Halo 4: A return to form
Fondly remembering the Bungie launch party for Halo: Combat Evolved on a cold Chicago evening in October 2001, I couldn’t have been more excited to see how the series evolved with the developmental reigns being handed over to 343 Industries for Halo 4. While having clocked enough hours in the campaign to complete it, in addition to spending a fair amount of time on War Games and Spartan Ops, it’s offered a distinct illustrative impression of how the series has progressed from Halo: Combat Evolved up through the current incarnation thrusting Master Chief and an on-edge Cortana into the jaws of a new adventure. Uncertain of what exactly lays ahead following the final credits, I’m nonetheless optimistic of what 343i is doing.
Namely the tonality of the introduction impresses upon players an idiosyncratic similarity between Combat Evolved and Halo 4. Each time, the first thing you see after the loading screen is the inside of a cryotube containing none other than the Master Chief. While the circumstances under which he awakens have differed slightly between the two games, they appear no less dire.
Waking the Chief out of need, she tells the Chief the situation surrounding the remains of the Forward Unto Dawn, the wreckage of a ship they’ve inhabited since the conclusion of Halo 3. The Dawn has clearly seen better days, appearing visually more sepulcher than starship. Climbing the remains of an elevator shaft introduces players to surreptitiously included mini-game-like mechanics, forcing players to jump between surfaces to avoid falling debris. Once reaching the top, any assumed curiosity is cast aside as a wandering sword-wielding Elite engages the Master Chief.
Being prompted to trigger a melee event where the Elite is tossed down the elevator shaft that had recently been traversed and moving on through the ship, possessing both the now-iconic assault rifle and a magnum sidearm, players engage their first group of Covenant. It’s interesting to note, that these particular brand of enemies don’t appear to be the same Covenant fought previously.
They appear noticeably different, devoid of the high-tech armor that had made them so menacing in prior Halo incarnations. Armor, from the Elites to the Grunts and Jackals seems a bit more ramshackle. The clock has been turned back on the Covenant’s technological superiority it seems, but they are no less dangerous.
Within the span of the first few encounters, I was still dusting myself off having witnessed Master Chief slaughtered multiple times. I was rusty, there was no doubt now. But where someone else may have found themselves increasingly frustrated, I pressed on, still genuinely contented to be playing another Halo. The game wasn’t out of whack, I was.
Yet, after moving through the prolifically entertaining opening, it became evermore evident that the lustrous sci-fi heavyweight was making a triumphant return. Replete with lush jungle and arid dessert as well as the innate, haunting cold of Forerunner architecture, the planet Requiem is both sprawling monument and hushed ossuary. While the levels are vast, creating imposing set pieces, traversing them feels significantly more exploratory than needlessly time consuming and are as much visual treat as the gameplay itself.
Lending sumptuous visuals to already entrancing spaces, Halo 4 is undoubtedly the most stunning entry in the series to date. A veritable buffet of eye candy, the aforementioned landscapes inhabited by a cornucopia of characters, friend and foe alike, further accent the opulent canvas of Requiem. In-game cutscenes, which could easily give a majority of CGI films a run for their money, illuminate every angle of the Halo universe proffering a shimmering example of properly driving a narrative forward in the contemporary medium. As any well-sculpted art, heroes look appropriately gallant, enemies look sinister, vicious, and mean, down to the last detail.
This imparts upon each level its own apropos moment of narrative in which seemingly average moments of running-and-gunning transcend to the extraordinary, garnering moments of amusing incredulity as if hoisting the player, albeit briefly upon the shoulder of giants. Infiltrating a Covenant warship as a battle rages below, riding shotgun atop the UNSC Mammoth, witnessing the awakening of the series’ new villain, The Didact or mounting up in a Mantis walker to defend a research station. These are but a handful of exquisitely executed, yet momentous stretches that players and developers alike will fondly recall for some time to come.
These further extend beyond the Campaign to the realm of multiplayer War Games, which includes competitive modes such as Capture the Flag, Big Team Battle, Slayer, and SWAT to pick a few. Ditching the previous form factor of leaving weapons scattered throughout maps, these have instead been replaced with load outs, which gives players a degree of latitude in selecting what they carry into battle. Surpassing the typical cosmetic changes to Spartan characters, players have the options of selecting primary and secondary weapons, grenades, armor abilities, and a few other modifications that feel similar to perks in Call of Duty without treading into the realm of unbelievable hyperbole. Powerful weapons still populate the various map, however, they have been redesigned to arrive as random ordnance drops or called down by players, which seems to streamline a historic problem of camping to obtain a specific weapon at the cost of the overall enjoyment of the game. Succinctly said, the system works well.
Giving way from War Games is Spartan Ops, the cooperative component of life as a Spartan IV. Episodes follow the player inhabited Crimson Squad and are divided up into five chapters each, presented as a serial sci-fi program, such as Star Trek. Leading into each episode is a gorgeous CGI introduction illustrating the underlying premise of the particular string of chapters. After which, players are set loose on the five missions. Traversing each level can take anywhere between twenty and sixty minutes depending on the chosen difficulty in addition to the number of and skill level of each player. The cohesively designed chapters are pure gravy on top of the campaign missions and enjoyably offer, not just a great way of episodically extending the Halo 4 story beyond the campaign, but a different type of longevity to the game in a genuinely appreciable way.
Despite continuing one of Microsoft’s flagship series without the watchful eye of Bungie, Halo 4 has nevertheless been crafted by 343i with a creative love and tender care that would please any of the series’ most faithfully zealous fans. The continuing chronicle of Master Chief and Cortana, though at times equally triumphant and heartbreakingly bleak, is divinely told with the delicate intricateness of any experienced storyteller, immersing players in a gripping, yet humanizing sci-fi tale. Combined with the immeasurable fun offered therein, married to the multiplayer cornucopia of War Games and spectacular co-op of Spartan Ops, Halo 4 easily builds on the framework of its predecessors while superseding those previous entries. Unreservedly, Halo 4 not only stands out as a new beginning for a new studio, but as a love letter written in the finest calligraphy to its older roots.
Well done, 343.
Full Disclosure: The Limited Edition of Halo 4 was purchased via Amazon and played over the course of roughly 25 hours. This was to necessitate experiencing the entirety of the Campaign on “Normal” difficulty, at least the first three episodes of Spartan Ops as well as several matches of War Games online. The game released on November 6, 2012 and is currently available exclusively on the Xbox 360 for $59.99.
