Support NeoGAF

[reksveks]

re: youtube premiere, I know that most of us know that there is a limitation but just good to have the link.

Premiere a new video - YouTube Help (google.com)

 

[Sorne]

And then you realise some of Halos best moments are scripted.

Silent cartographer beach landing
The Flood introduction
Warthog run

Orbital MAC external combat
Halo 2 scarab chase
Gas giant lab cable cutting
Underwater transporters
Gondala fights

Bugger intro in Halo 3
The entire ARK installation on earth
etc
etc etc

Who says moments like these still can't be in there?

 

[Kacho]

Yeah see you after the reviews, this is over 90mc I'll bet on it.

I don't really care about the score. What we were saying is that game looks pretty average if you stripped the Halo name from it (hence the 7.5 comment). Maybe it surprises people. Who knows. It does look fun enough as a Far Cry clone.

 

[Dabaus]

It looks like all they did was turn to bloom up to 100 and add some lighting effects on the walls. Im sure it looks good in 4k but that art direction is so plain and uninspiring IMO.

 

[MOTM]

What? I can't be disappointed with a franchise that I grew up with being turned into something I dislike?

Or I can only say "YAAS LOOKS INCREBIDLE"?


Ok, that's better. Thank you.

Still didn't like a lot of the things I saw. I'll wait for more videos.

Been on YouTube, Resetera, Neogaf. You’re litteraly the only person who got that from the trailer.

Too bad for you though.

 

[octiny]

Looks so damn clean!

Huge upgrade in lighting & texture work.

 

[SlimySnake]

Wow Holy Shit. Imagine if they had shown this last year lmao. GOTY 2021 is theirs to lose now. This game looks absolutely epic. Not the biggest graphical upgrade I wanted, but the open world gameplay is exactly what I wanted from Halo way back in 2003 when they showed off the Halo 2 E3 demo of Master chief flying and driving around a massive map. Bungie almost got there in Halo 3's final few chapters with those Tank and Flying battles in chapters 4 and 5, but this is way beyond that. I just know I am going to call in vehicles at all times.

Funny to see them just put masks on brutes lol. I guess they didnt upgrade them that much? But the lighting seems to be massively improved, and the cutscenes look stunning. The gameplay though. OMG. I dont even like Halo FPS combat, but this looks fun with all the new abilities. I really dont see how this game wont be GOTY at many many publications. The MS GOTY drought is about to end.

 

[lucius]

Looks better to me, just wondering about enemy ai when fighting gets crazy. I am impressed though Halo 5 campaign was a disaster imo but they tried to do something different with that .

 

[Topher]

Looks fantastic. Thank God they took a year. Night and day difference.

 

[mejin]

Oof

It reminds me of Far Cry, it clearly is better than last year catastrophe.

 

[thesplitsubject]

As long as they got rid of promethean weapons I’ll be happy

(The prometheans can exit too)

 

[FireFly]

Every Brute in Halo is a literal bulletsponge. The issue isn't with having bulletsponges.
It's how it feels playing it. Without a healthbar on top, you can imagine this fucking meat-tank to just literally soak in all those bullets, but once you see a health bar, at least for me, the immersion is gone.
Healthbars also make you play the game differently. Without a healthbar, you may know they are spongy, but you never know how close or far you are to killing them. Is it worth to shoot those few bullets in your magazine into this ape-shit charging brute and maybe deliver the final blow? Or is it wiser to just retreat for a sec, reload, find a better spot and engange again? With a healthbar it removes the risk completely. You always know exactly how much HP he has and makes you play differently because there is no risk anymore. You know if you can kill him while he's charging you because you see his life. That "fight or flight" feeling is completely gone as you constantly have all the information you need.

Well, if the boss fight is designed correctly, there shouldn't be any 100% safe spaces, so there should always be a risk with every decision. The fight or flight feeling should come from knowing that you just need to knock just a little bit of health off to win, and in that moment trying to keep it together. If the boss is tough then for me the most stressful moment is when their health bar reaches the last 3rd, because then I know victory is close and I don't want to fuck it up.

I don't think there is a "right" or "wrong" answer to these things. It's just player/designer preference.

Alright, I guess I just have a bad memory. LOL. I played Halo 1 and 2 when they released and started up with Halo again with the MCC on XSX, starting with Halo 3. I do remember playing Halo 1 in college and thinking it was odd that there weren't any boss battles. So hopefully I'm at least right on that point. LOL

Halo 1 didn't have any bosses. Or Reach or ODST IIRC. Bungie in general tried to avoid bosses because they didn't think they were any good at them. And yeah, the bosses in Halo 2 were pretty annoying.

 

[FunkMiller]

My reaction to this is exactly the same as my reaction to God Of War Ragnarok:

Looks fine, will probably play and enjoy - but there could have been so much more without the need to haul along shitty old, obsolete boxes.

 

[CuNi]

Been on YouTube, Resetera, Neogaf. You’re litteraly the only person who got that from the trailer.

Too bad for you though.

He has valid points though. The lines were cheesy and the open world feels closer to Halo than Just Cause.
But I see you cannot deal with different oppinions.
Too bad for you though.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Looks fine. Voice over was kinda cringey.

 

[Kagey K]

Goddamn, this shit looks like a ton of fun.

Between this and FH5 Im not going to have time for much else this holiday.

 

[Superayate]

It looks like all they did was turn to bloom up to 100 and add some lighting effects on the walls. Im sure it looks good in 4k but that art direction is so plain and uninspiring IMO.

zzZZZZZzzzzzzzz

 

[Alpha Male]

Gameplay looks awesome...can't wait!

I am more excited for the multiplayer but the campaign sandbox looks to be really epic and fun...I love the FarCry and Just Cause influence. I'm really happy they have finally put progression in the campaign with lite RPG elements.

My body is ready for outstanding campaign and multiplayer:

 

[jaysius]

Far cry but Sci-fi I’m in!

No need to buy Far Cry at all this year, even on a sale, this does all that and looks to do it slightly better.

I'm excited, glad that it's on Gamepass.

If anyone doesn't want to get it on Gamepass it looks at least as good as any years Far Cry but at least with more interesting twists on the typical missions.

 

[Shubh_C63]

Any Destiny fan will destroy me for this but the two special enemy/boss Halo just showed should have a Champions treatment. They can appear at set locations seamlessly in open world with unique moveset. You can shut them off via special bullet, technique, gun-charge (where player skill comes to play) to open them for further damage like how Destiny do.

There is zero ambiguity in how these champions will react with their movesets and yet they possess significant danger. Bullet sponges are the most lazy design ever, especially in FPS. If they haven't impressed with graphics (for me), atleast they should go all out with mechanics in this semi-open world levels.

 

[Barlow]

 

[Romulus]

I'll eat half a crow and say it looks like a big upgrade. I'm not blown away by any stretch, but it just looks like a fun game now with depth.

 

[Xdrive05]

This looks absolutely as good as one could expect for a cross gen Halo. Very satisfied with the technical and artistic presentation in this build.

The design looks like it could be scaled down to XBOne while still being reasonably playable there, but then also allow the kind of asset improvements to let the Series systems flex a bit with image quality and performance too.

The gameplay looks nice too! This looks like the kind of peak Halo experience that the Bungie folks would have loved to do back in the day, but technology wouldn't have allowed it then.... assuming the current team also gets the basics down (balance, pacing, combat loop, AI, story, etc.). We'll see.

 

[Cacadookie]

enemy plasma based weapon projectiles need better light sources. so do jackal Shields. Death animations look pretty bad.

The environment still looks pretty static. Didn't see any noticeable water physics, Weather elements, terrain deformation.

This makes me big sad. Still gonna play it though.

 

[Lucifers Beard]

Nothing to worry about. It looks way better than I had anticipated. This is exactly where Halo needed to go next. Can’t wait!

 

[CuNi]

Well, if the boss fight is designed correctly, there shouldn't be any 100% safe spaces, so there should always be a risk with every decision. The fight or flight feeling should come from knowing that you just need to knock just a little bit of health off to win, and in that moment trying to keep it together. If the boss is tough then for me the most stressful moment is when their health bar reaches the last 3rd, because then I know victory is close and I don't want to fuck it up.

I don't think there is a "right" or "wrong" answer to these things. It's just player/designer preference.


Halo 1 didn't have any bosses. Or Reach or ODST IIRC. Bungie in general tried to avoid bosses because they didn't think they were any good at them. And yeah, the bosses in Halo 2 were pretty annoying.

Halo 3 also had 343 as a boss, but I kinda enjoyed that.

And to preface it, obviously this is a very subjective discussion.
And yes, you don't have 100% safe spaces, but a boss is also designed in a way that you can actually take a breather every now and then. No boss is constantly hammering down on you, all have moments where you can switch from defense to offense.

 

[Solidsnake_1]

12 teraflops and 6 years of development

 

[RoyalLaFlame]

Been on YouTube, Resetera, Neogaf. You’re litteraly the only person who got that from the trailer.

Too bad for you though.

Well, I was hoping for an epic shooter like the ones that were part of the first trilogy, you know? Not this "trend-seeker" open world-esque gameplay and trashy lines.

This is not Halo to me. This is the third game from a studio that clearly doesn't know what to do with the franchise. People like it? Good for them. Me? I really dislike it.

Not only that but the voice over was cringe as hell. Sue me.

 

[CrimsonSquall]

Wow Holy Shit. Imagine if they had shown this last year lmao. GOTY 2021 is theirs to lose now. This game looks absolutely epic. Not the biggest graphical upgrade I wanted, but the open world gameplay is exactly what I wanted from Halo way back in 2003 when they showed off the Halo 2 E3 demo of Master chief flying and driving around a massive map. Bungie almost got there in Halo 3's final few chapters with those Tank and Flying battles in chapters 4 and 5, but this is way beyond that. I just know I am going to call in vehicles at all times.

Funny to see them just put masks on brutes lol. I guess they didnt upgrade them that much? But the lighting seems to be massively improved, and the cutscenes look stunning. The gameplay though. OMG. I dont even like Halo FPS combat, but this looks fun with all the new abilities. I really dont see how this game wont be GOTY at many many publications. The MS GOTY drought is about to end.

I dont think this makes the cutoff for GOTY 2021? December is usually in a weird spot for awards sake so this will be slotted into 2022’s list which has some absolutely fierce competition ahead.

Game looks great though, massive improvement on graphics. I like the gameplay changes however it doesn’t really scream Halo to me anymore with those changes so Im interested in the general communities response to this

 

[Werewolfgrandma]

Will give it a go since I'll have gp for horizon 5 anyway.

 

[Dabaus]

12 teraflops and 6 years of development

Honestly thats more embarrassing than the original craig meme. Thats just hideous.

 

[MaulerX]

Well, I was hoping for an epic shooter like the ones that were part of the first trilogy, you know? Not this "trend-seeker" open world-esque gameplay and trashy lines.

This is not Halo to me. This is the third game from a studio that clearly doesn't know what to do with the franchise. People like it? Good for them. Me? I really dislike it.

Not only that but the voice over was cringe as hell. Sue me.

You’re in the minority bubble. It's ok to be there.

 

[Flintty]

12 teraflops and 6 years of development

Cute.

 

[SlimySnake]

I dont think this makes the cutoff for GOTY 2021? December is usually in a weird spot for awards sake so this will be slotted into 2022’s list which has some absolutely fierce competition ahead.

Game looks great though, massive improvement on graphics. I like the gameplay changes however it doesn’t really scream Halo to me anymore with those changes so Im interested in the general communities response to this

I think only the VGAs have that bizarre cutoff. The rest of the industry doesnt.

I go by GOTY tracker which keeps track of all media and fan awards, and it included Cyberpunk which ended up winning several GOTYs. Finished 4th but VGAs are counted as just one GOTY award.


Award Totals

• The Last of Us Part II - 310
  • Media Outlets: 202 | Readers' Choice: 108
• Ghost of Tsushima - 69
  • Media Outlets: 57 | Readers' Choice: 12
• Hades - 65
  • Media Outlets: 61 | Readers' Choice: 4
• Cyberpunk 2077 - 35
  • Media Outlets: 11 | Readers' Choice: 24
• Final Fantasy VII Remake - 29
  • Media Outlets: 27 | Readers' Choice: 2

 

[jhjfss]

This is the only part i didn't like, it's something about the trees and those low LODs'

 

[M1chl]

12 teraflops and 6 years of development

Crazy contrast with Playground studios, gotta say.

And let's be honest here, on Halo Infinite, half of the industry is fucking working on it.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Yep, that's Halo.

I'm down.

 

[Kacho]

How this looks and runs on the base Xbox One is gonna be interesting.

 

[SenjutsuSage]

My biggest takeaway is they seemed to have accomplished making what Halo was always supposed to be look a lot more believable during actual gameplay. This looked like a proper war, it looked chaotic. It's more believable that you're a Spartan with some of what I witnessed.

And the size of those playspaces, the exploration possibilities! The game design looks so fucking on point. They look like they really nailed the spirit of Halo, like real care was taken on how to structure it. The combat simulation looks downright amazing. So fucking happy for those mini boss fights. Halo has always needed more of those, and I'm happy to see them in. Enemies with a wider sandbox skillset, extra shielding etc.

Never been more excited for a halo campaign.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

This isn't a criticism exclusive to this game but it's obvious here. I love a forested planet and there are like 20 trees. Someday we'll get a game with a proper forest density. Someday.

 

[Kacho]

This isn't a criticism exclusive to this game but it's obvious here. I love a forested planet and there are like 20 trees. Someday we'll get a game with a proper forest density. Someday.

Remember when they teased this game with that trailer for the new engine?



The final product looks nothing like that. So basic by comparison.

 

[RoyalLaFlame]

You’re in the minority bubble. It's ok to be there.

And I'm totally ok with it. If people like it, more power to them. To me, this looks bad. I was expecting a return to form, not whatever this is.

 

[Andodalf]

You can tell it looks great by how hard the trolls are coming out against it.


Sure is weird how all these neo accounts hate it as well! weeeeird.

 

[Jemm]

At least they are trying something new with this open world-ish approach. If they had continued doing the same old, 343i would have been criticized for playing it safe and not trying anything new.

This approach also gives them room for expandability, where they can add new content over the years. Just unlock new areas with new missions and stories.

 

[Topher]

It's not in-engine.

Why even include it then? There was no need.

 

[Kagey K]

If this really is the last first party game for the XB1, it looks to be one hell of a swan song. It will be interesting to see what they have to scale back to make it work.

 

[elliot5]

 

[MaulerX]

Looks soooo good!

 

[clarky]

Looks like as suspected its semi open world, with each Level/mission being a different slice of the ring. Pretty much my dream Halo game.

 

[Maxwell Jacob Friedman]

Is it me or does it still look flat, lighting etc.