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Halo, the console and genre defining shooter developed by Bungie, helped put Microsoft's gaming division on the map. With millions of copies sold, Halo sequels have become a known quantity. Four games later, Bungie shocked the gaming world when they announced their departure from the franchise and plan to hop over to Activision in order to begin working on a wholly different property, leading many to speculate if this meant the end of Halo.
"Not so!" said Microsoft as they tapped newly created 343 Studios to develop another Halo trilogy. Aptly named Halo 4, the game picks up five years after the Master Chief destroyed the Flood and Covenant forces while rescuing his AI companion, Cortana. After an intrusion alarm forces the AI to wake up Chief from cryosleep, the super soldier finds himself settling right in and engaging a sect of Covenant forces while orbiting a massive Forerunner planet called Requiem. During the fray, Chief and his enemies are pulled onto the planet surface via a manufactured gravity well and introduced to a new foe, the Prometheans.
Despite the introduction of new enemies that require new Halo 4's campaign doesn't differentiate itself from Bungie's games. I expect most fans will be happy to see that everything is business as usual but 343 missed a great opportunity to find a way to break from the established norm. The campaign isn't very long and doesn't venture too far from the "go over there and push a button" formula. Oh god, the buttons. Seriously, Chief pushes so many damn buttons in order to advance that by the end of the game I felt like an over glorified George Jetson.
The campaign might not be much to write home about but as expected, multiplayer is where the action is and where 343 tried to mix things up. Unfortunately, it loses a measure of originality as it is modeled after Activision's military shooter. Like Modern Warfare, players are given loadouts with which to assign specific gear, tailoring them to possible combat scenarios. While each Spartan is given a small collection of UNSC equipment to start, additional weapons - including those employed by Promethean and Covenant forces - are locked behind level requirements. However: just because you can't assign a specific weapon to your loadout doesn't mean you can't use it in the field. Should you drop a player carrying a DMR or Covenant plasma pistol, simply pick it up. Earning experience points and gaining levels, thankfully occurring at alarming frequency, simply allows you to assign advance weapons to your loadouts. As it was in Reach, cosmetic armor enhancements are made available at certain levels as well. 343 should be chastised though for locking emblems behind a level requirement. Seriously, what's the point in doing that?
One of the more annoying occurrences during Halo 3 and Reach multiplayer games manifested itself during the start of a match. Because everyone knew the location of a favored gun, the initial charge would always turn into a fracas over who would get the sniper rifle or fuel rod cannon first. This was then immediately followed by the losers attempting to teamkill the player who got the gun first. 343 has fixed the problem by randomly dropping weapons into the field at the start of each match. Complimenting the randomness of weapon procurement is the Ordinance Drop. After a timer counts down, the player is prompted to choose between three random items, be they gun, booster effect or melee weapon, which is then launched to the ground in front of you via a drop pod.
I was sad to discover that Halo 4 does not include Firefight, the wave based "Horde Mode" that allowed people to create their own off the wall parameters (infinite rockets, melee only, etc, etc). In its place is something a bit more ambitious called Spartan Ops. Designed around small maps taken from the campaign, Spartan Ops details the UNSC's attempt to gain a foothold on Requiem and halting Covenant interests. Each episode is divided into about five playable missions that can last up to thirty minutes depending on difficulty level. While I certainly miss Firefight, Spartan Ops offers a pretty nifty setup with an original story and as more episodes continue to be made available (for free), it's like a whole new game opening up before you.
If there's anything about Halo 4 that's deserving of considerable praise, its the graphics. Hands down, this is the bestHalo has ever looked and both in-game visuals and pre-rendered cutscenes are major leaps and bounds from what Bungie has produced on the console. Its hard not to want to stop and take in Requiem's sights from the lush jungles to the massive and intricate Promethean bases. Simply put, the game looks so really damn good.
Those looking for more of the Halo experience will certainly find enjoyment with 343's work. The campaign leaves much to be desired while the changes to the multiplayer side of things is welcome after growing accustomed to them. Those with more discerning tastes might feel gypped by the straightforward "by the numbers" campaign. Here's hoping 343 will be a little courageous with Halo 5.
