Halo 4
Producer: Microsoft Studios
Release Date: November 6, 2012
Platform: Xbox 360
Rating: Mature
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Reclaimer Redeemed
Written by Jesse Seilhan
Halo is a flagship Xbox property and helped build a foundation that has allowed Microsoft to become dominant in the home console market. The first game is considered by most, including myself, to be a pinnacle of gaming and with Halo 4, we have potentially the last entry of this generation being made by a new studio, 343 Industries. They understood the pressure and created not only an excellent Halo game, but one of the best games on the system yet. The graphics are stunning, the soundtrack is mesmerizing, and the story reaches new heights. For those obsessed with online killing sprees, the revamped multiplayer is back and potentially their best yet. With a dozen game modes and the ability to create custom games, one should never get tired of all that Halo 4 has to offer.
The multiplayer is addicting as ever, although the coat of Call of Duty-esque XP system is stale. You might end up fighting someone that has unlocked a whole host of weaponry that makes your puny pistol seem insignificant. The daily and weekly challenges from Halo: Reach are back, as is the world-building Forge mode, but gone is the wave-based Firefight mode. In its place is a series of challenges that you and three others can engage in known as Spartan Ops. These missions are broken down into five smaller chunks and have a consistent storyline that 343 will be updating for the next three months. Most focus on the new race of enemies, known as the Prometheans, who offer a new level of strategy with their flying robotic helpers and ability to walk along walls and ceilings. These new enemies introduce a new host of weapons, which feel right at home with their excellent sound effects and stopping power.
The story is the franchise’s most ambitious to date, introducing a true antagonist for the first time. Master Chief is awoken from a deep sleep in space to stop the world from ending. I know that doesn’t sound like too much of a stretch, but the stakes are extremely high as your A.I. buddy Cortana is losing her mind and a new breed of enemies present themselves to be much more dangerous than the imbecilic Covenant. Over the course of the six-eight hours it will take to complete the main campaign, you will pilot or drive half a dozen vehicles and slaughter thousands, all while looking at one of the most gorgeous console games I’ve ever seen. The missions are what Halo has dished out before – scaling alien architecture while Cortana turns stuff on or off, depending on the mission. Between objectives is the real treasure, where the combat has been refined to the perfect level, unseen since the first foray in this series. Halo 4 succeeds in telling an epic space opera where others, including two thirds of Bungie’s original trilogy, have failed so consistently. This is a must-have for all fans of the genre, any Xbox 360 owner, and anyone that doubts the staying power of this franchise.