Halo 4's Episodic Experiment Reaches the Mid-Season Mark
Chris Watters looks back at the first five episodes of Spartan Ops and highlights what went right, and what went wrong.
When Halo 4 launched on November 6, it debuted a new cooperative gameplay mode called Spartan Ops. Delivered in weekly deployments, each episode includes a short CGI film and five playable scenarios called chapters. Set six months after the main campaign, these episodes chronicle the exploration of the Forerunner planet Requiem by the officers, scientists, and Spartans stationed aboard the UNSC starship Infinity.
As of now, five episodes are available--the first half of the planned 10-episode season. It has been a bumpy start for Spartan Ops, as it has sometimes struggled with dull pacing and predictable design, but recent developments in the story and departures from the normal mission structure have given the novel series some intriguing momentum.
To understand why things are looking up for Spartan Ops, we need to look at how it started out. As I wrote in my review of Halo 4, the opening cutscene was a nice introduction to Infinity's new mission. We meet a squad of Spartan IVs and glean important details about each one from their idle conversations and their introduction to the boss Spartan, Commander Sarah Palmer. The cutscene teaches us what the Infinity is up to, gives us a glimpse of humanity's best soldiers gearing up for combat, and drives home the fact that this is a whole different battlefield in one memorable flourish. When the Infinity casually smashes through a Covenant capital ship as if it were merely a passing tumbleweed, you know this isn't Master Chief's struggle against the alien threat. The stage is nicely set for a new conflict, one in which humanity has some weight to throw around.
Unfortunately, once you start playing the actual chapters, this heady feeling of power dissipates. It's not that you aren't a powerful Spartan; you can have a lot of fun threshing your way through your enemies or struggling against tenacious foes, depending on your skill level and the difficulty setting. It's just that the missions themselves are routine. Clear out the Covenant, and smash things at these few checkpoints. Scientists are trapped in this building; shoot all the bad guys nearby. Press a few buttons, kill a lot of enemies, and make it to the extraction point.
From a plot perspective, these scenarios establish the Spartans as part of a workaday military operation, doing what needs to be done so the investigation and exploitation of Requiem can proceed apace. Sensible? Yes. Exciting? Not really. The waves of Covenant and Promethean enemies feel predictable, a bit too much like what you've encountered before in the campaign, and because these stand-alone outings can be completed in around 10 minutes, the experience feels disjointed.
In the campaign, you had a clear narrative impetus to press onward, as well as the thrill of new environments awaiting you. In the second episode, the narrative remains disconnected from the action. A new artifact stirs things up on Infinity, resulting in a comedic moment from Palmer and the dramatic departure of Infinity's chief engineer, Dr. Glassman. It raises an interesting question (what actually just happened to him?), but the chapters don't shed any light on these events, returning instead to a forgettable series of rote rescue missions.
Only the second week and they're already recycling environments? This is a gut punch to the novel idea of new weekly content…
The second episode also dashes any eagerness you may have had to see new areas: four of the five environments here were also used in the first episode, albeit with different enemy deployments and different follow-the-checkpoint routes. Only the second week and they're already recycling environments? This is a gut punch to the novel idea of new weekly content, and it might cause you to reflect on the fact that Spartan Ops required only a 1.5 gigabyte install from the second Halo 4 disc. Is that all just videos? Will I ever see another new place in Spartan Ops?
Well, if you've played some War Games, the answer is no, there are no new environments awaiting you. Spartan Ops uses six original maps (a few of which are repurposed from the campaign) as well as two maps from the competitive multiplayer mode (Complex and Ragnarok). These last two first appear in episode three, and it's initially odd to be fighting AI aliens where you are used to blasting fellow Spartans. Fortunately, this feeling soon falls away, thanks to some bolder scenario design. Clearing out a dusty bowl area bristling with Covenant and bringing down Banshees and Phantoms with your very own Mantis mech are some of the most invigorating combat endeavors Spartan Ops has yet offered. With more vehicles and an increased enemy presence, the pressure is intensified and the experience is noticeably better.
Episode three is also where the story of Spartan Ops takes a turn for the awesome with the arrival of Dr. Catherine Halsey, the infamous director of the Spartan program. Weathering epithets that include "war criminal" and "old lady," Halsey wastes little time deploying her steely intelligence and sharp intuition to make her presence felt, despite the fact that she is in custody. She is one of the most fascinating characters in Halo lore, but she doesn't just improve the story by adding her personality. The way the Infinity crew members treat her tells you a lot about their individual personalities as well. Dr. Halsey's influence elevates the tension and intrigue aboard the Infinity, making episode three the point where Spartan Ops starts to show some real narrative vigor.
Meanwhile, down on the surface, we discover that the vanished Infinity engineer is now in the custody of an Elite named Jul 'Mdama. His crew of vicious-looking Sangheili worship the Didact and believe that they can harness the powers of the Forerunners by accessing the Librarian (hence the engineer's usefulness). This plotline manifests itself in the chapters as missions to hunt 'Mdama and his second-in-command, Parg Vol. It feels a bit manufactured (how did we come to know all this stuff about this Covenant terrorist?), but the chapters here once again benefit from some divergence from the norm. You start one scenario by teleporting into the middle of a Covenant squad, and the final chapter is a juiced-up brawl between you and tons of Covenant forces fueled by abundant UNSC ordnance and a handful of Ghosts.
Dr. Halsey's influence elevates the tension and intrigue aboard the Infinity, making episode three the point where Spartan Ops starts to show some real vigor.
Episode five marks the point where Spartan Ops really seems to have hit its stride. Revelations about an artifact retrieved from the planet, the exposure of Halsey's secretive communications, and the drastic actions taken by one Spartan leave you speculating wildly and eagerly anticipating the next episode. Perhaps more significantly, the chapters themselves almost all represent a serious shift in mission design.
Rather than simply following checkpoints and plowing through hordes of enemies, you must now defend key structures that can be destroyed, and scientists that can be killed. You can fail the mission and be forced to start again from the beginning. In a mode that lets you die as much as you want with little to no penalty, this is a big change. Sure, you can still die, but your temporary absence gives the enemy more time to hammer your precious cargo. It forces you to approach combat differently; now you must control a certain space in addition to strategically dismantling the enemy forces. The result is a more tense and more exciting struggle.
It's a welcome shift and one that is hopefully indicative of new objectives to come in the second half of the season. By introducing meaningful variety in the mission types, Spartan Ops carves out a more appealing niche for itself and no longer feels like so many fragments from the campaign cutting-room floor. With the dynamic Dr. Halsey in the story mix, the stakes are raised and many other characters come to life. The trailer for the second half of the season shows a few glimpses of things to come, teasing the possibility of a flight-based mission and a Covenant invasion of Infinity. These tidbits are nice, but you need only look at how far Spartan Ops has come in a few short weeks to get excited about its future.
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Is this free or have we already reached the era when games are divided into short chunks to be sold separately? It starts with sidequests and in 10 years you'll be buying games by the level.
istuffedsunny
its interesting to note that, if you don't have a gold membership, you can't even access the spartan ops menu, its just static and tells you to go get the membership. Which probably means, even if you have gold memb, then it expires, you probably won't be able to go back and play the ones you already "have"...just a guess though, given how the menu system works.
This is why we need firefight...Spartan Ops doesn't really come with the game, it comes with a gold membership lol.
i actually love spartan ops very much i just with they would stop reusing locations and have fresh ones every week but i absolutely love the weekly episodes the missions themselves and i love jennifer hale.
GORDONA3RIP
nothing can go wrong with femshep around. Too bad she went AWOL episode 5 haha hope she comes back.
Its basically a horde, survivor or firefight type mode with cinematic cut scenes. Looks like the cut scenes detract from what it really is to people.
There always seems to be so much disappointing feedback on game add ons and games in general that to me seem really good? The bad always seems to out weigh the good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1K818C7wm4 like and subscribe
this has nothing to do with Spartan Ops but does with Halo 4 would it not be nice to receive a bonus experience for the amount of matches you play in a row like chain experience ?
Soleride so a bunch of ten year olds who have nothing better to do all day can trump the few old farts that have work and wives to please? hahahah no thank you
virusqg Soleride
I have nothing against the 10 year olds playing Halo 4 (its their parents who are kind of neglecting the M rating...not that anyone cares), but the 10 year olds with MICS omg they frickin SCREEAAAMM and SHOUUUUTTT...I considered pulling out my mic entirely and just muting everyone, but then it would've made me feel bad about spending like 20 dollars buying it in the first place...
so boring game
Gizmofather "so" bad grammar.
Gizmofather
Go back too school kid, and then get you'r underwear pulled over your head for being an idiot...or have it stuffed in your mouth. Yes thats better.
I really enjoyed Spartan Ops actually. There was no story whatsoever in firefight, so the fact that there is one in Spartan OPs is a big step up, even if it doesn"t compare to the campaign story.
It is free, and it helps me to raise my SR level so I can not complain to much. I think the story presented in the cut scenes is fairly interesting so far, and you get to see characters you would not see much of otherwise, so for me if it gets better it is still a no lose situation. I would like to see the return of Firefight mode alongside of Spartan Ops. I play it all of the time in Reach and before that in ODST. And if anyone is interested the back-story of Jul Mdama the leader of the Elites seen in the cut scenes is explained in the Halo extended fiction novels by Karen Traviss, Halo Glasslands and Halo The Thursday War. His motivations for continuing the war with the humans even after the Covenant has fallen and a peace treaty is in place are never explained in the cut scenes, the novels tells of his extreme hatred of humans and why he is trying to reignite the war with them, it also reveals a lot more information about Halsey and what happen to her after the fall of Reach and it adds new light into the building of the warship Infinity and even a little bit about the Spartan 4 program and the remaining Spartans 2 and 3. They may be worth a read if you are a big Halo fan.
The story in Spartan Ops is so bad its insulting. I literally feel like im being dumbed down as a person going through it, which is a real contrast to the excellent story in the single player.
dzaric not to mention playing the same levels over, and over, and over, and over, and over again... blah! I quit Halo 4....
They're boring, I just watch the cut-scenes and wait til the next week.
billlabowski Consider the possibility that some of the missions you opted not to try might be less boring- this whole article is actually about that.
grey_fox1984 I'd rather not waste my time. Especially with a game that has a 55 FOV and struggles at 720p. I'll stick to the cut-scenes...
we want firefight and spartan ops to co-exist
It pretty much went down how I expected it to. First couple episodes would be kinda bland but would let them lay down the ground work. But now that they've started to hit their stride the good stuff will keep coming.
I don't even have Halo 4, so i can't comment on the gameplay of these episodes. I did however, watch the cutscenes in 1080p. It looks like it has potential.
gamingnerd121 *720p
billlabowski
True, it's not even in 1080p. Maybe we can move the tech forward enough to get that next gen.
I want firefight! Spartan Ops sucks!
markcusdd I've mostly enjoyed Spartan Ops, but I would like to see Firefight return as well.
Decessus markcusdd
ODST was actually the first game i completed. Firefight was enjoyable, and the Endure achievement left a satisfying feeling when i got it.
Spartan Ops is ok, but it's pretty obvious that they're just going to use "the return of firefight" as a selling feature of Halo 5.
I think Spartan Ops is a lot of fun. I especially like being able to get in a chapter quickly by myself or in coop. I'd love to have firefight too, but Spartn Ops is excellent fun.
I just knew they would botch something. I actually cried a little when I first heard they ditched Firefight. So many long hours with my friends, blowing up covenant....
contraigon
awww you poor poor baby heres a tissue. Please grow up crying over a video game feature is pretty pathetic. I have lots of nastalgia for my kid days on Halo CE but I've never to my knowlege actually cried over them lol.
I like it. I enjoy the mini missions. The one with the mech battle was by far the best
I quite like Spartan Ops, it's a cool addition. I wish they would have kept Firefight though.
Brilliant article as always, Chris. :)
Spartan Ops is hot garbage. People who think it's better than Firefight are out of their minds.
Problems I've found: Recycled maps, nothing particularly exciting or inventive to do (sort of Firefight with simple objectives) , and no scaling of difficulty based on the number of players playing,
However I like it a lot never the less. The episodic formula combined with the story has hooked me and is something few other franchises/games can match as few have an actual story to link things and either have everything unlocked straight away or require you play through some missions to unlock others.
MVan86
Whats a kicker is that they are too rushed and lazy to use new enviroments that they can actually use from their editing program. They simply just want to reuse same crap so it doesn't take as long. It's all pretty much kill the bad guys as they magically respawn then thats it goes to black screen.
I really liked spartan opes I also found the story quite interesting. The only problem i had with spartan opes is that u kept playing the same levels over and over again with different mission on them so it got a little tedious other than that i loved it, It made a little change from the Multiplayer.
I agree that it got much better and more fun as it progressed. To me, Spartan Ops is just Value Added beyond the campaign and multiplayer -- and if 343 continues to improve it like they appear to be doing than it's gravy.
If you don't like Spartan Ops don't play it, simple, it's free and is just an extra little bonus to a great game. Yeah it could be better, more variety would be good tho but as it is free and updated once a week, I think it's great. All it needs is to be a little harder :)
Spartan ops is great you get to put those loadouts to good use, experiment with different armor abilities. I wished they'd put in more slots though, 5 slots are not enough for spartan ops and war games imo.
People hated on firefight when it came out, people hate on Spartan Ops now, and people will hate on whatever the next iteration will be in the future. Personally I've had a good deal of fun playing Spartan Ops with friends, and am looking forward to episodes 6-10.
Why do you always have to say what goes wrong! It's all good at the end of the day!
Bad choice on my part preorder BLOPS 2... and I haven't picked up that preorder yet.
DESTROYRS_F8
lol I preordered halo 4 but since I didn't want to wiat to play it till the next week I went to my walmart somewhat near me instead and still haven't visited the gamestop which is an hour away from me. I work 3rd shift at my job as a welder for john deere so I needed the game to get my mind off work.
I really enjoy Spartan Ops (although I'm taking a break from halo 4 in general with Boarderlands 2), much better than Firefight. At least with Spartan Ops it's story driven and you have objectives to complete, rather than just being dropped into a map and being told to survive X amount of wave. My only real complaints against the mode are that there is no matchmaking to let you play any episode or mission and the related challenges are a joke. they really need to change them. The weekly challenges for Spartan Ops are more like daily challenges. They should make the weekly challenge of actually competing all missions for the episode for 10,000-15,000 XP.
mike468 There is matchmaking in spartan ops, check again.