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343 Industries took control of the Halo franchise during a precarious time for game developers. Gamergate and other controversies raged, and it seemed like nobody could do anything right. A new developer taking ownership of a franchise as beloved as Halo felt like an exercise in futility, and the studio head admits there were "growing pains.&qu💮ot;
Despite the continued divisions over 343's changes to Halo, in comparison to other developers, the studio has faired well even if it is ౠnot one of the ten best FPS developers, according to Metacꦕritic. Different camps may have staked their claims as far back as 2012, but the Redmond-based company continues to define Master Chief's future. In honor of nearly a decade sailing the Halo ship, it's time to think about the positives that 343 Industries brought to the classic franchise.
10 🌟 New Multiplayer Modes 🔯
The arena multiplayer modes for Halo 5 expanded how players enjoy fragging their friends for hours on end. Breakout matches propꦿel players into a single-life game of capture the neutral flag while Warzone supports 24 player madness. What would Halo multiplayer be without Forge, after all?
If 343 Industries had failed to deliver on multiplayer for Halo 4, this article wouldn't exist because they'd get ridden out of town on a proverbial rail. Despite some negative opinions about the changes, the developer has treated the main reason gamers come back to Halo with the care and attention it deserves.
9 Expanding the Narrative And Emotional D🤪eꦫpth
Bungie built a world and narrative that gamers fell in love with from the start. Nobody should take anything away from the studio's accomplishments and place in video game history. With that said, it's still clear that 343 Industries upped the narrative game for the franchise from the release of Halo 4 onward.
The ending of 343's first outing with Halo tugged on the heartstrings of old and new fans alike. Instead of focusing on the heroics of Master Chief, the emotional weight of the story shifted to Cortana in significant ways. You can say whatever you want about Spartan Ops, but it's not possible to deny that 343 swings for the fences with its storytelling.
8 Aiming Down Sights ꦓ 🔯
For a series whose first entry included a subtitle proclaiming "Combat Evolved," it took long enough to have the ability to look down your gun's sights. Oddly enough, Halo has maintained a Nintendo-Esque attitude toward how its combat works. Halo is going to Halo, and you're going to have to get used to it or get off the bus.
343 Industries didn't reinvent multiplayer with this addition, but it's a change that probably should have existed for Halo 4. The gunplay in Halo is unrivaled, but one of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the best FPS games from the 2000s has to continue to evolve to keep up.
7 🥃 ☂ Settings That Impress
Halo always provided gamers 🌄with lush alien landscapes to get lost in for hours with their friends. 343 Industries took that tradition, elevated it, and never let it falterꦚ for later iterations of the franchise.
The details in the campaign are incredible, but the multiplayer maps also have a high standard of excellence. If you're not watching your back in a match, you can easily get lost in the surroundings.
6 Faster Multiplayer ༒
Playing the more recent Halo games versus the original can give any FPS player a case of digital whiplash. Halo's combat, especially in multiplayer, is beloved and time-tested. With that said, it's also glacially slow compared to the speed of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Call of Duty titles.
Depending on your preferred style of FPS, Halo might not be your long-term choice for your pew-pew time. 343 Industries stayed true to the pace of the original multiplayer, but some updates were welcome. It's also heartening to know that pro Halo players helped devඣelop the multiplayer for Ha🎀lo Infinite.
5 Partnꦐer Revives
Dying in Halo used to mean waiting your turn and crossing your fingers for your favorite spawn point. As of the release of Halo 5, teammates can revive you in co-op mode, and it's a welcome addition to the game.
Franchises like 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Gears of War have made commanding AI to revive y𝕴ou (or a friend) a standard expectation for shooters. While it may not have been as conspicuous as not allowing players to aim down sights, team resurrections catc✃h Halo up with its competitors.
4 Campaig🍒n Pacing 🌺
With the release of Halo 4, 343 established a new narrative pace for the franchise. While the content may cause divisions within the community, 343 Industries undoubtedly improved the pacing for sꦫtorytelling.
Bungie always endeavored to present a Hollywood blockbuster story (and hold onto your hats because La La Land is🌸 doubling down on video game movies) with the release of a new Halo. While those stories remain beloved, 343 Industries tooᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚk the reigns and p🎀rovided better variety with significant emotional weight.
3 🍸 Push Hardware to the Ma🔥x Without Breaking the Console
Considering that the original Halo carried the first Xbox on its back for years, it's no surprise that the franchise continues to be a heavyweight release for new consoles. While most games that come out early can feel like overblown tech demos (Ryse: Son of Rome, anyone?), 343 Industries knows how to push a new console to its limits.
Consider the dramatic disparity between the PC release of Cyberpunk 2077 and last generation consoles, for example. Halo games could have ignored the previous generation in favor of the new cash grab, but 343 knows how to push the Xbox hardware as far as it can go without sacrificing quality, and that's praise-worthy.
2 🥂 Spartan Ops
The most common criticism you'll hear about Spartan Ops is that it's boring. The characters didn't seem to grab players the way 343 Industries hoped for when it started this idea. Despite the divisive reactions, it's a value-add for the franchise, and .
With that negativity out of the way, let's focus on the positive. No matter how you feel about the storyline, this did add content to Halo 4. Jumping into a co-op mode with regularly updated content is far from the worst idea 343 Industries ever had for the series.
1 Remastered Au😼dio
343 Industries took pride (and great pains) to remaster the audio mix for Halo. Halo 4 elevated the franchise's game in a way that continues to deliver an immersive experience. Before 343's debut title released in November 2012, the developer made a point of telling the world how much it improved the sound in Halo.
While the PC port didn't match the quality of the initial releases, 343 Industries remꦗains commiꦯtted to keeping Halo on desktops. Even if you don't enjoy the story or even the visuals, you can close your eyes and hear Halo in ways that weren't possible before November 2012.