Halo And 343 Industries: What The Hell Happened?

The state of the Halo franchise.

[Gazondaily]

What suffered under the latest Halo game was the campaign. By normal standards it was fine, by Halo's lofty standards it fell squarely on its face. It was a disjointed mess. And that's where 343's real challenge lies; fixing that for the next iteration and untangling the web to enable a campaign worthy of Halo's name.

The MP- which was the REALLY hard part to do however was stellar. That's something 343 really deserves praise for. Its not perfect by any means but to get this right shows that there is no reason a goof campaign can be done well.

I'm excited to see the next Halo but understandably have a lot of worries about the campaign. Hopefully 343 has learnt its lesson

[Araragifeels]

Plus don't forget how the ads mislead or falsely advertise about Halo 5 campaign.

[threefootwang]

Quite a few theories that actually dispute this. Argument being the ads were for the entire new trilogy and not just Halo 5, lots of evidence to back this up. Just search on Youtube

[showtimefolks]

threefoot

than advertise the trilogy not halo 5. You can always find theories for everything doesn't mean i's right. Just like all those no man sky interviews by the developers weren't right

[morganfell]

HALO 5 was the lowest selling of all main HALO launches. It is almost as if 343 wanted to remove the MC and introduce their own HALO creation. It seems 343 wanted so bad to erase Bungie because they were tired of being compared. Bungie often damaged the canon but 343 acted with total disregard. Now anyone can be a Spartan and they are being mass produced...at any age apparently.

The multiplayer isn't the boon everyone thinks. Most players in H5 by far play unranked matches all the while 343 has tried to shove the pro league down everyone's throats. I haven't logged on in some time but I do not need to see the achievements of a bunch of pro players. Give me the most badass play by some random guy. Not some paid gamer with an ego. Changing the play style to chase COD twitching which helps to sell loot boxes called REQ has not been the key to success. Large numbers of gamers that do play HALO MP run the MC Collection because H5 has become a shoot die rinse repeat game where teamwork is non-existent in pick up games. And pick up games were a huge part of what made HALO MP games great in the first place.

[hamburgerhill]

I agree with Morgan plus they removed the Halo theme which in my opinion was HALO. Shame on 343

[mikeslemonade]

Halo hasn't mattered since Halo 2. You got suspect or questionable taste if you think otherwise.

[RacerX]

Halo had it's day in the sun. They have no adventures left, it's the same story repeating itself. I have very fond memories of Halo 1 and 2....

[mikeslemonade]

RacerX, you speak the truth ^

[andibandit]

@Morgan

I mostly agree, except the sales stuff, where I find it inadequate to conclude anything from a single number. After all Halo5 released roughly 2 years after the release of X1, which in my opinion, has been selling like Sh1t.

[morganfell]

@andibandit,

That is rather the point. Past HALO games were system sellers.

@Hamburger,

I really like HALO. A lot. By that I mean HALO 3 and below. I have an insane HALO book collection. The canon matters to me. A lot. It doesn't matter to 343. And I have every soundtrack to every HALO title on CD. People ask, how could you have put up with 5 RROD Xbox 360s?

HALO.

Can't stand what 343 has done. The music is a huge part of it. People that love a classic do not want someone to try and one up it by doing their own thing. If you remove the essence of what something was, then it isn't that thing anymore.

[super_bruno]

"Plus don't forget how the ads mislead or falsely advertise about Halo 5 campaign."

this argument its just so silly :/

[crazyCoconuts]

Yea, the campaign was mediocre, but is there another arena MP game that has the depth and configurability that Halo has? I think it's kinda the gold standard in it's class even now, isn't it?

[Gazondaily]

Definitely. I need to get back on it but the skill gap is insane

[threefootwang]

I don't know if I'd say the campaign was mediocre. It honestly wasn't that bad.

Plus this new trilogy is following the original trilogy in terms of sequence and events.

Halo 1 & 4 have a similar story. You play as Master Chief, isolated on an unknown planet/ring, uncovering various mysteries.

Halo 2 & 5 similar as well. You play as two different characters, uncovering more plot lines, and less emphasis placed on Master Chief (Which I don't agree with).

Halo 3 & 6 will probably follow the same track. With Halo 3, huge emphasis on Master Chief, save the galaxy, wrap up all the plot details, a fantastic campaign, NTM some of the best online multiplayer to go along with it. It's already confirmed that Halo 6 will be exclusively Master Chief and it sounds like 343 is going all out in terms of development.

Could the Halo series be better? Probably, but to make the claim that it's a disaster or 343 botched things is way off.

[madforaday]

Halo always had depth to the MP with a high skill gap between players. Of course, that was the case since Halo 2. That was 14 years ago! I wouldn't question any of this if the newest Halo were the best Halo's to date. They are really good but they don't compare. As a gamer/consumer, why buy something when it isn't getting better?

[DarkVoyager]

“What The Hell Happened?“

343i happened.

Halo 4 had a good campaign but horrible MP while Halo 5 had a horrible campaign but good MP. They just can’t find balance.

[mcstorm]

Tbh you could look at it that they improved the MP side which the fans asked for in 5 but because of that the so lost its appeal but with halo 4 everyone wanted a great story and they did it on that but fell short on mp. So with that said halo 6 could be the game that everyone loves as they have the foot print of story from halo 4 and np from 5 to build up on

[spicelicka]

Absolutely agree with everything said here!

Campaign was bad compared to the legacy of the original games but better than many FPS games today. MP was stellar even though it can be improved (Real BTB maps). The inclusion of a custom games browser was the most important thing 343 did that even Bungie couldn't do after years of requests.

[showtimefolks]

septic

here is the problem they have got way too many macho developers at 343. Here is what i mean when bungie left MS tried to assemble the best people money could buy but the issue with that is many of them were either lead creative directors or VP of their development studios before joining 343. its always better to have a lot of talent but than it's harder to manage egos

[deno]

I agree. They did an excellent job on Halo 4 so I see them redeeming themselves with the next game.

[Codedan]

The Halo 5 campaign was amazing if you read Hall Reach. However if you played the crappy Halo Reach game which Bungie almost ruined the series with then you would have a hard time.

[andibandit]

.

[DJStotty]

I can only speak for myself, but personally i enjoyed the campaign in 5.

[-Foxtrot]

What happened? Easy to understand to be honest...they tried to make Halo THEIR thing and tried to remove Bungie attatcment from it

Halo 4 saw a decent campaign, opinions may differ on this but it still felt Halo like BUT the multiplayer was changed because 343 tried to remove what made the other ones great so they could "reinvent" the online. They did this because with how big the online was if they managed to pull it off they could go forward with it by making it the next big thing, not to mention it would always be from that day on a "343" crafted new bad ass multiplayer for Halo.

In the end...it didn't work

Halo 5 saw them revert the online back to what Bungies was like, it wasn't full on there but it was great compared to Halo 4, this time they took aim at the single player and wanted something different,. Like before they once again wanted a "343" crafted Halo campaign and tried to do the same thing they did with Halo 4s online by making huge changes so they could put their stamp on it. In the end they ruined it by forcing in a 343 crafted character with Agent Lock which they hoped could be so badass they could eventually replace Master Chief with since they knew how big MC was and how it was basically the equivalent of MC holding a big ass "Bungie Made" banner. Once they added a second character and tried to do a two sided story similar to Halo 2 they decided another big change was to add squads for each charter so people playing co-op could fill those roles but what happened was if you did it solo you were lumped with AI characters following you in the story.

In the end...it didn't work

There's changing up a franchise to keep it fresh but with 343 the changes just didn't fit the games and in the end felt like it was an obvious attempt to stamp their legacy on the franchise. With Halo 6 they need to continue improving the classic multiplayer and make Master Chief go solo again within the story, then for Halo 7 bring back Cortana to go along with him. I just felt it was strange to suddenly have Master Chiefs close friends with Blue Team when they've never hardly been mentioned within the main games, such great friends and they never got called in to help him during the original trilogy.

[Obscure_Observer]

@-Foxtrot

You made a lot of nonsentical assumptions based on someone else´s opinions. You´re trying to make 343i look bad guys trying to make a name out of Halo.

That´s not the case. At all! If it was up to you, those franchises would never evolve and we would never get games like the new God and Tomb Raider. You always have this weird grip on past, talking about what it was and what made this or that game great.

With Halo 5´s multiplayer, 343i achieved the best MP mode of this generation on a FPS game! Much much better, bigger and complex, than what Bungie could achieve with Destiny´s MP modes.

Locke was never meant to replace Master Chief! He´s not a HERO! He used to do wetworks for ONI as their agent and personal assassin! Halo 5 misleading ads pretty much describe him exactly what he used to be, a cold blood person and a killer.

Halo 5´s premisse is very good and true to the character of Master Chief that would do anything to save Cortana. But it was bad written and executed by Brian Reed which was fired because of it.

[-Foxtrot]

You think I want to make them look bad, it's pretty obvious with their big changes to core Halo mechanics that they want to change things, not to be "refreshing" but for something else. When you think of Halo you think of Bungie, they probably hated that as every was going on about it at the time.

There's a huge difference between evolve and change into something else. You think bringing in squads all of a sudden is "evolving" the franchise? God no...you're just changing the game or trying to change it into something else. God of War was a welcome change, Tomb Raider however was a new IP...there's a difference.

"With Halo 5´s multiplayer, 343i achieved the best MP mode of this generation on a FPS game! Much much better, bigger and complex, than what Bungie could achieve with Destiny´s MP modes"

I didn't say anything about Halo 5s multiplayer, the main point was Halo 4s multiplayer. Let me refresh your memory

***Halo 5 saw them revert the online back to what Bungies was like, it wasn't full on there but it was great compared to Halo 4***

Key sentence

***it was great compared to Halo 4***

"Locke was never meant to replace Master Chief!"

Oh please, the fact they forced him in like they did, even going as far as doing Halo Nightfall, a live action series on this sudden main character proves they wanted him to be a bigger star. Then you have the fact he's featured in the game MORE then Master Chief. If they wanted a dual story why not bring in Arbiter, a familiar character from the old games...they could have made it so he decided to hunt Chief knowing he'd be easier on him then anyone else the UNSC would send.

[Hungryalpaca]

Sorry but you’re wrong.

The Game was following the trend of advanced movement and as a result the game suffered. Making several weapons useless and forcing larger map sizes.

The game isn’t a game for halo fans. Hence why halo fans tend to hate 343. They don’t know what the halo community wants.

They want a halo game. Not a trend follower.

[slate91]

Well said Fox and I completely agree. Halo 5 mp was a step in the right direction, but still needs work. Halo 5 campaign was just terrible and highlights the fact that 343 still didn't completely know what Halo was about back in 2013/2014 (when they started working on it).

After Halo 5, I would shut 343 down for a month, break them into teams, and make them complete Halo 1 - Reach campaigns and report what their findings were. Present to me why you believe they were so beloved and what made Halo arguably the top shooter in the 00s.

This video is lengthy, but explains why 343 has been so incompetent and pretty much sums up why they have had no clue how to run the Halo franchise.
https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[-Foxtrot]

That is a good video, good find man

[Gamist2dot0]

Wow, that was sad to watch (former fan) yet entertaining and the length was just right.

[TheCommentator]

"What happened? Easy to understand to be honest...they tried to make Halo THEIR thing and tried to remove Bungie attatcment from it."

So Halo became bad because it tried to be different, but State of Decay 2 and Crackdown 3 aren't doing enough to change? Seems like there's a very small window for success for MS when it comes to how their games are being judged around here...

[super_cuddles]

The window is shut

[super_bruno]

"In the end, they ruined it by forcing in a 343 crafted character with Agent Lock which they hoped could be so badass they could eventually replace Master Chief with since they knew how big MC was and how it was basically the equivalent of MC holding a big ass "Bungie Made"

really, that's what happened, that is a bold assumptiont. I don't think they wanted to replace Mater chief at all, that would be suicide. I think the just wanted to introduce a second character, kind of what Bungie did in Halo 2 with the Arbiter.

[-Foxtrot]

Yeah a second character they could slowly transition into the main character, do it over time and what do you have in the future? A 343 made main character fronting the Halo franchise.

[Razmiran]

Yeah, just a secondary character, thats why he only got 85% of the missions

[franwex]

Basically the campaign was weak. The mp is great.
But it looks like 343 has taken the feedback to heart. Let’s see if they implement and actually improve the experience in the next game.
Unlike Bungie with Destiny 2.

[spicelicka]

I think the post launch support was great, a LOT of free content which was great. They will also be taking 4 years this time (they've hinted at 2019) which means they are willing to spend more time on it instead of releasing a rushed product.

I don't have much faith in their storytelling tbh, but I think if they can make the campaign gameplay amazing I will be satisfied.

[eddieistheillest]

The only good Halos were Bungie Halo game.

[franwex]

It’s crazy that the 343 Halo games are better than the Destiny games.

[Goldby]

So is solitaire

[OhMyGandhi]

To be entirely honest, this was an awful article that said so little about the games. All I've learned from this was that Halo and Halo 2 were the pinnacles of console shooters, using the emerging internet technology advances at the time to become classics and that Halo 5 was a disaster because it was overhyped by the market team, who work in different offices.

[Wotbot]

I loved Halo 5, a top exclusive.

Split screen was a massive miss

[Automatic79]

I guess I am in the minority, I loved campaign and MP. Halo is still one of the best co op campaign out there.

[jokerisalive]

you and me bro.

[AZRoboto]

Let's not praise Bungie too much in our eagerness to slam 343.

If it wasn't for 343, Halo would still be 30fps and multiplayer would be no more complex than what we see in Destiny - another game from a company that completely misses what the fans want despite so much feedback they choose to neglect.

That, and Bungie were the ones to introduce those awful class-like skills in Reach and those odd accessories in Halo 3... 343i would've been gold with Halo 5 if not for the complete deception on the campaign.

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

I think Halo 5’s marketing lead to its camapiagn and story be somewhat over criticisized. I didn’t like the story as it didn’t build off of Halo 4 story well and I didn’t care about the new characters. However, I think Halo 5 level design and combat were very solid. I find it strange that so many that were very critical of Halo 5’s story gave Battlefield 1 a free pass on its campaign.

[AZRoboto]

Oh marketing wouldn't have fixed anything that was wrong in 5's campaign, even if it was honest. The Didact was killed off in a random comic event by Chief and Blue Team. Cortana was randomly alive again with no explanation or "wait I thought she's dead?" reaction from anyone - Chief included. Blue team was known to be alive through the books, and reunited with Chief through other books and comic events. Meanwhile, in the game stories, we're still led to believe Master Chief is the sole remaining SPARTAN II but here we are, first level of the game, with Chief's original team back together as if they were never separated and Cortana missing as if we didn't just watch her go rampant and "die" very dramatically at the end of 4.

[FernDiggidy]

Amen

[glenn1979]

They need make a spin off like HALO ODST did back in the day let them be creative and have more experience to jump back in the main HALO game I think or get BUNGIE back somehow

[jokerisalive]

I liked Halo 5 as it was someth8ng different. Hard to beat the older games and not even fair to compare them. Things change and the MP with Warzone was awesome. 60fps and it held the frames pretty damn good. The X enhanced 4k patch makes it look incredible imo. Dont get all the hate for it except for the anti MS agenda that seems to never go away.

[Stogz]

Or maybe it's fair criticism, fanboys throw total love at the game when it doesn't deserve it. Yes the mp is 5 was good, but the story sucked, that is the general consensus. Has nothing to do with anti MS agenda nonsense. I liked the halo story a lot, but 343 is screwing that part up.

[Gaming_1st]

Maybe there is a reason for the "Anti MS agenda"....There is tons of stuff MS has done to back this up. Buying companies and ruining them. Trying to monopolize the market and government stepped in. Rush a product out that wasn't ready just to beat competition and in turn did not have the consumer in mind. Then the government had to step in a second time and make them give a extended warranty.

I could sit here and type things like this about MS all day long.

[Platformgamer]

dead i hope

[FernDiggidy]

Nah

[maybelovehate]

It has just been around too long. Series do get fatigued. I still enjoy the games, I love both 4 and 5 but maybe it is time to let Halo rest for a decade and let 343 work on something new. I would love for them to do a take on Perfect Dark.

[ghostrider32]

Franchise fatigue. I know they're tired of Halo, and want to make something brand new. Xbox management need to stop acting like Jorgen from Fairly Odd Parents and let them work on something different.

[SpaceRanger]

It’s the Halo that the fanbase wanted. With campaign gameplay shown several times before launch, and with the vocal halo fanbase that’s always existed even before that, it should have come to no surprise for them.

For others, like those commenting above, it may not have met the standard. But I’ve heard and seen that many xbox one owners say that they were fine with the quality that 343 is able to achieve at their maximum effort. Heck you could see that in the MP.

[TheColbertinator]

Franchise fatigue. 343 could work on a new IP or Perfect Dark instead. I would take no offense to that.

[Tedakin]

Halo 5 campaign was meh. Halo 5 online was unbelievable.

[Knightofelemia]

This is what happens when a new studio takes over a franchise and when they know nothing about the franchise.

[franwex]

Well 343 has a bunch of ex Bungie employees too.

[DonkeyWalrus]

They have like 3 ex bungie employees

[maybelovehate]

They worked on Halo long before they took it over. They were the perfect studio to take it on.

[optimus]

I never really played multiplayer on any halo games but as far as story goes I thought halo 3 and 4 had the best (along with Reach) 5 was ok, not as horrible as people make it out to be. Although I agree that a game with master chief in it should have master chief at least for 90% of the game.

[Biunpe05]

343 took over when bungie left, thats what happened

[P_Bomb]

I don’t know that anything happened. Personally I’ve never cared about Halo. Not the characters, the story, the gunplay, graphics. I wasn’t a kid when it came out so I have no nostalgia. Not 343’s fault.

In that regard, I’d simply suggest 343 try something new. Make a new IP and win some new fans. They could be an act capable of good originals, instead of being relegated to a Sunday night cover band.

[Blu3_Berry]

Honestly, I think Halo isn't as relevant as it used to be. It still got its fanbase, but I don't think it will be gaining new players anytime soon. So many other games have taken up people's time. Halo was fantastic for its time in the past, but now other series have sparked more interest to people than Halo has.

It also doesn't help that Bungie no longer works on Halo, and from I heard the campaign for Halo 5 was garbage.

[DonkeyWalrus]

You heard correctly about Halo 5's campaign, unfortunately. I think the problem is ever since 343 took over, they've been trying to change Halo to be like other popular games rather than let Halo simply be great on its own. Halo had a pretty unique style for console games, 343 tossed it out the window. I've heard rumors they want to add a Battle Royale mode to Halo 6, which if true makes me worry that they still haven't figured out that Halo should just stick to being good at doing what Halo does.

Watch dev documentaries of Bungie in their Halo days compared to 343 and you'll see a huge difference in their philosophy when it comes to making Halo games.

[maybelovehate]

The campaign wasn't garbage as far as gameplay and design. It was extremely well made. People are just upset because of what they did with Cortana, me included. Was especially frustrating after they did such a great job in Halo 4 regarding Cortana to have a twist like that.

[DonkeyWalrus]

The campaign actually is complete garbage in most aspects. It's incredibly short, horribly written, boring and repetitive gameplay, and overall just an embarrassment. It's the first Halo game that felt like a chore to finish and I couldn't even be bothered to give it a single replay. I've replayed campaigns from all other Halo games, even 4, countless times.

[hanko14]

I reckon give back to bungie. They re the ones that made it epic from campaign to multiplayer. See how Halo 3 was, wishing for another like that.

[3-4-5]

* 343 can't design multiplayer maps and took the fun out of Halo.

Halo 1,2,3 & Reach were all a lot of fun to play. 343 was in charge of Halo 4&5 and well...it speaks for itself.

They shorted us on Team Slayer multiplayer maps in Halo 5 and that is what 90% of people play.

They keep trying to cater to the 3,000 people who play at the pro level and the other 5 million of us are forced to play a game style we don't like as much.

They wasted potential and 343 studios is the problem. Wasting a truly great IP by trying to make it something it's not.

[maybelovehate]

Warzone not only fits the Halo universe perfectly but it is the best mode in the entire franchise, so I strongly disagree.

[RainbowBrite]

Very Humble opinion: 343 is not the right studio for Halo. Tap tap. MS should try with someone else, and perhaps not even that could work... There are certain games that are intimately related to certain studios (at a certain time)

[Tzuno]

Halo happened, Jesus Christ, do they even know to make other games beside Halo?

[GrmpyolGamer]

What the hell happened? They have made 2 hugely successful Halo games. That's what happened

[narsaku]

TBH I suggest everyone check out this video and it explains a lot, it basically paints 343 as complete retards who didn't, "get", the source material, and just decided to copy modern trends.

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

BTW: 2:25. Final Fantasy 15's bane. I know it's not related, but 80% of that game's story being in a fucking wiki was GARBAGE!!!!

[Minute Man 721]

I need to make time to play this and Gears 4

[IamTylerDurden1]

The reason why Halo 5 and Gears 4 were the lowest rated and lowest selling of the numbered series is simple. Bungie > 343 and Epic > The Coalition. It's not the same talent that created the series. The best of each series is over.

[PhoenixUp]

“Fans were clamoring for a return to form after the third and fourth games, which weren’t bad but also weren’t quite the successors that Halo 2 deserved.”

On Metacritic Halo 3 received a 94 & Halo: Reach received a 91. People weren’t disappointed with those titles. It was with Halo 4 when 343 took the reigns that it gained a largely divisive reception.

[Minute Man 721]

I cant remember anything from Hao 4

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

Halo: Reach was the a very divisive Halo game don't let nostalgia cloud your memory. Reach was controversial among fans due to armor abilities, story, sprint, etc. All Halo releases from Halo 2 onward have been divisive since the Halo community loves to bicker over which game is the best. I strongly remember how many people bashed Halo 2, Halo 3 and Reach for varying reasons.

[PhoenixUp]

@ Scirurus

If you want take that route then Halo 2 itself was a very divisive game, especially it’s controve ending.

However Halo 2, just like Halo 3 & Halo: Reach we’re still widely critically and commercially acclaimed.

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

All the Halo fps games have reviewed will Halo CE being the highest rated and ODST the lowest. The games have gradually dropped in review rating since Halo CE. Halo 2 was divisive due to the Arbiter, the ending and new mechanics such as duel wielding, Bungie even intended for the game to have sprint.

Every single Halo FPS game has had high sales. Frank O'connor stated that Halo 5 sold 5 million in 3 months, so it likely now has sales comparable to Halo 2. Halo 4 sold just as much as Reach. Halo 3 was the most successful Halo game with 12 million plus units sold, a sales number the series will likely never reach again due to the FPS market being more competitive, franchise fatigue, etc.

[NotanotherReboot]

Knack and Japan studio: What the hell happened?

[TheOttomatic91]

Halo 5

[super_cuddles]

Bring on 6 and right those wrongs

[Montrealien]

That clickbait though.

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

Gamingbolt.

[Hyperstrada]

yep

[Gamist2dot0]

Halo 3 was the last Halo I spent so many hours on.

[2ndhandcorn]

I only really buy it for the multiplayer and co op i have finished all the games but the story has allways been forgetable for me H5 is my fave though just from a multiplayer point of view no lag fast and fun.

[Cmoney007]

When your game seems to be lost on an island, it is time to go back to what worked quite well. Is it really that hard to find a good balance for this series again? I think MS and 343 Industries should pay attention to some of these comments on here.

[Vectrexer]

I loved Halo 5 ! Halo 6 will be a day one purchase for me.
All the Fanboy rhetoric here won't stop Fan's of this game series from enjoying another epic gaming experience!

[paintedgamer1984]

Halo is hot garbage now compared to what it used to be... diehard halo people need to accept that and move on. Jesus Christ.

[Blaze929]

Multiplayer was deep and honestly probably the best MP out of them all. SP though yeah, super dropped the ball

[paintedgamer1984]

I know right? They dropped master ch. And made cortana a bad guy lol. I was totally like da fnck?

[Zer0Flinch]

It’s not 343, it’s a played out game. Give it a break.

[Cajun Chicken]

Loved Halo 4 for sticking to the formula. Hated Halo 5 because they went their own direction, put forced AI controlled teams in it, shortened the campaign, screwed the story and gave us a new terribly uninteresting lead (Locke) and cut out much of what made Halo, like splitscreen and putting reviving downed teammates in when they just should had just respawned later on.

[WeedyOne]

Getting rid of split screen was a large part of its failure in my opinion. Split screen coop and online pvp done to perfection is what made Halo a popular fun a social game to play with friends.

[tigertron]

5 happened.