THIS WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED HALO 4
Overall + Campaign
Note: I will be ranking the Campaign and Multiplayer separately, and each on a scale of 100 to give a more realistic feel than out of 5. Also Spartan Ops will have it's own out of 100. The overall rating is at the bottom, if you just want to see that scroll down.
Upon reading reviews (those without spoilers) prior to the games release, I felt conflicted on what to expect. Many reviews stated that the game felt like Halo, nothing more, while others said it had changed quite a bit.
After playing for myself I have formed my own opinions. Halo 4 remains faithful in most of its feel. You're still Master Chief, and still fighting to save the galaxy. 343 did take it's liberties however, and added a more rugged feel for the Chief, which makes since after all considering how heavy his is with his armor.
When you interact with objects in Halo 4, it shows the chief leaning forward and pressing the button, all from his viewpoint. Also when looking up and down you see his visors edges, which is a cool feel since in reality that it what would happen if you really were wearing such a helmet. Running is now included for the chief, a logical and needed step. Unlike in Reach where running was smooth, as if you were running on flat ground, the Chiefs running is more rough, as the screen will sway like your vision will when you as a person run. (Similar to Battle Field 3 for reference). Also there are new assassinations, something I enjoyed from Reach. They aren't much different, but are still fun to do. Few things than snapping a Grunts neck.
The new enemies in Halo 4 are a nice challenge. The Knights and Watchers work as an excellent team, but the crawlers work more or less with their own kind only (minus the occasional shield help from the Watchers). On Normal, the Campaign seemed like a challenge. It only took me 4 hours and 58 minutes to beat, however. It was a nice level to enjoy the game without getting frustrated with the enemies. I also completed the game on Legendary, which is harder than any other Halo game on the same difficulty. It was incredibly challenging to beat the game on Legendary. Grunts became horrifying with their plasma pistols. 343 jack up the power of those pistols and they actually do damage now. Elite like to charge you, especially in the worst possible moments. There are also a larger collection of cloaked sword elites littered throughout the game, as well as (I believe) two sets of Hunters. But as I fought my was through and got passed the only covenant enemies, the game became a thousand times worse. Though the covenant are bad, the Prometheans are so much worse. The covenant will hid, and can actually lose interest if you sneak around enough, but the Knights use their Promethean Vision to always know where you are, and lob grenades at you, even when you're behind cover. You are not safe anywhere with them, for they will hunt you down. Not to mention if you kill a Knight, and not the Watcher, the Watcher will revive the Knight, and you're right back at it. Ammo goes very quickly against the knights, and I found myself trying to get behind them to assassinate them. 343 was gracious enough to realize that ammo was a greatly needed commodity and placed (sometimes) hidden ammo around for the Chief to pick up. I couldn't imagine the game on LASO, though that is my next goal. Knight also do this very annoying thing where they will suddenly start teleporting zig-zag at you and then appear in front of you, only to knock you dead. I miss the covenant foes when I fight the Prometheans, for they are on a whole new level.
The graphics of Halo 4 are incredible (though I can't say they are the best grapics I've ever seen on the 360 (for I haven't played every game on the console). The motion capture system the used paid off, and some of the cutscenes look incredibly realistic, especially the final scene, where I was trying to decide if the graphics were using real people or not. Unlike in previous Halos the cutscenes all have a strong substance towards the plot of the game. They actually are so good, it seemed at times that I was playing to get the the cutscenes rather than playing the game for the sake of shooting up some covies. The emotion packed into some of the scene were so powerful they could bring a tear to your eye.
Halo 4, though a shooter, is a love story between Cortana and the Chief. Now before you disagree and close the page, let me tell you what I mean. Cortana is the closest thing the Chief has to a friend, or even family. Being torn from his parents, and changed as a child he didn't connect with many, other than his fellow Spartan IIs, which are "dead" (not true, but the game doesn't elaborate on that yet.) and Dr. Halsey, who the Chief has not seen for a very long time. Cortana has been with him for 8 years, and fighting with him through almost every second (minus the Halo 2 - 3 where she was elsewhere). His life has been in her hands, as well as hers in his. It is only natural for a love to develop (in the sense of caring not physical). This is the tragic story of the Chief coming to terms with Cortana's rampancy, and his desperate fight to get to earth in order to restore her. For a man without a face, Steve Downes does an excellent job of portraying emotion. The story is also incredibly powerful because for one of the first times, the player can emotionally connect with the Chief. We all have lost something or someone that we would have done anything to keep around, but we're only human, and so is the Chief. Though the Didact, the main enemy, is a massive issue, the story is more about Chief and Cortana.
I found one of the most powerful lines to be during the final battle between the Chief and Didact. The Didact has just subdue the Chief and separated him from the bomb - the only real chance the Chief has of defeating the Didact in combat. As the Didact is preparing to kill the Chief (well sort of, but not quite) the bridge begins to freak out. Cortana's fragmented rampant personalities begin to emerge from the bridge. The Didact, still focusing on the Chief, says to Cortana "Your compassion for mankind is misplaced" in which Cortana replies I'm not doing this for mankind" (this is personally one of the most powerful lines, though there are so many). In that moment it shows Cortana, though defending Earth, is not a puppet of the humans. She had developed as real feelings as possible for John, to the point that she sacrifices herself in order to save him.
All in all the campaign was an excellent addition to the Halo story line, allowing for the player to relate with the Chief on a more personal level than ever before. It is a bold step that 343 has taken with the death of Cortana, and the return of the Forerunners. One potentially horrifying step is the Legendary ending of Halo 4. At the very end of the game, after the credits you go through the final cutscene (which is a great piece with a very intriguing monologue in the background) the ending on all other difficulties ends with the Chiefs visor being lifted, and seeing only darkness, while on Legendary the visor is lifted and you see the Chiefs eyes. This was done to help promote the humanization of the Chief, but it's a big step for 343. One of the Halo commandments is thou shalt not see thine Chiefs face. Well we did. Originally I was horrified, and got incredibly angry due to the violation of the law, but as I began to ponder over it, I realized the signification to seeing part of the Chiefs face. The entire point of this game was to show the humanity in Chief, as he grows to acquire it again. As Cortana had pointed out, he was more machine than she was, and she wanted him to find his humanity. After a week of thought, I finally calmed and decided the showing of his face was a good choice by 343, for now Chief isn't just a suit of armor. He is a man, and a very sad man at that.
Overall I rate the Halo 4 Campaign - 96/100.
I would have given it a 100, but there are two flaws that took away from the perfect score.
1. The Campaign was really short, if not played on Legendary. If you're playing for only story and length does not matter to you then this won't be an issue.
2. This game was written for hardcore Halo fans. A bunch of the issues in the game make sense if you read the novels that are written, but if you didn't you have no idea why some things are happening. For example Jul 'Mdama, he is from Glasslands and Thursday War and you learn why he is at Requiem and why he knows about the Didact in those books. You also learn why "The Covenant" is attacking you. While in the game they don't really explain it. Also the terminals fill you in, but you have to find them first. (or take the youtube approach).
3. The story is perfect, and contains such high quality writing. Props to 343. If you are a halo fan who had read all the books (or at least summaries) and play the game for the story, then this game is perfect for you.
~The Multiplayer Review~
Halo 4 multiplayer is an excellent step forward in the progression from Reach. Reach, though more fast paced still lacked a lot of features I would have liked, to the point that I would rage very regularly. The previous Halo games had slower paced multiplayer since for most of them you couldn't run at all and your shields were impossible to remove.
In Halo 4 the multiplayer is incredibly fast paced. I used to hate big team slayer, due to it's dragging on and extreme unorganized Chaos but now it is my favorite game type. The games go much fast than before and I don't believe I've ever played a game where the time ran out before the game. The ability to choose loadouts opens for new opportunity and intensifies the game since you can now select your best set to destroy the enemies. Spawning with sticky grenades has been a dream of mine, and thankfully it has come true. The loadouts have a lot of variety to let the player choose in which area they want to expand upon, whether it be covenant, Forerunner, or human automatics, or precision weapons.
Unfortunately though, 343 has not released the file shares online yet, therefore I can not access my awesome screenshots. Also the apps for mobile devices is currently dead and constantly crashes. It is an upsetting thing, but survivable.
Also despite the team games, it's really just a bunch of people all out to get number one. The most annoying thing is the people who sit in the back and wait for you to take the enemies shields down, and steal the kill from you. I'm currently sitting at a 1.25 K/D spread, something I am not proud of, while my assist are sitting at ~848. I can promise you most of these assists were me taking down the enemies shields and then getting the kill stolen. If this didn't happen I could be sitting comfortably at a 1.53 K/D spread, but no those idiots had to take from my kills.
Even of team games you may do really well, but your team can still lose and this is an aggravating thing. For example in a game I had 40 kills 11 deaths and had 150 points over the top player in the game. Yet my team lost. These previous complaints are really the fault of 343, but the fault if stupid players. If you are a rager, prepare to do so in a couple of games.
There are a few spots on maps where you could glitch, like on the map Construct there was a wall you could jump into to, and was done quite often on zombies. But 343 just released a patch that fixed a couple of those. I wish all the game types had come out in the first week, but I am content with the ones now so it does not bother me greatly.
Finally Ordinance. Though yes, this may have been inspired from another game (like the loadouts) it is done in an excellent way. The better you do the better chances you have of getting ordinance which sometimes sucks with only grenades, plasma pistol and needler (a thing to be feared). However sometimes it Binary Rifle or Incineration Cannon. Those are the best things. I like how they made the Binary Rifle (an always 1-shot weapon) fair, by the fact that when you scope in everyone can see where you are due to an orange beam shooting out from where you are scoping in. They have good execution, but can lead to camping for those that get luckily and constantly get good ordinance.
Overall I would rank the Halo 4 Multiplayer as 94/100.
1. It is very fast paced, and quite exciting unlike the Reach multiplayer, and the amount of choices you have for it makes the game more enjoyable.
2. Camping is still a thing, and sometimes the ordinance adds to it. They may just sit there in a closed place and wait in a corner. Maps like Exile have that issue. (Though that is my favorite map in the game).
3. Cloaking works.
4.You may do well, but your team can ultimately suck resulting in your teams loss.
~Spartan Ops~
I have to admit, I was very unimpressed with the first two missions of Spartan Ops, to the point that I almost did not play the 3rd. They were very dry, and felt kind of like the campaign only not as exciting and with a really dry story. I also did not care for the first to cinematic as much, but the 3rd through the 5th are something spectacular, and made me very excited for the rest.
In the first two they were very small scale and were like doing the same thing over and over. I can do that, if there is a strong purpose, but it felt lacking as I just fought my way through the covenant, when I should have been struggling.*
*To note, I despise the Spartan III's and I hate the Spartan IV's. Hence the It should be incredibly difficult since I'm a pathetic lowly Spartan IV (sorry to those that like them. I'm a Spartan II kinda man).
However it turns around in the 3rd episode, as the cinematic brings in Halsey, and carries a far greater depth of story. Also the mission begin to have more of a backing as you fight hordes of enemy ships that are coming at you in large proportions. This massive scale battling is quite impressive and incredibly enjoyable. It's what I had hoped for in Halo Reach (but was disappointed You all remember that warthog scene where there were tons of you and the banshees dropped in, I thought we were going to be able to play that but nooo) but did not get, luckily it is in Halo 4, and done quite excellently. However I don't think a Spartan IV could handle those assaults even with a Mantis, but then again I'm prejudiced against them.
I am excited to see where they go from here, with a very intriguing mid-season finale. I just wish that you didn't need gold to play. (I do have gold, indeed).
Finally, I extremely dislike that when you die you respawn, and that the game doesn't take you back to your last checkpoint. I think the taking back to previous checkpoint adds intensity, and makes it more fun. But then again I assume most will disagree with me on that point. I just feel since it is essentially an extension of the Campaign, it should act more like the Campaign.
~ Overall I would rank Spartan Ops 90/100 ~
To tally it up I give Halo 4 an overall rating of : 280/300 or in better terms a 93.3%
Halo 4 overall rating: 93.3%
If you hated my review comment below on how much I suck. If you liked it, comment on how much you liked it, or don't do anything at all. Any agreements or disagreements go ahead and post those. Also if you think I forgot anything let me know!
Now if you thought my review sucked, read
This One and remember, keep your cool. Well actually I freak out when I read that one.
Quick Comments
I am a devout Bungie fan, and was terrified of a company gaining control of Halo, so I looked at the game very critically from the start.
I love a good story, and have read all the books in the Halo Universe (Though there were some that it was a trail to do so).
I was kind of awkward-ed out my Cortana, but she is just an AI so it is ok.
Halo is my life.
I did not proof read this as you will probably see.
Overall I would give the movie an 8.4/10 (yes 8.4 I like to me precises, and I wouldn't give it a lowly 8, or a high 8.5). I really want to give it a 10/10 because of how awesome Martin Freeman is, but I can't being myself to rate it that, for the director massively screwed up. I have to admit, in the first 15 minutes (or so) of the Hobbit it was on a trajectory for being the best film I had ever seen, but then 30 minutes later it dropped in the list, past the first three Lord of the Ring's movies. It irks me to my core when a movie tries to be funny to much. I hate comic relief I like intense deep emotional films. The first thee movies capture this, now don't get me wrong they had comic relief, but it was spaced out and at appropriate times. I didn't see Frodo making fat comments at Sam in the middle of Mordor, that's how bad some of the joke placements are in the Hobbit. I thought I was going to see the Hobbit, not The Watch (two hours I'll never get back, don't see it, I actually stop watching half-way through (referring to The Watch)). They had so many unnecessary jokes, especially at serious times. I just can't handle that. On top of that the goblins and trolls voices were horrible. The creatures are supposed to be monster, but apparently they had yet to hit puberty. I've heard 3-year old's with deeper voices, heck they sounded like squeakers. (An xbox-live thing).
I would recommend this be seen in theaters, it's an excellent movie and actually made me excited that it is going to be a trilogy. They are really adding to the back story behind the Lord of the Rings in ways that impress me. If you don't mind comic relief or a beautiful (but not innovative) soundtrack, you will love this movie. It is entirely enjoyable. Again I can not stress enough about how excellent of a job Martin Freeman did with Bilbo. I recommend seeing his work Sherlock. It is quite good.
