Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Mixed reactions"

Before I dive into reviewing the game I need to first give some background information on myself. First, I have been a longtime fan of the Halo franchise since the first game was released in 2001. At that time I was 14 years old and only a freshman in high school. Fast forward to 2012 where I am now 25 years old and graduated college a couple of years ago. I still remember playing Halo at LAN parties before the days of Xbox live, and then moving onto Halo 2 for the fantastic multiplayer. I also played and enjoyed Halo 3, ODST, and Reach. Simply put, Halo has been a part of my life.

It has been a long time since I last reviewed a game on GameSpot, but after what I have experienced with Halo 4 I feel as if my voice must be heard. The game has been out for two months now, and I've done more than soak my feet into the game.

I have nothing but praise for the campaign in Halo 4. The story telling is some of the best I have seen in a long time. The cut scenes really captivated me to the point where it felt like I was watching a brilliantly-made science fiction film. The story in Halo 4 has been probably my favorite to experience since the first game. The story is a darker and more personal tone than in previous games. There is a lot more focus on the relationship between Master Chief and Cortana while trying to survive battle after battle. Halo 4 introduces a new villain to the human race, and with that comes new weapons and enemies to combat in the campaign: the Prometheans. Promethean crawlers, watchers, and knights all pose their unique challenges which require the player to think tactically when facing them. The only minor downside to them is that I wish that there were a few more classes to face in the game. Hopefully, more will be added in future games. The promethean weapons are also a great addition to the game. They are pretty well balanced and have human or covenant counterparts. The promethean enemies and weapons are great additions to the franchise and I am excited to see what lies in the future for them. The campaign makes the game a worthy sequel to the series.

Forge mode returns with Halo 4, and once again some adjustments have been made to it. The changes are for the better as they allow maps to be built quicker and more efficiently. Opposed to Halo Reach, which had one large environment dedicated to forge mode, Halo 4 comes with three separate maps dedicated to forge mode. While each map may be smaller in size, they allow for a more colorful arrangement of objects to be placed. This allows maps to not be stuck with gray scale walls and floors that plagued the forge world of Halo Reach.

Theater mode also returns with Halo 4 and has no significant changes to it. Having no changes is not a bad thing because there is no sense in trying to fix something that isn't broken. Theater mode has the same functions as always: players can view games that they played and are able to take screenshots or videos to upload onto their file share.

Halo 4 introduces players to Spartan Ops which has been satisfactory to me. Spartan Ops is a co-operative campaign with its unique story that is released in episodic content. The episodes are released weekly; at this point 5 episodes have been released. Each episode contains 5 chapters that the player(s) must play through, and each chapter is a single mission played on a single map. Spartan Ops can be played both alone or co-operatively, but it is preferred to be played co-operatively. That is because the player(s) will face large groups of enemies time and time again. Taking them down alone can be quite difficult, especially if played on heroic difficulty or higher. A Spartan Ops mission it feels like a quasi-firefight mission. On a single map there are many waves of enemies, weapon crates are available, and players can respawn after death. Each map does have a basic objective, such as "eliminate the targets," or "activate a button," or "defend this area." They feel really derivative, and after only 5 episodes (25 missions) they also feel repetitive. Spartan Ops is still in its infancy, so there is room to grow. However, it has been a less rewarding experience for me and it makes me wish Firefight came with Halo 4 instead.

Halo 4's competitive multiplayer is called War Games, and has been disappointing. Many of the game modes return in Halo 4. Such as Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, Grifball, and Flood. Some of the game modes have some adjustments made to them, and are given a new name to distinguish them from other game types. For example, Regicide is a new playlist that replaces free-for-all slayer. What makes War Games disappointing to me is that a lot of elements from different first person shooters are barrowed and placed into the game: ordinance drops, loadouts, various armor enhancements, and increased gameplay pacing. By steering away from the traditional Halo formula for multiplayer gameplay that I have grown to love, I instead feel alienated by Halo 4's multiplayer. What I enjoyed most about the multiplayer in the Halo series is the level playing field that it offered to players. It put the skill into the players' hands and they had to think tactically, and gain plenty of practice, in order to win. Halo 4 follows the formula of "what weapon and armor ability combination can produce the best results" that has become very familiar (and overused) in rival first person shooters. Players must choose between loadouts which include a combination of primary weapon, secondary weapon, grenade, armor ability, tactical package, and support upgrade. There are preset loadouts and loadouts that are customizable, however weapons and other upgrades have to first be unlocked by leveling up. Ordinances can be earned during a match, and they lead to either a weapon drop or power upgrade. This combination of gameplay features makes me feel like I am not playing Halo, instead it makes me feel like I am playing "Call of Halo." Not every game type has these features, but the majority of them do. Also, earning experience is too easy and Halo 4 went overkill with gameplay medals. In previous games gameplay medals were awarded for cool moments while playing multiplayer, such as "multikill," "splatter," or "killing spree." Having only a few kinds of medals made them feel really distinctive and fun to earn. Halo 4 introduces medals like "comeback kill", "distraction", or "generic kill." These medals fall in the category of "Award for Participation" and they don't mean a darn thing. When I am able to easily earn 20 or 30 medals every single game they become meaningless and lose their value, and in the end they don't feel as rewarding to earn as they did in the past. War Games makes the game not be a worthy sequel to the series.

The graphics, sound, and music are all fantastic and I have nothing but praise for them. The graphic design is beautiful to look at and it is easy to find yourself to be drawn to the game's architecture instead of fighting enemies. The sound design for just about every single gun, vehicle, explosion, etc. has been redone and they sound fantastic. Except for the Warthog, that thing now sounds like a Prius on the battlefield and it needs to be given its deep, loud roar that it deserves. The music is probably the best new change for the series. Given the fact that Halo 4 is the start of a new trilogy with its own story, having a brand new score to go with it makes a lot of sense, and it also sounds great. After I completed the campaign the first time I quickly bought a copy of the official soundtrack to the game. I really enjoy listening to it and have already made one song my new ringtone. These features make the game a worthy sequel to the series.

Halo 4 is definitely a great game, but is it a worthy sequel to the series? That is a question I still have a hard time answering. I loved the campaign, and giving the series a fresh start with a new direction to go was probably the best thing that could have happened to it. I will give Spartan Ops the benefit of the doubt in the fact that it is still in its infancy, and it still has room to grow. However, War Games was just disappointing to me as it contained a lot of features borrowed from other first person shooters. It lost its identity and with that playing the multiplayer is not as enjoyable to me as past games were. I will continue to play Halo 4, but probably not for the same reasons why I played the previous games.