I hope the second half of Season One of Spartan Ops is actually good, rather than an illogical mess with little semblance of coherence or good game design. Character development would be nice, too.
Palmer.
Well, the leaked listings for Halo: Spartan Assault came true. It’s a twin stick shooter starring Sarah Palmer (hopefully giving her more development than her rote characterization in Halo 4) and another Spartan named Davis. It’s designed for Windows 8 devices and is set between the events of Halo 3 and Halo 4. It looks like it may be using some assets from Halo Wars, but I haven’t had time to study the differences. It’s a pretty sharp looking little game all around, though.
Now all MS has to do is tell us more about their secretive Halo: Bootcamp project for PC. If Microsoft/343 also has anything to say about Halo 5, that will make three games in the pipeline that we know of…which is the exact opposite of what I think 343 should be doing right now. Thankfully, Spartan Assault was confirmed as being developed by an outside party (Vanguard Games, who are made up of alumni from the “Halo killer” Killzone developer Guerrilla Games — small world, eh?) with oversight from 343, and Frankie’s/the MS rep’s wording on Bootcamp makes it seem completely distinct from their Reclaimer/console efforts, which would pretty much all but confirm another developer at play. Still, I have to wonder if Microsoft is spreading the Halo IP way too thin, especially after the rapid player decline of the multiplayer population in Halo 4.
AnonymousShe suffers from insipid writing, namely. She exists as an inoffensive character in the Halo 4 campaign with a lot of potential in terms of being a character who can help the Master Chief transition into being more fully human in Halo 5 and Halo 6. However, quizzical writing writing really bogs down her character and reduces her to an annoying military sergeant stereotype with no real standout traits of her own. This would be fine (we had lovable ol’ Avery Johnson for the entirety of the OT), but repetitive dialogue (“egghead, egghead, egghead”) and some seriously screwed up plot writing leaves her insufferable. Basically, the Halo universe is known to still follow military protocols established around our time period (1945-2013), and Palmer shows a complete disregard for protocols that should be being followed (and are followed in prior Halo games). For a more in-depth look at Palmer’s myriad problems as a character, check this out. The fact that’s she the leader of the Spartans of the Infinity, but shows very little in the way of actual leadership capabilities, is annoying. I also have to question the wisdom of outfitting someone who seems to spend most of their time on-board the Infinity with the UNSC’s most expensive gear, but that’s a problem with the desk-job Spartans in general (why does Miller have armor again?).
Otherwise, I think that Jennifer Hale does as good a job with Palmer as she can, but she certainly wasn’t written as skillfully as a Bastila Shan or Commander Shepard.
The level design of Spartan Ops Episodes 6 and 7 is much better than Episodes 1-5. There’s flow, direction, and for the most part, it works to the limited strength of the Halo 4 AI. They also have been selecting Promethean deployment much better than in the past episodes. Maybe they’ve finally realized that Promethean enemies are not fun to fight. In their current specialist role, they manage to be passable additions to the Halo sandbox. Without significant revision, I can’t ever see them being the main enemies of a Halo game.
The voice direction is better. Despite the fact that it’s largely the same cast, my comms aren’t filled with superfluous chatter and inane “humor”. When a funny line does drop, it usually drops with at least a smirk. Characters with huge plot issues, such as Palmer, remain unaddressed. I suppose we’ll never see her court-martialed like she should be. Hopefully she can become a compelling character one day. At least there wasn’t a single utterance of the word “egghead”.
It was nice to see vignettes (in-game cutscenes) make their debut in Episode 6’s first chapter. However, we haven’t really seen any since. I know vignettes need to be used at the right place and time, but there’s still a massive disconnect between cutscenes, both CG and in-engine, and what’s going on in the sandbox. One of my biggest complaints about Halo 4 in the single player and Spartan Ops department is that they feel very disjointed when they transition from cinematic to gameplay, and while 6 and 7 are a lot better than Episodes 1-5, they still need work. In particular, the Phantom crash in Episode 7 was really weak and reminded me of the Lich crash in Halo 4’s campaign. Fade to black, then you’re magically out of the vehicle and on the ground. Halo: Reach wasn’t seamless, but I still remember how gameplay and cinematics transitioned rather smoothly. A good comparison is the Falcon crash from the Reach mission “Tip of the Spear”. It fades to white as you crash, but still shows you getting up out of the debris. The jankiness of the transitions is really hurtful to immersion, especially to Spartan Ops, where it’s supposed to be your Spartan. 343 would be wise to emulate Bungie’s later work when it comes to transitions.
The CG episodes remain a mixed bag. Episode 6’s CG was incredibly stupid, while Episode 7’s was pretty good. I believe the amount of unbelievability has a direct correlation with how much action is put into the CG. The former focused on Doctor Henry Glassman and Spartan Gabriel Thorne’s escape from Elite custody in a very bombastic, over-the-top way, with guns, bombs, explosions, and Elites that somehow don’t have their energy shielding turned on. The latter focused primarily on driving plot threads ahead, with some very interesting interplay between Roland, the UNSC Infinity’s AI, and Catherine Halsey, creator of the Spartan IIs. It then devolved into brainless action where the Promeathen Knights somehow don’t have their energy shields turned on. The CG is inherently unbelievable because we see Palmer taking out Promethean Knights with lone pistol shots, Glassman escaping while an Elite wonders if Glassman’s detonator is a chocolate bar for thirty seconds, and other silly little things. Halo Wars had this problem too. In the “Monsters” cutscene, they reduced the Elite Honor Guard to kung-fu movie bad guys to serve as fodder for Spartans. It feels very out-of-universe and I don’t think 343 is doing themselves a service by putting mindless action in the CG. The more it focuses on driving the plot forward, the better it is.
Everyone seems to be pretending the Harvester is merely another Covenant vehicle. This really annoys me since it plainly doesn’t have much in the way of relation to standard Covenant design, and it really fits the bill of what Precursor technology and physiology is described as. This is partially 343’s fault, since they treat the damned thing like we already know what it is. For the first time in years, we have a mystery in a Halo game that isn’t because of some dim-bulbed plot contrivance, and 343 sees it fit to be treated just like any other thing. Woo.
Spartan Ops Episodes 6 and 7 make the entire first five episodes irrelevant. 1-5 were a morass of bad design choices, extremely poor storytelling, and a complete lack of ambition to live up to the promise laid out by Spartan Ops. 6 and 7, while not perfect, are telling of a willingness to improve a deeply flawed product on 343’s part. The only question is, is it too late? The reception of Spartan Ops has been mixed at best, and first impression is everything in this industry. 343 shot themselves in the foot with their initial offerings, and this is just showing how they’re limping to the finish line.
I’ll provide a more in-depth analysis of my the entirety of Spartan Ops Season 1 when we get to the end of Episode 10.
You haven’t lived until you’ve seen one these little nightmares running around in Halo 4 matchmaking.
Holy hell is it funny—that’s a female Spartan without her undersuit. Looks more like a Gray-type alien to me. I know that the female Spartans of Reach were a little exaggerated (those butts were way too round for tough, augmented, military women), but this just looks bizarre.
The only interesting shot in the Spartan Ops teaser from the VGAs.
My money’s on that thing being something Precursor in nature. Fits the bill, anyway. It’s interesting, but I can only hope that 343 Industries has taken fan feedback seriously in their design of the next set of Spartan Ops missions. Given the fact that they were mostly done by the time Halo 4 came out though, I doubt it. I will still hold some hope that the design is better regardless. At least don’t constantly bury us in rehashed spaces. I can handle the bad writing if the missions are good.
I hope the second half of Season One of Spartan Ops is actually good, rather than an illogical mess with little semblance of coherence or good game design. Character development would be nice, too.
Palmer.
Is the book worth it? I really enjoyed Halo: Cryptum, but I’ve heard a lot of mixed things about its follow-up. I know most of its plot details, but it still might be a decent story if the prose is good (the skeleton of the plot strikes as merely serviceable, an obvious bridge for the series).
This is also predicated on my lack of enjoyment of Halo 4’s main story. It was a good thread, but I felt it lacking in comparison to the stuff they were able to achieve on a smaller budget with Halo 4’s terminals. I’m well aware that the terminals of the game are tied strongly to the narrative of the Forerunner Saga.
Then, I’m hoping to get Silentium when it drops next year. Even if $24 is exorbitant for a book.
Story idea: The Master Chief reliving missions in the War Games simulator after Halo 4, attempting to cope with recent events.
Now whether to write this or not. In all my years as a writer, I’ve only done one thing that had the Master Chief in it…and it certainly wasn’t exploring his character. But maybe it will be a good exercise to do as I am winding down a bit on my involvement in the Halo universe…and I’d like to end where I had started.
My biggest problem with Halo 4 in terms of story is that the Didact’s actions aren’t entirely believable. A lot of the time he comes off as less of a Halo villain and more of a James Bond villain (disregarding the fact that he’s 100,000 years old and clearly not human). At nearly any point in the story, he could have killed the Master Chief. Quickly, concisely, effectively. No toying around with his estranged lovers’ pets. Instead, he lets him off the hook. This is understandable the first time around, to a degree, but around the later parts of the game, it really irked me. I went back to think if any Halo villains had previously done this. ((SPOILERS FOR HALO 1, 2, 3, WARS, ODST, REACH, and 4))
Can’t rank up anymore in Halo 4 because I didn’t buy the worthless Limited Edition. SR70 until further notice.
Destiny doesn’t get shown off until December 7th.
Dishonored should have come in the mail like two days ago.
This is a really nebulous point in my gaming life.
Every time Palmer says “egghead” or “geek”, you down a shot.
Legendary mode: every time she says “egghead”, “geek”, hingehead”, or belittles one of the Spartans, you take a shot.
My main problem with Forward Unto Dawn is that Lasky is an entirely different character from the web series going into Halo 4. None of the character elements I liked about Lasky from the series are there—the scar, the thousand-yard stare of doom, the bit of superheated Hunter the Master Chief gave to him. I kind of prefer the grizzled looking Lasky at the end of FUD to the younger looking, more affable one of Halo 4.
Hopefully Halo 5 will fuse the two depictions of the character together. At least add the scar to his lip, dammit.
The one thing (bar halo legends) that i dont like that 343 industries has done with the halo universe / cannon since they took over, Is their perception of Dr Halsey since Karen Traviss took over writing the halo fiction the depiction of Halsey has been a negative one of her methods that created the spartan II. During bungie’s time incharge of halo cannon, we got the spartan II view of halsey as a “mother” type were she was respected and liked. 343 has turned this on its head with the views from Parangosky and ONI with her being treated as a war criminal.
I preferred the Dr’s character as bungie portrayed her.
You’re not looking at a change in character or canon. It’s a change of perspective. In most of the early Halo EU material, we saw Doctor Halsey more or less from the viewpoint of the Spartan IIs. Children she stole. She indoctrinated. Turned into the perfect killing machines. Of course they would look on her with some inkling of a child’s affection for their mother— she’s the closest they had.
Eric Nylund, the creator of Halsey and writer for much of the early expanded universe material, was the first person to touch upon Halsey being a sort of justified monster. Ghosts of Onyx (published 2006, back when Bungie was still in charge of Halo and about five years before 343 took over control of all of Halo) was a story that had emphasis on Halsey’s remorse for her horrific actions and the ramifications of destroying a few to save many. The Karen Traviss work merely expounds upon that and adds the long-veiled perspective of how the rest of the UNSC regards Halsey’s work, which is to say, very negatively. ONI and Parangosky are well known in the story to be operating on corrupt ground, which means they are not above using the Good Doctor as a scapegoat while they attempt to continue their questionable actions.
Halsey’s character remains in check, because she is still toiling in her own personal hell, trying to atone for and justify sins she committed a lifetime ago.
I’m disappointed Halo 4 didn’t have this scene.
I’m also disappointed that Johnson didn’t get a woman in Halo 4 (let’s see how many people get that one).
This is gonna sound terrible, but one of my favorite things to do in Halo 4 is boot up the mission “Shutdown” and stay on the Infinity. Then, I start killing Marines and Spartans. The funny thing about Halo 4 is that when you betray enough human allies, instead of the Marines gaining ungodly accuracy and/or one hit kill ability like in Halo 3 and Halo: Reach, they have the same stat tables as before, and won’t kill you instantly. So basically, you have thirty or forty human enemies. I feel that Halo hasn’t really allowed for many instances of human versus human engagements (multiplayer notwithstanding), so this whole engagement is basically a pipe dream scenario that I am really curious about.
I call it…Human Firefight.
