"Getting back to Master Chief" is how Microsoft Studios boss Phil Spencer summed up Halo 4's agenda back at E3 2011, and if that was all there was to 343's first entirely self-produced Halo game, it would be one of this generation's costliest disappointments.
The source of Master Chief's appeal, after all, isn't who he is but where he takes us, the exotic locales his vacuum-sealed armour and scratch-proof, gravelly altruism allow us to visit. To go in search of the man beneath the suit is to forget that practically speaking, the man is the suit, a veneer of all-enabling machismo who's most of service when he's least obvious - fading into the background like a stray HUD read-out as you contemplate a valley seething with Warthogs and Wraiths, a Covenant vessel plopping out of slipspace or a ribbon of artificial land curving impossibly into the ether.
Fortunately, Halo 4 isn't just about babysitting a psychotic PDA while peeling back the layers of a chunky cyborg. It's also about discovering Requiem, the Forerunner structure glimpsed at the end of Halo 3 (providing you completed it on Legendary) - an immense, hollow sphere which houses canyons of lava-veined purple crystal, dusky orange mesas, lushly knotted jungles and enormous silver obelisks, sprouting from the inner shell like stalactites. Requiem is 343's stab at reviving the mystery of Combat Evolved, the thrill of setting foot on the totally and fundamentally alien, and in that respect it's a glorious success.
It's a success, too, as a bridging point between single and multiplayer. In truth, your trip through the planet's bowels in Master Chief's impressive clogs is no more than an appetiser for Spartan Ops mode (also reviewed as a standalone deal here), which sees teams of up to four fighting their way through objective and territory capture missions as part of a side story centred on the warship UNSC Infinity, also present in the campaign. The Infinity serves as the origin point for Halo 4's competitive modes, too, now known as War Games. It's an elegant over-arching conceit which lends Halo 4 a vital cohesiveness - vital given the somewhat thrown-together feel of the initially promising plot, which quickly disintegrates into yet another race to save Mother Earth from destruction. Book-ended by, of all things, a QTE.
24 comments so far...
Carpet Monkey on 1 Nov '12 said:
Literally going to crap in my pants, this is getting near perfect scores from everywhere (including an insanely high 98 from IGN)...midnight launch it is then
RealDaveBell87 on 1 Nov '12 said:
Sounds to me like OXM are 'sugarcoating' the disappointing campaign.
As someone who prefers both single and multiplayer ,enjoying the former more, ive got to say im a little disappointed at the moment.
Halo has always done everything on a grand and movie like narrative scale that gets most people hooked with its slick cutscenes that in Halo Reach we excellent.
Been looking forward to this game for ages and feel as if it will now be a disappointment, was expecting a entirely new, fresh experience but sounds to me as if Halo 4 does not live up to either Halo 3 or Reach. Very annoyed at the fact the infinitely irritating Armor Lock will be making an appearance too in a slightly different guise.
STE MO on 1 Nov '12 said:
From what I've seen and played of the game, which is only a couple of levels, it's going to be a great game. The big thing for me is that the health bar, after the shield bar, has gone. Massive for me as I got sick of shooting someone, only to have them turn around and one shot you. Can't wait to get playing it.
TheBobinator117 on 1 Nov '12 said:
I definitely agree with the article. You can clearly see the focus is more on the multiplayer aspects, which isn't necessarily a bad thing and the campaign might be underwhelming but I am literally going to be playing the campaign for the lore. I have always been interested in Forerunner history and future so if they open up some new doors that I haven't found yet then I will be happy.
Johnbhoy69 on 1 Nov '12 said:
How many hours long is the campaign?
YoungTobias on 1 Nov '12 said:
Nine out of ten, given the points made about the campaign mode, seems really unjustified. Think I'll leave it until Halo 2 Anniversary comes out (which has to be inevitable) then I can get it cheaper and go through the whole franchise consecutively.
CunningSmile on 1 Nov '12 said:
Why inevitable? 343 have actually said repeatedly they won't do Halo 2. Halo 1 only got the treatment because they had a gap in the release schedule that coincided with the anniversary. I think Halo 5 will be a bigger priority for them now.
OXM Jonty on 1 Nov '12 said:
On Halo 2... 343 said they weren't doing it. What hasn't been addressed is that they didn't actually do Halo Anniversary either, Saber Interactive did. So I'm not ruling it out. I would expect Microsoft to get Halo 4 well out of the way before doing anything, though.
CunningSmile on 1 Nov '12 said:
I bow to your greater knowledge oh Dark Lord
ItchyRash on 1 Nov '12 said:
Getting excited for this but need to finish Assassins Creed Revelations before hand. Can't start a new game until I'm finished the current one. Mad dash to get it done before Halo comes out. Hopefully more engaging than Reach was. I just wasn't blown away by it. 2nd weakest of the series after Halo 2 in my opinion. High hopes for this though.
I other news, a YoungTobias post that doesn't mention ME3. Shush. Maybe he won't notice.
Thos. on 1 Nov '12 said:
I've always loved both Halo single and multiplayer equally. Bungie's move to Microsoft is the single reason I bought the Xbox, and every Halo has been a Day 1 for me.
However, the unlock system means Halo multiplayer is now dead to me, so I was really hoping for an outstanding campaign. Shame.
Looks like this'll be a cheap pickup in six to twelve months for me, then.
EdDeRs1 on 1 Nov '12 said:
at least answer me this, are there Falcons in it? i have some sweet shit planned and i need some falcons for it
OXM ETboy on 1 Nov '12 said:
There's a mission which is pretty much a straight rip of Long Night of Solace from Reach. Jetplanes aplenty! Also, you can make a big pile of Broadswords in Forge Mode. Piles! Everybody loves piles.
Darth Mousemat on 1 Nov '12 said:
This review is strangely brutal when it comes to the downfalls. Judging by the campaign side of it I'm surprised you gave it a 9. To me the spearhead of any game is the campaign so if it is as you say it is I'll be very disappointed,
Not trying to sound like a Grumpy, Synical old man here
Bezza89 on 1 Nov '12 said:
Is the single player campaign co-op too? How long is it roughly?
OXM ETboy on 1 Nov '12 said:
It's between 5 and 10 hours, depending on the difficulty. I'd advise starting on at least Heroic if you're a Halo nut.
Bezza89 on 1 Nov '12 said:
Hmm, how about a comparison for a better grasp, say Halo 1 is ten hours, Reach is 7-8, ODST 5-6, Halo 3 is 9-10. I can't remember 2. (All normal difficulty for me).
Anyway, where would 4 fit?
Alaric14 on 1 Nov '12 said:
It's about on par with Reach on Heroic (I assume you mean in-game time combined without cutscenes?). And yes, I have played it through myself before you ask.
This is one of those cases where the numbers once again fail to encapsulate a complex yet justified opinion. The points raised about the campaign are entirely true, but if this were anything other than a HALO game they wouldn't be regarded as issues at all. Bungie and 343 Industries - essentially the same developing teams with different name tags - have produced arguably the highest quality FPS games in the last ten years through HALO. We expect more from them and it was always going to be difficult for them to do anything that really cut deep into the character of a man whose purpose is to serve as a walking tank, so Cortana steps up as the human side of the Chief we can all empathise with.
The campaign isn't bad at all, it tries new things and successfully captures the HALO spirit, so if anyone's worried about the slight negatives brought up in this review you shouldn't be. The end of the article makes the point that this is really 343's introduction piece on their way to (hopefully) bigger and better things in HALO 5.
It really is a good game, and by Christ there's a lot of it to sink your teeth into. Most games only warrant a single article to cover a review; HALO 4 has three here! Three!
Grummy on 2 Nov '12 said:
Give me an M!
Give me an E!
Give me an H!
Goooooooooo team MEH!
CunningSmile on 2 Nov '12 said:
You're very chipper today
Alaric14 on 2 Nov '12 said:
You and Ben Croshaw should get together for tea and biscuits.
cyclekarl on 2 Nov '12 said:
Wow am I seeing things,am I dream? OXM is actually giving a Halo game a 9 and not a 10,it must be my imagination,but even if they have given it 9 you can take off 3 points straight away because a great game by this magazine's standard is only an average game in the real world,personally I'd prefer to read ordinary peoples reviews,but well done OXM for saying the campaign is underwhelming but then again with the exception of the first Halo all Halo games have had a very short and weak single player element as most Halo fans and the developers only ever care about the Multi-Player,but I will reserve judgment until I have played it,I'll probably rent it or buy it in a year or two when it's dirt cheap.
Bezza89 on 2 Nov '12 said:
The only Halo to get a 10 is Halo 2, maybe 3 - not sure, I'm doubtful. All the rest have 9s or less. (Halo 1 was 9.7 to be fair). I personally find halo games to have the longest single player campaigns out of all fps', though crysis 2s was long, though boring - you need a good length to fun ratio.
... that's what she said!
Zinzan44 on 2 Nov '12 said:
The King of the (*Console) FPS is back.
Roll on the 6th of November.