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This thread is inspired by another: view original post
Edited by linkdude64:
1/25/2013 6:35:56 PM
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Moderate departures from the "Halo Formula" of the trilogy in ODST and Reach
With the last two Halo games Bungie made, ODST and Reach, it was apparent to me that they [Edit: Bungie] were ready to try very new and different things than what they were doing with Halos 1-3. People who call Halo 3 the "last Halo" are exactly right. The issue is that many seem to assume "If it doesn't fit the established Halo formula, it's bad." Taken on their own merits, ODST and Reach were very creative. A departure from the "Formula."
One essential part of what made Halo great was the sense of ownership of the character. Not seeing Master Chiefs/Noble 6/The Rookie's faces; then of course armor permutations going from solid color options in Halo CE to full armor customization in Reach. Seeing as their expansion of these themes was more or less linear, and given the extremely fast evolution of the Halo universe (H3>ODST>Reach are drastically different), Destiny is likely going to be something of an exponential increase in many areas. As for my topic, in terms of customization. I expect there will be a whole lot. This is pretty obvious, but it's the easiest to type about at 12am.
If anyone feels like sounding brainy on the internet, I'd love to hear any other themes or trends you have noticed throughout Bungie games, or even just the Halo series. I'm pointing out just one - the theme of personalization and ownership of the player character. Many other possibilities include weapon balance trends, UI trends, HUD trends, anything!
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5 Replies in this Sub-ThreadEdited by ash: 1/26/2013 1:37:24 AMUm, I think Halo Reach was the last (Bungie) Halo. I don't think Reach was a major departure from the Halo formula at all. To me it was a full-blooded Halo bursting at the seams with every feature from the previous games. It had a linear campaign, it had online multiplayer, it had forge, it had theatre and it also added ODST's Firefight for good measure. There was no Master Chief of course, but that doesn't really impact how the gameplay evolves. The most significant change was Armour Abilities, but they were kind of an evolution of equipment. Everything was just incremental improvement. The most significant departure was ODST, yes. It was more experimental. The structure of the campaign was quite different (and I loved it). Obviously, swapping competitive multiplayer for Firefight was another big departure from the Halo norm. But it makes sense that it would be different as it was a smaller project.
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I should have clarified, but I meant "The last Halo" in a metaphorical sense. Some people criticizing the experimentation in Reach and ODST feel that Halo 3 was the last game worth playing. It's a common criticism I see often, but I was hoping to draw more specific critiques from those gamers, just to see their side of things. I think Reach definitely was a Halo in terms of its visual styles, multiplayer options and other things, but comparing Halo 3, the last of the original trilogy, to Reach is a big stretch to me. In Halo 3 it's the whole "Space Opera" idea where you're out destroying huge forerunner structures, fighting the Flood, etc., where Reach was much more visceral. A lot of people died in Reach, you know? I feel like it could have been something made by a totally different studio, just because of how much Bungie had learned about "feelings" from ODST. "A man who has read Moby Dick is a different man than the one who has not read Moby Dick." With ODST, I feel like Bungie broke out of their "Our main character is an invincible sprinting tank" formula, and matured to "Our main character is not invincible, nor is his team, he is just very skilled, and very lucky" With details like, in Winter Contingency, when Carter knocks the Elite Zealot off of Noble 6, 6 grabs his assault rifle, and there are 7 rounds left in the clip (during the cinematic). It was a close call, but with a whole lot of luck to thank. Reach was made by a more mature studio than Halo 3 was, so I wanted to encourage discussion about what aspects of Bungie's design - specifically - we feel have matured, and then extrapolate into what we think might happen in Destiny as a result of this maturity. Hope this makes sense.
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No need to clarify, I meant it in a metaphorical sense also. I think Reach is very much a part of the Halo series. Like you said, the story is different, but I don't think the set-pieces in the Campaign changed much as a result. It had its own style for sure, but then, so did Halo 2 from Halo 1. I actually think Reach is closer to Halo 1, than Halo 2 or 3. What makes those games unique is that it takes place in one location, and the aliens are actually alien.
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