The Halo series is a lot things to a lot people. For me, Halo is just that bland, washed out Xbox series that all the mindless gamers play because they don't know what a game should really look like. They have never endured the tortures of Heavy Rain, never wept out loud at the loss of the most innocent person alive in Final Fantasy 7, never saved the world once again by the skin of their teeth in Metal Gear Solid 4, never truly experienced what gaming is all about. Well, I am here to tell you that Halo 4 is not for the mindless gamers. Halo 4 has a compelling, well written story that drives you all the way through this epic narrative with enthusiasm and vigor. I have to say that the folks at 343 Industries have more than proven their competence for taking on the famed Halo series.
Let's talk graphics for a moment. Halo 4 has some of the best graphics I've played in my entire life. Of course, I'm not counting games that have yet to be released, but these are some seriously well made graphics. You would think that a man wearing head-to-toe body armor could only look so good, but 343 made Master Chief look even better than you could ever imagine. And if they can make an armor clad behemoth look amazing, just image what they can do with actual humans. Every character you see on screen looks phenomenal, even the ones you only see for 10 seconds are breathe taking. 343 really didn't have to go to such great lengths to make the game look so good, but they did and it is greatly appreciated. But the humans aren't the only thing that looks great, the environments and enemies are masterfully constructed. Even the new species, the Prometheans, look great with their ethereal glow. You will find yourself in many gloriously rendered environments in Halo 4. One moment you will be fighting in a generic space ship, the next a luscious jungle, then a desert waste land, then an ancient alien ruin. The surprises never stop.
The story follows Master Chief and Cortana (Chief's AI partner) as they find themselves stranded on an uncharted planet trying to make their way back to civilization. Cortana is an AI that plugs directly into Master Chief's helmet and has been with him since Halo 1. From time to time Chief will plug Cortana into a terminal for her to hack and she will be represented in 3D for viewing and conversing. Their relationship takes center stage in Halo 4 as Cortana is now 8 years old and has begun to slip into Rampancy (an affliction where an AI that is 7 years or older has accumulated too much knowledge and has begun to think itself to death) and Master Chief will stop at nothing to get his best friend back to Earth for repair. What I found most interesting about this dynamic was the fact that Cortana has more humanity than Master Chief, they create a stark contrast when you think about it. Master Chief is always so cold and calculating, and Cortana is filled with emotions and even fears for her life. Not to mention how great it is for narrative to have your main companion literally plugged into your helmet, ready for conversation at a moments notice. I was also surprised to find out that Master Chief is a much more complicated character than most would expect from a faceless soldier of fortune.
There is plenty to do and keep you interested during the campaign as well. You will spend much time on foot, exploring the many different gun options you have and finding your personal favorites (I preferred human and Promethean weaponry) for slaughtering certain enemies. Just when you begin getting bored being on foot, the battlefield opens up and you have an opportunity to take control of a vehicle and take the large numbers of enemies on with brute force. The range of vehicles to use is very surprising as well. They range from personal vehicles to giant tanks to bi-pedal robots to enormous star-ships. There is always a new vehicle to steal from your enemies and use against them for your own nefarious purposes.
Halo 4 delivers many edge of your seat moments as you fight to survive and save humanity. Towards the end of the campaign, I found myself sitting so close to the TV that I couldn't even see everything that was going on without turning my head. And the ending delivered such a crushing blow to my emotions, I simply could not believe that 343 had gotten me to empathize with Master Chief and Cortana after I had spent so much time hating Halo on principle. However, the game did suffer from several moments that required you to play in a very particular way in order to progress, but these moments weren't enough to totally take me out of the experience even though I had to play through some sequences 5-7 times before figuring out what exactly I needed to do in order to advance. But Halo 4 isn't all about the fabulous single player.
It's impossible to talk about Halo 4 without talking about it's immersive Multiplayer mode. Halo 4 has a great selection of both large and small maps to choose from, and they are well balanced and a blast to play on. I enjoyed having the vehicular combat, however, after playing Battlefield 3 online, watching these vehicle fights play out seems almost childish compared to the hyper realistic Battlefield fights. That's not to say the Multiplayer isn't fun, because it is. They even included a reason for the blood baths in the storyline much like what Ubisoft did with Assassin's Creed. The whole reason for your rampages is you are training aboard the UNSC Infinity ship, and as you train, you rank, and as you rank, you gain perks. It's all very exciting and addicting.
With a killer single player campaign that tugs at your heart strings and a robust Multiplayer mode, I can very confidently declare that Halo 4 gets a solid $50/$60. You will be playing Halo 4 long after you have beaten it, and that ultimately gives it the most value. So what are you waiting for? Buy yourself a copy, dust off your Xbox 360, and yell at the top of your lungs, "I'm Playin' Halo!" It's quite invigorating.
Written by Dexter Jaekel
Editor-in-Chief of TechFixation
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