THE CENSORSHIP OF 343 INDUSTRIES

343 Industries has now proven themselves as a greasy, disloyal, money-milking corporation with no care for their fans, and no passion for the gaming industry. 

Around the past 24 hours there has been a leak displayed of Halo 5's multiplayer gaming, displaying Sprint and Aim Down Sights. Didn't the vast majority of the community vote against sprint? Didn't just about EVERYONE say "FUCK NO" to sprint? Yet they do it anyway ON PURPOSE to the displeasure of their fan base. Behavior such as this disgusts me, but it gets even worse.

They make the mistake, but they don't want to handle the consequences. My he forums has been in hell for the past day, fans outraged and criticizing 343i for their actions, I don't blame them. This is TWICE IN A ROW now. I forgave them for Halo 4 due to it being their first game but this draws the line. The company has temporarily banned hundreds of forums users for calling them out on their shit, Censorship at it's finest.

Thankfully I can get around their bullshit bans through some special tricks up my sleeve, but regardless, they are being unfair to their fan base, considering that THEY KNEW this was going to happen. I am currently thinking of beginning a massive Halo 5 boycott group, like the one they started for Left 4 Dead 2, but this one is guaranteed for success if I so choose to go through with it.

Later I'll post the image confirming my ban, I'll post the link to the leaked gameplay footage, and I'll also be citing my sources, but as of right now, I'm tired as shit. One thing I will have to say though, as a passionate competitive FPS gamer, I am disgusted. This kind of shit wants me to strangle myself in my own intestines.

Realism is the Enemy

One major problem with the modern military shooter (MMS), as I like to call it, is that they try so hard to be "realistic". Well...it's a fucking video game. Why? Why try to make it seem realistic if it's never going to BE REAL? The funny thing is, there are some gamers who believe that a shooter HAS TO BE realistic in order to be good. Why? Why this random requirement? It really makes no sense if you think about it. Since the game is in a virtual space and isn't going to be real under any circumstance,,,wouldn't want to focus on not being realistic? Wouldn't it be more fun to be able to do things that you can't in real life? Games allow for these opportunities, yet some stupid minded people like to dismiss any unrealistic game as being "bad". What the hell happened to creativity? I'd also like to mention that these dumbasses don't usually have a problem with Minecraft, Mario, or Street Fighter. So these genres are allowed to be unrealistic, but shooters can't be for some reason? Flawed logic. Realism is nothing but a restriction to creativity.

Redesigning Halo's AR

The two main problems with Halo 3-4's Assault Rifle is that (a) it's useless and (b) it requires little to no skill. This is my concept for a redesigned AR, which aims to correct these two problems.

Make it classic-style with a 60-round clip, but with little spread, rather its balancing factor would be high recoil (like the SMG's recoil on steroids), so it would be more about recoil management and continuously tracking targets rather than charging and spraying n' praying. It would kill faster than the BR but would be close to mid ranged focus (but somewhat longer range than previous ARs). It wouldn't be a starting weapon, rather that would be the BR's role. The AR would be more or less a reliable weapon for suppressive fire, very powerful with an insane rate of fire, it would have an insanely loud firing noise to intimidate foes. Essentially it would replace the SAW, and would function like an AR/SMG/SAW in one but neither overpowered nor underpowered. It would also have a grenade launcher that could send grenades farther and faster, utilized by pressing down the left trigger while holding the AR with the frags equipped. It would be extremely hard to hit with due to the increased bounciness, rewarding skilled players with its high damage output.

This design gears the AR toward defensive play and suppressive fire rather than mindless charging. It would be a pickup rather than a starting weapon, so it'd be entirely balanced out. Overall perfect idea for a redesign IMO. Let me know what you guys think in the comments, and feel free to follow/subscribe to the blog.

Why Sprint is Bad for Halo

Sprint supporters, I ask you to sit down and have an open mind, please listen to the entirety of this post. You will see why sprint is bad, and I'm sure you won't be able to find any positives to counter against my reasons. This isn't putting you down, this is so you will gain knowledge about competitive FPS. Here is a brief summary of my reasons as to why FPS sucks.

• They lower the base movement speed to compensate for lack of sprint, thus reducing gameplay emphasis on strafing (aka rapidly randomizing your movements to throw off your enemy's aim). Less strafing means the game is less skillful, thus taking away a lot of competitive depth.

• It allows players to run away more easily, pretty much delaying death. In classic Halo, retreating used to be about map knowledge, planning your routes, as well as using grenades to cover your tracks and hold off pursuers, but now you can just tap a button and go into a lengthy dash. If your enemy wants to chase you, they cannot shoot you while doing so.

• Halo used to also be about positioning, but nowadays you receive no consequence for how you choose to run into battle. It used to be strategic, now you aren't punished by death for bad positioning, even if you're playing mindlessly. In Halo 1-3, you couldn't get away with crap that you could in Halo 4, and it's because the classic games lacked sprint.

• Using sprint takes away your ability to participate in combat, so it doesn't really make the game faster-paced, rather this feature completely interrupts the action and destroys the flow of gameplay entirely. The FPS genre is one that is centered around combat. Mobility and combat should not go against each other, rather they should be intertwined.

• They made the maps larger to compensate for sprint, so it doesn't really help you travel faster.

• Sprint also runs out often, serving as a major pacebreaker, immediately killing all of your speed. this serves as another reason as to why it doesn't make the game fast paced.

Conclusion

343i, just bring back speed boost and have it come with sprint. This way it'll further encourage map control and give people what they want, without destroying the game. It does work fairly well as a pickup (I've tested it in Reach, and it's also been done that way on Promod). No matter what though, DO NOT bring it back as a starting ability.

Halo's Grenades

I am in love with Halo's grenades, especially in Halo 2/3 with the introduction of the Battle Rifle (BR). Not only are they useful for popping off an enemy's shields, allowing me to finish 'em with a quick shot to the head, they are also very useful for retreats. Whenever I'm fleeing an engagement, all I really need is a well-timed grenade bounce in order to delay or damage my pursuers. Having a problem with campers? Just chuck one or two grenades in there in order to weaken 'em, then finish the bastard off with your trusty BR. Don't forget about plasmas that stick to enemies.

All-in-all I like Halo's grenade system. It makes the game unique without breaking it. When some games like COD try to be unique, they usually tend to destroy themselves from the inside. What do you guys think about Halo's grenades? And do you prefer frags of plasma? Let me know in the comments below!

DOOM Doesn't Need an AR

I occasionally hear some people claim that apparently Vanilla DOOM "sucks" as it lacks a conventional assault rifle or other long-range weapon. A Combat Rifle is currently featured in Brutal DOOM as one of the two main weapons, used frequently alongside the Shotgun. It's very accurate and has a good rate of fire, making it pretty good for mid to long range combat, but personally I find it very unnecessary.

DOOM was always geared toward close quarters, which is particularly due to the main weapon, the Shotgun, being more powerful the closer you are to your target. It was all about getting into your enemy's face, blasting off a quick shot, and frantically dashing back into cover until the reload was finished. Now that whole element of gameplay is much less prevalent, at least is single player (due to slow enemies), because now you can simply keep sniping foes from a distance without ever needing to get up close and personal. At least it isn't as useful in multiplayer, because all your enemies are just as fast as you are.

I wouldn't mind the Combat Rifle as much if it wasn't as common as the Shotgun. If anything, the pistol should be brought back as the starting weapon, and you should acquire the Combat Rifle later down the road with a more limited ammo supply.

Clan Arena is Truly Awesome

Clan Arena (CA) is a gametype in Rocket Arena 3, a modification for the Quake 3 Arena, and is also found as a default gametype in Quake Live. This team-based gametype starts each player off with all core weapons, extra ammo, and full health/armor. It takes every item off of the map, even ammo and health pickups, so there is no way to improve your condition. Each player only has one life, and self-damage is removed.

I really like this gametype. I'm usually against anything that lacks on-map resources (as it takes away the gameplay element of map control), but something feels different in this gametype. It feels...even. Even more even than the standard Duel. Most games that lack map control tend to have some feature that destroys the even playing field, usually customizable classes. In the case of Clan Arena, however, the lack of map control actually enhances the experience. While I still prefer traditional FFA or CTF compared to this, I still really like this gametype, and it's somehow equally as good for competitive play as it is for casual play. On a side note, one thing I also really like about Clan Arena is that there is no self-damage, allowing you to perform rocketjumps and plasmaclimbs without hurting yourself in the process, although there's less of an incentive to do so, mainly due to the lack of on-map items, but hey, it's still pretty cool...I guess.

I typically like to play Clan Arena for warmups. What do you guys think about this gametype? Please let me know in the comments, I'd love to hear what you guys have to say.