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Spartan Ops Finally Fulfills Its Potential. Read Here.


BiggD
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Here are some screens for next week's Episode:

 

http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/9092/halseydark.jpg

 

http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/6784/knightship.jpg

 

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/3791/laskyshotty.jpg

 

http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/7771/palmerdual.jpg

 

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/2203/hunter4.jpg

 

http://img688.imageshack.us/img688/6879/insidei.jpg

Edited by BiggD
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super psyched for the new episode Monday! I knew it was only a matter of time before we had levels set on Infinity. Considering how much of the ship has been detailed between the S-Ops cutscenes and the Campaign cutscenes and level 4, they've got a decent amount of space to build on. Definitely looking forward to the next episode.

 

While I'm thinking about it, a proposal on how to make S-Ops better and I'm looking for opinions. So far S-Ops has thrived completely on over-the-top encounters with insane numbers of Hunters and enemies with over-the-top health and ammo and players pretty much just throw themselves at the enemy until everything is dead.

 

For season 2, what if they were to scale back the insanity. Make it more like the Campaign (maybe a little bit more ridiculous to accommodate 4 players) and instead of having unlimited lives, everybody has maybe 2 or 3 each. Instead of being a chaotic run n' gun experience it would force more tactical decisions between players. Actual strategy and guerrilla tactics. The more I play Spartan Ops, the more I wish it was like the Campaign, just on steroids. The occasional FRG grunt firing squad is understandable, but constantly throwing them at you wave after wave after wave is ridiculous and I either spend more time in the match dead or play strategically, which always lands me the fewest kills on the team because Elite shields are insanely overpowered (especially since S-Ops has never not lagged for me and it makes aiming and headshots nigh impossible.)

 

Just a though. Questions, comments, concerns?

 

And Bigg, you're just trying to boil my blood with that signature, aren't you? lol. I'm about ready to have an aneurism because of that TES travesty.

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No doubt, the missions are so disconnected from the Cinematics. But I'll still boot up Halo to do them on Monday.

 

The new pics looks fresh, too.

 

I still don't see what was so wrong with firefight. It was my favorite mode in the previous two Halo's.

 

Watch them put it back in 5 because of the outcry.

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Super psyched for the new episode Monday! I knew it was only a matter of time before we had levels set on Infinity.

 

While I'm thinking about it, a proposal on how to make S-Ops better and I'm looking for opinions:

 

For Season 2, what if they were to scale back the insanity; make it more like the Campaign and instead of having unlimited lives, everybody has maybe 2 or 3 each. Instead of being a chaotic run n' gun experience it would force more tactical decisions between players.

 

Just a thought. Questions, comments, concerns?

 

Fighting on the Infinity...personally, I don't know how to feel about that. Only because fighting on a UNSC ship is far too common in Halo (Pillar of Autumn, Cairo Station, Dawn). It may be fun though!

 

"Campaign on steroids" lolololol. I don't know man...I would like to have a set number of lives; either 4 lives across all players, or a pool of 15 lives total. But that may upset some gamers who don't take Spartan Ops as seriously as others. However, I do see how constantly throwing yourself at the countless waves of enemies in hopes to clear the battlefield out and move on is kinda mindless and lame.

 

I'm with you. Spartan Ops should have a limit of lives, for sure.

 

But who knows if there will even be a Season 2? It would be nice if they made one. More story-driven content makes me content.

 

And Bigg, you're just trying to boil my blood with that signature, aren't you? lol. I'm about ready to have an aneurism because of that TES travesty.

 

Lol, dude. I am so ready for it!! My friend signed up for the Beta so if he gets in, I am dropping everything and going over his house to test it out. I simply cannot wait :D :D

 

I still don't see what was so wrong with firefight. It was my favorite mode in the previous two Halo's. Watch them put it back in 5 because of the outcry.

 

There wasn't really anything wrong with it, 343 just wanted to try something new out. If they were to bring back Firefight, that'd be sweet. I want both modes in Halo 5, but that's asking for too much lol.

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I'm fairly certain there will be more. This is supposed to keep us pretty well occupied with Halo content until Halo 5. Now if they had to pick between more S-Ops Seasons and Halo 2 HD Remake, I'm taking Halo 2. Lol

 

Halo already has Matchmaking and Custom Games, so I don't see any reason for Spartan Ops to be mindless too. Just like at Beast Mode and Horde mode in GoW3. It actually had a fair amount of depth with setting up barriers, purchasing units, etc... Spartan Ops/Firefight could do with something similar (not to encourage "stealing" from other games as people like to call it.)

 

From what I've seen of the ES MMO, it looks pretty awful. Even the CGI, which always wins me over for any game, just made me hate the MMO that much more. The new character models look absolutely awful. They look too much like WoW and nothing like their Elder Scrolls style that the game should be in. Far as I'm concerned, not a real Elder Scrolls game.

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I'm fairly certain there will be more. This is supposed to keep us pretty well occupied with Halo content until Halo 5. Now if they had to pick between more S-Ops Seasons and Halo 2 HD Remake, I'm taking Halo 2. Lol

 

Halo already has Matchmaking and Custom Games, so I don't see any reason for Spartan Ops to be mindless too. Just like at Beast Mode and Horde mode in GoW3. It actually had a fair amount of depth with setting up barriers, purchasing units, etc... Spartan Ops/Firefight could do with something similar (not to encourage "stealing" from other games as people like to call it.)

 

Halo 2 > SpOps 2 for me as well. Alotta the secondary Co-Op modes developers are putting into their games are essentially an Enemy-Wave-Mode in which players don't use any strategy in order to complete the wave or finish the match/map.

 

Such an example is Assassin's Creed 3's Wolfpack Mode. 4 Players are tasked to strategically and silently take down enemy targets...yet when you get matched with 3 random players, they all run around killing everyone recklessly which nets the team no points...it's so stupid :(

 

From what I've seen of the ES MMO, it looks pretty awful. Even the CGI, which always wins me over for any game, just made me hate the MMO that much more. The new character models look absolutely awful. They look too much like WoW and nothing like their Elder Scrolls style that the game should be in. Far as I'm concerned, not a real Elder Scrolls game.

 

I'm the total opposite. I despise MMO's and yet the CGI won me over when I checked it out this past week. I still don't know if I'm 100% committed because like I said, I simply don't do MMO's..but we'll see.

 

To be on the same page, Elder Scrolls VI on the next gen console will be sweet. Where you looking/hoping for it to take place? I say Elsweyr as I'm a sucker for those Khajiit. (I'm by no means a lore-expert for TES...there's simply way too much to know and read into).

Edited by BiggD
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Hence why games like Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed shouldn't have multiplayer. It's just completely out of place for series like those.

 

For Elder Scrolls VI, I've done a bit of research on the series and I see two logicial possibilities. The more likely direction is going to be Summerset Isle (and maybe throw in Valenwood for good measure.) The existence of the Thalmor and the White Concordat Treaty suggests there will be some major political happenings for the next game assuming the next game isn't 200 years later like Skyrim was to Oblivion.

 

Assuming it jumps a decent amount of time into the future and brings up some new events, I would like to see them do Elseweyr and Black Marsh. Both regions are decently small enough that I could see them being combined for a next-gen Elder Scrolls. On top of that, they're almost bordering each other with only the Torpal Sea and the lower portion of Cyrodiil separating the two. The Khajiit and Argonians have always been at odds with one another, so I can see a war breaking out with the two. The Cyrodiil region with Leyawiin could even be enforced by the Imperials as a neutrality zone.

 

Either of these really works for me. I wouldn't mind returning to Morrowind personally (the whole region, not just Vvardenfell) but according to Dragonborn DLC most of Morrowind has been destroyed by Red Mountain. Hammerfell and High Rock just don't interest me and I don't think they're going to take the Elder Scrolls series off of Tamriel.

 

Now the real question is whether the universe should persist as is or if they should begin to push toward the industrial age like the Fable series has started moving toward. I never want guns in TES, but I wouldn't be against seeing more steam-punk designs (akin to the Dwemer, but more utilized in every-day life.)

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Hence why games like Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed shouldn't have multiplayer. It's just completely out of place for series like those.

 

For Elder Scrolls VI, I've done a bit of research on the series and I see two logicial possibilities. The more likely direction is going to be Summerset Isle (and maybe throw in Valenwood for good measure.)

 

Assuming it jumps a decent amount of time into the future and brings up some new events, I would like to see them do Elseweyr and Black Marsh. Both regions are decently small enough that I could see them being combined for a next-gen Elder Scrolls. The Khajiit and Argonians have always been at odds with one another, so I can see a war breaking out with the two.

 

Now the real question is whether the universe should persist as is or if they should begin to push toward the industrial age like the Fable series has started moving toward. I never want guns in TES, but I wouldn't be against seeing more steam-punk designs (akin to the Dwemer, but more utilized in every-day life.)

 

Tell that to the Devs. They add such useless MP to these Story-heavy games and then decide to support the game with DLC in terms of MP. Ugh.

 

I was thinking Summerset Isles would work too because the Thalmor had a pretty significant role in Skyrim. I wouldn't mind digging deeper into the history of them. Combining Elsweyr and Black Marsh could work, I hadn't thought of that. They're both small and their environments would give a nice contrast to each other.

 

I never played Morrowind but from the Dragonborn DLC, it seems like a good setting but since they already had a game on it, I'd rather them focus elsewhere.

 

I'll admit I don't know as much lore/background as you, but I'd say the future games should remain in the same style as Oblivion/Skyrim instead of moving towards a more industrial-Dwemer-like world.

 

EDIT: Apparently there's rumored DLC for February/March for a return to Hammerfell.

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The idea that Spartan Ops will have a season 2 is far fetched. At that point they'll charge us for the DLC and to that I have to say have you ever seen the populations for Halo DLC playlists? Nobody buys it.

 

Frank O'Connor mentioned briefly on neogaf that they were toying around with the idea of a "Elite Ops" but again the dwindling population for the game doesn't bode well for future expansions.

 

I'm all for it and will of course buy it because as much as I whine and moan I'm still a stupid fanboy. But they have to seriously step it up and not have lame 5 minute missions that have no real connection to the cinematic cutscenes.

 

And give us all the missions at once, I'm tired of this stupid rolling out each week mechanism designed to keep you invested. I want all 50 missions from the get-go. Especially if I have already downloaded them all.

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Honestly I never expected Season 2 to come free if there is one. I assumed from day one they would charge us something for it and I'm full ready to pay it, just as I intend to pay for any map packs they release after the initial 3. I'm still enjoying Halo 4. Campaign, Multiplayer, and Spartan Ops are all still fun in my book, so I'll continue to support the series regardless. I would like to see more connections between S-Ops gameplay and the CGI trailer (looks like Episode 7 might do that pretty well) but honestly even if it stays the same I want them for the Opening Cutscenes and in-game dialog. Hell, I'd honestly pay for 343 to release heavily-scripted versions of Spartan-Ops in movie form instead of actually playing it. Than we could ditch Crimson and focus completely on Fireteam Majestic. It could be another Web Series like FUD, but done with in-game graphics and gameplay. I'd be more than happy with that. (Speaking of which, forgot I bought Forward Unto Dawn. I need to watch that again for the extra footage!)

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The idea that Spartan Ops will have a season 2 is far fetched. At that point they'll charge us for the DLC and to that I have to say have you ever seen the populations for Halo DLC playlists? Nobody buys it.

 

Frank O'Connor mentioned briefly on neogaf that they were toying around with the idea of a "Elite Ops" but again the dwindling population for the game doesn't bode well for future expansions.

 

Elite Ops? LOLOLOL! If Frank truly said that then that's hilarious.

 

That's the dumbest thing that could happen to Halo 4....

 

 

 

I'd probably buy it though.

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Elite Ops? LOLOLOL! If Frank truly said that then that's hilarious.

 

That's the dumbest thing that could happen to Halo 4....

 

 

 

I'd probably buy it though.

 

He said it in response to people on neogaf complaining that you can't play as an Elite in H4.

 

It'd be interesting that's for sure. But who would you fight? Marines? Spartan-IVs? Seems to me they have to do a lot of coding for that and at that point I'd rather just have bots for custom games than a all-Elite season 2.

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He said it in response to people on neogaf complaining that you can't play as an Elite in H4.

 

It'd be interesting that's for sure. But who would you fight? Marines? Spartan-IVs? Seems to me they have to do a lot of coding for that and at that point I'd rather just have bots for custom games than a all-Elite season 2.

 

I could see his reasoning behind it, it's just a little silly. If it were an entire Season of playing as an Elite, I'm not sure how I would feel about it.

 

If it were like Halo 2, and it would bounce back and forth between Fire-team Crimson and an Elite squadron...that would be kinda badass.

 

EDIT: Probably fighting against standard Marines and non-important Spartan-IV's.

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Just a quick post. Played through the new levels of Spartan Ops Episode 7. Definitely the best episode yet. Quick breakdown:

 

Episode 1 takes place on Apex, a beach-front type of level that has you defending your phantom from an onslaught of Forerunner and Covenant. Includes several ghosts, a wraith, and a Mantis for a bit of fun. IMO, one of the best levels in Spartan Ops yet. It's somewhat linear and close-quarters, but there are multiple nooks and crannies to take cover in and it's a gorgeous locale.

 

Episodes 2,3,4,& 5 take place onboard Infinity. Fortunately they do not take place on the same map like re-used levels have in the past. 2 begins in a hangar bay similar, but graphically different from the one at the beginning of Level 6. 3,4,&5 begin in the room that the previous level left off, but you spend very little time within the room and it quickly moves you to new parts of the ship, all of which are beautifully streamlined into one consistent ship layout (although I think we need to have a word with the ship's interior decorator. Dark and Metal isn't a very inviting look, especially if you compare it with Pillar of Autumn and Cairo Station.

 

As for the encounters, they're actually akin to what I was wanting before. Instead of fighting over-the-top enemies with power weapons, there's more focus on sheer numbers. There's a particular focus on Jackal Rangers in this Episode and both Jackals and grunts will be your primary hassle, with Elites supplementing them with the usual plasma swords, Fuel Rod Cannons, and insanely-superior-to-mine Storm Rifles. I still die more than I would like, but a large part of that is due to my carelessness since there are no repercussions for dying. These levels are much more balanced and enjoyable, especially with the large amount of UNSC weapons and ammo being thrown at you. Crawlers have a moderate presence as well, but Knights and Watchers weren't nearly as common except for Chapter 1 & 5.

 

The cutscene itself was magnificently done. Strongly focused on Dr. Halsey and her insubordinate nature. No questions were really answered, but we did get to see the Covenant invade the ship and Lasky gets a Shotgun. Very cool indeed.

 

Overall, the missions themselves play perfectly into the Cutscene, something I know a lot of people were asking for. At no point in the 5 chapters did I not feel like I was working toward something. Disarming nukes, reactivating weapons systems, and so on. It felt like an actual Campaign mission with the sheer amount of dialog provided in-game.

Edited by DarkReign2021
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Just a quick post. Played through the new levels of Spartan Ops Episode 7. Definitely the best episode yet.

 

The cutscene itself was magnificently done. Strongly focused on Dr. Halsey and her insubordinate nature. No questions were really answered, but we did get to see the Covenant invade the ship and Lasky gets a Shotgun. Very cool indeed.

 

Overall, the missions themselves play perfectly into the Cutscene, something I know a lot of people were asking for. At no point in the 5 chapters did I not feel like I was working toward something. Disarming nukes, reactivating weapons systems, and so on. It felt like an actual Campaign mission with the sheer amount of dialog provided in-game.

 

Sounds like good stuff. I'll be playing them through after work today. Hopefully it's a good hour of SpOps tonight.

 

EDIT: Caught the Intro Cinematic before leaving to work - The reference to John-117 was good stuff. Really intense opening. Except for the fact that apparently Palmer can one-shot Knights with a Magnum.

Edited by BiggD
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Yeah. I thought that was kind of cheesy. I'm going to chalk it up to the spartans around her are knocking out the shields when the screen isn't looking.

 

This. As soon as I saw it, I wondered how people could not be concluding that "Hey, the marines are over here firing ARs at the Knights, surely she's being tactical and helping them by picking off the shieldless!"

 

Guess we're in the few.

 

On topic though, I am thoroughly impressed with the way Episode 6 played, it felt like the Co-Op campaign that we were first told about when we heard about SpOps. Locations are fantastic and nothing feels pointless or needlessly repetitious and now I hear that Ep 7 is great as well.

 

Definitely looking forward to how they wrap this all up and inevitably tie things into Halo 5.

Edited by Convas
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I wouldn't expect them to tie things into Halo 5 just yet. I'm expecting there to be at least a Season 2. I would like to think Spartan Ops will keep going until Halo 5. At the very least 1 want 10 more episodes.

 

They're definitely not going to have Spartan Ops last until Halo 5 because that's most likely coming out in 2015. With that said, we'll be lucky to get a second season, but that's about it.

 

Couple more hours until I get home from work and test this badass Episode out!

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Episodes 6 and 7 are so much better (or at least feel considerably more refreshing) than the torturous Episodes 2-5. I'm genuinely excited for Episode 8's trailer.

 

The way Episode 8 played out in the Infinity reminded me of Dead Space with the way setpieces were laid out. You sort of take a big circle and at the end of Chapter 5 you're right where you started in Chapter 2. The different enemy types kind of helped ease the flow. I noticed an Elite wielding a Scattershot once he evaded a grenade I chucked, and he rolled straight up to me and blasted me in the face. Pretty cool considering I've never recognized the Storm faction using Forerunner weapons yet.

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Finally finished Episode 7. Here are my thoughts:

 

Chapter 1 & 4: I liked the level layout for Chapter 1, but I didn't care for Chapter 4 as a whole.

 

Chapter 2 & 3: Loved the music throughout the missions. Felt more like a Campaign. Except the enemies in the engine room on Chapter 3 were spawning from the ceiling and dropping down into the room...that's freakin' stupid. There also should have been a timer for deactivating the nukes to make it more dramatic - and if you fail, you get to watch a short cinematic of Infinity blowing up :p

 

Chapter 5: Really good chapter, although 343 has gotta calm down with the Hunters. They aren't hard to kill, there are just too many of them throughout the missions.

 

Overall...I liked the flow of the chapters and the dramatic music throughout. We still don't know why the Covenant/Prometheans invaded the Infinity from the missions and what happened to Switchback (we have to piece that together ourselves which is easy, but they should explain it clearer...unless I missed it).

 

The end sets up next weeks Episode to look like we'll be defending Infinity a little longer.

 

EDIT: It's nice of 343 to up the XP on the Weekly challenges, although I'm in no rush or worry to rank up.

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