Halo 4 Xbox 360
User Score
6.9 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 2261 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,545 out of 2261
  2. Mixed: 145 out of 2261
  3. Negative: 571 out of 2261

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  1. wesker2012
    Nov 9, 2012
    6
    I was hoping this halo would get me back into the franchise, but its just more of the same. So if you are a halo fan you'll love it. But if your not, this probably won't change your mind. Still a solid game though.
  2. sinadoom
    Feb 24, 2013
    8
    Generally a solid game. It's what you would expect from Halo; high quality, good variety, well-balanced, insanely accurate hit detection in multiplayer and game modes to suit everyone. There are some new weapons to play with, and the cutscnes display the best facial detail imaginable in a video game. From a multiplayer point of view, it's become more like Call of Duty. You have custom classes with perks and guns (so not over-complicated) and ordnance (basically an instant care package for getting points without dying). There is also a sprint function at all times. From a controls point of view, it's fantastic. The game runs very smooth and looks polished (even though actual gameplay graphics quality aren't far different from Reach). Another CoDifying feature is the pacing. No longer does it take a clip to kill someone; you can move fast, shoot fast and kill fast. This makes the game feel more satisfying and intense; something missing from Halo 3. While the 'CoDification' isn't a bad thing, it does mean that it's not as unique as Reach. It doesn't make many major advancements in general mechanics or graphics (I'm sorry but those textures are hardly top-notch). If you're looking for a solid shooter or a Halo game you can't go wrong. But if you're looking for innovation you'll be stretched to find it here. Highly recommend to Halo fans, but if you're after a shooter generally this should only be one of the games that makes it onto the shortlist of the many great FPS games on the market.… Expand
  3. drlowdon
    Mar 7, 2013
    8
    Following the highly publicised change of developer the gaming world was rightly curious as to how one of its biggest selling franchises would fare following the departure of its creators Bungie. Despite now being developed by 343 industries however this is still, for better or worse, the same Halo we've all seen before and those that criticise the series for not really evolving since its Xbox debut over a decade ago certainly make a fair point. As a result this fourth 'mainline' title is not really going to be of any interest to those that didn't like previous installments.

    Having said all that Halo 4 is still undeniably a great package and certainly offers better value for money than many modern video games. The main campaign itself will last most players somewhere around the 10 hour mark depending on the difficulty setting and their level of skill and can be played either solo or with up to three other players. As with every previous game it is at its best when offering open areas in which to fight the array of enemies and their vehicles and to this day there are few better experiences in the FPS genre than when Halo gets the balance just right. For me the game forces players to spend a little too long inside long thin corridors and smaller indoor areas as in these instances the freedom to tackle the battle the way you want to is removed and it simply is not as much fun to play, hopefully this is something that can be addressed in the inevitable sequels.

    On top of the campaign Halo 4 also provides a series of 'Spartan Op' missions. Each of these lasts between 15 and 30 minutes and can again be tackled either alone or in multi-player. The idea seems to have been taken from the special ops missions featured in the Call of Duty series and provide the player with various tasks such as clearing an area of enemies or destroying set objectives. Admittedly maps are reused throughout these ops but it is hard to complain when they can all be downloaded for free.

    The final part of this generous package is the competitive multi-player. All the usual modes, as well as a few surprises, are present and correct and the solid gunplay still translates well. Controversially Halo 4 has again taken a page out of the Call of Duty handbook with weapons and perks now being unlocked as the player levels up. I was never a huge fan of the online multi-player in the previous installments anyway but purists will understandable be disappointed and it is certainly a shame to see yet another game attempt to imitate Activisions all conquering behemoth.

    All in all then this is a safe but promising start for 343 industries and the wealth of options and modes will provide most with hour upon hour of gameplay.    … Expand
  4. watithink123
    Jan 19, 2013
    9
    I was hoping this would be my GOTY 2012 but just a few games were a little better. Okay this may not be the best Halo, but 343 you have didn't let this game crash and burn, you are pushing the series to the next generation of Halos. Campaigns really good but is not as gripping as other Halo campaigns and got a bit too serious on the story. But its their first Halo so they will learn like Bungie did. Multiplayer is a bit of a copy of CoD, but probally the biggest pushes to the multiplayer since Halo 2 and love custom loadouts idea. Spartan Ops is a great new feature and a nice change to firefight. Overall Campaign really good but 2 issus stop it from becoming like Halo campaign good. Multiplayer is amazing step to the multiplayer for a very exiting future for Halo. Spartan Ops is great change to Firefight. Halo may not be GOTY for me but its in my top 3 games this year. Halo 4 9.0/10… Expand
  5. potatoes351
    Nov 9, 2012
    10
    *Stands up and claps* As a fan of Halo from the very first game back in 2001 for the original Xbox the formula was becoming tired, the levels bland and the action becoming recycled. After Bungie leave the Halo franchise behind 343 Industries has picked up the IP and made a masterpiece.
    Set 4 years after the finale of Halo 3, Cortana wakes Chief after the Dawn is attacked by a Covenant fle    et for them then to crash land on a Forerunner planet named Requiem. After Chief accidentally awakens a Forerunner warrior, The Didact, it becomes a race against time to save Earth, get off Requiem and save the dying Cortana. A touching, well written and amazingly pieced together story with mind blowing graphical standard for a 7 year old console.
    The replacement of Firefight with Spartan Ops was a good swap with what will total to a free weekly download side campaign alongside the standard Multiplayer, Forge and Theatre makes Halo 4 a package well worth the pricetag with many months, maybe even years of re-playability in one £40 package.    … Expand
  6. dharma
    Nov 7, 2012
    8
    The critics seemed to fall head over heels over this game; the fact of the matter is that it is a GOOD game, but not a GREAT one. I feel that it is a 'safe' sequel, one that doesn't deviate from anybody's expectations. Here lies the problem, FPS has evolved exponentially in the last couple of years. Sure, HALO 4 has the best graphics since UNCHARTED 3, but heck, it's no different from COD with its scripted events, and fast paced gun play. If you want innovation, try DISHONORED instead. Still a good buy though; but don't expect anything more.… Expand
  7. gregthreet
    Jan 1, 2013
    8
    What do you expect from a Halo game? If you expect a rock solid Sci-fi shooter then your in for a treat. Halo 4 is one of the best shooters of the year, hands down. Overall, if you don't want a lengthy review, it excels in everything it does. Sound feels realistic and adds to the atmosphere. Guns sound like they should. Its something you don't expect, to be wowed by a games sound, but its something that really stands out and adds to the impact you feel when you fire a gun. Visually its stunning. The graphics are vibrant and often make you feel like you have to stop and appreciate the landscape in front of you. It especially shows when you look at the games guns. When you pick up the games guns they flick into life, bending and clicking into place on their own. Its amazing. The noise and style of these guns sends me back to my times playing Star Wars Battlefront, which certainly isn't a bad thing. The multiplayer is excellent. Matchs are perfectly paced due to the size of the maps and guns you possess. Much better than the unfair chaos of CoD. Co-op(i'll get to the story in a second) is so very, very fun. Plenty of laughs to be had here. But I had one problem with this though. We started from the beginning. Master chief is woken by Cortana. He gets out the cryo sleep and has a chat with her. "Jameson", as I was called, woke up just after chief and opens up his pod. WHO IS HE(/them if more than one)? They aren't ever talked to by chief or Cortana. I would have like it if 343 put the effort in to give this/these sidekicks a back story. I mean, in the cut-scenes where do they go? Is "Jameson" a forgotten hero? I remember you "Jameson". The story is a bit too much like Portal for my liking. Baring in mind that Portal is one of my favorite games. Cortana has over done her stay as a computer and is slowly turning crazy. Making things harder for you on your than they should be. But the story is still good, none the less. What you do in the story however occasionally lacks the innovation of the other Halo's held. It follows your generic FPS fashion in 2/3 of what you'll be doing. You know the drill? Walk down a corridor, in Halos case a very wide corridor, and shoot the baddies. But due to everything I previously said, it doesn't get as repetitive as I have previously seen. So overall is a consistent package which is definitely worth your buck.… Expand
  8. TheWalrus2000
    Mar 25, 2013
    9
    Halo 4 brings back the ultimate Halo game experience with awesomeness and intensity. Halo fans will be pleased.
  9. WhovianFantatic
    May 2, 2013
    9
    This is a fantastic story.. Co op is amazing and the game makes way more sense then the last few.. It is defiantly the best story yet and I enjoyed the crap out of this game.. every cutscene looks beautiful! Masterchief had a really good presense in this story. The story is very serious and Cortana is the main point of this game.. its hearbreaking what happens and it takes us on an emotional journey with masterchief..… Expand
  10. VidsRule
    Feb 22, 2013
    10
    Copy/Paste to all Halo reviews after all these years: I didn't have a 360 for a few years (played 3 and ODST). In the meantime I played all sorts of fps- COD, BF, Killzone (which is awesome), Resistance, and every single other one. And coming back to Halo when I rebought a 360 was like the greatest homecoming ever. Unlike those other games, every Halo battle is like a chess match waiting to happen. And once you truly know every enemy and every weapon, you fall into a sweet spot of gaming that is possibly the best of all action games ever made. It's just the best. Great now I have to copy and paste this 4 more times.… Expand
  11. man
    Jan 27, 2013
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is a review from someone who is truly a fan of Halo and has stuck by the franchise ever since Combat Evolved was released back in 2001. I was rather skeptical after I discovered that Reach would be Bungie's final Halo game and that a game company I had never heard of by the name of 343 Industries would be taking over. However, after playing Combat Evolved Anniversary, 343's remastering of the original a year ago, I definitely saw some potential for this game to come after all. And after beating the campaign and trying my absolute hardest to become more immersed to the story, I have to say...(sigh) this was in all honesty disappointing as a Halo game. If i had never played another Halo game before and this just so happened to be the very first one I would ever play, I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more! This game has many great things about it. However, the drawbacks sadly outweigh the good. I loved the enhanced graphics and better detail of the weapons. I also liked some of the concepts in some of the missions. The game started out very promising story-wise as well as gameplay-wise. But the thing that ruined it for me was the mission that introduces the new deadly enemies known as the Prometheans. The game provided a much more challenging experience with the addition of these new characters. However, I think that it was a bit TOO challenging, because the Prometheans and the Promethean knights were a HUGE pain in the ass to fight even on the normal difficulty!!! I was honestly relieved whenever I would see the Covenant instead, because not only have I been so used to fighting them in the past three games, but they are sooo much easier to fight! Back to the graphics, which like I said were updated and looked visually great. However, when I first saw Cortana appear, I wanted to THROW UP!!! SHE looked sooo damn ugly and it looked NOTHING like her from Bungie's games! And I thought the Cortana from the 2001 Combat Evolved was ugly! Other than her, the graphics were great! The story in all honesty kind of felt like the first game all over again with some minor changes. Master Chief crash landing on a planet and fighting enemies. Sounds almost EXACTLY like the first game doesn't it? Like I said before, I HATED the Prometheans. Visually they looked cool, but combat-wise, they SUCKED!!! After four or five missions, the game finally picks up when Chief reunites with Lasky and his crew. The story becomes more interesting at this point and the gameplay even becomes funner. Why couldn't this be the case for the first half of the game? In the story, the villain, and ugly-lookin fella by the name of Didact appears about halfway through the game. And let me be the first to say that he only appears twice in the whole entire game!!! Once at the halfway point and once near the end. Not only that, but his character is sooo poorly developed, um scratch that! He's not even developed at all and his character is barely explained with no detail at all! You don't even get to fight him in the end! He's killed in a very long cutscene! Seriously?!?!?! Where's the fun in that?! And last, but certainly not least, the ending. Here we go: Cortana stays behind and dies using her energy in order to help get Chief back home. I had mixed feeling about this. It was sad to see her go, because I really enjoyed her character throughout the franchise. However, I would like to point out a pretty big plothole in this area. Earlier in the game, Cortana reveals to Chief that her time is running short and that A.I.s think themselves to death. This led me to believe that Cortana would die as a result of this. However, it seems like the game completely forgot about this at one point, because it's never brought up again! She dies by staying behind instead of how we thought she was going to die! And that is what I call weak and flawed storytelling! After that, the game just ends basically. We aren't really left with a whole lot in the end, which honestly disappoints me. It makes me wonder what 343 is going to do with Halo 5. Hopefully it will be much better than this game, because there truly was MUCH more potential that could have been used to make this game all the more greater. In my honest opinion, I feel that 343 was not as dedicated to making Halo as great as Bungie did. It will no doubt in my mind be memorable in many areas, but not in as near as many areas that Bungie's games were. Here's hoping that the next game will improve on the areas that disappointed me the most. The most disappointing Halo game since ODST.… Expand
  12. Justinavery7074
    Dec 4, 2012
    9
    It's a great game but nothing like the previous excluding Halo Wars and Halo 3: ODST. the graphics kill in this game. It's go **** beautiful to look at. I really like this game and want to love it but there's not the same feeling as with the other 4
  13. Bruce722
    Nov 16, 2012
    7
    This is a tough game to review because there are so many different elements to it so it really depends on perspective and priority. I'll explain. There are essentially three parts of the game, the campaign, the Spartan Ops, and the multiplayer. If I were to great them separately, I would have to give the campaign an 8, the Spartan Ops a 4, and the multiplayer a 5. The Campaign has great plot and character development, which I love. The dynamic between Chief and Cortana is fascinating and is what moves the story along. However, it's ridiculously short, the gameplay is very fluid but repetitive and full of busy work, the enemy weaponry is scaled horribly, the AI is pathetic, and the ending is anti-climactic. The Spartan Ops has absolutely no story whatsoever and isn't at all what 343 made it sound like. As for the multiplayer, 343 ruined this experience. They essentially copied CoD in every way they could, which is also something they did with the ending of the campaign. All of that being said, I am more of a single player gamer so I can't judge each element of the game equally. The campaign takes priority.… Expand
  14. Garian
    Feb 1, 2013
    7
    I liked Halo 4, the campaign and multiplayer is fun, however again, it cannot compete with the levels of fun games like call of duty or battlefield gives me.
  15. Speed4Runs
    Dec 24, 2012
    1
    Always the same game. There are only 2 weapons, slow gameplay, same graphics level, boring game and overall bad done. Not recommended.
  16. Necrotaur
    Dec 25, 2012
    7
    Single player wise, Halo 4 fails to deliver. I always appreciated the backstory for the Halo universe, and the concept of humanity being on the edge of extinction due to war with the technologically superior Covenant. Now, you're not only fighting Covenant for some reason but also Forerunner dudes (all 3 types) because of... a prophecy? I guess? I don't know. Apparently if I had read Glasslands it would have made more sense, but I'm not going to buy a book just to get the backstory for an FPS. The campaign is at times pretty, until you set foot into a Forerunner level and your eyes are burned from their sockets by the overwhelming blue/orange contrast. Fortunately single player ends fairly quickly, but not before you see Cortana become Master Chief's crazy emo girlfriend. The multiplayer manages to make up for the single player, and ironically seems to be where 343 focused most of the story. You've got the standard Halo MP fare, with a few modes that have been more fleshed out. The biggest addition is Spartan Ops, which replaces Firefight from previous titles. It's pretty decent on it's own, and plays a bit like the standalone co-op missions found in other titles like BF3, though the loss of Firefight does kind of suck. Maybe it'll be re-introduced? We can always hope. Anyway Halo 4 is a solid game if you're looking for just MP stuff, but I'm a bit worried about the direction 343 is taking the storyline.… Expand
  17. Sceptic
    Jan 5, 2013
    7
    343 has done a fine job with this title,adding a great deal of polish,but little more.It's still just Halo.Nothing more,nothing less.At least it's not a yearly title yet.
  18. aadms
    Dec 8, 2012
    7
    This game plays very similiar to the other Halo games with its face paced combat, excessive dying, same enemies and an addition to a few knew ones. In fact, the game plays out so "the same" that it seems like the Halo series is now "the never ending story". And I think this is the disappoint that I have with the game in the underwhelming adversary that follows the same potline as the first three games. There is a deeper interaction with Master Chief and Cortana, however, that alone is not enough to make the game really interesting. When a game is only six hours long, you need a story to compensate the short game play. This one wasn't as bad as O.D.S.T, but not much better.… Expand
  19. Larux18
    Nov 24, 2012
    10
    Personally I thought Halo would die with Bungie, after a not-so-good remake of the first game by the hand of 343 I doubted the potential that this game would have, but I am happy to say, I was completely wrong. The first thing that stands out when you play Halo 4 are the visuals, this is by far the best looking game for the 360, it can even compete with PC graphics to a certain point since the level of detail is amazing. The first thing I covered was the campaign, it was entertaining with a story now focused on Cortana and the forrunner awakening instead of Chief and the Halo rings. Prometheans stand out as the new enemies with some new challenges and badass weapons. Overall the campaign was great but it was a little short with only eight missions. However the next part makes up for it. Multiplayer is the star of this franchise since Halo 2, and it does not disappoint. There are various multiplayer modes, both old and new, which have excellent, faster, and more aggressive combat. Load-outs can now be created and selected and there are now powerful weapon drops, or ordinances, that are rewarded with kill streaks. One new vehicle has been added called the Mantis, which is a mech that is balanced enough to be badass yet destroyable. There are some great maps present such as the remake of Halo 3's Valhalla called Ragnarok, which is amazing. Also, there are now more than a single map for forge, and since most of the big team maps are massive there are good spots to be creative. The other multiplayer mode apart from the competitive modes is Spartan Ops. This mode is basically co-op missions with a unique story and with new episodes being released with time, the only problem I have with spartan ops is that with a few players I've had a great delay, making the game unplayable. Again, forge is better than ever, with some awesome maps, great new tools, and new options promoting creativity. This game has so much that I assure it will be completely worth whatever price it is where you live, 343 has done an amazing job and created one of my game of the year candidates.… Expand
  20. Mattyice
    Dec 4, 2012
    10
    Game of the Year...This Halo is by far the best of the series. Stunning graphics, a great story, the usual amazing Halo Multiplayer, and Spartan Ops is a good addition. If you have an Xbox, you MUST buy this game! An instant classic. My choice for best game of 2012.
  21. Oxcart
    Mar 24, 2013
    7
    So, the sixth Halo game. I've been through Halo 1-3, ODST, and Reach. I've done my tours of duty with the UNSC, from the low-end low-budget beginning through the slick and polished latest. But this is different; Bungie has slipped its reins off the Halo horse, and MGS has taken over. How did they do? Very well, better than I expected. Let's take a look. Graphics are outstanding, with well-built levels that benefit from good artwork. Enemies (and allies) are correspondingly high-res, meaning that even on console, you won't have your immersion in the game wrecked by something on-camera that looks like a digital camera threw up on screen (we've all seen that...are you listening, Jurassic Park?). Weapon design has undergone a major overhaul, and one for the positive. I've previously had an intense dislike for non-human weapons in Halo, but this installment is different; Forerunner weapons are pretty sweet. Gameplay is well above average. Two missteps mar the game, though. First, the campaign is short. As in "we got it done on Legendary in six hours" short. Second, the storytelling, while not bad, is much thinner than previous Halo games. It's clear that Microsoft Game Studios wasn't as interested in telling an epic story as their predecessors. Even so, it's an enjoyable game that really is a must-play for Halo fans. Everybody else, it's a good shooter with challenge and finesse...just not a lot of single-player mileage in the tank. A fair 7 to Halo 4, and a "good job" to the folks at MGS responsible for it.… Expand
  22. SchroederRock
    Nov 7, 2012
    10
    Halo 4 presents the most polished and engaging Halo to date. 343 took Halo's core and added vulnerability. Master Chief has never been so humanized, and it makes for fantastic cut scenes. Not only is the story the best of the series, but the boring Covenant aren't the main enemy anymore. The new Promethean Knight is every bit as vicious as the Elite, but varies in its combat methods. Many times I was surprised by how I was wailed on by these very formidable opponents. I can go on and on about how great this game is. But to sum it all up, I've been playing Halo since the beginning. Every game has been fun and worthwhile, but none of the games invoked the emotion and investment Halo 4 has out of me. Add a splendidly varied campaign in terms of encounters and vehicle play to the mix, more than even Reach. I loved the story, and it's only getting better with the promised 5th & 6th games. Composer Neil Davidge also brought the score of Halo to a new high. The sounds and music of Halo 4 are phenomenal. Best game of the series. 343 have set their own bar, and to surpass it would be to make perhaps the greatest game ever.… Expand
  23. Jacob
    Jan 20, 2013
    8
    Overall, I really enjoyed Halo 4. While I did not enjoy as much as Halo 3 it was still a great game. It had its problems but it was a lot of fun. The single player was finally good. The multiplayer was fun and Spartan Ops adds legs to the game. While there are things I would have liked the game there is a lot of good stuff in here. Halo 4 is the best Halo since Halo 3 and hopefully 343 can keep it up with Halo 5 & 6.… Expand
  24. SniperFish
    May 13, 2013
    3
    Complete wreck. Single player: fantastic story, very good for John, fantastic direction, new enemy and the perfect start, but Halo 4 is embarrassingly short, I don't understand why 3 years of development and they did not put much into it, the story and the whole trilogy is wrecked if Halo 5's campaign isn't big and it probably won't be, I wonder so much about Halo 5 and I think it would be a big story that should have aleast 20 big levels, you do have to bear in mind that 343 were focusing on Halo Anniversary and that this is their first game. Interrogation scene: do the ONI suddenly despise SPARTANS now? Dr. Halsey kidnapped children and turned them into SPARTANS, which were originally used to crush rebels or something, so? why does it matter now? they would've died anyway since what ever their home planet was, got burned to ash by an alien invasion and that happened to billions of other people, this doesn't make sense, who cares cares that kids were taken away? they became heroes later on, other kids died during the process of becoming SPARTANS though. I don't understand this. The Elites are enemies again, they are rebels and turned allies by Halo 3, so why? do they not recognize the truce? Spartan Ops is good, but there is no Firefight, again, 3 years of production and even that's missing. There are 3 Forge World maps, unfortunately they are small and have very limited boundaries even a space map with stupidly limited boundaries and STILL no proper custom map matchmaking. You can buy weapons and perk sort of things which is good, and good that it's assault/precision guns only, but loads of missing game modes no Stockpile no Head Hunter no Assault no Race, and bad maps. What makes the multiplayer far worse is that weapons now don't respawn and 343 only seem to care about human weapons; at a base, instead of a Beam Rifle it would have a Sniper Rifle, predictable. There is no Beam Rifle playlist, no Carbine or Light Rifle in SWAT and with that "Shotty Snipers" you get shotgun, but not Scattershot. This is a science fiction game, 343 made it, they designed the weapons and then they FORGET that there are alien and Forerunner counterparts to the human weapons. They need to upper the score limit, the games don't go on long enough. I also hate the way you earn armor now, by hard commendation challenges (the community probably wanted that) especially that they are too hard to keep track of. I don't know for sure why they've taken out weapon respawn. Apparently weapon respawn was "bad," apparently it would make Halo 4 less competitive. I've never seen any complaints about weapon respawn, it makes Halo more unique. It's stupid and boring, playing with just assault rifles and precision guns now, some weapons are placed across the maps at start, but they don't respawn. "Ordnance ready!" it'll be a weapon or temporary power-up, but it gets harder to get and is not enough to keep you playing a game without just using carbine weapons. As a good player, you will earn average 4-5 drops in a game. I don't know how many fans like this change or whether they do or not, but you don't earn enough ordnance to justify it and you should have selection of 2 weapons, completely ruined the game for me. With that Flood Mode, it's stupid that you can use Promethean Vision and why can't things be as if their real? the multiplayer is actually SPARTANS training in a high-tech virtual simulation, is 343 trying to be more realistic and state that SPARTANS wouldn't actually kill each other? and I suppose the Flood Mode is just SPARTANS dressing up and pretending? I guess this explains why Elites aren't playable now. Reach has lots of problems and a terrible campaign, they screwed up Halo CE Anniversary by making the multiplayer a map-pack for Reach and now Halo 4 is a bad game... I enjoyed Halo 4's campaign but I was very annoyed at the end for it's short length. Halo means a lot to me and had a big influence on me getting the Xbox 360 3 years ago. Again, I wait 18 months desperately for a game and it's bad. 3 years of development and +awesome new Promethean enemies, +better graphics and sound effects, +Spartan Ops, -VERY short campaign. -Multiplayer falls apart; weapons don't respawn for stupid reasons, missing game modes, small Forge World boundaries, bad maps, not enough maps, no big maps and a stupid setup, -no Firefight, -unlock armor by commendations. -Why not let us play vs our friends in matchmaking? it makes the game more fun. -And why not let us carry more weapons? oh I get it, because in reality, people can't? Halo should NOT be taken seriously. Would that make the game less competitive in multiplayer? would it cause bad balancing? I don't think so, I totally agree it would make Halo better, more unique and more away from typical shooters. Halo 4 took 3 years of development, this review took me 3 hours. To me, Halo means a lot. To me, Halo 4 is just a wreckage, not a package. To me, Halo 4 is the biggest disappointment of 2012.… Expand
  25. theoffice
    Nov 25, 2012
    6
    Overall a strong entry into the series (6.5/10). Regarding the campaign: Definitely a significant improvement over Halo: Reach as you simply do not sit back and fight wave after wave of enemies. Harkens back to Halo CE to me, but without the sense of exploration and wonder. Here you actually make forward progress most of the time. Problem is that if you go off the beaten path you'll die quickly from the astounding increase in enemies and return far back as checkpoints aren't common. The covenant enemies are interesting and fun to fight as always but the new Promethean foes lack interesting characters and often stick to certain areas until you attack. There's also only 3 different types. Furthermore you're going to find yourself using mostly their weapons exclusively as there is no way you'll have ammo otherwise (get used to the lightrifle). Next, I felt the design and gameplay were decent, though it mostly revolves around moving from one button to the next to advance the story. Speaking of which... the story is weak. Very weak. And very difficult to understand if you have only played the games. It's just... strange. I felt the story in the previous 4 main games were good but this one was just kinda dumb and odd. I like the Chief but his relationship with the computer, Cortana, was weird and this new "threat"/ backstory (not explained in game at all though everyone seems to know it in the game) is dumb. This is obviously just my opinion......................... Regarding multiplayer: This is Halo 4's strong suit and will give it staying power. It's a strong experience with solid gameplay and options. Lots of character customization. Not much else to say. It's fun though still, imo, is not as good a Halo 2............................................. Regarding graphics and sound: graphics are fantastic. Best I've seen on xbox. The sound for some guns is great such as the DMR and sniper rifle. However on others it is totally horrendous such as the battle rifle............................... So overall a 6.5 as the campaign was an improvement but the lack of exploration/wonderment feeling, design mostly involving moving from one waypoint marker to the next, CG cutscenes used extensively, and the very weird, weak story really took away from the potential. The multiplayer is strong but I don't think it'll be something I keep going back to like Halo 2, a game I still find extremely satisfying. Personally recommend a rent.… Expand
  26. niconline
    Nov 9, 2012
    9
    Halo 4 represents a bold step forward for the franchise that feels both fresh and familiar. Boasting Halo's trademark multiplayer, a gripping campaign, an experimental co-op mode and the usual gubbins, Halo 4 like all the other Halos that have come and gone, represents incredible value for money.
  27. Ordish
    Apr 16, 2013
    10
    Let me first start by saying that I have never been a Halo fan having only played Halo 1 on the PC and not being very impressed with it. I also finished Halo 3 ODST on the Xbox and wasn't particularly impressed with that either.. Until now I haven't seen anything from the Halo universe that was particularly impressive. I haven't played the multiplayer yet so this review is on the campaign. The storyline was intriguing and well adapted. Actually one of the best single player storylines I have played in quite a few years. The controls were a bit awkward at first, straying from the typical FPS control scheme but after some play they are manageable. The graphics and dynamic environments were simply beautiful. Overall the game provided an epic story with great game mechanics. I don't know if this studio has produced other titles in the Halo world but they knocked this one out of the park.… Expand
  28. lilkillpappy
    Dec 4, 2012
    2
    doesn't matter what we say on here, they sold millions and made millions, they could give a **** less if they create **** games, as long as they make money. The Xbox 360 is extremely under powered, and has been showing its age for a very long time now. The art in this game was the only reason it looked good, otherwise the low res textures, jagged lines, and horrible fade distance just destroyed the graphics on this game. If you like games for combat and no other reason then this game will be perfect for you. If you like depth to the gameplay, and a story that is not serialized, and actually makes sense then this game will be VERY boring. And thats what this game is. Despite the things that it does well with the combat, sound effects, and art, the game in the end lacks an interesting story that makes sense, and has very shallow gameplay. Plus the main story is extremely short. This game can be beaten in a day. Why do they keep making this crap? And now that it has become serialized, its just going to get worse and worse.… Expand
  29. Coeco
    Feb 3, 2013
    0
    Doggy-chew for the fanboys. Don't expect any originality or new content for that matter here. Don't believe me? Look at the 10's. Save your money and go buy a quality FPS, like Half Life. Anything beat this turd of a game, really.
  30. Captiosus
    Nov 7, 2012
    6
    I've only gotten about 4 and a half hours of gameplay under my belt in the single player campaign of Halo 4 but I've come away with several early - and mostly negative - impressions. Remember these are just impressions and NOT designed to be a full review which means my score may change at a later date. Also, this will be long and Metacritic's lack of carriage returns may make it difficult to read - as usual, I will delineate paragraphs with several pipe characters. |||| First, it's clear Halo 4 uses a modified version of Unreal Engine 3. This doesn't come as a surprise to me as I seem to recall that the engine, itself, was one of the few things Bungie got to keep when they broke off from Microsoft. However, typical Unreal Engine issues like texture pop in and terrible in game text overlays are prevalent throughout the game, often to the detriment of gameplay. |||| Graphically, the game looks nice except for the fact they went crazy with lens flares and bloom effects. I read one user review who made a similar complaint by stating that "if you try to scope in to snipe, your eyeballs will get burned out of your sockets". It may sound like an exaggeration but it is not. The game is heavy on in your face lighting effects which often blind you even when brightness is turned down to its lowest setting in the game options. The best way I can describe it is the same kind of effect you get if you're facing east as the sun comes up over the horizon or if you're driving east into the early morning sun. The glare blinds and washes everything out. |||| The music is decent but it lacks the punch and significance of the scores of the previous Halo titles. A lot of that is because the composer replaced orchestral arrangements with electronic ones. It's a better score than most games but it just doesn't live up to the quality we became accustomed to by the former musical masters of Halo, Marty O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori. Sound effects are disappointing overall. Guns, especially the human/UNSC ones, sound like toys rather than weapons and vehicles sound "off", for lack of a better way to describe them. |||| Speaking of weapons and vehicles, what a disappointment! The Forerunner weapons absolutely suck when you use them but they can two shot you when the enemy AI uses them. This is undoubtedly a byproduct of playing on Legendary difficulty, but that still doesn't excuse the fact that I feel as though I'd be more effective throwing stones than using a boltshot pistol or the lightrifle. Human weapons are vastly underpowered (except the Battle Rifle, which you don't find often) while Covenant weapons are quite powerful (remember, this is regarding campaign, not multiplayer). The Covenant Carbine, which has always been a single shot assault rifle (think of the M1 Garand), can double as a sniper rifle in this iteration of the game. Vehicles, by contrast, handle much differently than in past titles. The Covenant's Banshee and Ghost feel slow and sluggish while the UNSC's Warthog is quick to lose control and go flipping down the path. |||| I haven't really messed with multiplayer much but, so far, it looks like they've tried cloning Call of Duty's "loadout" style with Halo's sci-fi trappings. This doesn't surprise me too much as we started to see this with Halo: Reach while it was still under Bungie's leadership but multiplayer now feels like 343 simply cloned Modern Warfare and called it a day. Even Spartan Ops is basically just a copy of Call of Duty's Spec Ops mode. |||| As a self-confessed Halo fanboy (it's one of the few franchises that I have every single title for), I'm growing increasingly disappointed with Halo 4 as I play it. 343 Industries didn't take any real risks with the franchise nor did they attempt to make it their own. They merely copied elements of what made Halo popular, copied other popular shooter elements for multiplayer, then covered the game in high gloss. |||| Hopefully it gets better. Hopefully I won't run into more quick time events (which have no place in this franchise). At this point, hope is all I have.… Expand
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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
87 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 87 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 83 out of 87
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 87
  3. Negative: 1 out of 87
  1. Hyper Magazine
    Dec 17, 2012
    90
    Halo 4 eschews esoteric delivery for a sledgehammer story with a blockbuster aesthetic. Epic, engaging and sensorially awesome. [Jan 2013, p.60]
  2. Eurogamer Portugal
    Dec 5, 2012
    90
    In the end, this game is still a fairly conservative and faithful to the original spirit, even with some significant changes.
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  3. DailyGame
    Dec 3, 2012
    75
    The narrative is outstanding, even in spite of a few plot-point missteps, and the character evolution of Master Chief and Cortana deserves to be further explored with these wonderful storytellers (well, maybe one of them can't happen, but I'll avoid spoilers). However, the gameplay feels jilted, awkward and unrefined, three unforgivable sins in a landscape populated with other quite-capable FPS franchises. As a result, I'm going to average everything out: great story plus bad gameplay equals an average experience. And in this overcrowded FPS genre, "average" is isn't something I'd recommend buying.
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