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Giant Bomb Review

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Halo 4 Review

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The new developers behind the Halo franchise successfully emulate the style of their predecessors as a new trilogy begins with Halo 4.

Armor customization is merely cosmetic, but there are some cool helmets and stuff to unlock.
Armor customization is merely cosmetic, but there are some cool helmets and stuff to unlock.

Did the new team at 343 Industries break Halo? No, not at all. Taking over the franchise from its creators at Bungie and creating a new, numbered sequel starring the Master Chief seems like the sort of daunting task that could have blown up the entire franchise if it had gone poorly. But the developers have executed quite well, developing a Halo game that gets that Halo feel down nicely while also playing around with the periphery of the experience in an attempt to modernize things a bit. Some of those new ideas work better than others, but if there's any actual issue with Halo 4 it's that the game plays it a little too safe. Master Chief starts the game surrounded by mystery, but it relies too heavily on the use of existing enemies and weapons, and by the end of the campaign it sort of feels like the Master Chief is right back in the middle of the same conflict and theater of war he seemingly left behind at the end of Halo 3.

The action opens with the Master Chief being woken out of his stasis only to find danger. Covenant forces have boarded his ripped-up ship and this whole mess is headed for a Forerunner planet called Requiem. Before too long a human ship called the Infinity joins the fray, giving you the standard factions of a Halo game. Mixed into this conflict is a new batch of enemies called the Prometheans. And tying it all together is a central bad guy known as the Didact. The story starts to head in some interesting directions. Your ever-present AI pal Cortana, for example, is falling apart due to being "alive" for more than seven years. As she breaks down, it's harder for her to maintain focus and help the Chief complete his tasks. It's also really interesting to put a face to the antagonists in a Halo game, rather than larger species or concepts like "the Covenant." That said, however, you sure do spend a lot of time fighting old enemies.

The most dramatic change you'll see on the enemy front is a floating Promethean Watcher that hovers above its allies, emitting beams that shield the Knights and Crawlers below. It'll also snatch any grenades you toss in their direction and fling it right back in your direction, which is sort of a jerk move if you ask me. But it also does a mean Doom II Arch-Vile impression by resurrecting some enemies after you take them down. In short, shoot the Watchers first. The other Promethean enemies aren't dramatically different from the types of enemies you've been facing in previous games. Crawlers can crawl down from the walls and the bipedal Knights can teleport, allowing them to warp away from the business end of your battle rifle and reappear behind you.

These mechs pop up in multiplayer and campaign.
These mechs pop up in multiplayer and campaign.

But you'll also face a lot of Covenant opposition, including Grunts, Elites, Jackals, and Hunters. Fighting these guys feels the same way it always has, for better or worse. The Grunts are total chumps, the Elites are fun to bash in the face, the Jackals are never left-handed, and the Hunters are large and slow. As before, the game mixes up your various enemies to serve them up in different configurations. On the normal difficulty, this doesn't make much difference, as you can just plow through the opposition the way a big, armored dude like the Master Chief should. On higher settings, the action gets a little more tactical, forcing you to poke out, do some damage, and hang back to let your shields recharge. Again, this shouldn't sound like much of a surprise to people who have played a Halo game before, but it's just another example of the ways that this new development team made a game that feels very similar to Bungie's work on the previous games. That said, the promise of landing on a new planet and the potential for new experiences and encounters that the change of setting could have allowed for makes the notion of spending what feels like most of the game fighting enemies from old Halo games a little unfortunate.

You'll pick up some new weapons along the way, and the Chief himself has been given some additional abilities. Most of the new weapons drop from the new Promethean enemies. They look great, and the first time you pick one up you'll see it sort of form together into a gun. It's a nice introductory animation that, thankfully, doesn't play out every time you pick up a weapon. While the new weapons look nice, most of them just plug right into the existing Halo archetypes. You'll see a shotgun, a pistol, a fully-automatic rifle, a single-shot rifle that fires three slugs at once (though one sniper-like megaslug if you're zoomed in), a new grenade type, and so on. The new weapons are disappointing for that reason. They don't feel like they fill any real need or plug into any gaps in the existing Halo arsenal. They're just more ways to do the same thing. The game also offers you the chance to pilot a large mech suit in a couple of spots, but taking a large, slow-moving armored guy like the Master Chief and slapping another larger, slower layer of armor around him for a couple of shooting gallery-like sequences isn't exactly my idea of a good time.

Thankfully, the Chief has some more movement options to keep the game running at a solid pace. You can sprint at will now by clicking in the left stick. This does a lot to speed up the pace of the game, as you might expect. But in addition to that, there's also an equipment slot that lets you use armor abilities, similar to the style of Halo: Reach. These include things like Promethean Vision, which lets you see through walls, or Active Camouflage, which gives you a Predator-style invisibility that the AI seems to be able to see right through most of the time. You can also equip abilities that let you deploy auto-sentries, use a large shield, and so on. Being able to sprint without having to equip that as your armor ability is terrific.

This shield is one of the armor abilities you can equip.
This shield is one of the armor abilities you can equip.

Overall, the Halo 4 campaign is pretty good. It looks fantastic in some spots and it takes you to a lot of different-looking places along the way. It sets up a few story elements that won't pay off until later on in this new trilogy of games, but a lot of the story plays things very safe. At the opening of the game it feels like Master Chief and Cortana could be set off onto some great new mystery in a mysterious place where everything could be different. Instead you spend a lot of time fighting old Halo enemies and, by the conclusion of Halo 4's story, I felt like much of the promise inherent to this potentially new setting had been squandered. Maybe that's on me for wanting Halo to be something other than Halo, but without getting into the specifics of the characters and their fates, where things are left at the end of the game feels like a stopping point that sets you up for more of the same enemies and settings in the future.

The multiplayer side of Halo 4 brings in those new weapons and movement changes, so you can sprint there, as well. There are also additional armor abilities to play with and, overall, it feels like the team sat down with a recent Call of Duty game and found ways to plug some of those concepts into Halo. Some of them are cosmetic. Any points you earn during a match pop up right in the center of the screen. When you die, you get a killcam feed of the person that took you out. But some of them are more dramatic, like more customizable loadouts that let you pick your primary and secondary weapons, a starting grenade type, and a few perks, like shields that recharge more quickly, infinite sprint, the ability to scavenge grenades from fallen Spartans, and so on. As you play, you'll earn experience points that give you unlock points, but some items also have a level requirement before they can even be unlocked. So you'll have to play for a bit before you can start out with plasma grenades, and you'll have to play a little longer before you can equip things in all of your perk slots. Halo has done loadouts before, but this is a deeper, and ultimately, more interesting set of options. As before, you'll also unlock various armor pieces as you play, gain levels, or complete challenges. New helmets, shoulders, chest pieces, and so on are also available for you to play around with.

These portals teleport you around the planet in the campaign.
These portals teleport you around the planet in the campaign.

The modes you'll play when playing with the public are your typical sort of Halo modes, but with some changes here and there. Team Slayer (as well as some of the other modes) now allows you to call in ordnance after a set number of kills. Don't start freaking out, you're not calling in air strikes or UAVs or anything that dramatic. And it doesn't require you to earn all those kills in a streak. But when you fill an on-screen meter, it gives you the option to call in one of three different things. They might be weapons, like the SAW, a very rugged light machine gun. Or you might have the option to get an overshield, a temporary speed or damage boost, and so on. One time I got the gravity hammer, but was immediately killed before I got to run around and smash people with it. It's a cool little addition. Other modes include Regicide, which is a standard deathmatch mode but the lead player gets marked by an on-screen indicator and also has an additional bounty on his head. Killing the king gets you that bounty, but doesn't automatically make you the king--you need to be in the lead to wear the crown.

You can also get in and build your own custom matches with a variety of rules settings, and the Forge mode that allows you to alter the placement of items in the multiplayer maps (along with a set of Forge-only maps) also returns with some additional options, like the ability to fuse items together. And, as before, you can take your custom games, screenshots, and so on and share them with other players.

There's no wave-based survival mode in Halo 4. In addition to the campaign, the game also has a cooperative mode called Spartan Ops. This is an episodic series that follows a team of Spartans that work out of the Infinity, a large ship that shows up in the campaign. These episodes are going to be released for free on a regular basis as downloadable updates and will contain video clips that help set them up. The first such episode is included alongside the launching game, and as such that's the only one I can really review at this point. The story opens with a video showing Spartans reporting for duty on-board the Infinity. From there, you're tossed into a set of five missions. The locations are ripped from other parts of the game and are extremely combat heavy. And once you're past that initial cutscene, any additional dialogue is delivered via radio chatter. If you're into the combat of Halo and like playing with others against occasionally overwhelming batches of enemies, the missions are passable. But don't go in thinking that this is some sort of elaborate and unique segment of the game that's going to give you a campaign-level experience. It's a set of co-op missions with a loose story wrapper around it, nothing more, nothing less. You can bring in your custom Spartan from the other multiplayer modes and earn experience points by playing Spartan Ops, and there are mode-specific challenges to complete here, as well.

Shoot the flying dudes first.
Shoot the flying dudes first.

The presentation end of Halo 4 is quite nice. The music is outstanding, breaking away from the franchise's past a bit by updating the sound and getting away from some of the overt monk chanting that one still tends to associate with Halo. It helps make Halo 4 sound like its own thing, and that goes a long way. Visually, Halo 4 has some terrific moments that really stand out, but it also holds up well on the technical end with a good frame rate, great lighting, and, for the most part, sharp texture quality. Again, these things help to make Halo 4 look and feel different from its predecessors, probably more than the gameplay does.

From the moment I saw Master Chief put himself back to sleep at the end of Halo 3, all I could think about was how his next adventure--if he would even have a next adventure--should be something dramatically different from the adventures we had already seen. Moving him out into the middle of nowhere and cutting him off from his allies is an idea with huge potential. So that's why I find the storytelling side of Halo 4 to be fairly disappointing. Within the first few hours you've fought enemies that go all the way back to the first game in the franchise and you've reconnected with the human race. That's not to say that the entire story is a bust--and it does set up some potentially interesting things for the next couple of games to address--but it's good that the developers have backed this story up with sharp, time-tested gameplay that gets enhanced in meaningful ways across all modes.

Jeff Gerstmann on Google+

413 Comments

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ChrisTaran

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@Fluttercry said:

The number of butthurt comments is hilarious. The review said it was a good game, so why is there controversy?

Because, OMG DUDE, it is not perfect!

*rage*

/faint

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CJduke

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Edited By CJduke

I still can not believe how quickly people will turn on Jeff and this site over a review of a game. All this BS talk about it not getting 5 stars, holy shit!? someone doesn't think Halo 4 is the best game ever! If you love Halo it is clear by Jeff's review you will love Halo 4 and your own enjoyment of a game is all that matters, doesn't it? I understand that people want to see games they like get great praise, that only makes sense, but the extremes people take it to are just ridiculous. It is not like he gave the game 1 star. Oh but IGN gave it a 9.8 so they are OBVIOUSLY better at reviewing games right?

Anyway, once again good review Jeff, I always appreciate your honesty. I have never really been into Halo too much, but I think Halo 4 looks like a lot of fun, if I had an Xbox I would be tempted to buy it.

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Redsox44

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Edited By Redsox44

@Alorithin said:

@Redsox44:

I think the 2007 Jeff Gerstmann is very different from the 2012 edition.

I played through syndicate's single player on the PC and still don't see how he gave that game 5 stars. I think it was because of the candle he held for the Bullfrog Syndicate.

That game really did have one of the most fantastic co-op experiences of the generation, but yea I never played it alone.

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bushlemon

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Edited By bushlemon

Hmm I think I'll buy WWE over this because they have the same review score

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monkeypox

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Edited By monkeypox

normally I can't stand episodic content, but for some reason I really can't wait for spartan ops.

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deactivated-5f0e8dcf3078d

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The number of butthurt comments is hilarious. The review said it was a good game, so why is there controversy?

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CptBedlam

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@Alorithin said:

@CptBedlam said:

I'm questioning IGN's credibility as an outlet in general, I've done that for years. If you don't see how they are the industry's biggest PR whore, then you're truly one naive idiot. Exclusive reviews don't come without strings attached.

Yeah, and the GTA4 review was gross.

Halo 4 wasn't an exclusive review.

The entire industry is PR. If you don't accept that then you have no business being selective about integrity.

I want honest opinions (doesn't matter whether they match my own opinions or not). I don't think I get those from IGN. And I have plenty of business being selective about integrity.

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gerp

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Edited By gerp

@GnaTSoL said:

If it were any other franchise not changing the formula after numerous sequels, GB would have taken a dump on em.

As i recall they didn't dump on MW3 for being another call of duty game.

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Alorithin

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Edited By Alorithin

@CptBedlam said:

I'm questioning IGN's credibility as an outlet in general, I've done that for years. If you don't see how they are the industry's biggest PR whore, then you're truly one naive idiot. Exclusive reviews don't come without strings attached.

Yeah, and the GTA4 review was gross.

Halo 4 wasn't an exclusive review.

The entire industry is PR. If you don't accept that then you have no business being selective about integrity.

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CptBedlam

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@Alorithin said:

@evanbower said:

@Alorithin said:

Enthusiasm is one thing... but was it really necessary that his enthusiasm lead him to a marketing pitch of Microsoft's next console, saying that it and Halo 5, which we know NOTHING about, are "must-own." I would never say that he was paid off to write that, I really just think he is immature and a bad writer. In lieu of anything interesting to say, he falls back on hyperbole.

After soaking in the new game, I am beyond thrilled to be so in love with Halo again, more than I’ve been since Halo 2. 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.

PR and marketing are not the same thing. Go listen to the 10/30 bombcast last hour again.

But this is semantics and opinions. Jeff wrote this on his own. Ryan got a professional editorial team to help him. I'd say Ryan's twitter is a much better read on the game than the IGN review if you are questioning his character.

I'm questioning IGN's credibility as an outlet in general, I've done that for years. If you don't see how they are the industry's biggest PR whore, then you're truly one naive idiot. Exclusive reviews don't come without strings attached.

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NintendoNaut

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Edited By NintendoNaut

Never been interested in Halo--But glad to hear that 343's done good for the fans at least.

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Alorithin

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@evanbower said:

Enthusiasm is one thing... but was it really necessary that his enthusiasm lead him to a marketing pitch of Microsoft's next console, saying that it and Halo 5, which we know NOTHING about, are "must-own." I would never say that he was paid off to write that, I really just think he is immature and a bad writer. In lieu of anything interesting to say, he falls back on hyperbole.

After soaking in the new game, I am beyond thrilled to be so in love with Halo again, more than I’ve been since Halo 2. 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.

PR and marketing are not the same thing. Go listen to the 10/30 bombcast last hour again.

But this is semantics and opinions. Jeff wrote this on his own. Ryan got a professional editorial team to help him. I'd say Ryan's twitter is a much better read on the game than the IGN review if you are questioning his character.

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Sunjammer

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Edited By Sunjammer

Oh look at the Halo fans complaining about scores. That never happens.

As someone who also fivestarred Syndicate, if you can't appreciate what that game was doing, I honestly feel sad for you. Pearls for swine etc. That game has out-of-this-world fundamentals and knows exactly what it's doing and why.

Regardless, it's just Jeff's own fucking opinion so why do you even care that much. Lots of other reviews to read. Learn to research.

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ptys

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Mmmm!.. Four stars. I shall read this later.

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Palaeomerus

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Edited By Palaeomerus

Syndicate was a pretty huge disappointment both as a resurrection of the Syndicate brand and as an FPS with minimalist puzzle stealth elements. The multiple elevator commandeering "descent" escape was terrible as far as design goes. Fighting the hologram-splitting ninja guy to get on the train, fighting the jet/helicopter with a minigun from the top of the train while rocket cycles swooped in, were two rather awful over scripted "boss battle" examples. Starbreeze did their reputation no favors with Syndicate. It was like a dumber, nastier, less fun Deus Ex knock of with automated "kill guy" magic spells hand waved as "chip hacking". 5 stars for THAT is pretty darn hard for me to agree with. Or even sympathize with. I think it might have trouble with it getting three. Even the mission coop stuff wasn't much fun.

I haven't played Halo 4 so I can't judge the four stars for that.

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CptBedlam

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@Alorithin said:

@Redsox44:

I think the 2007 Jeff Gerstmann is very different from the 2012 edition.

I played through syndicate's single player on the PC and still don't see how he gave that game 5 stars. I think it was because of the candle he held for the Bullfrog Syndicate.

Doubt it. Because most of the people who held a candle for the old Syndicate hated the new one. Me included. He just had a lot of fun with it. That's all.

Guys, I think it's time to take off your tinfoil hats. People's opinions on games can differ. Some of you still need to get a grasp on that very basic concept.

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mrfluke

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@Redsox44 said:

I just don't understand how 4 stars bothers you people. I am still as excited as ever for the game but I can see why he decided it because he states why in his review. The score doesn't matter to me at all, I just want to know more about what the game is and the review did that and I can see that I will be into it way more than Jeff but I don't have a problem with his opinion at all.

Some people just need to chill out and have fun playing the games you like instead of spending hours of your life complaining someone else's opinion on it.

And creating conspiracy stories of why games got the score they did is stupid.

to show my nerdiness about halo

a quote from the arbiter from halo 3

"were it so easy...."

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Alorithin

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@Death_Burnout: We'll never beat the stamina meter debacle that was the Team ICO HD quick look.

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Death_Burnout

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Let's get this to 343 comments, you guys...

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Alorithin

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@Redsox44:

I think the 2007 Jeff Gerstmann is very different from the 2012 edition.

I played through syndicate's single player on the PC and still don't see how he gave that game 5 stars. I think it was because of the candle he held for the Bullfrog Syndicate.

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Redsox44

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Edited By Redsox44

@Alorithin: Plus Jeff gave Halo 3 a 9.5 and the same scores for ODST and Reach so this is pretty much the same. I don't see the big deal. Unless you can't get over a whole star difference from a 5 star. It's how he feels about Halo, likes it but still finds disappointment in them, woop de doo.

OMG he's saying Syndicate's a way better game!!!! Blasphemy! Should've gotten Drew to review it so he could've given it 5 stars! Giantbomb sux........ So stupid.

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Eojay

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Man, haven't looked at these comments in a few hours. This is hilarious.

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Alorithin

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@Redsox44:

It's less about the low score and more about the detractors picking fights with the fans and vice-versa.

As for the review, GB is always better in quicklook and podcast formats. Jeff without his voice just isn't the same.

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shaunk

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@algertman said:

@CaLe said:

@Tactical1 said:

@handlas:

Are you offended? I just don't see how anyone could think that Mortal Kombat Vs DC Universe would be critically better than the worst Halo title.

People with different views and opinions exist. It's shocking, I know.

Jeff is a huge MK and Ed Boon fanboy. I think that's pretty obvious.

Yeah I'm sure... Also Jeff hasn't called himself the FPS guy for the site before ever not once at all has he?

I don't see what people are complaining about. Halo Reach changed things up pretty dramatically and I thought it was pretty lame. The changes they make here bring it back to the original trilogy with still with completely new features. The review seems fair, Halo games usually have a kind of lame story mode unless you play it co op.

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CaLe

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Edited By CaLe

@algertman said:

@CaLe said:

@Tactical1 said:

@handlas:

Are you offended? I just don't see how anyone could think that Mortal Kombat Vs DC Universe would be critically better than the worst Halo title.

People with different views and opinions exist. It's shocking, I know.

Jeff is a huge MK and Ed Boon fanboy. I think that's pretty obvious.

And you wanted a Halo fanboy to review Halo?

I don't think comparing scores between fighting games and FPS games will get you anywhere.

You're gonna get this game and you expect to enjoy it right? So why does it matter what one review on one website (out of dozens) scores it? It's the opinion of one person, and it's not wrong, because opinions--by their very definition--cannot be wrong. I dunno what else to tell you. Get the game and have fun, I guess.

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Redsox44

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Edited By Redsox44

I just don't understand how 4 stars bothers you people. I am still as excited as ever for the game but I can see why he decided it because he states why in his review. The score doesn't matter to me at all, I just want to know more about what the game is and the review did that and I can see that I will be into it way more than Jeff but I don't have a problem with his opinion at all.

Some people just need to chill out and have fun playing the games you like instead of spending hours of your life complaining someone else's opinion on it.

And creating conspiracy stories of why games got the score they did is stupid.

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TheVideoHustler

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I'm happy it failed with story-telling. I really wanted to rip on those Final Fantasy-Style Halo fan boys.

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wanna give a shout out to the trolls who responded to my messages earlier in this thread. your posts werent funny, but they were posts, and i guess that counts.

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Tesla

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Good review , Jeff. Can't wait to play me a new Halo game!

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Cool I can't wait to play this. I feel like I've had a good break from the series so it's about time to get back to it.

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shaunk

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Edited By shaunk

This review told me what I needed to know. Sounds like they solved the problems that Reach had. Going to to preorder this later today. Good review.

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DragonBomb

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@Stubee said:

@DrLove said:

@Pixeldemon said:

Cursory glance around the internet indicates that's Jeff's take on Halo 4 is probably the most cynical and jaded of the bunch. Most other reviews are actually saying that H4 is better than the rest, and not just more of the same.

Looking forward to seeing which outlook I agree with after I actually play it!

pretty much this

I could have told you that when Halo 4 was announced. He is barely even a fan (he didn't like Halo:CE for christs sake).

Why can't Drew review the Halo games? Or even Brad?

I think it's much better to get someone who's going to be more critical rather than ignore flaws because they are a fan.

I didn't realize Drew writes reviews. I thought he was more on the technology side.

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GiveUpNed

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@algertman said:

@mrfluke said:

@ImmortalSaiyan said:

@i77ogical said:

@CaLe said:

@i77ogical: That's quite an elaborate piece of fan fiction you've got going there. I've seen better though.

It's 5 (?) years of experience with this site, so ... it's historical fiction if anything, haha.

Giant Bomb has failed as the site it wanted to be. It had to be sold because it doesn't sustain itself. The main reason it has failed, IMO, is Jeff Gerstmann. Imagine Andy Rooney running 60 Minutes. It doesn't work. Too many gamers want to enjoy gaming. Giant Bomb is the sour site that makes fun of gaming in the news articles, finds the jaded attitude in an industry that is meant to be fun, to take us away from crappy real life when we want to.

I've sat by while JG gave Fallout 3 a 4 star review. I've seen this rerun too many times. Giant Bomb the IDEA is a great thing. Jeff's execution of it isn't.

What are you going on about? Jeff just thinks the is disappointing but still a solid Halo game. It just is not as different as he would have liked. Jeff does like Halo 4 and many games. Most of them not being fighting games or driving games.

yep agreed, if jeff really was jaded about this game then the score would have been 3 stars and he would have damned the game more for having covenant in the game. ultimately i look at this as a 4.5 star review. but they dont do half stars. because at the end of the day, the content in the review shows that jeff ultimately liked the game, just its a bit too familar than it should be for a game thats praised as the start of a new and different trilogy and it was stated from frank o connor that the covenant was majority gonna be in the first level and then we switch over to the Prometheans. so to hear that the covenant is in the game a lot IS disappointing

dont look at scores too much, like in the podcast jeff said ultimately forza horizon is the better game (5 stars) but he will end up playing need for speed (4 stars) more.

and complaining over the fallout 3 score, that game was a buggy, janky mess, and it had a crappy main storyline.

4 Stars was all this game was ever going to get from Jeff. 5 Stars would have put him up with the review trash like IGN or Destructoid and 3 Stars would have came off as Jeff trying to hard to hate it or trolling the review score for hits. 4 Stars was a safe zone and the way GB review scores works gives him a lot of wiggle room to use it.

Man, gamers on the internet suck. Jeff's review backed up his score. Did anyone else read it? I hate fanboy bullshit where people hate someone because their game didn't get a perfect score.

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algertman

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Edited By algertman

@CaLe said:

@Tactical1 said:

@handlas:

Are you offended? I just don't see how anyone could think that Mortal Kombat Vs DC Universe would be critically better than the worst Halo title.

People with different views and opinions exist. It's shocking, I know.

Jeff is a huge MK and Ed Boon fanboy. I think that's pretty obvious.

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Alorithin

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@algertman said:

4 Stars was all this game was ever going to get from Jeff. 5 Stars would have put him up with the review trash like IGN or Destructoid

Opinion invalidated.

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algertman

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@mrfluke said:

@ImmortalSaiyan said:

@i77ogical said:

@CaLe said:

@i77ogical: That's quite an elaborate piece of fan fiction you've got going there. I've seen better though.

It's 5 (?) years of experience with this site, so ... it's historical fiction if anything, haha.

Giant Bomb has failed as the site it wanted to be. It had to be sold because it doesn't sustain itself. The main reason it has failed, IMO, is Jeff Gerstmann. Imagine Andy Rooney running 60 Minutes. It doesn't work. Too many gamers want to enjoy gaming. Giant Bomb is the sour site that makes fun of gaming in the news articles, finds the jaded attitude in an industry that is meant to be fun, to take us away from crappy real life when we want to.

I've sat by while JG gave Fallout 3 a 4 star review. I've seen this rerun too many times. Giant Bomb the IDEA is a great thing. Jeff's execution of it isn't.

What are you going on about? Jeff just thinks the is disappointing but still a solid Halo game. It just is not as different as he would have liked. Jeff does like Halo 4 and many games. Most of them not being fighting games or driving games.

yep agreed, if jeff really was jaded about this game then the score would have been 3 stars and he would have damned the game more for having covenant in the game. ultimately i look at this as a 4.5 star review. but they dont do half stars. because at the end of the day, the content in the review shows that jeff ultimately liked the game, just its a bit too familar than it should be for a game thats praised as the start of a new and different trilogy and it was stated from frank o connor that the covenant was majority gonna be in the first level and then we switch over to the Prometheans. so to hear that the covenant is in the game a lot IS disappointing

dont look at scores too much, like in the podcast jeff said ultimately forza horizon is the better game (5 stars) but he will end up playing need for speed (4 stars) more.

and complaining over the fallout 3 score, that game was a buggy, janky mess, and it had a crappy main storyline.

4 Stars was all this game was ever going to get from Jeff. 5 Stars would have put him up with the review trash like IGN or Destructoid and 3 Stars would have came off as Jeff trying to hard to hate it or trolling the review score for hits. 4 Stars was a safe zone and the way GB review scores works gives him a lot of wiggle room to use it.

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Alorithin

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@The_Nubster said:

I don't know if you know, but I don't think you know, but Jeff always reviews the FPS games. That's how it's always been. Brad even stated that he only reviewed Warfighter because Jeff was out for the week. The reason he gave such a high score to Mortal Kombat is because it wasn't just more MK; for a long time, the series had been a 3D fighting game with swappable fighting styles, fighter creator, etc. and MK brought it back to its roots in terms of gameplay, while completely overhauling story mode and doing a brand-new style of storytelling for fighting games, and also introducing the Challenge Tower (which is 300 challenges for single-player). Halo has been Halo all along, and this game continues to be Halo. 343 has said so before release, even cutting things that were too 'un-Halo', and they've gone so far as to keep the basic code that makes Halo feel like Halo. MK was both a reboot and a total overhaul of everything MK was at the time.

You haven't played Halo 4, and you've never played MK. It's painfully obvious.

Halo has been Halo all along, and this game continues to be Halo.

You haven't played Halo 4

Selective ignorance is a fun way to settle arguments.

@ucankurbaga said:

I am enjoying comments greatly, a lot of butthurt fanboyism at its finest. Halo has been codified.

Better to have passion for something than to sit on a sideline and sneer.

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ucankurbaga

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Edited By ucankurbaga

I am enjoying comments greatly, a lot of butthurt fanboyism at its finest. Halo has been codified.

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veektarius

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Edited By veektarius

I agree with the logic behind the review, and probably would agree with the rating itself once I've played the game. That said, it rambles a bit, and by repeating the same negatives multiple times, comes off as a more critical review than the rating would usggest.

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@DrLove said:

@Pixeldemon said:

Cursory glance around the internet indicates that's Jeff's take on Halo 4 is probably the most cynical and jaded of the bunch. Most other reviews are actually saying that H4 is better than the rest, and not just more of the same.

Looking forward to seeing which outlook I agree with after I actually play it!

pretty much this

I could have told you that when Halo 4 was announced. He is barely even a fan (he didn't like Halo:CE for christs sake).

Why can't Drew review the Halo games? Or even Brad?

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TimFReilly

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Edited By TimFReilly

The story and setting, which were meant to be a big feature in the game, are apparently a disappointing retread. If that's not worth knocking off a star, what is?

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DrLove

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@Pixeldemon said:

Cursory glance around the internet indicates that's Jeff's take on Halo 4 is probably the most cynical and jaded of the bunch. Most other reviews are actually saying that H4 is better than the rest, and not just more of the same.

Looking forward to seeing which outlook I agree with after I actually play it!

pretty much this

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The_Nubster

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@Tarsier said:

@captainanderson said:

@Tarsier said:

@Nadril said:

Kind of disappointing that it's just "more halo". Not like I care, I don't even have a 360 and I've not played Halo since the 2nd one, but some of the early footage looked to be a bit different from the original trilogy which was interesting.

Good news is if you're a Halo fan you'll probably love it. 4/5 makes a lot of sense overall.

i can see that its more than just 'more halo' by watching trailers and gameplay videos. jeff didnt piss on the new mortal kombat game for just being 'more mortal kombat'.. and i would say that game was much more of the same than halo 4 is. there is a massive amount of evolution in this game.

Sure sounds like you know your stuff, having obviously played the game yourself. I mean, it's not like it doesn't come out for another five days or anything.

its a good thing you read my posts and understood that nothing i said was dependent in any way on whether or not i played the game. they were comments on jeffs reviewing style, and his reviewing style of the past, and the way he thinks about certain games and approaches them compared to others. reviewers have 'taste'. this is similar to ryan reviewing star craft 2. he is not a starcraft player. he doesnt get the online, and he has no interest in investing himself into it to figure out how to play. this would color his opinion of the game and his review would be effected by that. whereas if brad reviewed starcraft 2, someone who understands the gameplay and what starcraft is and how to play it, he would do it fairly and i would trust his opinion.

drew or vinny should have reviewed this game.

PS like i said earlier , jeff could be completely right, and these other review sites could be wrong. this is my assumption based on the consistency of the past .

I don't know if you know, but I don't think you know, but Jeff always reviews the FPS games. That's how it's always been. Brad even stated that he only reviewed Warfighter because Jeff was out for the week. The reason he gave such a high score to Mortal Kombat is because it wasn't just more MK; for a long time, the series had been a 3D fighting game with swappable fighting styles, fighter creator, etc. and MK brought it back to its roots in terms of gameplay, while completely overhauling story mode and doing a brand-new style of storytelling for fighting games, and also introducing the Challenge Tower (which is 300 challenges for single-player). Halo has been Halo all along, and this game continues to be Halo. 343 has said so before release, even cutting things that were too 'un-Halo', and they've gone so far as to keep the basic code that makes Halo feel like Halo. MK was both a reboot and a total overhaul of everything MK was at the time.

You haven't played Halo 4, and you've never played MK. It's painfully obvious.

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Mendelson9

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Edited By Mendelson9

I wish the game did not bring back the covenant and the humans back into the fight. The end of Hal 3 seems to set up an adventure just with Chief and Cortana, not these other factions we have seen already. I guess you can't make a Halo game without Grunts and Elites.

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prestonhedges

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@TorMasturba

@Tarsier said:

@Mystyr_E said:

heh, it's funny: Gamespot, IGN, Destructoid, Game informer, they're like WOW dude! holy crap!

here it's like "ya know, it's good"

its because jeff is biased and always has been and he sucks at the multiplayer so it hinders his enjoyment levels. hes a racing game / fighting game guy not a FPS player he should stick to what his taste is and not give un fair reviews to other games. OF COURSE i am not assuming this is the case in this review. for all i know he could be right in not giving it 5 stars. but the past has shown that he is probly not.

he should have let drew or vinny review this game imo

What? I'm confused, Jeff and the other Giantbomb staffers have flat out stated that Jeff is basically Giantbomb's go to guy for FPS games.

Haven't they been saying for the past two years that they're tired of first-person shooters?
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Gruff182

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Mentally inadequate people, arguing over review scores. Brilliant.

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Raven10

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@Tarsier: Jeff has been reviewing Halo since Halo 3. He is the FPS reviewer. I like that because it gives a sort of base to the reviews. I know what he likes in a shooter and what he doesn't so I can easily say whether or not I would like the game based on his review. It doesn't matter if I agree with it, but just knowing his tastes makes it easy to understand where he is coming from. Jeff is also really good at ignoring the hype and just saying what he thinks. You have to imagine some of the other reviews right now being a bit hyperbolic. Jeff just rates the game based on the game, not on the promises or hype. I honestly have very different tastes than he does so I don't usually use his reviews purely based on score. They are still helpful though because he reviews every shooter so I can say that compared to X shooter that I liked or didn't like, he felt the game was about equal in quality.

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aleryn

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Edited By aleryn

Sounds good. Gotta agree with Jeff though and wish the boatload of humans and Covenant never showed up.

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TorMasturba

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@Tarsier said:

@Mystyr_E said:

heh, it's funny: Gamespot, IGN, Destructoid, Game informer, they're like WOW dude! holy crap!

here it's like "ya know, it's good"

its because jeff is biased and always has been and he sucks at the multiplayer so it hinders his enjoyment levels. hes a racing game / fighting game guy not a FPS player he should stick to what his taste is and not give un fair reviews to other games. OF COURSE i am not assuming this is the case in this review. for all i know he could be right in not giving it 5 stars. but the past has shown that he is probly not.

he should have let drew or vinny review this game imo

What? I'm confused, Jeff and the other Giantbomb staffers have flat out stated that Jeff is basically Giantbomb's go to guy for FPS games.

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Palaeomerus

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Edited By Palaeomerus

I can't decide which is worse: the people complaining about the inadequacy a review of a game they haven't played yet, and coming up with theories about why Jeff is a bad bad man, or the conga lines of smug, mostly inarticulate little snark monkeys lining up to throw their stupid canned cheap shots at them. It's like watching a grotesque antisocial internet trying to strangle itself. I think I hate both sides equally. You are all such awful awful people. As far as I can tell almost none of these comments are even about the actual game, just who has the right to form some collective abbreviated opinion on it. I think people just came here to fight and rage e-style.

And now I'm guilty too. Damn it.