Product Features

Genre: Action and Shooter
Publisher: Microsoft
Release Date: November 06, 2012
Available Platforms: XBox 360

Halo 4

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In Halo 4 Xbox 360 legendary Spartan hero Master Chief returns in one of 2012&39;s most hotly anticipated releases developed exclusively for the Xbox 360 by 343 Industries The latest instalment in the definitive Xbox sci-fi saga Halo 4 takes place almost 5 years after the events of Halo 3 following Master Chief and his trusty AI companion Cortana as they boldly venture into a mysterious new world and discover an overpowering ancient evil that threatens to destroy humanity With the fate of the entire universe hanging by a thread Master Chief must confront his destiny as mankind&39;s greatest hero by embarking on his most epic adventure yet Taking the reins from franchise forebears Bungie 343 Industries will expand upon the success they found with Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary to bring their...

Az Islam February 22, 2013 360

****

Pardon the Bungie-based puns. It's a habit.

There's a lot of things that Halo 4 doesn't do, let me make that clear. And it doesn't have to. It doesn't need to revolutionise console shooters like its foremost forebear and nor does it have to reinvigorate the sagging weight of the multiplayer first-person shooter arena, with gamers besotted by the incessant stream of ever meaningless numbers, all appended with a smug '+'-sign.

That doesn't mean that 343 have rested on their laurels, which they could have done so easily.

Entering the fray at a time when console shooters find themselves uncomfortably nestled between a joke and a blasé timepass, some weighty, old-school gaming goes a long way. And this is what Halo 4 brings to the fold.

Bungie's substantial heft is immediately obvious the second you start to move the Chief, fingers working their way into the little quirks and timings of old. Firefights are at once utterly frantic and calmly measured affairs, fraught with peril; the fear of losing ground clashes gloriously with the desire to push further. That tantalising glimpse of something potentially magical you saw through that gap in the trees beckons, almost maddeningly.

Why does this desire to explore what is ostensibly a rather linear, single-minded game burn so brightly?

This is the art of Halo. Where the story falters (and it does falter at parts), the desire to explore a new world, witness new places, emerges ravenously. With a new hostile race introduced alongside the comfortably familiar Covenant, you'll want to explore and see what the world says about these antagonists. Instead of dry dialogue, impossibly tall buidings bookmark portions of a plot unspoken. This is the thrill of Skyrim, of Azeroth, of Dunwall City but refined, distilled as a labour of love.

And speaking of love, the relationship between a rather buxom Cortana and stoic Chief is further kindled, adding a few needed dimensions to our heroes. It can be a little silly, a little awkward, but there's something heartfelt and genuine that carries the story over some glaring plotholes.

The only misstep, in my honest opinion, is the epic, sweeping soul that rose to a crescendo with Halo 3 is largely absent. But not necessarily missed. In its placed you have a far more anecdotal, personal adventure. Each skirmish marked by your personal fighting stratagems, against a wily foe. And each time, each player will stop to admire a different part of the scenery.

This isn't Combat Evolved, but Halo 4 has evolved from its legacy into something with its own identity. And I don't think you could've asked for more.
Dan Grainger November 23, 2012 360

****

For the very first time since the end of Halo 3 in 2007, the franchise's iconic hero Master Chief returns to Xbox 360 with this direct sequel to that now-five-year old game. It's no exaggeration to say that Halo geeks have been eagerly waiting for this moment ever since the cliffhanger ending at the end of Halo 3 that left Master Chief's fate hanging in the balance.

In the meantime, we've some spin-offs and a prequel game (Halo: Reach) that were fun enough, but didn't quite deliver enough in the way of continuing the story of the Halo saga. So now that we've finally got a proper sequel that once again puts the character of Master Chief front and centre in a Halo game, the franchise has a lot to live up to. And as you might guess from my four-star rating, it pretty much manages it!

After you've got over the thrill of seeing Master Chief and his AI companion Cortana again, the first thing that hits you is that it's apparent that the franchise has undergone a bit of a visual overhaul since the last game. It looks great, with a slightly different feel to some of the older Halo games (is it me, or is everything a bit darker and moodier now?) but with visuals that are still in keeping with the rest of the Halo universe that we've seen so far.

The cutscenes look particularly good, with graphics that you almost wouldn't think the Xbox 360 could handle. In fact, it's almost like you're watching real actors in a movie, with facial acting that's even better than anything in any of the previous Halo games (or any other current games that I can think of, for that matter). And there are some cool designs for new characters the Prometheans and a scary, spooky look for the Didact (a major villain), as well as the return of the familiar Covenant baddies from the previous games.

As for the game itself, it's a great continuation of the Halo saga. I knew beforehand that Halo 4 wasn't being developed by Bungie (who developed the original Halo games), so I was a bit worried that it wouldn't feel the same. But it all feels very much in keeping with the style of the early games, maintaining the same cool anonymity for Master Chief and developing his relationship with Cortana really well (in fact, it really felt like the whole game revolves around that relationship, for me). All of the combat works really well and feels really smooth, there's a nice mix of shooting bits and vehicle sections, and even some of the new additions to the game (like Quick-time-events, or QTEs) are integrated smoothly enough that they don't feel too out of place.

And given that Halo 4 is meant to be the first in a new trilogy of three Halo games, I was surprised by how self-contained this game's story felt. Whilst there's definitely room for the story to continue, it doesn't feel like it just stops at an arbitrary and unsatisfying point (as with some other games that know there are going to be sequels).

As you can probably work out from my comments, I've already finished Halo 4, even though it only came out a couple of weeks ago. And that points to one of my only real problems with the game: it's just too short. There aren't a huge amount of missions here, and none of them are really long or involved, which means that anyone with a bit of gaming experience will probably get through it quite quickly. But given that a big part of the franchise's appeal is the online multiplayer aspect, that doesn't mean that the game is poor value for money, as you'll probably have months of enjoyment of multiplayer deathmatches to get through, long after you've completed the single-player campaign.

So to sum it up, Halo 4 is pretty much exactly what Halo fans have been waiting for, and I would have given it a full five-star review if the main game had only been a bit longer. But I guess that means it's left me wanting more, which can't be a bad thing. Roll on Halo 5!