Halo 4

The Right To Remain Apprehensive

by exterminat

©2012 Nicholas Laborde

Unless you live under a rock, you’ve undoubtedly heard about the future of Halo.

Bungie officially handed over the reigns to 343 Industries this past year, moving on to their own new IP.

At E3 2011, we received news that Halo 4 is coming (along with 5 and 6, since it’s an entirely new trilogy) and that Halo: Combat Evolved would receive an HD makeover.

The news was received well, and Halo: Anniversary turned out to be the quintessential example of what a re-release should be.

With E3 only five months away and the official fourth title in Halo arriving at the end of this year, I can only sit back into my fetal position, tense up, and let my mind wander with apprehension whilst waiting in agony for concrete information.

Be forewarned: this article contains Halo 3 spoilers.

At least there aren’t Russians…

Halo 3 ended on the perfect cliffhanger, if such a thing can exist. The standard ending showed Master Chief entering cryostasis with Cortana watching over him, giving a calm ending to a deadly conflict that spanned from September 2552 to March 2553.

The Legendary ending, on the other hand, showed the ship that Chief and Cortana were on spiraling towards an unknown planet, later confirmed to be of the Forerunners.

This was an excellent sendoff for Bungie, as it both teased the unforeseeable future and caused players’ minds to imagine the possibilities. What lies in wake on that mysterious world? Would we ever go there? Does Chief crash in a Halo: CE-esque fashion?

All that we know in regards to Halo 4‘s story is that we will not be fighting the Covenant, as the Human-Covenant War officially ended upon the conclusion of Halo 3.

As mentioned by 343, the game will take a “different focus” for the franchise, centering directly on the Forerunners, their world, and their deepest secrets.

Instead of non-stop, balls-to-the-wall action that is supplemented by in-depth storyteling that players are accustomed to, 343 is giving Halo 4 a setting of mystery and exploration.

Whether this means an open world of some sort, or simply more Half-Life-esque style of design, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Another large facet of Halo 4 will be the evolution of Cortana as an AI.

In Halo lore, there are two types of AI: shipboard AI, whose central purpose is targeting and guidance, and then ‘smart’ AI, such as Cortana, who can do a million more tasks than their typical counterparts, and can hold more in-depth conversation due to more advanced personality.

The single drawback of smart AI is that they only last seven years. In Halo 4, Cortana is past her expiration date and is showing a very clear change.

From what we can guesstimate, Halo 4 will be a matter of uncovering the mystery of the Forerunners with the help of Cortana (due to her vast array of knowledge obtained from the ring), while analyzing and preparing for her inevitable death.

343 has gone out on a whim and stated that Cortana’s prolonged lifespan can be attributed to her exposure to so much information (see: the Index in the first title), allowing her to live for much longer than was designed… but at what cost?

I don’t know how this will fit into the style of Halo that we are accustomed to. Players are accustomed to exploring fantastic alien worlds, full of suspense, angry aliens, and deadly secrets.

The Forerunners, while still remaining a mystery, may not have been the best choice for centering the story.

Two central pieces of the Halo universe have given confirmation that the Forerunners were, in fact, either early, super-advanced humans, or extraterrestrials of humanoid descent. The first comes in the form of Halo: Contact Harvest, the fifth novel in the series that takes place prior to Halo Wars and documents the first interaction of humans and the Covenant.

Whilst traveling through space, Covenant ships are equipped with scanners that can detect Forerunner artifacts (which are revered items).

When a ship full of Jiralhanae (more commonly known as Brutes) pass over the planet Harvest, their scanners go crazy.

A meeting is arranged between them and the planet-side humans (chief of which being Sgt. Avery Johnson), but the Brutes find no artifacts; only humans.

Angered at this waste of time and through misunderstandings, a fight breaks out, and the Human-Covenant War is sparked. (It should be noted that all Halo novels are canon.)

While being a blatant giveaway as to the identity of the Forerunners, another major – and as far as I know, the biggest – extrapolation upon their history appears in the form of the Halo Legends anime series, with the first two episodes focusing on Cortana telling the story of the Forerunners to a Master Chief in slumber, undoubtedly in the time between the third and fourth titles.

The story chronicles a story of highly advanced, human-esque creatures that lived in perfect harmony until the Flood arrived.

Unable to defeat them with any conventional weapon, the Forerunners devised the Halo rings to purge the galaxy of all sentient life, including themselves.

Before doing so, they sealed away life forms of all kinds, so that the circle of life could continue and begin anew.

With that information in mind, what could possibly be left to discover about them?

Besides possible ruins, their entire known civilization is completely and utterly obliterated, not to mention the fact that this happened long before the events portrayed in the games.

This story direction, while intriguing, has me extremely nervous.

I have faith in 343, but based on what we can assume, either the Forerunner home world was safe from the Halo rings, or this one is on a far edge of the galaxy (as we do not know how long Chief and Cortana have been traveling since the events of the third title.  Based on the fact that the ship was still on fire in the E3 trailer, one cannot assume the flight was very long).

The world itself may be completely empty, in which case, my worst fears may come to fruition.

The fate of John-117 and Cortana lies in 343′s hands, and I shall likely be in a state of mad desperation until I can get my hands on the game. Halo’s storytelling is of the greatest importance to me, and is the primary source of my apprehension under the regime of 343.

I need a weapon!

Building upon what was iterated in the first section of this article, my next source of apprehension is that of the gameplay.

Each Halo title added a significant new ability to the player.

Halo 2 added dual wielding, 3 gave us equipment, and Reach gave us armor abilities.

Other than Master Chief appearing a tad bit visibly different in the trailer than when we saw him last – including the addition of some type of thrusters built into his suit – your guess is as good as mine when it comes to the topic of game changers.

Since the style won’t be what we are accustomed to, this may open the door to new types of additions to Chief’s armor based on his discoveries in the Forerunner world.

Again, though, this counteracts the fact that the Forerunners were obliterated, but can be justified if the world is inhabited (which we don’t know at this point).

On that note, if the rings could wipe out all sentient life, I’d imagine they would more than simply ‘ruffle the feathers’ of a few buildings, and possibly something leaving something be left behind other than empty landscape.

A possible story device intertwined with gameplay could be the degradation of Chief’s armor. He hasn’t upgraded (or even repaired, for that matter) his suit since the beginning of Halo 2, which may lead to gameplay concepts never before employed in the series: hand-to-hand combat, stealth, and more.

Spartans are masters of close quarters combat, perfectly able to defend themselves without their armor, but since Chief has, to my knowledge, not completely left his suit for months, even years, this may play a large role in how the gameplay is affected.

Throw in the fact that Chief more than likely will have no human contact nor companions, along with their equipment and vehicles (although we know the Warthog will be in), and we have a very interesting situation.

Will the weapons we know and love simply be unusable after Chief’s remaining ammunition is exhausted? If the Forerunners have anything left behind, will Chief be able to employ it in his arsenal?

In a sense, this entirely new direction for the series opens up the gameplay to never before seen angles, and I am extremely curious as to how 343 will pull this off.

In this case, curiosity defeats my apprehension.

Pacing

The most important variable in the Halo equation is that of pacing.

The entire series has an excellent sense of laying a foundation and building upon it, combined with an exemplary system of pacing that always leaves the player satisfied, no matter what may have transpired.

Complementing this are the majestic symphonies of Martin O’Donnell, Bungie’s flawless composer. Many fans may not realize this detrimental fact, but Mr. O’Donnell is a part of Bungie: he is not composing.

Bungie has literally relinquished all control of Halo, and that unfortunately extends to the score that has so beautifully enhanced the experiences we hold so dearly in our hearts.

Two samples exist of the new musical direction, in the form of the E3 2011 trailer, and a piece revealed here.

It retains no resemblance to the epic chanting monks we know; rather, it seems more similar to Mass Effect or Red Faction.

This raises an immediate worry for me and undoubtedly many others, as Halo, in my opinion, contains the greatest soundtrack out of any piece of media we have henceforth seen. [Ed: Hmm, not sure I agree myself...]

The fact that even the musical direction is being altered is a giant warning flag, as the angelic harmonies that players’ ears are accustomed to will take a radical new direction.

Logically speaking, since we aren’t going to be encountering the Covenant, the “holy” chants that we are used to would not quite fit for more than nostalgia purposes.

A bold new direction is not only needed, but necessary.

That doesn’t meant I welcome this new composition with open arms.

Score increases the aesthetics of a piece of interactive entertainment, and differentiates it from just a ‘game’. If Halo 4 wants to succeed, it needs to have a soundtrack that will surpass its predecessors, a task that cannot be adequately described in any other way than daunting.

My apprehension is at its peak in this department, because music can make or break atmosphere – something pivotal in Halo 4.

Socializing

The final ingredient in the Halo 4 recipe that is causing me apprehension is that of the social aspect, in terms of both competitive and cooperative play. In specific, the net code.

I have no doubt in my mind that the competitive multiplayer will break new grounds, become the top played game on Xbox Live, and provide me hundreds of hours of entertainment; Halo’s versus mode is the pinnacle of classic multiplayer, something that we lack in modern gaming.

No, that aspect is completely fine by me and illicits no worry. My primary target is that of cooperative play, in both the campaign and Firefight.

Halo 3, ODST, Reach, and even Anniversary are all built off of the same abysmal net code that causes lag to anyone with anything less than a fiber optic connection, prohibiting many from thoroughly enjoying the experiences to be had in these modes.

It’s the exact reason why my sole cooperative outings in Halo 3, ODST, Reach, and even Anniversary were for their respective Legendary achievements. It’s precisely why Firefight has accrued a minimal playtime by me in Reach.

Why does the campaign continue to be built off of this horrible code?

My greatest hope is that the game will feature a new engine, but that is ultimately something that can only be fulfilled in my wildest dreams.

The fixing of this crucial issue will determine the ever-critical replay value of the title, something that it absolutely needs on its side in order to steal audiences away from other series.

This raises the apprehension on my part, as it’s a blatant, mind-boggling issue that needs to be addressed.

Screwing the consumer

This may appear as a somewhat unexpected source of much of my apprehension, but it’s more than justified in the game industry of 2012.

When the Xbox 360 released in November 2005, the lingering popularity of Halo 2 caused widespread rumors of a “Halo 2.5″ to spread through the internet like wildfire.

Think about it from a business perspective: your new system, which is the headstart into the next generation of gaming, lacks significant titles.

In order to ascertain the greatest player base and acquire the biggest sales numbers, you choose to release one of – if not THE – biggest title in your fiscal year on the ubiquitous platform that everyone already owns. But, in addition to this, you release an “enhanced” edition for the new console to attract greater sales.

While this idea never came to fruition and was a bit of a ridiculous thought in 2005, that concept does not seem quite so ludicrous in the modern industry.

I would go so far as to say that the 360 is like the PlayStation 2 of this generation, being as ubiquitous as Sony’s platform last generation and having just as extensive a library.

It makes the most business sense to release Halo 4 on both the 360 and the next Xbox system, as it will not only attract sales to both platforms and usher in the next generation, but it would dilute complaints about backwards compatibility (something that plagued the 360 upon launch).

Any veteran of console launches knows as well as I do that they are hectic.

The day pre-orders begin is typically the same day that they sell out, and in the case of the 360, it would be many months until the scarcity was resolved and the system was readily available to consumers.

If Halo 4 were to release concurrently on both platforms (with the implied feature of cross-platform play), the next system is guaranteed an AAA title with incentive, as the engine would presumably run at a higher quality on the new system compared to the 360 release.

While an enticing thought, it’s scary to owners of the current generation.

They could possibly add a feature, such as mouse and keyboard support for the new system, that would give players on that respective platform a greater advantage.

They may most likely include content not found in the earlier version. It could have inherent problems communicating with the ‘plus’ version on the superior console.

It’s a far more anxiety-inducing issue rather than something to hype oneself about, and slightly raises my apprehension regarding not only the way in which Halo 4 will be released, but about the next generation as a whole.

Nervous breakdown

After analyzing what we know about Halo 4, combined with my intensive research of the deep universe surrounding the franchise, piled on top of my experience with the series, along with my humble opinion thrown into the mix, I conclude that all Halo aficionados have the right to remain apprehensive.

Until we discover more concrete information, or, for some, get hands-on with the title, I will be extremely apprehensive about the new direction of the series, and how it will translate into the actual game that we will be obsessing over once the holidays arrive.

Too many questions exist, and not nearly enough answers can come out into the open.

We can only watch, wait, and attempt to keep our sanity while 343 valiantly pours their hearts, minds and souls into the next chapter of Master Chief’s adventures.

©2012 Nicholas Laborde

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Filed under: 1st Party Titles, Console gaming, New Xbox 360 Games, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 Game Previews, Xbox 360 News Tagged: | 343 Industries, bungie, Cortana, Covenant, Factions of Halo, Forerunner, Halo, Halo 3, Halo 4, halo anniversary, Master Chief