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6 hours of Halo 4 gameplay (NO CAMPAIGN OR S-OPS GAMEPLAY)

(1/1)

Eion Kilant 739:
http://www.twitch.tv/abracelarge/b/337718674

This is not only legitamate but legal. 343i allowed gameplay footage from legaly bought copies to be distributed on or after November 1st.
Spoiler: Image (click to show/hide)http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=43852846&postcount=1988
NOTE: This person has not played SpartanOps or Camaign at the posting of this review, the rest he has.

Spoiler: The player's review part 1 (click to show/hide)Posted by: A 3 Legged Goat
I don't know how or why it happened, but I was elated to wake up to a brand new copy of Halo 4 on my doorstep this aftertoon*. I immediately grabbed my gamefuel and set up a stream to show my friends and fellow fans my first experience with the game, and now I am here to share my thoughts with you. While the following information is ultimately my personal opinion from ~50 games, I think you should find it most resourceful to keep in mind for the next few days. Maybe it'll hype you up more; it may even turn you off. My goal is to give you my initial impressions - not an official MP review - and this may vary for each player or even change in the future.

You can find archived footage of my very first gameplay here. I will also answer any questions about the game pertaining to multiplayer/custom content.

Proof of legitimacy | *Permission to play online.


Part 1/3:

The Golden Triangle
It's no surprise that I and many others felt that this crucial aspect of Halo's core gameplay was rustled in Reach, but I think it'll please you to know that this is at the forefront of Halo 4. The gunplay is fast paced and crisp and it rewards not only the skillful player, but the smart player. Guns not only are satisfying to use, but also sound great and are fun to fight against. I'm not the best shot, but I was able to shoot my way to victory with little AA usage. Halo 4 is a gun game.

But most of you want to know about the precision weapons, as these form the backbone of Halo gameplay. I can reassure you that they are all rewarding and fun to use. The Battle Rifle is reminiscent of its former Halo 2 glory and is a beast on its own; however, compared to other precision rifles you may find yourself at a disadvantage often due to the pace of the game and scale of some maps. Honestly, I wouldn't use the Battle Rifle as a loadout weapon, but would have no problem picking it off of a dead player as the situation dictates.

That leaves the other 3 rifles. To confirm your assumptions, the DMR is indeed the best all-around weapon. It is fast, accurate at full speed and range, and just feels good to use. Forget everything you knew about the Reach DMR; Halo 4's kicks ass. Out DMRing a player is the most satisfying feeling ever. The Lightrifle is also pretty good. It has a rate of fire and kill time similar to the BR; however, it also uses the unique element of increased damage while scoped in. This means that if you quikscope on your 3rd shot, you can clean up the enemy with a 4sk, which is around the killtime of Halo 2/3's BR. The Carbine is also a great weapon for both suppressing enemies at mid range and spawning with. However, it's easy to lose control of it and waste ammo. In my opinion, the weapon effectiveness would be as follows: DMR > LR = Carbine > BR. You are free to run around with either one, but LR and DMR would be your best bets.

The Sniper was harder to use for me. I don't know if it was less aim assist or the recoil, or even the flinch while being shot, but it seemed akin to the Halo 3 sniper. No-scoping seemed considerably easier though. The Sticky Detonator is great for baiting and setting traps, but is a new weapon and not a Pro Pipe replacement. Concussion Rifle feels like the Halo 3 Brute Shot, and the Needler is very deadly. Spartan Laser is just orgasmic and the Rail Gun has a high learning curve. All other weapons - including automatics - are stronger, but you are not going to get free kills with them unless they are explosive power weapons. Nothing stuck out as overpowered other than the SAW.

Melee bleedthrough is back works like you would expect, and boy does it work.

Grenades are also something that people found a problem with in Reach and even Halo 3. Halo 4's grenades are definitely not grenukes (though I imagine that could change with specific armor mods) and they require skill to use effectively. They bounce more like Halo 3, their arc is akin to Halo 2, and their explosions are consistent. The grenade indicator helps for those WTF nades and I think it's a welcome addition. If you get a kill with a grenade or die by one, it was likely a kill that was earned and not spammed. This coupled with the removal of auto-pick up by default means grenade spam is a thing of the past. Use them wisely or you'll regret wasting them when you need them.

Overall, I think the Golden Triangle is revitalized and very much intact.

Armor Abilities
This is a controversial topic and I have my biases, but I honestly feel that the AAs in Halo 4 are an after thought. They don't help you earn kills anymore than you would have by shooting your guns. They can give you a leg up in certain scenarios (by design), but they are not at the forefront, nor are they required to play effectively.

Sprint is slowed down significantly when you're being shot at. It being default does cause its own issues, but it also increases the overall flow of the game. On the maps that played well, I welcomed its addition. If you dislike Sprint altogether then you'll just have to deal.

Thruster Pack is very useful and is not as disorienting as it may seem. It's currently my favorite ability and suits my playing style best, as it disorients other players and makes dodging vehicles and grenades rewarding.

Promethean Vision is what you would expect X ray vision to be. Most of the players I encountered were using it, but I don't think it's overpowered. It shows you how a player is moving and where they are, but that information can change in any encounter and the usage of the AA itself can be disorienting. When somebody is using it, there's a sweep on your radar and an icon over their red dot. I was scanned by it every single game, but most of the encounters I lost were a result of bad aim or play on my part as opposed to an advantage the other player just received. Promethean Vision only seems to give you a jump on players oblivious to you. I imagine it will be used a lot by players who like to put themselves in good positioning; However, if you're a run and gun type of player, this is will not benefit you. PV is just radar on steroids.

Jetpack is the Jetpack. It functions the same but it is nerfed. It accelerates faster, but dies out quicker as well and you cannot hover as easily with it. That means less air time and an easier target. While it will still bypass map control and give you immediate height advantage, it is more manageable.

I don't have much experience with the Hard Light shield but it definitely is not Armor Lock 2.0. It can be frustrating in 1v1's when the player is near cover, but in the open or a 2v1 it will rarely help you, and you're screwed against more than that. I imagine a team with HLS would be difficult to attack directly, but the abundance of counters to it make it balanced.

Hologram is REALLY useful. It is paired with one of the default loadouts and it was the first ability I used. I was pleasantly surprised by how I was both deceiving and deceived with it. Oh, and it teabags over dead bodies.

Active Camo as an ability remains much the same as it did in Reach. There are several changes to the way the radar functions, and it lasts shorter if you stay still. I can't say much else as I think AC should be a power up instead, but for what we have it wont be as annoying to fight as Reach.

I've found no practical use for the Auto Sentry, though a player did manage to distract me with it briefly. It looks cool and can make for fun mini-games, but it's a waste of an AA in Multiplayer.

Again, AAs are not at the forefront of the game. They're there and they're useful, but if your gunplay is poor they aren't going to hand you free wins. You can run around without an AA or even Sprinting and still top the scoreboard. 

Infinity Slayer
Infinity Slayer is a new twist on the mode with killcams, instant respawn, and Personal Ordnance. The similarities to other shooters are apparent, but it's now in the confines of Halo.

First, Killcams don't even work properly and are expected to be patched in a Day 1 update. However, they do help for those WTF moments, and there are games where you can just watch your deathcam instead. Instant Respawn is not good because I often spawned behind players and was able to pick up revenge kills and clean them up. It's not as problematic in BTB, but in 4v4 its issues will become apparent very early on especially since all of the maps appear to have Dynamic Spawns in Slayer.
 
Honestly, I do not like Personal Ordnance Drops. I was earning power weapons in BTB and powerups in 4v4 and they all gave me incredible situational advantages over players and vehicles. Damage Boost is very easy to abuse and it almost always leads to another drop immediately afterwards. The other powerups aren't as questionable, but the power weapons are. You should not be calling in power weapons, period. It made BTB very chaotic and it seemed as though there was never any moment where something wasn't exploding. I like action packed matches, but Infinity Slayer in BTB is just too much. One plus though is that they don't always spawn where you want it, which means you at least have to think when and where you call it in.

However, even with these gimmicks and issues, it is still Halo. You can obviously tell it was saturated with flashy additions, but your ability to both outshoot and outthink your opponent is what will consistently put you out on top. I'm beating players I am better than and dying to players better than me consistently. I have yet to see any game-breaking equalizer outside of PODs.

Part 2 and 3 are following this post.
 

343i is also planning a Title Update upon release to fix some of the bugs. All stats will also be reset at release.

Discuss.

Eion Kilant 739:
Spoiler: Review part 2 (click to show/hide)Posted by: A 3 Legged Goat
Part 2

Maps
The maps all look beautiful and most play well despite the issues with IS. However, the dynamic spawns often makes it unpredictable, and this will become apparent when people learn how to abuse them. Adrift, Solace, and Complex all play very slowly in Slayer. If the players are chasing each other for kills, then the game will go by quicker. However, this is not the smartest way to play, and players who know what they're doing will see little map movement on these 3 maps for Slayer. The lack of power weapons on the map initially as well as an area of incentive are to blame for this. Solace plays very slow and usually involves one team attempting to spawn trap the team camping their base, which doesn't work with dynamic spawns so it turns out to be a poor Slayer map overall. Adrift suffers from low amounts of player engagements, as there is literally no where to be on the map of value. I imagine teams will just sit in their bases. Complex is just not a 4v4 map in any capacity, but I don't expect it to play as fast paced as other maps due to the abundance of buildings with lots of cover and wide open site lines. Again, these maps look beautiful, but are not Slayer maps at all.

However, the rest of the maps play very well. Haven is what you'd expect for a competitive map, though the saturation in Infinity Slayer and lack of power weapons on the map are holding its potential back. Exile and Meltdown are well designed BTB maps but are geared more towards objective game modes. Longbow is honestly one of the best BTB maps I've ever played, as it has great vehicle combat as well as infantry battles. I ran into Nak3d Eli on it earlier and managed to dominate the other team by controlling Bravo Base. I played Vortex as well, but it wasn't my personal favorite. Wraith users will love this map though, but nothing stands out to me gameplay-wise. Ragnarok is the triumphant return of Valhalla, but the abundance of vehicles and power weapons make it play a lot less methodically than it once did. Mantis fights are great fun, but if you're not in a vehicle you will probably have a hard time playing this map on foot like you did in Halo 3.

Overall, the default maps are better than Reach's. If you do not find any of these enjoyable, then you should find solace in the fact that 9 new maps will be accumulated by the end of the spring via DLC.

Vehicles
Some of the vehicles feel great, but others are a chore to control. All vehicles have been buffed up in health and damage but also have several counters. The Warthog is no longer the beach ball that it was in Reach, and I personally think it looks badass. It's very fun to drive and it requires effort to take down again.

The Mantis is what you would expect from a giant robot, but if your shields go down you are a sitting duck. I was using the Mantis like I would if I was controlling my Spartan; utilize cover and stick to the sides of the map. It is powerful, but it's not a tank.

The Banshee has been nerfed significantly from the Reach variant. It's a lot more difficult to fly - almost to the point of awkwardness - and it will take a much more skilled user to pilot it. However, it is more resilient and the cannons are more powerful. Fans of the Reach Banshee will need to adjust.

The Wraith is incredibly powerful and rewarding to use. It feels heavier, but seems to move much faster and control better and more accurately. I was unable to shoot people boarding me off with a mortar though.

I have not yet had much experience with the Tank, Ghost or Mongoose effectively, but what I saw seemed better than their Reach iterations. The tank is still the monster that it was and I was destroyed with it on Exile, but I imagine it'll be easier to take down once I unlock Pulse Grenades and use the PP and Plasma Grenades. And of course, Mongoose launching is back.

Overall, vehicle combat is more fun, more skillful, and more rewarding. And they all sound deadly. BTB will thrive in this game once the issue of PODs is resolved.

Progression System
Players obsessed with unlocks will love this game, because you literally have to unlock everything from new weapons and abilities to emblems and armor. I was half expecting the main menu to be locked! I have not even scratched the surface, but ranking up doesn't take months like it did in Reach. A few hours of play and you'll be able to customize things to your liking. This could turn off players who want to just pick up and play, but the preset loadouts offer you some solace, as I was able to spawn with a DMR for my first game.

While this adds replayability for some, it also feels like a grinding chore at times and I don't think it will add much longevity to the game after a couple of months. 

Forge and Custom Options
The new forge environments are beautiful and a lot larger than they appear. However, there are quite a few setbacks that make it frustrating to use in some cases. For one, fine editing has been removed, so you will have to either use coordinates more often now. The magnets are also pretty unresponsive, and the forge objects will need to be coordinate edited to phase into terrain because the terrain pushes them out. This will slow down the building process, but the other options at least ensure that you make less mistakes. Objects also tend to bounce when being phased into the geometry, which makes using terrain really annoying. Some favorites of mine were removed, such as Covenant Crates and the Golf club. The palette is definitely increased though, so I look forward to building (and hopefully finishing) maps and sharing them with the community.

The unfortunate reality though is that Forge Maps will see less love this time around because they will not be integrated into the regular playlists. This means we wont see community content online for quite a while, and I fear that forge communities will diminish.

Custom Options have expanded in one way and gone backwards in others. Some gametypes, such as Flood and Capture the Flag, remove options that you would expect to have control over. However, there is still lots of customization to be done and we will still see unique gametypes after release. I don't think the Custom Community is going to explode, but I do think we will see a lot of fun games being made and played. Don't forget that 343 also has the ability to add in more gametypes, so we could see the return of old favorites if the community support is strong.

Compared to Reach, these 2 areas of the game don't appear to have actually improved, since they took two steps forward in one way and went backwards in others. But they are not bad and you will still find replayability from them if that's your forte.

User Interface and Menus
While menus are easier to navigate, the approach to them is a step back in my opinion. They are well done and they are smooth, but features that you think should be on the screen at all times are hidden. It's much quicker to switch lobbies and select your options, but at times you will have to do some digging to find what you want. In that regard, it is similar to Halo 2's UI, which means it's outdated, especially compared to Reach's crisp menus. I don't think it detracts from the experience since you shouldn't be spending your time in the lobby, but both the improvements and shortcomings are very obvious. At least we've got some great menu music though. Like ODST and Halo 2, you can sit in the menu and just think to yourself.

Matchmaking
While there are a few glitches and bugs, the game is much more consistent than both Halo 3 and Reach. Lag will always be lag, but you die when you die and you hit when you hit. The hitmarkers definitely help, but if you want to see the player connecting his shots with you in the kill cam you're wasting your time. Again, they are very glitchy - almost laughably so - and they are expected to be patched on release. There is also a brief pause when a player joins in progress like custom games, which I think could be a problem in games with a lot of quitters.

On the point of JIP, I have not found an option to disable it and start a fresh match yet. I've joined games halfway through and I've joined games that just ended. But it's nice to have it for when your teammate's quit, as it ensures the games that do play fast stay that way. I can't say much about this since there are 300 people online right now, but I don't think it will ruin the game.

Also, I think Friendly Fire is disabled in Infinity Slayer. I think I stuck a teammate with a sticky detonator and used him as a suicide bomber. It's not detrimental to the game and I would not have noticed otherwise, but it definitely encourages reckless play. You can stand behind a teammate and use him as a meat shield while you shoot through him. It's... odd, but I think Halo players are so used to not shooting their teammates that the effects wouldn't even be noticed. However, this is only in some modes, as I was still able to betray a player in (ironically enough) Flood mode. You think it'd be the other way around...

When you vote for one of 3 maps, you may not amend your vote afterwards. I think the choice is randomized in a tie, but don't quote me on it. Make sure to communicate the map you want with your team before you vote, but the maps aren't 'bad'. Some aren't as good as others, but they definitely are better built than Reach's default maps.There also appears to be the ability to back out of a lobby after you're locked into voting.

And ya, the announcer does talk a lot, but it's not that difficult to zone him out.

Part 3 coming next.

Spoiler: Review part 3 (click to show/hide)Posted by: A 3 Legged Goat
Part 3

Overall

Is it Halo? Yes. Is it gimmicky? Yes. Is it a good game? Its foundation is strong and if 343i supports the game well post-launch, then it has the potential to revive Halo and rival or even surpass Halo 3's multiplayer in some ways.

The omission of a skill-based ranking system is indeed a troubling thought though, as I am having a hard time finding replay value after 6 months. If the actual ranking up part of the game added replayability for you, then I urge you to use other websites to keep track of your skill level. There really isn't a way to gauge your improvements or another player's ability in the lobby, but you should be matched with players of your skill level anyway.

However, I honestly think a ranking system would only enhance the game at this point; its exclusion does not detract from the core gameplay. 343 have managed to nail what makes Halo...well, Halo. The saturation of flashy lights and (often) unnecessary additions create some problems, and it's quite obvious when the game is holding your hand (which it does a lot). However, they do not make noobs gods, and the game's skill integrity is much larger than Reach's.

I think Halo 4's only real problem is that 343 focused too much on the gameplay and not on the features, as you will notice that the game is lacking in content compared to Reach and even Halo 3. However, for their first game and a step in a different direction, it's impressive that they were able to make a game play this well.

Honestly, if you didn't like Reach because it changed from Halo 3, then you will not like Halo 4. However, if you welcome change and only didn't like Reach because its change was done poorly, you will love Halo 4. Halo 4 does what Reach tried to do properly, and underneath it manages to make a game that rivals its predecessors and even exceeds it in several ways. If you strip down Halo 4 of the gimmicks, the experience is almost akin to Halo 2, which is surprising to say the least.

It clearly wont be for everybody, and I imagine several players - both hardcore and laid back - being turned away early on. However, I believe the multiplayer is worth a try at the very least, and if you take it at face value, it really is enjoyable.

These are my honest initial impressions of the game's multiplayer. Your opinion may differ when you play, so I encourage you to keep this in the back of your mind, and not at the forefront when you boot up the game for the first time.

Multiplayer: A-; 8.5/10.

You may ask me any questions about the multiplayer and I will answer as best as I can. Alternatively, you may join Halo Haven to stay on top of this news. I will not advertise other avenues to connect with me here, but I will be posting and sharing Halo 4 content - including walkthroughs - for the next several days.

EDIT: The latest Waypoint Bulletin makes note that Campaign Theater and a visual representation of skill may make their way into the game in the "not so distant" future. In other words, expect to see these via a TU.

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