Halo 4 Review
A thrilling, moving story and intense competitive multiplayer help Halo 4 continue the series' reign as one of the premier shooter franchises.
The Video Review
Chris Watters reunites with Master Chief and Cortana in this video review for Halo 4.
The Good
- Engrossing, emotional story
- Stellar combat mechanics
- Attractive environments, charismatic characters, and exceptional soundtrack
- Greater diversity in competitive multiplayer
- Powerful creation and customization tools.
The Bad
- Spartan Ops missions are too fleeting.
Halo is in new hands. After chronicling humanity's defeat in Halo: Reach, developer and series creator Bungie passed the reins to 343 Industries, who has charted a new course for the iconic Spartan and his AI companion, Cortana. In Halo 4, the duo confronts a fresh new threat to the human race and grapples with mortality in a way the series never has before. The result is the most compelling story a Halo game has ever told, conveyed through a campaign that combines the excellent combat, pacing, and environmental design that have long been hallmarks of the series. The intriguing new cooperative mode feels flimsy, but the competitive multiplayer reasserts itself as one of the most exciting offerings in the genre. Halo 4 doesn't just take the franchise baton in stride; it sprints out confidently to keep Master Chief and company at the head of the pack.
At the end of Halo 3, Master Chief and Cortana were adrift on a derelict ship, having just struck the final blow to bring an end to the Covenant's devastating campaign against the human race. Chief then entered cryo-sleep for the next four years, while humanity poured its energies into fortifying its defenses and expanding its galactic presence. A captivating opening cutscene shows this new initiative taking a critical look at the past, foreshadowing some interesting tension later in the game. Meanwhile, Chief and Cortana are roused when they stumble upon a dire threat to humanity's existence. This foe provides the series with its first proper villain, one whose roots in previously-vague Forerunner mythology soon come into frightening focus.
These galactic machinations are dramatic and intriguing, and they are brought to life vividly by Halo 4's stunning technical prowess. From sweeping panoramic vistas to claustrophobic jungle clearings, the environments are rich with detail enhanced by thoughtful lighting and sharp textures. The excellent artistic design that makes human, Covenant, and Forerunner architecture so instantly recognizable is on display once more, helping to create a cohesive sci-fi world. Expressive facial animations bring characters to life, imbuing the cutscenes with extra emotional weight and making the story that much more engaging. It's all tied together with an amazing soundtrack that complements every aspect of the game. Alien environments ring with eerie strains, characters' emotions are reflected in plangent chords, and the intense action is driven along by urgent orchestrations.
Yet for all the excitement and emotion of the main plot, the most engrossing drama of Halo 4 takes place between Master Chief and Cortana. Everyone's favorite artificial intelligence is nearing her expiration date, forcing these two all-but-invincible characters to face the prospect of death in a way they never have. This delicate, degenerative process is handled eloquently, and great voice acting, animation, and writing combine for some poignant moments. 343 Industries delivers a compelling narrative on both an intimate and a grand scale, with a satisfying conclusion that will make you excited for what's to come.
Halo 4 is a striking step up in storytelling for the series, but when it comes to the action, things are more familiar. Halo has always been a shooter built on clear gameplay systems that combine in complex and gratifying ways. The crafty and aggressive enemy AI squads work together, adjusting their tactics as you assault their ranks. Your four-pronged arsenal of guns, grenades, melee attacks, and armor abilities fuels a variety of different battlefield strategies. And the environments both large and small provide enough space to maneuver creatively, occasionally furnishing a vehicle or two for your driving enjoyment.
These systems are a through line in the series and they continue to hold up well in Halo 4, right down to the Covenant enemies that you fight at various points throughout the campaign (apparently not everyone knows the war is over). They still make great foes, but the new Promethean enemies offer a fresh combat challenge. Canine crawlers fire from a distance or swarm up close, while hovering watchers flit back and forth, offering maddening support to their allies. The hulking knights look fearsome and put up a mean fight, teleporting both defensively and offensively to make killing them from a distance a tricky proposition. New enemies come with new weapons too, and though these guns fit familiar niches, neat tweaks like the boltshot's shotgun-esque alternate fire and the scattershot's ricocheting bullets make them feel distinct.
As you balance aggression and restraint, you see your enemies doing the same thing, and this tactical interplay makes the core combat eminently engaging and replayable. The campaign is well paced and often challenging, and though some Forerunner areas flirt with repetition, the whole endeavor is exciting for the 8 to 10 hours it takes to finish it. Playing with up to three other players is a blast, and Halo 4's campaign thrives in cooperative play. More Spartans means more freedom for you to employ team tactics, put vehicles to good use, play around with the various game-tweaking skulls, or simply have fun horsing around.
just less than 24hrs to go!!!
*Plays Halo 4 new theme song* COME MY FELLOW GAMERS! WE RIDE AT MIDNIGHT! *Goes into stable to ready the horses*
you need both
Actually bought a 360 just to play the halo series. Wish they had venture onto other consoles too but nonetheless the game is awesome.
To all who say that Halo is a Call of Duty rip-off : the first call of duty game was released in 2003 , while the first halo game was released in 2001. So STFU about Halo being a CoD rip-off. Get your facts right before spewing shit like that. Don't get me wrong, I love both Halo and the CoD series.
zhaffy Halo is a sandbox shooter similiar to crysis 1 or farcry. Cod is a linear+cinematic shooter. Both are designed differently. Hope that clears the misconception.
The lack of Cons in some of GS's review concerns me. I don't really think anything could be without any sort of flaws. The Spartan Ops one doesn't really count since it's more of an oddity ("fleeting", really now?).
Feel free to disagree, though. Haven't played the game yet, so it might actually be a masterpiece.
COD remains supreme.
zzamaro Supreme in what?
zzamaro Supreme at sucking the d.
whats dis haalo? All i know is COD is the best game everr. Halo 4 looks liek it rips off COD.
thingta42 Obvious troll is obvious
I'm excited about everything in this game except for one thing: the leveling system in multiplayer. The whole point is to see how well you do against others, not how good the gear you've unlocked is relative to other people's. You say the default loadouts are fully competitive with what people can create? You think that will last once people find the sweet spots in the system (and there are always sweet spots/loopholes)? Has that ever been true? Overall it sounds like 343 has done a tremendous job but this change is fail.
what is halo4 about
i play my games on a x-box
i want to play halo 4
i am going to hockey .
Way too much hype for another Halo game... save it for the sequel to Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
botswanky
botswanky are we getting a sequel? Sweet! Felt pretty bad for Adam at the end of Human Rev
i am seamus stewart i love me. i play hockey. my dad play ' s hockey. my dad's name is mark stewart.
seamusstewart Cool, my dads name is not Mark Stewart...I like marmite, does that make me weird?
can i play halo4
seamusstewart Not till you've done your homework young man!
these reviewers need to be fired. I mean this title lost 10 points because of Spartan Ops being "too fleeting" ?!? For one it's supposed to be in episode format. Any good t.v. series ends of a cliff hanger every episode so you tune in next week lol. I mean honestly , these reviewers are just so annoying. For instance AC 3 only got an 8.5 and it's simply one of the best games i've ever played. These reviewers bitch about WAYY too much. This game should of easily achieved 9.5. However , it's his opinion..not mine. I could honestly give a rats ass about these reviews. I'm just fed up with the people writing them.
IrishSweenz1790 yeah i thought that was pretty funny that the only reason it lost a point was becasue of free extra content. sttuuupid
No game is perfect, and Halo 4 is no exception. If something that comes bundled with it is less than ecpected, then logically the score should suffer. I've also heard AC3 is severely overrated. Yeah "these reviewers are just so annoying" more like "these fanboys are just so annoying". If you don't like it, don't read it. That simple.
Looks he same as the last 4... They added a couple of rifles and guns and those promethean things. The rest of the enemies and weapons, same ol, same ol
solidusdeus1 If you say so.
People will buy Xbox 360 consoles just to play this game. Your move, PS3 and Wii U.
advocacy Its called a Bluray player... Here in Canada people come in and buy a ps3 every day simply because it has a bluray player... While cheap parents come in and buy their 9 yr olds 360 all the time to play mindcraft...
jmicah88 advocacy NOT slating ps3 but it couldn't run most skyrim DLC because of its specs....that kind of proves the xbox is more fitting to games even though it doesn't have a Blu-ray player.
Rwalsh7297 jmicah88 advocacy lol, are you serious? The PS3 is incapable of Skyrim DLC? No, Bethesda is just too lazy to rewrite the code and make sure it works properly for PS3. Most Bethesda games don't work well for PS3 not because the PS3 can't run it, but because Bethesda is simply too lazy to make sure it works properly on the system.
jmicah88 advocacy It's not 2007 anymore. blu-Ray players are cheap, that isn't a selling point for PS3 anymore.
jmicah88 advocacy Or you know, get a blu-ray player for $50 from Sony at Newegg.com, and avoid the console altogether. It's 2012 bro.
advocacy
I think mostly everyone who wants Halo 4 already has a 360.
abHS4L88 advocacy Mostly everyone. I have friends though that will get a 360 for this game because when the previous ones were popular they could just borrow them from college roommates. Now that they live on their own they can't exactly borrow a 360 any more.
iwannagoflorida
Of course, but I don't think it'll spike sales since we are so late in the 360's life.
Has anyone noticed that most games these days have framerate issues
HardcoreX360
It's because the games now are pushing the limits of the 360/PS3 so it's harder to run those games at a smoother framerate because the processing power of these systems are being eaten up by the visuals, sound, and AI. When the next gen fully comes around then framerate shouldn't be a problem anymore since all systems will have much more power to run games.
When are they releasing this for PS3 and PC?
NightKiller34 They won't it's an xbox 360 exclusive.
NightKiller34 It's one of the only things Xbox has left to it's name. It deserves at least a couple good exclusive series, if they made this multiplat it'd put the nail in the Xbox coffin.
lmaocarrots NightKiller34 exactly...the xbox would be dead without halo. i wonder if the next xbox will play blue ray? seems kinda like it has to right?
philMcCrevis lmaocarrots NightKiller34 The trend is towards digital downloads/streaming. Why get a blu-ray player when you can download it through Amazon Prime and play it directly through your expensive LCD TV? Kind of takes the whole peripheral out of the picture doesn't it?
philMcCrevis lmaocarrots NightKiller34
forza series, gears of war and some of the finest xbla games :D
TommyBombadil philMcCrevis lmaocarrots NightKiller34 because ISPs rarely offer unlimited data, most have a cap, which means downloading isn't a reality just yet...the disc still has it's place I'm afraid.
lmaocarrots NightKiller34 The still have Gears of War
I haven't gotten excited for a Halo game since Halo 3! Halo Reach was pretty fun but it was more of a cool i get to see what happened before the actual Halo! However, I can say I don't think i have been so excited for a Halo game as I am for Halo 4, I love the story line thus far and I cannot wait to see where it goes and from this review I can't wait to get my hands on the game!
I've not played the game yet but I'm curious if FPS shooters are so easily pleased that the exact same gameplay can be presented back to them for over a decade. personally I'm burned out and I still enjoy Half Life 2 single player more than the regurgitated junk that keeps getting spewed at us from Halo, Cod and the like. I miss Unreal Tournament. it was faster, more exciting and the most pure multiplayer I've ever enjoyed.
Why are reviewers so quick to slap huge scores on triple AAA titles when the gameplay and mechanics are virtually identical to their predecessors. Then a title like bullet storm comes along and takes risks in the genre but Gamespot cant get on board. If any other genre did this, it would be lambasted but FPS is as stale as a Santa Cookie in July
I hope to god in 10 years were not playing the same damn game over and over and over and over again. I'd rather fireup a refreshed UT release and get back to where it all started. That chit was fun!!
- User Score- -No Reviews
Game Emblems
The Good
Hot Forum Topics
Halo 4
Follow for the latest news, videos, & tips from experts & insiders
- Publisher(s): Microsoft Game Studios
- Developer(s): 343 Industries
- Genre: Action
- Release: Nov 6, 2012 (US) »
- ESRB: M