I am that dissenting (maybe hipster) voice proclaiming, “I liked them before they changed.” I don’t want to be. I cringe at every note that feels out of place and new unexpected influence, because I want to be objective and appreciate the growth of something I love. That’s easier said than done at times.
It’s this conundrum that’s ruled my opinion of Microsoft’s popular Halo franchise. I loved Halo: Combat Evolved, and my interest has gradually waned with each successive release in the series. I’ve never been able to place my finger on what’s been missing from the subsequent games, if anything at all. But now, Halo 4 is here, and it reveals everything that launched the one time Mac based RTS into the sci-fi shooter juggernaut it’s become.
The game’s new lead development team, 343 Industries, was granted the opportunity to refresh the franchise. Rather than tacking onto the mountain of appendages seen in previous sequels, (see: dual-wielding, equipment, enemy mutations, etc.) 343 has blended refreshing and foreign ideas with the very core of the familiar in its campaign.
Combat Evolved was the forefather to the modern suite of console shooters for two crucial reasons: its puzzle-like combat and firm grasp of the sci-fi genre.
Released in a time often reliant upon the mechanics of Medal of Honor shooting galleries and vertically locked twitch-shooters, Halo offered something different. It’s provided players with an array of distinctly different offensive options against enemies with overlapping strength of their own, and sharp enough AI to take advantage of it. What resulted is a combat puzzle rewarding thoughtful and deliberate play but making an assortment of tactical options viable.
Halo 4 hits its stride playing off the same flow but introduces not just a new enemy type or gameplay tweak, but an entirely new faction of enemies with an entirely new set of balances. Where previous iterations added a few pieces and made the puzzle more interesting, Halo 4 throws us an entirely new box. The interplay between the player, the new Prometheans and the longstanding Covenant foe is thrilling and forces you to play outside of the constraints its mechanics have demanded for over a decade.
There’s a reason Halo’s world has exploded into our pop culture. In its first release it brought a fresh setting into gaming. Sci-fi had been done before, but the chances taken with in-game storytelling and grandiose cut scenes conveying the tale of a mysterious world brought ot life by foreign and menacing creatures. The distinct audio samples and even gaits of the original Covenant foe stick in the minds of players. Since, alien vocals have given way to more English quips and increased fidelity brought rounded familiarity
The first video released of the new Prometheans in motion was something Halo hasn’t been for a while – creepy. The very movement of these creatures is unfamiliar in a way that can only be explained as irrationally “wrong” and inhuman. Additionally, the Covenant have fallen back in line with their original visual design but with starker angular and alien features and lost their English vocalizations. Its world, creatures and story are again an unknown, and that’s exciting.
Throwing longtime fans a bone or two, with some neat cameos and callbacks to old friends liked the scoped pistol is nice, and all I expected out of the 6th disk-based shooter in this franchise. However, 343 Industries brought something more, and, of course, Halo 4’s multiplayer is bigger and better along its expected path, I just have no interest. Overall, Microsoft’s flagship Election Day release has given me reason again to be disproportionately excited about the Halo franchise and its future.
