Halo 4 Review
Ah Halo, one of my favourite past times. The only game I will stay off school for, as I did when Halo 3, and Halo: Reach came out; yes, I was an undeniably bad ass child.
But now I am obviously a hard working Sixth Former, and therefore would never dream of taking a day off for some silly game, A-Levels are far more important. But, with the game pre-ordered, every time I hear the word Halo 4; I start giggling. I'm actually that excited.
Halo 4, I've wasted lots of pants on that game - IT JUST LOOKS SO GOOD! It just makes my inner nerd come out to the point where all of my speech is slurred, I form a layer of spots and just want to eat Doritos, whilst drinking some "Mountain Dew Gamer Fuel" OH MY GAWD GUIZZZZ...
Anyway, enough nerd-gasms. Let's discuss Halo 4...
Story
(I'll do my best to avoid spoilers here) Okay, so, basically Halo 4 contines where it's predecessor left off. Cortana has woken you from cryo sleep, she is deteriorating (AIs only last 7 years, yes, you should know that) oh and there's a huge forerunner planet that you are approaching. Now you must try and contact the UNSC Infinity so you can somehow get off this planet and maybe save Cortana in the process.
It's not just about getting home though, Halo 4 takes the franchise in a completely new direction. It seeks to explore a much deeper, emotional relationship between Chief and Cortana; apart from the odd bit of 'cheesy American dialogue', it is actually done far better than I ever could've hoped. Halo 4 is one of the few games that immersed me in the story and characters. Ultimately, at the end of it all, I felt like it was very well done. But, most importantly of all - I wanted MORE.
Gameplay
Rest assured, this is still very much the Halo you know and love. Many old weapons return Halos new and old, the DMR, Battle Rifle, Assault Rifle; they're all here and they're better than ever! The Assault Rifle is actually worthy of use now, the BR and DMR complement each other perfectly. Add to this the old Covenant weaponry and the fancy new Promethean weaponry and there's a huge sandbox at your disposal.
There are plenty of new bells and whistles mind you, sprint is now standard, you can customise your own classes with armour abilities, perks to enhance your gameplay style and aesthetic changes to all of your Spartan IV's armour set. What I really liked about these additions is they are very well balanced, take for example a rocket launcher. There is a human, Covenant and Promethean version of it, and they all have different strengths and weaknesses. I struggle to remember a game which dares to add this much, but balance it so well.
Visuals
"Jesus christ, what the hell have Bungie been doing all these years?" I said as I booted the game up for the first time. Too long has Halo been under powered, struggling to compete with juggernauts such as Crysis, Killzone and Gears of War. But now it tops them all, in my opinion anyway. Halo's art style has always been one of its defining aspects, couple that with a powerhouse engine, and you have a visual treat my friend.
Sound Design and Soundtrack
Massive Attack's producer Neil Davidge has taken the reigns and dares to provide vibrations for a game with perhaps one of the best soundtracks in gaming history. Rest assured, old Marty O'Donnell has been given a run for his money here.
The swaying, sweeping, surging orchestras remain. However, you'll now find stinging synths and electronic action pieces to go along with that. It works so well, it definitely stands with any of the other games in the series. Bravo I say!
Multiplayer/ Spartan Ops
This is where you will most undoubtedly spend most of your time, and rightly so. This is the most robust multiplayer ever included in a Halo game. Since release, a new playlist has been added every week; so now you have everything from 'Flood', the new spin on infection, to Slayer Pro which turbo charges matches with faster player speed and increased weapon damage.
I've played about 150 games of multiplayer, and it brings back so many memories of Halo 3's multiplayer, which I adored so much. It also takes some of the failings of Reach and turns them into great successes - armour abilities are now much more balanced and seek to complement your own play style, whilst none of them are more powerful than the other. It all depends on the map, gametype, who you're playing with and many, many more factors. As I write this now, it is probably my favourite Halo multiplayer yet. How it will stand the test of time, I'm not sure. It is safe to say 343 are looking to support the game more than Bungie ever did: future updates will include clans, a skill ranking system, 3 map packs and stat tracking your every move. Add to this the 'specialization system' which is meant to be an 'end game' addition to multiplatyer where you can further compliment your playing style, rank up further past 50 and unlock new toys to play with. I can't wait for Halo 4's post game future to unfold.
A big bullet point on the back of Halo 4's tight behind is 'Spartan Ops', which is a co-operative story mode so to speak, which is set six months after the campaign and seeks to bridge the gap between Halo 4, and it's indefinite sequel - Yes! You guessed it; Halo 5.
From the 3 episodes I have played so far, Spartan Ops is a more than ample replacement for Firefight. As much of it is similar to it; basically, you now have objectives and run through levels taken from the Campaign, and some multiplayer maps. Sometimes you just shoot stuff, sometimes you blow up generators and sometimes you may -gasp- press a fucking button.
Spartan Ops is definitely a worthy edition to the ever expanding Halo arsenal. How it will develop into a fully fledged narrative? Will they make new play spaces? Will they charge us for each episode? Well, we'll just have to see won't we?
Final Thoughts
A fuck ton of questions. That's what this game makes you ask. Like all good pieces of art; be it music, film, perhaps a Zoo Magazine? Just where will 343 take the Halo series from here? In my opinion, Halo's future has never been brighter and, just like the rings it bases it's name off, they are something to behold.
It's time to finish the fight... again!
Max.
