We were discussing the art style of each Halo game on Beyond and I thought it'd make for interesting discussion here In my own opinions, in terms of art style I'd rank Halo 3 ODST as the best, followed by Halo 3, Halo CE, Halo Reach, Halo 2, Halo 4, and finally Halo 5 in last. This goes for visuals and audio, pretty much everything that encompasses the non mechanical aspects of the game. I posted this and someone remarked that Halo 3 and ODST have the same style, this was my response. ODST and 3 had the same art style. lmao - Unnamed Sweaty Not quite. aannddd Yes, they look similar, which is a given considering they were built on the same engine, albeit ODST is just a very very refined version of it. Outside of this however they're pretty distinct. The lighting in ODST was much more dynamic and in your face, which is great considering what the game was going for, and every scene and level seems to have some sort of overlaying ambient coloring (the screenshots below show this, with a tan filter in effect. Other ODST Campaign missions had a blue tint) while Halo 3 remained fairly neutrally colored with soft lighting. In fact the only neutrally colored level in ODST would be the Mombassa city at night. Keep in mind the 4 screenshots above happen at the same location in terms of canon. It's pretty easy to distinguish the games apart, even without having an actual knowledge of the content within each respective level. While the lighting and coloring is a giveaway, take a look at the architecture in the 1st and 3rd shot above, of Uplift Reserve. You can tell how much Bungie grew as a studio just by comparing that to Tsavo Highway, I could argue that the ODST art actually resembles Reach more than it does Halo 3. Especially given the shots above I'll also say that at the time Reach came out, I hated it! I remember ranting about how generic and militarized everything looked, almost like Battlefield. But wow after the 343 titles Reach looks and sounds right at home for me, I'm having a hard time hating on it now. Also, I'm up for discussion for flipping Halo 2/Reach around on my rankings, I'd just like to hear everyone's thoughts on this
ODST was certainly my favourite art style and especially the music. Marty's best whole soundtrack for sure.
I like different aspects of the art from various games. For example: Reach armor style - Very military (fits well as S-IIIs where army, not navy like S-IIs) but it was also very modular and each piece was very distinct/uniquely style. One of my favourite things in reach was the customisation. Playing each level and tailoring my armor to fit the style from my default set. The concept armor was also the best here imo. Landscaping - all of them except 5 really. Ive looked through 5s and its only of areas you dont play in really. Like the big side on view of infinity. ODST is a greag one becauss of the unique atmosphere. Map art - 3 holds my heart dearly here. Very clean, many different styles. Adds to the maps without overloading the player or screwing up flow/movement *cough cough* 343, Halo 5 *cough cough* All I have for now. Brain has stopped working. EDIT: I forgot about the goddamn soundtrack. All the sounds. Pretty much all exceptional. 4 was a bit of a wobble (117 wastheonky good one). Glad they stepped it up in Halo 5.
You're right about the spartan 2 armor looking much more navy like. Meanwhile everything in H4 and H5 looks like I'm watching G gundam. By landscaping do you mean skybox?
Battlefield is a beautiful game. How dare you talk **** about their recycling of buildings on their maps. That is honestly the only shitty looking thing. Don't think you have played enough bf to say that. If you look at the variety of maps in bf4 you won't get that militarized feeling and of course there would be military things as the game is based off of military. I think you should rephrase that. I am offended. lol
I've played every battlefield since Bad Company and 1942, I've loved them all up until 3/4/Hardline. I actually do quite like the look of Battlefield. Maybe a better comparison would've been COD.
I was going for map themes and designs. Like the colours, shape, atmosphere etc. guess skybox is included in that. Was hard to get my point across typing on a tablet that refuses to work. Yeah I does feel very J-RPG with the H4/5 armor.
I was just trolling for fun. Actually at this point bf4 plays really well. All the patches have made the game good. It was atrocious in the beginning though. I played bad company 2. I also got into bf3 late when there were no bugs so I enjoyed it quite a bit. Also, the dlc maps are much better than the majority of the release maps on bf4. I really only like playing Locker, Shanghai, and Zavod when it comes to base maps.
Halo 3 had the look and feel I most wanted in a Halo game. It felt like Bungie had come the closest to their original vision in that game. I wish future Halo's were designed with Halo 3 specifically in mind.
I think the problem with reach is there was no forerunner. At least I don't remember any but a backdrop on a level. You mostly got urban, canyon, and a little covenant. There was a lot of urban and canyons. Made it stale.
The thing I hate more than anything as far as visuals go is how the Elites started to look different in Reach onwards. Sound-wise (and I work as an audio technician, so sounds are really important to me) I really, really *really* can't stand how 343 always has to reimagine the sound effects of guns. The way things like the Plasma Pistol and Battle Rifle sounded in the original trilogy were iconic to me. The Battle Rifle sounded like a toy in Halo 4 and in Halo 5 the Plasma Pistol sounds ridiculous. Even the Magnum sounds way too "pew pew" for my tastes.
I guess my stance is considerably more mild. Halo 3/ODST/Reach all come in first, for me. They absolutely nailed the mix of wonder, grit and sheer awesome that Halo typifies. Halo 5 had some really nice environments, but the only time I felt like I was part of something much bigger than myself was in the attack on Sunaion, and even then it was a bit tame. All the levels on Sanghelios were the highlight of the campaign, for me. Halo 4/5 are just way more fantasy than CE-Reach, and I'm not sure I like that. Part of that is the (now ubiquitous) Promethean Forerunner architecture. It seems way too clean, as if it was all built very recently, which is the exact opposite of what I want from the Forerunners. Having a clean world like Requiem is fine, but the new style is just much more common than the old. I love the Forerunner style of Coliseum/Apex 7 though. Sound changes don't make much difference to me, though I can't understand why they wouldn't at least try to keep the Covenant sounds similar. The new vehicle designs are pretty cool though. TL;DR - Reach was probably the pinnacle, for me, closely followed by 3/ODST. It had the best mix of colour/grime/epic skyboxes and more classic Forerunner architecture.
I know this is practically heresy in the Halo realm but I would like to see the Forerunner, Promethean and Covenant start to show real identifiers in their architecture. What I mean by this is that when we are dealing with a UNSC based level it is always reasonably obvious where you are and why. (and understandably so) But with all other races it's more like running around a thematic painting with hints of reason for it's existence. I don't want to ruin good gameplay in the quest to justify where I am standing but I would appreciate a little more form and reason. Sanghelios was cool but seriously, wtf was that. I would love to know how the COD/Battlefield Level designers would build a non human map if given full creative freedom. I think the end result may be a little less flourish a little more substance. Not that I want COD and Battlefield in my Halo but I do want a little more reality in my fantasy. Things can be fantastic and yet still identifiable. I want 343 to climb into the really cramped uncomfortable box that is reality, then suffer and thrive in there only to break free and send our spirits soaring.