Today’s game is Halo 4. I continued my playlist with my friend and we started on this. Upon replaying it, i think i may have been too harsh on my initial decision against the game (though i’m not going to 100 say it for sure). I know it seems obvious, but playing on normal as opposed to legendary really makes it a bit more tolerable. Don’t get me wrong, it’s Halo 4, but it’s come from like a 5.5/10 to a 6.5/10 for me.
Today’s lag seemed extra atrocious though. It ended up being the reason i only played 2 levels. On one part seen above, the game froze for so long i got to study the closeup of a plasma grenade. Usually you only get to see that for a few seconds.
I will also add that, on retrospect. I am not a fan of the Forerunner designs in Halo 4. I’m not sure what it is but i do not like it. Too many colors I think. Something about it also just seems samey too me. I can’t really tell any of it’s sections apart like i could with the Bungie games. Though i may also not be the best judge of that due to my face blindness.
Like mentioned before me and my friend only did the first two levels because the lag got that bad. For some reason my WiFi card struggles anywhere beyond 10 feet from the router. So my signal is abysmal. I actually tried to replace it today with an AX210 which i heard works great on linux, but the card is completely dead, so i have to return it.
My problem with the Forerunner stuff in Halo 4 is the same problem I have with all the aesthetic changes in 4 and 5 - it’s extremely busy. 1, 2, and 3 have a sleek and simple design language that makes it very easy to tell what’s happening in chaotic combat. The vibrant colors and shiny materials even give Halo 3 an almost heroic fantasy vibe. They deliberately went the other direction with Reach to enhance the grim tone of the game, but environments are still relatively simple so that enemies stand out. 4 and 5 put excessive lines and greeblies on absolutely everything. It’s all so packed with details that you sometimes lose enemies in the background and it can be difficult to tell what you’re looking at.
That was another complaint I had about 4 and 5. It’s just too busy for me to pick out any enemies. I thought it might just be a me thing with my lack of glass but it’s reassuring to here someone bring it up