Five Signs Halo 5 is Headed in the Right Direction

Barely anything is known about the next Halo installment and it will most likely be a while before 343 Industries leaves Halo 4 behind and starts talking about its next title. Until then, one can only speculate how the game will play, what the story will be, and what new ideas it will bring. There are, however, positive signs scattered throughout the internet, perhaps hinting at Halo 5's progress. Below are five of these signs that may show Halo 5’s promising direction.

Critiquing the Narrative of Halo 4

When videogames mimic film, it's only fair that they be held to the same standards as the medium they've taken inspiration from. Plot structure, exposition, coherency, and overall narrative quality are hardly exclusive to film, but I feel videogames aren't held to similar standards in these areas when they should be. For example, how critics barely touched upon Darksiders' cringe-inducing, confusing, and cluttered story is deflating. At many points throughout the game, Darksiders made me stop and critically think why I enjoy playing games. Its narrative was so juvenile and so poorly executed that I questioned whether I was too old to be playing videogames at all. In a time where narratives are becoming increasingly important to the videogame experience, I think it's imperative that reviewers be more critical, and place a greater value on, narrative execution.  

Halo 4 Has a Descent Shot At Outselling Black Ops II

It's that time of year again. A time where gamers speculate whether Game X can overthrow the latest Call of Duty. Last year, CoD was up against Battlefield 3, and the year before that, was matched against Medal of Honor and Halo: Reach. But it seems that no matter what it's paired up against, Call of Duty continues to smash sales records and shatter the expectations of gamers everywhere. However, I'm convinced that's going to change in 2012. Well, at least for the Xbox 360.

Prediction Roundup: Volume II

 Prediction Roundup attempts to rationalize and provide insight to some of the gaming industry's most pressing questions by using deductive reasoning and supporting facts. Following each prediction is a handy "confidence meter" displaying how Game Nook views the prediction's probability.

State of the Franchise: Halo

Halo: Reach may have received financial success and critical acclaim, but Reach showed the age of the franchise and how it's not the console power-house it was a few years ago. With Call of Duty rising above and beyond Halo's success, I wouldn't be surprised if the next Halo instalment attempts to reinvent itself by straying drastically from its roots. If Halo: Reach taught me anything about the state of the franchise, it's that Halo is getting predictable and boring. Yes, I'm aware Call of Duty is extremely predictable year after year as well, but its rise to power was only recently, its game design more modern, whereas Halo has been dominating -and mostly unchanged- for almost a decade.

Why Halo: Reach's Campaign Was Disappointing -Part IV

Disclaimer: This is the conclusion of a four part series on why Halo: Reach's campaign was disappointing.

Part 1    Part 2    Part 3

Why Halo: Reach's Campaign Was Disappointing -Part III

 

Disclaimer: This is part three of a four part series on why Halo: Reach's campaign was disappointing. Click here for part two.

Why Halo: Reach's Campaign Was Disappointing -Part II

Disclaimer: This is part two of a four part series on why Halo: Reach's campaign was disappointing. Click here for part one.

Why Halo: Reach's Campaign Was Disappointing -Part I

Disclaimer: This is part one of a four part series on why Halo: Reach's campaign was disappointing. This is not a game review.

Halo Reach's campaign was incredibly disappointing. In fact, I was so let down, I felt obligated to write this article. I have a feeling that the Halo franchise, -among many other highly acclaimed franchises- tend to score relatively higher with game reviewers than unknown IPs. So, it frustrates a great deal that Halo: Reach received a metacritic score of 91/100; a score that it did not deserve in the slightest. I have suspicions that this game was treated too softly and was not taken seriously when reviewed; there are just too many problems with this game to think otherwise. Why should Bungie be rewarded when they made such a lacklustre story/campaign? A studio needs criticism to grow and Bungie hardly received any from major media sources. If criticism isn't heard or taken seriously, Bungie's next game will have the same problems Reach has. Hopefully Bungie is still early in development for their next game to consider this criticism.