Overall 9.3 Graphics 9.7 Sound 9 Addictive 9.2 Story 8.2 Depth 8 Difficulty 7.2
8.8
Halo 4 review Frodlex
Alright, If you're one of those people who just look at what ratings I give this review isn't for you to read, I gave this game ratings given on how good the aspects actually are in many respects, I give a good rating where it's due and that same goes with poor ratings. I'll be honest, I love this game, I've loved the Halo series since I started playing it (At 3 if you must know, While I didn't grow up on Halo like most people my age I was lucky and got to grow up on the classics.) When it comes to simple game play, This one is probably my favorite to be honest. It's stunning visually and mechanically, With Multi-player that actually takes a good skill to master. (When you're like me and can average 20+ kills and 0-3 deaths on a game you're pretty much one of the best out there, But you're still no master at that level.)
This is truly one of the better games that have come out within the past few years, I'm not going to say whether or not it's the best game as of late or not, As a matter of fact I can tell you now it's not my personal favorite game, Pretty high up on my list but it's not my favorite regardless. A lot of fans hate this series in comparison to the original series such as Halo 3 and Halo: Reach (If you consider Reach as part of the original series, It was made by Bungie after all.) partially because this was made by a different company named 343 industries which was made by Microsoft for the sole purpose of making new Halo games. That being said many fans prefer this game to the original series as well. This game brought several new aspects into play and even added a new story arch to play through in the upcoming years.
Any way you look at it I've already spent a lot of time explaining the basic core of the game but the fun part is exploring it yourself in my opinion, And let me tell you I could go on with so much positive feedback for this game, I could also go with some negative feedback too, But the negative us highly overpowered by the positive feedback, So without further ado, Let me get to the specifics of the game.
Graphics: 10... Okay first off, Every aspect of this game is absolutely stunning visually, From the plants, To the enemies, To you... To Cortana. You name it and it'll look pretty good in this game if not just absolutely amazing, I mean you can see the smallest details on your own arm in this game, Some spots on the ground do look a little... Bland but when you're playing through this game it doesn't really seem to bug me at all. Then again I'm more concerned with game-play rather than graphics when I play a game. Still, It doesn't hurt to have a game with amazing graphics in a well done game.
Another thing I wanted to cover in this a little more specifically is visual effects. Now while some of the visual effects like the tanks exploding might not be that realistic, It still looks amazing and pretty darn beautiful too. I mean from a Spartans shield being knocked out to the new enemies falling apart when you kill them, It looks simply stunning, Even though I don't play these games for graphics I couldn't stop but being caught aside and even sometimes stopping mid battle to look at these amazing graphics.
Sound: 6... Now before you jump on me for this somewhat low rating hear me out. This isn't even just soundtrack or just sound effects and I have a perfectly good explanation for this rating if you'll hear me out. I'm going to start with sound effects here and explain to you my problem and lack there of with these. The sound effects in these games aren't really the best or the most realistic, Now I know this is a gun game and gun games are simply games, But the UNSC weapons sound nothing like normal weapons.. If anything they sound weaker when they are supposed to more powerful than most guns, It's flawed and it matches poorly with the story of this and that's something that will always get on my nerves... That being said, It's not exactly meant to either, It's supposed to mostly nostalgic to the original series. (That Battle rifle sound sound a bit familiar to any of you yet?) I mean even the sound of when you land hard on your feet or when your body lands on the floor still sounds off to me, Shouldn't it sound a little more metallic and also... These are Spartans we're talking about, They're supposed to be half a ton for crying out loud, Shouldn't they land a little heavier? (Halo has poor gravity physics... Just look at the puny crater MC made at the beginning of Halo 3 when he jumped.)
Now, As for the soundtrack.. I'll be honest here, It's wasn't really something that suited me at all really, I mean.. It worked kinda and all and I'll give credit where credit is due regardless, But I myself am not really a fan of this games soundtrack, With or without story behind it. That being said I wasn't very fond of the way they composed the music for this game in general, This kind of takes away the old and pretty epic music from Halo 3 and even Reach ( Remember that sadly these are the only two I have played before 4.) that I loved. I mean it's good and all, But it's just not very Halo in my opinion, But that's just my opinion and I need to make sure I state that I remember that fact. But it's really less of an epic conquest against the " Ultra-powerful Alien enemy. " And more of a... "Mystic emotionally powered" form of music in some respects. I realize some of this is still personal preference but this is still my review after all so there isn't too much room for you to complain about this and remember, This is still one of my favorite games, The sound just isn't one of my favorite features about this game sadly. Anyway, I don't want to ramble on for too long because there isn't much more that is actually relevant to my review that I have left to say about music.
Addictiveness: 9... Man I love this game... This game is mostly made for its multi-player, And it does not disappoint... You see, For years now MLG (Major League Gaming) has been using the Halo franchise as one of the most popular competitive FPS (First person shooter.) games. While I don't have any problem with Call Of Duty but this game is was made for a different audience than most other FPS games. This is more like a "Quick thinking, accuracy and (team or solo) tactics > Bum rushing and hoping for the best" kind of game, This allows for more complicate and tactic based game-play rather than a mindless pile of poorly skilled players, (While you still get the amateur players in this game it's still different, This brings in several type of FPS players into one game.) I'll be honest but this game did kind of copy the load out system from other FPS shooters in Halo: Reach, And now simply the custom load outs and (unlimited) sprint... Again from most mainstream FPS games.
Honestly that last paragraph was a little.. Off topic and I'll apologize and compensate for that right now. This game is fun, It makes you want to come back and play more of it online, Or play through the campaign again for the fun of it. (Solo on Legendary anyone?) I played this game for weeks on end when I first got it, This game was made to keep you playing it as long as you possibly can and even then you don't really want to put it down, Everything from the multi-player to the campaign was made to get you and keep you hooked for a while. And when you're a fan.. You don't even want to put down this game at all, let alone the entire series. (I mean have you ever gone on a Grunt (The weakest of the alien Covenant) slaughtering spree? Trust me it's fun.) I mean even the sound of the weapons is nostalgic and will make you want to come back to this game if you here it after you stop playing. Honestly this game is just addicting, I don't really know how to explain it well, But I loved the Halo campaigns and I love this games game-play and story to a certain extent.. That being said, Let's move on to the story.
Story: 8... Alright, I'm going to try and avoid spoilers here to the best of my ability and I won't give away anything too important but I will have to reveal a small bit of information from this story in order to explain it and review it properly, So in advance I apologize for the spoilers. (Don't worry, I'm not really giving away anything that you can't find out from a trailer or two honestly, And there isn't much difference between a review and a trailer.. Anyway, Back on subject.) Well.. I never grew up on the original series, I played through 3 and Reach, And out of the two I grew a certain attachment to the story of Halo (Mostly because you are the main character of Reach.) And was hoping to be blown away by this games story. And when I finally got to play it, While I didn't like the story as much as the others, It still didn't leave any room for disappointment and let me explain why.
As you can learn from certain trailers of the game, Something is wrong with Cortana. (Master Chief's AI partner in case you are new to the series) I'm not going to say exactly what because I'm still trying to avoid spoilers here, But the story is pretty much an emotional roller coaster in comparison to the previous games which were more centered around the action and events that took place rather than the emotional weight than everything bore. Don't get me wrong it's always been an emotional series, But not in the same way it is now. I mean it's almost a love story now. (Okay, It is a love story now.) And while I'm one who can enjoy a good romance every now and then, I wasn't exactly happy with the way they did this story. While it's still a good story I myself am just not a fan of it and can only wait for the next game and see what they do with that one. One thing I did like about this story is it ended with positive build up for the next chapter in the series to do even better than the last and that's something I can appreciate. It's something I need to keep in mind but I will like very much to see where this story is going. I mean I could talk about it for hours already, I just hope it doesn't disappoint when I finally get to play the next game.
Depth: 7... Well, This specific thing is a little complicated to rate, While there is a certain depth the story lacks, There is also a certain depth to competitive aspects of this game have on a level most other games can't compete, I mean it's made for it's multi-player in order to keep people playing online honestly. There was an entire group of teams centered on just making the Online and multi-player as perfect as possible, And they are still working on it to this day, You may not realize it while playing this game, But do you ever stop to pay attention to just how exactly the damage tables work? It's pretty complex and amazing, I mean so much time and effort was put into this game it's not even funny, And if you don't consider that deep I don't know what is.
I mean even the one way story that has no alternate cut-scenes or ways to change what happens still has extras and bonuses to explore and find, There are still Easter eggs to find in the game and I'm sure there always will be in these games, Actually Easter eggs have been around for quite a long while and hopefully always will be. But this game does have stuff to explore and even in the campaign, There are about twenty different ways to go about taking down a group of enemies, You've got to know how to go about it. And multi-player is just pure amazing when it comes to tactics and strategies... Allow me to explain in the next part of my review.
Difficulty: 6... Now before anyone gets on my case let me explain something.. I'm a good player and some (Not all.) of my rating is based on a personal experience while playing this game. I'm going to start with the multi-player aspect first, The games multi-player is much more fast pace than the previous games, That's something someone like me can use to his/her advantage if they are a fast enough thinker.. But every time I played online I couldn't help but start predicting how the other players would act and you know what.. Every single time they did something I knew they would and messed up horribly. (I mean something along the lines of running out into the middle of the field to get shot at by all sides and killed in seconds or things along these lines, Or walking into my grenade that I clearly just threw in front of them.) Even when I played against some of the best players they were still easy to predict and then I had the ability to use counter measures to ensure my victory... Maybe this is just me being some awesome strategic genius and not knowing but I mean, No one really uses their head in the game and it's mostly just running around shooting, When someone like me who uses his head comes along and goes around taking down everyone like some sort of human tank it's kind of.. Easy? Then again I could turn these tables around and say it's way too hard because there are really good players out there like me for an example. But honestly it's not too hard but it's not exactly easy either, It honestly boils down to your personal skill level when you get down too it.
Now let's talk about the campaign, Even for people new to the series it's really not that hard and almost serves as a place to learn the controls and get adjusted to game-play before taking on the competition in multi-player, I mean even on Legendary it wasn't that hard.. And here's why, The A I are predictable and easy to manipulate, That's right.. Just like the majority of players online. (Or maybe this is just me being awesome at taking advantage of my enemies and their in-ability to keep up with me mentally, Yay being smart.... Do school kids, It's good for your brain and it'll even make you better at your favorite games!) I mean you can even just use a Plasma pistol + Head shot weapon combo half of the time to make things overly simple, As a matter of fact that's one thing I liked about this game, The nerfed the Plasma pistol.. Now don't get me wrong this was probably one of my favorite weapons back in Reach, But it was way too easy to use and almost nothing would over power it if you combined it with a melee or a head-shot.
But regardless of my own skill levels, Let's look at this in comparison to some of the other games out there, I mean have you ever played any of the games from Japan? Most of them would probably be too hard for the average gamer to beat and some are too hard for me and that's saying something. It honestly isn't that hard of a game, Even on Legendary it just doesn't compete. I would love to have a harder version of a Halo game and will gladly play it when released, But there are still harder games out there, Even on the Xbox 360 console it won't be the hardest out there. (Resonance of fate people... You will die every time, You probably have never heard of this game though, I recommend looking it up and taking a look... It's pretty awesome.) As much as I would love a harder Halo game this simply isn't it, I mean in some respects Reach and 3 were a lot harder mainly just because of the way the game-play was made, Game-play is so important in terms of difficulty, And this just isn't a toughy, But I'm going to stop saying the same things over and over and move on with my review now.
Overall: 8.8... Well, This is pretty much the end of my review and I don't have too much more to say other than this is one of the most popular Xbox games out currently and will probably be that way until the next Halo game comes out... Hopefully the next one will have My little pony characters in it but probably not. (In all honesty I don't want MLP characters in Halo, It's a joke.) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my review and I didn't mess it up too much or anything. The overall here is actually a combination of my other reviewed aspects in the game for the first time so let me know what you think of my review since I styled it this way, Enjoy yourself and thanks for reading my review, It was pretty fun writing this.
Graphics 10 Sound 6 Addictive 9 Story 8 Depth 7 Difficulty 6
Review Rating: 5/5
Submitted: 08-15-13
Review Replies: 3
9.2
Halo 4 Review MechaMento
Halo 4 - Xbox 360343 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.
Graphics 10 Sound 9 Addictive 9 Story 10 Depth 9 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 4.3/5
Submitted: 02-26-14
Review Replies: 0
10
One of my all time favorite games. AgnarLotbrok
So, the halo series is one of my all time favorite games, and I have to atleast attempt to write my first review ever on this game. So passing the torch from bungie to 343 studios, halo 4 is a reboot of the first ground breaking halo game, with a brand new series of games. So its def true, I think halo 4 is the best game so far. Its a bit less floaty then the other, and carries more weight. Weapon firing is more powerful, the game has a darker gloomier feel to it unlike the others, with better voice overs and a story then any of the other bungie games. Master chief is transformed more into a human, yet his personality is a bit more robot like. Halo 4 makes halo 3 look like elementary school play!
While halo 4 suffers from a few problems that a lot of first person shooters suffer from, the awesomeness of the game overshadows it big time! Theirs a lot of variation compared to what we have seen with the other titles. I have never felt a sense of repetition like in the other games, though I'm not dissing on them at all. The campaign is beautifully paced, processing the ups and downs of this awesome blockbuster we call halo 4. Let me not forget that halo 4 is one of the best looking games for the xbox 360 I have ever seen when it comes to graphics.
It used to be that the xbox 360 had the best titles out there, but Sony has picked up the slack since then and has came out with some blockbuster titles. With halo 4, Microsoft can once again hang its hat on a triple-A series that's had a bunch of energy injected into it. It's like 343 was suppose to have made halo from the start. So skeptics, bite it! Halo will always be here! This game has amazing graphics, it has more of a feel that you make your own choices, just jump on a warthog and go. They stick to the controls they have always used for the most part, changing it up a little bit, which I enjoy. Master chief actually talks, and has a name, and probably says more in the first 30 mins of the game then he has in all the other halo's combined.
So I say, if you haven't played this game, try it now! It's amazing, and it beats the heck out of games where you get shot once [cod lalala] and die. Amazing game to play, and if your any kind of gamer, you can't pass this title up.
Graphics 10 Sound 10 Addictive 10 Story 10 Depth 10 Difficulty 8
Review Rating: 4.3/5
Submitted: 04-19-13
Review Replies: 4
8.4
Halo 4 Review by Bitl. (UPDATED) Bitl
Here's my first review! Oh yes, I am ready for this one, and it is Halo 4 for the Xbox 360! Keep in mind that I haven't played Halo 4 in a while since I have been busy on the PC or played a different game on the Xbox 360, so here is what I think of Halo 4.
THE STORY:
The story is... interesting to say the least. I don't really know why 343 Industries wanted to go with a more emotional story. Not really the greatest of the Halo series story wise but still pretty interesting. 8.6/10 for the story. Not bad for a first game.
GAMEPLAY:
In Halo 3, the gameplay was perfect and actually feels like the previous Halo games. In Halo Reach, that concept was improved upon. In Halo 4, especially the multiplayer, it feels like 343 Industries copied and pasted some things from Call of Duty. And I'm not saying it's bad, but I feel that even though most elements of the gameplay feel like Halo, stuff like killcams and such don't really make it feel like Halo to me. Sprinting is permanently enabled, which really isn't a bad idea for Halo (In fact, Grifball in Multiplayer feels really fun with it), but Bungie made Sprinting a power up in Halo Reach for a reason: so the original Halo gameplay can be kept into the game while adding something small to give the players a boost. Overall, I give the gameplay a 8.5/10.
MULTIPLAYER:
Do I even have to talk about the multiplayer? It is REALLY GOOD despite some gameplay elements I described earlier. Grifball is my favorite in this game. 9.6/10 for the multiplayer.
GRAPHICS:
And finally, the graphics. This game has to have the best graphics on the Xbox 360 to date. 343 Industries did a REALLY good job with the graphics in this game. If I were a guy that thought that graphics make the game (which I am not thankfully.), I would say that this is the best graphics I have seen from any game. 9.8/10.
OVERALL:
Overall I give this game a 8.3 out of 10. Not a bad game, I could recommend it to someone who is a hardcore Halo fan. Graphics are AMAZING though.
Hopefully you all enjoyed my first review here, and check back for more!
EDIT: Here's a little
update to this review since I recently finished the game a few days ago. My honest opinion is that Halo 4 isn't all that bad for 343 industries first game. Of course some things should be changed here and there, but I think this is a pretty good game, despite the fact that almost everything is changed. I wish luck to 343i on Halo 5 (Halo 5 actually looks awesome btw).
Graphics 10 Sound 10 Addictive 7 Story 8 Depth 6 Difficulty 8
Review Rating: 4/5
Submitted: 09-13-13
Updated: 01-01-15
Review Replies: 2
9
Review: Halo 4 for the Xbox 360. XxHowiexX7
Graphics 9 Sound 9 Addictive 10 Story 9 Depth 8 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 03-19-15
Updated: 07-13-15
Review Replies: 2
8.2
Halo 4, The awkward squeal to Halo 3. RcKl3ssGamingHD
Now Halo Reach was the last game to be entered by the game company Bungie. 323 had a lot to step up to for the release of Halo 4 and they were under pressure with some Halo fans there were not very happy about the Company move.
Now 323 worked very hard to meet the standards of a typical Halo game. The result, well...
After the dreaded long loading time (typical for all halo games) I started the campaign, noticing the cinematic detail and graphics. Now you may notice I only gave the games Graphics rating of 9. Some will disagree with me on this, but I have seen better graphics the Xbox 360 can produce (such as Forza horizon and Fable III).
I played on through the mission enjoying the pleasure of the sounds of Halo 4 blasting through my surround speakers. Unlike most games I play this really shows off what surround sound can do.
Now the story It's self isn't all that pleasing. The game does become repetitive when you get to the 5 mission, you face enemies in similar patterns to those of previous events in the campaign. I'm sorry Halo fans but I just got bored of the story and that's when I discovered the amazing world of multiplayer!
I don't really care if the story is bad, when I can spend hours blasting other Spartans online. Multiplayer is just purely addictive, you can have fun on any game mode. My favorite has to be flood, which is a kind of zombie survival sort of thing. So I gave this 10/10 for addictiveness no matter how life-less the story is.
A side from multiplayer and the campaign, Halo 4 goes into more depth. I enjoy creating levels in the sand box mode "Forge". This involves the user to create and play custom levels. You have a wide range of blocks, weapons and vehicles to play with. The player can toggle through Building and Spartan mode (also online).
All in all I gave this 8.2/10. A great game that I'll sit down to play for hours on end, It was just the story that lacked when it is compared to Bungie's marvelous Halo 3. However this 323's first Halo game so to some respect this is a good game.
Graphics 9 Sound 10 Addictive 10 Story 4 Depth 8 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 2.8/5
Submitted: 06-23-13
Review Replies: 1
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