Halo 4 (360)

[I OU a Beatn]

Live steam today at 2:30PM EST for the multiplayer happening here. (http://www.twitch.tv/343industries)

I probably shouldn't even watch it considering how eager I am for this to release, but I know I wont be able to help myself.

All the armor sets:

http://imgon.net/di-WUK0.png

All videos/screenshots indicate to me that 343 Studios knocked this baby out of the park. They had me at "we created maps specifically for online - not from the single player."

[I OU a Beatn]

IGN gives it a 9.8 (http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/11/01/halo-4-review)
Joystiq 10 (http://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/01/halo-4-review/)
Gamespot 9 (http://www.gamespot.com/halo-4/videos/video-review-halo-4-6399294/?tag=Topslot;Halo4Review;Halo4Review)
Game Informer 9.25 (http://www.gameinformer.com/games/halo_4/b/xbox360/archive/2012/11/01/halo-4-review-343-industries-balances-old-and-new.aspx)

[I OU a Beatn]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmiwWZ4jweE

[SmoothPancakes]

Halo 4 Limited Edition has arrived. Just cracked it open and am sorting through all the stuff in it. Definitely some original packaging with the Limited Edition. Sealed packaging/envelopes with various bits and the extras that come with the Limited Edition to sort of make it feel like a briefing package, etc. For all the special or limited editions of games that I have bought in the past, I may consider this the most original packaging I have come across.

I had no idea what was in the sealed silver envelope, I had to track down a video on Youtube of the Gamespot guys opening their Limited Edition copy. Turns out it's some sort of "mission briefing" card. I still haven't opened my silver envelope yet, but I'll probably crack it open later tonight once I get Halo 4 fully installed and get around to actually jumping on.

[JBHuskers]

Maybe the silver envelope contains a code to avoid 12 year old douches online.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[SmoothPancakes]

Maybe the silver envelope contains a code to avoid 12 year old douches online.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

I wish. :D

[I OU a Beatn]

I still don't have mine yet and this incident will solidify me never preordering another game from Amazon again. I preordered my Limited Edition clear back in May on the first day they were available. I had to have been one of the first to order it because I literally ordered it within 2 minutes after it was put up. I never once cancelled it and I had 2 day shipping all along, which guarantees release day shipping. What happens? They ship mine at 3 in the afternoon the Monday before release and mine gets stuck on the late route. I normally wouldn't care, but since they were shipping peoples' copies out early in the morning that didn't order until a few weeks ago, it kind of bugs me.

Smooth, are you going to use your avatar/armor codes or sell 'em on eBay? Look at the prices they're fetching. You could essentially get the game + all future maps for probably $50 after you sell the avatar/armor codes. It's ridiculous how much people pay for something so lame.

[JBHuskers]

Why do people pay so much for that stuff?

[I OU a Beatn]

Dunno, I wouldn't even pay $1 for it. :D

[I OU a Beatn]

How does this specialization stuff work with the Limited Edition? It said all would be unlocked if you bought the LE, which I did, and I entered the code, but they're still all locked.

[SmoothPancakes]

I still don't have mine yet and this incident will solidify me never preordering another game from Amazon again. I preordered my Limited Edition clear back in May on the first day they were available. I had to have been one of the first to order it because I literally ordered it within 2 minutes after it was put up. I never once cancelled it and I had 2 day shipping all along, which guarantees release day shipping. What happens? They ship mine at 3 in the afternoon the Monday before release and mine gets stuck on the late route. I normally wouldn't care, but since they were shipping peoples' copies out early in the morning that didn't order until a few weeks ago, it kind of bugs me.

Smooth, are you going to use your avatar/armor codes or sell 'em on eBay? Look at the prices they're fetching. You could essentially get the game + all future maps for probably $50 after you sell the avatar/armor codes. It's ridiculous how much people pay for something so lame.

Yeah, mine come anywhere from 11am to 4pm with UPS. I've received a couple packages in the past at 11am, I was for a while constantly getting it during the 1pm hour, in the past I would always get it after 4pm. AC3 last week came at 3:30, and Halo 4 today came right around 2:30 (first times I have ever had UPS drop off something during the 2 and 3pm hours). I've gotten used to it. Amazon tends to have some of the better preorder deals and generally have promos. Gamestop, I have to take an hour to drive to the next town over and back just to visit Gamestop, and Walmart always has shitty preorder deals. If I'm gonna preorder, I at least want something good. So Amazon has been the default for me when it comes to preordering for years now, even with it not generally arriving until after 1pm from UPS.

Sweet. :D I might have to check that out. I couldn't really care less about my avatar code. Armor, I'm not sure what I'll do with that, but the avatar stuff I have never really cared about. If I can make a nice little chunk of money on an avatar code, I'm down. :D


How does this specialization stuff work with the Limited Edition? It said all would be unlocked if you bought the LE, which I did, and I entered the code, but they're still all locked.

I'm not sure, I still haven't installed the discs and loaded it up yet, so I'll have to check it out later tonight.

[JBHuskers]

Do I need to play 1, 2, & 3 before 4 you think? :D

I started 1 recently. Played Reach too, but never finished it.

[I OU a Beatn]

If you really want to get into the lore, it wouldn't hurt to play them. However, Halo 4 is the start of a brand new trilogy, so you wouldn't really need to play the first trilogy to figure out what's going on.

The online for this is AMAZING. After playing so many shit online shooters the past several months, this is a breath of fresh air. It makes Reach look like garbage. I think I'm going to try the Spartan Ops later tonight if I get on. I love the idea of the episodic content.

[JBHuskers]

If you really want to get into the lore, it wouldn't hurt to play them. However, Halo 4 is the start of a brand new trilogy, so you wouldn't really need to play the first trilogy to figure out what's going on.

The online for this is AMAZING. After playing so many shit online shooters the past several months, this is a breath of fresh air. It makes Reach look like garbage. I think I'm going to try the Spartan Ops later tonight if I get on. I love the idea of the episodic content.

Hmmm, thanks. I might get this sooner than later then.

[SmoothPancakes]

Well, I was disappointed when I found out that Living Dead wasn't carried over from Reach to Halo 4. Of all the multi-player matches I played in Reach, Living Dead was probably 98% of them. However, now that I have played a good 8 or 10 matches of Big Team Infinity Slayer, I can safely say that I no longer care or mind about Living Dead not being in Halo 4. BTIS has been a shit ton of fun so far.

[I OU a Beatn]

Well, I was disappointed when I found out that Living Dead wasn't carried over from Reach to Halo 4. Of all the multi-player matches I played in Reach, Living Dead was probably 98% of them. However, now that I have played a good 8 or 10 matches of Big Team Infinity Slayer, I can safely say that I no longer care or mind about Living Dead not being in Halo 4. BTIS has been a shit ton of fun so far.

What was Living Dead?

[Canes Fan]

Pretty sure it's still in there just a different name

[SmoothPancakes]

What was Living Dead?

Well, officially it was considered "Humans vs. Zombies". Humans had shotguns and pistols. Zombies had plasma swords and, more often than not, unlimited sprint during a round. 3 rounds per game, highest score at the end wins. 12 players in the game, each round would start off with 9 humans, 3 zombies. The objective of the humans was to simply survive to the end of the round (4 minutes long), the objective of the zombies was to kill all the humans. Humans that got killed (infected) would respawn as a zombie, so zombies would gain a larger advantage as the round wore on, until it got down to the last man standing.

Essentially, it was a very simplistic game. Spawn as a zombie, trying to slice as many fuckers as you can with your sword. Spawn as a human, switch back and forth between picking zombies off with your pistol or blasting them in the face with you shotgun when they got close and try to avoid dying as long as possible. It was also a game mode where you could go with different tactics. You could work together with multiple people to guard areas on the map and create a human "safe haven" or you could go lone wolf and rely on your skills to keep you alive.

I would usually start each round teaming up with the other humans in the area to protect against and stay alive through the initial blitz of the round by the zombies, then by no later than the halfway point of the round, if I'm still alive as a human, I'd go lone wolf for the rest of the round and keep my ass alive by protecting my own and only my own, instead of relying on my dumbass teammates to protect my ass when they're guarding in a different direction, only to get killed when they would inevitably get killed with very little effort. I would actually play my best in games going lone wolf, either winning or finishing in the top 3 for the game. I'd be lucky to finish in the top 50% if I stayed teamed up and didn't go lone wolf even once during a game.

So that was a big reason why I enjoyed Living Dead over the other game modes. You can play it either in a FFA or Team Slayer frame of mind, changing up how you play from round to round, even switching back and forth mid-round. The regular team games modes and Slayer and whatnot, you had to hope your teammates weren't a bunch of dumbfucks if you had any hope to win the game.


Pretty sure it's still in there just a different name

Interesting. I'll have to take a look. I looked through the list of modes in Halo 4, but didn't see anything (or their descriptions) that sounded like Living Dead. I'll have to take a closer look at things when I get on in a little bit. But if anything, at least with as much fun as I was having earlier with Big Team Infinity Slayer, Living Dead, if it is in the mode list, won't be the be all, end all game mode of multiplayer for me in Halo 4.

[I OU a Beatn]

It's there - it's called Flood.

[SmoothPancakes]

It's there - it's called Flood.

Ah, nice. From looking at the Halo wiki, while there was an "Infection" playlist in Halo: Reach, Living Dead was the playlist that most people went for. But as long as there is a similar gametype in Halo 4, sweet. Big Team Infinity Slayer will definitely still get a lage portion of my playtime, but I'll have to check out Flood later this afternoon when I get home from work.

[I OU a Beatn]

Yeah, I played some Big Team last night since you said it was so much fun. It's so much better for me than regular Infinity Slayer. I don't know what it is, but 4 vs 4 just encourages a ton of camping and running in packs of two or three. In Big Team, it seems people are willing to separate and actually take you on in a gun battle rather than just running and hiding behind a corner when getting shot.

I also like the bigger maps a lot more. It seems that they flow a lot better than the smaller ones.

[SmoothPancakes]

Yeah, I played some Big Team last night since you said it was so much fun. It's so much better for me than regular Infinity Slayer. I don't know what it is, but 4 vs 4 just encourages a ton of camping and running in packs of two or three. In Big Team, it seems people are willing to separate and actually take you on in a gun battle rather than just running and hiding behind a corner when getting shot.

I also like the bigger maps a lot more. It seems that they flow a lot better than the smaller ones.

Yep, you just described the exact reasons I love it. I find the bigger maps a lot more fun since you can do so much more on them and have so many more paths and ways to get around from place to place on the map, or circle around behind and flank some enemies.A

nd agreed on the larger teams than 4 vs 4. I really have not seen any camping in my Big Team matches I've played. You'll get a mix of people running together in a group of 2 or 3 in somes areas, some people driving around on Warthogs or Ghosts, and then you'll have the people that go off by themselves and play it lone wolf throughout the match.

So you get a very nice mix of styles of play by people, and with massive maps, as well as very few areas where one could even successfully camp if they wanted to (besides their own starting bases), you get much more movement and gun battles than you will in regular Infinity Slayer.

Probably 80-90% of my kills so far in Big Team have come from crossing paths with someone from the other team as we both are trying to run from one side of the map to the other (or at least to where all the current fighting is going on) and trading bullets back and forth at close range with them and then trying to finish each other off with a melee attack. So I've personally seen very little in the way of camping or people trying to snipe, instead most opting for the "up in your face" gun battles.

[I OU a Beatn]

It takes a giant piece of shit company to move $300 million worth of a particular game and still shove P2P lag infested servers down their customers' throats... I'll just leave it at that. It's unfortunate, because this is easily my favorite online shooter I've played this generation. However, when there's latency and bullet lag in every single game, what's the point of playing it?

[JBHuskers]

If I had a buck for every time Beatn has said best game of this generation ;)

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[I OU a Beatn]

You'd have like $3. COD4, Gears 3, and now Halo 4. However, like the previous 2, there's so much lag and host advantage I can't even motivate myself to play it. Not to mention the other glitches that just make you shake your head. I've picked one loadout only to spawn with something completely different and no armor abilities. I've shot someone only to have them spawn right on top of me. I've blown up vehicles only to watch them come right back. It's all a direct result of lag. I just don't understand why companies continue to fuck over their customers with this horseshit. Online shooters will NEVER be consistent on P2P servers, so I don't know why they keep going that route.

But so I don't confuse people with my rant, it's definitely an amazing game when it works as it should. It's just a pity that over half the games I get into are laggy enough that it's borderline unplayable.

[SmoothPancakes]

It takes a giant piece of shit company to move $300 million worth of a particular game and still shove P2P lag infested servers down their customers' throats... I'll just leave it at that. It's unfortunate, because this is easily my favorite online shooter I've played this generation. However, when there's latency and bullet lag in every single game, what's the point of playing it?

Damnit, as soon as you post that, I had my first lag game on Halo 4. Crap was laggy as all hell. Before that, every game had been perfect, never had an issue. I'm hoping this doesn't turn into a trend for me. :smh:

[I OU a Beatn]

Damnit, as soon as you post that, I had my first lag game on Halo 4. Crap was laggy as all hell. Before that, every game had been perfect, never had an issue. I'm hoping this doesn't turn into a trend for me. :smh:

First 3 or 4 days I played it was crystal clear. Saturday, Sunday, and today have been horrific. Normally I would just move on and play something else but this is something I'll play for months if not years, so it's a little disappointing knowing that this will possibly be how it's going to be.

[SmoothPancakes]

First 3 or 4 days I played it was crystal clear. Saturday, Sunday, and today have been horrific. Normally I would just move on and play something else but this is something I'll play for months if not years, so it's a little disappointing knowing that this will possibly be how it's going to be.

Agreed. I played Reach constantly throughout the past year, other games I'd play for a bit and then only rarely go back to. Halo 4 is one of those that I am planning on playing constantly for the next couple years until the next Halo game comes out, so I hope this lag crap doesn't become the norm.

[morsdraconis]

It's all Activision's fuckin' fault too. Those fuckers made it "ok" for the player to be the host instead of having dedicated servers. I simply refuse to play a FPS that doesn't have dedicated servers and, until more people do so as well, it's not gonna change.

[Kev5890]

Distribution Mistake Means Free Halo 4 Crimson Map Pack DLC


The offers available to the pre-purchasers of Halo 4's map pack DLCs were a little complicated, but the confusion has lead to a free map pack, as long as you grab it quickly enough.

Shortly before the release of Halo 4, Microsoft and 343 Industries announced a promotion that if you played the game within the first two weeks of release, you would receive a code that would give you early access to certain multiplayer specializations. Users who received that code discovered that if they redeemed it, they could download Halo 4's first map pack, the Crimson map pack, for free. This was not something that was supposed to happen, but Microsoft has embraced the mistake and is now encouraging gamers who participated in the, "14 Day, Buy and Play," promotion to grab the maps before Tuesday December 18.
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/12/11/distribution-mistake-means-free-halo-4-dlc-for-everyone.aspx

[baseballplyrmvp]

we had halo night at work tonight. grifball is definitely one of the most fun multiplayer modes i've ever played. our team was outnumbered 5-3 and we still won every game.

[SmoothPancakes]

we had halo night at work tonight. grifball is definitely one of the most fun multiplayer modes i've ever played. our team was outnumbered 5-3 and we still won every game.

Yeah, grifball is fun as hell. I spent a bunch of time in Halo: Reach on grifball. I haven't played it yet on Halo 4, but I imagine I will in due time.

[JeffHCross]

I just love that Grifball is a RvB reference. :D

[JBHuskers]

This game worth $30?

[I OU a Beatn]

If you like Halo, I think it's the best in the series. If you don't like Halo, it wont do anything to change your mind. I personally enjoy it, BUT, I play online a lot. If you're not into online shooters, I'd probably wait until it goes lower.

[JBHuskers]

Don't hate Halo. I have Reach and the anniversary edition of the first one.

I kinda wanted another shooter to play on the 360 to go with Black Ops II.

[SmoothPancakes]

I'd say yes. I've enjoyed the hell out of the game. It nice and fresh with new grounds, new enemies and new weapons. And multiplayer is much more fun than Halo: Reach ever was. I never played Halo 3 multiplayer, so all I have to go on is Reach MP. But I have enjoyed 4. I played nothing but Halo 4 from the day it released until the first week of December until I jumped back into NCAA Football to continue my Tulsa dynasty.

[JBHuskers]

Alright, well if you see me on, look for me!

[JBHuskers]

Son of a bitch, the price was $30 just 5 minutes ago, now it's back to $60 :fp:

[I OU a Beatn]

Don't hate Halo. I have Reach and the anniversary edition of the first one.

I kinda wanted another shooter to play on the 360 to go with Black Ops II.

Well, I don't consider Reach to be Halo. That was some sort of Call of Duty/Halo abomination. This is much more in line with classic Halo, IMO. But yeah, if you're looking for an online shooter and you like how Halo plays, you absolutely can not go wrong. It's the best online shooter out right now for either console.

[SmoothPancakes]

Son of a bitch, the price was $30 just 5 minutes ago, now it's back to $60 :fp:

The fuck? Where were you buying it from?

[JBHuskers]

The fuck? Where were you buying it from?

Newegg through eBay. Found the deal on Slickdeals. So within the past five minutes they sold out of the $30 :(

[SmoothPancakes]

Newegg through eBay. Found the deal on Slickdeals. So within the past five minutes they sold out of the $30 :(

Damn, that sucks. :( Definitely was worth $30 (more in my opinion, granted I did pay $100 for the limited edition of the game :D). Maybe they'll have another deal on it.

[I OU a Beatn]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=0_n0woXdLi4

:))

[I OU a Beatn]

DLC: Majestic Map Pack
Cost: 800 MSP Achievements: 10 Points: 250

Didn't See It Comin' 10
In Majestic DLC matchmaking, assassinate an enemy who's in zoom mode.
Bird of Prey 50
In Majestic DLC matchmaking, perform 5 'airsassinations.'
Bullet Sponge 30
In Majestic DLC matchmaking, get the 'Close Call' medal twice during one match.
I See You! 10
In Majestic DLC matchmaking, kill 5 enemies while Promethean Vision is active.
Clever Girl 10
In Majestic DLC matchmaking, kill 5 enemies while Active Camo is active.
Flash of Light 30
In Majestic DLC matchmaking, get a Double Kill or higher with one Pulse Grenade.
Last Man Grinning 20
In Majestic DLC matchmaking, get 4 kills using the SAW without dying.
Pigs Can Fly 30
In Majestic DLC matchmaking, kill 3 enemies while they are using Jet Packs
Callin' in the Big Guns 40
In Majestic DLC matchmaking, call in 3 ordnance drops during the same game.
I Thrust at Thee 20
In Majestic DLC matchmaking, perform a melee kill right after using Thrust Pack.

Ew.

[JBHuskers]

Game purchased. Will be here Tuesday.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[SmoothPancakes]

Ew.

Oi. :fp:

[JBHuskers]

Digging multiplayer so far....getting my ass handed to me though :D

[SmoothPancakes]

Digging multiplayer so far....getting my ass handed to me though :D

If you're still online right now, I'll jump over. Was about to jump into my Tulsa dynasty, but just loading up NCAA now, so I haven't started anything. Otherwise, let me know if you're on another night, I'll join you. I played for an hour or two last night, had some really fun, really close games.

[JBHuskers]

If you're still online right now, I'll jump over. Was about to jump into my Tulsa dynasty, but just loading up NCAA now, so I haven't started anything. Otherwise, let me know if you're on another night, I'll join you. I played for an hour or two last night, had some really fun, really close games.

Nah. Had to play exv in Madden CCM, then testing out the Star Wars Pinball tables. I'll be on sometime this week probably. My k/d was better in the deathmatch than the domination type mode. That's for sure.

[SmoothPancakes]

Nah. Had to play exv in Madden CCM, then testing out the Star Wars Pinball tables. I'll be on sometime this week probably. My k/d was better in the deathmatch than the domination type mode. That's for sure.

Yeah, I play the big team deathmatch, the name escapes me at the moment. It's one of the choices at the top, 8 vs. 8 deathmatch. There have been some matches in it that have sucked, but most have been a lot of fun and usually some pretty close battles where both teams are within 100 points of each other by game's end.

Like I said, when you get online, toss a post in here or something, and if I can I'll jump online and join you. Now that I've completed the storyline in AC3, I'm going to be spending more of my non-NCAA time playing Halo 4 from now on, so I'm always cool with teaming up with others from on here. Better than playing with 7 randoms that I know nothing about, lol.

[I OU a Beatn]

I play Big Team as well. I prefer the smaller maps, but I refuse to play them as long as Promethean Vision is as prominent.

[SmoothPancakes]

I play Big Team as well. I prefer the smaller maps, but I refuse to play them as long as Promethean Vision is as prominent.

Ugh, yeah I hate Promethean Vision. That does ruin the small maps.

[I OU a Beatn]

Halo 4 will receive new multiplayer maps and an additional mode called Ricochet as part of the Champions Bundle, 343 Industries announced during a Rooster Teeth Expo livestream.

The downloadable content will be available as a complete bundle or separate packs. The Bullseye Pack will introduce sports-themed Spartan armor and new maps Pitfall, which is a remake of Halo 3's The Pit, and Vertigo. The pack's new mode, Ricochet, introduces 5v5 gameplay in what the developer calls "combat basketball." Players will compete for possession of a ball while scoring points, attacking and defending. Players can either throw the ball into the goal or run it in, which rewards more points.

New weapons and armor, including the Prefect, Mark V and ODST armor sets, will be available for separate purchase in the Infinity Armor Pack and the Steel Skin Pack. Players must purchase the map pack or complete bundle to receive the new mode for the first two weeks. Afterwards, it will be live for everyone via matchmaking.

The Champions Bundle will be available Aug. 20 for 800 Microsoft Points. It will not be included as part of Halo 4's Season Pass.

The PIT?!?! Holy hell, a ton of hours of my life are about to be wasted in 2 weeks. Kind of sucks it's not included with the Season Pass, but oh well.

[SmoothPancakes]

Sweet. Looks like Halo 4 will be seeing a drastic upswing in playtime in the near future.

[I OU a Beatn]

Yeah, I haven't played Halo as much as some of the die hard fans have, but I played a lot of Halo 3 and The Pit was far and away my favorite map of any of the Halo games I've played. Valhalla is up there, but I have so many fond memories of camping with the Energy Sword in that one building and just waiting for an unsuspecting enemy to come into my trap. :D