I never compared it Destiny or used the term open world (Off-Topic)

by electricpirate , Tuesday, June 16, 2015, 01:04 (3245 days ago) @ MacGyver10

I was comparing H5 to Halo CE-Reach all of which but one were Linear in structure but provided open ended combat

You might describe it as the baggy pipe. A level in Halo is like a pipe, but you occasionally hit these sections where you get some freedom. The combat opens up, and you have some more solutions to the problem. Contrast to most FPS, where the solution space is pretty limited. "Do I use cover or cover B?" and generally it's about reaction time. COD campaigns generally combine a lot of this style of action with huge setpieces, but at their best they break it up (COD2 and MW did a great job of it). Halo did it a lot; wide open Beach assaults, to the AI driven Scarabs, Tsavo highway and the ability to steal tanks or blow them up or the canyons in AOTCR. But it wasn't just the big sections too. Even in the intimate fights the game gave you multiple paths, and the ability to improvise. The stealth lite sections or the 3 way battles.

Halo 4 instead focussed on fewer of these moments. There was lots of bombast, and crazy moments, fewer open spaces and battles that unfolded. This trailer really focussed on the linear, setpiece driven nature, which was disapointing.

Destiny in some ways has the opposite problem. Destinies situations can go really wide open (especially something like the POE), given the huge variety of builds, combinations, and synergies. But it lacks clear setpieces and bombast.