Sunday, September 29, 2013

Bungie: Too Conservative?

Is it me, or is the tried-and-true Halo shooter formula losing its luster? Even two years after the fall of 2007, which saw the pitting of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare against Halo 3, Halo ODST shows how much faith Bungie has in their engine, style of play, and graphics, as ODST appears to be ostensibly Halo 3 with a new paint job. Throughout the duration of Microsoft's E3 Press Conference, Modern Warfare 2 as well as Halo ODST had their time to shine. Not surprisingly, Halo ODST looked very dated in stark comparison to Modern Warfare 2. Why is it that it seems as though Bungie is not willing to conform to what is obviously successful in the realm of shooters? Is it that Bungie feels  they can have their own unique shooter experience? Personally, and maybe you've already deciphered this through my wording above, but I feel as though the Halo franchise has a far less immersive shooter experience to offer. Certainly Halo games have their climactic moments, but in terms of multiplayer and the simple act of shooting, Halo does far less to give the player a visceral sense of force behind the rifle. In fact, it's as if Halo is becoming primitive in this ever-evolving industry. The Halo franchise may also feel overwrought due to how little Bungie is willing to take risks, and how little they seem to have noticably implemented to the gameplay over the past years. It is evident Bungie does not want Halo to become a game where Spartans are lying down in multiplayer matches, trying not to be seen, or conversely, like the high-speed pace provided by the Unreal Tournament games. Rather, the Halo games have apparently been trying to achieve a balance of pace, tactics, and action. But if the Halo franchise were to endure a drastic change in gameplay, the genre of shooters as we know it may change forever. So I suppose I've answered the question for myself: Halo is Halo, and Call of Duty is Call of Duty, and there's no worth in changing that fact.

6.3.09

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