: I’ve been here at HBO, and a Halo fan since the days of Halo 1, I was
: introduced to the game like many others through it’s release on the
: original Xbox.

: So, it turns out, despite all the promises – that there won’t be local split
: screen co-op in the next Halo game afterall.

: I had some thoughts and immediate reactions to this news, but decided to wait
: a day and sleep on it before posting anything.

: Well, I’ve slept on it, and I have some things to say.

: Cutting splitscreen co-op is a huge slap in the face to your players.

: We’ve heard the arguments that Split screen isn’t used by the players, that
: it causes a degradation in performance and graphics.

: If games aren’t including split screen as an option, then of course players
: won’t be using Split screen, and you're going to see a reduction in gamers
: enjoying splitscreen games!

: Regarding a degradation in graphics and performance, we are aware of that,
: and if we want the full, unhindered experience, we will play it alone. But
: sometimes we just want to sit on the couch and play together with our
: friends.

: That is the core of what Halo is about.

: And it feels that 343i doesn’t understand this about their players, or the
: game itself.

: It is my hope that this decision is reversed, just like the decision to
: completely remove the incredibly fun and overpowered tank gun was (thanks
: for leaving it in!)

: I played countless split screen sessions in my college days with people that
: became lifelong friends to this day, and we all now have kids of our own
: that we’ve introduced to the game.

: Our kids have gone through the original games with their siblings on the
: couch together, and later on the MCC (once it was stable enough to not
: cause then 5 years olds and their equally exasperated parents to cry in
: frustration).

: To say that it is disappointing that Infinite will not have split screen
: co-op is a drastic understatement.
: (You can play Jeff Steitzer saying “Betrayal” in your minds here.)

: To say that having co-op as a feature dropped is an unexpected occurrence
: would also not be an accurate statement.

: Disappointment from things released by 343i has become the expectation.

: And it truly pains me as a fan of this series to say that.

: Going back to Halo Anniversary, which was first released on the Xbox360, I am
: reminded of the initial announcement, and when after a great intro of the
: game’s updated graphics was shown, when The Chief was shown in his
: remastered glory, the reaction from the audience wasn’t cheers, but
: laughter.

: The character model was a skin from Reach, it was all wrong in appearance and
: proportions, and the audience laughed.

: It was only because of this laughter that the model was changed, they were
: fully prepared to ship it this way, and this is from their own statements
: – not conjecture.

: We all know the debacle of MCC, no need to rehash that.

: Halo 4 I went to the Midnight release, got home, played it, and was –
: underwhelmed. A character that 343 had just spent 3 books building up as
: the ultimate baddie was killed off at the end of the first game in their
: planned trilogy, though an interactive cutscene. (Oops, not actually
: killed, you need to buy the comics to see how he really died! And it
: wasn’t by Chief!)

: Halo 4 wasn’t great, it was a OK first attempt, surely they’ll get better by
: the next game, right?

: (Quick note on how forgettable the campaign was, The pelican run in the game
: was a cool concept, but it feel like "a thing that just
: happened", it was crammed in. I completely forgot about it, until I
: watched my kids play it together on couch co-op. And when I bring up the
: Pelican sequence with people that played the game long ago, they have a
: hard time remembering it. In comparison, nobody forgets the Warthog Run,
: or the Sabre Launch in Reach)

: Halo 5 was the first game that I didn’t go to the midnight launch for, I took
: a “wait and see” approach.

: I’m glad I waited for the inclusion of Warzone and all the other features. I
: eventually picked up the game at a discount, and was dismayed to find out
: that my buddy and I couldn’t play couch co-op!

: Do you know how much it sucked that in order for us to play Halo 5
: “together”, that my friend had to go over to his house?!

: Later on when my kids were old enough to play the series and they got to Halo
: 5, we had to go through the arduous process of hauling large TV’s and
: xboxes and setting them up in separate rooms, to try to set up a local
: game for them to play, and even that didn’t always work.

: I’m not even going to comment on the story. How do you make Buck Boring?!

: After that boondoggle, the promise was made that all future Halo games will
: have Couch co-op from day 1.

: Now, here we have Infinite, and the best thing I can say about it is this:
: I am Thankful that I have Gamepass. Because I would not have bought this
: game.

: And again, as a huge Halo fan, this is extremely hard to say.

: Couch co-op is the only thing I was looking forwards to with this game. I
: haven’t had my kids play it yet, because we were told that splitscreen was
: coming at a later date.

: Now are being told that it isn’t coming at all, and I can only speculate at
: the amount of effort being dedicated to having the ability to do local
: network play.

: My guess is that we’ll only be able to play over Live, which means I got to
: split my kids up to go to a friends house, so they can "play
: together".
:
: Here’s the thing: I really, really want to enjoy the games that 343 puts out.

: Why is 343 making it so difficult to do so?

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The people at 343 Industries have no idea how to create an enjoyable Halo campaign. The people that lead the studio, Bonnie Ross, Frank O'Conner and Kiki WolfKill are the driving force behind ruining Halo. Honestly, what the hell are two females doing running a game franchise that appeals mostly to males? Does anyone believe that Bonny and Kiki actually play any of the Halo games? Halo Infinite is the buggiest mess of any game I have played in 40 years. It took 6 years and over $500 million to create a Halo game that is nearly featureless! But, what it boils down to is money. Most of the work being done to Halo Infinite is for players to play "Dress Up Spartan" in exchange for real money.

I will say that the Halo Infinite campaign has a few fun areas to play but, I've grown very tired of recalibrating the Master Chief's neck every freaking time I start a new game. It's also tiring and time consuming having to find enough Spartan Cores to bring my grapple shot and shield to full strength. It takes over an hour to accomplish that. What should have been done from the start is, once a player finds the Spartan Cores they want then the player should never be forced to find them again. I could write a book about all the serious problems the Halo Infinite campaign has, but I don't have the time.

I think it's time for Bonny Ross, Kiki Wolfkill and that clueless Frank O'Conner to be shown the door.