Halo 4 Review
Game Emblems
The Good
Halo 4 is quite effectively a restart to the series and starting a new story and it's great!
A thrilling, moving story and intense competitive multiplayer help Halo 4 continue the series' reign as one of the premier shooter franchises.
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.
By
Chris Watters, Editor
With his Apple IIGS as the spark and his neighbor's NES the fuel, Chris Watters' passion for gaming caught fire early. Years later, you can find him aiming down virtual sights, traipsing through fantastical lands, and striving to be grossly incandescent while desperately avoiding sunburns.
1026 comments
Story is generic, campaign is only a few hours long and Gamespot gives it a 9.0? Unless you are buying this for the multiplayer, rent it.
I am looking for people to play halo 4 with (war games), if you're interested add me, GT = WAR ISTHEAN5W3R
I'm new to console gaming add me Thrash Emperor for XboxLive and Thrash_Emperor for the PSN.
1 Like
Great game, took the best parts of the previous Halo games and sped it up just enough to make it more fun.
1 Like
343 Studios outdid Bungie with this new chapter in the Halo saga as it is easily the best of the best in the series - looking forward to the next chapter in the Halo universe now :)
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The only thing gearing me towards an xbox, god damnit if only I could get this game.
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This game is very beautiful if you never seen Skyrim, Battlefield 3 or Far Cry 3. It has a great multiplayer if you have never played Battlefield 3, Unreal Tournament or Planetside.The story in Halo 4 is just amazing.... If you never saw a game with a story before, and I am not even talking about Pathologic or Bioshock. It has a great music indeed... Unfortunately not in a world where there are McGee's Alice, Populous 3 and Dawn of War. So, you see, Halo 4 is a very very good game! Not its fault that all other games are just better! LOL
Sure, you beat the game on Legendary difficulty to get almost a whole entire second of footage of something that we already knew. Then it's all cheers and w00ts. But you do three times the amount of work in Mass Effect 3 for a huge reveal that is supposed to give you the emotional satisfaction that you triumphed over all odds and survived, but all of a sudden it's all like *BOO* *HISS* "THE ENDING TO ME3 SUCKED BAWLZ BIOWARE CHANGE IT"
3 Like
I got this game from a friend to day, and I going to have a go at it... and probably that is the only way I ever going to play this game.... for FREE..
I mean... come on.. who wants to pay the full price for JUST about 6 hours of game play, that resembles all the other Halo games ?
2 Like
here is my review. ok, your a space marine. there are aliens that you have to kill. some little funny ones and some big ones. you have a rifle and a handgun and sometimes u can get a sniper rifle and a rocket launcher type gun. bad stuff happens and you save the world at the end.
this review is good for all the halo games. im kinda talking trash but honestly ive bought and played all the halo games and while I enjoy them it just makes me think people haven't had a chance to try some of the better games out there. to each their own I guess.
@fa11en1134 I'm inclined to agree with you. My problem with Microsoft is that they just aren't being very original with new IPs. They're mostly relying on refining the same franchises including Halo, Gears of War and Call of Duty rather than make new ones like Sony is doing or adding many new things to their treasured game series like Nintendo has done over the years. Maybe that will change in the next Xbox (if it's announced this year of course!)
@fa11en1134 Actually, the game where you really 'are a space marine' (ironically called 'Space Marine') has a much more satisfying melee, shooting and hit registration, and better graphics and level design, and still considered to be a failed game. What to say about Halo then?....
1 Like
I bought the Halo 4 Xbox 360 package, I don't play that many console games. I played Halo 1 & 2 on the original Xbox, hadn't played any since then. Figured I'd break down and buy a 360, now that there's tons of games available. Halo 4 was a lot of fun, had a few frustrating moments, but that's with any game. I will definitely play the next game in the series (plus go back and play Halo 3).
Usually, I'm not interested by any type of shooter game on the market, but the recent Halo 4 has my interest peaked. I'm not a regular FPS person at all (I'm more of an action-y, JRPG Final Fantasy fan) but I'm wondering if I should delve into the series or not...as a question directed to the fanbase of Halo, what is the appeal of this game? I've heard great things about its soundtrack and story, which are two things I value in my games, but what about the gameplay itself? For an FF fan like me, I'm not too eagar to play anything that had me mashing buttons in intense combat. Unless it's Bayonetta, of course xD
@Bayonetta2013 It all depends if you're willing to plunge into a deep sci-fi universe. It's already a well developed series with a fantastic story, but if you aren't interested in the fps gameplay then don't bother with halo 4.
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@Bayonetta2013 Well, ma'friend, HALO: Combat Involved was the greatest HALO ever. But, anyways, this one deserves a place in the hall of fame.
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Here are my thoughts on 'Spartan Ops'.
343 follows the rule golden rule: "If it ain't broke don't fix it" very well, they just forgot about "If it ain't broke, don't ditch it!" Firefight is completely gone. Campaign scoring also missing. Firefight is replaced with Spartan Ops. Which on paper is great idea. Having new missions unlocked each week gives players something new to comeback too. I wanted to love Spartan Ops, but again they 'ditched' a few key ingredients that would have made it amazing and additive. There is no scoring and there are no limited lives either. In fact if you die, you just span right near where you died. No consequence for dying, which removes all thrill of succeeding. I loved being down to my last life on Firefight and working battle and sneaking by on skin of my teeth to the next wave. My solution would have been simple, add the option of limited lives and double players experience points for passing the level and increase that number for the higher difficulty settings.
What do other people think?
1 Like
@chris_watters Hi. The way you describe Halo 4's single player, all apart from the story, makes me think of the original Unreal. That is not a bad thing in any way, in fact, its lacking in modern FPSs imo. How would you match them up?
Halo 4 is the same as the last Halo, Reach, and Reach is the same as the one before it ODST. Thanks for Activision and treyarch for innovating in Black Ops 2 and their efforts to make this a better game.
Where in Halo 4 "fun" can't be added in a patch. So no matter how many times they patch it, a bad game is a bad game.
CoD FTW!!
@UltraHiDef Obvious troll is obvious.
If not trolling, incredibly....INCREDIBLY ignorant.
Ignorance on a turbo-legendary magnitude
4 Like
CoD Black Ops 2 is the same as the last Black Ops, CoDMW3, and CoDMW2is the same as the one before it CoDMW. Thanks for 343 Industries and Microsoft for innovating in Halo 4 and their efforts to make this a better game.
Where in COD "fun" can't be added in a patch. So no matter how many times they patch it, a bad game is a bad game.
Halo FTW!!
P.S. You could do this ^ with any game, both games suck, but CoD get the gold medal of crappiest games, why Activision bother with names?, they should call them Call of Duty 2011, 2012, 2013, same game with some updates and an interactive 3-4 hr movie, "innovating" lol.
2 Like
I was disappointed with the fact that you need a gold account for online MP. But other then that it's a good game in the Halo series.
@ChaosUndivided at least they give you, crackle, ufc, youtube, nba tv, explorer and a host of other apps that kind of make xbox live worth while now.
if you only use xbox live for multi player then it kind of sucks....if you use all the features it's kind of worth while.
This. All Multiplayer games need gold. Only one that didn't to my knowledge was FInal Fantasy XI, and that was because you had to pay a monthly fee to Square.
@Magishinex @Hairy_Pirate @ChaosUndivided monster hunter online (MMO), some indie games that i dont remember.
1 Like
A lot of jaded responses about this game. However, this could be the best of the series. The multiplayer does a good job of feeling less gimmicky than Reach. Control the power weapons! Does what Halo does well without stupid %@*^ like Armor Lock or Bubble Shields.
4 Like
I played this game for an hour, what did I think?
Graphics: look allot better than Halo 3 and at times pretty awesome.
Story line:pretty obscure was not taken in by it
Gameplay: Same as Halo 1 (2001), although no flood (which is a good thing)
Originality: ummm same as Halo 1 (2001)
I tried to get into this but an hour is all I could do, it became a chore, a grind. They have not changed the mechanics and if anything made the game more linear. It was what I was doing 11 years ago only with prettier graphics.
Why did I endeavour may you ask? well I suffer from Nostalgia and Halo 1 was probably one of the best games I have played. There was a glimpse of awesomeness in Halo 1 when I played the Silent Cartographer level, it was there most open map even to date, I just which they grew in that direction instead the levels becoming more linear.
So I have handed the game back luckily I borrowed it off a mate and not bothered to a pay for it. Actually he wasn't that happy with it either.
Overall though the game should not be a 9. I just wish there was an un-biased review of it out there, lots of back handers I feel ;-)
PS: sorry guys but I only bas this comment on Campaign as I will not touch the multiplayer. But it probably excels there but not to award the thing a 9.
1 Like
@LJMStrike Halo 2, 3 , ODST, and Reach were all pretty linear why would this be any different. And just because someone bases their review on things like Multiplayer, Spartan Ops, Forge and not just the campaign doesn't mean they are all biased.
4 Like
saying halo 1 was one of the best games you ever played and then saying this was the same thing but sucks is pretty confusing...considering its not the same thing
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@Jakefolino It isn't, I understood what he said pretty easily. It's a basic comprehension skill.
This is related to multiplayer - Recently I have been having trouble with my multiplayer progress, I am level 24, mid way through the first match I join after starting up the game I randomly lose all of my load outs, armour etc. Thankfully this doesn't wipe my progress altogether but it totally wrecks the experience and can only be solved by restarting the game, but then exactly the same thing happens when I join another game after having to reboot it, like a vicious circle. Can anyone help?
2 Like
Meh 7/10, 343 have so far taken everything I enjoy about halo out of the game. Badass looking enemies, epic warthog driving finales, Big team objective playlists, multi-team, action sack, griffball, Bubble shields, Map quantity (Unlike Bungie <3, I don't think 343 will be giving out free maps), campaign freedom and the scoped weapons are too OP to name but a very few. The base game is fairly decent but without major updates I fear 343 have ruined halos reputation for being the best shooter ever made.
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Halo 4
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- Publisher(s): Microsoft Game Studios
- Developer(s): 343 Industries
- Genre: Action
- Release: Nov 6, 2012 (US) »
- ESRB: M
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