Campaign Evolved and the State of Modern Halo
CynicalRaptor
2,815 views
Halo Campaign Evolved is a remake of Halo Combat Evolved...But why? Join me for a discussion about the state of the franchise, why it matters to me, and what I liked and didn't like about the first release from the new (and definitely not 343) Halo Studios. I hope you all enjoy and leave a comment about your own experience with this title, or your opinion about the state of the franchise as a whole.
#halo #campaignevolved #drawing #videoessay #videogames
The soundtrack used in this video is the Halo: CE soundtrack, created by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori
No AI was used during the creation of this video.
19 Comments
@RotoMiner 12 days ago
Wtf how do you only have 62 subscribers?! This video is so high quality and you make some great points!
@clutchranger7060 3 weeks ago
as a 29 year old man who grew up playing the bungie era halo games religiously it saddens me to see how far we have fallen
@berryblack1992 3 weeks ago
This is a really good breakdown. What I think why this game was made is due to a "What do we do?" and see if people are interested in the Halo franchise nowadays. I, personally, have a UNSC tattoo on my back, to show how much of a fan I am with the franchise. They should of done a Helldivers game with ODST. Or they could do the id Software way and put this franchise on ice for a minute.
@Aether-Entropy 2 weeks ago
That comment about playing Halo being a recession indicator to your wife hits so hard. Any time I'm feeling down or something is going on in life I always go back to the original trilogy and my wife knows something is going on lol
@Cabbageman-e1e 3 weeks ago
This was one of the fairest breakdowns I’ve heard on it! I appreciate that. Great video, man
@MostimaVA 2 weeks ago
Apart from Halo New Covenant, Halo Reach: Slipspace and few other fan projects that don't talk much and might come out with something in a few years - i don't have any hope for modern Halo after the 8 years it took to make both MCC versions playable, but still not fixed.
-CEA was a pure downgrade.
-H4 was absolutely terrible and people turning their brains off to defend the joke that was the story.
-MCC was one of the biggest launch fails ever and that 2 times, for re-releases of old games...
-H5 was turned into a different shooter genre, came with p2w and even made jokes about people who complaining about p2w...
-Infinite competition focus turned the sand box into a worse boring pin point gun hell than H2 with BR starts
-Campaign Evolved is just a crash grab with a shit-ton of re-used models, and they didn't think about the game at all, like ofc it is a great idea to put the key to your super weapon at the bottom of a hole against the flood... it's like sending out invitations directly.
Halo's community has always been split, while Halo CE, H3 and ODST are kinda on the same side with mostly party shooter players, but H2 was mostly glitch abusers, Reach ofc had it's own group too. But H4 & 5 got completely different new types of fans into the community. And literally all of these groups have different visions for what makes a "great Halo game".
-CEA was a pure downgrade.
-H4 was absolutely terrible and people turning their brains off to defend the joke that was the story.
-MCC was one of the biggest launch fails ever and that 2 times, for re-releases of old games...
-H5 was turned into a different shooter genre, came with p2w and even made jokes about people who complaining about p2w...
-Infinite competition focus turned the sand box into a worse boring pin point gun hell than H2 with BR starts
-Campaign Evolved is just a crash grab with a shit-ton of re-used models, and they didn't think about the game at all, like ofc it is a great idea to put the key to your super weapon at the bottom of a hole against the flood... it's like sending out invitations directly.
Halo's community has always been split, while Halo CE, H3 and ODST are kinda on the same side with mostly party shooter players, but H2 was mostly glitch abusers, Reach ofc had it's own group too. But H4 & 5 got completely different new types of fans into the community. And literally all of these groups have different visions for what makes a "great Halo game".
@jenniferhutchings6805 3 weeks ago
Cynical Raptor, you are a killer artist and a great commentator as well. Enjoyed this👍🏼
@ThatTallBrendan 3 weeks ago (edited)
Finally, someone who kind of agrees with me on this.
Everybody wants to talk about cut Bungie content, and rightfully so, but I want a reenabled Halo 5 beta
I want a work in progress 720p build, because they toned the graphics way down for the final release. The beta was 720p 60fps with phenomenal lighting, but was gutted beforehand
Sanghelios was also where the majority of development went in the campaign, so you just know there has to be a beautiful 720p lighting version of that map sitting around
Also, let people go in and fix the AI in that game. I want backported enemy models in H5. Either the Halo Infinite ones or, hell, I think porting the Combat Evolved models into it would make the game really fun too
Like, yeah it's great that the Bungie titles have seen so much love thanks to the release of mod tools, but the Bungie games need the least work. Forget remixing the entirety of Halos 1-3 (although those campaign mods are great). I want Halo 5 to become passable, either that for a massive 100gb dump on the game to leak, a'la the Bungie stuff
Everybody wants to talk about cut Bungie content, and rightfully so, but I want a reenabled Halo 5 beta
I want a work in progress 720p build, because they toned the graphics way down for the final release. The beta was 720p 60fps with phenomenal lighting, but was gutted beforehand
Sanghelios was also where the majority of development went in the campaign, so you just know there has to be a beautiful 720p lighting version of that map sitting around
Also, let people go in and fix the AI in that game. I want backported enemy models in H5. Either the Halo Infinite ones or, hell, I think porting the Combat Evolved models into it would make the game really fun too
Like, yeah it's great that the Bungie titles have seen so much love thanks to the release of mod tools, but the Bungie games need the least work. Forget remixing the entirety of Halos 1-3 (although those campaign mods are great). I want Halo 5 to become passable, either that for a massive 100gb dump on the game to leak, a'la the Bungie stuff
@justreapsgaming 2 weeks ago
Absolutely! My cousin and I felt the same way after we had played Combat Evolved on PlayStation. It left me wanted to buy a new Xbox to play through the Halo series especially Reach. Great analysis Cynical 💯💯
@AccessingONI 13 days ago
Excellent breakdown, one thing wasn't contextualized is that this game was pitched and greenlit solely on the fact that Halo studios could not be trusted to tell a story unique from what has already been told. The remake trilogy may not come after the backlash and I don't know if it should come to fruition but Halo is a novel based franchise now and its simply a means to an end for those working on it.
@lv1543 2 weeks ago (edited)
ill be real with you. i actually greatly enjoyed halo campaign evolved. but not for any reasons why most people would think. i enjoyed it because of the Broken OP Assault Rifle. that is the best assault rifle in the entire series hands down. i loved how overpowered it was. its also been an extreme pet peeve of mine how the OG assault rifle was just pure ass. and how halo overall barely has any viable fully automatic weapons in the entire game. literally the sandxbox has devolved to only precision weapons being viable, and power weapons. but power weapons keep becoming rarer and rarer in campaigns and they keep getting nerfed. so basically you really only have the precision weapon of the game as viable for the most part.
nah son here i was holding that trigger down and just mowing down everything. that shit was so fun. finally the gun on the cover of the box isnt something you immediately drop for a plasma pistol or power weapon. in fact i was IGNORING power weapons (minus the shotgun and rockets) for the AR. it was that good. even On legendary it was basically the best gun in the game.
Post nerf its still good but you have to feather the trigger to get the same effect.
besides that? just skip the cutscenes. dont subject yourself to the cutscenes. the game itself is fine. i like the faster pace. its much harder than the original legendary.
nah son here i was holding that trigger down and just mowing down everything. that shit was so fun. finally the gun on the cover of the box isnt something you immediately drop for a plasma pistol or power weapon. in fact i was IGNORING power weapons (minus the shotgun and rockets) for the AR. it was that good. even On legendary it was basically the best gun in the game.
Post nerf its still good but you have to feather the trigger to get the same effect.
besides that? just skip the cutscenes. dont subject yourself to the cutscenes. the game itself is fine. i like the faster pace. its much harder than the original legendary.
@NotTodayBobby 2 weeks ago
ODST snark in the prequel missions is unacceptable and anyone defending because “they had a rivalry” needs to cut back on their glue habit.
@source3nergy203 2 weeks ago (edited)
4:17 well said
4:30 unnecessary and rather a detriment to the overall game, putting resources into THAT, but I guess it shows that they still lack in the story telling compartment
5:21 I see that we disagree on that front but I can’t say that I don’t like aspects about the game
5:31 yep
6:21 ok here we disagree again, I’d argue that after halo 2 and 3 of saving Cortana the next game 343’s first game is about you saving her from dying AGAIN, feels repetitive but alien with the slight character changes, it would be more apparent if they got what they wanted with new voice actors with Cortana and chief
7:31 fair points
7:42 doesn’t matter how polish a pile of dog sh*t is if I step in it I’m upset either way
7:55 especially so with my point above when I heard that they made the bots in halo 4 worse to have those “high graphics”
8:04 doubled down until infinite that had ambition but was a mess and the whole thing ended up like Star Wars with the sequels, so now I’d say the best course of action is to retcon the entire 343 trilogy
8:22 the 2 month fall off with halo 4 was a pretty clear indicator that no, the audience who would’ve guessed likes quality
9:02 exactly, trying to put everything together neatly when the previous two were a mess, especially so if you take the books into consideration when they must submit to the GAME SERIES as halo is not a book series
9:50 eh I can understand both, 343 wants consistency and bungie didn’t want books in the first place
10:33 10 years, didn’t even make it to 5
12:19 “new studio” same structure and left over people keeping a lot of the previous characteristics of 343
12:45 no theater even though there was a lot of emphasis on graphics, and no scoreboard for replay ability
13:11 their imaginary audience that are the masses when it’s just a minority of the previous group that was with the bungie games
14:51 better? 😂 no the writing and odd movements from the covenant and the Hollywood hero and villain talk instead of trying to kill one another, no these are not of quality
16:00 well said
16:11 the design with the gold and white could be for some place elsewhere because we saw what the aesthetics were for the covenant hierarchs and that was just purple and that was on high charity the most holy city in the covenant
17:24 maybe
17:40 it also just doesn’t make sense since the arbiter looks like them as well
18:00 not too sure about those ideas but I’m sure that was just off the top of your head
19:52 yeah
20:18 I’ll clear this up from what I heard others say that did read those books, that one chief did kill some people in training but that lead to a personal distaste for the Spartans rather than a whole group of soldiers that didn’t like them as their “glory” was stolen or whatever BS 343 tries to think of, in halo 3 the ODST’s praise you and are happy to see a spartan join them because guess what after nearly 3 decades of genocide I don’t think many people would care to try to do whatever these “ODST’s” 343 imagined would do
20:46 with the current societal conditions I can see that, however I can also see that most people don’t like their time wasted with poor writing
21:39 this here is a hard disagree from me, the flood felt lacking, except the introduction of the red infected elites having shields I did like those but everything else was disappointment
21:44 the level design or the look of them I will agree that I really like the addition of the crashed ship giving light in a rather dark level
22:53 agreed to an extent as the lack of the instant pressure of the flood was lacking and the level design to me was just clunky, the area with the light bridges could’ve been like other areas of the games with them partially turning off from time to time with flood in the green gas below coming out of shortcut tunnels like with the exploding flood in the original
23:12 so much for trying to keep lore in order, those pure forms are only a thing with a gravemind to my knowledge and they don’t have access to their other forms to go about the terrain which people have made fun of for good reason because they can’t get you if you are high up or go through a few doorways
23:31 from what I heard about the original designer for the library he said that if he was able to have more time to make it more how he envisioned it would’ve been more open and “the best level in the game”, but what we got had intention with the constant pressure from the flood
23:54 that’s a fair comparison
24:21 true, just little things that add up
25:31 true
26:05 hey it’s understandable
27:53 big mistake if they do end up getting that, people like halo not their 343 halo
30:00 likewise with a shared appreciation of stories
4:30 unnecessary and rather a detriment to the overall game, putting resources into THAT, but I guess it shows that they still lack in the story telling compartment
5:21 I see that we disagree on that front but I can’t say that I don’t like aspects about the game
5:31 yep
6:21 ok here we disagree again, I’d argue that after halo 2 and 3 of saving Cortana the next game 343’s first game is about you saving her from dying AGAIN, feels repetitive but alien with the slight character changes, it would be more apparent if they got what they wanted with new voice actors with Cortana and chief
7:31 fair points
7:42 doesn’t matter how polish a pile of dog sh*t is if I step in it I’m upset either way
7:55 especially so with my point above when I heard that they made the bots in halo 4 worse to have those “high graphics”
8:04 doubled down until infinite that had ambition but was a mess and the whole thing ended up like Star Wars with the sequels, so now I’d say the best course of action is to retcon the entire 343 trilogy
8:22 the 2 month fall off with halo 4 was a pretty clear indicator that no, the audience who would’ve guessed likes quality
9:02 exactly, trying to put everything together neatly when the previous two were a mess, especially so if you take the books into consideration when they must submit to the GAME SERIES as halo is not a book series
9:50 eh I can understand both, 343 wants consistency and bungie didn’t want books in the first place
10:33 10 years, didn’t even make it to 5
12:19 “new studio” same structure and left over people keeping a lot of the previous characteristics of 343
12:45 no theater even though there was a lot of emphasis on graphics, and no scoreboard for replay ability
13:11 their imaginary audience that are the masses when it’s just a minority of the previous group that was with the bungie games
14:51 better? 😂 no the writing and odd movements from the covenant and the Hollywood hero and villain talk instead of trying to kill one another, no these are not of quality
16:00 well said
16:11 the design with the gold and white could be for some place elsewhere because we saw what the aesthetics were for the covenant hierarchs and that was just purple and that was on high charity the most holy city in the covenant
17:24 maybe
17:40 it also just doesn’t make sense since the arbiter looks like them as well
18:00 not too sure about those ideas but I’m sure that was just off the top of your head
19:52 yeah
20:18 I’ll clear this up from what I heard others say that did read those books, that one chief did kill some people in training but that lead to a personal distaste for the Spartans rather than a whole group of soldiers that didn’t like them as their “glory” was stolen or whatever BS 343 tries to think of, in halo 3 the ODST’s praise you and are happy to see a spartan join them because guess what after nearly 3 decades of genocide I don’t think many people would care to try to do whatever these “ODST’s” 343 imagined would do
20:46 with the current societal conditions I can see that, however I can also see that most people don’t like their time wasted with poor writing
21:39 this here is a hard disagree from me, the flood felt lacking, except the introduction of the red infected elites having shields I did like those but everything else was disappointment
21:44 the level design or the look of them I will agree that I really like the addition of the crashed ship giving light in a rather dark level
22:53 agreed to an extent as the lack of the instant pressure of the flood was lacking and the level design to me was just clunky, the area with the light bridges could’ve been like other areas of the games with them partially turning off from time to time with flood in the green gas below coming out of shortcut tunnels like with the exploding flood in the original
23:12 so much for trying to keep lore in order, those pure forms are only a thing with a gravemind to my knowledge and they don’t have access to their other forms to go about the terrain which people have made fun of for good reason because they can’t get you if you are high up or go through a few doorways
23:31 from what I heard about the original designer for the library he said that if he was able to have more time to make it more how he envisioned it would’ve been more open and “the best level in the game”, but what we got had intention with the constant pressure from the flood
23:54 that’s a fair comparison
24:21 true, just little things that add up
25:31 true
26:05 hey it’s understandable
27:53 big mistake if they do end up getting that, people like halo not their 343 halo
30:00 likewise with a shared appreciation of stories
@JazzzxD421 6 days ago
That bit about odst's hating Spartans is completely overblown, in the Bungie games that didn't exist, and in the og books it is only really present in the CE novelization because Silva was the commanding officer of those 3 odst's chief fought. So yeah that odst hatred of Spartan's is not really canon.
Campaign Evolved and the State of Modern Halo
CynicalRaptor
2,815 views
Halo Campaign Evolved is a remake of Halo Combat Evolved...But why? Join me for a discussion about the state of the franchise, why it matters to me, and what I liked and didn't like about the first release from the new (and definitely not 343) Halo Studios. I hope you all enjoy and leave a comment about your own experience with this title, or your opinion about the state of the franchise as a whole.
#halo #campaignevolved #drawing #videoessay #videogames
The soundtrack used in this video is the Halo: CE soundtrack, created by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori
No AI was used during the creation of this video.
This guy’s drawing of Master Chief at the beginning of this video is amazing. 👍