Halo 4 Xbox 360
User Score
6.9 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 2263 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,546 out of 2263
  2. Mixed: 146 out of 2263
  3. Negative: 571 out of 2263

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  1. Gummies
    Nov 20, 2012
    6
    This game was okay and it would have gotten a higher score from me if it was released like 3 years ago. Sorry but this is getting old and Bungie made better Halo games, even Reach IMO. I even liked Halo 3 so much that i sticked my ding dong into the disc and out several times, it was fabulous if i may say so myself.
  2. Tomahawk22
    Nov 17, 2012
    8
    Thought it would be a flop, 100%, best game since Halo 2. Brought the series back to life after the total disappointment of Reach, and no Halo games could ever be as good as the first two. Good job.
  3. Adub34
    Nov 17, 2012
    3
    worst halo game ever the online is way to easy no competition they have made it to much like call of duty unlocking guns and emblems i dont ever remember that on halo i got halos 1-4 and Reach is my favorite one and im a big halo fan im just mot feeling halo 4 the campaign was great but just got to repeative Bungie should have stayed with microsoft studios and made a great game 343 is trash to me.… Expand
  4. Lex-Osheezy
    Nov 18, 2012
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. After many sequels in this well known franchise, 343 manages to fall short of it's promises to re-invent the story and characters in a way that will fulfill all it's renown loyal fanboy's wildest dreams.
    The reality is that it's depressing to be able to see the intentions of the game developers as they fail.
    In the prologue of the game, 343 sets the tone of the game by laying down this thick emphasis on a moral question of Chief's ethics and emotions, and whether his success was based on his Callus nature.

    All of this is too much for the viewer, as the first thing they want to hear about their favorite character after years of absence isn't a diss from an old lady, (who's imprisoned for reasons that aren't explained in the game.) Nearly everything the campaign sets out to do it fails. Seconds into actual gameplay, it's clear that 343 have decided they'll try to make Chief less of a brooding character and more of a guy who thinks out loud and feels human emotions. The most obvious sign of this is the many many lines of dialogue throughout the campaign, compared to the under twenty he displayed in his last installment. Even the littler things make you think that this isn't a Halo game. The quick-times, the unexplained presences of enemies, and the stupid motivation for nearly every character.
    So putting the actual plot/execution aside for a minute, the actual core mechanics that are involved in a good campaign are either missing or broken. The game introduces new enemies into the Halo universe (The Prometheans), but these enemies are anything but fun to engage with. Your choices range between Shooting the Knight first, or the little support drone he constructs. Admittedly, some of them posses one of the armor abilities from multiplayer, and that can make things interesting, but the teleportation gimmick they all utilize exists only to annoy.
    This game misses the brilliance that some of the levels from Halo 3 demonstrated. Players of Halo Reach's criticism of the campaign was that it had no 'Big level'. It had no fight with scarabs, it had no scaling up the big metal pyramid to fight the monitor, and it had no Vehicle dependent level like Halo 3's 'The Ark'. Halo Four demonstrates this, and seemingly Less. Halo Four tries to add to this, but it's attempts come off as kind of dry. They put in a level where you get around via a powered-up Pelican, which is relatively cool, but they just make you fly from platform to platform, and don't really do anything with it. The Shooter on rails at the end of the game feels uncharacteristic of the franchise and kind of makes you wonder whether it was only put in to fit the expectation that every action game published in the last five years needs to have a mission where you're on a motorized vehicle with explosions and a million guys chasing you at the end for it to be fun and cool.

    Players from day one (Such as myself) are getting a little bit tired of the series' Go from A to B, and shoot everything in between' formula. Maybe it was old by the second or third game in the series, and I just didn't notice because I cared about the characters, and Chief/My Achievements were still impressing me. But the magic's just gone. Halo four tries to capitalize on Cortana and Chief's potential weird Romantic relationship that's based on trust and experience, but it does it in all the wrong ways. (Again, i'll make a comparison to Halo 3 as it's the most relevant Halo game) At the end of Halo 3, the metaphor for Chief's human side and what he's fighting for dies in the form of Srgt. Johnson. This powerful scene was executed brilliantly because of Chief's body language, and Cortana's very digital attempt at comforting Chief in a concept she shouldn't have a clue/care about. Johnson's characteristic one liner drove home the point, and the proceeding fast paced escape scene meant that much more because you felt like you had just experienced an influential time in the protagonist's life. Flash forward to Halo Four.

    Halo Four executes cutscenes by not having Chief pointing his gun aggressively, not defensively, not with him saying one line here or there, but by making him the tipsy blond in the room that can't keep up with the conversation. Making the player smarter than the character does not add anything to the experience, especially when the character's intelligence is inconsistent. Drawing impossible conclusions from prompts Cortana feeds him now and then makes no sense after you watch Chief fumble with the concept of authority and courses of actions.Play the ending yourself, decide if you want another Halo.(Regardless, it's on it's way) I should finish on a good note, and that's that I thoroughly enjoy the multiplayer. I'm not that great at online FPS's, but for some reason I find this one to be very easy. It could be the similarities it now holds to the Call of duty series, which has a debatable effect on the originality of it all.    … Expand
  5. Thatuserguy
    Nov 24, 2012
    6
    It's decent; not particularly amazing, but not bad either. Campaign is an alright length, but the story isn't particularly amazing. It leaves more questions than it gives answers, and more often than not, it feels like they came up with cool moments and just tried to string them together with an average-at-best story. It's somewhat annoying as well, as even on normal difficulty, most enemies act like bullet sponges, often with promethean knights taking a whole clip of ammo or more to take down. Because of this, ammo runs out quickly, more often than not leaving you with weapons unsuited for the particular occasion you're thrown into. The music, while somewhat interesting to listen to, is much different than past halo games, and none of them left a lasting effect on me. I only liked one song from the entire soundtrack a significant amount, and I don't even know the name of it. The graphics were pretty good, but there were times in both gameplay and cutscenes that it seemed 343 just gave up trying to make it look all pretty. For example, take a look at chief's armor at the end of the first mission: it looks extremely low res despite him being the main focus of attention. And as for the final boss fight that we were all waiting for throughout the entire game that we all expected to happen with the evil of the didact throughout the whole game? A quicktime event. A quicktime event leading to a cutscene that ends the game. Talk about a freakin' tease. On the subject of teases, a halo ring is shown in the game, but we never go on it. It's like they put it there so they could justify the halo in the title and nothing more. Overall, the experience is kind of disappointing despite cool moments, and the story isn't too particularly involving or interesting. It's lacking the magic of previous halo campaigns.

    Spartan Ops sort of makes up for the campaign, but at the same time, some of the locations they take place at are just recycled from multiplayer or campaign. Not to mention, there's only like 5 missions per episode, and they're so short that more often than not you find yourself asking "It's over already?" While 343 has boasted about custom games having more options than ever, they made this happen at the expense of several other options. Entire gamemodes such as race, juggernaut, VIP, invasion, and assault have been all but removed, something that hurts the experience greatly. Theater also remains a one person only ordeal, something that's truly disappointing. Forge has some improvements, but at the expense of previous improvements. You can magnetize objects, lock them, see which item you're hovering over, have dynamic lighting, and can place zones where spartans have specific traits, but in return, can no longer zoom or move an object slowly, both which serve to make forging a much more irritating experience. The 3 maps replacing forge world that are specifically built for forging are hardly even BTB maps in size, meaning you're very limited by size. It would be much more preferable to have forge world back with different palletes and more items at this point, as there's so little that you can do. And now for the big one: multiplayer. The maps are all fairly entertaining, but, again, are lacking something that every other multiplayer map in previous halos had. I don't know what it is, but they just don't play too amazingly well. The ranking system is basically the same as Halo Reach's, but with a new coat of paint. Custom loadouts are alright, but in engagements with them, more often than not the guy who was spotted first is usually the guy who winds up dead. Custom loadouts also allow for the noob combo of plasma pistol and dmr, a tactic I've seen much more of in Halo 4. As for this next part, I guess I can't blame the game as much as the players, but it seems nobody uses vehicles anymore unless it's a gauss hog, a mantis, a scorpion, a banshee, or wraith. Normal hogs and mongeese are often just left sitting there while players make a run for it on foot instead. Ordinance drops are also interesting, but hurt gameplay. There's no map control of the areas with the power weapons, because the power weapons could spawn anywhere, meaning instead of the game focused around map control that we all know and love, it's become a more run and gun game. Halo's multiplayer has definitely changed, and sadly, I don't think it's for the better. At least AA's are more balanced now though.

    Overall, the UI is cluttered and annoying to navigate. The new weapon sounds, while some have enjoyed them, don't seem to fit the experience too well. Everything just sounds...off. For example, the rocket launcher no longer has some meaty launching sound, but instead sounds like a unintimidating "woosh" noise when being launched, and the DMR sounds much more deadly than it is. Most of the armor in general also looks rather silly, and no longer is easily identifiable, as lots of the armor looks similar to one another.    … Expand
  6. Banned4rever
    Nov 21, 2012
    10
    Halo 4 atinge o ápice da sétima geração de videogames, e ainda da um pequeno spoiler da próxima gen. Os gráficos são de babar, o máximo já alcançado em consoles, com a mesma ia e mapas grandes de sempre. A relação Cortana e Chief está ainda mais forte
  7. TheGamer31
    Mar 12, 2013
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I had originally given this game a 10, but then after I played this one, I played back through the original Halo games. After I played them, I said to myself "How is this even a Halo game? The campaign is practically the same just with different level designs, and the ending "boss" is awful! You just press ONE button to kill him... ONE. BUTTON! And the way the grenade explodes in his death isn't even the way the grenade explodes earlier in the game! Now, let;s look at multiplayer. The multiplayer is fun, but only because it's basically a CoD ripoff, and I hate CoD. You have like your 10 points for kills, double kills, triple kills. revenge, headshot and other stuff that was in Reach. But the way it is presented as you get a kill is just like in CoD. I mean, you even have perks for multiplayer. PERKS... Halo is not a game for perks! I mean it is just ridiculous of how much this game wanted to be like CoD. When I went to school, all my friends were telling me it was o,ne of the greatest games of all time, when I finally played it, yes I liked it like I said at the beginning of the review. But if you haven't played the original Halo games, you will like this one, at least until you play the originals. But if you have played the originals, you will hate this game. So, 343, PLEASE don't make another Halo game, you will fail at it like you did in this game. And if you do, please make it more true to the original Halo games! The forerunner robot things are fine to keep, but make it have more of a Halo feel. Add more Covenant to fight please? The thing that saves this game from a negative score is that I am a fan of the original Halo games, not this CoD ripoff garbage. 5/10… Expand
  8. mgilbert
    Nov 18, 2012
    10
    Halo 4 is a step beyond what I imagined it could be. Simply amazing! Loved the action-packed Campaign, Spartan OPs is a great ad on, I especially love the cinematic Spartan-ops episodes. The multi-player component is never boring, soemthing that's honestly hard to do, but is pulled off really well in this game. I love the innovation put into Halo 4!
  9. MooseSpoon
    Nov 20, 2012
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm not the biggest Halo fan out there. As expected this will likely feel just like another Halo game. However, there are vast improvements. Gone are the days of camping weapon spawns. Here now are the days of getting care packages with random weapons. I feel this makes multiplayer more appealing since I don't have to worry about racing to a weapon spawn that someone has camped and timed. Also, the new weapons add an interesting touch. While they do operate the same as already existing weapons, they do add subtle nuances such as how the boltshot reloads. It gets better. The human shotgun, DMR, and battle rifle are all here. The major negative factor for me was the spawn points feeling random and aim assist not allowing me to do my own work.

    As for the campaign, it was short. That does not mean it wasn't good. It provided the continuation of the Halo story but with aspects often overlooked. It very well portrayed the bond and tension between the chief and cortana. Also, it portrays the chief as a human being who is not perfect or emotionless. Throughout the campaign it shows chief's struggle to get jobs done with a friend who isn't operating perfectly and how he deals with tasks going awry and not being completed.

    Other than that, the environments should be noted. While the engine is modified but flawed, the environments are far superior to those experienced by franchises with more clout. (Sorry, call of duty.)

    Also, at the end of the campaign is a little thank you from 343 to the gamers who follow Halo. Overall, it's the small and subtle things that count and there are plenty of them to make this game feel like one of the best Halo games produced with enough differences to consider it something new and polished.    … Expand
  10. Wakkorotti
    Nov 19, 2012
    3
    Halo 4 is absolutely a visually stunning game. The graphics are completely beautiful, the worlds look and feel real, and the new enemies, though there are only really three, at least interesting to look at. That being said, even on legendary, the campaign is painfully, woefully, short. I would almost classify it an EPIC failure. When you can turn on the Tough Luck skull and complete a board like Requiem in a little over a half an hour, there is something wrong. The odd thing about Halo 4 is that the plot and story line are arguably the best in the series thus far, save the possible exception of Halo: Reach. But the new ancient evil awakened, the Didact does not inspire fear or foreboding and you never truly get to battle him. The re-imagined grunts still look ridiculous, and I want to know what happened to the skirmishers and Brutes. I feel like there was so much of the Halo universe left untapped by the game that I can only describe my feelings about it as disappointed. The game is a rehash of the same boards over and over and over again. Massive boards that you often travel through both ways and face the same enemies over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. the AI (Game level, not Cortana) is weak at best. You can sit in certain spots on certain boards and head shot enemies until they perish without them ever moving. Glitches like this stand out far more than the beauty of the worlds that 343I created. The magnum has returned as a great, and viable option for reeking mayhem both in the campaign, on Spartan Ops and in the multi-player game, so I was pretty stoked about that. Another big disappointment is the score. There are none of the hauntingly beautiful melodies from the original trilogy or driving beats to get the blood pumping for bigger battles. As a Halo veteran whose first game on the original Xbox was Combat Evolved, I was really hoping to get back to the core of why I was a Halo fan in the first place. Halo 2 was a huge disappointment as the focus seemed to shift to the online universe. I truly hoped Halo 4 would get back to that innovation and creativity. The first level, in my opinion, does exactly that and really raised my hopes that whole game was going to be more than just running and gunning. The interactions between Cortana and Master Chief, the different parts of the board where you have to climb or kill an elite made me overly optimistic. If the game continued the way it started, I think it could have been something special. At the end of the day, though, i was as disappointed in Halo 4 as I was with the weak storyline in Black Ops 1.… Expand
  11. TannerIsGod
    Nov 20, 2012
    9
    Halo is just awesome ... and Halo 4 really sets the bar for where this genre should go next. Amazing stuff. There are certainly things it could do better ... but, yeah, it's really, really good.
  12. JusticeSilfies
    Dec 7, 2012
    10
    With a game like Halo 4, you have to review on both Story AND Multiplayer. When it comes to the game overall, it is a compelling masterpiece. It's visually a work of art and gameplay is spectacular. With most Halo games, I often found myself having to replace broken controllers due to dying so much. But not with Halo 4. 343 did an amazing job keeping true to the legendary franchise of Halo, but while also putting there personal signature on it. I was slightly skeptical about the new Forerunners. It's obvious that you can't just keep killing Covenant all the time, but it was a risky move and they still pulled it off. They did a great job giving the player a nostalgic feeling while killing the Covenant, which were graphically beautiful. But also in giving a player a rush of excitement of facing an unknown enemy. Whilst the story was not a complete turn from the other 3, it still had a new sense of adventure to it. A very compelling story line which for the first time was even quite emotional for me. For story, it's a 10/10. Now, multiplayer. While you can't expect anything new from a Halo multiplayer, they dished out quite a few new interesting features. Including customizing loadouts and even more customization with you Spartan Armor to the point where you truly do feel unique in your own way and not just a different color copy of some other player. Some of the maps are small, but still well designed. Whilst multiplayer can get quite boring, you have Spartan Ops which is a great feature that was added. Whether you want to go Solo or play with a party, you engage in unique actual missions that are quite enjoyable and make you eager to get the next season of missions. Spartan Ops is a great choice if you liked playing campaign with other players. It's new and fresh and does not get old. Multiplayer gets a 10/10. The music is great. The graphics are spectacular. The voice acting is excellent. It's a fantastic game. I would recommend this game to not only true fans of Halo, but gamers in general. Definitely one of the most amazing games I have ever played.… Expand
  13. TheTwizle
    Nov 19, 2012
    9
    Its very seldom that a game gets redone with this kind of shine! You can tell that 343 really put there heart and soul into Halo 4!! So lets get right to it! GRAPHIX = 10; The Graphix are the best for any shooter to date on console!! Everything is Modeled Beautifully and the style of the levels online and offline is top notch right down to the smallest detail!! Everything even little things like elevators and doors feels alive, even the new guns, you will know what I mean when you see it all! GAMEPLAY = 10; It is kind of the same old Halo. That said, it should be! Halo is a timeless classic that does not need too much change! There are plenty of new weapon's thrown into the multi-player mix to keep things interesting for a long time to come, Little things like not letting grenades drop when a player is killed changes the dynamic of the game quite a bit. This is definitely for the better!! You don't walk into a room full of dead guys and an endless supply of grenades to toss at incoming players! So far the new guns all feel balanced so far! The Campaign is done very nicely ...the story is totally engrossing and keeps you wanting to see what is going to happen next! As I had said b4 the whole game feels alive and never really gets stale! There are tons of new enemies and lvl's to shoot up with new guns!! MUSIC/SOUND EFX = 9; Very Halo! Very Suspenseful when needed! Everything seems to have a purpose and place and it also gives you that feeling that everything in the game is living and breathing! All of the Guns have been redone, everything from the sword to the BR has a different sound and almost different feel! I'm not sure if I like all of sounds to all of the old guns yet, its taking some getting use to, and it has thrown me off a few times in the beginning! But over all Everything still has that feeling of love and dedication from 343 and only time will truly tell if something is off truly. CONTROLS = 8; This is still where I wish some of the other halos would have given us a little more choice as to what buttons do what. You still have to find a preset controller setting that works for you, because there is still no custom config to the controller! I do prefer the recon setting so I at least have settled for something, but having to settle is not something I wanted to have to do! Over all the controls do work fine and they are useable! It just might be something of a decision maker for some people and might turn some people off a bit. This is also why I gave the game a 9 instead of a 10. REPLAY = 10; Halo has always had a ton of re-playability, yea after you beat the campaign you can go back through co op or with different skulls turned off and on. You can go back through on different difficulties but the story remains the same and so do the battles for the most part. The AI does change the way it fights on different difficulties and can really cause problems that being said. Multiplayer will get new map packs as it always does and its always a blast to play online multiplayer. There is a new mode that gives you weekly scheduled programs with more story and more game play that keep co op and single player exciting and fresh! Over all I think that the single player and co op is the best since Halo CE!! The story and feel of it is awe inspiring! Multiplayer is great and gets a lot of new things to play with and try out! The weekly free story updates should keep the Halo Universe rolling on until the next installment! OVER ALL = 9; This should be up for game of the year!! Yes I will say it is that good! A must have for anyone who really likes Halo and FPS fans alike ...unless your just a stubborn spec ops geek! ;p… Expand
  14. cdsmith7
    Nov 19, 2012
    10
    This game in my opinion is the best in the series. Keep in mind I thought Reach was a downgrade from Halo 2 and 3. There are huge improvements with weapons, graphics, sounds, story line in campaign, and level set up. 10/10 no doubt.
  15. csund14
    Nov 19, 2012
    9
    Let me first confess, that this is my first Halo. I have played combat evolved, but i was never extremely hardcore about the series. Everyone is reviewing after having extensive experience with the game, so this might be refreshing coming from someone fairly new to the series. I would just like to say I think this game is amazing. The multiplayer(which is all I've been doing) seems extremely balanced. No guns seem overpowering. I like that if you are being attacked, you do not immediately die, but yet have a chance to turn around and defend yourself. There are no "unfair" armor abilities. The maps are done very well, and although somewhat limited, they are never boring. The graphics look just beautiful. Visually, nothing is cluttered. Everything has a sleek look about it. I think, if you just want to have a good time, and take the game as it is, 343 has done a wonderful job.… Expand
  16. adrian04morales
    Nov 19, 2012
    10
    Halo 4 is the best game ever because it take more skill, the story is awesome because there two enemies that you have to fight and have to fight a boss that is cool! The gameplay is beast. Master Cheif is BACK
  17. Leprechaun_exe
    Nov 19, 2012
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I've loved the Halo series since the beginning, and every single one has been great, this one as no exception. I was skeptical in buying it at first, because many game play videos made the game look like COD. Once you step in to the game, it feels much less like that. I agree that they really didn't need to add all of the COD mechanics that they did, but I can see past that. The graphics were stunning, I truly thought the characters in cut-scenes were actual people. The two points I took off of this game were due to the campaign seriously lacking. It was only four hours, and I felt that it was very repetitive. Many, many, many occasions on the lines of "go to each station and disable/activate something". Examples: The two light beams in Requiem, moving the lift in Shutdown, and overloading the shields during the ending. I also feel that the quick time event on the ending was unneeded. I was also excited for the Pelican mission, only to find out that you never even use the Pelican in the mission, you only use it to jump to the different stations in the level. Besides this, the game has been thrilling and enjoyable.… Expand
  18. Sparsh
    Nov 19, 2012
    10
    all the PS3 fans come here and put **** comments here that i am a halo fan but still this game is not good and blah blah grow up man please
    and if u do not like halo and u r not a fan of halo then please do not write in ur reiews that u are a halo fan because almost all halo love this game
  19. OverlordT
    Nov 20, 2012
    10
    The campaign overall is satisfying with occasional great moments that could only happen in a halo game. The covenant is still a fun challenge though on the other hand prometheans range from annoying to very irritating (when a knights shield is down and it teleports you will know what I mean). Multiplayer and Forge (map editor) is great (The forge system is very similar to Reach though) while Spartan ops is basically firefight with added objectives and plot. Overall a great game with plenty of modes and features.… Expand
  20. g0ddplay
    Nov 20, 2012
    9
    Halo your doing it right. What a fantastic game!!! The best graphics in a console FPS period. Killzone 2 looked just as amazing, just lacked COLOR. A story mode that finaly lives up to Halo: CE!!! Don't think about it just BUY IT. The thing I love about Halo is you pay for what you get unlike COD. Halo always changes and isn't the same game every year. Halo does share a lot of elements with COD now. But it still feels like Halo thank god.… Expand
  21. Awesome2daMax
    Nov 20, 2012
    10
    OK, this is my honest review on the game and I believe it is great! Anyone that believes that they copied Call of Duty outright hasn't played the game. Sure, some features were in CoD first, but some features in CoD were taken from Halo. This is what games do, take ideas from other games and improve on them, which Halo has done. Halo 4 is faster paced than the previous games, with instant respawns in some features, and contains custom loadouts. These loadouts are not in any way truly affected by rank. First of all, it takes 1 War Games Match to go from SR1 to SR2 (SR is the ranking system). At SR2, you can purchase either the DMR or the BR, the two best loadout weapons. If you want a Carbine or Lightrifle for PERSONAL preference, then you have to wait a bit. I prefer the Lightrifle because of its dual functionality, but it isnt BETTER to say the least. All the weapons have their range. Of course a DMR will beat an Assault rifle from a distance. But Assault Rifles will destroy DMR at close range. YOU need to get into position to get the kills, so stop complaining about OP weapons. And there are no "Prestiges" like someone else said, and Amour Abilities are not OP either. Neither are Tactical or Support upgrades. They make small changes for PERSONAL preference. So all in all, Halo 4 has a balanced multi-player.
    The campaign is short but very good. The levels are fun and exciting. So if you have 60$, buy this game NOW!    … Expand
  22. X-themask
    Nov 20, 2012
    0
    Well reason I gave a low rating was that this game felt like an alienation to actual Halo storyline. Not only did it greatly contradict the other storylines it just felt cluttered and jumbled. Honestly 343 should have spent a better time reviewing the storyline before it decided to adopt Halo as its new money baby. now they are just makeing the story for the money. It shows with lack of detail in the Covies and just the general graphics that are dulled by the immense glare on everything. [this was the first game i had turn down the brightness cause everything was TOO shiny]. By all means this is a great first person shooter game but in no way is this a great Halo. i personally will not be buying anymore Halos unless 343 can improve.… Expand
  23. Lord_Zorin
    Nov 20, 2012
    5
    I've spent hours, days, months, and much time of the last 8-9 years in the Halo universe. Halo 4, in my own eyes, had something special for the player, something that would amaze, and something that would tear apart our old beliefs, and fill it with something new. Like a new muscle, I expected the mass of the community, along with me, to feel some pain before it was built and accepted by us. "I Love Halo!" and that will not change, but I felt, that something was missing, that the Campaign was left with something missing, it felt short to me. But yet in another way, it felt long, but that was only because there were less missions, but each were dragged out longer.

    Graphics, Voice Acting, Animation, it was excellent, along with the barrage of Sounds, Music, and Cinematic Experience, I felt the Campaign dealt a real strong punch to the franchise, setting it up there to be something great. But overall, the Campaign itself, was a bit of a letdown, and not because I'm a die-hard Halo fan. Sure enough, I was one of the unfortunate people who saw spoilers before the game came out, but I don't feel it would have made any difference. Things were easy to predict. The plot, the storyline, was just kind of loosely-knit together. There was only one section of the campaign that created a strong emotional response from me, but that was basically the climax. In other words, I've played the first episode of Spartan Ops, and spent many hours online, only to feel that it's just, not as amazing as it sounded. On pen and paper, it sounded perfect, but when I started my Great Journey to the online world, I experienced many things, including massive lag. Regardless, of whether or not it was my Internet connection at the time, it took it's toll. Spartan Ops, was meant for a Co-Op experience, and was most definitely meant to be played on the harder difficulties. The fact that it was mostly a "cut and paste" of segments of Campaign levels, left me unsatisfied, along with it's inability to create a story, a plot, that seemed meaningful to me. From the views of some friends, I hear the second Episode has added to the plot, and I can only wait and see what is in store for us.

    Multi-player was enjoyable, and the fact that one got to relive memories from Halo 3, in an all new way on "Valhalla" or as it is now known as, "Ragnarok". The fact that armor is no longer credits focused, but rather, you unlock it by achieving some extreme commendation, or you rank up, it feels more open, that you don't need to wait 500 games saving credits to get that one helmet you desire. As for "loadouts" it's nothing new, if anything, it seems to be a Call of Duty rip-off, but in it's own way, it still changes the entirety of the online experience. Then you throw in "Personal Ordnance" and you get the feeling of kill streaks, from Call of Duty again.

    Instead of taking the step in making Halo unique, it's been created this time, to fit in. To pull players from other games, into the franchise. I can only hope that the future of Halo, is less of a disappointment. That being said, I will not give up my Limited Edition copy.

    I didn't hype myself up like others, and I was left wanting more, desiring more, from everything.    … Expand
  24. JNELY
    Nov 20, 2012
    9
    This game is excellent. Singleplayer: The story is lacklustre (but has real potential for sequels) and those flying things are a pain in this ass. Those two minor gripes aside, I loved the new campaign! Spartan Ops: It's revolutionary. It keeps the story going, offers great co-op content, and is a fun alternative to previous Firefight modes. Multiplayer: I love it. It seems like the majority of problems people have with it stem from the game being different than Halo 2. Since I never played much Halo 2, this isn't a problem for me! It brings modern standards to Halo, and keep it fun and exciting. However, I wish there wasn't so much overlap between different guns. I rarely find myself switching from the DMR to any other weapon.… Expand
  25. Oceanicus
    Nov 20, 2012
    5
    A bad case of too much hype, I must say it's beyond great compared to Halo Odst and legends, however that's not saying much. And for the name this game represents it could ' ve been a lot, and I mean it, better. I only recommend it to die-hard fans or to people who will only play on-line.
  26. GregOnGames
    Nov 21, 2012
    8
    I most definitely approve of this game. I was impressed straight away by the noticeable beef-up in graphics. Halo has never been known for its land breaking visual content, but this game changes that within seconds of seeing that beautiful artwork, you realize this is what a Sci-Fi Shooter should look like. I found that campaign addictive, in single player and Co-op. Enemies are toughened and ready for a fight, and its noticeable that 343 did a fantastic job on setting the difficulties to what you'd expect, especially on Legendary. Gameplay feels splended as well, boasting new sounds for every weapon, and movements made by the player and the AI characters. The game just feels a lot better then most games I've played this year. Multiplayer has a whole new edge to it as well. The addition of custom load-outs made it feel like they were really passionate in kicking some Call of Duty ass this year, which is a big argument in itself. I did feel however that the storyline did not meet up to the expectations I quite had for a new company coming in with virtually limitless possibilities. Though, what they did add, they made it work great, leaving minor loop-holes that i'd hope are going to be told in the games to come. Overall, I feel a solid 8 is a great score for this great entry into a new world of Halo.… Expand
  27. massassim
    Nov 21, 2012
    10
    this game is amazing? no, it can't be defined with words how great this is... a masterpiece, mindblowing, 10 of 10 , a classic that your childs will have to play. I am from old scholl gaming, and this is so amazing like mario, zelda and lara croft! it's even better than that
  28. wiles01
    Nov 21, 2012
    7
    There are lots of set pieces in this game that make you giddy with excitement at the new ideas. The Mantis combat walker, the Mammoth 6 wheeled sandcrawler type vehicle. Lots of neat ideas. They did a good job of revising the franchise.

    Then there are other parts of the game that make you want to beat your head against the wall in frustration. It is hard sometimes to see where you a    re supposed to go next and you just kind of have to search your way around.

    Good story though and great graphics and gameplay otherwise. If you are a fan of Halo it is a must buy, if you are not a fan, then it might be a pass for you.    … Expand
  29. etfromsd
    Nov 21, 2012
    10
    Honestly, the best FPS in years. Near live action graphics, roaring gun sounds, immersive campaign and multiplayer with by far the best gameplay in the series. Keeps a typical Halo feel with a new edge. Even the skyboxes and masterful scores of music are done perfectly and are sure to turn heads. Oh, and did I mention that the greatest story on Xbox has been extended and even improved upon? The game is legit and will be around for years to come.… Expand
  30. Rockondevil
    Nov 21, 2012
    9
    Great game, not really as good as Halo: CE and Halo 2 were for their day but that's just my opinion.
    For 343's first game, even if it hasmost of the game already made it is still a decent effort.
    Campaign was fun and entertaining and the graphics are great.
    Unfortunately the down side to it for me was they tried to put to much CoD influence into the Multiplayer. Microsoft just because i    t is popular doesn't mean you need to emulate it.
    Biggest gripe for me was they showed Master Chiefs eyes.    … Expand
  31. RobertoAlbatraz
    Nov 22, 2012
    9
    The game is good. The singleplayer whilst missed out on some good opportunites **boss battles**, was fun to go through and only the 3 tower type of game missions were boring. A part of the story reminded me of 24 (when a super soldier has saved the world mulitple times and you havent done anything of that magnitude maybe just take his word for it and help the dude out). I wanted to see brutes and some larger enemies to take on. The guns sound and feel awesome well done to 343. Would love some diversity in gameplay though, such as a much slower mission that tries to put you on edge. Overall the game is awesome, well worth buying and playing. Its a fun game and the multiplayer and singleplayer will keep people going back to the 360 to play more.… Expand
  32. alpharowe
    Nov 22, 2012
    4
    I love the Halo storyline especially Reach. However this Halo 4 campaign was a disappointment. The story was convenient and one dimensional. You might have replaced the words UNSC (United Nations Space Command) with USSC (United States Space Command). Having one black dude and one Asian dude does not count for diversity in the world. At least Halo Reach had Spartans with more exotic names.

    The Game play was very repetitive. and it felt like playing a game of Pacman whereas playing Reach you felt that each level you were playing you were accomplishing a greater goal to the story line. I didn't have the same excitement I usually have will a Halo game. Games are more than just graphics, sounds and lighting. It missed that 4th dimension. Excitement. Despite this the MasterCheif/Cortana relationship was cool in this game. But overall I am very disappointment.    … Expand
  33. 25TonnesOfFun
    Nov 23, 2012
    5
    Anybody who gave this game anything more than an 8 must of never of played halo 3, which in my opinion was the best FPS multiplayer game ever made. Halo 3 is the most balanced FPS experience ever and 343 just shat all over that. extremely dissapointed with this game as it has way too much of halo reach in it with all these extra abilitys that make the game more complex then it need be. it is just not fun now that everybody can have camo or start with a battle rifle. the maps are also kind of crap with exception to ragnarok, but thats a halo 3 map anyway so essentially all the maps are utter doo doo. most of the game modes are boring, they really need to bring back big team games like one bomb and massive 8 vs 8 flag games. im not gonna take the game back as its still playable but i had hoped they would of learnt their lesson from how dissapointing reach was.… Expand
  34. KILLMN
    Nov 23, 2012
    10
    Awesome game maybe can't reach the level of Bungie games but it on the right path.Good beginning 343.
  35. Eric_DeVr33z
    Nov 23, 2012
    9
    This game is incredible. Halo 4's multiplayer is the best that the series has ever offered, with exciting matchmaking and the ability to customize your loadouts to suit your play style. The campaign has an excellent story, fleshing out the relationship between Master Chief and Cortana more than ever before. My only real criticisms of Halo 4 are that the campaign doesn't provide a very wide variety of objectives, and I still prefer Firefight to Spartan Ops. But otherwise the game is fantastic, and well worth the money for both new and old Halo fans.… Expand
  36. ThatGuy92
    Dec 24, 2012
    9
    Halo 4's campaign is nothing short of astounding, truly the first Halo game that is consistently good. It's an example of quality over quantity, especially in comparison to Halo 2 which was considerably longer but no where near as good. The opening cut scene blew me away and the first mission introduced me to the dark and beautiful level design which became so distinctive to this game. Solid gameplay was a given, it doesn't feel entirely like Halo, it feels more like how Halo should have been - A Sci-Fi shooter set in a sophisticated and thrilling universe. An arsenal of kick ass human and alien weaponry finely compliments it's brilliant pacing. The games graphical achievements were an unexpected surprise, I've never been taken by a Halo games graphics before 4 but it seems that a mixture of incredible set pieces and crazy technical achievement have made this not just a cut above its predecessors but one of the greatest visual achievements this generation. Sound design, as expected is top notch. The weapons have very distinctive sounds, although there are some hiccups such as the the warthog sounding far too aggressive, Halo's sound design is overall a joy to listen too. The games soundtrack had some pretty big boots to fill. While it simply does not fill those boots, it does a great job in setting Halo 4 apart from the original games by giving it a drastically different approach. The electronic sound that dominates the majority of the game is dark and menacing which I love but it doesn't hold the same emotional value that previous Halo titles massive scores did. The reasons I haven't given this game a perfect 10 include minor issues such as the annoyances with pressing multiple switches, while the gameplay does a good job of being diverse, this feels like a lazy way to proceed through levels and makes it feel slightly tedious at times. But the big issue is that the game deserved a proper finale, the opening to the last mission was incredible and as the level proceeded I was almost certain a climatic boss fight would be the icing on the cake. I won't include spoilers but the ending was nowhere near as rewarding as Halo: Combat Evolved.

    Halo 4 is a reminder to naysayers just why the series became so highly regarded, and is not a game to be brushed aside as another sequel to an old franchise.    … Expand
  37. PulseEnder
    Nov 24, 2012
    10
    Halo 4 is an outstanding game and is a direct sequel to Halo 4 and is the first Halo game in the new Reclaimer saga and is the first original Halo game made by 343 industries and is backed up behind the recent Halo live action web series Forward Unto Dawn. Plot: after Halo 3, Master Chief has remained in cryogenic sleep upon the vessel known as Forward Unto Dawn, and has requested to Cortana to be re-awakened when needed. Cortana realizes that their vessel is under attack by the Covenant who have broken their truce with the humans. When she awakens chief she warns him that they are orbited an ancient Forerunner planet, Requiem. The planet's Gravity Well intiates and brings the Covenant and as well as Chief, Cortana, and The Dawn into a collision course with the planet. On Requiem, Cortana reveals she is rampant and should be dead and will eventually think herself to death. They attempt to re-establish communications with the Infinity, a massive vessel that is home to the new spartan 4 program led by Commander Del Rio. In an attempt to clear communications lines they accidently free the ancient forerunner, Diadect, who is hell bent on eliminating humanity, and whose power manipulates the Covenant and the Prometheans into becoming his army. Comparison to Halo 3: Chief sports a new look in his mark 7 armor and is a bigger and better badass then he already was. Also their is more insight into Chief's legacy, Cortana's emotions, and the Spartan program itself. the Battle Rifle returns as well as the Covenant Carbine, the option to duel wield does not return. Comparison to Halo Reach: graphics are crispier, goes back to classic Halo 3 HUD, sprint is a default part of the experience as it is now not an armor ability, the DMR returns, and the infection game mode has evolved into the more gripping Flood game mode, Firefight mode does not return. New elements for the Halo experience: A new enemy known as the Prometheans are an interesting species that weild guns that shoot light and build right into your hands. Also the oppurtunity to pilot a Pelican is now here. Multiplayer: All multiplayer matches take place on the Infinity as training simulations for the Spartan 4s. Also Spartan Ops gives you 5 new missions for 10 weeks after Halo 4's original release as long as you have an Xbox Live Gold account which you get 2 weeks free for purchasing Halo 4. This game uses create a load out customization options which make for a customized experience as well as ordanance which gives the player random killstreaks in the form of a choice of weapon, grenade, or amor ability. My opinion: Halo 4 is a must play game that will be remembered as the most revolutionary Halo title since the original Combat Evolved itself. It reminds me of Call of Duty in terms of its easy to jump into play style, and its more interactive campaign, and killstreak like create a class like system. Even the Spartan Ops remind the player of Special Ops from Modern Warfare. I would reccomend this to anyone who wants to begin gaming or to anyone who owns an Xbox 360, even so I would find a way to try out this great game.… Expand
  38. getbacktogaming
    Dec 3, 2012
    0
    There is a lot of positive stuff about this game but what really irritates me is this : WHY DO I HAVE TO PAY GOLD TO PLAY SPARTAN OPS OFFLINE!?! This mentality at M$ earns this game a 1/10. It's outright disgusting. Costco will be taking my game back. I am not paying 60 $ to HAVE to pay another membership just to play OFFLINE! If I want to play online I can do it for free on my PS3 or play for XBL Gold... but now you guys are going to start charging for play Spartan Ops offline?!? I MEAN WHAT THE HELL??? It's not like this mode was not playable solo or local splitscreen... it is! If you start requesting Gold for this there is no end to your greed. Keep your video game. If I want to play it I'll wait for a price drop I am not paying full price to be ripped like this. Gosh even MW2 and MW3 special ops were all playable splitscreen... Black Ops can even have local splitscreen / LAN matches!?! Seriously shame on you Micro$oft and 343.… Expand
  39. 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.
  40. Innermostpizza
    Nov 24, 2012
    10
    smooth gameplay mixed with an enticing story creates a stunning new Halo game. Spartan Ops adds quick but fun missions updated weekly. The multiplayer is among the best in all of the Halo games. The game overall is balanced, sleek and beautiful! 343 should be proud to have made a game worthy to have made a game that raises the bar on standards. 343 has shown that Halo is in capable hands.
  41. 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
  42. MrRivers
    Nov 24, 2012
    10
    Best graphics, best single player campaign, best weapons, best multiplayer. A masterpiece, 343i demonstrated the love for the series, bringing the best Halo yet to the Xbox console. Thank you
  43. Stuu
    Nov 25, 2012
    4
    343 industries clearly wanted to distance themselves from Bungie by redesigning how the Halo universe looks and how it sounds. Unfortunately for 343 compared to Reach the game feels far less impressive with less appealing aesthetics and the completely redesigned sounds seemed to miss the mark too.

    The game itself tried to do to many things to please a larger audience base. New to the g    ame are mech armor, linear flying sequences (which uncannily seemed like Starfox 64 with a halo skin) Quick time events and even a set piece that seemed to be taken from portal, where the bad guy inexplicably re-arranges a level design to make it harder (but not impossible for some reason) to get from point A to point B. On the note of the Bad guy, his motivation is brushed away in one line of dialogue and then takes a position of complete indifference to Master Chief for the rest of the game even though he is continually foiled by the chief. Cortana no longer has her strong personality but rather now reminds me of someone craving attention by constantly complaining just to get Master Chief to reassure her which accumulates to the most out of place cut-scene.

    The multiplayer is now more focused on fast paced action rather than weapon spawn camping. which is a significant improvement. Though the need for a perk to be able to pick up fallen grenades seems a bit odd for a halo game.

    Overall a massive missed opportunity with the poorly written and heavily retconned plot where Microsoft might have been better off just creating a completely new universe from scratch rather than attaching onto the existing halo one.    … Expand
  44. Vandral007
    Nov 25, 2012
    9
    I hate Halo. I've hated Halo for a long time. For me, Halo represents the beginning of mainstream gaming. As more and more people line up for their Halo or CoD releases, a piece of orginiality dies within the gaming industry, which is now dominated by megacorps out to make as much money as possible. (nothing wrong with trying to make money, but they don't seem to care about the quality of the game.)

    I could never attatched to Master Cheif, and I didnt' care about the overarching story. Just hated it. Didn't even play ODST or Reach. Halo 4 gets released, and I'm given a copy by a friend. For a laugh, I load it up, thinking I'll hate it like I hated all the others. 7 hours later I put down the controller having finished the campaign. I may have to go back and give the other games in the series a chance, because Halo 4 has blown me away! Graphically it is gorgeous, the sound design is probably the best of the year. The gameplay is quick and intuitive, but the story.... oh man the story is what has guaranteed a purchase of Halo 5 for me. 343 Studios should be commended for taking a faceless soldier lacking any basic personality, and using sublte (yes subtle in a Halo game) story telling, allowing the player to actually connect to Master Cheif and Cortana. It was brilliant... probably the best story in a game this year, barring maybe The Last Story. Multiplayer is great fun, and Spartan Ops are also great. Don't listen to Halo haters. I know... I used to be one.    … Expand
  45. Lilbutter
    Nov 25, 2012
    8
    Fantastic game! Best graphics on Xbox 360 by a mile. Gameplay is great in single player, but not hooked on multiplayer, just is'nt doing anything for me. have'nt been hooked on a halo game since 3, but this is still a great game.
  46. iOnlySam
    Nov 26, 2012
    9
    Halo 4 is an amazing game, and with a great campaign and multiplayer behind it, there's no doubt that I think the game is an exhilarating experience for any Halo fan, new and old.

    The campaign surrounds Cortana more than Master Chief this time around, giving the Halo series a flip on perspective. Cortana has a rare disease, which is running herself into insanity, giving the mission to M    aster Chief to solve her issues. The campaign is a great experience, which I think everyone who hasn't tried it should definitely give it a go. With a fantastic layout of each mission and a great balance of huge fights and small gun fights to banshee hijacking opportunities, it makes Halo 4's campaign the greatest Halo campaign in its series, if not one of the best on Xbox 360.

    The graphics, are as great as ever. Master Chief looks stunning, the guns look realistic, and the locations never see to amaze me, because they blow me away. One thing that I found in the game which created a level of immersion that no other game can give you is the small pieces of the helmet that you can see when playing as Master Chief in the campaign, unfortunately this doesn't continue into the multiplayer, leaving the immersivness as good as it always was, sadly not taking it to the level the campaign has achieved.

    Multiplayer couldn't be better... Than CoD... But it is... In some ways. Graphics far beat CoD, full stop, but I still am not getting that feeling of "The game was amazing, I need to play another". Or "I will play betters than that next round." Unfortunately I only find myself playing Halo 4's multiplayer for the daily challenges, I will play it, complete the challenges, then play maybe one or two more games and then swap to my playstation for Black Ops 2 or Borderlands 2. Although I have to say that the multiplayer is top notch in perspective of its customisation, spartan abilities, weapon load outs and great map designs.

    The spartan ops is one extra which I feel is a very good extra for the game and props to 343 for introducing some new style of gameplay. The forge world, as much as it is good, can be as repetitive as it always was and gets boring quickly as those awesome levels which you see are too hard to make by yourself. Verdict:
    Halo 4 is probably one of the greatest gaming sequels in history, winning me over with the enhanced graphics and the challenging Spartan Ops. Throwing me overboard with joy with an excellent Campaign with big time events and making me feel good about completing challenges in multiplayer. But not enough to make me play the game all day and night.

    A force to be reckoned with in 2012.    … Expand
  47. Augusto1029
    Nov 27, 2012
    10
    First of all I have played all halos, since the original Xbox, and this delivery did not disappoint. 343 did a fantastic job creating a robust experience, campaign and multiplayer wise. The visual experience was also fantastic, the controls remained classic but I love the feedback you receive the shooting and how different this feedback is from gun to gun. Also there is an story telling element from the campaign all the way up to Spartan Ops, a great idea that is keeping the game fresh and relevant. In regards of the story as other have said, the emotion created around the relationship Master Chief / Cortana, was well executed and it did let me, personally, craving for more Halo.

    Halo being an FPS, its a bench mark for games like Mass Effect 3, that are not able to handle the pressure of a high expectations ending. Thanks 343i, I am looking forward for other projects and of course: More Halo!    … Expand
  48. THE_KONGONATOR
    Nov 27, 2012
    9
    What... a... game. Considering a new studio developed Halo 4, this is stunning. Kudos to 343 Industries. They have just gained my support. Wonderful multiplayer like always, and the single player is fun and a great challenge on Legendary. The achievements are well set-out and they game is fabulous in each and every way. Halo is the King of Online FPS, this is coming from a COD Fanboy who has been playing COD since the first on PC. This time though, BO2 can do one, Halo 4 is the one.… Expand
  49. jasir98
    Dec 24, 2012
    10
    (out of 100)
    Visuals: 97
    Game play: 98
    sound effects: 100
    Campaign: 97
    pacing: 99
    story: 96
    Multi player: 100
    Replay rate: 96
    Overall: 98
    Halo 4 is the best halo game ever created and probably the besthooter of the year or maybye even the game of the year
  50. Chron1cNinja69
    Nov 28, 2012
    10
    I easily give this game a 10/10 due to the fact that the game offers great graphics, has a slight mix of CoD, and Halo. And they've added the "Sticky Detonator" as well as some Forerunner technology with a great balance of teams and weapons. It is still rather easy to hack or mod in the game, considering I've seen a couple hackers myself and it makes me angry. The game is new though, and all new games have glitches and kinks that need to be worked out. The 343 Industries that created and developed it did an overall great job and I would play this my whole life if I could.… Expand
  51. GoodTasteGamer
    Dec 21, 2012
    8
    I played Halo 4 for a week and i felt like i didn't really receive the game that i was waiting for. This is NOT a bad game guys, definately not a bad game by a long shot: it has a fun multiplayer and an epic campaign, even being "asphyxiantly" short. The main problem is that it LACKS CONTENT. I can't even understand why i need two cds: The first cd has only the campaign, that it's epic but it lasts so much as a kid's popsicle on a hot day in the middle of the beach. Then you have Spartan Ops and Multiplayer, both of them requires you to install the cd 2 before you start to play. Why i need to install cd 2 ( that creates a file of more than 4 GB on the hard drive) to play Spartan Ops and Multiplayer ? Spartan Ops is only 1 f#cking episode, it's boring and it's impossible to play it offline so if you're not a gold member Microsoft f#cks you in the @ss. Then you have multiplayer, where you are allowed to choose between... what ?... 3 maps on the big modes - not even a half of what we had on Halo 3! The graphics are good, clearly not the best but in the top 5 of the console for sure. The scenarios are big and high detailed. I played sick battles on them with no frame-rate issues whatsoever. The "level up" system is unfair because it rewards the people who bought the game earlier than others, the sickest weapons and habilities will always be available exclusive to players with high rank level (but still a mile away better than any COD multiplayer). The game also doesn't have any punishment for friendly fire and that sometimes can be very frustrating. There are various modes for multiplayer and almost nothing for the campaign: skulls without points and some "movie only" chapters to give you the impression that the campaign was satisfactory: it wasn't. The history is incredible weak, to be fair it would be almost childish if wasn't for Cortana's drama. Unfortunately, it's not a journey because Halo 4's campaign is not long enough for the player to feel connected with the characters and the events. The motion capture doesn't add too much. The soundtrack is good but not even close of being excelent as the soundtrack from the original trilogy. Halo 4 is far from being bad but it's unable to hide the fact that you bought a blank and incomplete product, that surely doesn't live up to its ambitions. Buy Halo 3 instead.… Expand
  52. theoperator69
    Nov 28, 2012
    5
    (the halo 4 story was satisfying IMO, this review is more centered on the multiplayer)

    I Love halo, and also enjoy cod on many occasions. These games should be kept separate; converging their features don't make you gain both audiences. 343 said when asked about implemented COD features "Yea we want more of the market share of players, that's the major reason for the change." This game     should probably receive around an 8-9, but for a halo game, it deserves a 6, plain and simple. I am a huge fan/player of halo 2, 3 and reach online. Halo 4 fails in my opinion to retain its uniqueness of the halo series. I actually enjoyed the fact that sprint was not inherent in previous halo's, IMO this is a core game mechanic that should have been retained. While the Cod mechanics don't technically make for a bad game, they do drastically change the way the game plays. I am surprised to see so many 9's and 10's from halo fans, I would have thought the changes toward COD would yield 7's and 8's at most. I didn't want ANOTHER Cod, I wanted another Halo.… Expand
  53. Zorgon
    Dec 3, 2012
    10
    Regardless of the ubiquitous use of minute numerical values from overwhelmingly negative reviews let me state the absolute truth about this game. It is the best Halo title to date. However it is not without fault. Some textures are lacking in detail and some weapons like the "boltshot"
    are overpowered. The story however is compelling, epic and crisp. Despite its lack of a giant cast of     characters. The game IS worth the money by all means and spartan ops is an enjoyable ride. HOWEVER spartan ops requires Xbox Live, unlike firefight which was great for parties with friends who did not own an Xbox 360 or Xbox Live. The online multiplayer is the most fun engagement in modern gaming but it lacks in certain game modes I enjoyed from Halos Reach and 3. Like grifball. By the time this is read however there could have already been an update for matchmaking which included these game modes and more.… Expand
  54. emoney
    Nov 28, 2012
    9
    Overall great game and i love the weapons although the campagin is short who gives a damn the multiplayer matters the most in games today its more like a 8.5
  55. Cure9269
    Nov 29, 2012
    10
    343 have more than equaled Bungie by delivering a sequel worthy of the Halo name. Not only that they have built an impressive new graphics engine which makes Halo 4 one the most stunning games ever made. Halo 4 may not feature as much inovation as people may have expected but they have crafted a slick and stunning shooter that more than rivals anything else out this year. The story has more focus, the charecters more depth. And a real emotional undercurrent has been added that asks some very interesting questions about Master Chiefs mental state. The multiplayer is so balanced and fun to play, the edition of classes and better integration of power weapons in the form of ordnance mean that even the weaker players out there will get a chance to play with cool stuff. The only downside is Spartan Ops. Hyped up to be a revolutionary episodic series spanning 5 weeks giving the player more insight to the background events of the main campaign. The problem is these levels are short lacking in any real personality and purpose. They feel more like training exercises than a supposed new adventure. This is a small issue that doesn't stop Halo 4 being the great package it is. 343 first game ever it frankly brilliant. And now the foundations have been built for the next 10 years who knows where we will end up in Halo 5. All I know is I can't to get there.… Expand
  56. SuperiorBRAIN
    Dec 1, 2012
    10
    The Best Halo Period...Great Graphics which are the best the Series Have ever seen...... Great Multiplayer, Very Competitive Online Community Check it out
  57. CMM
    Nov 30, 2012
    9
    Halo 4 is fun, it has problems and glitches (my campaign progress was reset and it was solo legendary so I had to do it again) but overall it's a great game. I wish spartan ops was better and they had firefight.
  58. chrismagnani
    Nov 30, 2012
    8
    Good multiplayer like always but boring and repetitive campaign. The graphics are improved over the previous games and the sound also is a lot better. Campaign though is by far the weakest of all the Halo games to date. If you are buying this game just for the campaign just don't do it. You'll be disappointed and will have wasted $60. If you plan on playing multiplayer on Live then I guess it's worth it.… Expand
  59. Joshsreviews
    Dec 1, 2012
    9
    343 industries has delivered. This game is outstanding in many ways. The graphics, for example, has stepped up gigantically. There is a clear contrast between the graphics of Halo: Reach and Halo 4. And it's Halo 4 that has the better side of the contrasting graphics even though both games are based on the same engine. The sound throughout the game is amazing and you can tell the time and effort that 343 industries has put into the sound on Halo 4. The gameplay is great and the AI are definitely much more sophisticated than in any Halo game before. The multiplayer gameplay is also great, the maps are well designed, the forerunner weapons are brilliantly brought into the game yet some gametypes are missing such as VIP, One Flag, Race, Infection, (this was replaced with Flood, of which isn't as good in my opinion). This has a downside to the fun Forge custom game maps that people make. The ranking system could also have reverted to the Halo 3 1-50 skill ranking yet that is believed to be brought in with a major update in January. Overall the multiplayer should definitely keep you playing for many weeks, months or even years. Spartan Ops is a mode which contains small missions which get updated every week (5 missions per week) and you can complete these solo or for up to 4 players. The best part? Every week it's free! Forge is also much easier to build yet there isn't a large scale envionment like Forge World on Halo: Reach. Overall I am loving Halo 4 and I will continue to do I'm sure. Graphics - 9.5
    Sound - 9
    Gameplay - 9    … Expand
  60. TheGreyKnight
    Dec 1, 2012
    10
    Congratulations to 343i Studios for creating such a masterpiece of gaming. Through my personal playing of all the aspects of Halo 4, I have only encountered a few minor glitches, that literally have done nothing to slow me down.
    Looking at Halo 4, you would be hard pressed to believe this isn't a next-gen title, as the graphics are utterly stunning, and demonstrate what a talented team of     developers can do with outdated technology. 343i's emphasis on story and personal connections in Halo 4 comes shining through with a deep, emotional rollercoaster that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat through most of the game. From the absolutely stunning beginning, all the way through to the mind-blowing ending, Halo 4 keeps you wanting more and more.
    Not to be outdone by the incredible campaign, the multiplayer emerges as the best in the entire series. The use of ordinance drops and new game modes makes for an entertaining and balanced competitive multiplayer scene. Meanwhile, Spartan ops delivers a fresh and compelling entry into the series. The use of CG scenes to lay the foundation for the impressive firefight-based missions adds to the overall story based experience 343i wanted to deliver. As always, Forge represents the continuing advancement of player generated content, allowing for an unrivaled creation mode. This review truly doesn't do Halo 4 justice, and the only advice I can truly offer at this point is, go out and try it. You won't be disappointed.    … Expand
  61. sweatyfatfngrz
    Dec 1, 2012
    1
    Am I reviewing the right game? I keep reading all these positive reviews and I have to wonder how many bong rips you'd have to take to get that perception of this game. Seems like the only thing going for it is the huge fan base that the other Halo games established. The story was cheesy, graphics left a lot to be desired and the online game play was so lacking that I'm not sure why they even bothered. About the only thing that came out of this game is now I know which of my friends like purple, cyan and pink. Thank God the new Black Ops is out and I get $40 for trading this in! Would have given it a 0 out of 10 but that is just ridiculous.… Expand
  62. Wright98
    Dec 2, 2012
    9
    I love this game. The graphics are immense and the campaign is also brilliant. Multiplayer has brilliant maps and guns. Ordnance is a feature I love and forge is great for building anything you like, the magnets really help.
  63. Kilzer
    Dec 2, 2012
    6
    Halo 4's story was impressive as Master Chief develops in his personality through his journey with Cortana, while short, it was nothing short of interesting and impressive. However, despite the campaign, the multiplayer seems lack-luster and bland. The old Halo style is no longer there, instead it is mashed up with COD game play style, everyone has sprint, you have support abilities which are "perks", and kill streaks called ordinances, the matchmaking playlists are very limited and there is no "Team Objectives" like in Halo: Reach or Halo 3, you have to pick to what you are feeling now, instead of picking random. The level designs are also boring and there doesn't seem to be enough for release. Some maps are even imbalanced for game types such as CTF where jet packs reign supreme or one team has the better base to defend . The graphics I give an A for consoles, but split-screen seems to cause major fps lag in larger games. Spartan Ops seems to be rehashed every episode and brings rarely anything new to the table except for the standard "kill this, defend this" which last only about 7 minutes each, while it is nice to have a co-op experience such as spartan ops, I feel they could have done better. Overall I give the story a 9/10 (Only because they seem to rush everything at the beginning). and the overall game a 6/10 because of the multiplayer and Spartan Ops.… Expand
  64. JohnnyP
    Dec 3, 2012
    8
    This game's campaign is amazing, just like every other game in the Halo series. However the multiplayer really lacks anything new, there are weapon balancing issues, and there are only 10 maps playable at launch, only 4 of which are playable in Team Slayer (the most popular game type of the series). It kind of feels like they left out maps on purpose so that you would be more inclined to purchase their map packs.… Expand
  65. kolopop123
    Dec 4, 2012
    1
    This is no longer Halo, it has been sold out to the CoD kiddies. Its been sped up, sold out and now takes next to no skill to play. 343 have destroyed it

    RIP Halo
  66. magician369
    Mar 8, 2013
    9
    Graphics:10///GAMEPLAY:10///Story:7///Soundtracks:10
    ----------9 masterpiece---------------
    a must have game for the Xbox,if you did not play the series before(like me),i highly recommend to watch all the cut scenes on YouTube to be familiar with the universe of Halo.
    the guns are absolotly amazing,vihcels are a little bit buggy,but also cool.best graphics for a seven generation consol     ,especially the faces of the characters are so real.the music is fantastic...
    there is only one big PROBLEM in this game,be sure to read this:NO AUTO SAVE IN CAMPAIGN,not even a save menu,checkpoints are not saved unless you press start and choose save and quit,i lost three missions when i shutdown my Xbox.
    also the story plot is not up to the game,but it is good.    … Expand
  67. Xarnis
    Dec 5, 2012
    9
    Score- 10.0 (Having trouble with Metacritic's Score system)

    Halo 4 is an epic science fiction tale if there ever was one. It is a superbly crafted game that fully captures the essence of the Halo universe left by Bungie Studios. Bungie's successor in developing the Halo franchise, 343 Industries are clearly people who love Halo this makes the game all te better. 343 has put in tons of i    mprovements into this game, and whether it be storytelling, graphics, sound, this propels Halo 4 above and beyond my expectations, making it one of the best games of this year, if not one of the best in this generation. The story is fantastic and is possibly the best in the Halo franchise to date. It harkened back to Combat Evolved, where Master Chief an Cortana discover a strange planet an encounter new enemies, unlike anything seen before. In Halo 4, the Chief and Cortana discover the Forerunner planet of Requiem, which is filled with brand new lush environments in which the game takes place. These environments are beautiful and fun to play around in. We also meet the Prometheans, who are a nice fresh enemy group that challenges your skills and tactics. The story here is mostly focused on the relationship between Cortana and Master Chief, which creates an emotional attachment to the characters that hasn't been seen in a Halo fame before. You will definitely feel the emotional impact by the end of this game. The graphics have surpassed anything I thought was capable of the Xbox 360. It is definitely up there with the top visual games of the generation, and the CGI in cutscenes shines. The sound has been completely overhauled. The arsenal of weapons at your disposal is phenomenal and all of these weapons sound fierce in their own right. The guns pack a heavy punch upon firing, creating an incredibly satisfying moment when you obliterate someone with an Incineration Cannon, or mow someone down with the Assault Rifle (which isn't half bad in this game). The multiplayer has been adjusted to be similar to games such as Call of Duty or Battlefield; and that's not a bad thing. You can now create custom loadouts, which creates the tactical class building feel of other games, while still maintaining the traditional Halo feel. Power weapons are still scattered around, but they are able to be seen on the player's HUD, making them a hotspot for intense firefights. Also added to the class building system are abilities (returning from Reach) which areuch more balanced this time around, and "perk-esque" traits (such as unlimited sprint, faster reload and weapon swap, etc.). This is a welcome addition and allows more variety in the gameplay. The gameplay of multiplayer still feels like traditional Halo, but with these improvements, it feels even better. Replacing Firefight mode from ODST and Reach is Spartan Ops, which is episodic missions, accompanied by a CGI cutscene story. Each Episode composes of 5 chapters, but they are very short (a whole episode takes about 1-1.5 hours on Legendary). They're fun diversions, albeit minimal ones. Still they add longevity to the game, which is already sprouting with it. There are some minor annoyances however. The jump from Normal to Heroic and legendary difficulties in Halo 4 is large and very hard. Hali's legendary mode has never been forgiving, but Halo 4's difficulty spikes are extreme. While this, and the removal of Firefight make for slight annoyances they can't damage hiw good this game is. Halo 4 is not a perfect game. There never has, and never will be a perfect game. But Halo 4 is probably the closest we'll get for this generation of consoles. It may not be perfect, but is so, damn close.… Expand
  68. airborne17th
    Dec 7, 2012
    8
    I rented this game at my local grocery store and only got to play this game for like 6 hours. 2 singleplayer in forever alone world and 4 in multiplayer with friends. My biases here? I fell out with Halo after Halo 2 and never got interested in it again till Halo Reach. So I'm missing Halo 3 and ODST. So when the story started I was rather confused so I had to wiki the story. The thing is even after two hours, the story still seemed a bit unexplained and the designers at 343 assumed that you know and accept everything that happened before Halo 4. Honestly, they could of weaved the narrative better and had a better 5 minute introduction (see Extra Creditz) Alright, that doesn't bug me that much because the game is smooth and controls extremely well. But that this point the combat of Halo has not evolved very much. I swear if there was more time and budget for it, Halo 1 could of had the same armor abilities as this Halo. This game actually is pretty boring playing alone, if I had time for co-op, I assume that I would of had a better time. The multiplayer? I had a lot of fun with. During my first match, when I got my first airdropped rocket launcher my first thought was, this was a hell of a lot like Call of Duty. After I got that feeling I couldn't shake it off, it didn't help there was custom classes, leveling, and unlock tokens. Interestly, Black Ops 2 and Halo 4 were developing at similar times. Were designers at 343 and Treyarch sharing ideas? Not to say this is a bad idea, taking what good design choices from other games and putting it in yours to improve the experience is a good idea. Overall, I don't feel Halo 4 improved much on the template of Halo. I'm probably going to get this during the holiday season, but there was always the feeling of slight disappointment while playing Halo 4. Still you did a relatively good job, 343. Halo 5 should be able to make some improvements...hopefully… Expand
  69. RamboDash
    Dec 7, 2012
    9
    I'm only giving this a 9 to pull this game out of an injust 6.8 user rating... While I felt it was more along the lines of a high 7 to 8. Halo is by far my favorite franchise, it tells the best story I've ever heard, with the smoothest gameplay, most stunning visuals and ground-breaking musical scores... The scores. That's where MY score comes in. I hold Halo to such a high standard that once Marty left the party I was legitimately scared. Turns out I was right... Neil Davidge does not show this game justice, and while his musical score was quite good it can't touch Marty's legacy with a 40 metre pole.

    During the entire campaign, as soon as I started to feel the thrill of past Halo's rush through me, I would cut myself short and wonder where the amazing music was. Then I would realize that Marty is gone, and slump back into my couch, apathetically racing a ghost through a wonderfully designed level.

    That is my great critique as a Halo fan; however the rest of the campaign was not perfect, not even on par with Reach in my opinion. I disliked the poor character development of the captain of the UNSC Infinity, I disliked the feeling that 343 rushed to tell a story (where can they even go with Halo 5?) and above all I disliked the Diadact. He was most certainly the most poorly developed villain in the Halo universe.

    Multiplayer wise, however, I was blown away. The fact that they could revolutionize the good old Halo experience by adding weapon drops, new (BALANCED!!!) armour abilities, and custom classes which aren't overpowered; by this I'm referring to something along the lines of COD, where if you want to play with the best you need a silenced UMP, or a Type 95. The way they allowed players to customize their classes was FAIR; not better, not worse, just different, to respond to different situations.

    My only critiques I have of the multiplayer aspect of the game are spawn times, the Mantis, and starting grenades. All of these can easily be modified later, which is why I don't feel they are fundamental gameplay errors. I feel that instant spawns is taking the Halo out of Halo, as we now have problems of "reverse spawn camping" (killing the player whom killed you, as you can go after him instantly). The Mantis needs to be nerfed a little, since (as any banshee pilot can attest to) a single fly-by is fatal, and there is no chance in hell you are able to take down a mantis from the sky. Lastly, spawning grenades. This is the only problem I have with customizable loadouts, as it can turn simple infantry into anti-vehicle nightmares; right from the spawn. There's few things more frustrating than loading up a warthog at the beginning of a match, knowing (falsely) that the only plausible oppositions are enemy vehicles, only to be stuck by a few stragglers instantly.

    This is my review, which doubles as a rant. Hope it was helpful and that you enjoyed it. Cheers :)    … Expand
  70. TheWalrus2000
    Mar 25, 2013
    9
    Halo 4 brings back the ultimate Halo game experience with awesomeness and intensity. Halo fans will be pleased.
  71. AliGSix
    Dec 10, 2012
    5
    One of the most over hyped games ever. The campaign is very short and very easy it can easily be completed on legendary difficulty with two people with their eyes shut. When I heard about Spartan ops I was quite excited however, same as the campaign too easy and really boring straightforward objectives. Tries to be Halo 3 but fails miserably.
  72. TheGeckOH
    Dec 14, 2012
    9
    Although I rated this game a 9 out of 10, which means its an amazing game. If I were to compare it to Halo 3 I would give it a 6. BUT as a new company with a new direction its heading, I think they did an amazing job. First off if you are buying this expecting it to be like halo 3, don't its the polar opposite of halo 3 which in a way sucks. But as its own game it is amazing, the campaign needed 1 more level in the middle to make the transition better, the campaigns ending (NO SPOILERS) is too embarrassing as a halo fan, although it is a really good ending it was extremely pathetic (you'll know what I mean when you beat it) The multi player is a 80% cod clone but still halo. It has specilizations, support upgrades, and armor abilities (3 "perks" like cod) sprint is with everyone and needs some weapon balancing but that can be fixed. With halo 3 having about 7 flawless maps (guardian, highground, pit, snowbound, avalanche, Last resort etc) and halo 4 having 2 (Exile, Haven) the maps aren't something to brag about, ALTHOUGH the maps are nice and exciting they aren't on par with halo 3 maps. With that said lets move onto the gamemodes, these following complaints will most likely be fixed soon so thats why it doesnt effect the score. But there are very few modes for online, no multi team, no rumble pit, no assault, no one flag, no "fun" modes like action sack from halo 3. But there are great modes added such as Dominion, Regicide (the only ffa mode atm) Extraction etc. With halo 4 being Big Team focused and having valhalla being remade there is no shortage of big team maps and gameplay, but with there being only 2 good small maps (haven, adrift) it lacks what halo 3 had that sense of (lets go **** around on guardian with snipers. Haven just doesnt cut it vs guardian. In ctf being able to wield a pistol while carrying the flag is stupid, and not having to HAVE the flag at base to score is stupid. My biggest complaint about this game, and this is half of the reason halo 4 is only a 9/10 not 10/10 is the forge. Oh man oh man this forge is 100% terrible, the features are nice, but the 3 small maps are absolutely trash, small spaces, tons of barriers, restrictions to the max. Forge world was massive, and had about 9 great areas for forging, with the 3 maps you get a crappy small "forge world" type space but it resemble the pinnacle rock from forge world... THATS IT its that small, the space one is the only viable map to forge on, but with unwanted holes in the ground, and an unremovable building it still isnt that great. Also one of the things they bragged about with forge was that it looked different then reachs. NO IT DOESNT instead of having all silver pieces we have all white pieces with shadows. The magnet thing is nice the gravity zones are amazingly cool, the playspaces are trash certain affinity did a horrendous job with forge. Now that I got that off my chest I will say this, although it looks like I have 9000 complaints about this game, I gave it a 9 because its still halo at its core, and thats what we want as gamers, that and most of the stuff I mentioned are fixable as in game type issues weapon balancing etc. But the forge maps im sorry to say but we probably wont get a sandbox type map as dlc in the future which sucks. But overall this game is outstanding despite the sucky forge and 1 level too short campaign with a predictable ending. If you are a ginormous fan of halo 3 and expect this game to be as fun, I'd say pass because this isnt "classic" halo its halo 2.5 (reach being 2.0) it adds alot of features, takes a couple out and overall wont appeal to the oldschool halo fan, it appeals to the casual gamer who wants to mess around and have fun (like me) I hope you read this review and took it with an open mind. In summary this games campaign needed one more level in the middle (hard transition), not for the oldschool halo fan, has stellar multiplayer for the casual gamer, needs a few maps similar to guardian/pit and a sandbox remake and this game will be a perfect 10. Thanks for reading.… Expand
  73. darkmauv
    Dec 16, 2012
    9
    this game present the best graphics in Xbox 360, the campaign is short but is very amazing, takes the good things the previous Halo is the best halo since Halo CE. This game is essential in any collection of a user of XBox 360
  74. Scholarch
    Dec 16, 2012
    7
    First off ill be clear, I have not finished the campaign but am 4 hours in and I have 10 hours in multiplayer and have played numerous rounds of each game type. From my experience here are the aspects that i enjoyed and those i do not. Campagin: BAD Inconsistent difficulty: some areas are boringly easy ( played on heroic) while other areas are controller throwing difficult.

    GOOD: Beaut    iful graphics. I died at one point because i walked out of a crevice into an open area and was standing just looking at the amazing scenery.

    BAD: The AI is simple: The enemies generally repeat a simple pattern and dont seem to act as if they have any tactics. ( shoot a grunt in the back and often they wont even turn around)

    GOOD: voice quality. I always felt in the previous games that the voice recording quality was lacking. However the voices in the campaign have been wonderfully crisp.

    BAD: overpowered weapons. It seems as though the method to make the game more difficult is to simply ramp up the enemy weapon damage. This leads to a jackal with a needler being your worst enemy rather than a skillful elite.

    GOOD: Controls: while the control layout has changed the fluidity of the control is such that the controller never feels like a barrier.

    BAD: Vehicle sounds: Every vehicle sound so far has been annoying to the point that I've actually left behind a ghost so I didn't have to hear it. The warthog is a military vehicle not an alcohol dragster. Any enemy within a half a mile would hear it coming. BAD: Checkpoints. Bungie was always careful to ensure that difficult areas had strategic checkpoints that would help you progress while still allowing for deaths. Halo 4 barely has any. If you cant get through a 30-40 minute section without dying, be prepared to see the same area and hear the same dialog, possibly for hours till you can find just the right sequence of maneuvers to get you through. Multiplayer:

    BAD: Locked Loadouts: The fact that those who have been playing longest get access to the best gear is frustrating beyond words. Dont like the jetpack at first? Tough. BAD: Dynamic game joining. More than once it seemed that one team got to start the game 10-30 seconds before the other allowing for advantages that were near insurmountable ( acquiring both mechs in capture the flag on Valhalla)

    BAD: Mechs. Any game that include the mechs regardless of the actual type becomes "capture the mech" these things are so incredibly overpowered its inconceivable they made it into the final game in this form. BAD: Map design. Most of the maps feel cluttered and lack a sense of flow, with many having a "perfect spot" eg. The tree near the crates on Abandon is so easily defended that an oddball match can be won in a blowout if the carrier stands behind it.

    GOOD: Player skill matching. Despite playing against opponents some 20 levels higher the game seemed to balance the teams well. Rarely did it feel like one person won the game.

    GOOD: SWAT. SWAT still plays as vicious and frantic as always and the new instant respawn helps keep the game moving Overall while the game most definitely feels like a halo game it lacks that sense of razor thin balance that made the prior games so much fun. While the new graphics bring a greater feeling of realism failings in gameplay constantly break immersion. A shaky start to a new era of Halo.    … Expand
  75. Gollumsvater
    Jan 26, 2013
    4
    Campaign is ok, multiplayer is freaking awful. Too much randomness and garbage taken from COD (flinch, Personal ordnance drops, world ordnance drops, instant respawn) and less features than Halo: Reach make it the worst Halo.
  76. dark_knight_98
    Dec 20, 2012
    10
    Possibly the greatest Halo game yet, not only does the campain provide an amazing gaming experience but the multiplayer is now much improved. Simply, if you are a Halo fan you need to buy this game. If you are not a Halo fan you also need to buy this game.
  77. TOBYSMG
    Dec 18, 2012
    9
    Ah, Halo, how I love you.
    Master Chief has returned in the new installment of the explosive blockbuster franchise, and I (like so many) am as happy as Larry to see that this game is so fantastic.
    Graphically, this is one of the best looking games on the Xbox 360, and in the first cutscene, I did mistake the CGI for reality. Honestly, it's that good-looking. Although textures are sometime    s a little on the dodgy side, and explosion effects are rarely just not exciting enough, this is undoubtedly a graphical triumph.
    The sound design is almost flat-out the best you will ever experience. Buy a good pair of headphones and you will drool at the sound of the DMR punching holes in enemies' faces. I actually start shouting "Pew, pew, pew!" in some sections of the campaign, in which voice acting (for most characters) is brilliant. 343 Industries took a leap of faith with an entirely new musical score, and let me tell you that on the way down, they grew a pair of wings and flew up high into the sky! The music sometimes doesn't complement the situation perfectly, but for the most part it was great.
    Let's think about the campaign for a second. This time around, I really began to care for Cortana and John 117 in a way that I never originally had before. Their bond grew so much stronger in the game, and it brought out who Master Chief really was, and what he thought of himself and others. Story-wise, this game is very memorable, with a good (if slightly under-explained) villain. Some of the secondary characters get lost in the thick of it, and the commander of the ship Infinity has some completely unjustified orders, which make you question his competence as the captain of the biggest human spaceship ever. These minor gripes do not affect the overall product, which is a beautiful culmination of everything Halo. A saddening (but definitely satisfying) ending ties things up perfectly, making this one of the best stories ever told in a Halo game. Gameplay-wise, the campaign retains the sandbox mechanics of previous Halos, but only widens the possibilities with the new enemies: Prometheans. These are fun new enemies to fight, as they employ new tactics to keep you on you toes: Crawlers climb around, pounding the player with light arms fire, Knights bring the heavy weapons and blast though Covenant and UNSC personnel alike, and Watchers (spawned by Knights) float about, spawning more Knights and Crawlers, and giving your forcefield something to think about. After a while, the campaign begins to get a tad repetitive, but the objectives can differ enough for it to stay almost perfect throughout, with the last mission putting a wonderful spin on the classic Halo Warthog run. The campaign is, in every sense of the word, incredible.
    A welcome change in Halo 4 is to the multiplayer, which allows players to create their own custom classes, with various weapons, armour abilities and armour mods. This creates the fear of unfairness in multiplayer, but that fear is crushed by how balanced the game seems. Gameplay is now faster-paced, with sprinting now a default for all players, letting the maps get bigger and bigger- some too big. Most maps in this game are enjoyable to play on, but the good-old medium-sized maps have almost completely disappeared, spare two or three that you could class as such. New gametypes arrive, however, such as Dominion, Regicide and Infinity Slayer, which bring the best kind of change to multiplayer, whilst catering to the sizes of maps and mixing things up perfectly. Altogether, multiplayer is wonderful.
    And now, the newcomer: Spartan Ops, an episodic series of missions, updated weekly for insane cooperative play, but replacing the much-loved Firefight. It's great, but there are several flaws. The maps are recycled several times (but are used for different objectives), the story is very basic and hardly exists outside of the eye-popping CGI cutscenes, and some of the characters are completely unlikeable, though to counter that, there are some that you'll like a lot. This was a very bold statement for such an anticipated game, and, overall, it is a blast to play with people online as well as friends.
    Forge remains relatively untouched, but with new (if smaller) Forge environments, making the possibilities for map design even more exciting.
    That just about wraps the review up. This game is an absolute must-buy for all Xbox 360 owners, as it pushes the system to its limits, delivering one of the best games on consoles!    … Expand
  78. sowhigh12
    Dec 18, 2012
    10
    Overall 343 did an amazing job at Halo 4.
    Now over a month after release and after I have spent several dozen of hours I can quite well say that I really like this game. The campaign is a little short but still provides a great and enjoyable experience. Haven
  79. Markiee
    Jan 4, 2013
    10
    I've been a fan of HALO since the very first game (Still own every copy of it). HALO was the very first game i played on my old XBOX. And I fell in love with the game. And I've always looked forward to the next HALO game (except REACH, that game was meh)

    I'm a huge fan of everything HALO, and I have to say I am NOT disappointed with HALO 4. It is everything I hoped for and more. The sou    nds/audio is amazing. And the voice acting is superb. Graphics are great for a Console Game. The plot/story is just how I imagined it would be after hours of speculation after Halo 3. And the forerunners look just great.

    They did change the sound of several weapons and in my honest opinion. A lot of the sound even better now, and more ear-gasm-ing sounding. You know, they sound epic.

    Level design is good, I love the environments and I found myself spending a lot of time looking around at different things. Love the attention to detail.

    343 has done a great job, and I admit I was scared they would butcher the series. But they have not. They have give HALO new life, and I hope they will give me many more hours of fun to come.

    Spartan Ops is a great addition to the game, I found it to be fun to play, especially with friends.

    I did play a little of the Mutliplayer Aspect in HALO 3 and HALO REACH but I never got into it that much. I enjoyed it but it wasn't for me I suppose. But for those worried HALO 4's multiplayer is going to be vastly different. Fear not, it still feels like the good old HALO multiplayer. and it's even more fun now! I love it!

    This is the first time I've really been playing HALO's multiplayer aspect and loving it A LOT. I never hated it, I liked it in the past. But it just didn't click for me that much. It does now. It feels just like I guess HALO 3 and REACH. But better, different. But in a good way. (No, it's not simplified. I still get my ass kicked as always) But I don't know. It feels like there's less BS with connections and such now. It runs more smoothly. I did spend a good couple of 100 hours playing REACH Multiplayer sure, I did enjoy it but it wasn't my thing for a while. I found it hard to get into. I suppose now that I know how it works, it was easier for me to get into HALO 4's multiplayer.

    Either way, if you're a true HALO fan, you are going to love the campaign and the multiplayer.    … Expand
  80. TonyArnold2
    Dec 18, 2012
    10
    Absolutely brilliant game. Couldn't ask for more, except maybe a bigger Forge map and a helicopter in multiplayer. But to break it down...
    - The campaign is incredible and has possibly the best story I've ever played. You really feel like Master Chief.
    - The graphics are the best I've ever seen and are the best on the Xbox 360, hands down.
    - The multiplayer is incredibly fun, deep, and     extraordinarily balanced. Best multiplayer since Halo 2. - Spartan Ops is fantastic, and the cinematic pieces before each episode make the missions have meaning.
    This game is incredible. Games like Call of Duty are laughable in comparison. If you like games, pick this up. Now.    … Expand
  81. popopooo
    Dec 21, 2012
    0
    Terrible. 343 killed Halo. Buy Halo 3 instead.
    If you are a long time Halo fan, you will hate this. It is just a casual noob fest that has been made too much like call of duty. They have removed all competitive elements and ruined the classic halo gameplay.
  82. alkrn21
    Dec 22, 2012
    8
    Very short campaign and actually easy, but for those who were waiting the return of the Master Chief it cannot be a disappointing game, it is not perfect but it is a very good game. Awesome story, incredible soundtrack but it is too short. 343 did a great job
  83. BrandonsZombie
    Dec 23, 2012
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Firstly, I can't say I liked ANYTHING about Halo 4. The campaign was drole and boring, and it related to the original story line at the very minimum. The multiplayer is basically just those new Alien weapons and it ruined every game mode that the previous Halo's thrived in. The Campaign, as I said, was far too easy. It wouldn't of even been a problem, really, if the difficulty was too easy or hard if the game itself were fun, but no! You repeat the same cycle of activating switches to get closer to the origins of Cortana to attempt to save her from her decaying demise. The last level in particular was truly a "What the **** moment when you are, yet again, set out to set three different switches that are separated by little bridges and walkways. It's as if they wanted to make the campaign fun, in the aspect of just making you go back and forth to a switch. (Getting the hint?) This was, as you would guess, extremely boring and not challenging, as I beat Legendary Solo in under 6 hours. Now, I guess the best thing about the campaign was how relative it was to all the other Halo series.. Right? Wrong! It just throws some curveball at you where you aren't doing any of the norm. You're constantly being yelled at by Cortana to save her precious life, and I don't understand why they introduce another forerunner, since the ring story was going so well, especially in the books. But NO, it's like making a Family Guy special on Dora the Explorer. I suppose this could be because 343 took over after Bungie, but I don't care, they're paid to supply the best game and dammit this wasn't it. Also speaking, the multiplayer. Absolutely astonished at how much it's changed. I was a huge fan of Halo 2 and 3, so I expected (after a let down when Reach came out) a nice competitive gameplay where I wouldn't feel like I'm in a COD game. But what do you know, they changed it to be nearly identical. The class system is just contradicting to the Halo gameplay! How would you expect Halo to be the same when, instead of the regular weapons on map spawn, you spawn with a weapon of your choice. No, it shouldn't work like that. Also adding to the sour of the online is the killing of any team based games. "What, we're playing CTF? No, I just want to get some EXP to level up my ultra pro spartan." That's what it sure as hell seems like. Without team xp, instead of individual, Halo is at a ruin with the amount of COD players rushing in. It's just horrible now. I suppose the only few benefits are the graphics and maybe possibly the forging, though I was getting annoyed at the constant stoppage of the shadowing. Other than those two, Halo 4 has been the biggest let down yet. Back in Halo 3's prime, I wouldn't of ever assume the series would go the **** Now, well, I guess I thought wrong.… Expand
  84. F4c3m3n
    Dec 25, 2012
    9
    My hats off to 343, they managed to craft a unique but classically feeling halo title. Though it is not perfect, as it has minor weapon balancing issues, as well as forge not having as many improvements as it should. It has become more modern and fast paced, but at the same time juxtaposes this with old school shooter mechanics and does this so extremely well that fears of it becoming just another shooter are completely extinguished upon becoming an experienced player. The campaign story is fantastic but quick time events take you out of the mood sometimes just for cool screen effect but it doesn't detract a single think from the gameplay itself or its incredible story that's told. Spartan ops is an intriguing new mode that packs a lot of fun in a 15 minute level but suffers from reused environments though this is said to less common in later episodes, which by the way are weekly dlc. This mode is good but has much potential to be better. The multiplayer is one of the best in the series, second only to halo 3. As said before, it is more modern as it has load outs and perks. The perks don't break the game in any way and in fact only seem to help you work your way around the map your currently playing on. Though games such as cod have perks, halo does it slightly different in that they are just for style, with a few exceptions, such as dexterity which speeds up reload speeds. The game has also added random ordinance drops, which is a new spin on the classic halo tradition of finding weapons on the map, also tied to this is the personal ordinance, which at first may seem like a cod rip off, think again because instead of getting a bomber to fly over and get kills for you, you get a choice between 3 random choices of weapons grenades and power ups, all you need is 4 kills, thats it its not really a streak. As a whole personal ordinance is a great new addition and is perfectly original. Once again halo 4 is a great game that has old school shooter roots mixed with modern mechanics in its multiplayer and has evolved much since reach, while staying true to its own style rather than becoming a cod clone. It's definitely a must by for halo fans. Oh and check out halo 4 forward unto dawn, which is a live action 5 parts web series about the beginning of the human covenant war within the halo universe… Expand
  85. jul320
    Dec 26, 2012
    10
    Fan of the Halo franchise, and is a fantastic start to a new trilogy. Graphics, sound, combat, multi-player, everything was just great... except for Johnson not being there.
  86. bulbrook
    Dec 26, 2012
    10
    This review is from the perspective of a guy who is busy with life. My time is filled with working, traveling, going to the gym and cooking meals. I spend time with my wife and friends, and have a little time left over for everything else. Gaming is a one form of entertainment I enjoy, along with movies and sports. The original Halo on xbox was one of the best gaming experiences of my life. I rate it up there with Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy, and the like. It was mind blowing to play through coop with a friend. Driving the warthog, throwing grenades, flying, jumping, swarming enemies. It was a blast! Not only was it fun, but it was epic. The graphics were awe-inspiring. It was like being the lead in a science fiction movie. All of the love for Halo has been once again renewed for Halo 4. The previous follow ups have all been ok, but not able to capture the near perfection of the first game. Halo 4 does it. Graphics- mind blowing. How they taken a 5+ year old console and put together flowing work of art like this I do not know. Playing this on in my home theater, on a 120" screen is incredible. Sound again perfection. The music track, the weapons sounds- they sound powerful and heavy, but not overly booming. Story was actually interesting. Picking this up every few weeks for two months to beat it. I could actually follow along and get what the hell they were talking about (for the most part). I don't touch the multiplayer as busy lives don't leave time for that. For an epic, fun single player experience, on an old console mind you, it doesn't get any better than this. Buy it or rent it, and enjoy the heck out of it. Then get back to the real world.… Expand
  87. jedi_khan
    Dec 26, 2012
    9
    Halo has been handed to a new studio. After a decade of producing this franchise, Bungie has handed the reins of Master Chief over to 343 Studios. If you're a Halo fan, you probably already knew that. If you're not, you still probably knew that. Any skeptics doubting 343's ability to make a game handed to it from a top-tier studio should fear, nothing, Halo 4 is the best game I've ever played for the Xbox 360. However, it is not perfect. The single player campaign is one of the best to date. From the very first step out of your cryo-sleep chamber to the end cinematic, you will be amazed. Gameplay (as it always has) revolves around shooting and shooting and shooting. Also shooting. There are few moments in which there is another element to the formula. This doesn't get boring, surprisingly, as (especially through the first half of the game) there are exciting twists to the battlefield or additions to your arsenal that will provide joy and make you stick around until the next one. The story is different from others, in the sense that it is not the story of Master Chief. It is the story of the AI Cortana. Cortana goes through what is called rampancy, defined as an AI deteriorating because of an informational overload, usually occurring after seven years of service. Cortana's voice screws up, and she has emotional outbursts that defy her programming. This is on occasion, mind you, so don't think that this is a continuous annoyance. But you notice it from level one. In past Halo games, Cortana served as the clear-minded one who thought clearly when the Chief couldn't. In Halo 4, this is reversed. It adds a strange reversal effect that past Halo fans will fall in love with. Cutscenes look fantastic, especially the humans. They look real- and it's not live action. The in-game graphics are almost on-par with the cutscenes, with vibrant colors and astounding detail, tapping into what I believe to be the best the Xbox 360 can do. One thing stands out among all the rest: sound. Every sound has been revamped, and for the better. Voice acting is incredible, and the weapons sound beefy and powerful. And they are. Halo 4's arsenal is not amazingly expansive, but it is big enough. Certainly a tad bigger than most shooter games. The only problem I've found is the learning curve. There is a dramatic increase in difficulty from the first chapter to even the third. 343 apparently tried to fit a full game's worth of a difficulty increase into a way-too-short campaign. There are also some moments when I didn't know where to go, but I got through. However, they are minor problems when you get used to them. Single player is excellent. Multiplayer is back for Halo 4, and radically different. Alright, not radically different, but there have been some changes. For example, on the main menu, multiplayer is called "Infinity," supposedly taking place aboard the UNSC Infinity. It took me a while to find matchmaking, now dubbed "War Games." These are just little notes to keep in mind, nothing major. Anyways, there are a lot of new game modes, like Flood and SWAT, as well as a downloadable series of co-op campaigns. Forge mode returns and is changed for the better. A variety of maps are present, a total of thirteen (ten normal maps and three for forge). The multiplayer gameplay is very similar to that of its predecessors, run and shoot at your enemies and use vehicles. Or maybe defend a base. The modes are excellent, down to every last one. This includes classics, like Slayer, or new ones, like Dominion. Everything works well, the loadout system, the "Spartan Hub," the matchmaking... all work just fine; not a single glitch. Finding a game is usually rather fast, and this time around you can join games in progress. Forge mode is better than ever, the primary adjustment being a system of "magnets" that help you attach pieces with smoother lines, for example: two floor pieces together stick on each side perfectly, no small change in elevation or one going through the other on account on the player not centering everything perfectly. There is still no custom game matchmaking, so if you create an amazing map or game mode, you have to find a buddy or two to play.

    When all is said and done, Halo 4 is an excellent game. I gave it a nine out of ten because it is not flawless, but if I could give it a 9.9, I would. The few flaws don't at all remove from the fact that this is a truly excellent game, possibly the best Halo yet and maybe the best game of 2012 across any platform. If you have an Xbox 360, go buy Halo 4. If you don't have an Xbox 360, go buy an Xbox 360 and Halo 4.

    --jedi_khan--PSN: jedi_khan--Xbox Live: Khan Jedi--    … Expand
  88. CursedNonos
    Dec 26, 2012
    10
    When I saw people's opinions were mitigated about Halo 4, I was expecting a medium quality game. It isn't that at all : one can see devs put a lot of efforts making it, and one can feel it. Indeed, it differs of the first games in some points, but my overall impression is very good : nice multi and nice campaign, plus another mode which extends game's life. I don't regret my purchase at all!
    A big good point of the game is the splitscreen : it is one of the rare games in which you can play with three friends on the same console. And you have fun!    … Expand
  89. domhearne
    Dec 27, 2012
    10
    I went out today to go and buy this game. It was my first ever Halo game. It is the best game i have brought in a long time. I thought it would be hard to play as i have brought every call of duty game what has been out. I got the hang of this game very quick and i would recommend it to anyone. If you want anymore help finding out about the game or any other games add me on Xbox Pro Hearne
  90. jkmako
    Dec 27, 2012
    3
    Sorry to say I was a little disappointed . Visually I thought the game was flat. Graphics too comic book like. Nice drawings but not the real feel we saw in Halo 3. The levels are uninspiring . Felt like I was playing an arcade video game. Sound track ok but not Halo great.
  91. mikenasty
    Dec 27, 2012
    7
    Great multiplayer even if you're a beginner. The campaign was way too repetitive where virtually every task was to go from point A to point B so you can do this (aka press a button)
  92. H360
    May 15, 2013
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Halo 4 is a masterstroke everyone can and should celebrate, and its two guaranteed sequels instantly make the next-generation Xbox a must-own system, with Halo 5 its most anticipated title. Halo has been rebuilt. It has been redefined. And it has been reinvigorated. The Xbox's original king has returned to his rightful place on the throne.… Expand
  93. bsd12
    Dec 28, 2012
    7
    This is my first Halo game and the only reason why I played it was for the AMEX promotions (hehe). Anyway, the campaign was pretty good. I thought the graphics were great, music was good enough, gameplay was solid, but repetitive. The enemies were sponges and not that fun to fight. Many levels felt like repeats, however, some driving sequences broke up the monotony. I played about 2 or 3 rounds of multiplayer and I thought it was great. Despite, my first time playing, I did fairly well. My call of duty experience helped me a bunch and I thought it was quite noob friendly. The game is a solid 7/10 for newcomers.… Expand
  94. FreakyDan
    Dec 29, 2012
    10
    I personally found this game a blast. This is one of the few shooters that has come out lately that the story really draws me in. If you feel lost or confused about it, find the terminals in Halo 3 to learn more about the two main forerunners and Halo 4 terminals to fill in the gaps of Halo 4's main story. For this installment 343 definitely pushed the graphics as far as they good. While graphics don't make a game, I would like to note that there are no graphic glitches I am aware of and the frame rate is great. As for combat, the introduction of new weaponry and enemies keeps things fun. The knights are tough, and on legendary they are a great challenge. 343 is also giving us Spartan Ops, which for those not familiar are weekly installments of five missions and a episode explaining the events of the USNC Infinity. These provide lots of replay-ability with or without friends. Multiply player is still amazing. For those concerned about load-outs, relax they are ok. The guns you can have in a load-out are all the basic weapons, you can't have rockets, which means most players of all levels will have rather balanced load-outs. Overall I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to all who enjoy first person shooters. Hope this review helps.… Expand
  95. TheBeast666
    Mar 9, 2013
    0
    numaiios es retrasado mental
  96. Suicidio
    Jan 1, 2013
    10
    Para empezar para ser el primer juego de 343 industries es excelente, no obstante la ausencia de bungie deja un vació muy grande al juego en general .Visualmente cuesta trabajo creer que el xbox 360 es una consola del 2005 no es así ?. El juego es sin duda el mejor juego del 2012 no el mejor halo pero si es excelente. La campaña te atrapa en su argumento de principio a fin, ost increíble, multijugador impecable tanto el co op como el competitivo, y la IA vuelve tan feroz y tactica como antes. Es triste ver como ahí gente que se empeña en difamar tal vez el mejor juego de la xbox 360.… Expand
  97. BadGuyJack
    Jan 1, 2013
    2
    Story-wise, Campaign was acceptable, but gameplay flopped. It felt more like work than fun, and it was incredibly repetitive with no real "WOW!" moments like the previous Halo games.

    Multiplayer has changed. Old Halo fans such as myself would find it to play like Call of Duty. Custom classes? Perks? Kill streaks? Not the classic multiplayer that made Halo a big game in the first place.     343i said that they would include a classic playlist. There is no such playlist. They said the classes would be balanced. They lied. Spartan Ops is terrible. All of the maps are multiplayer rip offs. Bad animations, pointless story, and just plain boring.

    If you liked Halo for Custom Games and Forge, you will hate Halo 4. 343i took out many custom games options. You can barely edit the Flood gametype. You can't even change the Flood's weapons. This prevents probably 60% of the custom games that were made in Reach and Halo 3 from being made in Halo 4. If you want more info on the Halo 4 custom games situation, Check the following link: https://forums.halowaypoint.com//yaf_postst127421_This-is-completely-unacceptable--343.aspx

    In closing, Halo 4 is a joke. 343i did not listen to the community. They gave their fans no room for input. Instead, they had their mind set on money, and made a Call of Duty clone. 343i does not deserve the Halo franchise. They do not deserve to make more Halo games.    … Expand
  98. DEATH0NWH33LZ
    Jan 1, 2013
    8
    Halo 4 is an awesome game, it continues the story of Master chief precisely 4 years 7 months and 10 days after entering cryo sleep at the end of Halo 3. Chief awakes to find the Forward unto Dawn spiraling towards a mysterious forerunner planet. The story is great, and does a great job at provoking nostalgia. However the story revolves around Cortana more so than Chief, it raises some interesting themes, and those familiar with the novels will no doubt be excited about Halo 5 & 6 as it delves deeper into the wider narrative. Overall the story is great, and the level design helps keep each mission fresh. Spartan ops is a weekly episodic based series, it is great fun with friends and comes with excellent cinematic cut scenes that is slowly weaving a story of its own. However after the first 5 episodes, many areas have been reused, which has made this mode go stale, repetitive and at times tedious. Thankfully for the next 5 episodes 343 have created all new battlegrounds, so lets hope the 2nd half avoides the first halves shortcomings. Multiplayer has undergone some extensive changes, such as custom loadouts, kill cams and ordnance drops. Custom loadouts have been balanced quite well, with all primary weapons being ideal for certain situations, but no so much that one is necessarily better than another, same with armour abilities, tactical packages and support upgrades. some tweaks to make them more balanced would certainly be welcome, as i have found the DMR might just be a tad to powerful, and the boltshot pistol should take longer to charge. Overall the maps are great, spawning is not a problem in this game. The only map i dislike is exile, even then it is still not an evil map to play on. Kill cams are just that kill cams, while ordnance drops give you a power weapon, an upgrade or grenades after reaching a certain amount of points. these are a welcome addition as weapons such as the rocket launcher and binary rifle only showing up rarely. The upgrades consist of speed boost, overshield and damage boost, each offering only a slight edge, but can often be the difference in a firefight. Overall the multiplayer is fresh and interesting, and is quite balanced, but does cater for noobs a little to much, the maps are great, and it discourages camping. However i found that the multiplayer lacks the wow factor, i have not found myself addicted to this multiplayer as i did in Halo 2 & 3. The sound design in this game is top notch to say the least, each gun sounds badass, and yet sounds like it should. The clunking of your armour as you walk helps build immersion. The graphics are no different, pushing the limits of the xbox 360 to the max. It is the best looking game on xbox. Overall Halo 4 is a great game, with a fantastic single player, a muliplayer that successfully changes so much, Spartan ops being the only let down, but that looks like it could change, so i give this game an 8/10. This a great game and anyone who is on the fence i recommend you get this, it is the Halo you know and love, but with enough new content to keep it fresh. 343 have done a great job with this game and i can't wait to see what they do for Halo 5 & 6.… Expand
  99. castlesiege
    Jan 1, 2013
    10
    Amazing game i mean cortanas pretty much naked and the gameplay is at its peak graphics are at its peak real flood and bigger maps more destructive combat.
  100. aaronmwolford
    Jan 27, 2013
    7
    The Halo franchise has embedded the perfect dent in the first-person shooter genre, however while 343 has taken the series and knocked the multi-player out of the park the single-player takes a tremendous downward spiral into unavoidable oblivion. Mundane, repetitive, and monotonous are a few a adjectives to describe the campaign experience. Beauty cut-scenes and intriguing story are not a fault. The mere repetition of repeated metal "things" and disconnect from the world was the heaviest boulder to overcome. Halo used to be about expansive worlds and driving the warthog from point A to point B for the sake of; it was just to far to walk. Halo 4 puts the player in a metal box and says "hit that button." While the campaign was a disappointment the multi-player is hands down the highest contender of all prior Halos.… Expand
Page:

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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.
    Read full review
  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.
    Read full review
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