Developer(s): 343 Industries
Publisher(s): Microsoft Studios
Platform(s): Xbox 360
Release Date: November 6, 2012
Legacy. Legacy is what Halo 4
is all about. It is about a studio that inherited the legacy of one of the most
popular game franchises ever made trying to establish one of their own. It is
about striking out on one’s own, but returning to what came before out of
respect, out of admiration, and because what came before is simply too big to
ignore. Ultimately, Halo 4 is a game
about who we are, and what we leave behind when we are gone. Legacy. It is a franchise surrounded by
it, and everyone from players, to the animators at 343 Industries; from the Xbox
editors at such-and-such gaming websites, to the lowly freelance game
journalists, all feel the awesome, omnipresent weight of legacy. We can’t escape it. No one can. It is a situation afforded
very few on such a scale, but the Halo franchise
has been with gamers for so long now that legacy—whether we realize it or
not—contextualizes how players approach the franchise. Did 343 Industries ignore
the legacy-effect? Or, did the development studio embrace the legacy of what
came before?
Halo has always been a FPS that gets just as much attention paid to its
single player as it does its multiplayer, which is rare in the modern FPS
genre. The first thing you’ll notice when you begin the single player campaign
in Halo 4 is probably how beautiful
the game looks. Bright lights shine from dark corners, illuminating your HUD in
a blinding, yet somehow subdued hue of white-blue. It’s beautiful, comforting,
and contrasts the dark, grimy blues, blacks, and grays that dominate the
Forward Unto Dawn. Every environment in Halo
4 looks excellent, and it is the best looking game on Xbox 360 since Crysis 2.
- Eye candy
- Incredible attention to detail in technical aspects of the game
- Exceptional sound mixing, sound editing and a great score
- Greater variety in Multiplayer
- Fantastic storytelling
- Spartan Ops
The campaign is short, easily
beaten in the course of an afternoon, and there a few points throughout the progression
of the narrative that will have you scratching your head in confusion. Alas, so
it goes with a Halo game. How many of
us really had any idea what the hell was going on in Halo: Combat Evolved? It took years of subsequent explanation and
universe-building for players to have an inkling as to what is happening in the
Halo universe. Luckily, Halo has always been at its best when,
after completing single player on Normal, you fire up Heroic mode, and if you
are feeling really daring, Legendary mode. Halo
4 really shines during a replay. The improvements in the AI alone make it
worth replaying the single player through several times, as your Promethean foes
make sections of the game that were a breeze on Normal, a true test of patience
and skill on Heroic or Legendary. This makes the length issue less of a point
of contention, as the added replay value extends the life of the single player
significantly.
Many reviewers have commented on how the story of Halo 4’s single player campaign is very much Cortana’s. While this
is true, the meta-narrative shouldn’t be so abundantly ignored. From a creative
writing standpoint Halo’s story has
never been character-driven. It’s been driven by events of the past and how
those events influence and effect the course of events in the present and
future. 343 Industries achieved its goal of “humanizing” Master Chief and even
Cortana; but, what they really deserve applause for is how well the
meta-narrative compliments the relationship between Master Chief and Cortana.
We can’t see it now, but there is a wealth of opportunity for exploring the
theme of how we interface with machines… if humanity was created by the
Composers, than how are we any different from what we create? These are the
sorts of questions to be answered in the last two installments of the Reclaimer
Trilogy and I suspect players will continue to pay just as much attention to
the story-driven single player as they will the multiplayer.
Multiplayer—for many it is the backbone of a good Halo game. Here is yet another way in which legacy applies to Halo 4. FPS multiplayer wouldn’t be what
it is today if it weren’t for two franchises, and Halo is one of them. 343 Industries inherited a franchise so famous
for its multiplayer component that words had to be invented to describe what happened
when small masses of people gathered together in their garage or living room
and did nothing but play Halo for an
entire weekend. If 343 felt the pressure to perform anywhere it was in the
multiplayer arena. Not only did 343 measure up but they, arguably, surpassed
the efforts of Bungie. All of your favorite modes return along with a few new
additions. Dominion has players battling over set control bases on a map. Once
a control base is captured, it must be fortified, and once fortified the controlling
team can take advantage of the vehicles that spawn there and build automated
turrets that will fire on any enemy that gets too close. Controlling these
bases will earn you points. The first team to reach the victory cap wins.
Replacing the fan-favorite Infection is a mode called Flood. It works exactly
the same, save for the fact that those “infected” turn into Flood-infected
soldiers with a massive energy sword-like mandible that slices through Spartans
like butter.
The new Promethean weapons are a spectacular addition, and the UNSC and
Covenant weapons return, but with more bravado than ever before. The new
loadout system is excellent and adds a layer of depth to the multiplayer that
some players were wanting. Don’t worry, if the mad rush for the rocket
launchers in the middle of the level was a big draw for you in previous games,
you won’t be disappointed. There is still plenty of opportunity for you and
your friends to fight over randomly dropped weapon ordinances, some that may
even turn the tide of a match. The loadout system comes with its own set of
perks and abilities that are unlocked as you level up in multiplayer or Spartan
Ops. Every level that is gained earns you a token that can then be used to
unlocked weapons, grenades, perks, or abilities. It is a well-designed and
smart system that diversifies what players will run into on the battlefield.
That diversification keeps multiplayer feeling fresh and exciting and opens up
tons of new approaches to problems you’ll encounter throughout the course of a
multiplayer match.
343 also gets major kudos for some excellent map design,
particularly when it comes to the larger maps. It is some of the cleverest use
of verticality in multiplayer seen to date. But, the biggest pull-factor for
multiplayer isn’t the new loadout system; it isn’t the excellent designed maps,
or the new game modes. No, the biggest pull-factor is something that a lot of
modern FPS games just don’t have: fun. It’s fun! It’s arguably the most fun
players will have with multiplayer since Goldeneye
on the N64. Unlike many other modern FPS games out on the market today, Halo 4 doesn’t take itself too
seriously. It is nice to join matchmaking and hear that the in-game chatter is
mostly laughter and chuckles about something ridiculous that just happened, and
not a hate-filled diatribe resulting from an untimely death. Halo has never been about k/d ratios or
no-scoping. Sure, it is competitive, but it is competitive within the context
of fun, and that is what makes Halo 4’s
multiplayer so special.
If there is flaw to be found anywhere in Halo 4 it is with the Spartan Ops mode. Spartan Ops has players
teaming up online to play through a series of episodes of five chapters each.
Set six months after the events that take place in the single player story,
these episodes act as supplemental narrative. Spartan Ops is the replacement
mode for Firefight, a mode that fans grew to love after its inclusion in Halo 3 ODST. But, it doesn’t quite work
because it tries to fill the shoes of Firefight while simultaneously
replicating some of Firefight’s gameplay. As a game mode it is confused and
suffers from a lack of focus. It does not seem quite sure as to what it wants
to be. Spartan Ops doesn’t really contribute anything to the overall Halo 4 experience other than a nice fat
chunk of experience points gained after the completion of each chapter. 343
probably didn’t want Spartan Ops to become a XP harvest ground, but that is
exactly what most players are using it for right now. But, there are more episodes
to come and 343 still has a chance to revisit the direction they want to take
Spartan Ops.
Shakespeare once wrote that no legacy is so rich as honesty. 343
Industries created a game that was honest to the legacy of Halo, and this will most certainly go down as one of the greatest
studio handoffs in the history of the video game industry. Halo 4 has new armor, new limbs that move fast and are stronger than
those of its predecessors, eyes that see farther and clearer than any Halo game that came before it; but its
soul, the very core of what it is, is still Halo…
and that is what 343 Industries was honest to.
| Final Score | “Extraordinary” | 9.5 |
| Graphics |
Absolutely gorgeous in every way possible. A few of the textures show their age here and there, but as a technical achievement Halo 4’s graphics are simply astounding.
|
9.0 |
| Gameplay |
Tight controls and an overall masterful approach to the technical aspects of Halo 4 make playing it more than just a passive experience.
|
9.0 |
| Value |
Between the replay value of single player and multitude of modes in multiplayer, there's enough here to keep players occupied until the next generation of consoles come out. Even with the so-so Spartan Ops, you don’t have to worry about feeling like $60 was too much to fork over.
|
10 |
| Sound |
Some of the best sound editing and mixing in gaming to date. Everything from the sound of Master Chief’s footfalls to the sound of a Promethean weapon forming out of thin air around your hand is ear candy. I tip my hat to Neil Davidge and his excellent score.
|
10 |
Review by Jon Hamlin
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1 comments:
The last few levels of the campaign were cookie-cutter and repetitive as hell. It started out SO good. :(
Other than that, multiplayer wins. :)
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