I find it interesting that the success of Halo 4 under new management arrives with the news that George Lucas is handing the Star Wars franchise to the house of mouse. People hated Lucas for all the creative control he exerted over the mainstream Star Wars projects, and blamed him for driving the franchise into the ground. I wonder how that felt for Lucas? The world screaming, "You are killing our baby!" The baby he gave birth to and nurtured into adulthood.
Then one day he finally breaks down and gives it up for adoption, packs it's belongings into a van and watches it head off to the happiest place on earth. And now he and the world wait until 2015 to find out if it was the right decision. I wonder if he is going to watch the new trilogy? I wonder if he secretly hopes they fail?
Everyone has an opinion on Bungie's handling of the Halo series, although it's one of those things that no one talks about openly. Enjoyment of the halo series has become the new religion or politics of the video game world. As in it doesn't fucking matter how anyone feels about it, it serves a purpose, and will be there regardless.
The game makes money hand over fist, jumps demographic models, has tie in's all across the entertainment landscape, and has some of the most dog rabid fans you will ever come across who will buy anything with the Halo name on it, and cut you without hesitation should you say one critical thing about the game. I wonder if Bungie is happy to see Halo 4 doing well somewhere else?
Everybody knows I am not a fan of Halo, have not been a fan since the first, am not a fan of this one. I used to not say anything when the subject came up, but it's not going anywhere anytime soon, and I don't have the energy for that shit anymore.I understand what saying that means, I am an idiot, I must have never played them, I should kill myself, etc.. I get it. But for the record, once again, I will explain why I do not enjoy Halo. And also, some stuff I like about Halo.
The game is generic, it is a generic looking shooter. Bungie worked with the environments, palette and assets they had on the first game, found a hit on their hands, and became scared to change, or better yet, were dis-encouraged to change.
The button mapping, control scheme, and multiplayer are the best seen on console since Goldeneye. The multiplayer community on the other hand, no one to blame except the human race.
If you really want to feel the full force of a Halo fans fury, question the story. Call it silly, Play the games multiple times, read the books, learn everything there is to know about it, and then continue to call it silly. You might as well have said abut the bible, "I think they may have been making this up as they went along." I think the story is silly.
I think Halo 4 is more of the same, with one, grand, shining exception. 343 spent lots of money on focus testing and level balancing to mimic the gameplay and world that fans are comfortable with, but they also added an ingredient that has potential to turn the series into something wildly different, a few honest questions. Has master chief been the story's monster this whole time? And, will the artificial intelligence that runs him live forever? That's not silly, those are good questions.
This Week in Gaming Oct 28 - Nov 3 - by SpeakingOfGames
The Protoculture Mixtape v. 125 : Issue : People : Conduction
