[FlamingCobra]

The story of Halo 4 will be focused less on the Halo series' traditional straightforward first person shooter genre, instead relying more on mystery, exploration and discovery.

Halo going Metroid?

[Ravenholme]

The story of Halo 4 will be focused less on the Halo series' traditional straightforward first person shooter genre, instead relying more on mystery, exploration and discovery.

Halo going Metroid?

Sounds a bit more like Marathon or System Shock 2, tbqh

[Beskargam]

hopefully, would be a good direction for the series to go

[Ravenholme]

hopefully, would be a good direction for the series to go

If it's more like those I cited, yes. If it's like the Bioshock series? **** no.

[JCDNWarrior]

Reminds me partially how Halo Combat Evolved plays out, I'm thinking, and actually hoping, that it'll be a good mix between Halo Combat Evolved and System Shock 2.

[Dark Hunter]

The story of Halo 4 will be focused less on the Halo series' traditional straightforward first person shooter genre, instead relying more on mystery, exploration and discovery.

Halo going Metroid?

Sounds a bit more like Marathon or System Shock 2, tbqh

**** yeah!

[deathfun]

What's wrong with the fashion of which Bioshock played out?

[Flaser]

What's wrong with the fashion of which Bioshock played out?

The whole games was more linear than the Chuo Shinkansen and was spoon-feeding stuff to the player like a baby.

[deathfun]

What's wrong with the fashion of which Bioshock played out?

The whole games was more linear than the Chuo Shinkansen and was spoon-feeding stuff to the player like a baby.

So basically, it being similar to countless other FPS makes it wrong? I still don't understand the reasoning
It's linear
So is Dead Space, CoD, Battlefield Bad Company, Perfect Dark, Goldeneye

As for spoon feeding, an example would be nice

[The E]

Didn't you notice how the fact that the player does not have a choice in what he does is a major plot point in BioShock?

Didn't you notice how the game blocked off access to areas immediately after you were done with whatever it was you were supposed to be doing there?

[FlamingCobra]

This is kind of like how I thought halo 4 would be.

When I started thinking up ideas for Halo 4 a while back, I was like

Master chief explores mysterious forerunner ruins and solves Metroid-Prime like puzzles to advance while simultaneously fighting the Flood.
Brutes get pissed (they're sore losers) and want revenge; another invasion of Earth. With Chief gone, humanity's last hope is their Sangheili allies. The Arbiter and the Elites help defend Earth.

And you switch off between the Arbiter and the Chief like in Halo 2.


For better or for worse, it looks like Halo 4 is going to focus only on Chief and the forerunners.

hopefully, would be a good direction for the series to go

I've got mixed feelings about this.

I personally think a really good direction for the series to go would be 150,000 years into the past, during the Human-Forerunner War.
That way, it will be much easier to flesh out the Forerunners, mostly because there will be living Forerunners. We can also get a feel for humanity's more advanced technology during that time. But most of all, we can return to the classic Halo formula:
Humans. Aliens. Flood.

I would center the Humans around magnetic-based weaponry (gauss carbine, railgun-type sniper rifle, etc) for aesthetic reasons and because.... well..... its a different direction. It's more advanced that chemical-based firearms, and less alien-looking than plasma and light-based weaponry. It's very futuristic, but still has a distinctly human feel.

[MP-Ryan]

Didn't you notice how the game blocked off access to areas immediately after you were done with whatever it was you were supposed to be doing there?

That was only BioShock 2 (and was a huge disappointing change).  In the original, you could go basically the entire way back to the start of the game if you so desired.  I did so to use the various vendors several times.

To be clear, System Shock 2 and Deus Ex both are quite linear too, and they're games that set the gold standard in terms of FPS-RPGs.  SS2 is virtually completely linear, with very few actual player choices; Deus Ex allows for minor choices along the way, but the ending basically boils down to where you go in the final level and what you want to happen - which they completely negated for Invisible War anyway. [ DX:HR took the ending stupidity one step further and reduced it to frickin' button presses.]

Regardless, the only substantial difference between the way SS2 railroads and the way BioShock railroads is that the RPG complexity (and insane difficulty) was dropped for BioShock.  This is why I'm always surprised when people praise SS2's gameplay and plot development, then trash BioShock.  SS2 is without a doubt my favorite game, but BioShock ranks right up there and the gameplay is only marginally different.

[Beskargam]

admits that SS2 and marathon were before my time. returning to halo 1 formula would be good. better plot overall might help to. without out the bit about never being able to find where youre supposed to go.

[FlamingCobra]

admits that SS2 and marathon were before my time. returning to halo 1 formula would be good. better plot overall might help to. without out the bit about never being able to find where youre supposed to go.

Halo 3's plot was kind of bad, but at this point I feel like it's a bit too late. How could the plot of subsequent games be improved?

EDIT: I also think a game set inside Onyx with Kelly as the protagonist would be a good spin-off.

[deathfun]

Didn't you notice how the fact that the player does not have a choice in what he does is a major plot point in BioShock?

Didn't you notice how the game blocked off access to areas immediately after you were done with whatever it was you were supposed to be doing there?

I did notice that first part, but I actually liked the idea. It was an interesting one and a welcome change to being told what to do directly, rather than subliminally
"RAMIREZ! TAKE DOWN THAT CHOPPER WITH THIS FRISBEE"
vs
"Would you kindly take down that chopper with this frisbee"

Not only that, but the idea was dynamic. It didn't remain "would you kindly" for the entire game, merely most of it

As for the second, as mentioned before, that was only present in the second game


EDIT: Also, with the mention of magnet weaponry

MAGNET GUN FROM RED FACTION
That would make it all infinitely more amusing

[Beskargam]

Kelly or Fred. Unfortunately, that arc has ended in Glasslands. so that's out.

[JCDNWarrior]

Ah, I was kinda certain John was landing on Onyx, but given how Halo Reach played out (I was certain at first it would be the other Spartan-II's, not a whole new crew) it's probably wholly new. I'm very interested nonetheless, the new direction seems refreshing, I hope 343 will take great lessons from aforementioned games (Deus Ex, System Shock 2, and so on). The whole idea of choice and consequence probably won't be there though. We'll see how it'll turn out in the end.

[NGTM-1R]

Didn't you notice how the fact that the player does not have a choice in what he does is a major plot point in BioShock?

That would seem to be a point in doing such a thing's favor. At least, for Bioshock.

I personally see this as a rather extreme departure. The Master Chief has always been portrayed as the world's best mechanic, so to speak, only his profession is killing things. He's quite single-minded about pursuit of his mission and orders. (The only thing he's ever regarded as overriding them is the destruction of all life in the galaxy.)

Puzzle-solving and exploration either mean Cortana is going to become a much bigger character or this  is going to be really downright bizarre.

[FlamingCobra]

Kelly or Fred. Unfortunately, that arc has ended in Glasslands. so that's out.

Who says a novel can't be made into a game?

Didn't you notice how the fact that the player does not have a choice in what he does is a major plot point in BioShock?

That would seem to be a point in doing such a thing's favor. At least, for Bioshock.

I personally see this as a rather extreme departure. The Master Chief has always been portrayed as the world's best mechanic, so to speak, only his profession is killing things. He's quite single-minded about pursuit of his mission and orders. (The only thing he's ever regarded as overriding them is the destruction of all life in the galaxy.)

Puzzle-solving and exploration either mean Cortana is going to become a much bigger character or this  is going to be really downright bizarre.

I simply do not understand how Co-op will work now. There won't be an Arbiter or Elites, and I just can't see 343 going back with the "double master chiefs" thing from Halo 1 & 2.

[Scotty]

Didn't you notice how the fact that the player does not have a choice in what he does is a major plot point in BioShock?

That would seem to be a point in doing such a thing's favor. At least, for Bioshock.

I personally see this as a rather extreme departure. The Master Chief has always been portrayed as the world's best mechanic, so to speak, only his profession is killing things. He's quite single-minded about pursuit of his mission and orders. (The only thing he's ever regarded as overriding them is the destruction of all life in the galaxy.)

Puzzle-solving and exploration either mean Cortana is going to become a much bigger character or this  is going to be really downright bizarre.

Perhaps, faced with no official orders and completely cut off from any source capable of issuing said orders beyond his AI, which he already knows has had brushes with rampancy several times, he'll actually get a characterization?

Or would that fall under the "downright bizarre" category?