Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn

[Hawki]

Who do you mean by (spoiler)? Cortana or the Didact? I think they're both going to, considering we hear the latter's voice in the epilogue and the other one is basically a given.

Both, actually, come to think of it.

"You know what Halo has always needed? Quicktime Events!

Calling the Didact battle a “quicktime event” is an insult to quicktime events in general.

A villain that is the unholy offspring of Voldemort and Shinzon!"

That’s giving the Didact too much credit.

But anyway, onto the IGN article…

"It all started with this one scene," Frank O'Conner, Franchise Director at 343i explained. "We had this really cool scene in mind, but we couldn't really get it to stick. You can drop the Chief from orbit, you can make him run through a Flood-infested labyrinth, and he'd come out alright. But what we had in mind? Not to get too spoilery, but we didn't have a fridge for him to take cover in."

Oh look, a reference to another fourth instalment that failed to live up to its predecessors. There’s probably a metaphor somewhere here…

"You should have seen the looks on our faces when an intern finally came up with a way out. Hardlight."

Please tell me his/her internship is over.

"Don't let appearances fool you," Kevin Grace, Franchise Manager at 343 Industries piped in. "The Forerunner aren't limited to simple geometric shapes. And those massive projectors? Just for show. Cortana could have surrounded the Chief in a skin-tight (well, armor-tight, ya know?) shell of Hardlight, strong enough to survive a point blank nuclear explosion, in the few nanoseconds it takes to detonate a nuke."

Did the Forerunners ever use it? I mean, I don’t mind the shield thing in itself believe it or not, but it sounds a bit much like plot convenience when phrased like that.

"Forerunner weapons. How do they work? Well, obviously, they're going to be mechanically identical to the Human weapons,

Why?

because Forerunner are basically just advanced humans.

…you’re an idiot.

But they can't shoot bullets, because that's what Human weapons do."

The Spartan Laser wants a word.

The answer was Hardlight. Hardlight bullets for the Forerunner battle rifle,

There was a Forerunner battle rifle? Missed it. Maybe they’re getting mixed up in the whole merging of the BR and DMR (another bad choice IMO).

bouncy hardlight bullets for the break-open shotgun,

Oh right, that shotgun that feels iffy in a lore sense, and is useless in a gameplay one?

and balls of hardlight that convert enemies into raw hardlight on impact.

Stop saying “hardlight.” You’re giving me a headache. And again, useless weapons.

"We had to show ranks within the Promethean enemies. Using different colors was what Bungie would have done,

A lot of things were done differently…

but it's a pretty hokey way to do it. So, we went with Hardlight spikes and Hardlight skulls under those helmets, exactly the sort of thing you'd expect a civilized race to have."

…no you wouldn’t.

"Storywise," Frank O'Conner stated. "We're very lucky to be working in a universe with a powerful force like Hardlight, because it opens up so many opportunities. We were in a bind because the Didact's personality, demeanor, even his appearance was different from the way he was in Greg Bear's books.

So, er, you didn’t think of trying to ensure the personalities would match up? Or is the Didact here the Ur-Didact while Bornstellar-Didact is the ‘good’ one, and the one from the H3 terminals?

Then someone who worked on the Metroid Prime series suggested Hardlight corruption.

As in, phazon? Oh god…

He's pure evil now,

Oh God!

more evil than the Covenant have ever been,

You’re really going there aren’t you?!

and he's got new powers from the Hardlight corruption."

GAAAAH!

The new powers are readily apparent when you first meet the Didact, where he throws the Chief around with the power of his mind. Telekinesis? Nope. He has subliminal control of Ultraviolet Hardlight. Same as the other stuff, just invisible.

Tell me, who looked at phazon and thought “hey, let’s apply this to hardlight, because we’re too lazy/incompetent to actually develop the Didact as a character?”

"Of course, he's not the only one with Hardlight powers. The Librarian, who some fans might almost recognize from the terminals, does some funky stuff to the Chief with precise use of Hardlight.

Hardlight is also related to the mutant gene apparently. Master Chief will have Wolverine claws in Halo 5.

And then there's the composer. Frankly, Tron ain't got nothing on us.

True. Even Tron: Legacy felt closer to the original than Halo 4 did.

Can you say 'Digitized Hardlight'?"

Can you say “space magic?”

Astute Halo fans might surmise that the Master Chief's new armor, decidedly different from the iconic Mark VI, might have origins in Hardlight. Surprisingly, this is not the case.

Very surprising. I thought you might have taken the easy way out.

"We thought about it," O'Conner said with a twinkle in his eye. "That'd be totally cool, right?

No it wouldn’t.

But his armor is actually Mark VI, just like the previous games. It's definitely changed, but having Hardlight as the cause just didn't seem realistic."

Hardlight has never been realistic. But until now, it stayed out of space magic territory.

"So, the official explanation is that Cortana modified the suit with nanotechnology."

As iffy as that explanation is, it pales in comparison to everything else in this article, so sure, I’ll roll with it.

##

So, what can I say? Well, at least the poison’s out now. I just hope 343 keeps to Halo and not Metroid. They’re already screwed up one media, so hopefully Metroid will be spared a similar fate.

[Pr0nogo]

Reading that article, I can see that the franchise is pretty much dead and gone, lore-wise. And I already knew the multiplayer was a mess after my first few matches.

[Quirel]

Calling the Didact battle a “quicktime event” is an insult to quicktime events in general.

Actually, quicktime events are a festering sore on the arse of video game design, and the sooner we can eradicate them and the designers who use them, the better.

Except for Bioware. They actually managed to use them well.

That’s giving the Didact too much credit.

Well, yes, even if both of his sources were idiots, you got a point.

Snark

Wow. Thanks for the laugh. Seriously, thanks.

That IGN article doesn't exist. I wrote it myself to vent my frustrations with Halo 4, and I took a lot of inspiration from this The Onion article. As for the Forerunner Battle Rifle, that would be the Light Rifle. Mechanically identical, except that it does extra damage when zoomed in.
Still symptomatic of lazy design or a severe lack of imagination.

Anyhow, yes, Halo in the hands of incompetents and anime fanboys now. On to something better.

[Hawki]

Actually, quicktime events are a festering sore on the arse of video game design, and the sooner we can eradicate them and the designers who use them, the better.

Except for Bioware. They actually managed to use them well.

I dunno. Felt they were used well in the Resident Evil games. But yeah, a QTE should add to gameplay, not stand-in for it.

That IGN article doesn't exist. I wrote it myself to vent my frustrations with Halo 4, and I took a lot of inspiration from this The Onion article. As for the Forerunner Battle Rifle, that would be the Light Rifle. Mechanically identical, except that it does extra damage when zoomed in.
Still symptomatic of lazy design or a severe lack of imagination.

Anyhow, yes, Halo in the hands of incompetents and anime fanboys now. On to something better.

...derp.

Had a feeling it might have been false, but as I typed this up during work, I didn't want to risk going to IGN to check (whereas with this site, as long as I scroll down far enough so there isn't a protoss on top, I can operate more freely). I guess it's a pro to you that you could write it so convincingly, and a con that in the current climate, I could actually see 343 implementing the above ideas.

But hey, thanks for putting it up anyway. Felt good to get it all out, even if it was a response rather than a rant per se.

[Visions of Khas]

I just finished Halo 4 earlier tonight. It's by far the most visually amazing game I've ever played. Yeah, there are some leaps in logic and omissions of reality. But if you've ever played any game in the franchise, you know what to expect.

The sound design, music and environments are absolutely gorgeous. I feel the antagonist's motives are one-dimensional, but they still made for a better villain than ones in most games these days.

I've still got questions about events, characters and lore -- especially about elements introduced by the expanded universe as it all led into this installment yet were never addressed in the game -- but overall this game ultimately felt fulfilling.

[Hawki]

I just finished Halo 4 earlier tonight. It's by far the most visually amazing game I've ever played.

...okay.

Yeah, there are some leaps in logic and omissions of reality.

Nah, really?

But if you've ever played any game in the franchise, you know what to expect.

I expected it. I didn't get it.

The sound design, music and environments are absolutely gorgeous.

Moving away from snark, I have to disagree. None of the new tracks really sold themselves to me, or at least, how they're used in the game. The OST for the last level for instance, while a good track in itself, didn't fit the situation at all IMO. I liked the sounds admittedly for the weapons and Covenant foes, but the environments were kinda "been there, done that," or if they weren't, felt like they were lifted from Tron.

I feel the antagonist's motives are one-dimensional, but they still made for a better villain than ones in most games these days.

Actually the Didact would be a 2D villain under the three dimensions of character paradigm (writing course money well spent. Go figure). But even then, he irritated me. He was vapid, his goals and plan boiled down to "well, I'm evil, so this is what I do" and his persona was a complete 180 of how he'd been portrayed in previous media, including Halo 3. I know 343 is setting up the plot point of him being one of two Didacts, but seriously, why not just use Faber?

Oh, that's right. It's because Faber is, according to the terminals, a good guy. Gah, 343 can't even get its own continuity straight, let alone Bungie's.

I've still got questions about events, characters and lore -- especially about elements introduced by the expanded universe as it all led into this installment yet were never addressed in the game

No kidding. It's incredible how John or Cortana never think to ask "why are the Covenant our enemies again" or "Spartan-IVs? When did they come in?" We as the players know the answers know the answer (provided you're familiar with the EU), but if not, you're boned. It's like 343 is saying "read our EU or suffer the consequences."

but overall this game ultimately felt fulfilling.

Well, more power to you I guess.

[Gradius]

Hawki - I don't get how you can dish on every single piece of media in existence yet still excuse and actually enjoy the travesty of a storyline in Wings of Liberty. It's the ultimate oxymoron. I mean, I haven't played Halo 4, but if it doesn't treat the player like a child, take a piss over the original lore, make each character lose 40 IQ points since the last game, and reek of all-around negligence....then you should be extolling its virtues to the masses. And if it does, then you should be ok with it anyway.

[TheEconomist]

SC2 gave enough opportunities for "Jerry x Kerry" abominations to satisfy him.

[Quirel]

But hey, thanks for putting it up anyway. Felt good to get it all out, even if it was a response rather than a rant per se.

Lets just say, I wouldn't have alluded to Phazon corruption if I didn't know that was one of your berserk buttons.

I just finished Halo 4 earlier tonight. It's by far the most visually amazing game I've ever played.

I'm not convinced that it's any better than Reach.

Well, yes, you have more people with fully animated faces that aren't hidden behind a visor for most of the game, but it seems like they made some trade-offs to get that fidelity. Notice that a lot of objects like crates are seen floating above the ground, and the draw-distance isn't really any longer than Reach.

In addition, I think that much of the 'wow' in the graphics comes from visually cluttered objects/structures. While Bungie kept it simple, for the most part, 343i went all out on the detail.
The result is a sandbox of visually similar weapons (Can you tell a Storm Rifle apart from a Carbine? Or a Light Rifle apart from a Binary Rifle? There will be a quiz on this, and it will be in the middle of a firefight when your shields are popped.), not to mention the Tron lines and greebles all over the Forerunner architecture.

Yeah, there are some leaps in logic and omissions of reality. But if you've ever played any game in the franchise, you know what to expect.

The sound design, music and environments are absolutely gorgeous.

Sound design is meh. They completely overhauled the sound effects of the weapons, so there's not a good distinction between conventional and plasma weapons. Not a big fan of making the Covenant incomprehensible... again.

As for the music, I found myself replacing whatever was playing in the final scene with Cortana with "Virgil's Theme" from Mass Effect. Worked better.

I feel the antagonist's motives are one-dimensional, but they still made for a better villain than ones in most games these days.

Feel sorry for most games, then.

I guess I'm getting tired of saving Earth. She's getting to be the eternal damsel in distress.

but overall this game ultimately felt fulfilling.

I guess that makes you feel pretty fortunate.

Actually the Didact would be a 2D villain under the three dimensions of character paradigm (writing course money well spent. Go figure).

May have to look him up sometime.

But even then, he irritated me. He was vapid, his goals and plan boiled down to "well, I'm evil, so this is what I do"

Hence Shinzon. Without the (Comparatively) good writing.

No kidding. It's incredible how John or Cortana never think to ask "why are the Covenant our enemies again"

John did. Cortana said "A lot can happen in four years".

or "Spartan-IVs? When did they come in?" We as the players know the answers know the answer (provided you're familiar with the EU), but if not, you're boned. It's like 343 is saying "read our EU or suffer the consequences."

I always thought that ME3 did too much to bring in the new guys. Hell, they had an entire character who was an idiot, just so he could ask the questions that newcomers to the franchise might ask.

Having played Halo 4, I now know it's possible to be too inclusive, and I'm a longtime fan who's read the books.

[Visions of Khas]

This is how I visualize people at this forum these days:




On the sound: I was originally disappointed to hear the heavy influences of dubstep and Daft Punk's Tron score. The influence of Tron in particular is readily apparent in all the Forerunner technology, especially in the finale levels. I wish there were more homage to Martin O'Donnell's orchestrations from the previous Halos.

Halo 4 is more or less on par with Reach on my scale. Maybe a little bit under, because though Halo 4 is grander in scope, the personality and characterization we were promised was lacking, while Reach delivered on this in spades.

[Didact] was vapid, his goals and plan boiled down to "well, I'm evil, so this is what I do" and his persona was a complete 180 of how he'd been portrayed in previous media, including Halo 3. I know 343 is setting up the plot point of him being one of two Didacts, but seriously, why not just use Faber?

I never understood him in the game. In all the media leading up to Halo 4, Didact revealed a grudging respect for humanity. In the pre-history presented in the Terminal videos, he even shows respect for his opposite number, the Lord of Admirals.

Then we (MC and Cortana) come along, unleash him from his Cryptum, and he goes on the rampage as though humanity didn't defeat the flood, and as though humanity destroyed Forerunner colonies just yesterday. The only thing I could think of was he knew of some threat that we don't, leading him to forge a new army from the human population of Earth with the Composer. But I don't believe there were any hints towards this.

To say that an ancient evil has been unleashed in the form of the Didact just seems... out of place. At worst he was misguided and prideful, but not necessarily evil evil.