14 DAY TRIAL // Halo: The Master Chief Collection will introduce a range of multiplayer experiences, both for those who love the old style of the classic games in the series and for those who want a modern take on them, and the development team says that the plan is to make sure that players have choices by introducing a range of curated playlists on launch.
343 Industries wants any gamer who fires up the title to have at least a number of matches to deal with, regardless of their preference, and Frank O’Connor, the leader of the studio, says that the Halo 2 experience that fans remember, including dual wielding and boarding, will be dominant.
He tells VG247 that “We’ll start with very well curated playlists, including game specific. We won’t be giving them the sort of myriad playlists we would do for a single game, because we have to spread it over four games.”
Based on the reaction of the player community, 343 Industries will then adjust elements of the experience to keep Halo: The Master Chief Collection relevant in the long term, and in this area, player votes will be very important.
Gamers have a lot of content to explore
The new game package has been criticized by some for the fact that it does not include two Halo core entries, ODST and Reach, but 343 Industries claims that enough content is included even without them and that some gamers might be overwhelmed.
Frank O’Connor adds, “We’ve never worked on a game with this big a footprint, in terms of content.”
It will be interesting to see which mode in the new Halo title captures player attention and stays attractive in the long term.
A future centered on Master Chief
Halo is one of the biggest franchises that Microsoft can deliver on its home consoles, and the first two titles are widely seen as the experiences which unlocked the shooter and multiplayer potential of the 360.
For the Xbox One, the Halo: The Master Chief Collection is just an entry point to the franchise and those who get it will also gain access to a new Nightfall live action series and to the whole new Guardians title.
Halo 5 is set to arrive in late 2015 on the Xbox One, and Microsoft and 343 Industries are saying that a new breed of enemies will rise up to challenge Master Chief, who will get access to a range of new abilities and skills.
