo 4. It looks and plays great, is arguably one of the best campaigns (not my favorite, but still, very solid) and the MP is fun, albeit not as good as the original trilogy. But c'mon, give them a bit of a pass here. It's entirely new content for an established franchise with a completely new developer. There was bound to be bumps in the road. And give them credit for trying new things - I enjoyed the shakeup to MP that was loadouts, even if I wasn't a fan of weapon drops. It was, again, effort to try and keep the series fresh, and they learned here that's not what the players want.
3. Some mobile games later, they release their most ambitious project yet - the MCC. Without question, there were major hiccups here, but they weren't foreseen and though it took several months to truly fix, eventually, the game was playable. And my lord. $60 for Halo CE, 2, 3, 4, ODST, Spartan Ops (another however many hours of content there), the remaster of 2, and literally every MP map and gametype since the original Halo, plus Forge I believe, playable together on one package? The best value in gaming ever released, and not all that close, once it worked as it was supposed to.
4. Enter Halo 5. I thoroughly enjoyed the campaign. But in the interest of full disclosure, I read the books as a kid, knew who Blue Team was going in. The biggest thing for me with 5's campaign though was how much it EXPANDED on the Halo universe and VASTLY improved the extent of it. We fought on Sanghelios. A mining colony. Various other very memorable locations. In past Halo's? Earth, a Halo ring, the Ark, and the Covenant city (High Charity?). That was it. Then take the MP. Best since probably Halo 2 or 3, very competitive, they learned from their mistakes with 4 and took their time on this one. Monthly, mostly quality updates, for FREE. More coming. That's insane!
5. I probably won't get it, but they took the property from the defunct past game developer who did Halo Wars (a quality game) and are bringing that back to life with Halo Wars 2.
So I guess in summary, yes, I fully trust 343. They continue to learn from their mistakes, push the envelope, and are getting better and better with this franchise. I fully expect Halo 6 to be amazing... all the modes they've fleshed out in 5, a much better and memorable campaign by most people's standards, and (hopefully?) split-screen's return.
Here's why:
1. They take over a beloved franchise. First game, a complete remaster of the original game, with the ability to switch graphic modes, new content, and a return to Halo CE's MP, online for the first time (though admittedly, the game as a whole wasn't great since not all of the maps were back and it was basically added Reach content). That said, effort, and something fans would enjoy.
2. Their second title is Halo 4. It looks and plays great, is arguably one of the best campaigns (not my favorite, but still, very solid) and the MP is fun, albeit not as good as the original trilogy. But c'mon, give them a bit of a pass here. It's entirely new content for an established franchise with a completely new developer. There was bound to be bumps in the road. And give them credit for trying new things - I enjoyed the shakeup to MP that was loadouts, even if I wasn't a fan of weapon drops. It was, again, effort to try and keep the series fresh, and they learned here that's not what the players want.
3. Some mobile games later, they release their most ambitious project yet - the MCC. Without question, there were major hiccups here, but they weren't foreseen and though it took several months to truly fix, eventually, the game was playable. And my lord. $60 for Halo CE, 2, 3, 4, ODST, Spartan Ops (another however many hours of content there), the remaster of 2, and literally every MP map and gametype since the original Halo, plus Forge I believe, playable together on one package? The best value in gaming ever released, and not all that close, once it worked as it was supposed to.
4. Enter Halo 5. I thoroughly enjoyed the campaign. But in the interest of full disclosure, I read the books as a kid, knew who Blue Team was going in. The biggest thing for me with 5's campaign though was how much it EXPANDED on the Halo universe and VASTLY improved the extent of it. We fought on Sanghelios. A mining colony. Various other very memorable locations. In past Halo's? Earth, a Halo ring, the Ark, and the Covenant city (High Charity?). That was it. Then take the MP. Best since probably Halo 2 or 3, very competitive, they learned from their mistakes with 4 and took their time on this one. Monthly, mostly quality updates, for FREE. More coming. That's insane!
5. I probably won't get it, but they took the property from the defunct past game developer who did Halo Wars (a quality game) and are bringing that back to life with Halo Wars 2.
So I guess in summary, yes, I fully trust 343. They continue to learn from their mistakes, push the envelope, and are getting better and better with this franchise. I fully expect Halo 6 to be amazing... all the modes they've fleshed out in 5, a much better and memorable campaign by most people's standards, and (hopefully?) split-screen's return.
