The Official Halo Topic

[Crunchyn]

Don't worry, it's still over a year away- and if 343 is like Bungie in any way, they'll be pretty good at keeping details under the hood until about the 6-months-to-launch mark. I almost wish they had kept Halo 4 a secret... When they dropped the bombshell on Halo 3 coming out, it'd been a few years since a Halo game was released, and it was extremely exciting. It almost seems to take out some of the oomph by saying, "Ohey, we're also doing this, but it won't be out for awhile!" But that's just how I feel. I missed the Halo 1/Halo 2 releases.

That's the same feeling I get when they also announce non-video game Halo projects. Awesome announcements yet somehow along the way they never happened. Halo Chronicles, the Halo Movie. The upcoming Spielberg Halo TV show is still stuck in the deal-making phase according to some news despite announcing it for the Xbox ONE.

[Axonn's Fury]

Ha, my last post in this topic was quite a while back.

 

But Spencer did say that if "in this universe where H2:A does exist, the multiplayer would have to be flawless" or something of the sort. I have no doubt that we are seeing a Halo 2: Anniversary this year. Halo 2 was arguably more influential in terms of sales and pure gameplay than the original Halo: CE (I'm talking implementation of XBL and LAN), so I have no doubt Microsoft would honor their flagship franchise game, which was first to XBL of the series, to be first on the Xbox One.

 

My question is whether or not they release Halo Xbox One/5 as well. I personally have my doubts. I think Halo 5 will be early/mid 2015. All they've said is that there will be a Halo game for the Xbox One in 2014. Just my two cents.

[Manducus]

All these game are going to the Xbox One and I'm still using my 360.

 

I can't keep up with the technology :/

[Makuta Luroka]

All these game are going to the Xbox One and I'm still using my 360.

 

I can't keep up with the technology :/

I'm the one playing DBZ Budokai 3 and GITS:SAC on a PS2, which is plugged into a VCR, in turn plugged into a 19" CRT TV.

[Manducus]

 

All these game are going to the Xbox One and I'm still using my 360.

 

I can't keep up with the technology :/

I'm the one playing DBZ Budokai 3 and GITS:SAC on a PS2, which is plugged into a VCR, in turn plugged into a 19" CRT TV.

 

 

Hah I have a 2004ish(?) Sony TV that I have to play on. If I'm lucky I might be able to play on the flatscreen.

 

While everyone is playing the 3DS, I'm still stuck with my DS Lite.

[Makuta Luroka]

 

 

All these game are going to the Xbox One and I'm still using my 360.

 

I can't keep up with the technology :/

I'm the one playing DBZ Budokai 3 and GITS:SAC on a PS2, which is plugged into a VCR, in turn plugged into a 19" CRT TV.

 

 

Hah I have a 2004ish(?) Sony TV that I have to play on. If I'm lucky I might be able to play on the flatscreen.

 

While everyone is playing the 3DS, I'm still stuck with my DS Lite.

 

I have a DS Lite constructed from parts of three broken DS Lites. I have the Frankenstein DS, and two extra batteries.

[Manducus]

I'm still stuck with two (Reaaal) old gen iPod Nanos. And a charger with a broken USB attachment, another broken charger, and a charger I had to tape together to get it to work again.

Edited April 25, 2014 by Kaiser Manducus

[Wazdakka]

Just an FYI, me and some random dude on reddit are planning to do a level or two of Halo: CEA on Heroic, if you guys want to drop by.

[Manducus]

I'll hop in.

[Wazdakka]

Derp, forgot to tell you the time. Anyways, the guy never showed, so I played some CEA co-op with MaliceGhost on Heroic with FIVE SKULLS on.

 

I'm sorry I had to leave at the end of The Library, as my dad came in doing the things that angry dads do. However, I'm only upset because it was near the end of the level and I NEVER WANT TO EVER PLAY IT AGAIN. I was terribly upset that I kept getting kersploded by erstwhile grenades and rockets - wonder where those come from, hmm 'cough'? What skulls did we have on, because it felt like even the slighest explosions were nuclear bombs? I think next time, I'll try just plain old Heroic.

 

After playing CEA, it really makes you realize how wonderful it is to have the modern smoothness of Halo 4 in the control scheme and response.

[Manducus]

I used the infinite ammo skull, Birthday, Funeral, x2 grenade explosions (applies to any explosives, including Flood Carriers), and the melee-grenade skull.

 

E: Most of your deaths were caused by me either by the shotgun, rocket launcher, or grenades.

Edited May 4, 2014 by Kaiser Manducus

[Bundalings]

I won't lie, I think the Kilo 5 trilogy is one of the most captivating Sci-Fi novels I've read in a while. Strong female characters, the complete lack of karmic balance. It's all so very, very good. The third one isn't Thursday War, but it didn't disappoint me.

The Halo books in general are really great (with the exception of the Flood), but I agree, the Kilo Five books are pretty exceptional. Eric Nylund is a really good writer, especially when it comes to space battles, but his books are just overly violent in my opinion. The action crowds out everything else.

 

I haven't read Silentium or Mortal Dictata yet. Too poor.

[Wazdakka]

Speaking of the Kilo Five stuff - from reading the backs of the books, I can get the idea that ONI is trying to ignite a Sangheili civil war - long story short, I really dislike these kinds of underhanded practices, especially against such a valorous and awesome race, so can someone tell me (spoiler tag it as not to make it dangerous), do they pull it off? Or do the good elites prevail against such blatant jerky, underhanded conduct?

 

Also, Toy Fair showed us the images of the Halo 2 and Halo Xbox One Chief figures - the good news is that they both look friggin' amazing. The bad news is, they are the only two McFarlane figures we'll get for the rest of 2014. I always hate looking at Halo action figures because they always make me want to go out and buy some!

[Makaru]

The thing about the K5 trilogy is there is no "GOOD vs BAD" written in the text. Oni is keeping the elites fighting each other to keep the remnants of the Covenant from trying to start another war [because they are]. Catherine Halsey is treated as a war criminal [because she really is]. Jul M'Dama isn't even space Hitler because Oni has done terrible things to him and his motives are not entirely unjustified.

 

The Sangheili are not being written as a "noble race" trying to reclaim old glories. As a whole, they are all paranoid and refuse to trust outer species because their entire social structure was based on a huge lie, and they have been divided under those who a) have not come to terms with the "Great Journey", b) those who would rather keep humanity as a cautious ally (IE the Arbiter), and c) those who want to exact revenge on anyone who has wronged the Sangheili way, even and especially other Sangheili.

 

Through-out the whole story, you have to come to turns with there not being any "sides". It's all factions and splinter cells because that's realistically exactly what would happen after the covenant war.

 

You really have to read it. The narrative is told excellently through the eyes of the characters in the story.

[Wazdakka]

Halo: Spartan Assault is on the Humble Bundle!

 

Woo woo!

[Manducus]

I tried to get it for the 360 version, but WFC is on sale for only $5 and how could I say no to a G1 game?

 

 

Now I'm broke.

[Wazdakka]

Where is War For Cybertron $5?

 

Also, Spartan Assault is a blast, especially for $3.74.

 

I also got The Art of Halo 4 in the mail today (I paid way less than retail - thanks eBay!), and let me say, wow! The amount of work that went into making the concept art and in turn in-game art (art design, renders, environments, everything) is absolutely insane.

[Axilus Prime]

I tried to get it for the 360 version, but WFC is on sale for only $5 and how could I say no to a G1 game?

 

 

Now I'm broke.

WFC? $5? Where? I must get this...

 

And, actually, WFC is not connected to G1 in any way other than design homages. FOC is its sequel and numerous events in FOC make it impossible for G1 to follow up next.

[Manducus]

Well what I meant is G1 style. FoC and WFC are on sale on the Xbox Marketplace. FoC is $15 I believe.

[Axilus Prime]

I have FOC but not WFC. I'll check it out, thanks.

 

EDIT: Never mind, only XBL Gold users can get it at that price. I guess the only way I can get WFC is by paying full price. Which I'm willing to, but first I have to get the money...

Edited May 9, 2014 by Axilus Prime

[Manducus]

My god.

[Mesonak]

Bombs were dropped left and right yesterday. It was insane.

 

Beyond hyped for this if it turns out to be real.

 

Oh yeah and Halo 5: Guardians of the Galaxy is cool too.

 

-Mesonak

Edited May 17, 2014 by Mesonak

[Wazdakka]

Missed me, gents?

 

I locked my account by accident after clearing cache (NO, I wasn't doing what you think I was doing) and forgetting my password:

 

But: OO-RAH!

This is great news and gives me a lot of hope for the franchise. It sounds like 343 has learned that the community did not like some of the features of Halo 4 and seek to improve upon what they started. 343 has shown us that they can learn, as evidenced by bringing Heavies back as a permanent playlist and adding the wonderful weapon balancing update that makes every weapon actually usable. So guys, while I know that a lot of you were disappointed with Halo 4, I urge you to give 343 a second chance.

 

-Waz

[Manducus]

I miss dual wielding. I love it back when I was playing Halo 3 I would just spam the smgs.

[Makuta Luroka]

On another note: A week of Halo 4 and ODST is in store for me.

[Wazdakka]

For the first time ever, I played Halo 3 Matchmaking on my own Xbox 360. I'd played local and online at other people's houses, but this was a momentous occasion. Unfortunately, I observed a few flaws with Halo 3's multiplayer compared to Halo 4:

 

1. Smootheness. Halo 4 plays waaay smoother than Halo 3, even on a lower sensitivity... not sure why, but it just does. If playing Halo 4 is driving a fine Audi sedan, Halo 3 is a 30 year-old school bus with the bumper hanging off. There are also too many ######?!?! moments in Halo 3 - I understand that adds a bit of fun to it, but I think those detract from the overall experience.

 

2. Weapons... The lack of loadouts basically consigns you to either grab a BR/carbine or run for a power weapon. Unfortunately, if you miss out on those, you are stuck with the default AR and magnum, the two worst weapons in the game, in my opinion. However, as cool and awesome as it is, dual wielding is largely ineffective outside of close range and the BR completely outdoes most non-power weapons in the game.

 

3. Grenade spam. In the matches that I played, there were grenades everywhere. At one point, I was literally just lobbing frag grenades, hoping to snipe some poor soul, because there was a plentiful pile on the ground. Basically, I (and the other players) never had to worry about conserving our grenades, so we were just tossing them left and right.

 

That said, don't get me wrong, I do not believe Halo 3's multiplayer is much worse than Halo 4's. Halo 3 will always have a special place in my heart above all the other Halos. They both have their flaws and this fresh opportunity made some of them stick out to me.

 

Edit: **** is censored ... ?

Edited May 26, 2014 by Makaru
of course it's censored.

[Angel Beat]

So I finally played and finished Halo 4 on Normal. It... felt a little short, since I clocked in less than 10 hours while taking my time.

 

Liked it a lot, though.

 

I haven't read the Forerunner trilogy and subsequent novels yet (since A Song of Ice and Fire has my priority), so there were times where I felt a little lost.

[Axilus Prime]

Try it on Legendary.

[Angel Beat]

All in good time. It's been a few years since I last used by Xbox, so I'm really rusty.

[Axilus Prime]

Oh, wow, that's understandable.

 

I've been playing recently, though I didn't play Halo for weeks. When I popped Reach open to see if I still had skills, I did manage not to die for the first level on Legendary (the only level I tried to do), though I was a bit inefficient. Took me longer than usual.

[Angel Beat]

And in the past, outside of split-screen co-op, I never went past Heroic.

 

I'm a really crummy gamer in general.

Edited June 1, 2014 by Valenti

[Makuta Luroka]

I'm a really crummy gamer in general.

Join the club.

[CeeCee]

Any chance we could organise a halo night for BZP sometime soon?

[Sir Ptolemic Of Zyglak]

I'd be up for that, it's been awhile since we've had a successful one.

[CeeCee]

Well then, everyone whos interested, say so and we will work out a time that fits all our time zones.

[Manducus]

I'm up also, depending on the games.

Edited June 1, 2014 by Kaiser Manducus

[Wazdakka]

I'd be down, that is, if it's tomorrow or Saturday. And yup, I'm afraid I'm back. But don't worry, I'll be gone shortly!

[Axilus Prime]

That was an awesome E3. Now I just need to get a load of money...

[Mesonak]

Good times are ahead for Halo fans everywhere after this E3.

 

All aboard the X1 train!

 

-Mesonak

Edited June 11, 2014 by Meso Zehvor

[- JL -]

343 have literally redeemed themselves with this, and for once it feels like their and Microsoft's business plans don't evolve making a fool of themselves. No more making up stupid '14 day buy and play' terms. No more waiting months for a single easy fix. It seems like they've finally started taking Halo in the right direction.

 

I mean, obviously the Master Chief Collection is a big gobsmack for fans and pretty much ensuring anybody who had a good experience on those games to buy an Xbox One in the coming fall, but this is also exactly what Halo needs to ensure the community lives.

 

Since Halo 4's start we've been on a steady and deadly decline. Halo 4 was a nuke to the face; it had 9 million sales, but out of those 9 million only about 0.04% actually paid for gold and played the game online, and it's really mostly this online portion that gives the community a...well, community. And of these 400,000 players who bought the game, 200,000 of them disappeared pretty much by the end of the first week. Of the remaining 200,000k, that dropped like bricks. We started averaging around 20,000k players daily population on Halo 4 within months of game release, dropping out of Xbox Live Top 3 pretty much within weeks.

 

Halo 3 had 1.1 million players daily average a year after release, and this game NEVER dropped out of Top 3 since release until Reach's release. Reach, after a year, had 900,000 players daily average population.

 

Halo 4's themes and styles have been cause a slow decline and that is a statistical fact. MCC is EXACTLY what the community has needed to bring the numbers up; even if it's just hype, I feel like it was a really good idea. The evidence of it at least having some use was there; the day after the MCC was announced, population in Halo 4 went up.

 

I'm happy 343 made a decision like this, and I sincerely hope that their ability to please their fans doesn't suddenly make a drop-off.

 

__________

 

On a completely unrelated note, have you guys played CLUE? I remember PMing Meso about this some time ago but I think his PM was full or something so I dunno. It's one of the honor rule gametypes out there in the customs scene that's fairly big and definitely enjoyable. I think it'd be fun if all the BZP nuts had a custom game lobby or something