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- Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
- Release Date: Nov 6, 2012
User Score
Mixed or average reviews- based on 2868 Ratings
User score distribution:
Positive: 1,962 out of 2868
Mixed: 218 out of 2868
Negative: 688 out of 2868
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Jan 2, 2013After having played many great games in 2012, Halo 4 would be my pick for Game of the Year. By far the greatest Halo game. Good story, great presentation and pacing. Gameplay and weapons the best of any Halo game yet. This renders Halo 3 about unplayable and makes Halo Reach look dated, and that's just the stellar Campaign mode. Really just started playing multiplayer shooters last year BF3, Transformers FOC and I really enjoy Halo 4 Multiplayer.. Multiplayer is not as deep as BF3, but man it is awesome fun. Don't know what these low reviewers think they should have done better, probably prefer zombie or kiddie games, but I feel this is the must have Xbox game of 2012!… Expand
Dec 4, 2012Game of the Year...This Halo is by far the best of the series. Stunning graphics, a great story, the usual amazing Halo Multiplayer, and Spartan Ops is a good addition. If you have an Xbox, you MUST buy this game! An instant classic. My choice for best game of 2012.
Nov 20, 2012Overall not a bad game; I enjoyed the campaign but agree with those who feel it was too short. My first play-thru was heroic and I finished in under 5 hours. Graphics were improved; I wasn't crazy about the music. I like Spartan Ops, and if 343 continues to release new missions for an extended period of time, gamers will likely not feel so shafted over the minimal campaign content. Multiplayer was fun, but I love grenades, and well, lets just say I could kill more spartans with a single fart than with 50 halo 4 grenades. Overall not a bad game, but something is missing. Something is missing from this halo, that makes it, well, less halo-ish.… Expand
Nov 13, 2012Great visuals, great single player campaign, great multiplayer modes.. The only negative i can think of is the final boss fight but this is my favorite Halo game to date.
Jul 7, 2013I really wish that the Halo 4 we got was different from what we got. I did not enjoy the story nor the multiplayer for this game, which is disappointing because this was a highly anticipated game for me, but once I finished the campaign and got some play time in online... I realized this game is NOT for me. The story is pretty stupid, the new enemies they added are annoying. They changed almost everything from the original Halo series. I'm not anticipating Halo 5 or 6 even in the slightest.… Expand
May 5, 2013I was excited to play this game. I had watched the Forward Until Dawn series and several of the other CG webisodes that had to do with special ops. It looked like they really wanted to take Halo to the next level and advance the plot. All of the marketing for this game was top notch, however the game was not. I was amazed at how little the game felt like it had evolved from the very first incarnation of Halo. The in game plot did not live up to the standard set by all the marketing. As far as I could tell there were only 3 cutscenes that were rendered at cinema quality, the rest seemed to be rendered with the in-game engine. I played the campaign co-op, and repeatedly had to deal with being respawned over empty space or in front of walls on vehicle levels. The AI was unimpressive for the current generation of FPS games. This is the Halo game that will make me stop playing Halo.… Expand
Nov 16, 2012Halo 4 has given back something to me, that has been lost with Halo Reach. When I think of Halo, I think of a whole package - Competitive multiplayer, an interesting Campaign, and something innovative.
The Campaign was about an 8/10. It took a different approach to the regular storytelling that Halo is known for, and generally performed pretty well. But I would have enjoyed a longer campaign, along with a few extra things that I don't want to spoil.
The multiplayer I give an 8/10. 343 Did really great to reverse some of the Reach damage. It took out bloom, brought back the BR, and also gives us some pretty nice default maps. From a casual standpoint, I have a load of fun in BTB with ordnance drops and my friends. From a competitive standpoint, I really enjoy a few of the maps on Pro, but it loses points due to no default "real" competitive playlist, and no trueskill system.
Now with innovation, they really hit the mark with Spartan Ops. I am not a huge fan of it personally, but it really is a great step forward to combine all elements of the game into one. Verdict: A really great game, highly recommended for veterans of the franchise, and newcomers alike.
Highest Pro: The multiplayer is much more refined and higher quality this title.
Highest Con: Lack of depth in the multiplayer matches, tied with a short campaign.… Expand
Jan 1, 2013What do you expect from a Halo game? If you expect a rock solid Sci-fi shooter then your in for a treat. Halo 4 is one of the best shooters of the year, hands down. Overall, if you don't want a lengthy review, it excels in everything it does. Sound feels realistic and adds to the atmosphere. Guns sound like they should. Its something you don't expect, to be wowed by a games sound, but its something that really stands out and adds to the impact you feel when you fire a gun. Visually its stunning. The graphics are vibrant and often make you feel like you have to stop and appreciate the landscape in front of you. It especially shows when you look at the games guns. When you pick up the games guns they flick into life, bending and clicking into place on their own. Its amazing. The noise and style of these guns sends me back to my times playing Star Wars Battlefront, which certainly isn't a bad thing. The multiplayer is excellent. Matchs are perfectly paced due to the size of the maps and guns you possess. Much better than the unfair chaos of CoD. Co-op(i'll get to the story in a second) is so very, very fun. Plenty of laughs to be had here. But I had one problem with this though. We started from the beginning. Master chief is woken by Cortana. He gets out the cryo sleep and has a chat with her. "Jameson", as I was called, woke up just after chief and opens up his pod. WHO IS HE(/them if more than one)? They aren't ever talked to by chief or Cortana. I would have like it if 343 put the effort in to give this/these sidekicks a back story. I mean, in the cut-scenes where do they go? Is "Jameson" a forgotten hero? I remember you "Jameson". The story is a bit too much like Portal for my liking. Baring in mind that Portal is one of my favorite games. Cortana has over done her stay as a computer and is slowly turning crazy. Making things harder for you on your than they should be. But the story is still good, none the less. What you do in the story however occasionally lacks the innovation of the other Halo's held. It follows your generic FPS fashion in 2/3 of what you'll be doing. You know the drill? Walk down a corridor, in Halos case a very wide corridor, and shoot the baddies. But due to everything I previously said, it doesn't get as repetitive as I have previously seen. So overall is a consistent package which is definitely worth your buck.… Expand
Dec 6, 2012I will put it simply, Go with the vast majority of professional critics, There's a reason the users on here aren't professional critics, they haven't got a clue, it's a fantastic game and is very much worth your time, in the list of things not worth your time are haters on metacritic.
Dec 30, 2012The Single-player took a great turn for 343 Industries, but the Multi-player is lacking a lot (Bolt shot is overpowered, most guns are basically shooting peas at the thing you're pointing at). Halo was suppose to be a good balance between Grenade, Melee, and Weapons. But 343 just throws that out the window and says "Hey, lets make the most unfair, most hated multi-player ever. That'll sure show those people expecting a good game." I actually think Call of Duty has a better multi-player than Halo 4, and that says a lot.… Expand
Mar 6, 2013Halo 4 is such stellar and the epic chapter of the new Reclaimer trilogy had finally begun! The multiplayer is absolute win. Campaign is still a thrill ride and it gotten soo much better!
Feb 1, 2013I liked Halo 4, the campaign and multiplayer is fun, however again, it cannot compete with the levels of fun games like call of duty or battlefield gives me.
Apr 19, 2013It is better than Reach but, what isn't better than Reach? The gameplay dynamics feel more refined than Halo Reach. The hit-scan weapons reduce multiplayer lag online. The load-outs still make the game feel like a watered down CoD rather than Halo. The lack of an in-game true skill ranking system really irks me as well. Over all I would give this a 4 out of 10 because it was a visible improvement over Reach but still nothing close to Halo 2 or Halo 3.… Expand
Jan 4, 2013Graphics was a huge improvement campaign wise and I really like the direction they took with the legacy of Master Chief in campaign mode. I am huge fan of Halo Multiplayer and I thought the changes were pretty good improvements for the most part,but one thing kept nagging me, I felt like a lot of the new ideas were COD ripoffs (E.g. Drop packages, the prestige which not really prestige, ranking to unlock item system). COD is amazing title but if I wanted to play COD multiplayer, I would go buy it. I think some ideas were needed to improve the competitive play (Ability to enter and exit games without handicapping teammates) but they lack originality. I personally thought the ranking system in Halo 3 was more impressive when a person's skill level was more important rather than his/her ability to not have a life and live on the game, just my opinion.… Expand
Jan 26, 2013The story was the big selling point for me and while the Campaign is very short the story made me feel the same kind of sadness I felt for James in Silent Hill 2. The multiplayer is fun but lacks the kind of community Halo 2 & 3 had. The only thing I don't like about this game is the fact that Spartan Ops REPLACES Firefight.
Nov 13, 2012I grew up playing Halo. The score to Halo 4 seemed to me like atmospheric background noise.. I rarely noticed it. The music is integral to what it is as a franchise to me. I am a purist tho. I liked the plot of Reach better. I am also missing a lot of the multiplayer options from Reach too. Like the ability to put it on good connection and similar skill. Also the campaign scoring and firefight are also missing. Spartan Ops isn't the same, after the 10 weeks it's going to be useless. Than there's the fact you don't get taken out of scope when you're shot. I love it still but nothing is perfect. I just see it as a result of a new studio playing it safe in some areas and trying too hard to impress in others.… Expand
Aug 11, 2013343 did a great job taking the mantle away from Bungie. The game looks great with a good story. The action is pretty good but not the best. No more dual weapon usage which was kind of a drag. The game is about 8 hours on hard and can easily be beaten on normal over a weekend. The stand out in this game is the quality of overall sound effects. The music sound great and the guns are "punchy". But I use a amp/dac paired with Beyerdynamics. But overall a good game worth a rental but not a buy.… Expand
Nov 6, 2012Halo 4 showed us that 343 Studios can handle the series but I don't think they quite get it yet. Being a long time fan of Halo I noticed how Halo 4 felt and looked far too different from the rest. This could be the fact that it's made by someone other then Bungie but I still can't shake it off. QTE's are thrown in to change the pace and some cutscenes don't do the game any justice, they make it seem like a cruddy movie with poor shots and scenes. An hour in the game you're repeating some of the same things you had done earlier so it becomes repetitive and slow. The story to Halo 4 was also a dramatic change in the series. It goes from a simple super solider fighting off aliens to then giving him emotions for an A.I. Nothing is wrong with this but it doesn't fit the title of Halo at all. Enemy designs also don't fit the series and look as if the game is taking a serious Japanese anime turn. I mean really, a ridiculous flying orbs with an alien inside who has telekinesis and giant robots now? Halo has come a long way and 343 did a good job with Halo 4 but they have yet to grasp the series is really about. It was nice that they added a neat touch up to the multiplayer by adding a story line to it.… Expand
Mar 23, 2013Halo 4 is by far one of the best games of all time. The story is more personal, dark, and rewarding than previous halo entries and ends on an all out high note. The graphics are a revolution in gaming, with detailed environments, superb lighting, ridiculously high res textures, and incredible facial animation and motion capture. The sweeping spectacle and breath taking views of distant forerunner structures reminisce to when people first saw halo combat evolved. Also, the cinematics are so incredible when I first saw them I thought they were live action. They really are that good. As for the gameplay, they keep to the series' main roots, straight up runnin and gunnin like a baller. It is incrediblely satisfying to just run out and desimate enemies. The weapons not only look and sound great but are all unique and perfectly balanced. Speaking of sound, it's epic, from the crack of an assault rifle, to the all new beautiful score by Neil davidge, to the simple hum of a warthog halo 4 stays true to the awesome sound design we've come to expect from halo games. Themu,tip layer has been redone and is incredibly fun and addicting, with the new loadout system, halo 4 adds much more customization that is nice change to halo. Spartan ops is since bit of narrative based arcade style killing feet that can be a real blast to play. While the sequences are over in minutes and aren't that challenging even on legendary and you won't get hold of much of the story during combat,they still feel epic and the weekly cinematics they bring are a treat to watch. As for forge, it's just as awesome as ever but, allowing you to make the map of your dreams, but as been refined to the point that does away with the annoying issues it used to have. So overall, halo 4 is one of the best of the series, an incredible start to the new trilogy, and one of the best looking, best sounding, best playing, straight up BEST game of all time.… Expand
Nov 17, 2012i dont know how to explain this but, i am a big halo fan, no doubt, and when bungie left and gave the franchise to 343 industries i had mixed feelings. could they do better than bungie? well they didnt ruin the franchise thats for sure! the campaign is pretty short which kind of disappointed me, and the story does have some plot holes but the story its self at the end is pretty cool. apparently this is a start of a new trilogy but i dont see how they can continue from where it ended. another thing in the campaign is the new enemies. THEY ARE ANNOYING! they will piss you off like no other enemy in the franchise. if found the flood annoying. wait till you try this on legendary!
multiplayer has had a change too, its a bit more like call of duty and battlefield with the custom classes and the sprinting. but it still does feel like halo and fans will be sort of like home, maybe a but more to their neighbors home. the annoying thing i found so far in the multiplayer is that when your playing online, the same maps keep coming over and over again. i find that there are not enough maps that come with the game, but if you want to spend a couple extra bucks, dlc maps are coming. over all i had a pleasant time playing the campaign and the multiplayer. i still have some mixed feelings cause it does and doesnt feel like a halo game. but thats just my opinion. halo ce is and so far has always been the definitive halo game in my opinion.… Expand
Jan 11, 2013I have played every single Halo game, including Halo: AE and Halo Wars, so I have a good spectrum of the Halo universe and the good and bad Halo games. PROS: 1) Beautiful graphics and sound. This game just looks good! Lush jungles, cool Forerunner areas, etc. 2) Matchmaking system is great as always... easy to find a game and stay with a group. 3) Multiplayer is good fun. Good maps, and an old favorite. Vehicles all perform well. Most weapons feel good to shoot.
4) Loadout system adds something new to match your playstyle, but doesn't make the game unbalanced.
5) Campaign was solid, new enemies are always welcome after the Covenant was done for multiple games.
1) Spartan Ops is pretty shallow and offers little to the game or story.
2) Campaign was short and the plot was all over the place. IE - Who is this guy, who is that guy and why are they important?
3) Ordinance drops don;t really work with Halo. I would rather have good weapons on the map that respawn quicker. Many ordinance drops make you choose between 3 equally bad weapons or bonuses. Feels too COD.
4) 343 Studios went overboard on the weapons. I don't need 3 long range weapons, 3 medium and 3 short range weapons. Just a bit too much.
5) Armor is unlocked through finishing challenges which forces you to use crummy weapons etc if you want the armor. The credit system from Halo: Reach was great and one of the better ideas from that game.
A pretty good, almost great game with a few issues. Halo 4 doesn't need to copy COD... everyone has had their fill of that anyway. Also, the campaign was fun, but pretty forgettable. Beyond that though, this game has a robust MP that will make most fans and newcomers happy.… Expand
Nov 21, 2012I think I must have overhyped myself because I didn't feel stunned by the visuals when I first popped it in. Yes, they looks great but I think I had seen to many screen shots that I really expected to be blown away but when I popped it in it was what I had already seen. Having read the two Forerunner trilogy books prior to playing this I was excited to see how the forerunner, given there history with the human race, would be poised in this game. For those of you have read both and then played the game you were certainly understand when I say that the game does a fantastic job of lightly tying into the books and then making major pieces of the game way better. Bottom line, the campaign was great and music made it epic, and it no way let me down which was a bit of a concern the month before launch. The online was quite a shock. It didn't feel like Halo, borrowed a lot from Call of Duty but it still felt true to its nature. It took some getting used to but now I love it. The various changes they made felt forced at first but once I though about it I felt like they fit better in the Halo universe than anything else I could imagine them doing and another online like 3 or reach was not an option so it was a good compromise. I dabbled in the first episode of Spartan Ops and I like that it was a fairly smooth experience and other than the occasionally crappy teammate who just killed everyone else, it was actually a lot of fun. Halo is definitely in my top 3 this year and with the amount I keep going back to it I expect it will continue to move up. As I know some people are Halo-adverse I can't say I would recommend it to everyone, but if you are the kind of person that has ever had the slightest interest in Halo, this is an awesome point to jump in.… Expand
Jan 31, 2014Best Xbox game I have ever played! The war games are feroucious and compettitive! the backgroumd design for the levels are amazing....................
Nov 16, 2012Best Halo since Combat Evolved. I am not a Halo fan, ever since Combat Evolved you could say I've been a Halo Hater. Till now. I felt that Bungie squandered and incredible Universe by forcing us to play through campaigns with confusing and lackluster stories, that were set in a great universe with characters that had all the potential to be memorable. Also I felt that Bungie never took any chances with updating Multiplayer. I can say with no doubt I trust in 343, they made em care about the characters, I actually enjoyed the story and the visuals and sound are second to none and did a great job of engrossing you. I also feel the Multiplayer with Spartan Ops is a great change and addition to Multiplayer and has had me fighting my way to 50 to get my first specialization… Expand
Jan 23, 2013Halo 4 is not the masterpiece but it has its place in the Halo universe, Halo 4 has not had many drastic changes in multilayer except from the new load out system that brings a whole new depth to the multilayer, as it is no longer a rush for the best weapons at the start and felling like there no way back when you stuck with the Assault Rifle over someone with a DMR sniping you from a higher vantage point. it also allow for new players to get into the game due to it similarities with Call of Duty (this can be seen as good or bad). The single player on the other hand is the one of the best Halo campaigns to date maybe even one of the best FPS campaigns to data, with so many twist and turns throughout the story, if you have played the other Halos and felt something for the story's then I believe that you have to try this game if only for the single player, we have to give credit where credit is due as 343 have done a stellar job on creating a deep and engaging story line that bring a tear to the eye at the conclusion. If you have not played a Halo before I think you should steer clear of the single player till you have as you will feel nothing for the story line. I think if this is your first Halo it is more like a 6/10 as I feel the story even though being fairly short is still Epic and bring a huge amount to the game for series long fans.… Expand
Nov 15, 2012i see the haters/call of duty fanboys have rated this game as low as possible. what a bunch of morons. this game is great and way better than Call of Duty.
Nov 12, 2012This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. *GAMES EVOLVE* I can understand that people are saying Halo 4 has call of duty features but is that really a bad thing? Does the shooting feel like COD or the action, atmosphere, art design, characters, story, gah its Halo 4 you guys. Games have to evolve every now and then. Uncharted 3 Had loadouts, perks, money system for weapon attachments, character customization, etc and that is still a great multiplayer. Gears of war, you choose what gun you want to start and that has a loadout, maybe not a perk but hell your pretty much a super soldier already. I don't understand why people can't take change. Anyways I just wanted to take that in perspective that GAMES EVOLVE or you'd hate how halo would be if it was the exact same thing like the *Cough* Modern*coughs* Warfare*coughs* series*coughs*. Just know that I'm not disrespecting you guys, just get time with the changes. *Review* I have to say this is the best Halo by far since it seems more in depth into what the franchise is. I am gladly to say this is the real reason why I bought an Xbox for. Story - After almost 5 years(forgot the exact date) since the last game, seeing in Halo 3 where Master Cheif and Cortana were drifting off in space, waiting to be found. After 4 years in cryosleep, Master Chief was awaken by Cortana since they were being invaded by the covenent, later to be found by the Forerunner Planet "Requiem" being sucked in by the gravitational pull and stranded on the planet. Without giving too much away, the story in this game is not only about Master Chief but more into Cortanas side of her story; just in Master Cheifs perspective. Halo series never been really a selling point of its story but lore. This one seems more in depth of it's story though it is short, it is the best story by far and engaging as it give us the reason why we're really fighting the Covenent. Gameplay - Alright, this is where people really want to know if this still feels like a Halo game. Still shooting from the hip?(Yep) Stilll Energy Sheild?(Yep) Still have the badass assualt rifle?(Yep) Plays like reach?(Yep) So whats new about it? Well theres alot of new things in this game. New weapons going for in depth with the covenents but also a new species called the prometheans, which you use they're guns off on their body parts. The gameplay is still that old Halo formula we all know and love. The game also has had a great redone over its graphics, making the xbox go through its full potential though with some merky texture going up close to things. The multiplayer is still there, though it is a little faster than the other ones. I don't know what to say but rather that its **** awesome. It has high replayablity with many and I mean MANY game modes that are **** fun. Some I wish they didnt' take out like SWAT on reach but overall it is a goood **** game.
This is the best Halo and xbox game I… Expand
Mar 17, 2014Whilst the campaign was short and linear compared to past Halo games, the story and emotional attachment was good. The multiplayer is sub-par, and very shallow. Taking cues from Call of Duty whilst still trying to make it it feel like Halo was a tough task and it wasn't a good mix. The graphics (the only really good thing about this) are great for its time, some of the best I've seen on Xbox 360, although when you play split-screen with a buddy, the console really shows it's age, having to dial back on the graphics due to having to render the meshes & textures twice on some really old hardware. All in all, the multiplayer gets stale after a few hours of play, and campaign was solid but a tad bit on the short side. As a classic Halo fan, I am disappointed in this project, although some may like it, and it does have some strong aspects.… Expand
Mar 17, 2014simply the best halo in my opinion, the multiplayer is better then ever, graphics are amazing, and story was more emotional.well worth the buy, for the xbox 360
Mar 19, 2013I can remember the days when I hated FPS and then I discovered Halo. Loved the new weapons and new race to fight. Loved the graphics. I can say that I had so much fun playing through the campaign with my brother in law and making jokes. If the walking dead hadn't destroyed my heart before I played this, I might have even cried when one of my beloved characters died. I think the beauty here is that they didn't try to teach an old dog any tricks. They just tweaked the same stuff we've been loving for years.… Expand
Dec 31, 2013A worthy entry into the acclaimed series, Halo 4 is an exciting and intense first-person shooter. The game offers little in the way of new enemies, its main drawback and appears to substitute the games expansive environments for spectacular visuals. The game runs very smoothly and the narrative is fantastic. O'Donnell's classic score and theme are missing and replaced with a more generic soundtrack.… Expand
Apr 19, 2013I have all the halo games and this one is a bit different but still attach to the original game play, it has a lot CoD but i don't see that like a bad thing, for me this game is a 1 year online game to play.
Nov 7, 2012343i has tried to infuse some 'Humanity' into the story & tell a more personal tale about Master Chief's relationship with Cortana, but Halo 4 fails to evoke any emotions. This is in no small part due to Steve Downes boring monotone voice acting as the Master Chief. e.g Master Chief and cortana are aboard a derelict spaceship being sucked into a giant artificial planet slaughtering Aliens and they're just casually talking back & forth like they're sat in the waiting room for a dentist appointment - it's literally comical!
The campaign also suffers from some atrocious level design. For example there's a part near the beginning of the campaign where you(the player) must climb up an elevator shaft avoiding falling debris. This could have been a sweat inducing, heart pounding moment, that is, if if weren't impossible to fail. There's also precious little else like in the campaign which only serves to give the impression that 343 weren't given the creative freedom to experiment. This is a shame because things like more platforming is exactly the kind of variety Halo needs.
Finally the "Spartan Ops" mode is just awful. Lazy 10 minute missions on recycled environments(without scoring by the way) is pathetic replacement for Firefight. Besides if there's already a 4 player Co-op campaign why is this mode even needed? What were the developers thinking?
Just a quick summary of the some of the biggest negatives as the 'professional' critics seem to be totally incapable of intelligently critiquing the products they are given.… Expand
Nov 7, 2012I was sort of bummed out by this game, maybe because my expectiations were too high. I mean, it is not bad in any way, but it is far from extraordinary. It looks amazing, the story is refreshingly different, the voice acting is top of the class: it is definetly Halo (SP campaign is not exactly long, tho).
Where it fails for me is multiplayer; the heart and soul of Halo. First off, what happened to invasion? I loved that mode in Reach :( Slayer mode is fun as always, but the level design feels a bit off on some maps. The minimap colors isn't good enough either. All in all, I'm somewhat disappointed, but I should mention my expectations were sky high.… Expand
Nov 7, 2012It's good, but it's not the Halo that I'm used too. First off, the campaign is fast and keeps you wanting to play. But 343i added some parts to the campaign that really shouldn't be there, mostly surrounding the Chief (Character depth, a "friend", and that brown-noser Latsky) Second: There was a lot of good customization, minus the lack of emblems. (Not too happy I can't have the emblem that I have had since Halo 2) Multiplayer: Fast, fun, thought I wouldn't like the supply drops, but they add a good element. Disappointed that you need a certain trait to pic up ammo (Not to mention once you run out of ammo with your gun you're kinda screwed.)
Overall it's a good game, but if you're used to the Halo made by Bungie, this is going to feel different.… Expand
Nov 7, 2012Honest opinion about this game. Graphics gave received a very nice upgrade, visuals definitely push the 360 to the limit with the occasional hiccup. Game play mechanics remains the same. Exciting start to the story that cannot be maintained throughout the campaign and falls on the short side of time. New enemies are cool, but old enemies and repetitiveness champion through the game. Multiplayer is still the same, which is a good or bad thing if you are a fan, some minor tweaks to loadouts and such. Overall an ok experience, just not a new or groundbreaking game.… Expand
Nov 18, 2012as an halo fan, i'm pretty disapointed about the campain and find it really boring but i really like the multiplayer. But the best think who make halo really fun is the forge and just some little think, like the magnet, are really usefull. i know you are disapointed of the game but i enjoy the multiplayer of this halo who is really better than halo reach. so this is my point of view. sorry for my english… Expand
Nov 8, 2012From the beginning of Halo 4's conception, 343 was trying to take the game in a new direction. They wanted to incorporate what they determined the fans wanted. They tweaked the style and added in a lot of lore from the series. It was inspired and very well advertised. Campaign : Overall, it was a lot of fun. Although, I found it a little easy at times even on legendary. The music composition was very well fitted to the environments within the campaign. The bits of story they planted into the game was nearly seamless. It was 8 missions long and each mission was adequately sized, but it didn't take us long to beat it. I really didn't expect some long, drawn out campaign with spartan ops making its debut.
Spartan Ops : It's a pretty decent campaign spin-off. The ability to pick load-outs and respawn definitely adds an arcade feel to it, and it is much less frustrating to die when you spawn with your favorite weapons and armor abilities. The individual chapters are pretty short; they are comparable to the division of the campaign levels. Each one takes about 12-20 minutes. It is nonstop shooting. Just the way we like it.
Multiplayer : The reason 90% of us play halo. It did not disappoint. It added a few abilities never seen in halo and eliminated a few of the unnecessary ones. The levels are well designed, beautiful and I enjoy the faster pace set by the lowered shields and shorter recharge delays. The ordinance drops could use some tweaking, but I heard rumors of specializations allowing you to focus them on the weapons/power ups of your choice. I have yet to see it though...… Expand
Nov 18, 2012My scores up to this point for reference follow: Halo 1 - 10 Halo 2 - 8 Halo 3 - 9 Halo ODST - 7 Halo Reach - 8 Halo Anniversary - 7 (lots of flaws the original didn't have, and artistic direction was just awkward) Halo 4 - 10 This is the single best Halo experience I have ever had. It may not be as revolutionary compared to what had come before it as Halo 1 (how could it be?) but it is the most fun I have had at Halo, the most enthralled I have been at Halo, and the most passionate I have been about it.
On to the grit.
Graphics: The graphics are beautiful. The artistic design is delightful, the character designs border on the inspired. In certain moments, these are the best in game graphics I have ever seen on the system, in others though, graphical artifacting and glitching mar the experience. Misloaded textures take away from the experience and suspend disbelief. These may be the fault of my aging system (same box I have owned since the month of launch), but regardless of where the fault lies, It damages an otherwise flawless visible presentation.
Sound - The sound library is improved in several ways, with the gun, grenade, and terrain sounds all minorly boosted. The biggest aspect of sound, and by far the most notable, is the change of musical direction. I'll be honest, I wish they could have retained the composers from the original, because they help identify the world, even in the face of Bungie's departure. That said, the songs are beautiful, and capture the feel of the game very well. Gone are the days of the music track defining the level, and it is replaced by music that helps focus the environment. While the raw talent may not be as high now as it was, the skill with which each level has its song composed and matched, is superior.
Balance - Gun balance is the most important part of Halo's overall balance in design, for me. And this game wins in a big way. Everything is useful here. The Assault Rifle has finally figured out its balance. It being the default gun for most missions over the course of the game finally makes sense in story, as the gun is ridiculously useful for mid and close range engagement, an does not fully lose itself in long range. The pulse rifle, which was overpowered in campaign, is gone as is the terrible Reach equivalent, and in its place we find a far better balanced weapon in the storm rifle. The storm rifle is getting a lot of flack online as terrible, but it is because people do not understand it. This gun is probably the single best support weapon in the game, when used along with your allies' battle rifles and DMRs. All of the new [race redacted to avoid spoilers] weapons find their balance, except the boltshot which would be perfectly functional if it had its magazine size doubled but finds itself hampered by its required reload. The new grenade balance has boosted the game, with the frag grenade more lethal but with a smaller area of effect. The new pulse grenade is getting a lot of hate online, but as an area denial tool, and against vehicles it is very useful. If you have the grenade skills and timing you can also kill a fully charged enemy with a single shot. Overall, the balance functions to lessen the domination of the br/dmr, and open up better representation for the close support, as well as the true long distance, weapons. Grenade play is vastly improved in my opinion and heavily rewards precision, the pistol has finally found its balance, and all that is left is the sniper rifle. I am disappointed with the sniper rifle, as it retains all of its benefits from past versions and picks up far greater 'shoot from the hip' precision, making open-shot sniper rifle dominant when it shouldn't be. Hopefully they address this in a future patch by returning the imprecision to open sight shot with the sniper rifle.
Emotional affect - I cared more about this campaign than I have cared about anything but 3, and I care about the two main characters more than I ever have. Brilliant success. The script writing is better, the acting is better, the emotion conveyed to the voice is better. Heartbreaking, and 'real'. I cannot overstate how much impact the story had compared to everything else out there. This game shows the fullest potential of what video games should be, in every area but social conscience, and as a philosophic journey, I think it outpaces Bioshock in its final question.
AI - This is the best AI in the history of the game. Organic AI is improved, and the new race has the best AI I have ever played against. Pathfinding is sometimes predictable, and could benefit from more randomization.
Glitches - A few graphical glitches mar the experience. One or two sound glitches threw me off, Cortana whispering more quietly than the background music at one point was bad. Wall artifacting at one point. Nothing game-ruining.
Overall - Arguably the best game I have ever played on the xbox. At the very least in my top 5.… Expand
Nov 11, 2012Sorry Halo Fans but the only game I like to play for the most part did'nt show up this time ! . I only play at Heroic level and found a lot of the game play sluggish, especially the flight segments. The flight controls
are insulting and downright boring. Pretty disappointed I am but the story line was ok but left me questioning the logic of it all. The Diadec at the end changes it's apperance rather crudely. The graphics were pretty good at times but lacked depth overall. I hoped for more sadly not happily as a Halo fan should.
Where's the firefight for the people that don't play xbox live.....really!!!… Expand
Nov 11, 2012Wow...is all I can say. 343 did a freaking fantastic job on this game. Goodbye bungie hello beautiful. The campaign was a riot. I had a lot of fun with the chief and that half naked robo-babe. The story was short but it includes spartan ops which is a fine addition to the game. Then there's the meat and bones of the game. The multiplayer is truly awesome. I tried getting into 3, odst, and reach and they just didn't do it for me. They were great games but the multiplayer was made to cater to basement dwellers. This game I have jumped right in and have totally destroyed all. There's nothing better than hearing a hardcore teen scream in the mic how sucky the game is cause the battle rifle isn't the all end. It feels like 343 did the multiplayer right weapon wise. It seems all the guns have their own uses for different situations but the dmr and br are truly the killers. Whatever 343 did to stop the stupid bunny hopping players gets true nods from me. I love seeing someone jump all around to only get destroyed by me now. In the past if you bunny hopped, it seemed king. But no more. Anyways if your looking to get a truly awesome multiplayer game for the 360, then put your trust in 343. They eclipsed bungie. It's been a long while since I liked a halo multiplayer and I don't see me walking away from this one. I don't even think the new call of duty will get me away from this unless activistion does something truly great with black ops 2. But most likely it will all be nothing but hiding in buildings the whole game cause the sky is littered with helicopters, bombers, etc.… Expand
Nov 11, 2012At first I didn't really like the game but after playing for many hours and days, I LOVE IT. The campaign was fantastic and is an emotional roller-coaster. The story between Cortana and Master Chief is told very well and IMO this campaign is one of the best in the Halo series. The graphics and sound effects are AMAZING and for a game that runs at 30fps this game is SMOOTH. The enemies in this game are smart, clever and very well done. They actually have a mind of their own and don't run and hide like in previous halo games. Voice acting and the sound tracks for Halo are outstanding. The Multiplayer PLAYS AND FEELS LIKE HALO unlike halo reach (which I hated IMO ) Everything is perfectly balanced this time. The level design is very good and the maps are all well thought-out. The armor abilities and the weapon drops give a fresh new look to Halo 4 and makes the game fell less repetitive compared to previous Halo games. If you like old school Halo then there is a special playlist called Team slayer pro which removes all armor abilities and weapon drops and makes the game just like Halo 3. However, since I am giving a fair review there are SOME things which I really didn't like in this game. The respawns in multiplayer aren't as bad as COD but they get quite annoying and i always end up being spawned in front of a warthog and then being run over immediately. I was also hoping that the campaign could have been a bit longer since it is only 6 hours on normal difficulty. Other than those reasons, this game is VERY GOOD and I highly recommend it. No game is perfect :)… Expand
Nov 11, 2012As a longtime halo fan I was very skeptical of this new game, not because of the new studio behind it 343, but because of the new "call of duty-like" things being added to multiplayer. After finishing the campaign on heroic and getting to rank 36 here is the good and bad. If you don't want to read, just know that overall it is an excellent game, especially compared to most games these days, and is worth buying.
The good:
-join in progress multiplayer games. Now when someone rage quits your team isn't permanently down players for the entire match. I have come into several matches in progress where my team was losing slightly and helped them come back to win. -controls still feel like halo. The jumping, the melee, the movement, the headshots, it all feels just like a halo game. I have heard complaints to the new controls but I use bumper jumper which is more traditional.
-graphics. I thought Halo: Reach was easily the best looking xbox game, but where it had really crisp textures and almost no shadows, Halo 4 outdoes reach with amazing lighting and shadows. Easily the best looking console game today. -balance. Right off the bat the game feels nicely balanced in terms of weapon power. There is no clear winner with the dmr vs br, and even the carbine and light rifle are on par. None of the weapons feel weak, with even the assault rifle and plasma pistol being formidable weapons.
-ordinance. I feel it's a great chance of pace to slayer and if you don't like it it's only in slayer
-dominion. Amazing! A next-gen version of domination or capture and hold control points. The longer you hold a base, the more defenses it builds and resupplies your team with weapons and vehicles.
-maps. Miles ahead of Halo: Reach in terms of maps on release. Each map is unique and I really love them all except Haven.
Now some of the bad you should know about
-the killcam. Great idea even if it's ripped off of call of duty. In my experience it doesn't work 95% of the time, instead showing you a weird replay of someone shooting into the sky.
-Spartan Ops: not nearly as good as firefight in my opinion. The missions are bland and don't really compare to the amazing campaign missions. Though to be honest, I wouldn't want to fight waves of prometheans anyway.
-slowing down when shot. This is a double edged sword. It stops nooby double melee rushing, but it also makes it even harder to stay alive in a game that is already beefing up the speed of kills. -No small weapons on maps. I like how power weapons can drop randomly anywhere, but in an objective game where you don't call in ordinance, the only way to pick up a different gun is to kill an enemy. There are no longer grenades and non-power weapons on the map to pick up and resupply you with ammo.
Overall this game is definitely worth getting. It has changed a bit but I believe for the better. Halo was originally called "combat evolved" and I think they need to keep evolving the halo formula.… Expand
Dec 24, 2012Such an amazing game can't stress that enough, great physics, color, detail, lighting, vehicles, weapons, I could go on and on..........................................................................................................................................................
Nov 12, 2012Undoubtedly the best Halo title yet, and the first to make major changes to the multiplayer game dynamic. The campaign is graphically spectacular, with the increasing rampancy of Cortana a very engaging plot device. The Flood are thankfully absent, the Prometheans are awesome, there are some excellent set pieces, and a great spaceship level made it a memorable experience. It does have its flaws though. As all FPS campaigns it is almost insultingly short, taking around 7 hours on normal. The game also struggles to tell the story as each level progress, and while the cut scenes are glorious they skimp on details. My biggest issue was the final boss fight, which was a clumsy quick time event and made for a very unsatisfying conclusion. However, overall it was an enjoyable romp as any Halo campaign should be. Spartan Ops is an interesting edition, good fun with friends or alone. Free episodic story content is a really innovative idea and should give the game a longer life expectancy. I have high hopes for it. The main gameplay changes come in multiplayer. Borrowing from the call of duty games, you now have loadouts. Unlike COD however, these do not spoil the game for new players, as they are more to do with personal preference than raw power. Heavy weapons no longer have spawn points on the maps, but instead are dropped/teleported into random locations than then appear on everyone… Expand
Nov 12, 2012Finally Halo is back! Only FPS that actually involves skill. You can shoot me first but if you are not better I will win the battle 9 out of 10 times.
Nov 13, 2012I think out of all the Halo titles, this "Almost" falls as bad as Reach was. The biggest mistake developers of video games make is trying to add in new things that NOBODY (that loves halo) wanted in the game in the first place. You start with a single game that everyone loves, add in improvements and separate features (such as forge, skulls) in. But when you start to add in new things that were NEVER asked for, well than you are going to have a bad time! Spartan Ops was literally a disappointment. It could be a big time waster for new players, but lack the freshness of diversity compared to the campaign. It was literally just firefight but with an ending and location movement, but you can't change what enemies there are and the play-style like firefight. You just spawn, leaving out the challenge of beating it with ease and its just plain crap for people who actually try not to get any deaths, not that it even matters anymore.
Graphics are amazing, very rarely do I see any graphic clippings, and that was ONLY in the cutscenes in campaign. The lighting is amazing. But the generating lighting feature in Forge is so annoying I wish you had the option of turning it off!
Multiplier is fast paced and I like it. But when you get over the fact of graphics, lighting, and features in-game, it starts to turn into **** Ordinance was the worst feature of all. Some players got rockets and shotguns, while unlucky players received mere needlers that need to be fired directly for a long time before getting a kill. Weapon balancing is a HUGE issue in this game! DMR is a 4 head-shot kill while the rest of the weapons take 6-10 shots. ALL of the forerunner weapons are **** like the Boltshot which is like a charged up shotgun capable of overtaking a primary weapon at close-mid range any day.
Forge was amazing. The new interface made it 10x as easy and faster to build new structures. Needless to say, anybody can take the time now to create anything they want.
The menu/lobby is to unorganized and clunky. It takes time to find other players and counting how many players takes effort. You can't find your buddy as easily as the ones in Halo Reach or 3. '
The idea of prestiging in Halo just wants to make me burn down 343 for ALL of this **** they are copying from COD. I'm so disappointed how desperate they are to getting COD players to join in, they don't even care about the loyal fans out there whole love the HALO mechanics over COD and just makes everything less fun for everyone and makes everyone mad.
The campaign was repetitive and boring like Gears of War 3. All you did was go somewhere, kill the enemies and move on. Just so many fillers that needed to be fixed.
The armors in H4 were impressive looking but the idea of letting people unlock them and giving them out for free makes wearing those armors feel like you didn't even worked for it. No matter how cool that armor looks it just feels like you didn't earn it and that everyone has it. Id personally would of liked it if they did the opposite with spartan points to the load outs and put it on armor instead.… Expand
Nov 15, 2012This game is just outstanding! The multiplayer is fun to play (even though it has a call of duty feel to it) and they keep adding new game types every week. Just like spartin ops you get new missions every week and its fun to play with others. Oh and the campain was a bit short but the story is just awesome. Forge mode is the basically the same but hey if it ain't broke don't fix it. Overall everyone that has an Xbox should get this game. You won't regret it ;)… Expand
Nov 13, 2012First off I am a long time halo fan and I actually wasn't going to buy it after hearing some interviews with the designers. Reviews started pouring in and it got me excited enough to pick it up. Long story short, if your a halo fan or a fan of sci fi you will probably like this.
The music while not as epic or memorable as Marty o Donnels scores still easily surpass almost all other games. It is a welcome change of tone for me and feels like it could be right at home in a mass effect game, also a big fan of the mass effect music. If you have ever seen the movie Sunshine, 28 days later, or snatch which the soundtracks for those were all done by a guy named John Murphy. It feels like his style mixed with some mass effect. Which again are great because im a big fan of all this. So enough about the music, I loved it.
The gameplay is what you'd exspect from halo and if you are a fan of the others than you will feel right at home with this one.
The storyline is great minus 2 chapters which didn't serve any purpose but as filler. There's 2 chase scenes and they both are very glitchy but they are over quickly and don't ruin the experience.
I did have a problem unlocking a avatar award but after I cleared my cache and tied again it popped the second time. Not a big deal but when I am useto bungies extremely high quality little touches like that make it apparent that bungie had nothing to do with this. Great game, not the best but better than most.
Ohh and no swat in matchmaking? WTF?… Expand
Nov 13, 2012Halo 4 itself has managed to give me many feelings towards 343i and the franchise they will continue to create. These feelings are excitement, blissfulness, tolerance, prejudice, rage, anger, hatred, and despair. YOU WILL LOVE THIS GAME BUT HATE IT AT THE SAME TIME! There are so many parts that I liked. Now the people below me are probably CoD **** stating that the game sucks so bad cuz there is no innovation, claiming that they copied from CoD when in reality the things they added came from a plethora of shooters. The game is innovative by adding in Spartan Ops and especially Spartan Ops. While I would like to strangle Spartan Jared Miller to death in the game, it allows me to have fun with my pals without having the ease of jet-packing around with rockets as how you would in Matchmaking firefight on Reach. Another innovative thing they added in was the Prometheans and the Forerunner weapons. Come on guys, they added a fifth faction into the game, the bad Forerunners.
So right about now you're thinking if I'm a noob or if I am biased. I am level 42 in the game so I've played a lot of Halo 4 since its release.
Forge is disappointing due to the removal of crouching in monitor (Really helps when not using Coordinates or Magnets) and the lack of terrain and space in the 3 maps. While that is disappointing, that doesn't mean that the innovative approach forgers have is obliterated. I've seen many good games that TheHaloForgeEpidemic has created. For example 5 levels.
Campaign is good for those who have read the books especially the Forerunner saga section. It will give you an inside look at people like the Didact, Master Builder, and the Librarian in the saga. So do the terminals in the game.
Many are saying that the DMR is OP but in reality it's that the other rifles are just underpowered in the game while the Boltshot pistol is in my opinion too powerful for a sidearm.
The Matchmaking are small but are lot's of fun. My favorite mode is Dominion while I hate Infinity slayer with a passion on BTB maps.
Overall this game should not be hated as much as the 474 people giving negative reviews are saying it should be. This game is a worthy successor to the franchise and 343i should continue their job tending to the franchise.
8.8/10 (Rounded to 9)… Expand
Nov 20, 2012The game has incredible graphics, something I long wanted form a Halo game, the campaign is entertaining but feels short. The story is filled with potential but is lacks proper detail. The new enemies pose a new challenge and fun to kill just as much as the covenant, but some weapons feel useless against them. The sound is impressively good! The soundtracks are decent, a few stand out but don't compare to the classics. 343 did a really good job in half the game, but the other half is disappointing. Multiplayer is great, and people complain about not being able to pick grenades from ground without the perk but I've found them placed on maps, still better to pick them from dead bodies tho. What I have to complain is, that Spartan Ops is a good idea, and better than Firefight in some ways, it does not have the customizable options or sense of possible failure that drove Firefight to be fun and even intense at times. Another bad thing about Spartan Ops is it would have been better of as downloadable adds, or playable on disc like firefight so that I can still play and enjoy it EVEN OFFLINE, but no, instead i MUST have xbox life with a GOLD account just to play it, so i wouldn't be able to access it at all if I had no Live or internet. WHich for me is just terrible, not to mention that Theater mode only works only multiplayer and no campaign or Spartan Ops, and there appears to be no way to save an entire film. So so long for my proud no death legendary campaign runs I would save and later review on Theater lobby. Over all the game is a leap forward in Halo, but a step down in overall features. My review score would be 8.75.… Expand
Nov 16, 2012This game is phenomenal, it has truly pushed the limits for the Xbox 360 and gameplay alike. It's graphics are astounding while the scenery can be jaw dropping. You feel amazingly small and that is a great feel for everything to be of an incredible size. The story is more in depth look at master chief and cortona. It was a nice change of pace to be fighting a new enemy and to see new types of structures. The multiplayer was perfect, the weapons are all balanced in proportion for their use. Some maps feel a little sloppy in areas but for the most part are astounding and play well and leave no room for sitting around, which is fantastic. The change in loadouts, and passive/active skills have added whole new play styles to this already amazing game and will fit to any users liking.… Expand
Nov 18, 2012Halo 4 offers something new and something old both in the best of ways.The campaign, for the most part, feels like a well thought-out and well-weaved story in the huge Halo universe.
The level design is fantastic, and varied, the last time a Halo game had this kind of variety in its campaign it was 2001 and Halo:CE was starting a FPS revolution on consoles. You are playing as Master Chief of course and there are plenty plot lines being weaved in this campaign of which I won't spoil for you here, but its particularly amazing if, like me, you are a generally a big fan of great science-fiction. The campaigns variety in level design greatly benefits from the game-engine, which is arguably 343 industries greatest accomplishment in Halo 4. The lighting and textures in this game are the best to-date of any Halo game before it, and quite possibly the most beautiful looking game on the Xbox 360 console. Of course, the engine is not only responsible for the eye-candy but also for the game physics and the sandbox dynamics Halo games are well-known for by the hard-core Halo fans. The physics in the game are great, the game always makes you feel like you weigh a figurative ton, the weapons have the signature diversity to them as well as their place in the sandbox. Halo games have always had varied weapons of which nearly all must be mastered to escape tight situations in campaign and most importantly, in multi-player. The sniper rifle, Rail gun, and sticky detonator come to mind when talking about this, it absolutely feels like nearly every weapon in Halo 4 was included to fit a definitive role while also being flexible enough to be used in not-so ideal scenarios for said weapons. Which could not really be said about every Bungie-made Halo game, with Halo 2, Halo 3, and even Reach, there were a few weapons that were pretty much ignored by the player due to not having a role in the sandbox that could be more effective than another weapon, Not in Halo 4, from the fully automatic weapons, to the pistols, to the precision weapons and power weapons, every single one of them feels like it serves a purpose in the sandbox and that is impressive. The same could also be said for the vehicles in Halo 4, they all have a role, and they all feel properly balanced, no one vehicle feels over-powered, if you know how to identify its role in the sandbox you can be very effective with it. It all really is quite a testament to 343s abilities, but there are bits and pieces, campaign-wise, that feel out of sync with the rest of the generally fantastic story, there was a certain point in the campaign where I pressed a total of 3 different buttons on my controller to get through a scenario where I felt like I wasn't actually in control of anything. I was simply playing through a scripted event where hitting a single button would perform actions that could be enjoyed more-so if simply viewed. Any and all events like the one above have always been handled by a cutscene where you would see the chief (not in first-person) perform his bad-assery, to "play" through something like that felt quite unnecessary and also felt a bit out of place when considering how the rest of the campaign plays out, if you're going to make a cut-scene the best thing to do is not give the player mediocre control, either he absolutely controls the character or he doesn't, that idea is what creates great pacing. Another example of a stumbling is when I found myself watching a cut-scene that lead to a level, I walked about 30 feet forward and then was presented another cut-scene, that also kills pacing, good thing is it only happened that one time, but it's there nonetheless to show us that this is a development team still trying to master that Halo signature pacing Halo games have been known for as well as trying to place their own stamp on a franchise that they clearly love. Aside from those small gripes, the campaign is fantastic and should be a memorable one, some will undoubtedly find some of the dialogue strange and different but after playing through it a second time, you really start to understand what 343i was trying to do with these characters. The Multiplayer in Halo 4 is nothing short of a great advancement in the franchise, considering all I've talked about in the previous section, the weapon balance and roles in the multiplayer side of things is even more obvious, and (again) the same can be said for the vehicles. The map designs are also well rounded from the small-medium-large. The multiplayer is where the games balance absolutely shines. Of course there are a few things you will notice off the bat that will have you question 343s decision making, like removing friendly fire from 4v4 slayer on-line but after quite a bit of time playing through all of its game types, those concerns fade due to the fact that the game plays so well as-is. Add the weekly Spartan Ops episodic content and Forge and you get one of the most complete game packages.… Expand
Nov 14, 2012If I have never played Halo before I would give this game a 9 or even 10/10. However since I am a longtime halo fan and now that I've reached rank SR-41 I can say that the multiplayer is pretty disappointing. The campaign is well deserving of a 9/10, spartan ops is trash online and threatre only works for multiplayer currently. So a 7/10 is pretty generous. The multiplayer does matter more than campaign to me because it's the multiplayer that I will invest most time into and get my moneys worth. The multiplayer is does not have separated social and ranked playlists. This means that people who try so hard with a coordinated team to kick your ass are going to be matched up with people who are for the most part screwing around. Halo 3 had the most lasting appeal because it separated these types of players. In halo 4 you are matched by skill and rank. So when I started to get higher rank, games got more and more frustrating. Every time I get in a gunfight now I have to perform a song and dance just to get out alive and wipe the sweat off my balls from trying so damn hard, but I can't actually have time to wipe off my balls because this game has instant respawn. So unlike the Halo 3 social playlist, almost every single game in Halo 4 is stressful as **** I rarely have close games usually I get **** taken onto me. I'm by no means a bad player. I'm quite good but there are many better than me and because I played more than most at launch I got matched up with a lot of the best players. Because there is no separation of the highly competitive players and the casual players this game will get so frustrating no one will play it I guarantee. I already stopped. If you think $60 is worth a good campaign, Halo 4 has one of the best campaigns you'll ever play. The campaign does have one big issue though. It's hard to follow and in order to understand it you'll need to do research before or after it. The story is not very clear but the cutscenes are great and the gameplay is fun! Great game overall but multiplayer sucks right now. Check out my full war games (multiplayer) review here: http://www.343industries.org/forum/topic/17780-my-honest-review-of-halo-4-war-games-rank-sr-38/… Expand
Mar 10, 2013This game is excellent. The Campaign is outstanding, continuing from the end of Halo 3 while refreshing it with some of the features from Reach. The graphics in Halo 4 look beautiful and the new sounds are much better than past games.
The Multiplayer is much more fast pace and the whole new Forerunner weapons are very fun to shoot. it is a excellent Halo game and a much better improvement to Halo: Reach.… Expand
Nov 15, 2012Although fairly short, I thought the campaign for this latest installment of the Halo franchise was absolutely brilliant - compared to some 'modern shooters' of today, I felt that there was a far deeper narrative throughout and unlike previous installments there was a far richer and interesting dialog between Chief and Cortana giving us what could 'perhaps' be seen as a sort of love story. Needless to say, at the very end of the game I was left wanting to know more and carry on the story, but I guess I'll have to wait a few more years for that.
The game is also an amazing technical feat, managing to pull off some really rich and gratifying worlds for you to play in - it's amazing what power they've been able to squeeze out of a 7 year old console like they have. Combined with the musical score which was as per usual immersive, emotion stirring and adrenaline pumping as you'd expect for a Halo game made for this a brilliant package. Take into account the weekly content being released and this should keep you going for a while.
I will admit, I'm not the biggest fan of the multiplayer as I find it too much of a 'run and gun' scenario as apposed to team based work.
That said, all in all I think Halo 4 was a brilliant last hurrah for the 360!… Expand
Nov 15, 2012Amazing Game! Best story and game play ever in a Halo game and I've played them all. Graphics and sound are truly awesome. Simply put this is the best shooter I have ever played hands down. Weapons, vehicles, enemies everything just pops and handles wonderfully. Forget wanting to fight a modern war in a shooter, the futuristic feel is awesome! welcome back Master Chief.
Nov 15, 2012When I first found out that Bungie was leaving my favorite franchise behind, I was a bit apprehensive. I've played every Halo game, and with the exception of Halo 2 I've loved them all. In the first weeks following the announcement of Halo 4, I scoured the Internet for concept art, gameplay, anything to give me insight as to what 343i was doing with my beloved Halo. I'm delighted to say that the game is everything a true fan could have wanted out of a Halo game: the Chief is a badass, the bad guy is REALLY bad, and Cortana has her best performance to date. And that's in the first three levels. 343i absolutely nailed the facial animations, and the actors all do a spectacular job with their voice work. The regular Marines you fight alongside are as sarcastic and humorous as ever, and at no point in the campaign did any individual stand out to me as being annoying. On the multiplayer side, this is Halo perfection. Every map is distinct and beautiful, and they all play like a dream. Each weapon has its own unique strengths and weaknesses and no weapon completely outclasses another. The new Forerunner weapons, while different, are in no way overpowered; your BR skills from Halo 3 will still be serving you well. Your DMR skills from Halo: Reach will net you as many kills here as they did there. The addition to "Call-of-Duty-like" perks is surprisingly natural and is so well-balanced you'll probably only notice your own personal perks. At no point have I been killed and though "if only he wasn't using THAT perk". The in-game map editor, Forge, is in rare form in this game: it looks very similar to its Reach counterpart, but has been streamlined and altered to something much more usable and ergonomic. No longer will countless hours be spent mucking through coordinate sheets and menus, thanks to magnets and the duplicate option, respectively. If you liked Forge before, you'll love it now. If you hated it before, there's nothing new here.
In all, Halo 4 is a triumphant achievement for a newly-formed company. In this case, they get the absolute highest praise: not only does this game not fall into the trap of simply reiterating the "Bungie-feel", they also don't alienate the things that make this franchise beautiful. 343 has succeeded in creating a game with an identity of its own, and that is the real wonder here. I would highly recommend this game to any video game player.… Expand
Nov 15, 2012Well what can I say. Halo 4 has come along and absolutely blown me away. It's truly amazing. Graphically the best game I've seen on any console and emotionally gorgeous.. Touching
. Sure people are trying to bring it,down all over the internet, but there are just as many if not more telling you how amazing it is. I've played every halo game since ce. and played halo 3 almost every day since ltd release in 2007. In my opinion halo reach was the worst. and halo 4 brings it back to the classic halo feel. Sound effects are beautiful. 20k games of halo 3 and I loved every one. Halo 4 is gonna be the same. Ignore the trolling critics on here as well! Halo 4 has best black ops 2. Sorry trolls. Even your trolling can't bring this game down. Haha cyan… Expand
Nov 29, 2012Halo may not be the king it once was nearly a decade ago. But I think it is safe to say that under the excellent supervision of 343, it
Nov 15, 2012Story wise this is the most ambitious Halo game to date. Bungie had a rule that the gameplay came before the story but 343 has taken down that rule and instead made the gameplay and story even better. The multiplayer is amazing and the spartan ops is more fun that firefight. All the load outs feel natural as if halo has had them forever. Only down side, the story is a bit convoluted if you dont watch all the terminals. Great way to return to Halo and can't wait for Halo 5!10/10… Expand
Nov 30, 2012Honestly one of the best Halo games yet. The only things i don't really like is that the Prometheans are crazy powerful and the DMR is also CRAZY POWERFUL
Jan 18, 2013I started to play Halo in this game, so my opinion isn't of a big fan. But I loved it, the graphics are excelent, but most important: The multiplayer is the best FPS I've ever played. Campaign isn't pretty good, but isn't bad.
Nov 16, 2012The story is quite good, it has stellar sound and looks, character development has increased tenfold over it's predecessors, and can be challenging due to decently smart AI. A little on the short side though.
The multiplayer is somewhat derivative and hectic by Halo standards, but stellar by any other measure. (No pun intended)
Verdict: Much better than Halo Reach, but this title doesn't quite match the glory days of Halo 3.… Expand
Nov 16, 2012This is the best review for this game: Halo 4. The Good: brilliant visuals, balanced multiplayer, weekly content (spartan ops) and it feels like a halo game... except it isn't. The Bad: Campaign has missing levels, (You feel as you play through it that important introductions and information is missing) I hate to say it but the first-person "action sequences" that happen feel way too CoD, (not that CoD is bad mind you, but this is Halo.) The ending... as soon as Chief is crawling on a light bridge you will know what I mean... and I feel that 343i "left out" content that are stables in Halo as of this point. (Firefight, Theater Mode for Campaign, etc...) All in all, I'd say that if you are a Halo fan, you may have some reservations about lost content or lack of campaign varity (not in the vehicle mission but in all the others it feels like all you do is go to objectives and activate things...) but if you are a shooter fan and enjoy the fun of challenging enemies and the variety of very well-balanced weapons then this could be your cup of tea. The addition of CoD-like gameplay to the Halo franchise feels like the addition of the Arbiter missions in Halo 2; some people dig it, some people don't. Final Verdict: Halo 4 is beautiful game riddled with missing content, but if you can get past what could have been you will pick up this game with one thought: "I need a weapon." - The Best Review… Expand
Nov 30, 2012This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Halo 4 is a good game in my opinion, although many do not seem very good, but to me, this is one of the best in the series. The story is very compelling from start to finish, with an introduction you see Dr. Catherine Halsey talking about the Spartans. It then shows that reactive Cortana Master Chief to see who made contact, was the Covenant that apparently were at war with humans again. Then they arrived to Requiem, known the Didact, the antagonist of the game. In the end, he dies, and what surprised most is the death of Cortana, very tragic. The game has excellent graphics, good gameplay, good multiplayer. In conclusion, a great game.… Expand
Nov 16, 2012The plot can be a bit confusing but the cutscenes are generally well executed, though the levels can be a bit repetitive, especially the grind of fighting Prometheans. Tying the new campaign to other events such as the Flood was well done and made this feel like a Halo game. On top of this free weekly updates with a few story elements thrown in can't be complained about in the era of pre-release DLC. Multiplayer can be a bit hectic, though every starting weapon is well balanced for its role (AR for close etc.) and as it should, comes down to skill of the user to be able to win a duel. Some of the weapons don't feel like their tried and true precursors, an example being the rocket launcher, though the pace of combat is consistent with the franchise's history. Overall a good investment, and seems to have a good play life, just as a Halo game should.… Expand
Nov 16, 20120...0.....0....0.0....0, NOOBS TROLLING AND RUINING A REPUTABLE SITE.... HALO 4 is amazing and i guarantee half of you Trolls are playing the game right now.
Nov 16, 2012343 keeps retains the torch that Bungie handed them a year ago. In fact the torch burns even brighter. Halo 4 is a fantastic following to the lore-abundant atmosphere that is the Halo series. Fans of the original CE, 2, 3, ODST, and Reach will be wholey impressed with the updated gameplay and story development. Campaign brings to light a closer connection to emotion and humanity, while the online Spartan Ops, weekly episodes, add a significant level of value and longevity to the game. 343 shows they care about their fans and have evolved Halo to the next level. The gameplay is familiar and refined. Buy it as it will become an instant classic as all the previous games have been.… Expand
Nov 16, 2012This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Halo 4 is a truly great addition to the Halo series. The story is emotional and well told, the gameplay is as solid as ever, graphically it is amazing and the mutliplayer is top notch. It is a triumph for 343 industries. The fact that they so bravely took the mantle of this universe and managed to delivered something truly wonderful is to be commended. Most developers would botch such an endeavor, but it is clear that Microsoft and 343 truly care about this franchise. The return of Master Chief is not just one of the best Halo games in the series, or even arguably the best, but it is also one of the best games I've played all year. Its problems are all so minor and often just personal preferences rather than legitimate issues. Halo 4 is a front runner for game of the year and if you are a fan of the series, or just a fan of shooters, you owe it to yourself to get this game. Pros
-Amazingly well told and emotional story
-Great voice work
-Fantasic sound
-Possibly the best Graphics on the Xbox
-Great enemy AI -Vast and diverse array of weapons and equipment
-Major improvements on several gameplay mechanics
-Modernized Multiplayer that stands out -Unlockables are within reach and easy to obtain
-Customization is vast and fun
-Spartan Ops is a great addition
-Forge could have used more improvements and additions
-The absence of firefight is disappointing
-Spartan Ops maps could use more variety so's to not feel recycled.… Expand
Nov 16, 2012Halo of Duty. Anyone who doesn't think otherwise isn't a true fan of Halo. The campaign is what it is, and I'm not here to write a review about that. I'm talking about multiplayer. Seriously, 343? You're going to **** create a mulitplayer system with loadouts and kill rewards? How does anyone in the game industry NOT see the flaw of this system? Why reward players doing well with equipment to allow them to do even better? Why allow players to spawn with a weapon they are proficient and comfortable with? Does anyone else notice that deaths come MUCH quicker than any other Halo game? How often can you survive an encounter with 2+ enemies in Halo 4? Not at all. In Reach, at least you could pull some magic out of nowhere and survive on occasion. This game borrows from Call of Duty in all of the worst ways. Why does every single developer feel the need to try to emulate that series? We play games outside of Call of Duty when you're just going to get the same experience anyway? I cannot STAND how multiplayer is anymore. Death comes quicker than you can blink, and rewarding dominant players with better equipment is just flawed in itself. If people keep supporting games in this manner, there will be NO variety in 5 years. The genre will stagnant and people will wonder what happened. All I know is that this game was a huge letdown for a fan of the first 4 Halo games. Shame on your 343.… Expand
Nov 18, 2012This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. After many sequels in this well known franchise, 343 manages to fall short of it's promises to re-invent the story and characters in a way that will fulfill all it's renown loyal fanboy's wildest dreams.
The reality is that it's depressing to be able to see the intentions of the game developers as they fail.
In the prologue of the game, 343 sets the tone of the game by laying down this thick emphasis on a moral question of Chief's ethics and emotions, and whether his success was based on his Callus nature.
All of this is too much for the viewer, as the first thing they want to hear about their favorite character after years of absence isn't a diss from an old lady, (who's imprisoned for reasons that aren't explained in the game.) Nearly everything the campaign sets out to do it fails. Seconds into actual gameplay, it's clear that 343 have decided they'll try to make Chief less of a brooding character and more of a guy who thinks out loud and feels human emotions. The most obvious sign of this is the many many lines of dialogue throughout the campaign, compared to the under twenty he displayed in his last installment. Even the littler things make you think that this isn't a Halo game. The quick-times, the unexplained presences of enemies, and the stupid motivation for nearly every character.
So putting the actual plot/execution aside for a minute, the actual core mechanics that are involved in a good campaign are either missing or broken. The game introduces new enemies into the Halo universe (The Prometheans), but these enemies are anything but fun to engage with. Your choices range between Shooting the Knight first, or the little support drone he constructs. Admittedly, some of them posses one of the armor abilities from multiplayer, and that can make things interesting, but the teleportation gimmick they all utilize exists only to annoy.
This game misses the brilliance that some of the levels from Halo 3 demonstrated. Players of Halo Reach's criticism of the campaign was that it had no 'Big level'. It had no fight with scarabs, it had no scaling up the big metal pyramid to fight the monitor, and it had no Vehicle dependent level like Halo 3's 'The Ark'. Halo Four demonstrates this, and seemingly Less. Halo Four tries to add to this, but it's attempts come off as kind of dry. They put in a level where you get around via a powered-up Pelican, which is relatively cool, but they just make you fly from platform to platform, and don't really do anything with it. The Shooter on rails at the end of the game feels uncharacteristic of the franchise and kind of makes you wonder whether it was only put in to fit the expectation that every action game published in the last five years needs to have a mission where you're on a motorized vehicle with explosions and a million guys chasing you at the end for it to be fun and cool.
Players from day one (Such as myself) are getting a little bit tired of the series' Go from A to B, and shoot everything in between' formula. Maybe it was old by the second or third game in the series, and I just didn't notice because I cared about the characters, and Chief/My Achievements were still impressing me. But the magic's just gone. Halo four tries to capitalize on Cortana and Chief's potential weird Romantic relationship that's based on trust and experience, but it does it in all the wrong ways. (Again, i'll make a comparison to Halo 3 as it's the most relevant Halo game) At the end of Halo 3, the metaphor for Chief's human side and what he's fighting for dies in the form of Srgt. Johnson. This powerful scene was executed brilliantly because of Chief's body language, and Cortana's very digital attempt at comforting Chief in a concept she shouldn't have a clue/care about. Johnson's characteristic one liner drove home the point, and the proceeding fast paced escape scene meant that much more because you felt like you had just experienced an influential time in the protagonist's life. Flash forward to Halo Four.
Halo Four executes cutscenes by not having Chief pointing his gun aggressively, not defensively, not with him saying one line here or there, but by making him the tipsy blond in the room that can't keep up with the conversation. Making the player smarter than the character does not add anything to the experience, especially when the character's intelligence is inconsistent. Drawing impossible conclusions from prompts Cortana feeds him now and then makes no sense after you watch Chief fumble with the concept of authority and courses of actions.Play the ending yourself, decide if you want another Halo.(Regardless, it's on it's way) I should finish on a good note, and that's that I thoroughly enjoy the multiplayer. I'm not that great at online FPS's, but for some reason I find this one to be very easy. It could be the similarities it now holds to the Call of duty series, which has a debatable effect on the originality of it all.… Expand
Nov 18, 2012Halo 4 is a step beyond what I imagined it could be. Simply amazing! Loved the action-packed Campaign, Spartan OPs is a great ad on, I especially love the cinematic Spartan-ops episodes. The multi-player component is never boring, soemthing that's honestly hard to do, but is pulled off really well in this game. I love the innovation put into Halo 4!
Dec 7, 2012With a game like Halo 4, you have to review on both Story AND Multiplayer. When it comes to the game overall, it is a compelling masterpiece. It's visually a work of art and gameplay is spectacular. With most Halo games, I often found myself having to replace broken controllers due to dying so much. But not with Halo 4. 343 did an amazing job keeping true to the legendary franchise of Halo, but while also putting there personal signature on it. I was slightly skeptical about the new Forerunners. It's obvious that you can't just keep killing Covenant all the time, but it was a risky move and they still pulled it off. They did a great job giving the player a nostalgic feeling while killing the Covenant, which were graphically beautiful. But also in giving a player a rush of excitement of facing an unknown enemy. Whilst the story was not a complete turn from the other 3, it still had a new sense of adventure to it. A very compelling story line which for the first time was even quite emotional for me. For story, it's a 10/10. Now, multiplayer. While you can't expect anything new from a Halo multiplayer, they dished out quite a few new interesting features. Including customizing loadouts and even more customization with you Spartan Armor to the point where you truly do feel unique in your own way and not just a different color copy of some other player. Some of the maps are small, but still well designed. Whilst multiplayer can get quite boring, you have Spartan Ops which is a great feature that was added. Whether you want to go Solo or play with a party, you engage in unique actual missions that are quite enjoyable and make you eager to get the next season of missions. Spartan Ops is a great choice if you liked playing campaign with other players. It's new and fresh and does not get old. Multiplayer gets a 10/10. The music is great. The graphics are spectacular. The voice acting is excellent. It's a fantastic game. I would recommend this game to not only true fans of Halo, but gamers in general. Definitely one of the most amazing games I have ever played.… Expand
Nov 19, 2012Its very seldom that a game gets redone with this kind of shine! You can tell that 343 really put there heart and soul into Halo 4!! So lets get right to it! GRAPHIX = 10; The Graphix are the best for any shooter to date on console!! Everything is Modeled Beautifully and the style of the levels online and offline is top notch right down to the smallest detail!! Everything even little things like elevators and doors feels alive, even the new guns, you will know what I mean when you see it all! GAMEPLAY = 10; It is kind of the same old Halo. That said, it should be! Halo is a timeless classic that does not need too much change! There are plenty of new weapon's thrown into the multi-player mix to keep things interesting for a long time to come, Little things like not letting grenades drop when a player is killed changes the dynamic of the game quite a bit. This is definitely for the better!! You don't walk into a room full of dead guys and an endless supply of grenades to toss at incoming players! So far the new guns all feel balanced so far! The Campaign is done very nicely ...the story is totally engrossing and keeps you wanting to see what is going to happen next! As I had said b4 the whole game feels alive and never really gets stale! There are tons of new enemies and lvl's to shoot up with new guns!! MUSIC/SOUND EFX = 9; Very Halo! Very Suspenseful when needed! Everything seems to have a purpose and place and it also gives you that feeling that everything in the game is living and breathing! All of the Guns have been redone, everything from the sword to the BR has a different sound and almost different feel! I'm not sure if I like all of sounds to all of the old guns yet, its taking some getting use to, and it has thrown me off a few times in the beginning! But over all Everything still has that feeling of love and dedication from 343 and only time will truly tell if something is off truly. CONTROLS = 8; This is still where I wish some of the other halos would have given us a little more choice as to what buttons do what. You still have to find a preset controller setting that works for you, because there is still no custom config to the controller! I do prefer the recon setting so I at least have settled for something, but having to settle is not something I wanted to have to do! Over all the controls do work fine and they are useable! It just might be something of a decision maker for some people and might turn some people off a bit. This is also why I gave the game a 9 instead of a 10. REPLAY = 10; Halo has always had a ton of re-playability, yea after you beat the campaign you can go back through co op or with different skulls turned off and on. You can go back through on different difficulties but the story remains the same and so do the battles for the most part. The AI does change the way it fights on different difficulties and can really cause problems that being said. Multiplayer will get new map packs as it always does and its always a blast to play online multiplayer. There is a new mode that gives you weekly scheduled programs with more story and more game play that keep co op and single player exciting and fresh! Over all I think that the single player and co op is the best since Halo CE!! The story and feel of it is awe inspiring! Multiplayer is great and gets a lot of new things to play with and try out! The weekly free story updates should keep the Halo Universe rolling on until the next installment! OVER ALL = 9; This should be up for game of the year!! Yes I will say it is that good! A must have for anyone who really likes Halo and FPS fans alike ...unless your just a stubborn spec ops geek! ;p… Expand
Nov 19, 2012This game in my opinion is the best in the series. Keep in mind I thought Reach was a downgrade from Halo 2 and 3. There are huge improvements with weapons, graphics, sounds, story line in campaign, and level set up. 10/10 no doubt.
Nov 19, 2012Let me first confess, that this is my first Halo. I have played combat evolved, but i was never extremely hardcore about the series. Everyone is reviewing after having extensive experience with the game, so this might be refreshing coming from someone fairly new to the series. I would just like to say I think this game is amazing. The multiplayer(which is all I've been doing) seems extremely balanced. No guns seem overpowering. I like that if you are being attacked, you do not immediately die, but yet have a chance to turn around and defend yourself. There are no "unfair" armor abilities. The maps are done very well, and although somewhat limited, they are never boring. The graphics look just beautiful. Visually, nothing is cluttered. Everything has a sleek look about it. I think, if you just want to have a good time, and take the game as it is, 343 has done a wonderful job.… Expand
Nov 19, 2012Halo 4 is the best game ever because it take more skill, the story is awesome because there two enemies that you have to fight and have to fight a boss that is cool! The gameplay is beast. Master Cheif is BACK
Nov 20, 2012This game is excellent. Singleplayer: The story is lacklustre (but has real potential for sequels) and those flying things are a pain in this ass. Those two minor gripes aside, I loved the new campaign! Spartan Ops: It's revolutionary. It keeps the story going, offers great co-op content, and is a fun alternative to previous Firefight modes. Multiplayer: I love it. It seems like the majority of problems people have with it stem from the game being different than Halo 2. Since I never played much Halo 2, this isn't a problem for me! It brings modern standards to Halo, and keep it fun and exciting. However, I wish there wasn't so much overlap between different guns. I rarely find myself switching from the DMR to any other weapon.… Expand
Nov 21, 2012I most definitely approve of this game. I was impressed straight away by the noticeable beef-up in graphics. Halo has never been known for its land breaking visual content, but this game changes that within seconds of seeing that beautiful artwork, you realize this is what a Sci-Fi Shooter should look like. I found that campaign addictive, in single player and Co-op. Enemies are toughened and ready for a fight, and its noticeable that 343 did a fantastic job on setting the difficulties to what you'd expect, especially on Legendary. Gameplay feels splended as well, boasting new sounds for every weapon, and movements made by the player and the AI characters. The game just feels a lot better then most games I've played this year. Multiplayer has a whole new edge to it as well. The addition of custom load-outs made it feel like they were really passionate in kicking some Call of Duty ass this year, which is a big argument in itself. I did feel however that the storyline did not meet up to the expectations I quite had for a new company coming in with virtually limitless possibilities. Though, what they did add, they made it work great, leaving minor loop-holes that i'd hope are going to be told in the games to come. Overall, I feel a solid 8 is a great score for this great entry into a new world of Halo.… Expand
Nov 21, 2012this game is amazing? no, it can't be defined with words how great this is... a masterpiece, mindblowing, 10 of 10 , a classic that your childs will have to play. I am from old scholl gaming, and this is so amazing like mario, zelda and lara croft! it's even better than that
Nov 21, 2012There are lots of set pieces in this game that make you giddy with excitement at the new ideas. The Mantis combat walker, the Mammoth 6 wheeled sandcrawler type vehicle. Lots of neat ideas. They did a good job of revising the franchise.
Then there are other parts of the game that make you want to beat your head against the wall in frustration. It is hard sometimes to see where you are supposed to go next and you just kind of have to search your way around.
Good story though and great graphics and gameplay otherwise. If you are a fan of Halo it is a must buy, if you are not a fan, then it might be a pass for you.… Expand
Nov 23, 2012Anybody who gave this game anything more than an 8 must of never of played halo 3, which in my opinion was the best FPS multiplayer game ever made. Halo 3 is the most balanced FPS experience ever and 343 just shat all over that. extremely dissapointed with this game as it has way too much of halo reach in it with all these extra abilitys that make the game more complex then it need be. it is just not fun now that everybody can have camo or start with a battle rifle. the maps are also kind of crap with exception to ragnarok, but thats a halo 3 map anyway so essentially all the maps are utter doo doo. most of the game modes are boring, they really need to bring back big team games like one bomb and massive 8 vs 8 flag games. im not gonna take the game back as its still playable but i had hoped they would of learnt their lesson from how dissapointing reach was.… Expand
Sep 8, 2013Halo 4 is a game that exceeded my expectations. It's campaign is an example of quality over quantity, with story telling will draw you in right from the beginning. The opening cut scene blew me away and the first mission introduced me to the dark and beautiful level design which became so distinctive to this game. Solid gameplay was a given, it doesn't feel entirely like Halo, it feels more like how Halo should have been. A Sci-Fi shooter set in a sophisticated and thrilling universe. A huge but balanced selection human and alien weaponry finely compliments it's brilliant pacing. The games graphical achievements were an unexpected surprise, considering the fact that I've never been impressed by a Halo games graphics before. This is due to crazy technical achievement that truly pushes the now ancient hardware to it's limits. With incredible set piece after set piece, this game isn't just a cut above its predecessors but one of the greatest visual achievements this console generation. Sound design, as expected is top notch. The weapons have very distinctive sounds, although there are some hiccups such as the the warthog sounding far too aggressive, Halo's sound design is overall a joy to listen too. The games soundtrack had some pretty big boots to fill. While it simply does not fill those boots, it does a great job in setting Halo 4 apart from the original games by giving it a drastically different approach. The electronic sound that dominates the majority of the game is dark and menacing which is great but it doesn't hold the same emotional value that previous Halo titles massive scores did. Negatives to do with the game's campaign include minor issues such as the annoyances with pressing multiple switches. While the game play does a good job of being diverse, this feels like a lazy way to proceed through levels and makes it feel slightly tedious at times. But the big issue is that the game deserved a proper finale, the opening to the final mission was to me, one of the standout sections in the entire series (even giving The Maw's warthog escape a run for it's money). As the level proceeded I was almost certain a climatic ending would be the icing on the cake. Instead it finished abruptly, and felt very underwhelming. I personally feel that Halo 4 should have been just one mission longer, enough to give the game the ending it deserved.
As for the multiplayer, it's simply not as good as Halo 3. The formula has been drastically changed and although 343 have received a lot of flack for it, I understand their dilemma. Halo has long passed it's prime as far as multiplayer is concerned and the best 343 can do is try to keep up with the times without forgetting the games roots. That's probably even more difficult than it sounds. Although the multiplayer doesn't feel like classic Halo, even if it did it still wouldn't see half of Halo 3's success.
Overall I give this game an 8/10. A lot of the games elements truly feel like they've paid homage to the original (and in my opinion best) Halo, and in some areas it comfortably surpasses the original trilogy. It all just feels a little too late, Halo 4's merits will never truly be recognised as the franchise has already overstayed it's welcome.. And there's still a lot more to come!… Expand
Nov 24, 2012Halo 4 is an outstanding game and is a direct sequel to Halo 4 and is the first Halo game in the new Reclaimer saga and is the first original Halo game made by 343 industries and is backed up behind the recent Halo live action web series Forward Unto Dawn. Plot: after Halo 3, Master Chief has remained in cryogenic sleep upon the vessel known as Forward Unto Dawn, and has requested to Cortana to be re-awakened when needed. Cortana realizes that their vessel is under attack by the Covenant who have broken their truce with the humans. When she awakens chief she warns him that they are orbited an ancient Forerunner planet, Requiem. The planet's Gravity Well intiates and brings the Covenant and as well as Chief, Cortana, and The Dawn into a collision course with the planet. On Requiem, Cortana reveals she is rampant and should be dead and will eventually think herself to death. They attempt to re-establish communications with the Infinity, a massive vessel that is home to the new spartan 4 program led by Commander Del Rio. In an attempt to clear communications lines they accidently free the ancient forerunner, Diadect, who is hell bent on eliminating humanity, and whose power manipulates the Covenant and the Prometheans into becoming his army. Comparison to Halo 3: Chief sports a new look in his mark 7 armor and is a bigger and better badass then he already was. Also their is more insight into Chief's legacy, Cortana's emotions, and the Spartan program itself. the Battle Rifle returns as well as the Covenant Carbine, the option to duel wield does not return. Comparison to Halo Reach: graphics are crispier, goes back to classic Halo 3 HUD, sprint is a default part of the experience as it is now not an armor ability, the DMR returns, and the infection game mode has evolved into the more gripping Flood game mode, Firefight mode does not return. New elements for the Halo experience: A new enemy known as the Prometheans are an interesting species that weild guns that shoot light and build right into your hands. Also the oppurtunity to pilot a Pelican is now here. Multiplayer: All multiplayer matches take place on the Infinity as training simulations for the Spartan 4s. Also Spartan Ops gives you 5 new missions for 10 weeks after Halo 4's original release as long as you have an Xbox Live Gold account which you get 2 weeks free for purchasing Halo 4. This game uses create a load out customization options which make for a customized experience as well as ordanance which gives the player random killstreaks in the form of a choice of weapon, grenade, or amor ability. My opinion: Halo 4 is a must play game that will be remembered as the most revolutionary Halo title since the original Combat Evolved itself. It reminds me of Call of Duty in terms of its easy to jump into play style, and its more interactive campaign, and killstreak like create a class like system. Even the Spartan Ops remind the player of Special Ops from Modern Warfare. I would reccomend this to anyone who wants to begin gaming or to anyone who owns an Xbox 360, even so I would find a way to try out this great game.… Expand
Nov 24, 2012smooth gameplay mixed with an enticing story creates a stunning new Halo game. Spartan Ops adds quick but fun missions updated weekly. The multiplayer is among the best in all of the Halo games. The game overall is balanced, sleek and beautiful! 343 should be proud to have made a game worthy to have made a game that raises the bar on standards. 343 has shown that Halo is in capable hands.
Nov 24, 2012Best graphics, best single player campaign, best weapons, best multiplayer. A masterpiece, 343i demonstrated the love for the series, bringing the best Halo yet to the Xbox console. Thank you
Nov 25, 2012Fantastic game! Best graphics on Xbox 360 by a mile. Gameplay is great in single player, but not hooked on multiplayer, just is'nt doing anything for me. have'nt been hooked on a halo game since 3, but this is still a great game.
Dec 24, 2012(out of 100)
Visuals: 97
Game play: 98
sound effects: 100
Campaign: 97
pacing: 99
story: 96
Multi player: 100
Replay rate: 96
Overall: 98
Halo 4 is the best halo game ever created and probably the besthooter of the year or maybye even the game of the year
Nov 28, 2012I easily give this game a 10/10 due to the fact that the game offers great graphics, has a slight mix of CoD, and Halo. And they've added the "Sticky Detonator" as well as some Forerunner technology with a great balance of teams and weapons. It is still rather easy to hack or mod in the game, considering I've seen a couple hackers myself and it makes me angry. The game is new though, and all new games have glitches and kinks that need to be worked out. The 343 Industries that created and developed it did an overall great job and I would play this my whole life if I could.… Expand
Dec 21, 2012I played Halo 4 for a week and i felt like i didn't really receive the game that i was waiting for. This is NOT a bad game guys, definately not a bad game by a long shot: it has a fun multiplayer and an epic campaign, even being "asphyxiantly" short. The main problem is that it LACKS CONTENT. I can't even understand why i need two cds: The first cd has only the campaign, that it's epic but it lasts so much as a kid's popsicle on a hot day in the middle of the beach. Then you have Spartan Ops and Multiplayer, both of them requires you to install the cd 2 before you start to play. Why i need to install cd 2 ( that creates a file of more than 4 GB on the hard drive) to play Spartan Ops and Multiplayer ? Spartan Ops is only 1 f#cking episode, it's boring and it's impossible to play it offline so if you're not a gold member Microsoft f#cks you in the @ss. Then you have multiplayer, where you are allowed to choose between... what ?... 3 maps on the big modes - not even a half of what we had on Halo 3! The graphics are good, clearly not the best but in the top 5 of the console for sure. The scenarios are big and high detailed. I played sick battles on them with no frame-rate issues whatsoever. The "level up" system is unfair because it rewards the people who bought the game earlier than others, the sickest weapons and habilities will always be available exclusive to players with high rank level (but still a mile away better than any COD multiplayer). The game also doesn't have any punishment for friendly fire and that sometimes can be very frustrating. There are various modes for multiplayer and almost nothing for the campaign: skulls without points and some "movie only" chapters to give you the impression that the campaign was satisfactory: it wasn't. The history is incredible weak, to be fair it would be almost childish if wasn't for Cortana's drama. Unfortunately, it's not a journey because Halo 4's campaign is not long enough for the player to feel connected with the characters and the events. The motion capture doesn't add too much. The soundtrack is good but not even close of being excelent as the soundtrack from the original trilogy. Halo 4 is far from being bad but it's unable to hide the fact that you bought a blank and incomplete product, that surely doesn't live up to its ambitions. Buy Halo 3 instead.… Expand
Nov 28, 2012Overall great game and i love the weapons although the campagin is short who gives a damn the multiplayer matters the most in games today its more like a 8.5
Nov 29, 2012343 have more than equaled Bungie by delivering a sequel worthy of the Halo name. Not only that they have built an impressive new graphics engine which makes Halo 4 one the most stunning games ever made. Halo 4 may not feature as much inovation as people may have expected but they have crafted a slick and stunning shooter that more than rivals anything else out this year. The story has more focus, the charecters more depth. And a real emotional undercurrent has been added that asks some very interesting questions about Master Chiefs mental state. The multiplayer is so balanced and fun to play, the edition of classes and better integration of power weapons in the form of ordnance mean that even the weaker players out there will get a chance to play with cool stuff. The only downside is Spartan Ops. Hyped up to be a revolutionary episodic series spanning 5 weeks giving the player more insight to the background events of the main campaign. The problem is these levels are short lacking in any real personality and purpose. They feel more like training exercises than a supposed new adventure. This is a small issue that doesn't stop Halo 4 being the great package it is. 343 first game ever it frankly brilliant. And now the foundations have been built for the next 10 years who knows where we will end up in Halo 5. All I know is I can't to get there.… Expand
Nov 30, 2012Halo 4 is fun, it has problems and glitches (my campaign progress was reset and it was solo legendary so I had to do it again) but overall it's a great game. I wish spartan ops was better and they had firefight.
Nov 30, 2012Good multiplayer like always but boring and repetitive campaign. The graphics are improved over the previous games and the sound also is a lot better. Campaign though is by far the weakest of all the Halo games to date. If you are buying this game just for the campaign just don't do it. You'll be disappointed and will have wasted $60. If you plan on playing multiplayer on Live then I guess it's worth it.… Expand
Dec 1, 2012Congratulations to 343i Studios for creating such a masterpiece of gaming. Through my personal playing of all the aspects of Halo 4, I have only encountered a few minor glitches, that literally have done nothing to slow me down.
Looking at Halo 4, you would be hard pressed to believe this isn't a next-gen title, as the graphics are utterly stunning, and demonstrate what a talented team of developers can do with outdated technology. 343i's emphasis on story and personal connections in Halo 4 comes shining through with a deep, emotional rollercoaster that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat through most of the game. From the absolutely stunning beginning, all the way through to the mind-blowing ending, Halo 4 keeps you wanting more and more.
Not to be outdone by the incredible campaign, the multiplayer emerges as the best in the entire series. The use of ordinance drops and new game modes makes for an entertaining and balanced competitive multiplayer scene. Meanwhile, Spartan ops delivers a fresh and compelling entry into the series. The use of CG scenes to lay the foundation for the impressive firefight-based missions adds to the overall story based experience 343i wanted to deliver. As always, Forge represents the continuing advancement of player generated content, allowing for an unrivaled creation mode. This review truly doesn't do Halo 4 justice, and the only advice I can truly offer at this point is, go out and try it. You won't be disappointed.… Expand
Dec 2, 2012I love this game. The graphics are immense and the campaign is also brilliant. Multiplayer has brilliant maps and guns. Ordnance is a feature I love and forge is great for building anything you like, the magnets really help.
Mar 8, 2013Graphics:10///GAMEPLAY:10///Story:7///Soundtracks:10
----------9 masterpiece---------------
a must have game for the Xbox,if you did not play the series before(like me),i highly recommend to watch all the cut scenes on YouTube to be familiar with the universe of Halo.
the guns are absolotly amazing,vihcels are a little bit buggy,but also cool.best graphics for a seven generation consol ,especially the faces of the characters are so real.the music is fantastic...
there is only one big PROBLEM in this game,be sure to read this:NO AUTO SAVE IN CAMPAIGN,not even a save menu,checkpoints are not saved unless you press start and choose save and quit,i lost three missions when i shutdown my Xbox.
also the story plot is not up to the game,but it is good.… Expand
Dec 5, 2012Score- 10.0 (Having trouble with Metacritic's Score system)
Halo 4 is an epic science fiction tale if there ever was one. It is a superbly crafted game that fully captures the essence of the Halo universe left by Bungie Studios. Bungie's successor in developing the Halo franchise, 343 Industries are clearly people who love Halo this makes the game all te better. 343 has put in tons of improvements into this game, and whether it be storytelling, graphics, sound, this propels Halo 4 above and beyond my expectations, making it one of the best games of this year, if not one of the best in this generation. The story is fantastic and is possibly the best in the Halo franchise to date. It harkened back to Combat Evolved, where Master Chief an Cortana discover a strange planet an encounter new enemies, unlike anything seen before. In Halo 4, the Chief and Cortana discover the Forerunner planet of Requiem, which is filled with brand new lush environments in which the game takes place. These environments are beautiful and fun to play around in. We also meet the Prometheans, who are a nice fresh enemy group that challenges your skills and tactics. The story here is mostly focused on the relationship between Cortana and Master Chief, which creates an emotional attachment to the characters that hasn't been seen in a Halo fame before. You will definitely feel the emotional impact by the end of this game. The graphics have surpassed anything I thought was capable of the Xbox 360. It is definitely up there with the top visual games of the generation, and the CGI in cutscenes shines. The sound has been completely overhauled. The arsenal of weapons at your disposal is phenomenal and all of these weapons sound fierce in their own right. The guns pack a heavy punch upon firing, creating an incredibly satisfying moment when you obliterate someone with an Incineration Cannon, or mow someone down with the Assault Rifle (which isn't half bad in this game). The multiplayer has been adjusted to be similar to games such as Call of Duty or Battlefield; and that's not a bad thing. You can now create custom loadouts, which creates the tactical class building feel of other games, while still maintaining the traditional Halo feel. Power weapons are still scattered around, but they are able to be seen on the player's HUD, making them a hotspot for intense firefights. Also added to the class building system are abilities (returning from Reach) which areuch more balanced this time around, and "perk-esque" traits (such as unlimited sprint, faster reload and weapon swap, etc.). This is a welcome addition and allows more variety in the gameplay. The gameplay of multiplayer still feels like traditional Halo, but with these improvements, it feels even better. Replacing Firefight mode from ODST and Reach is Spartan Ops, which is episodic missions, accompanied by a CGI cutscene story. Each Episode composes of 5 chapters, but they are very short (a whole episode takes about 1-1.5 hours on Legendary). They're fun diversions, albeit minimal ones. Still they add longevity to the game, which is already sprouting with it. There are some minor annoyances however. The jump from Normal to Heroic and legendary difficulties in Halo 4 is large and very hard. Hali's legendary mode has never been forgiving, but Halo 4's difficulty spikes are extreme. While this, and the removal of Firefight make for slight annoyances they can't damage hiw good this game is. Halo 4 is not a perfect game. There never has, and never will be a perfect game. But Halo 4 is probably the closest we'll get for this generation of consoles. It may not be perfect, but is so, damn close.… Expand
Mar 25, 2013Halo 4 brings back the ultimate Halo game experience with awesomeness and intensity. Halo fans will be pleased.
Mar 26, 2013This review contains spoilers. Halo 4 is a good start for 343 Industries in not just Halo but in gaming. Sure they did a good job with Halo: CEA however that was what I'd class as half a job, they polished an already great game and did a good job to make it look and somewhat feel like a modern game. However Halo 4 is 343's first full blown game.
343 have already proven they can do a great job writing the story in Halo with its books, cartoons and many other productions they have created and I personally was very excited to see how they would take the Master Chiefs story and progress it further. A safe move to play would have been to just throw in a random reason that the covenant plan to restart the war with Humanity however 343 do a great job making Halo 4 feel bigger than the covenant, sure there is the storm faction (Poorly explained in the game) but they never feel like the main threat throughout the story and only feel like they are there to keep the Halo feeling we've all grown to love fighting them. 343 take the focus away from the Covenant with the Prometheans, a challenging but somewhat irritating new enemy in the campaign. At first the feeling that you are fighting something new and unpredictable gives you a great feeling, however there just always feels like there is something missing from them, that makes them feel fun to fight, that makes you feel like you are playing Halo and if you play the game on Legendary they become far less of a challenging enemy and become a bullet sponging monster that you just wish you could avoid instead of challenge it. However story-wise with the return of the Forerunners in particular the only one you see throughout the game; The Didact, if following the story makes you feel like you are dealing with something completely unknown, the first encounter with this Enhanced forerunner (Explained throughout Terminals in game) he makes our unstoppable Master Chief look like a pushover and throws him to the other side of the room with a simple flick installing the fear of him instantly. Although the end of the game is somewhat satisfying especially the speech from the Didact is still leaves you with not many hints of what could be coming next, sure people don't like cliffhangers but I can't help but feel this game would have befitted from one, when I finished the game although I know it's far from over, I jus felt like well... that's that dealt with. The story is great in this game even with it's underwhelming ending it defiantly leaves Halo with many different paths it could follow in Halo 5. Now the multiplayer of Halo 4 is also a mixture of goof and bad, as a long time Halo fan I'd love to be able to say yeah, it's amazing it's perfect but I can't, I personally have stopped playing it that often only a few months after release, it's not because it's bad but it just seems to bore me a lot more than any other Halo game has. I love the customization in this game with classes and your spartan is gives you many, many different options to customize your spartan in the way you want to, the only downside to this is the only real mode that makes you feel like your spartan is slightly important is Spartan Ops however although this mode is enjoyable and has a good story to it, it feels very respective and you just seem to be completing objevtives that add nothing to the actual story of Spartan Ops. Versus side of multiplayer is a blast to play at first but it doesn't take long for you to feel like something is missing that makes it feel again, less like Halo. The shear amount of playlists in the mutliplayer I personally find makes the game that much more repetitive as you can mostly chose the exact mode you want to play with very few playlists offering different modes within them. The DLC for this game sticks to traditional Halo DLC... Map Packs. Map Packs I can't help but feel are outdated DLC, yeah they can be good here and there but when the only DLC a entire franchise has ever revived is map packs then it kind of does become predicable, with the multiplayer already boring the player fast the map packs bring a few more hours of fun and then the same issues kick in with the game just feeling less and less fun over time, yeah every game eventually may feel like that but this one in particular suffers from it more than other games. I can't help but feel Halo needs some kind of great DLC like a full blown expansion such as what ODST was planned to be.
Over-all Halo 4 is a good start for 343 and one can hope that they will learn from mistakes made in the game and improve with Halo 5. There are a lot of other things I could go into with the game however most are just small things such as the new gun sounds and the whole new soundtrack. A great story, fun in short bursts gameplay and leaves the Halo franchise with some good options this game earns a 8/10 from me even if I'd love to give the game a 10/10 because I love the Halo Universe I just can't.
8/10… Collapse
Dec 17, 2012Halo 4 eschews esoteric delivery for a sledgehammer story with a blockbuster aesthetic. Epic, engaging and sensorially awesome. [Jan 2013, p.60]
Dec 5, 2012In the end, this game is still a fairly conservative and faithful to the original spirit, even with some significant changes.
Dec 3, 2012The narrative is outstanding, even in spite of a few plot-point missteps, and the character evolution of Master Chief and Cortana deserves to be further explored with these wonderful storytellers (well, maybe one of them can't happen, but I'll avoid spoilers). However, the gameplay feels jilted, awkward and unrefined, three unforgivable sins in a landscape populated with other quite-capable FPS franchises. As a result, I'm going to average everything out: great story plus bad gameplay equals an average experience. And in this overcrowded FPS genre, "average" is isn't something I'd recommend buying.