Halo 4

 Xbox 360
User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 3901 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,403 out of 3901
  2. Mixed: 725 out of 3901
  3. Negative: 773 out of 3901
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  1. CynicalJohnson
    Nov 6, 2012
    6
    I wasn't really sure about how good Halo 4 was going to be a t first. To be honest, I expected it to flop. But after completing the campaign on Normal, and experiencing the multiplayer for a couple of hours, I have to admit that this is one of the best Halos ever made. It may not have the longest Halo campaign, but it has one of the most emotional ones. The bits of dialogue between MasterI wasn't really sure about how good Halo 4 was going to be a t first. To be honest, I expected it to flop. But after completing the campaign on Normal, and experiencing the multiplayer for a couple of hours, I have to admit that this is one of the best Halos ever made. It may not have the longest Halo campaign, but it has one of the most emotional ones. The bits of dialogue between Master Chief and Cortana are brillaint, from the script writing to the voice acting. There's a whole bunch of new, awesome weapons which all feel and sound really great. The multiplayer feels more fast paced than the previous titles and that only does it justice. I've really enjoyed my Halo 4 experience so far and I hope that Halo 5 turns out to be just as good, if not better.… Expand
  2. rankinaaron
    Nov 9, 2012
    6
    Here we go, I'm gonna try and be as honest as I can about this. I am a Halo fan through and through. I have been playing since Halo CE. I've bought every Halo game there ever was (except Halo Wars). I was playing Halo 2 with friends at LAN parties with 4+ xboxes for hours on end. I have also been playing COD pretty extensively since COD 4 (Modern Warfare). I was tenth prestige in the firstHere we go, I'm gonna try and be as honest as I can about this. I am a Halo fan through and through. I have been playing since Halo CE. I've bought every Halo game there ever was (except Halo Wars). I was playing Halo 2 with friends at LAN parties with 4+ xboxes for hours on end. I have also been playing COD pretty extensively since COD 4 (Modern Warfare). I was tenth prestige in the first modern warfare and 7th prestige in the 2nd. Just giving my credentials in order to show that I have a pretty well formed opinion about Halo 4. Let's be honest, Halo 4 is Halo at it's core with a hefty amount of COD mechanics thrown in. Things brought to Halo 4 directly from COD: instant respawn, custom weapon loadouts, an experience and currency system wherein items are unlocked with XP, but have to be purchased with currency (taken from black ops), dynamic player joining (and no penalty for quitting), sprint as an inherent ability, "ordnance" (strike) packages (even two of them just like COD). Default controls for Halo 4 are the exact same as COD (left thumbstick click has been crouch for every single Halo except this one). The spinning UNSC banner hologram you see during loading screens is a direct copy of the loading screen in the modern warfare titles. This isn't conspiracy bullsh*t, it's blatant parallels between the games. Anyone who has played both Halo and COD will say that Halo 4 is a combination of the two, most likely to draw in players from both crowds in order to maximize profits for Microsoft. Finally (spoiler alert here) the final "boss" (bahahaha) is a supremely dissatisfying quicktime event, much like the endings of pretty much all of the call of duty games.

    My problem with this? NO INNOVATION WHATSOEVER. Copied game mechanics, that's it, nothing more. So we get a compromised version of Halo, which used to be a competitive even playing field, but is now a cushy "everyone can have fun, even if you suck" title. I regret to say that I'm probably going to return (sell back to Gamestop for 1/10 the price) Halo 4, as I have no motivation to progress in it's multiplayer system, because I feel like I've played the same system 20 times over with the Call of Duty franchise.    … Expand
  3. StarlessBB
    Nov 6, 2012
    6
    The campaign seems to be a mixed bag. On one end the enemy AI is great and the difficulty is just right. On the other end there are weird QTE esque Call of Duty like segments that are slow and take me out of the game. This back-and-forth between these elements persists throughout the relatively short campaign.
    Multiplayer, like the campaign, is a mixed bag. New modes are fun, new armors    The campaign seems to be a mixed bag. On one end the enemy AI is great and the difficulty is just right. On the other end there are weird QTE esque Call of Duty like segments that are slow and take me out of the game. This back-and-forth between these elements persists throughout the relatively short campaign.
    Multiplayer, like the campaign, is a mixed bag. New modes are fun, new armors look very cool, new weapons are great, but it's all undermined by the HORRIBLE weapon spawning system. I won't even describe it but it's so **** compared to how it was in the other game.
    Visually the game looks good, not great but it's definitely nice looking.
    The music and sound effects are great as always in Halo.    … Expand
  4. Rice303
    Nov 6, 2012
    5
    Genearlly an average game, it does have pretty graphics and an okay story, but in the end I was dissapointed with most of the games aspects, I wasn't a fan of the story or of the multiplayer and I found that the game was lacking in some areas during the campagin, but despite these problems of course fans are going to like it, but if you're not a fan, don't buy it, a waste of time and money.
  5. strider982
    Nov 6, 2012
    6
    Hard to decide whether i'm disappointed or not with this. Great music, the menu music just blows me away. Decent storyline, nice to see the Chief speaking a lot more, but the gameplay is just the same ol' stuff. Multiplayer is where it all goes horribly wrong. People have always compared other modern fps games with call of duty and for once they would be right to do so. The multiplayerHard to decide whether i'm disappointed or not with this. Great music, the menu music just blows me away. Decent storyline, nice to see the Chief speaking a lot more, but the gameplay is just the same ol' stuff. Multiplayer is where it all goes horribly wrong. People have always compared other modern fps games with call of duty and for once they would be right to do so. The multiplayer many of us have come to know and love has been warped almost to the point of being unrecognisable. Killcams, sprint (not just a perk), customisable loadouts. This may all sound like a great advancement, and some of it arguably is (players joining in a session is a welcome bonus!) but many of the changes really do ruin the flow of gameplay and most importantly ruin everything that Bungie worked so hard on refining. I would seriously reccommend caution if you're thinking about buying this.… Expand
  6. ReSultZ
    Nov 6, 2012
    5
    You already played this.

    After over ten years of halo games Halo 4 is exactly the same formula :-/ Pretty graphics, decent sounds,cool new enemies (finally). But I am very disapointed that the series hasn't envolved. Come on 343 what modern shooter doesn't zoom with all guns to aim! It needs to be faster! Also the slomo jumping got to go! Average game thanks to its dated nature    You already played this.

    After over ten years of halo games Halo 4 is exactly the same formula :-/
    Pretty graphics, decent sounds,cool new enemies (finally).
    But I am very disapointed that the series hasn't envolved.
    Come on 343 what modern shooter doesn't zoom with all guns to aim!
    It needs to be faster! Also the slomo jumping got to go!
    Average game thanks to its dated nature smh...
    Will be trading her in tomorrow.    … Expand
  7. TheHague67
    Nov 6, 2012
    5
    The kills suck. Repetitive death animations, incredibly unsatisfying shooting. Loud noises, and pretty lights galore, but just generally not as sweet as say a game like Max Payne 3. Euphoria and Ragdoll Physics FTW! screw motion capture.!!!
  8. gmr4evr
    Oct 24, 2013
    6
    This game will be mostly known for a few things. First, it was the first halo game made without bungie. Second, it is considered one of the worst and one of the best by many kind. In my opinion, I hated the matchmaking. They did everything right, I truly felt as if im on the battlefield. The only problem was that it did not draw me in. Whether it was the ranking system that made noThis game will be mostly known for a few things. First, it was the first halo game made without bungie. Second, it is considered one of the worst and one of the best by many kind. In my opinion, I hated the matchmaking. They did everything right, I truly felt as if im on the battlefield. The only problem was that it did not draw me in. Whether it was the ranking system that made no sense, or just how it felt to "complicated" (everyone having their own loadouts) it truly didn't appeal to me. The campaign, on the other hand, was what I was looking forward to. The graphics are amazing and I truly enjoyed it. I just didn't like where the storyline went, and it is hard to explain why. It is a truly great game though, but in my mind, I cannot see that fully.… Expand
  9. Yerczeys
    Jul 5, 2014
    5
    As an enormous fan of the original Halo, it's difficult to express my disappointment with how this series has been humped into mediocrity. The game-play itself is alright, nothing astounding, and the graphics are really quite impressive. My issues come from the story. I could have come up with a more compelling story with better dialogue, and that's not talking myself up as much as it'sAs an enormous fan of the original Halo, it's difficult to express my disappointment with how this series has been humped into mediocrity. The game-play itself is alright, nothing astounding, and the graphics are really quite impressive. My issues come from the story. I could have come up with a more compelling story with better dialogue, and that's not talking myself up as much as it's putting 343 Studios down. The Didact is a miserable villain, and his goons are bland / annoying along with their weapons. Bah I say.… Expand
  10. somethingguy912
    Jan 10, 2015
    6
    I'm going to save my opinion on the whole 'necessity' to have a fourth installment of the Halo Franchise for a different time, as it is concurrently different from the opinion of the game in it's own context. Anyhow, before people start flagging my review down before their own sensibilities will bereft them from any kind of review that isn't a 9 or 10, I get why you guys like this game:I'm going to save my opinion on the whole 'necessity' to have a fourth installment of the Halo Franchise for a different time, as it is concurrently different from the opinion of the game in it's own context. Anyhow, before people start flagging my review down before their own sensibilities will bereft them from any kind of review that isn't a 9 or 10, I get why you guys like this game: It's got all this awesome lore to behold that any person with a pencil in hand will draw out soldier stories from the UNSC, I'm glad that you like all these visual graphics that have a huge scope on 'epic', but it's nothing to me. The graphics are just eye candy to hide all the uglier things about the game away. And the lore is only as important as you put your head into it, and if lore requires you to go into different mediums in order to understand anything, than you've failed at making a game worth of narrative, as is what this game does somewhat. Anyhow, as for the story, Master Chief and Cortana, after without any thought decided to go on into interstellar stasis for four years, come across an 'unknown' forerunner planet harvested by a new breed of alien to be feared (OOGA OOGA BOOGA) as the Promethians, which apart from their little surveyor drones and lights affixed like christmas ornaments around their body, work in AI almost the same way as the Covenant forces, meaning, bad. Enemies still go out in the daylight to greet your bullet barrel, which I would understand by the nature of the grunts, but the Elites? The Elites have been not only dumbed down but also lost a lot of their resilience to bullets, often being killable after their short-handed shields get depleted. Brutes are not present, for some reason, and the Promethein forces are not that variable, with nothing but "Knights", Surveyors and what I've been calling hell hounds, the little dog things that drop an infinite load of boltshots if you kill them, which usually takes one hit. Anyhow, for the weapons. A lot of the weapons from Reach and Halo 3 have returned in Halo 4, as you can now equip a DMR and Battle Rifle at the same time, including a touch of new weapons from all three forces, such as the Rail Gun, SAW, Storm Rifle and the famous Promethein weapons. The Promethein weapons are by far the best with the most stopping power and a neat little particle effect when you kill them (they distintegrate!). But other than the dialogue of the characters, which has seen a definite marked improvement, this game is colluded with a lot of confusing buzz words (composer, didact, forerunner, yadda yadda yah) and is not difficult in the slightest. Most of the time my friend and I got killed out of our own stupidity rather than by the difficulty curve (also, yet another QTE kill of the main boss). One small improvement is that the chief can now sprint (rather than being a 'pickable' ability), and some of the new abilities are much more helpful, such as a mobile drop shield and mini surveyor bot. And as I said, the graphic are pretty, but only serve to get you caught up in it so that they can mask away the aforementioned grievances above. I had my doubts about 343, but at least they didn't absolutely disgrace me with a pile of dog crap. They just gave me a rote, by the numbers game that attempts to pump more into it just to keep this aging franchise stagnant rather than dead.… Expand
  11. ClassyDromedary
    Aug 19, 2013
    7
    The story is quite good, it has stellar sound and looks, character development has increased tenfold over it's predecessors, and can be challenging due to decently smart AI. A little on the short side though.

    The multiplayer is somewhat derivative and hectic by Halo standards, but stellar by any other measure. (No pun intended) Verdict: Much better than Halo Reach, but this title    The story is quite good, it has stellar sound and looks, character development has increased tenfold over it's predecessors, and can be challenging due to decently smart AI. A little on the short side though.

    The multiplayer is somewhat derivative and hectic by Halo standards, but stellar by any other measure. (No pun intended)

    Verdict: Much better than Halo Reach, but this title doesn't live up match the glory days of Halo 3.    … Expand
  12. herr_rosa88
    Oct 22, 2014
    6
    Halo 4 is a fairly good game, at the same time a massive disappointment. The good aspects is that it brings in new fairly interesting enemies, great cinematic cut-scenes and some really beautiful graphics.

    These are important improvements and this would have been a great game if they had not thrown out what made Halo what it is. The most important aspect of this is the horrible sound    Halo 4 is a fairly good game, at the same time a massive disappointment. The good aspects is that it brings in new fairly interesting enemies, great cinematic cut-scenes and some really beautiful graphics.

    These are important improvements and this would have been a great game if they had not thrown out what made Halo what it is. The most important aspect of this is the horrible sound system. The game doesn't sound like Halo any more, but a cheap call of duty wanna be. For instance the weapons sound like ordinary modern battle rifles (even some of the alien guns), instead of the futuristic sound they had in the previous games. If they had copy and pasted the sound straight from Halo 3 this game would have been vastly better.

    Secondly they have destroyed the unique multiplayer that defined Halo and changed it so that you customize your character (like CoD), which means that players don't have to search for better weapons. That later part was however part of what made Halo fun and made it stand apart from the rest of all generic shooters out there. Not only that but they have marked the location of all the weapons so there is no need to memorize the location of them any more. But that was also what made Halo unique: you don't start with a great arsenal, it is something that you find on the battlefield.

    To summarize it, 343 succeeded with many of the difficult parts such as developing the main characters (Master Chief and Cortana) and creating a good campaign (although not as good as Halo 2 and 3). However they ended up destroying the franchise by throwing out what made Halo the unique and great experience it was and that is a shame.    … Expand
  13. iamevilhomer
    May 16, 2017
    6
    A pretty crappy halo game but a decent shooter on it's own I suppose. Compared to the skill and replay value of the bungie halo games.... This one is a joke. But I guess one can have fun with it for a week or so...
  14. halo124
    Aug 5, 2018
    5
    i want to love this game so much but its game play is so bad. The art style is decent but was nothing like the other games so it makes the flashback in the beginning really odd which makes the excellent writing be undermined. The vehicle sections are all in one direction for about 5 minutes which is really annoying when the other games had big open sections which were much better thani want to love this game so much but its game play is so bad. The art style is decent but was nothing like the other games so it makes the flashback in the beginning really odd which makes the excellent writing be undermined. The vehicle sections are all in one direction for about 5 minutes which is really annoying when the other games had big open sections which were much better than driving forward. the ammo in the weapons is practically 3 rounds for each weapon and a plasma piston cant kill an elite on legendary difficulty. other than the writing and cut scenes this game is not worth a penny.… Expand
  15. Cale
    Jun 24, 2014
    5
    I've only recently become a fan of the Halo franchise (thanks to Red vs Blue), mostly due to the fact that I'm not a big fan of FPS games in general for one reason: I do not enjoy online multiplayer. Co-op is better than competitive, but I still dislike it. One of the major reasons I played WoW for a few years was because I knew people I could play with personally, and I could solo theI've only recently become a fan of the Halo franchise (thanks to Red vs Blue), mostly due to the fact that I'm not a big fan of FPS games in general for one reason: I do not enjoy online multiplayer. Co-op is better than competitive, but I still dislike it. One of the major reasons I played WoW for a few years was because I knew people I could play with personally, and I could solo the game front to back if they weren't around. The loss of Firefight-mode with nothing to replace it that I'm willing to play and don't have to pay more money for is a fatal one, and turns a game that would otherwise be something I'd keep for a long time into one I'll be trading in. Sure, the graphics are nicer, the story is great and it was a total blast to play, I just can't really play it more, as much as I'd like to. I'm just an old fart that likes to play alone, and you just can't do that with this game without playing the campaign over and over.… Expand
  16. hellsmith117
    Sep 25, 2018
    5
    The first Bungie-less Halo game is very indicative of its founding fathers having not handled it; the nuance of the prior five games is entirely lost, among other things. Flashy graphics and one decent subplot (accompanied by a handful of good lines) cannot and do not elevate the game above its generically restrictive gameplay, uninspiringly contrived story, and disappointing multiplayerThe first Bungie-less Halo game is very indicative of its founding fathers having not handled it; the nuance of the prior five games is entirely lost, among other things. Flashy graphics and one decent subplot (accompanied by a handful of good lines) cannot and do not elevate the game above its generically restrictive gameplay, uninspiringly contrived story, and disappointing multiplayer that, unlike the prior games, chases trends rather than innovates within them. Halo 4 is the first entry in the franchise that leaves me wanting to spend time instead with its competition.… Expand
  17. gdmatt
    Apr 1, 2018
    5
    A complete departure from what made Halo games great, focusing on pretty graphics over anything else. If you're a Halo fan, you'll get some enjoyment out of it, but I can't recommend it to newcomers.
  18. TheAscendantOne
    Aug 18, 2014
    5
    When mentioning the word Halo in the video game industry is synonymous with excellence. When you make a game and call it "Halo" you are expected to hold that level of excellence. If you are a long time halo fan, like myself, this game deviates too much from the core of what kept us up for ridiculously long late night sessions and hours of unforgettable fun. I understand pressing the edgeWhen mentioning the word Halo in the video game industry is synonymous with excellence. When you make a game and call it "Halo" you are expected to hold that level of excellence. If you are a long time halo fan, like myself, this game deviates too much from the core of what kept us up for ridiculously long late night sessions and hours of unforgettable fun. I understand pressing the edge to try and uncover the next best thing, but you have to maintain the core of what drove the success in the past.

    Major Pros:
    Graphcs, the game is art, one of the best looking games ever on the console, hands down. Game makers will soon realize this only gets you so far.

    New game types that added some value.

    Major Cons:
    Weapon imbalance: No one should ever make a weapon that cannot be used in the game, some of the weapons are virtually useless. Random weapon spawns make for a more exciting experience perhaps, but no one likes to lose because of bad luck.

    Custom Classes: Having separate classes can have its advantages, but the proper amount of detail was not given to this feature, you really only needed 1 or two classes that you could use virtually for all situations. If you have a class customization ability, it has to be worthwhile to customize with a lot of USEFUL options. BR or DMR, not much else.

    Map designs: One of the best things about past halo titles was the maps. All titles had their memorable maps that fueled the white-knuckle gameplay. This game lacks creative maps designed to facilitate skillful play. It feels like being put into a box half the time to just duke it out. A multitude of skill jumps and shortcuts help with this, and some DLC maps had them but they were lacking throughout.

    Sounds: Some of the sounds of the weapons you shoot were less than impressive, when you have only one or two main weapons that are functional, and are being used 70% of the time, make them sound beastly. The BR sounds like a spring trap fill with stones.

    Campaign Plot and Dialogue: The dialogue in the very linear story line was kind of embarrassing. I was playing co-op with my friend and could finish the sentences before the characters in the story did. And never make a game ending move with the click of a button....actually making it require skill gives the gamer SO much more satisfaction. A monkey can click a button, and that is what you made me feel like when I beat the campaign.

    Overall, this was a VERY average game, you can use it to kill some time and have some fun. However, critically speaking, it doesn't quite hit the mark of high expectations that many have come to expect with its half-hearted attempt at employing a custom class system on poorly designed multiplayer maps and an average campaign.    … Expand
  19. Hellhammer
    Sep 4, 2020
    7
    Halo 4 is a game that really split the community. It looks and sounds amazing and feels good to play. What makes the game feel off to many Halo fans is the plot which now makes Chief into more of a "charcater" rather than the silent ass kicker we are used to. The plot itself is ok, but not too memorable. The online felt fine, but lacked a real lasting impression which made it hard for meHalo 4 is a game that really split the community. It looks and sounds amazing and feels good to play. What makes the game feel off to many Halo fans is the plot which now makes Chief into more of a "charcater" rather than the silent ass kicker we are used to. The plot itself is ok, but not too memorable. The online felt fine, but lacked a real lasting impression which made it hard for me to return to it. The new enemy types are also not satisfying to fight when compared to the covenant, being more comparable to the flood. Overall it is a fine shooter, but alienating for Halo fans.… Expand
  20. TimeOfTheChimps
    Jan 24, 2014
    5
    The main plot premise is great - The Chief wakes up after four years of cryrosleep, only to find himself stranded on a world full of robots. What is wrong, you ask?
    Story: 5/10
    The story starts off great, but devolves into extreme confusion. After the first level, you rarely know what's going on, so you're forced to run and gun like a madman without knowing half of the story line. You    The main plot premise is great - The Chief wakes up after four years of cryrosleep, only to find himself stranded on a world full of robots. What is wrong, you ask?
    Story: 5/10
    The story starts off great, but devolves into extreme confusion. After the first level, you rarely know what's going on, so you're forced to run and gun like a madman without knowing half of the story line. You literally end the game asking such questions as "Why is the Chief's armour changed?" or "Who was that Del Rio guy?"
    Graphics: 10/10
    Stunning and amazing, as usual with Halo games.
    Gameplay: 4/10
    Classic Halo + Halo: Reach + every COD game = Halo 4. This is a problem, because these are two separate gaming entities that should stay separated. It's just like putting Coke in a Mentos bottle, because it just doesn't mix, and the end result isn't too great. H4 retains the control scheme of classic Halo games with minor changes, but it introduces COD's cinematic sequences, perks, and care packages (called "ordinance" in this game). This in turn ruins the Halo feel of the game.
    Multiplayer: 2/10
    This is what really grinds my gears about Halo 4. Online has become a game of cat and mouse that is not longer fair, nor is it fun. Players can get a mini-shotgun of sorts almost from the beginning of their multiplayer experience, which makes the game very unbalanced. Whenever you try to play a game in the collectively called "War Games", the servers throw you in the middle of a match that you are losing by 40 or more points; you are often pitted up against players that are between SR100 to SR130. This happens so much in normal Slayer that I just play Infection, which is the only gametype to never have this problem. I hope this is fixed in H5, because I'm losing hope in 343.
    Overall: 5/10
    Halo 4 is not a bad game, as it is good in many aspects. However, there's more to hate than there is to like. Test H5 on a diehard Halo fan who doesn't like H4, just to see if they like it more than this game. If they do, test it some more and sell it. If they don't, take the game and throw it in the rubbish bin.    … Expand
  21. Knibbles
    Sep 15, 2014
    5
    Not good enough to keep me playing, unlike the previous instalments Bungie made. Halo 3 was probably the best of the series for me, and hopefully 343i will be able to bring it back to the same level, if not higher, with Halo 5.

    The campaign was fun to play with friends and on solo alike, a decent story, with some cool new enemies and characters, though no single part was really that    Not good enough to keep me playing, unlike the previous instalments Bungie made. Halo 3 was probably the best of the series for me, and hopefully 343i will be able to bring it back to the same level, if not higher, with Halo 5.

    The campaign was fun to play with friends and on solo alike, a decent story, with some cool new enemies and characters, though no single part was really that memorable. The spartan ops missions are also quite interesting, although they do reuse areas from the campaign a lot, and the majority of missions just have you press a button, pick something up, shoot a load of enemies, and that's it. Although a mini-story has been created for this mode, cutscenes included.

    Now the main thing people stay for with Halo is the Multiplayer, and i'm really disappointed and also quite annoyed what they did with the multiplayer. 343i have gone almost full CoD with this game, you can now unlock weapons and create loadouts for mutiplayer, which feels like every FPS ever does that now. Also borrowing from CoD's formula, they have added killstreak rewards in the form of a weapon drop, which takes away from how Halo's multiplayer works, or at least used to work.

    343i have put prominence on the CoD control scheme as well, allowing everyone to sprint as well as moving crouch over to the B button. You look at the top favourite Halo games, which are 1,2 and 3, and what are they? Balanced. Nobody was sprinting around the map, nobody had or could not get something the other players could. Everything the players could have was already on the map, waiting to be picked up. There wasn't any ordnace drops, there wasn't any special abilities or perks, it was a simple system and it worked great.

    The game is also missing firefight, a fun mode, and although it got boring after a while of grinding through it a few dozen times, why is it not in the game? another mode i thought was a great addition was the invasion game type from Reach, that's not in either. To be honest there's a heap of popular gametypes not in the game.

    Now other than all that, aswell as the new armor system being rubbish, the game isn't terrible and new players will find it fun to play for longer than returning Halo players in my opinion, and hopefully 343i will be able to reignite my interest with the next game, and hopefully keep me interested in all the ones after.    … Expand
  22. Artur95
    Sep 10, 2014
    6
    Halo 4 has lack of identity. I really missed master chief but in Halo 4 it doesn't feels like the older versions. Now he has close emotions with Cortana, all story surrounds Cortana's problems and not clearly the story of the Forerunners. Also, the story is too short and enemies are really easy when you play it on Legendary. The covenant's armor is terrible, and the elites are very easy toHalo 4 has lack of identity. I really missed master chief but in Halo 4 it doesn't feels like the older versions. Now he has close emotions with Cortana, all story surrounds Cortana's problems and not clearly the story of the Forerunners. Also, the story is too short and enemies are really easy when you play it on Legendary. The covenant's armor is terrible, and the elites are very easy to kill.

    The good things are that graphics are the best ones on the xbox 360. The spartan ops are quite a challenge and the plot is good, the multiplayer i think it improved a lot, there are some good playlists.    … Expand
  23. PsychoShane
    Apr 27, 2015
    7
    Halo 4's brilliant campaign, polished multiplayer and the new spartan ops makes this a good value purchase, even if it lacks a bit of innovation that Halo 3 was.
  24. Viddy
    Sep 20, 2015
    6
    You'll get about 2 weeks out of this lackluster experience. That is, if you're a Halo fan who doesn't enjoy wasting their time. Otherwise, you might get about half that at best. This game comes with a plot heavily inspired by the original Halo and action movies, dull characters (even legacy characters are duller than ever), a much-to-be-desired Multiplayer mode even after the "game fixing"You'll get about 2 weeks out of this lackluster experience. That is, if you're a Halo fan who doesn't enjoy wasting their time. Otherwise, you might get about half that at best. This game comes with a plot heavily inspired by the original Halo and action movies, dull characters (even legacy characters are duller than ever), a much-to-be-desired Multiplayer mode even after the "game fixing" update due to, primarily, mediocre map design and a game-breaking extreme amount of sprint, a painfully executed map editor, and nothing you haven't really seen before, if you're a regular to the sci-fi FPS genre.

    So seeing that I totally just shat on this game with my heavily negative opinion, why a 6? Well, unlike most Metacritic users I actually gave this game a fair score and not just pull whatever I was feeling out of my ass and slap it on there. If I was to do that, this would get a 4. It's certainly not worth it's launch price, but hey, if you're in the mood for a mindless action game, and you've got money to spare, buying this isn't a terrible idea.    … Expand
  25. CoNn3r_B
    Aug 5, 2015
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I felt a bit let down by Halo 4 story wise, gameplay wise and graphical wise and here's why.
    Story: The story starts good and I am willing to accept the Forerunners return, Cortana's rampancy is an interesting plot device and Master Chief has more personality this time round but (and this is a big but) it looses its traction very quickly, Del Rio is literally a copy and paste **** who is put in because drama, Lasky is the obvious nice guy and the I got sick of Cortana's voice near the end of the game I wanted to tear my ears out. Not to mention that you defeat the Didact with a single button press. And how Cortana (an incorporeal AI) manages to save you from a nuclear bomb that YOU WERE HOLDING. No, no and furthermore no. story 5/10

    The multiplayer is the games second fumble, Halo Reach had the most fun multiplayer around with balanced weapons and pre-set loadouts so it remains balanced yet varied but Halo 4 tosses that unceremoniously out the window and opts for the COD approach where you get "Ordnance drops" which are effectively care packages, instant re-spawns, a killcam that breaks the game, personalised loadouts where you can have TWO primary weapons and perks, it's just a mess a big mess. 2/10

    The look of the game, there is no denying the game looks pretty but the problem I have is with the armour. Again, to call back to Halo: Reach the armour was big and bulky and looked like it could stop a bullet but the armour in Halo 4...there is such a thing as too sleek, I would find myself scrolling through the helmets thinking "These all look crap", the shoulder pads are tiny and the chess pieces look like a bloody jigsaw puzzle.

    I had moments where I enjoyed Halo 4 but ever more moments where I hatted it, it's a perfect example of where a new developer tries to distance themselves from the original creators but ends up screwing it up. Nice going 343.
    5.7/10    … Expand
  26. trival
    Nov 21, 2020
    6
    campain is ok. BUT i haven't seen such a lazy designed ending in a looong time
  27. v_law
    Dec 8, 2016
    6
    It is just an ordinary 1st person shooter game, nothing more will you ever hope to find out in halo 4.
    I found it difficult to like the storyline of the campaign and the sound effect is poor, therefore i have to admit that it has a very smooth graphic!
  28. CianGargan
    Mar 13, 2019
    5
    It's my least favorite Halo game. The prometheans are not fun to fight against and the story line wasn't great. It's not a bad game overall but compared to Halo 2 and 3 it's awful.
  29. PalpetineSheev
    Mar 20, 2020
    6
    This is very much the Force Awakens of the series. It's the first new title in a long running series from a new company. They both introduce a new cast of characters that ends up being wasted and has a story with a billion plot holes. But it is very well made for the most part despite its shortcomings.
  30. Radiationbum
    Jul 24, 2020
    6
    Halo 4 takes the hard work of Bungie and looks to change the core feature that make Halo different from other first person shooters.
    The first issues is the changes to the master chief, his armour no longer looks like it did at the end on halo 3 because apparently nanites change and upgraded his armour while he was in stasis, and it looks worse, the textures are lower resolution the model    Halo 4 takes the hard work of Bungie and looks to change the core feature that make Halo different from other first person shooters.
    The first issues is the changes to the master chief, his armour no longer looks like it did at the end on halo 3 because apparently nanites change and upgraded his armour while he was in stasis, and it looks worse, the textures are lower resolution the model doesn't fit the the game historic art style and even the sound effects of the player punching an enemy sounds like the suit is made of plastic and this overall change in art style, models textures affect every aspect of the game taking away the iconic look that is Halo, if you need a clear example of the misunderstanding 343 had on this aspect just look at the changes to the Elites who are now more like the brutes.

    Story: straight out of the gate we have a cut scene that not only has next to not relevance to the story, but also retcons or blatantly get the history and events in past halo games wrong as it show dozens of Spartans who all look like the master chief dropping from the sky into a battle against the covenant, as the master chief was the last spartan around at the time Halo1-3 take place and each spartan has a unique style of Mjolnir Armor this is a big retcon of established lore.

    The strongest plot point is the relationship of the Chief and Cortana as he tries to save her from rampancy, but the revelation about the forerunners while not totally out of place doesn't make a who lot of sense epically when the main villain has Jedi force abilities effectively and could just throw the chief in to lava but instead goes on a cliché monolog about his plans.

    adding to its issues are characters who seem to lack any respect for the Master Chief despite him being the savour of humanity and indeed the galaxy and seem to do nothing but be **** with no redeemable traits, never the less the story does end with the chief seemingly making a choice to retire as he takes his Armor off and thinks back on the question of is he a just a machine or a human

    Gameplay: Sprinting is added to the game along with the controversial armour abilities added in reach, and the ability to aim down sights, these additions overall hurt the feel and function of the game as the game becomes more like call of duty and opens up challenges for map design that didn't exist before, leading to a overall worse gameplay experience

    Multiplayer is bad and I'm just gunna leave it at that

    6/10    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

17
#17 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2012
2
#2 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2012
2
#2 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 87 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 83 out of 87
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 87
  3. Negative: 1 out of 87
  1. Hyper Magazine
    Dec 17, 2012
    90
    Halo 4 eschews esoteric delivery for a sledgehammer story with a blockbuster aesthetic. Epic, engaging and sensorially awesome. [Jan 2013, p.60]
  2. Eurogamer Portugal
    Dec 5, 2012
    90
    In the end, this game is still a fairly conservative and faithful to the original spirit, even with some significant changes.
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  3. DailyGame
    Dec 3, 2012
    75
    The narrative is outstanding, even in spite of a few plot-point missteps, and the character evolution of Master Chief and Cortana deserves to be further explored with these wonderful storytellers (well, maybe one of them can't happen, but I'll avoid spoilers). However, the gameplay feels jilted, awkward and unrefined, three unforgivable sins in a landscape populated with other quite-capable FPS franchises. As a result, I'm going to average everything out: great story plus bad gameplay equals an average experience. And in this overcrowded FPS genre, "average" is isn't something I'd recommend buying.
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