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1) Custom game options
Oh Halo 4, how you wished you had Call of Duty‘s multiplayer. You know what the absolute best thing about Halo‘s multiplayer before was before that? That it was nothing like Call of Duty‘s. And so, in a way, what we’re gunning for here is regression. Regression back to the days of near endless customization options and super-great game modes like Juggernaut or Infection. Regression back to the days before it was given perks, for some inexplicable reason. Having a ‘sprint’ perk was verging on blasphemy.
2) No new enemies
I know what you’re thinking. How can you include the fact that you want to see something not be there. Well, my learned friend, I’m sure you’ve seen Ernst Lubitsch’s 1939 masterpiece Ninotchka. Perhaps you recall the scene where the main character goes to a café and asks the waiter for coffee without cream, to which the waiter replies “sorry, we’re out of cream. Can I bring you coffee without milk instead?” Not having something is part of the identity of what you do get, and if Halo were to hold back on giving us any new enemy types, the result would not be zero enemies.
2) No new enemies
I know what you’re thinking. How can you include the fact that you want to see something not be there. Well, my learned friend, I’m sure you’ve seen Ernst Lubitsch’s 1939 masterpiece Ninotchka. Perhaps you recall the scene where the main character goes to a café and asks the waiter for coffee without cream, to which the waiter replies “sorry, we’re out of cream. Can I bring you coffee without milk instead?” Not having something is part of the identity of what you do get, and if Halo were to hold back on giving us any new enemy types, the result would not be zero enemies.
3) An even better Forge
Assuming that’s possible, of course. Forge is just about as good as it gets when it comes to map editing as a gameplay mode. If it were any more clever it would be LittleBigPlanet. Since Halo 3, players’ ingenuity has been consistently displayed, with all manner of crazy map designs and custom game modes being shared around the community like goodwill at Christmas. Some of it was simply amazing. Incredible visions of blended level design and art. Some (like the T-Rex above) were just a bit shit. Ironically cool, though, because hey, it’s a freakin’ T-Rex.
4) Tactical Play
Let’s take that last point and go one step further. It seems unusual to me that as said 8 foot space Chief - in a game made popular by its AI no less – can’t actually issue any commands to his loyal band of accompanying soldiers. Surely a bunch of basic commands issued via the D-pad, for example, would be a sterling way to make you feel like that battle-hardened leader you’re supposed to be playing as.
5) The suppressed machine gun from ODST
The M7S Caseless Submachine Gun to be precise. But why am I being so precise? Because it was a cool-ass gun is why. Well, maybe there’s a bit more to it, but it makes the point nicely. You see, ODST was a great game, but crucially, it was a different game. It challenged the norms of conventional Halo, and wasn’t afraid to experiment. Did all those chances pay off? No. But the game was all the better for trying. I mean, a silent gun in a Halo game? Imagine if the new sequel actually had the stealth mechanics to back it up.
6) A great bit of story
It seems to have lost its way of late, but the Halo of old had us desperate to find out just what might happen next in every single sequel. It hasn’t been without its contentions though, and certainly the abrupt and vague ending to Halo 3 was a sore point. More recently, Halo 4 tried (and succeeded to some degree) to bring something of a human element to the tale by effectively giving John 117′s brain-Smurf a spot of Alzheimers. Then she dies at the end. Spoiler alert.
7) More space combat
The word ‘epic’ is bandied around a lot these days, but no level is more deserving of the accolade than Halo: Reach‘s “Long Night of Solace” mission, whereby you are thrust up into the heavens and left to bask in the cosmic glory of the universe for a few minutes before the lasers start flying.
The gasp-generating look, the sublime feel, the ethereal music – it was a pitch perfect example of how to introduce a new mechanic into a game. It was so much more than the time-killing filler it could have been, if anything having the opposite effect. It left us wanting more. Much more. And lest we forget, Reach is a full four years old now (702 in game years). We’ve had another sequel since then, and that looked amazing enough. Imagine the full-scale glory of a space battle rendered with the power of the Xbox One.
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