Realistically speaking what would it take for Halo to reach former glory and can 343i pull it off with Infinite?
It seems this is the game where they're really going back to the drawing board, taking their time etc. Finally getting off their outdated engine etc
SP campaign needs to be a masterpiece. Sony-level storytelling and visuals and a return to the
feeling of having agency about how you progress.
On the MP side, Without getting into a mechanics debate, I think there are other strengths that haven't been fully realized by bungie or 343.
Forge is the biggest thing. That Mode was Minecraft/Roblox before either existed, but the content discovery platform still isn't where it needs to be. I should be able to matchmake into the communities most popular creations w/o waiting for 343 to curate a Playlist.
The controls need to go back to being super simple. Depth should come from mastery of the weapon sandbox and map knowledge. The weapon sandbox should go back to being designed so that weapons are unique and serve niche use cases, rather than having 2-3 analogs for each gun.
They need to be more creative with the weaponry in general. Having weapons that could be contested that enhance movement and open up new strats/routes on the map would be a much interesting way to enhance mobility than all previous attempts at changing base mechanics.
Matchmaking needs to be streamlined. There are way too many Playlists. The lates MCC update suggests 343 is headed in the right direction. I think There should be 1) a single ranked competitive Playlist that mirrors the esport. 2) An exhibition Playlist that works like MCCs new Composer matching, but with an XP progression system like H3 and 3) a social section that allows people to matchmake into unranked dev gametypes and community creations.
I also think it would benefit from a Multiplayer tutorial and bots for training.
Yo we still talking Halo!
Sorry man. Halo is xbox for a lot of people. And its the sole reason I haven't been able to purchase a console from another manufacturer since 2001. I'll never be able to stop talking about it.
Except that was the old SWB games not the DICE game thats ranked in the NPD chart, SWB 2015 was an entirely different beast and has lifetime sales of 14 million copies. But yes a Halo game performing at peak would outsell SWB 2015 in NPD by a large amount, but it's not as bad as your making out even removing the exaggerated effect.
What? The entire point is that Halo is largely competing against the exact same franchise it's been competing against for the last 15+ years. Having more competition isn't an excuse for Halo declining, when all these other, equally old franchises still found ways to grow, astronomically, despite Dealing with the same amount of competition.
How is Halo getting beaten on its own console, by franchises it used to beat across all systems "not as bad as I'm making out". That wreaks of missed opportunity.
When we snap into reality, we realize the Battlefield franchise is just 1 year younger than Halo. COD is just 2 years younger than Halo. Rainbow 6 is 3 years older than Halo. Counter-Strike is 1 year older than Halo. Battlefront is 3 years younger than Halo. So why is it that all these old-ass shooter franchises are kicking major ass in the modern market, but Halo's decline gets handwaved due to "increased competition"?
Why didn't increased competition slow anyone else down? It's not just because they made changes - its because they made the
right changes while preserving what needed to stay the same. And that's not to say no mistakes were made with the aforementioned competition, but they generally didnt spend the better part of a decade in denial about them.
