Halo 4 - Xbox 360


343 Industries were given the privilege to continue Bungie's hit series Halo right from where they left off of. The hype and expectations for the next edition to the saga were extremely high so there was little room for error.
And little error there was...


The game opens with an extremely well crafted cut scene. It felt like I was watching a film and at some scenes it was hard to tell whether the characters were programed or living actors. Unlike games like Sonic 06 the rest of the game looks great too. We are not just greeted by something beautiful, the visuals last and last in true cinematic fashion.


Along with the graphics the environment and world design is artistic.There is a sense of atmosphere you get while playing Halo 4. There is just the right balance between futuristic areas and natural which makes you remember that Halo takes place in the future of this universe and not in some completely new and unrecognizable universe, since there is so much relatable to Earth and our knowledge on other planets.


The visuals and world design are complemented by the audio. From the Dramatic theme to the weapon sound effects this game sounds great. Great isn't one of my best words to describe something either. While Halo 4's audio is up there with some of my other top sounding games, it certainly can match with some of the Masterpieces like Half-Life 2, Legend of Zelda: Majora's mask and even Halo Combat Evolved for the original Xbox and PC. This is only a small fraction of the reason why I didn't give it a 10 out of 10.


Most people complain that the gameplay in the Halo series is very repetitive and get generic as the series progresses. Having played through almost all of the Halo series I haven't really felt that there is any major repetivity. The concept has been the same throughout the series and there haven't been any minor evolutions in Gameplay but the game still feel fresh. 343 managed to keep the game new without ruining any game mechanics. It is mainly to do with the Level Design and World Design which I have already praised. There is a distinct feel to each halo game and in Halo 4 the levels are generally spread out and full of places to explore once you get past the open stage. While most area's are new and done in 343's unique styles in environment there are still one or two areas that I can relate to previous Halo titles.


Halo 4's story is also a big role in creating this almost perfect masterpiece. It is a shame that most games these days, particularly FPS's, don't have stories you can get into. Most are multiplayer based and the focus on the actual game appears minimal. Halo 4 is one of the very few games that I can get into story wise. I didn't play the campaign just to get the achievements, I played it because it is good!


The true reason for me to drop a mark is because of a certain enemy. That being the Knights. While I am a person who likes difficult games like CastleVania, Megaman that the more recent Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures but while playing in Heroic or Legendary the Knights are very cheap. In the games I just mentioned you are only to blame when messing up. The other enemies are like that in Halo as well and clearing a room of elites in legendary is very rewarding.

The Knights are very over powered and they will only stress the player out. to my knowledge they have the same health and strength as the Elites yet they come with the assistance of bots that'll heal them besides they can heal themselves just like you and Elites can. Instead of running away from you they can teleport and by the time you find them they have or are beginning to recharge. This really becomes when there are more than one Knight around. I remember being stuck for a long time on this certain part of the third mission of the game. I have to say that part and other Knight encounters are rated high up in some of the hardest parts across the whole series and unfortunately the difficult was cheap and you never felt that it was your fault and you resort to blaming the game.


The Knight is the concept to make me frown while playing this game. There are some other minor floors including some glitches but most of them have patched the only other flaw worth mentioning is the OP Mantis' but they don't bother me much at all. This leaves me to only drop one mark from perfection. 343 did an great job continuing the series. Though it may not be as good as Combat Evolved and Halo 2 I highly recommend this and I am eager to play Halo 5 when it is released.