official Halo 4

[colealtdelete]

Might want to put a spoiler alert in your review, for those of us who haven't finished the game yet.

[S00N3R FR3AK]

The game was mediocre at best.. 9/10 and 9.5/10 are beyond biased and paid IMO.. People give Medal of Honor Warfighter for example 4.5/10 and 4/10 and say how it's a shooting gallery and the story is weak but they give Halo 4 9/10 and 9.5/10? Are you kidding me.

Yes, Halo 4 is seriously polished (not a surprise since they had 5 years to make it). Everything was smooth and tops in terms of visuals and execution but the game is meh. It got real boring real fast. Basically the whole game comes down to go flip that switch, kill a bunch of same foes, flip that other switch, kill some more foes, and flip the 3rd switch. Rinse and repeat.

There were 3 parts in the game that had slight variety with flying and driving but very little. Overall it was done way too safe and with no thrills. The story is also pretty weak and convoluted and unless you are deep into Halo universe and you read and watched all of the Halo animated features and books you don't get anything in the game in terms of what's going on.

Multiplayer is pretty much the same thing we had before but with a bit more customization and a few more guns. I don't see what's majorly different from any other Halo game.

SpartanOps is a copy of SpecOps from Call of Duty and is really more go kill those guys there, destroy 3 objectives and get a pick up.

I finished Halo 4 on Legendary and the video at the end showing Master Chief's eyes was the highlight of the game :)

This is 7/10 game. Nowhere near close to 9/10 or 9.5/10 unless you don't care about immersive and great story, diverse and unique gameplay and overall fresh experience.

Having played MoH and thinking the reviewers were completely off their rockers with the low ratings, I'm gonna have to disagree with you here. Halo 4 beats MoH in just about every category possible. The AI in MoH was just stupid making single player easy, where as in Halo 4 the AI reacts to everything you do making Legendary tough without teamwork. I was enthralled in this story(having played all previous Halo games) and yet just enjoyed MoH. As for MP MoH has some good strong points but Halo 4 just has more variety and polish. The guns also feel and play a lot better with hit boxes being tighter. I also thought that BF3 and MoH had the best sounding guns in gaming until I played Halo 4. They put a lot of effort into those guns and damn do they sound good being on par with BF3 and MoH.

Overall while MoH was a good game I enjoyed, Halo 4 just has a much higher level of polish and a story with characters you can get invested in.

[spacer]

I'm making my way through the campaign. I'm really enjoying it so far. The classic gameplay just feels great. The sound design is really top notch. And the visuals are really impressive; not only in detail/framerate, but art design too. Master Chief looks phenominal with his updated model. The CGI in the game's few cut scenes are also really damn good.

The story is a little hard to follow sometimes, and I've played all of the other games. I had to look up who the Didact was, because they didn't really explain it in the game too well. But other than that, the story is pretty good.

The only thing I'm not a fan of is the fact that the terminal videos, which clarify a lot of the back story, are only accessible in Halo Waypoint. That decision is unbelievably retarded, in my opinion. I can't fathom why they chose to make players stop their session, exit the game entirely, load up Waypoint (which takes way too long to begin with), and then view the [short] videos.

That being said, the videos themselves have a really cool art style to them. They're psuedo CGI/animated, but with some really good design. I like them a lot, I just wish they were integrated with the game and not Waypoint.

I'm going to continue the campaign this week, and hopefully have enough time to finish it. From what I've heard, it's not a terribly long campaign, so I'm probably more than half way.

I stopped after finishing the mission to destroy the gravity well. Chief is about to take a pelican to stop the Didact on his own.

[ESC@PE]

7\10... Wow... I would hate to see what that guy thinks is a better FPS....

[Draken]

blah blah spoiler

Thanks for ruining the my endgame :(

[Emn1ty]

I've only played about an hour of the campaign (on Heroic Difficulty) and so far these are my impressions:

The Good

• The game looks amazing. I'd say it is by far the best looking Halo game to date.
  
• The multiplayer maps, from what I can tell, are very good. But only 5 or 6 matches doesn't tell me everything about the maps.
  
• The game plays a lot like Halo 2, or at least that's the impression I get since it has me sweep sniping again.
  
• The enemy AI seems up to par with Halo games.
  
• The Promethean weapons are very well designed.
  

The Bad

• While playing through Heroic I felt like I accidentally turned the Famine skull on.
  
• This game is CoD with a Halo spin. Loadouts, Kill Streaks, every (including EMBLEMS?!?!) has to be unlocked through play. This is a huge turnoff.
  
• The canon is stupid. Simple as that. Retarded levels of hate for Halsey are apparent at the start of the game.
  
• I really don't understand why they are trying so hard to keep things in first person, and to me while the scenarios can be epic they feel... unnecessary.
  
• They changed every sound in the game, and they all sound out of place. The sound design is great, but it's too realistic and comes off odd as a result. Especially the retarded sound they put for the Warthog or the extremely annoying sounds they used for the Ghost.
  

Anyways, that's my initial impressions.

[Boz]

Having played MoH and thinking the reviewers were completely off their rockers with the low ratings, I'm gonna have to disagree with you here. Halo 4 beats MoH in just about every category possible. The AI in MoH was just stupid making single player easy, where as in Halo 4 the AI reacts to everything you do making Legendary tough without teamwork. I was enthralled in this story(having played all previous Halo games) and yet just enjoyed MoH. As for MP MoH has some good strong points but Halo 4 just has more variety and polish. The guns also feel and play a lot better with hit boxes being tighter. I also thought that BF3 and MoH had the best sounding guns in gaming until I played Halo 4. They put a lot of effort into those guns and damn do they sound good being on par with BF3 and MoH.

Overall while MoH was a good game I enjoyed, Halo 4 just has a much higher level of polish and a story with characters you can get invested in.

Well you are right.. I mean MOH Warfighter was not a bad game.. yeah, I would give halo a point over MOH due to the things you mentioned. They had a more polished game, no bugs, visually it's arguable whether it was nicer or not because MOH game did look stunning with rain and so many other environments that looked beautiful thanks to Frostbite 2. AI on Halo 4 is definitely better but I'm talking about the game itself and nothing really original about it. It was a Halo just like any other Halo.. I would even venture to say that I loved ODST and Halo Reach much more than I did this one. They actually had emotional stories that were absent really from this game.

You can't tell me that it didn't get a bit boring for you doing switches over and over again? I'm saying, it's just either very unrealistic that Halo 4 gets such high marks or it was plain BS that MOH got such low reviews. That's all.

If anything, which is a positive thing, 323 Industries proved that they can actually make a game on a level of Bungie. So I'm guessing the next one will be much better. They played this one way too safe. It definitely didn't make it as exciting for me as other Halo games.

Thanks for ruining the my endgame :(

What was ruined for you? I didn't say anything about the storyline nor did I reveal any details that would ruin it for you. Don't be so melodramatic.

[Draken]

What was ruined for you? I didn't say anything about the storyline nor did I reveal any details that would ruin it for you. Don't be so melodramatic.

But but but but but :cry:

[Boz]

7\10... Wow... I would hate to see what that guy thinks is a better FPS....

Better story, original gameplay mechanic with variety in missions. I finished every single Halo so far and this is the weakest one when it comes to overall gameplay and story. For example they really didn't have a diversity in enemies too. The toughest enemies in the game were the ones from before, the hunters and the encounter with them was very rare.

Where are the big boss battles, the truly original massive enemies to truly get the stakes up. Even the ending itself was deflating and I finished this game on Legendary solo.

Not saying Bulletstorm or similar shooters were amazing but they had these moments that you remember with huge boss fights. I have maybe 2 moments that stuck with me from Halo 4.

This game is NOT 9/10 or 9.5/10. We can argue whether it's 7/10 or 8/10 but it certainly is overhyped in praises.

[spudtrooper]

Major Nelson just posted a link that Halo4 grossed 220 million on launch weekend. holy crap!

[Emn1ty]

Better story, original gameplay mechanic with variety in missions. I finished every single Halo so far and this is the weakest one when it comes to overall gameplay and story. For example they really didn't have a diversity in enemies too. The toughest enemies in the game were the ones from before, the hunters and the encounter with them was very rare.

Where are the big boss battles, the truly original massive enemies to truly get the stakes up. Even the ending itself was deflating and I finished this game on Legendary solo.

Not saying Bulletstorm or similar shooters were amazing but they had these moments that you remember with huge boss fights. I have maybe 2 moments that stuck with me from Halo 4.

This game is NOT 9/10 or 9.5/10. We can argue whether it's 7/10 or 8/10 but it certainly is overhyped in praises.

Big boss battles are not the only things that can engage you in a game. I'm probably the best example of a Halo fan who is at complete odds with the lore and gameplay changes since Reach. That doesn't change the fact that, from what people are saying and what I've played, the game is very good. It may not really be Halo, but it is still a good game.

[Boz]

Big boss battles are not the only things that can engage you in a game. I'm probably the best example of a Halo fan who is at complete odds with the lore and gameplay changes since Reach. That doesn't change the fact that, from what people are saying and what I've played, the game is very good. It may not really be Halo, but it is still a good game.

First of all.. big boss battles, epic moments in a AAA game actually make the experience more memorable. Halo 4 had none really. The game as a game is NOT very good. It's ok at best.

I know people are drooling over it, saying how it looks awesome visually and so on but the game itself is extremely boring. It's the same mechanic over and over and over again. You fight the same enemies over and over again and the story is pretty stupid to be honest.

Is this a story of Master Chief falling in love with Cortana the AI and then crying when she "dies" in the end? I mean seriously? Who wrote this story, a 12 year old?

A polished game with solid AI does not automatically equal a great game.

I mean anyone who finished the campaign if you just remember the story, the emotional moments and overall experience previous Halo games gave us is by far above this one. First of all we had a different gameplay mechanic. We didn't do the same things through the campaign. You had different tasks, different things going on in the game and it wasn't keep flipping the switches mechanic.

I don't know, I am not going to argue here, but people are very easily hyped up. This game is at best (generous) 8/10 and that would purely based on polish of the game and AI. It's not even that great visually. Much better than previous Halos but compared to many other Xbox 360 with stunning graphics this one is nothing special. Compared to Frostbite 2 or Crysis engine this game is subpar.

[spacer]

Well, I was greeted with an unexpected chunk of hours to myself after I got home tonight. (hurray for the girlfriend working late) So, I ended up finishing the campaign. Overall I think it was great. The voice acting was top notch all the way through, which really made it a joy to experience. Usually poor voice acting is the first thing to ruin it for me, but this game did not disappoint in that regard. And the motion capture on the faces was really something. Definitely the best I've seen yet in a videogame. The lore was a little convoluted though. For instance, I didn't really understand

why the composer disintegrated the humans on the space station, when earlier they said the composer was used by Didact to turn humans in prometheans. I'm not really sure about the connection there. But the Chief/Cortana dialog to the end was a great way to bring their friendship full circle.

I'm not sure how Boz could think this is the "worst" Halo game in the series. It is easily better than the others, with Reach being the only other one with comparable story telling. As others have said, just because it doesn't have huge set piece battles against giant monsters doesn't mean the game is a failure. In fact, games that have nothing BUT set pieces are often lame. (see the most recent MoH) Honestly, reading his remarks sounds like he went into the game expecting an oscar quality plot and game mechanics that would redefine the genre...which is a feat no game will every fill. 343 did go the safe route and bring Halo back to the classic gameplay, but that is in no way a bad thing. Especially when they executed it so perfectly.

Despite not being revolutionary, it was still a great game and a lot of fun to play. If you're so jaded that you couldn't enjoy any of it, maybe it's time to say goodbye to the pastime as a whole.

[Boz]

I'm not sure how Boz could think this is the "worst" Halo game in the series. It is easily better than the others, with Reach being the only other one with comparable story telling.

What is it that stood out to you in this story? There are holes in it as you have already raised.. which I agree with you.

Second, Halo 3 and halo:ODST and Halo Reach all had much better story and were far more emotional. The only Halo that had a worse story than Halo 4 was Halo 2.

Who cares about Chief's "relationship" with Cortana. I mean the whole thing is pretty stupid to be honest.

Tell me, the whole mechanic of go flip that switch, rinse and repeat didn't bore you? The ending itself is the culmination of this switch flipping stupid thing and then it's over.

I may be overly critical but I certainly don't find this Halo to be great in anything. Visuals are much better than any other Halo game but meh by other standards. Weapons felt the same. Visually they were different but Promethean and Covenant weapons are identical with just different visual. Shotgun, Rifle, Burst fire gun.. same as Carbine, that other Covenant gun and so on. Basically a visual spin on the same guns.

One thing, as I mentioned, that is positive is that 323 Industries does have what it takes to make a great game. They've proven their skill with this one. The Halo feeling was still there. I'm sure the next one will be the REAL good Halo game. When they realize how repetitive this one was, when they evolve the story and make more immersive Halo game.

The point is.. I wanted new stuff in a Halo game. Not same old but with a slightly different twist, and basically shooting gallery with switches. Maybe I expected way too much, but then again let's not pretend it's the most amazing Halo game because it's not.

This is the order of Halo games I liked

1. Halo 1 - Absolute champion. Story telling, the suspense, the action, the twist

2. Halo Reach - emotional and full action packed (moments like the freeway and the overall destruction of the planet really portrayed the size of this game). The ending was amazing.

3. Halo 3 - The whole campaign felt like Chief being the bad ass and last hope. He came back to Earth to save it and it's culmination of the whole series. The ending was amazing as well.

4. Halo - ODST - Emotional in it's own because it was following regular soldiers and you really felt you were not as powerful as Chief and it was a struggle for survival which carried the emotions and feeling of dread. The environments were great.

5. Halo 4

6. Halo 2

[George P Global Moderator]

Well, I was greeted with an unexpected chunk of hours to myself after I got home tonight. (hurray for the girlfriend working late) So, I ended up finishing the campaign. Overall I think it was great. The voice acting was top notch all the way through, which really made it a joy to experience. Usually poor voice acting is the first thing to ruin it for me, but this game did not disappoint in that regard. And the motion capture on the faces was really something. Definitely the best I've seen yet in a videogame. The lore was a little convoluted though. For instance, I didn't really understand

why the composer disintegrated the humans on the space station, when earlier they said the composer was used by Didact to turn humans in prometheans. I'm not really sure about the connection there. But the Chief/Cortana dialog to the end was a great way to bring their friendship full circle.

I'm not sure how Boz could think this is the "worst" Halo game in the series. It is easily better than the others, with Reach being the only other one with comparable story telling. As others have said, just because it doesn't have huge set piece battles against giant monsters doesn't mean the game is a failure. In fact, games that have nothing BUT set pieces are often lame. (see the most recent MoH) Honestly, reading his remarks sounds like he went into the game expecting an oscar quality plot and game mechanics that would redefine the genre...which is a feat no game will every fill. 343 did go the safe route and bring Halo back to the classic gameplay, but that is in no way a bad thing. Especially when they executed it so perfectly.

Despite not being revolutionary, it was still a great game and a lot of fun to play. If you're so jaded that you couldn't enjoy any of it, maybe it's time to say goodbye to the pastime as a whole.

Well, the composer doing what it does it can be altered to do harm instead. Wasn't this whole thing about the Didact wanting to undo/get rid of the humans who he saw as a threat to the universe? Using a device that messes with your genes can either make you stronger as in the case of master chief or it can turn around a kill you like the others on the space station. MC made it through because he was already changed prior.

[Matthew S.]

Actually the composer is used to digitize the human.

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

I actually just dropped my copy of Halo 4 into a UPS drop box. Amazon was offering $32 trade in credit, and I wanted to get what I could before that number got even lower.

I tried to like the Campaign, put about 3 or so hours into it, but I just found it incredibly boring and repititve. Maybe it eventually gets better, but I will not know, as I am on to playing Black Ops II, which I already find to be much more entertaining than Halo 4 overall.

The way I see it, the FPS genre on a whole is a pretty dumb genre with no real progression in it for years now. it really is just glorified shooting galleries at the end of the day. So it might as well be over the top of fun, and Halo 4 possessed neither characteristic in my opinion.

Keep in mind I am not one to even care about the story in First Person Shooters, they are all equally bad IMO, so I never really cared about Master Chief, or what his whole plight is. Again, I am just looking for mindless entertainment as an FPS that provides otherwise is truly rare, I only believe Half Life 2 and the original Bioshock actually also had good plots, so yeah, take that for what it is. I just do not need any real type of story in an FPS to enjoy it. So with that said, I prefer to have fun and variety.

Oh well, I tried to like it. Just not my cup of tea.

[Gaffney]

I actually just dropped my copy of Halo 4 into a UPS drop box. Amazon was offering $32 trade in credit, and I wanted to get what I could before that number got even lower.

I tried to like the Campaign, put about 3 or so hours into it, but I just found it incredibly boring and repititve. Maybe it eventually gets better, but I will not know, as I am on to playing Black Ops II, which I already find to be much more entertaining than Halo 4 overall.

The way I see it, the FPS genre on a whole is a pretty dumb genre with no real progression in it for years now. it really is just glorified shooting galleries at the end of the day. So it might as well be over the top of fun, and Halo 4 possessed neither characteristic in my opinion.

Keep in mind I am not one to even care about the story in First Person Shooters, they are all equally bad IMO, so I never really cared about Master Chief, or what his whole plight is. Again, I am just looking for mindless entertainment as an FPS that provides otherwise is truly rare, I only believe Half Life 2 and the original Bioshock actually also had good plots, so yeah, take that for what it is. I just do not need any real type of story in an FPS to enjoy it. So with that said, I prefer to have fun and variety.

Oh well, I tried to like it. Just not my cup of tea.

And you do a podcast on gaming?

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

And you do a podcast on gaming?

Ummm yeah, what is your point? Do you say that because I said I think First Person Shooters is a dying genre? If so, I have been playing them since their existence, and I have stated on this website, and on the podcast actually, that forever they were my favorite genre of video games to play, but I just feel there has been no real progression in years in the First Person Shooter genre. Besides better graphics and the occasional very cool weapon, what has really changed in them over the past 5 or so years? not much, so yeah, just finding them to be super boring overall these days, and I never thought thought would be the case. Can I not say that a genre of video games seems to have no real progression it it?

Or was it the fact that I said I think stories are dumb in games? For that, I would say I have been gaming since way before games even had a story beyond one sentence... Man in jungle on an adventure... Princess needs Rescuing... Universe Needs Saving... Gorilla hates barrels and Italians... I do not need a story to enjoy video games, and yes, no doubt in fact I do believe that video game stories are usually pretty damn awful. So again, what is your point, because I do not like the stories in games, I cannot talk about how enjoyable it was to PLAY said game? Really?

Or was it simply because I said I think Halo 4 is boring?

[Emn1ty]

Ummm yeah, what is your point? Do you say that because I said I think First Person Shooters is a dying genre? If so, I have been playing them since their existence, and I have stated on this website, and on the podcast actually, that forever they were my favorite genre of video games to play, but I just feel there has been no real progression in years in the First Person Shooter genre. Besides better graphics and the occasional very cool weapon, what has really changed in them over the past 5 or so years? not much, so yeah, just finding them to be super boring overall these days, and I never thought thought would be the case. Can I not say that a genre of video games seems to have no real progression it it?

Or was it the fact that I said I think stories are dumb in games? For that, I would say I have been gaming since way before games even had a story beyond one sentence... Man in jungle on an adventure... Princess needs Rescuing... Universe Needs Saving... Gorilla hates barrels and Italians... I do not need a story to enjoy video games, and yes, no doubt in fact I do believe that video game stories are usually pretty damn awful. So again, what is your point, because I do not like the stories in games, I cannot talk about how enjoyable it was to PLAY said game? Really?

Or was it simply because I said I think Halo 4 is boring?

I sort of agree, but this is true across many genres. While there is for more complexity to RPG's, and even Fighters, etc. the games have fallen into position where they don't really innovate. Even Skyrim is just an upgrade from Oblivion (albeit a great game). There hasn't been a drastic change to gaming in the last few years outside of motion controls and online/social gaming.

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

I sort of agree, but this is true across many genres. While there is for more complexity to RPG's, and even Fighters, etc. the games have fallen into position where they don't really innovate. Even Skyrim is just an upgrade from Oblivion (albeit a great game). There hasn't been a drastic change to gaming in the last few years outside of motion controls and online/social gaming.

Yeah actually after I posted my little rant, I thought the same thing to myself. That the same can really be said for a whole lot of genres. I think it is just more noticeable in FPS's since the overall mechanics have been the same for a very long time now. Also because it was no doubt my favorite genre for a very long time, I also played FPS's more than anything else, especially at one point in time. It is almost all I played. So I am definitely personally more burnt out on them than anything else.

But I digress, and did not mean to hijack the thread. I just thought for as well put together as Halo 4 is, and there is no doubt it has incredibly high production values, that it seemed very lackluster at the end of the day. Not much variety, and the variety that is there, well, I have driven vehicles in Halo since the beginning. So it really did not excite me all that much.

[George P Global Moderator]

Actually the composer is used to digitize the human.

I think it's a bit more than just that,

it's suppose to take organic and digital and bring them together, then you get things like the promethean knights that you've been fighting off etc. The problem is that the process screws up peoples minds. In the end it can be used as a weapon since in the end the didact would basically be taking humans and making them into slaved promethean knights etc.

Anyways, with the campaign done I jumped into some MP, I love the idea behind Spartan Ops and how it extends the story, probably a good way to lead into Halo 5. First two episodes done but I'll be gone for a month so I'll miss the next ones. After that I've been doing some team slayer to pass the time.

[Xerax]

SpartanOps is a copy of SpecOps from Call of Duty

Sorry, this just made your entire post un-reliable.

[Matthew S.]

I think it's a bit more than just that,

it's suppose to take organic and digital and bring them together, then you get things like the promethean knights that you've been fighting off etc. The problem is that the process screws up peoples minds. In the end it can be used as a weapon since in the end the didact would basically be taking humans and making them into slaved promethean knights etc.

Anyways, with the campaign done I jumped into some MP, I love the idea behind Spartan Ops and how it extends the story, probably a good way to lead into Halo 5. First two episodes done but I'll be gone for a month so I'll miss the next ones. After that I've been doing some team slayer to pass the time.

The composer was used to make 343 guilty spark...

[George P Global Moderator]

The composer was used to make 343 guilty spark...

Yeah, I'm aware. Just saying that if all you do is "digitize" the organic but leave out the 2nd part of the process then they're more or less dead you could say. So the people hit by it are stuck in digital limbo inside or were going to be made into promethean knights and so on.