On the Xbox360, first-person shooter players have long stood divided between those that play Halo and those that play Call of Duty. I, myself, am more of a Halo kind of guy, but when I do play Call of Duty, I enjoy it (though not quite enough for me to justify buying the game). So what would happen if these two games combined their DNA? Join me after the break and we'll see just what kind of awesomeness could be expected to spawn of such an unholy union...
I'm going to focus on multiplayer-only here. As much as I love the Halo story, I don't have the time or prowess to weave together a new story thread here.
Let's start with the basics. The game would largely play like Halo. Players would have recharging energy shields, vehicular combat would be largely unchanged, and movement speed would be unchanged. For all intents and purposes, this would be a Halo game. Motion trackers, Halo weaponry and vehicles, and kill amounts would all be intact.
However, Call of Duty features would have a huge impact. Challenge systems in the form of commendation tiers (iron, bronze, silver, gold, onyx) that can unlock improved versions of armor abilities (camo loses the radar jamming, or armor lock has a larger EMP radius, or the EMP leeches shields from opponents to feed your own, etc.). Similarly, commendation challenges would also unlock variations on the standard halo arsenal. For example, having a high Sniper commendation would unlock the ability to use ammo that was more effective against vehicles, but less effective against players, or vice versa. Or maybe you can double the size of your pistol's clip. Reduced bloom on the DMR anyone? Commendation challenges could even enhance your motion tracker, increase jump height, cause a shorter delay for shield recharges, increase damage resistance when shields are down, etc.
These unlocked customization options would manifest themselves in custom loadouts a la Call of Duty. Imagine being able to spawn with the weapon and armor ability you need to clear out that camping sniper! Or, on the other side of the fence, imagine having the perfect combination of abilities and weapons to establish control of a particular area of the map. Heck, what if you just don't want to have hologram when you spawn with the grenade launcher? This kind of customization would make games less predictable than "camp the top of the map!" or "rush the power weapons!" as people would have more options available to them.
And what about gametypes? Current Halo and CoD gametypes could obviously benefit from this new system of features, but what about new and exciting gametypes yet unseen in either franchise? The possibilities are endless!
The big question, though, is killstreaks. My initial reaction is to say "no killstreaks" seeing as the total kills required to win is much less. However, if done carefully, I could see killstreaks being implemented well. Calling in an orbital MAC strike? Ordnance drops? Longsword bombing run? What better way to flush out a camper than using an unexpected overhead strike?
If a game like this were to come to fruition, it would be a FPS player's wet dream. A blending of Halo and CoD gameplay could not only bridge the gap between the two camps, but would act as a meeting ground for friends who no longer play the same game. My best friend since 6th grade no longer plays Halo, but rather plays CoD with other people. Sure, we play together from time to time in other games, but if we could share a FPS again, life would be great.
So what are your thoughts? Would you support a mashup game like this? Leave your thoughts in the comments and let's see if we can't get a discussion going!
I would love such a union! The key here is balance. While I know one of our frequent arguments is that CoD is unbalanced, only benefiting experienced players while my defense is that CoD is more balanced than you might think. Sure higher killstreaks offer better rewards, but the lower killstreaks can easily counter the higher ones (counter spyplane vs blackbird). Anyway, my point is that even though the higher killstreaks are generally more malicious, the lower killstreaks are more tactical.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with weapon loadout customization, but I can see how it could get out of control (rockets=n00btube). Perhaps they could combine the two and offer custom loadouts while still having only map based weapons as well. From a Halo perspective I think you should be able to combine whatever starting weapon you want with whatever ability you want.
Perks on the other hand, I don't know if I would like perks in a Halo game. I feel like I can't explain my reasoning very well, but I will try... I feel like in Halo, the perks ARE the weapons. There is only ONE sniper, ONE rocket launcher etc. Sure there are similar covenant weapons but I think you get my point. Whereas with CoD there are multiples of each weapon class and I feel like perks in there are a way to enhance your weapon and make it unique to YOU. There are "player" perks that allow you to be invisible to radar, silent footsteps and reduced explosion damage. So I guess what I'm trying to say is player specific perks would be okay, but weapon perks wouldn't be.
In the end I know it's nearly impossible to achieve "propa balance", but that's actually an aspect of games I enjoy. With campers I see it as a way to think outside the box and come up with strategies to overcome my foes. Most people hate losing and only want to STOMP the competition, but I enjoy good matches. They push me to be a better player. As Qui-Gon once said..."There's always a bigger fish."