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. GFreeman
    Mar 21, 2013
    4
    Now I had high hopes for Halo 4. But these hopes were shot down when I was playing the Campaign. The enemy's are defiantly not as smart as people say them to be, and the missions are usually very bland and boring. After beating the game on Normal it then attempted to say me into buying Xbox Live so I can keep playing Halo 4. Now I don't play on the Xbox Live so the multiplayer was out ofNow I had high hopes for Halo 4. But these hopes were shot down when I was playing the Campaign. The enemy's are defiantly not as smart as people say them to be, and the missions are usually very bland and boring. After beating the game on Normal it then attempted to say me into buying Xbox Live so I can keep playing Halo 4. Now I don't play on the Xbox Live so the multiplayer was out of the question. Once I beat the main game, I went to the Infinity lobby to try Spartan Ops only to be shot down and slapped in the face by another wall blocking my way to more Halo 4. That wall was a few sentences that said "Xbox Live Gold membership and permission to play online required for Spartan Ops". I immediately turned off my console after that. I went back into the game however a few months later and played the campaign again. It was fun, but afterwards I check my custom created Spartan. I got nothing for playing the campaign. Absolutely nothing except for a helmet for my Avatar. Heck the game didn't even say what difficulty I completed the game on. In my personal opinion Halo 4 could have been a great game, but was shot down by the Xbox Live requirements. You need Xbox Live to look at over 80% of the games content. I'm sorry to say it, but 343 has really ruined Halo for me.… Expand
  2. SirMauz
    Apr 30, 2013
    4
    Do YOU love Call of Duty? Do YOU paly Halo? Well, then 343 has news for YOU! Call of Duty: Master Chief! Congratulations 343, you successfully took the best of two worlds, and FAILED to combine them. Wow. The story is mediocre, very much a Deus Ex Machina. The Spartan Ops are fun, but hey, we're only giving you 10, wait till Halo 5 comes out. Ok. The Multiplayer is seriously unbalanced,Do YOU love Call of Duty? Do YOU paly Halo? Well, then 343 has news for YOU! Call of Duty: Master Chief! Congratulations 343, you successfully took the best of two worlds, and FAILED to combine them. Wow. The story is mediocre, very much a Deus Ex Machina. The Spartan Ops are fun, but hey, we're only giving you 10, wait till Halo 5 comes out. Ok. The Multiplayer is seriously unbalanced, even with the "new" CSR. Which is BS. The group I play with CONSISTENTLY STILL gets put with players who are either pushovers or MLG bosses. WTF. Balance means EVEN 343, not screw with it till folks give up. Personal Ordnance has a lot to do with this, as you may get rockets in a map and the enemy just sees 'nades. Great plan. OR you get on games like Valhalla and all and the other team ALL pulls Snipes/Beams whilst YOUR team gets Needlers/Shotties. Ok. Smart. If you're going to COPY CoD, at least let US choose our ordnance! Personal loadouts are another big BS thing. Hey new kid, you get any points to level up? No? Ok, enjoy your Assault Rifle while I Stealth Active Camo Plas Nade and DMR you. Really 343? If you continue this crap into Halo 5, expect me to NOT buy it, or any other product you make.… Expand
  3. diggs16
    May 26, 2013
    4
    I thought long and hard about giving this game a lower score because of 343's blatant destruction of my absolute favorite game series, but I was objective. By category, here is how I review this game:

    Graphics/Sound: Excellent. I was skeptical about O'Donnell not doing the score, but Davidge did it justice. The graphics update was a nice touch, and this Halo is easily the best looking.    I thought long and hard about giving this game a lower score because of 343's blatant destruction of my absolute favorite game series, but I was objective. By category, here is how I review this game:

    Graphics/Sound: Excellent. I was skeptical about O'Donnell not doing the score, but Davidge did it justice. The graphics update was a nice touch, and this Halo is easily the best looking.

    Campaign: Decent. I would not go so far as to say it was good, but it was serviceable. It continued the story of the most beloved franchise character, and added a touch of humanity to MC as well. Didact was very forgettable as a villain, and he hardly seemed present throughout the game. The storyline with Cortana was so-so, decent but predictable.

    Multiplayer: Bad. This is what the Halo franchise is known for, and 343 REALLY dropped the ball. First of all, they had no beta, which is a huge mistake. This predictably led to balancing issues with weapons and load outs, bad hopper composition, and a very poor selection of maps to accompany the hoppers. Second, the game launched with no competitive ranking system. This was highly criticized with Reach, and yet they repeated the same mistake. When they finally did institute it, they mad it only visible on Waypoint, did not take into account any previously accumulated stats, and used a very bad and watered down rating system that is NOT Truskill (previously used in H3). Third, the map selection at launch was terrible. I know I glazed over this in the beta bit, but 8 maps at launch is not good. To compound the problem, the maps did not compliment the launched hoppers. There were very few small sized, arena type maps for Team Slayer, and the composition forced people to play Big Team. The need to launch a DLC just 1-2 months after launch shows that the needed content did not ship with the game. Fourth, the game hoppers at launch were lacking. There was no Team Snipers, no Griffball, Slayer Pro was taken down after a few weeks, and King Of The Hill was removed shortly thereafter. The choices were basically Team Slayer, or Big Team. Fifth, 343 allowed the king of competitive shooters to be dropped by the MLG. This was a serious mistake, and showed their intentions of moving away from a part of their fan base, which happened to be the most loyal and enduring of their followers.

    In summary, this game is in fact COD: Master Chief Edition. By alienating their core audience, 343 has all but eliminated multiplayer. At launch, the game boasted around 450,000 players in multiplayer during peak hours. At current time, the highest population for a current day is around 40,000. Currently, H4 ranks 5th in XBL player activity behind BO2, Minecraft, FIFA, and MW3. This game is less popular than a COD game that was released 1.5 years ago, and is widely considered to be the worst COD entry. I feel that a small bit of emotion is warranted, and I can only describe it as betrayal. I would pick this game up used in the bargain bin, but cannot justify anyone paying full price for it. I will certainly think long and hard before grabbing another 343 game, but by the time Destiny comes out, I doubt I will even think about Halo any longer.    … Expand
  4. tehMoerz
    Jul 25, 2013
    4
    I'm a bit late to review the game. But I was hyped for this game from the day it was announced to the day it launched. The multiplayer is unbalanced and disappointing. It's a CoD mirror. The population has died so fast. Spartan Ops is recycled regions of the campaign (for the most part.) It also has very cheesy and bad voice acting. Most of the custom games options were removed. Forge hasI'm a bit late to review the game. But I was hyped for this game from the day it was announced to the day it launched. The multiplayer is unbalanced and disappointing. It's a CoD mirror. The population has died so fast. Spartan Ops is recycled regions of the campaign (for the most part.) It also has very cheesy and bad voice acting. Most of the custom games options were removed. Forge has no good maps. Campaign was the only good element. I don' recommend this game unless you're a campaign guy.… Expand
  5. ZombieFrogHorde
    Jul 9, 2013
    4
    Good for a generic FPS but bad for a halo title. Campaign was short and boring. Enemies are cheap and boring. Its only kinda fun at best. If you really want it get it cheap.
  6. Gamespro
    Aug 7, 2013
    4
    Absolutely worst halo game iv'e played I never revisited this game again after 3 days, couldn't even get past the second mission in this game because it's so boring.the multiplayer is alright but you get bored of it way too quick.My advice don't buy this game, it's a waste of your money
  7. TheHonestJack
    Mar 17, 2014
    4
    With astounding graphics, immersive campaign, addicting multiplayer, and a surprisingly fun spartan ops mode, halo 4 is a fantastic entry to the halo franchise, and arguably one of the best halo games ever.
  8. Deusex
    Mar 2, 2014
    4
    343 destroyed halo.

    Pros:
    Great graphics.
    Good controls.
    Nice sound track.

    Cons:
    Bad level design.
    Like 5 hrs long.
    No fire fight...
    Map editor mode is worse then Reach.
    Master chief is the most over hyped protagonist of all time.
    Aliens suck.

    Recommendation: go buy crysis 3. Not this garbage.
  9. Jern
    Mar 2, 2017
    4
    I'm giving this a **** because compared to the other Halo games this one is garbage. Everything unique and fun in the Halo series was taken out in favor of popular elements from other fps games. They managed to jumble everything together into a game that just doesn't play well. It's like Call of Duty with exo suits... which is actually another game that exists, and could even be betterI'm giving this a **** because compared to the other Halo games this one is garbage. Everything unique and fun in the Halo series was taken out in favor of popular elements from other fps games. They managed to jumble everything together into a game that just doesn't play well. It's like Call of Duty with exo suits... which is actually another game that exists, and could even be better than Halo. Breaks my heart.

    The only positives are the graphics and campaign was pretty good in the story department, but still a complete departure from the normal open style of Halo campaigns.    … Expand
  10. Karimchii
    Mar 31, 2014
    4
    This game completely shocked me, It was a massive disappointed, going from halo 3 to halo 4, it was like chalk and cheese. The maps had no depth to them and the online game play was very average. I gave it such a low rating because of how good the prequel was.

    Halo 3 10/10 ----> Halo 4 4/10 Hopefully halo 5 will redeem the series otherwise I will not be buying an xbox 1 as that is    This game completely shocked me, It was a massive disappointed, going from halo 3 to halo 4, it was like chalk and cheese. The maps had no depth to them and the online game play was very average. I gave it such a low rating because of how good the prequel was.

    Halo 3 10/10 ----> Halo 4 4/10

    Hopefully halo 5 will redeem the series otherwise I will not be buying an xbox 1 as that is the only exclusive I am interested in    … Expand
  11. Piedninny
    May 20, 2015
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Want an in-depth explanation for why Halo 4 sucks? Look no further. I always played Halo for the campaign, so that's going to be the main focus of this review. The campaign in Halo 4 pissed me off for a multitude of reasons. First of all, the first thing you notice is the new and innovative introduction of quick time events (press rb to kill elite), and that they brought back the Covenant as an enemy. And not the Covenant from Halo 3, with brutes and no elites. No, they decided to bring back a Covenant that was almost exactly like the one from reach (except with fewer enemy variety), with elites (even though they allied with the UNSC), and all the weapons that the Covenant used in Halo reach, despite that game being a prequel to all of the other Halo games, and therefore the weapons and covenant armor types in that game would be dated by the time Halo 4 rolls around. But the weapons and enemies aren't the only thing dated about Halo 4. The graphics make it look oddly cartoony, the enemy AI is crappy (They don't even reload, so if they have a rocket launcher it gets to be rapid fire), and there are little to no innovations to be found anywhere. Well, unless you count the COD-ification that is rampant in the campaign and multiplayer modes. So, the Covenant sucks. But what about the much-hyped Prometheans? Surely they must be cool? Well... they aren't. There are only four enemy types (unless you count the slight differences n the colors of their back-spikes, which I sure as hell don't). There are only about eight Promethean weapons, which all function just like orange UNSC weapons. Worst of all, there are no Promethean vehicles. Not even giant monsters or anything. Just generic dogs, drones, turrets, and hunchbacked elites. Throughout the campaign, nothing really impressed me. I still remember iconic levels from Halo 3 and Halo Reach ("The Covenant" and "The Ark", anyone?), but this contained none of that. It was all just "go through an area that looks like you're tripping on LSD and hit a button so that you and the naked blue lady can go to a new area". It didn't help that the soundtrack was forgettable. Also, for some reason there was no Arbiter as player 2 (One of the coolest things about Halo 3). Instead, if you want to play with a buddy there's gotta be 2 Master Chiefs. The story also sucked. Basically, this generic alien wants to destroy the world and you have to stop him and the covenant are also there because they weren't creative enough to make a fully fleshed-out forunner faction. The ending is probably the worst part. It involves a single quick time event "boss fight" that makes the fight with Guilty Spark at the end of Halo 3 look like something out of Dark Souls. Then they proceed to kill off Cortana. Freaking Cortana! The Halo story pretty much already ended. Did Bungie give 343 permission to do this? This would be like if a different company made a new lord of the rings movie, and just killed off Gandalf or Legolas at the end. Not only does the campaign suck, 343 also removed Firefight, and replaced it with Spartan Ops, something you can't even use unless you've paid for Xbox Live. The multiplayer is OK I guess, but compared to games like battlefield and COD, Halo needs to actually innovate if it wants to be able to compete with these games. The one thing that pissed me off about it was the fact that you can no longer play as an alien. I gave this game a 4 only because the core gameplay is actually pretty fun, and there are a lot of cool ways you can customize your spartan now. Also, Forge is pretty fun, although still not on par with the map maker of, say, Far Cry (Why can't you spawn enemies or change the weather and terrain? That would be so cool!). Finally, Halo seems to be one of the few games these days that actually gives a **** about splitscreen multiplayer, so I respect it for that. Other than that, you would be better off playing one of the legendary Halo games of old, like Halo 3 or Combat Evolved.… Expand
  12. HuxWard
    Jun 21, 2015
    4
    Dear all, after recently giving in to try 343s recreation of the Halo FPS and playing halo since the first game I think it is worth giving a review of this somewhat lacking game.

    First of all the campaign story feels unremarkable and has certainly lost some of the implied scale of the previous trilogy, quick time events, an unremarkable antagonist and a plot held together by string all    Dear all, after recently giving in to try 343s recreation of the Halo FPS and playing halo since the first game I think it is worth giving a review of this somewhat lacking game.

    First of all the campaign story feels unremarkable and has certainly lost some of the implied scale of the previous trilogy, quick time events, an unremarkable antagonist and a plot held together by string all work to undermine all the Story of the game.

    Each character acts to break immersion from the game, for example the librarian tells the Masterchief that she planned his coming many millenia ago, now this breaks the story, how can one individual anticipate the multitude of factors over those years, both genetic and environmental, acting as everything is predetermined undermines the entire experience and makes you want to put down the controller.
    Captain Del Rio is a complete jackass and the MasterChief licks his boots like some dog, it seemed like 343 forget that this game is meant to fulfill the gamers needs and wants and not be this quasi realistic drama where Cortana, a character I loved to hate in all previous titles, is humanised, I couldn't care for her before and especially don't now.

    Spartan Ops is repetitive on the same five maps and offers nothing new to the franchise, both it and the campaign seem to be very similar: Go here, Press X, Kill enemies, Press X, Listen to female narration and terrible commentary, end scene.

    Multiplayer is unbalanced and far from previous Halos Arena style combat, Everything needs to be more competitive.

    Upon writing this review I have completed this game solo on legendary, have a 1.9 K/D on War Games and completed every Spartan Ops episode that came with game.

    My final point is this: it seems like Halo 4 brings an end to the creativity of previous Halo titles, and fails to make an emotional impact unlike Halo Reach.

    I would say this game is regression to the generic first person shooter and not what Halo is, after sinking many hours into this game I can say it is worth a play and is fun but do not expect the same re playability the older games offered.    … Expand
  13. Zachatastic117
    Jul 13, 2015
    4
    As a major fan of the Halo franchise, I was extremely excited for this game, as at the time of it's announcement Halo 3 was (and still is) one of my favorite games ever made. So, how did 343i do witha follow up? Horribly. The game feels like a clone of Call of Duty, with aspects of Metroid Prime, and some ideas from Halo past. The game starts with Master Chief waking up from cryo-stasis,As a major fan of the Halo franchise, I was extremely excited for this game, as at the time of it's announcement Halo 3 was (and still is) one of my favorite games ever made. So, how did 343i do witha follow up? Horribly. The game feels like a clone of Call of Duty, with aspects of Metroid Prime, and some ideas from Halo past. The game starts with Master Chief waking up from cryo-stasis, as shown in Halo 3 and Halo Legends. He then finds out from Cortana that she found an odd planet. A couple of minutes later, they find out the planet is of Promethean origin. I'll leave it there, in case anyone reading this wants to play it. As for the multiplayer, this is where the aforementioned Call of Duty kicks in. The game now relies upon a customized load-out system that you make yourself for multiplayer. While the idea is nice, it was poorly executed, as there are not as many weapons or customization options in Halo, making it feel to flat. In addition, there are now rewards for getting a bunch of points in a row. Sound familiar? Because it is extremely similar to the Kill-Streak system from Call of Duty, except in this you chose between a power up, weapon, or armor ability. In all, Halo 4 was a major disappointment to me and, according to the user score, many others. 4/10 is the highest I could give this game.… Expand
  14. Croozen
    Jul 20, 2015
    4
    I had never been more hyped for a game in my life. And I have also never been so let down. Halo 4 delivered something that made me feel like I was playing call of duty with Halo weapons. Where did they go wrong? To start things off I can honestly say that Halo 4's multiplayer reminded me of a CoD game. It seems that 343 was trying to emulate some of the features like sprinting and customI had never been more hyped for a game in my life. And I have also never been so let down. Halo 4 delivered something that made me feel like I was playing call of duty with Halo weapons. Where did they go wrong? To start things off I can honestly say that Halo 4's multiplayer reminded me of a CoD game. It seems that 343 was trying to emulate some of the features like sprinting and custom classes into this game, which did not work. Speaking of things that did not work there is that ever so simple ranking system that lacked creativity and sense of accomplishment. 1,2,3,4,5........... Ranks going by numbers to me was always something I hated. It took absolutely no skill to even level up, all you had to do was play the game unlike Halo 4's older brother Halo 3 where skill was implemented into your overall rank. But overall the multiplayer was bland and I quickly lost interest in all of the new abilities and gadgets.

    Ahhh forge, probably the most bittersweet aspect of the game. Halo 4's forge introduced great new abilities like the "snap" feature which I absolutely loved. It also introduced some great maps to build on as well as tons of options to forge with. However that does not save it from it's errors. Dissapointment stuck me hard when I found that there was no UNSC flying vehicle. Only thing that was even capable of flying was a banshee. But that is nothing compared to that annoying intolerable "generating lighting" screen that pops up when you exit the forge ball. Now I am not sure about you guys but this completely killed my love for forge. Even though it was those few seconds I had to wait after only a few minutes of trying to build something I couldn't take it anymore. It was just so annoying.

    The campaign. I am actually completely neutral on this one. I did not think the campaign did an amazing or terrible job of moving along the story, I just think it moved it along. The game play during this was fun I must say but it didn't truly catch my eye.

    So with this I score Halo 4 a 4/10. It was an extreme let down to me personally and I really hope that 343 doesn't screw up with Halo 5.    … Expand
  15. TheGameAddict
    Jan 25, 2017
    4
    I hate to use the word "overrated" but that may be the best way to describe Halo 4.

    Campaign: I hesitate to call Halo 4's campaign a mixed bag as the bad outweighs the good by a notable margin in my opinion. Halo 4's story is good and the ending is genuinely emotional (at least if you played it before Halo 5 came out) but the gameplay often falls flat on its face. But before we get to    I hate to use the word "overrated" but that may be the best way to describe Halo 4.

    Campaign:
    I hesitate to call Halo 4's campaign a mixed bag as the bad outweighs the good by a notable margin in my opinion. Halo 4's story is good and the ending is genuinely emotional (at least if you played it before Halo 5 came out) but the gameplay often falls flat on its face. But before we get to that lets address the elephant in the room, the art style change. This game looks awful in comparison to Halo 3 and its all because 343 decided to change Bungie's art style. Master Chief looks 3x as bulky as he did previously, elites look and sound brutish and dumb, grunts are too ugly, Cortana is overly sexualized, Forerunner structures are overly detailed and boring, so on and so forth. Now onto gameplay. Halo 4's campaign has two main problems: stupid cinematic QTE moments that ruin pacing and serve as the final boss, and the Prometheans. The Prometheans replace the Flood in Halo 4 and they're boring bullet sponges with only one strategy for taking them down. Shoot them till they die. The crawlers are the only good ones because they go down with a single headshot and they're satisfying to kill. The Covenant are fine but brutes, drones and skirmishers are gone. This game is also a complete trainwreck on legendary. You also get to fly a pelican but it sucks because you only fight phantoms. The soundtrack is pretty good, though some tracks feel a little too much like Star Wars or Mass Effect rather than Halo.

    Multiplayer:
    The multiplayer is terrible. Halo 4's multiplayer has customisable loadouts with perks and really bad killstreaks that are just power ups and power weapons. All the returning armour pieces look inferior to Reach's and only a handful of the new ones are decent. Honestly, the multiplayer is so boring that its not even worth talking about in detail but I will say that forge sucks and so does the physics engine.

    Spartan Ops:
    Spartan Ops is Firefight's replacement. Its pretty much just a longer campaign and it suffers from all the same problems except here you get to to play as your own spartan, earn XP, and can respawn infinitely regardless of difficulty. Theres not much more I can say about except that it has a decent story and really good cutscenes.

    Overall, Halo 4 is an incredibly disappointing game and I would go as far as to say its bad. Though I will give it credit for one thing: it snapped me out of my Halo fanboyism.    … Expand
  16. zexxx
    Nov 28, 2020
    4
    Halo, What a great series! I feel in love with Halo for it's story, music and solid FPS gameplay.
    It's similar to Half-life in that way. A Great FPS story-driven game.
    Sadly, 343i decided to throw the story out of the window. The plot in Halo 4 is there to justify the visuals and that's it. it's contrived and lazy. It doesn't respect Halo lore that came before it. It a sad day when    Halo, What a great series! I feel in love with Halo for it's story, music and solid FPS gameplay.
    It's similar to Half-life in that way. A Great FPS story-driven game.

    Sadly, 343i decided to throw the story out of the window.
    The plot in Halo 4 is there to justify the visuals and that's it. it's contrived and lazy.
    It doesn't respect Halo lore that came before it. It a sad day when something you love becomes a cash cow. (Looking at you SW: Force Awakens).

    Halo 4 is a beautiful game, can't take that away, sure. BUT it falls flat on it's face in every other aspect.
    Adding sprint and crouch doesn't count as innovative gameplay.
    It's the worst kind of action flick. It goes for dazzling beauty with big "epic" scenes with little sense.

    The campaign which is the main reason Halo is such an awesome beloved series is the weakest part of this game.

    The Good:
    - Beautiful
    - Sprint/Crouch

    The Bad:
    - Soundtrack
    - Story

    *Doesn't take a genius to see that most 9-10 reviews are simply fan-boys. some would even say the campaign/story isn't that good but still give it a 10.    … Expand
  17. Gorgoroth
    Oct 29, 2020
    4
    Cambia mucho como entregas de halo 3 que es oro, el final en mi experiencia es el peor que he jugado ya que en anteriores entregas los finales de verdad te estresaban está realmente es decepcionante
  18. ghola
    Nov 7, 2012
    3
    Same old Halo. Just a teaser for Halo 5 on Xbox720.
    PROS:
    -It´s an OK Halo.
    CONS:
    -You have to read the (great) Halo books (kilo-five and forerunner trilogies) to grasp the plot of this game.
    -Multiplayer has been "CODified".
  19. JTP709
    Nov 9, 2012
    3
    I'll cut to the chase: the graphics are top notch, best on the Xbox 360. Voice active and cut scenes were superb. The game had great pacing in the first two thirds. Changes the history of Halo in terms of what we "thought" we knew about the ancient Forerunners.

    However, there's a lot NOT to like. The game has no third act, no final boss fight, lame musical score (good music, but    I'll cut to the chase: the graphics are top notch, best on the Xbox 360. Voice active and cut scenes were superb. The game had great pacing in the first two thirds. Changes the history of Halo in terms of what we "thought" we knew about the ancient Forerunners.

    However, there's a lot NOT to like.

    The game has no third act, no final boss fight, lame musical score (good music, but nothing as epic as the original Halo trilogy), poor level design toward the end, and missing old features (no more dual wielding, no SMG). The game ends and you're literally like WTF, this is over already? It's easily the SHORTEST campaign (took me six hours on Heroic). You never fight the new villain except in a cut scene. Yup, heard right, you beat the villain in a cut scene. The game literally feels like Act One of a three act play, which isn't a good thing. At least Halo 1, 2, and 3 were all complete games with their own full story arch as part of a larger trilogy.

    The beginning of the game is fun, tons of fun, but the last third is lame in comparison. They introduce all of the new weapons and alien bad guys in by the second mission so later on in the game you never get any new toys, no new challenges, no new surprises. The fun "race against the clock" missions and flying missions are all in the first half, so the second half is just running through repetitive corridors to active a button, then through more corridors to hit another button, rinse and repeat.

    The musical score is good, but nothing that gets your blood pumping. If anything the whole score is just slow, sad, and depressing music. Nothing ever feels epic. Especially at one point in the game when the main bad guy (remember, the one you never get to fight) is slaughtering an entire city of humans. But you don't care. Remember in Halo 2 when the Covenant is attacking Earth? Remember when the game had cut scenes showing the death and destruction, with radio traffic of people crying out and military commanders begging for help as they're being overrun? Yup, Halo 4 has none of that. An entire city is being destroyed and it's like an afterthought in the game. There is NO urgency, no tension, no dread. You just kinda go from one place to the next.

    While I was disappointed with the single player, I was briefly hopeful that Spartan Ops would justify the money I spent on this purchase. Sadly, while the awesome cut scenes promised a lot, I was again let down. I beat the COOP Spartan Ops in under 30 minutes. Yup, all six missions, What makes it worse is each mission is nothing but five minutes of running from one button to the next. Yup, nothing more than more "get here, hit button; go there, hit button" BS that ruined the single player.

    Overall, Halo 4 felt like one big step backwards. It promised so much but delivers so little. I'm hopeful Halo 5 and 6 will deliver, but until then this game is going back to Best Buy. From now on I'll be renting any games developed by 343 Industries.    … Expand
  20. tototototo
    Nov 6, 2012
    3
    It's basically the same Halo as always, the only apparant innovation seems to be a copy of features found in CoD. If you loved Bungie's Halo, stick to the sweet memories, there is nothing here you'll like.
  21. brad3ngunn
    Dec 26, 2012
    3
    I enjoyed all the other Halo games (except for Halo Wars. I'm just not a fan of strategy games.) but found myself extremely disappointed with Halo 4, First of all the campaign needed to be much longer because me and my friend managed to play through this in just under 4 hours. That's the amount of time it should take to finish a DLC not a big budget triple A game.

    My second problem with    I enjoyed all the other Halo games (except for Halo Wars. I'm just not a fan of strategy games.) but found myself extremely disappointed with Halo 4, First of all the campaign needed to be much longer because me and my friend managed to play through this in just under 4 hours. That's the amount of time it should take to finish a DLC not a big budget triple A game.

    My second problem with the game is the actual gameplay, when the first Halo released in 2001 it redefined the FPS genre, eleven years later and next to nothings changed. The gameplay is incredibly simple: Shoot enemies, walk/ drive to next area, shoot more enemies. Rinse and repeat. I think it's time for Combat to take another evolutionary step forward.

    My final major problem with Halo 4 is this is the first ever game I have ever played where I felt bored while playing. I'm sorry 343 but I was incredibly bored during Halo 4. It just did nothing to excite me.

    To be fair to the game though not everything about Halo 4 is bad though, I have to admit that the graphics are gorgeous to look at, the voice acting from Steve Downs and Mackenzie Mason is some of the best this year and the game actually has a decent story unlike most modern first person shooters (Cough COD Cough)

    Remember though this is just my opinion, maybe you'll agree with me , or maybe you will love it. If you are a fan of Halo, then I would recommend giving it a try hopefully your opinion differs from mine, otherwise give it a miss unless you see it cheap.    … Expand
  22. HeruLuingul
    Nov 6, 2012
    3
    GRAPHICS: It probably looks amazing. I bet. Somehow. If you can actually see through the oceans of overzealous bloom covering everything. Some portions of the game literally blind you. Crossing a light bridge? Can't see anything else in the room. Enemy standing in front of a light source? Good luck scoping in on him without your eyeballs catching fire. Everything just emits a radioactiveGRAPHICS: It probably looks amazing. I bet. Somehow. If you can actually see through the oceans of overzealous bloom covering everything. Some portions of the game literally blind you. Crossing a light bridge? Can't see anything else in the room. Enemy standing in front of a light source? Good luck scoping in on him without your eyeballs catching fire. Everything just emits a radioactive aura about five times as large as is reasonable. I'm not totally against bloom, like I love Tron Legacy and that movie is chock full of it. But the bloom is just so extreme it actually prevents you from enjoying what is probably the best graphics on the 360 right now. I wouldn't know because playing is like staring into the sun.
    AUDIO: I guess I can't really complain about Cortana's voice acting, because she IS going insane, but she just sounded so casual and snarky this time around. There was always a hint of 'proper" in her voice before. Her vocabulary was more advanced. Now she sounds like an angsty teen. But where she had the body to match before, now she looks 30+. Confused.
    Sound effects in general are complete crap, I don't understand why 343 felt compelled to change so much instead of updating the old sounds. The Warthog sounds like an electric shaver from the 70's, or a crappy lawnmower with a fart can. The Mongoose sounds like the Warthog SHOULD sound. The plasma pistol sounds mechanical instead of, well, energy. The shotgun has no bass, where the Assault Rifle has way too much bass. The warthog's chain gun sounds like the glitchy noise when weapons would get stuck in the walls in Halo CE Anniversary (It's like 343 noticed that glitch and said "hey, I like this sound, let's work with it"). Everything is just way too loud, there's no balance to what sounds have priority. When you're shooting a gun from a vehicle while listening to Cortana and the Infinity talk to you at the same time, it all just cancels itself out and you can't make sense of anything.
    MUSIC: It's not BAD, but it's just so generic. I suppose I've been spoiled by Marty's genius, but Halo 4 sounds like your standard summer blockbuster action movie fare. I would compare it to Transformers by Michael Bay, but I actually remember some of the music from Transformers. This stuff is entirely forgettable, and multiple times during the campaign, my friend I was playing co-op with commented on how repetitive and boring it was, so I know it's not just me.
    GAMEPLAY: I haven't touched Multiplayer yet so this is all about Campaign. What a ridiculous glitch fest. The production value is obviously high, so there's a level of polish to it, but there's some really obvious problems I would have identified immediately if I were a playtester. So many times, I killed an enemy and walked over to his corpse, only to find the gun he was using had disappeared. If you try to get in the hovering covie sniper towers, you'll get stuck between the grav lift and the bottom of the platform.
    The enemy AI are HORRIBLE drivers. They frequently get stuck on walls or level geometry and don't do anything to attempt getting un-stuck. They just continue boosting forward into the wall, as if that will help. If you're on Legendary and playing a vehicle-heavy level, you're **** out of luck. And before you all scream "LOL YOU CASUAL YOU JUST SUCK," know that I have completed it on Legendary. When you're on the highest difficulty, it is LITERALLY impossible to drive a vehicle and avoid enemy shots. The AI tracks your motion with complete omniscience. Your banshee will be shot down the moment you leave the ground. your ghost will be blown up if you don't use boost constantly. Your warthog will be obliterated by small-arms fire if you manage to avoid the five Wraiths sniping you from a mile away. I know that legendary is supposed to be difficult, but in the previous games I could still make use of vehicles without being destroyed in seconds.
    Some of the action sequences SCREAMED Call of Duty to me, like the turbo-ghost section. It reeked of "Snowmobile level." Particularly the scripted long jumps that would be impossible to make under normal circumstances. Vehicle sections in previous Halo games always relied on the actual capabilities of the vehicle being driven, and your skill. This is pandering. I'm also incredibly mad that the game begins and ends with quick-time events. Which, BY THE WAY, do not work in Co-op at all. I was on my own xbox, playing co-op with two guys who were splitscreen on another. The first QTE switched control between the two split-screen guys every two seconds, so they were never sure who should be doing it. And the last one at the boss battle was given to me, so they never even knew it happened. Ideally the game would not have any QTEs, but if it's really necessary, just give control to the party leader and be done with it. But give me a real boss battle over this any day.

    Summing up, 343 has destroyed Halo for me and I hate them for it    … Expand
  23. Hitokiri_Ace
    Nov 6, 2012
    3
    Halo 4 is so annoying to play online now. It used to be a pain when it was DMR slayer, all people would do is camp and shoot... camp and shoot... now that you can choose your layout... it's always camp slayer. Gone are the olden days of crazy combat, up close fighting, and tactical play.

    If you like CoD, you'll probably like the new halo 4... I get tired of being DMR sniped by their    Halo 4 is so annoying to play online now. It used to be a pain when it was DMR slayer, all people would do is camp and shoot... camp and shoot... now that you can choose your layout... it's always camp slayer. Gone are the olden days of crazy combat, up close fighting, and tactical play.

    If you like CoD, you'll probably like the new halo 4... I get tired of being DMR sniped by their whole team all the time. This is not what I wanted 343. You have lost a future customer. I did love the campaign though. As I usually do. That does not warrant me buying the next game however. Not to mention the horrid slow downs if you play co-op on the same console. Dear me... This game makes me sad.    … Expand
  24. VonSeux
    Dec 28, 2012
    3
    Not for a single moment I had any idea what my objectives meant or where I was. The story makes no sense at all, or at least the presentation is very broken. The game is VERY repetitive and level designs can't hold a candle for games like Metroid Prime. Graphics are good but overrated, since the levels have nothing to see. Controls work fine but the jump mechanics are still ridiculous.
  25. unscshredder
    Dec 28, 2012
    3
    When i got this game, i thought i was going to have a blast... Bad idea. The story would have been good, but they twisted the story, dumb downed the gameplay, and made the multiplayer like Call of Duty.

    Massive Disappointment.
  26. realdomdom
    Nov 7, 2012
    3
    This game's existence is disappointing to begin with. On top of that it didn't change enough to be something new and it didn't keep enough from the old games to be a true halo game. It can't identify itself. The campaign (which should, btw, be the most important thing in the game) was heartlessly glued together. It feels short and in actuality it is. Cortana gets crazy. Everyone wants youThis game's existence is disappointing to begin with. On top of that it didn't change enough to be something new and it didn't keep enough from the old games to be a true halo game. It can't identify itself. The campaign (which should, btw, be the most important thing in the game) was heartlessly glued together. It feels short and in actuality it is. Cortana gets crazy. Everyone wants you to think she's a real person. And they try too hard. The master chief speaks a little more. Not that it makes him any more human. And then there is this forerunner who wants to destroy humanity, basically. Maybe it's not very different from what we already saw in older halo games, but it is presented in such a plain and simple way, i couldn't help but laugh through almost every cutscene. Also, i want to thank 343 for not including the campaign in theatre mode, or vice versa. You can't record singleplayer gameplay for your theatre. Oh, thank you so much. I'm sure, singleplayer is too boring anyway, eh?
    Now that's what i call a campaign. On to the multiplayer, shall we?
    Infinity slayer is probably the inevitable "evolution" from normal slayer. Or it is borrowed from some other game, which has an abbrevation, that's three letters long. Either way, it's a new addition to Halo and it's not necessarily bad. Except you don't like it. Oh, and there is also the Killcam. What a nice little thing. I wonder where i saw that before. No, not in Battlefield 3. They apparently don't need it. There's also your typical CTF, King of the Hill, some other stuff and Griffball, of course. I couldn't manage to find Action Sack or other "fun" playlists, but maybe it's just me.

    Overall, the presentation of this game tries too much to convince you of it's coolness and hipness, both visually and storywise, as if you where a little kid. Personally, i don't like the new design at all. It lacks a certain charm. There are also some bugs where, for example, a banshee flies through a tower or an enemy tries to hide itself in a wall. I hope those get ironed out soon, since apparently some people still want to play this game.

    If you like Halo 4, good for you. Let's hope you like Halo 7, too. Don't worry, it's gonna come eventually.    … Expand
  27. H1P1
    Nov 6, 2012
    3
    Short but not sweet. Graphically outstanding and the soundtrack is good although sadly none of the nostalgic scores have remained. The guns are varied, useful and sound awesome. However this game is so far from amazing that you would have to slap yourself after all of the pre-release reviews. The levels are boring, uninspired and repetitive, quite literally requiring you to perform theShort but not sweet. Graphically outstanding and the soundtrack is good although sadly none of the nostalgic scores have remained. The guns are varied, useful and sound awesome. However this game is so far from amazing that you would have to slap yourself after all of the pre-release reviews. The levels are boring, uninspired and repetitive, quite literally requiring you to perform the same style of objective in every level. It is also disappointingly short considering how boring the levels are; if it's going to be short make sure the levels are awesome. The vehicles are clunky and do not handle as fluent and fast of halo games of old. Explosions are weaker and smaller. The enemy AI is also unexciting. Whilst I have only played normal difficulty, fighting an elite in past halo games was an awesome challenge. Halo 4's elites do not feel challenging or smart, as well as the other enemies, something that did not exist on the normal difficulty setting of other halo's. Multiplayer is fun, but it's not halo multiplayer - the ultimate thrill of halo multiplayer was never in a perks/ability system, but just in the fact it was halo - it depends what you want, but if I want cod i'll play cod because they do it best. Second only to the gameplay is the story which is also boring. More plot holes than swiss cheese and it's not even easy to follow. Predictable cliche's and attempts to tug your heart strings but there are so many waning questions and factors that don't add up that whilst the humanity of chief can finally be felt, it just feels silly to imply the same for cortana as an AI. The new ideas the game possesses are its most promising aspect. Going into the game all I wanted was the same old halo, but 343 in trying to do this actually made it the killer. They hit some aspects but miss many, and movel design which was the best part of halo, is its worst in this game. They are not as good at doing what bungie do best, so they need to do what they do best. The new things that worked demonstrates that the halo universe can be improved, so they need to forget about recycling bungie halo and take some bold steps to make it their own in future titles.… Expand
  28. Lutallo
    Nov 6, 2012
    3
    343 Industries have basically taken COD4 and put all the elements in Halo 4 that make multiplayer unbalanced and unfair. The introduction of perks and loadouts means that any online skill is practically thrown out the door because there will always be a higher level with a better suited weapon/perk. The pace at which you die is completely unsuited to Halo, where 3 headshots with an343 Industries have basically taken COD4 and put all the elements in Halo 4 that make multiplayer unbalanced and unfair. The introduction of perks and loadouts means that any online skill is practically thrown out the door because there will always be a higher level with a better suited weapon/perk. The pace at which you die is completely unsuited to Halo, where 3 headshots with an individual weapon means that once you're shot at first, there is no coming back. The storyline is similar to that of a dodgy Mass Effect 1 makeshift, introducing a main villain, also the story revolves around an AI that no one ever really cared about. On the other hand, the graphics have been improved, evident in the amazing backgrounds of the campaign. Also it must be said that the campaign itself, aside from the story, is actually pretty entertaining and easily up there with Halo 3.… Expand
  29. parside
    Nov 7, 2012
    3
    Why use my $$ to buy a game that give me a fantastic game experience for only 6-8 hours?
    Today there are several games that give same amusement but for a lot of more time: one?
    Borderlands 2. Bye...
  30. thw
    Nov 8, 2012
    3
    THIS GAME NEVER HAPPENED !!!.................. Play Halo Reach instead....
  31. Adub34
    Nov 17, 2012
    3
    worst halo game ever the online is way to easy no competition they have made it to much like call of duty unlocking guns and emblems i dont ever remember that on halo i got halos 1-4 and Reach is my favorite one and im a big halo fan im just mot feeling halo 4 the campaign was great but just got to repeative Bungie should have stayed with microsoft studios and made a great game 343 isworst halo game ever the online is way to easy no competition they have made it to much like call of duty unlocking guns and emblems i dont ever remember that on halo i got halos 1-4 and Reach is my favorite one and im a big halo fan im just mot feeling halo 4 the campaign was great but just got to repeative Bungie should have stayed with microsoft studios and made a great game 343 is trash to me.… Expand
  32. Wakkorotti
    Nov 19, 2012
    3
    Halo 4 is absolutely a visually stunning game. The graphics are completely beautiful, the worlds look and feel real, and the new enemies, though there are only really three, at least interesting to look at. That being said, even on legendary, the campaign is painfully, woefully, short. I would almost classify it an EPIC failure. When you can turn on the Tough Luck skull and complete aHalo 4 is absolutely a visually stunning game. The graphics are completely beautiful, the worlds look and feel real, and the new enemies, though there are only really three, at least interesting to look at. That being said, even on legendary, the campaign is painfully, woefully, short. I would almost classify it an EPIC failure. When you can turn on the Tough Luck skull and complete a board like Requiem in a little over a half an hour, there is something wrong. The odd thing about Halo 4 is that the plot and story line are arguably the best in the series thus far, save the possible exception of Halo: Reach. But the new ancient evil awakened, the Didact does not inspire fear or foreboding and you never truly get to battle him. The re-imagined grunts still look ridiculous, and I want to know what happened to the skirmishers and Brutes. I feel like there was so much of the Halo universe left untapped by the game that I can only describe my feelings about it as disappointed. The game is a rehash of the same boards over and over and over again. Massive boards that you often travel through both ways and face the same enemies over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. the AI (Game level, not Cortana) is weak at best. You can sit in certain spots on certain boards and head shot enemies until they perish without them ever moving. Glitches like this stand out far more than the beauty of the worlds that 343I created. The magnum has returned as a great, and viable option for reeking mayhem both in the campaign, on Spartan Ops and in the multi-player game, so I was pretty stoked about that. Another big disappointment is the score. There are none of the hauntingly beautiful melodies from the original trilogy or driving beats to get the blood pumping for bigger battles. As a Halo veteran whose first game on the original Xbox was Combat Evolved, I was really hoping to get back to the core of why I was a Halo fan in the first place. Halo 2 was a huge disappointment as the focus seemed to shift to the online universe. I truly hoped Halo 4 would get back to that innovation and creativity. The first level, in my opinion, does exactly that and really raised my hopes that whole game was going to be more than just running and gunning. The interactions between Cortana and Master Chief, the different parts of the board where you have to climb or kill an elite made me overly optimistic. If the game continued the way it started, I think it could have been something special. At the end of the day, though, i was as disappointed in Halo 4 as I was with the weak storyline in Black Ops 1.… Expand
  33. jkmako
    Dec 27, 2012
    3
    Sorry to say I was a little disappointed . Visually I thought the game was flat. Graphics too comic book like. Nice drawings but not the real feel we saw in Halo 3. The levels are uninspiring . Felt like I was playing an arcade video game. Sound track ok but not Halo great.
  34. Lemelak
    Mar 26, 2013
    3
    Although 343 did all they could to keep up with the outstanding string of games that Bungie has been putting out for over 10 years I felt the fell short on many aspects of the game. The campaign was boring and repetitive not to mention absurdly short. I beat it within 5 hours, for a 60$ game it felt hardly worth it. The multi-player was significantly more interesting. The mechanics whereAlthough 343 did all they could to keep up with the outstanding string of games that Bungie has been putting out for over 10 years I felt the fell short on many aspects of the game. The campaign was boring and repetitive not to mention absurdly short. I beat it within 5 hours, for a 60$ game it felt hardly worth it. The multi-player was significantly more interesting. The mechanics where easy to grasp and the game felt more balanced than anything I've ever seen. There were no rushing for the rocket launchers and shotguns. Everyone had the weapons they needed at start and where rewarded for their outstanding gameplay with something other than points and icons with weapons to give them a bit of an edge but not over powered. All in all the game is only good for multi-player and COMPLETELY not worth 60$.… Expand
  35. Geracritic
    Apr 7, 2013
    3
    the graphics are amazing and the sound is very realistic, but it is not the only thing to attract attention; levels are boring, really thought it would be something far grander.
  36. BillzHere
    Apr 16, 2013
    3
    In my honest opinion, this game has to be one of the worst FPS's I have ever played. In more simpler terms, this game is a colossal disaster. The story itself wasn't my main concern, it was the multiplayer. I really did not care much for the story in this game because, it really got boring and just plain stupid after playing the first hour or two. Granted, the campaign has some veryIn my honest opinion, this game has to be one of the worst FPS's I have ever played. In more simpler terms, this game is a colossal disaster. The story itself wasn't my main concern, it was the multiplayer. I really did not care much for the story in this game because, it really got boring and just plain stupid after playing the first hour or two. Granted, the campaign has some very beautiful scenery at points, the soundtrack is okay, and the guns sounds decent. But the story itself is nothing to get completely hyped up about.
    Now fore the real meat and bone, the multiplayer A.K.A. what made the game terrible I can see what 343 Industries were trying to do by incorporating all these new mechanics like default sprint, armor abilities, and loadouts. Basic terms, they were simply attempting to mimic Call of Duty to gather a bigger audience from that fan base. But the end result ended in a complete disaster. First off, my major pet peeve was the customization in this game. Instead of building off of Halo: Reach's amazing armor Customization, 343 Industries decides to rip off Halo 3's customization. That's right. HALO 3, a game made 5 YEARS AGO. My next concern is the feel of the game. This game has 0% Halo feel to it. In previous Halo multiplayers, teamwork was vital, you had to work with your team. But in this game, everyone is a lone wolf, fighting for themselves and not working co-operatively. The weapons in this game are terrible, some weapons I feel need to be stronger, like the assault rifle, and some weapons feel way too over powered to the point it's ridiculous. And some weapons that shouldn't be there in the first place. The game modes, are practically the same as Reach's Excluding the few new modes This game was not improved. It was turned into Call of Halo: Future Warfare 4. As a side note, if you leave too many games, you get banned for an hour. No warning what so ever. Just straight up banned. At least in Reach you got a warning and you only got banned for 15 minutes. I bet in that hour of being banned, you could get in a car bus, bike or walk to your nearest Gamestop, get a full refund, and Buy Halo: Reach.
    My overall score for the garbage game is a three out of ten. Those perfect scores are incorrect and dishonest, they are only reviewed by people who don't see the real errors that are right in their faces. 343 Industries won't be seeing another dime from me any time soon.    … Expand
  37. VinDeagle
    May 23, 2013
    3
    343 butchered the hell out of a great franchise. This game is basically Call of Duty with the Halo atmosphere. You can call in ordinance from kill streaks(Call of Duty), custom classes with perks to choose from(Call of Duty), get put into games that have already started(Call of Duty). The community is just as bad as the game mechanics. You will find many people who abuse perks like active343 butchered the hell out of a great franchise. This game is basically Call of Duty with the Halo atmosphere. You can call in ordinance from kill streaks(Call of Duty), custom classes with perks to choose from(Call of Duty), get put into games that have already started(Call of Duty). The community is just as bad as the game mechanics. You will find many people who abuse perks like active camo and promethean vision and truly ruin the entire match. The ghost is severely overpowered, you can't join a single game that doesn't have kids spamming the ghost plasma shot(which does way to much damage). The maps are horrendous. You will end up playing Exile over and over again and watch as your teammates race to the Gaus-Hog and destroy it when they don't get it every damn match. Terrible game, terrible community, don't buy this and wait for Bungie's new game.… Expand
  38. Brenden120
    Jun 14, 2013
    3
    It's not that bad if you don't think of it as a Halo sequel as the story itself was a bit cheesy and unoriginal, and has several repetitive tasks. As for the multiplayer they took all originality away trying to make it more of a CoD style multiplayer. (eg: load outs /w unlock-able guns and equipment, and kill streaks) Not much replay value for me as I didn't like the campaign in the first place.
  39. ManiacGamer
    Jul 9, 2013
    3
    I played halo since halo 2 and so yes, i was greatly looking forward to a new halo game. Campaign had fun gameplay but boring and almost cheesy/corny storytelling. Like some 7 year old was making it up. The graphics were amazing. The multiplayer didnt come close to previous halo's skill and past time. It was like they added perks and ordnance drops to make it noob friendly for cod players.I played halo since halo 2 and so yes, i was greatly looking forward to a new halo game. Campaign had fun gameplay but boring and almost cheesy/corny storytelling. Like some 7 year old was making it up. The graphics were amazing. The multiplayer didnt come close to previous halo's skill and past time. It was like they added perks and ordnance drops to make it noob friendly for cod players. Forge had no maps worthy of playing on. Overall, this game did not at any way shape or form, live up to its predecessors. This was not halo, but a cheap mix of cod and halo. I am sure hardcore halo fans like myself will agree to my thoughts.… Expand
  40. pavskies
    Aug 28, 2013
    3
    I feel a score of 3/10 is quite generous for this game. As a veteran of the franchise, with Combat Evolved being my introduction, I was extremely disappointed with the mulitplayer of Halo 4. Gone was the core features of Halo gameplay that we all knew and loved: everyone starting equal, battles for the power ups and power weapons, etc. Throwing in sprint to use at anytime, armor abilities,I feel a score of 3/10 is quite generous for this game. As a veteran of the franchise, with Combat Evolved being my introduction, I was extremely disappointed with the mulitplayer of Halo 4. Gone was the core features of Halo gameplay that we all knew and loved: everyone starting equal, battles for the power ups and power weapons, etc. Throwing in sprint to use at anytime, armor abilities, personal ordnance, perks--all that really was off-putting. Add in the fact that there's no ranking system whatsoever (even Reach had Arena) and awful game mechanics leaves you a trash game. All of my friends have quit playing the Halo, so shame on you 343i. You ruined it all.… Expand
  41. Red-Opposom-098
    Dec 9, 2014
    3
    What a disappointment, I've been a long time Halo fan, and in my honest opinion this is the worst in the series. Yes Halo Wars is better than this crap. The graphics and gameplay are save this game other than that I wouldn't play this. If they didn't change the Flood game mode I would have given this game a 5 because Flood was where I spent most of my time until they added the saw, assaultWhat a disappointment, I've been a long time Halo fan, and in my honest opinion this is the worst in the series. Yes Halo Wars is better than this crap. The graphics and gameplay are save this game other than that I wouldn't play this. If they didn't change the Flood game mode I would have given this game a 5 because Flood was where I spent most of my time until they added the saw, assault rifle and more to the mix because then what's the challenge this game just sucks… Expand
  42. James120854
    Dec 29, 2014
    3
    This was a great game. However the reason that i am giving this game such a low review is because they got rid of firefight!!! Me and my sister had hours of fun through the halo series playing firefight!!! If spartan opp is the same thing then it still stinks because i just cant play it. I have to get Xbox live or something. I don't like this because of what happened after the update. IThis was a great game. However the reason that i am giving this game such a low review is because they got rid of firefight!!! Me and my sister had hours of fun through the halo series playing firefight!!! If spartan opp is the same thing then it still stinks because i just cant play it. I have to get Xbox live or something. I don't like this because of what happened after the update. I got sent back to sr1 after updating!!!! This ruined the game for me. Also during forge, there was a problem. I would be in forge mode and then i would turn back to spartan but i would take forever to make the screen load back.That was annoying. after i got sent back to recruit, i stopped playing this game. Not cool 343. not cool.… Expand
  43. njja02
    May 15, 2018
    3
    Although the gun-play and visuals are great, everything else falls apart. The story and characters felt bland and lost any interesting elements from the previous games. The new enemy type looked dull and generic, and the villain was awful. I miss the original Halo games already.
  44. EcchiMegane
    Nov 25, 2019
    3
    As a fan of Halo since the very first game, Halo 4 was a big disappointment for me... I didn't like the story at all. I was sad to say that my Halo journey would end with Halo 4...
  45. Odst1997
    May 28, 2020
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Being a fan of halo, this was the worst, at first I did not understand why elites are bad, I really did not like the final boss, in short, 50% cinematic 50% game… Expand
  46. Jacob9999
    Jun 25, 2020
    3
    halo no longer has a story. It became repetitive and really boring to play. Unfortunately, it is a brand that is slowly dying. old fans will always be interested in the title but in the last chapters only disappointments.
  47. FatherHay
    Nov 17, 2020
    3
    Halo 4 is such an immense diversion from what the Halo franchise once was, with the new enemies proving boring and endless copy-pasted 'boss fights', it's truly amazing to me, that anyone in QA allowed this dumpster-fire of a game to fall flat so immediately out the door. Truly, Halo 4, marked the beginning of the end of a beloved franchise, for many of those, who once said - they lovedHalo 4 is such an immense diversion from what the Halo franchise once was, with the new enemies proving boring and endless copy-pasted 'boss fights', it's truly amazing to me, that anyone in QA allowed this dumpster-fire of a game to fall flat so immediately out the door. Truly, Halo 4, marked the beginning of the end of a beloved franchise, for many of those, who once said - they loved Halo. Though, at least the visuals and sound-design is alright.… Expand
  48. lilkillpappy
    Dec 4, 2012
    2
    doesn't matter what we say on here, they sold millions and made millions, they could give a **** less if they create **** games, as long as they make money. The Xbox 360 is extremely under powered, and has been showing its age for a very long time now. The art in this game was the only reason it looked good, otherwise the low res textures, jagged lines, and horrible fade distance justdoesn't matter what we say on here, they sold millions and made millions, they could give a **** less if they create **** games, as long as they make money. The Xbox 360 is extremely under powered, and has been showing its age for a very long time now. The art in this game was the only reason it looked good, otherwise the low res textures, jagged lines, and horrible fade distance just destroyed the graphics on this game. If you like games for combat and no other reason then this game will be perfect for you. If you like depth to the gameplay, and a story that is not serialized, and actually makes sense then this game will be VERY boring. And thats what this game is. Despite the things that it does well with the combat, sound effects, and art, the game in the end lacks an interesting story that makes sense, and has very shallow gameplay. Plus the main story is extremely short. This game can be beaten in a day. Why do they keep making this crap? And now that it has become serialized, its just going to get worse and worse.… Expand
  49. JDK04281980
    Nov 10, 2012
    2
    This game was.....ok. Not as good as the other ones. The quality of the series keeps going down and down. As great as HALO2 was, 3 then 4 continue the downward spiral of the once great series. I suggest if you wanna play a great shooter, try Black Ops 2.
  50. RidleayRomero
    Dec 13, 2012
    2
    After about 2 Minutes into the single player game, it was obvious that 343 completely forgot what happened at the end of Halo 3. Why would you still be fighting the same enemies that were in the first game when it moved on in the previous two installments? Not to mention it's starting to look like Call of Duty with the quick time boss cutscene. Anyway the only playable part of it seems toAfter about 2 Minutes into the single player game, it was obvious that 343 completely forgot what happened at the end of Halo 3. Why would you still be fighting the same enemies that were in the first game when it moved on in the previous two installments? Not to mention it's starting to look like Call of Duty with the quick time boss cutscene. Anyway the only playable part of it seems to be Multiplayer and Spartan Ops. There isn't much hope for a sequel.… Expand
  51. ThanatosXR
    Nov 7, 2012
    2
    Well Halo 4 is finally upon us, with a new studio in charged but does it live up to being called a Halo.
    Halo know for its addicted favor of multiplayer and it's open ended campgain and awesome soundtrack but to get right to the point Halo 4 doesnt live up to any of this. 343 musta been broke when hiring writers and the story is written like a hobo high on meth wrote it in 10 mins, every    Well Halo 4 is finally upon us, with a new studio in charged but does it live up to being called a Halo.
    Halo know for its addicted favor of multiplayer and it's open ended campgain and awesome soundtrack but to get right to the point Halo 4 doesnt live up to any of this. 343 musta been broke when hiring writers and the story is written like a hobo high on meth wrote it in 10 mins, every line is the a random rush to get to the next scene, the main characters come off on unlikable, the script seems to be written by the cheeziest writter in Hollywood with random "drama" in them. The plot makes zero sence at all! Cortana randomly feels forced thoughout the entire game, Why would an A.I. die after 7 years? lolwtf shes a computer data never dies as long as you copy and paste the files, it make not logically sence at all. Another question is why do the covent starr attacking humans again? The story never says why everything in it is "just because". The compaign is riddled with "walk down a hallway get to the main room then fight some guys push 3 buttons move on" repeat for the next 4 hours. Every area feels and looks the same with a lens flare thrown all over it for no reason other then to hide the low textures, if you look everywhere the games graphics are alll simple bright colors with blocky designs everywhere, Why u ask? Because they can spit a game out every year with simple graphics and weith the blue lens flair nobody can see underneth a terrible cheap why of hidding the poor work the art designers did. Nobody in the game has any personally at all not even the good ol' MC. Every scene feels repackaged from CoD. Press "X" to prie the door open, Press "X" to win the final boss. The games writing makes porn seem culturalful. Well now that I finished campaign I want to go play some good ol' firefight to lets of some steam from paying $60 for a CoD compaign in a HALO game.....NOOOOOPE there is no firefight, theres the **** CoD spec ops clone well I'm thinking I'll get it a try before multiplayer....WRONG Play on LIVE on Legendary and all the mission are 10-20min pointless stories that are just a chore BORRRING you can finish them all in 40mins, they have no replay value. Alright so now I'm abit angry now and am thinking well it's Halo so multiplayer is where is usually at and then go to "WAR GAMES".......even the damn menus have generic names so I start it up first thing I noticed theres only 7 playlists? WTF no social no arena no invasion hell not even compaign multiplayer. So I go to Team slayer thinking hell yeah no bloom Halo 3 is back.....THINK again besides the menus being almost disfuncinal the playlist are right to left WTF spread out all over the screen for no reason ok so while waiting to start up my first game I'm thinking am gonna pimp up my armor like in reach......LOL NOPE all the few sets of armor all look the same but the helmets, ok so another downgrade from Reach so after awhile I noticed the games about to star 4...3....2.......1.... AND THEN I LAUGH OUT LOUD at 2am,the matches loading screen is copied right out of CoD with "UNSC Logo spinning around in a gobal digital sphere" ya you can't make this sh++ up. So the game loads up and a 100% inovative to FPS feature comes up.......a damn create class ohh yeah its innovative never done before. Ok so now its time to play first game I see a sniper rifle and get up to the highest point I can and start sniping, now I'm a average player I never have a K/D greater then 1.05 but.......I star off with a killing frinzy thats right its even easier then CoD, it makes CoD look hardcore. Everything is basically spam able all the weapons are mostly the same just reskinned. after 3 hrs of MP I make SR20, yawn all the maps are forgetable they are a decent design but "WarGames" are just a bore, its not Halo just another CoD in Halo skin, everyone takes lil skill to kill and die in a hit or 2. War Games feels like nothing I never felt like it had pushed my skill or made me learn new ones winning or losing in wargames feels the same. Hell we all hate a Cod puts out a new game every year but sadly CoD looks like a real game compared to this , I don't know how 343 pulled of an even easier CoD in space. AND that is it today at noon I sold Halo 4 back to Gamestop for $32 within less then 48 hrs first time ever. Hell despite all of Reachs problems I still it to this day and after complaining on the B.net about its flaws I have to say the worse was yet to come. Hell all the CoD's ever year even look like a million dollars compared to H4. 343 tried to make a CoD clone in Halo skin and failed epically. Well back to Reach and black ops.    … Expand
  52. HoBro
    Nov 8, 2012
    2
    To give some background, my favorite multiplayer games of all time are Halo 2, MW2, and Black Ops. In my opinion the Halo franchise has gone steadily downhill since H2. I am not a fan of the armor perks and I feel that the game play really got sloppy. I saw another review that said Halo 2 was a sport because all players were equal, and I think that is a great point. I gave Halo 4 a shotTo give some background, my favorite multiplayer games of all time are Halo 2, MW2, and Black Ops. In my opinion the Halo franchise has gone steadily downhill since H2. I am not a fan of the armor perks and I feel that the game play really got sloppy. I saw another review that said Halo 2 was a sport because all players were equal, and I think that is a great point. I gave Halo 4 a shot because of the new developers and thought maybe they could save the franchise. What they did was fuse the poor play of H3 and Reach with a poor man's version of COD layouts. What you get is an abortion of a game. People are starting with plasma pistols and battle rifles. 4 v 4 team slayer has a whopping 4 maps available. If you liked H3 and Reach, you will probably like this slop too. If you didn't like them, you won't like this either.

    Bottom line I am bummed that this game isn't better. I will be listing it on eBay and will probably ruin some poor kid's Christmas. I just hope Black Ops II is better than MW3 so I have something to play.    … Expand
  53. Banshee-Friend
    Nov 25, 2012
    2
    This game was terrible. The graphics werent the worst, but they seemed to be the result of "trying too hard" to make it look good. Bad CGI comes to mind when I see the profuse use of specular. As for the story, It reminisced a generic sci-fi plot, which was entirely inconsistent with the Halo franchise. Several unending plot holes including changes such as the look of the Chief, Cortana,This game was terrible. The graphics werent the worst, but they seemed to be the result of "trying too hard" to make it look good. Bad CGI comes to mind when I see the profuse use of specular. As for the story, It reminisced a generic sci-fi plot, which was entirely inconsistent with the Halo franchise. Several unending plot holes including changes such as the look of the Chief, Cortana, Forward Unto Dawn changing appearance "suddenly". I have also been unable to find a buy-able explanation on the incogitable hostility of the Covenant after all that has transpired in the Halo story from previous games. As for the multiplayer, I might as well play the new call of duty. It does not at all play like a halo game. with the addition of killstreaks(ordinance), perks, weapon unlockables, and how easy it is to kill someone makes it as far from Halo as you can get with a 'Halo' Game. This was clearly a poor attempt to 'milk the franchise' after Bungie decided to stop creating Halo games. Very disappointing for a Halo game, I would not recommend even rending this game.… Expand
  54. Nigelbillson
    Dec 15, 2012
    2
    There are very few games these days that change a genre, that provide new light and inspire everyone in the gaming industry, halo 4... ISN'T one of those games. It's sad that since halo 3 the halo series has become another generic yearly sequel, much like the previously excellent Assassins creed series and Call of Duty. I used to enjoy Xbox, this reminds me of how much I despise it now. IThere are very few games these days that change a genre, that provide new light and inspire everyone in the gaming industry, halo 4... ISN'T one of those games. It's sad that since halo 3 the halo series has become another generic yearly sequel, much like the previously excellent Assassins creed series and Call of Duty. I used to enjoy Xbox, this reminds me of how much I despise it now. I seriously thought this would be a change, all the reviewers were saying so. Of course not. Are we PS3 "fanboys" [I think you mean PLAYERS] envious? Of course not! I've just been down my electronic store and sold my Xbox. I used to like both, but this game proves how much money these people at microsoft get! Spoiler alert, the ending is another halo 2 ending! It's about as well made as
    Cortana: Oh no what are you gonna do chief?
    Cheif: I'll kill them all... tomorrow. Halo 5 comes out september 20th 2013 while stocks last.
    I don't understand why people would enjoy this game, especially with the convoluted canon! Also the fans are evil but it's not exactly 343's fault. Overall:

    Graphics 9.0 One of the few things this game gets right.

    Story 4.9
    Brilliant... if you read the entire wiki. Gameplay: 2.7 Generic at the best of times, downright awful at the worst.    … Expand
  55. pinktrantula
    Nov 9, 2012
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. i should preface this by saying that im a halo fan from the original halo thru halo 3, reach pushed me away and this one pretty much slammed the door in my face. the campaign is boring and frankly not the kind of story i would expect from a halo game. SPOILER! there is no boss fight at the end. now on to what everyone cares about: multiplier. my first thought is how **** disgraceful it is with the lack of map diversity. i hope you LOVE the map you play on because chances are you going to play it 6x in a row because there are only like 5 or 6 maps total and only 3 per selected game type (oddball, king of the hill, slayer, etc.) they tried to steal some tactics from call of duty but failed at it with there layouts but does it really matter what gun you start with if they all kill in 5 shots? i hope im not alone in thinking that i loved halo because it was a tactics game where everyone was on a level playing field. no tricks hidden up peoples sleeves. if i wanted that i would play COD, which i do and enjoy. i would not recommend this game for people who enjoyed the early (golden age) halo games.… Expand
  56. GaaraDDragon
    Nov 6, 2012
    2
    The only real exciting quality of the game is that graphics evolved from Reach but they still don't surpass GoW 3's technical excellence. Other than that it's a typical by the numbers Halo game, conservative, all too familiar, boring, repetitive. 343 have managed to go from being synonymous with gaming evolution to a safe mainstream approach. Everything from the cinematics to the levelThe only real exciting quality of the game is that graphics evolved from Reach but they still don't surpass GoW 3's technical excellence. Other than that it's a typical by the numbers Halo game, conservative, all too familiar, boring, repetitive. 343 have managed to go from being synonymous with gaming evolution to a safe mainstream approach. Everything from the cinematics to the level design is highly polished, overly hyped mediocrity. Halo has taken the COD path.… Expand
  57. spartan117357
    Nov 6, 2012
    2
    Had high hopes for this game but the multiplayer just doesnt feel right at all, weapons spawns are terrible and it feels more like a Halo Reach than a Halo 4. The graphics are amazing, I havent tried campaign too much. Strictly multiplayer, I feel this game does not live up to the Halo standards that were set in Halo 3 I might trade in for AC3 if this game doesnt step it up soon.
  58. ikesmasher
    Nov 6, 2012
    2
    This game took the simplicity of the original Halo trilogy's core, which is what made it great, and threw it out the window. It replaced it with what was obviously their spin off of a Call of Duty style of gameplay. (Not that I like Call of Duty, actually its the other way around). It was a completely unnecessary change, as halo had very few flaws in the first place. 343 should have lookedThis game took the simplicity of the original Halo trilogy's core, which is what made it great, and threw it out the window. It replaced it with what was obviously their spin off of a Call of Duty style of gameplay. (Not that I like Call of Duty, actually its the other way around). It was a completely unnecessary change, as halo had very few flaws in the first place. 343 should have looked at the numbers and realized they didn't lose the top positions in xbox live in terms of top played until halo reach. Even if you don't compare it to past halo games, its still a mistake. Its incorrectly balanced, there is only one new vehicle, and people at higher levels have distinct advantages. I would rent this for campaign, as its decent. But do not depend on this for your fix of daily competitive multiplayer.… Expand
  59. Keengerm
    Nov 6, 2012
    2
    So disappointed. I've gotten used to higher quality, INNOVATIVE shooters. This might as well be Halo: run around; shoot; scavenge; do it again. Zero innovation. The AI is appaling. I can't count the number of times I've shot an enemy in the back without sneaking. Yes, the production values are high: great visuals and audio (possibly bar-setting). But, it fails on every other level.
  60. Killbill123
    Nov 7, 2012
    2
    Pro: People say it has glorious grahpics but we are at the end of 2012, where I would expect graphics to have a big wow factor. I admit the graphics are quite good but they do not blow you away (Maybe if you compare them to games like borderlands and gears of war, okay yes it is better then games of the such). Audio of the guns are quite respective and flow with the guns quite well.Pro: People say it has glorious grahpics but we are at the end of 2012, where I would expect graphics to have a big wow factor. I admit the graphics are quite good but they do not blow you away (Maybe if you compare them to games like borderlands and gears of war, okay yes it is better then games of the such). Audio of the guns are quite respective and flow with the guns quite well.

    Cons: Level design, there are no real balanced levels where the feel of halo once used to be. It seems that they only focused on multiplayer but they failed badly. feels like CoD , guns are way unbalanced. Score board doesn't show kd ratio, nor your death till after the game over. Thrust is useless. also when you get shot when you are zoomed in you really don't notice you are being hit since it doesn't affect your aiming nor does it zoom you out when you get shot.

    Give it time, that fascination will dwindle. It can go on for only so long till reality hits. It sucks, I really loved halo 2 and halo 3 (not as much as 2), and was hoping for Halo 4 to bring back that prosperous feel that only halo brought with its smooth layout, fast paced multiplayer battles, decently balance weapons (BXR, BXB, and noob combo being the exception), but alas I did not feel the aura of halo at all that it once emanated. They are supposed to improve on the blocks that built halo not change the structure of what made it a great game, CoD makes CoD an awesome game so why mix the uniqueness from others into one? It only makes the final product not unique in its own sense, and if doing so why not add in some features from Hitman, Gears of War, and Borderlands into the mix of Halo. They all have there unique goodness that make those there own games in itself.

    I just expect from a Halo game, a game that brings that warmth and that smile that halo once brought in the past, not a lets take whats good from other games and use it but lets leave master chief in it still so we can call it Halo.    … Expand
  61. Blaze_Viper
    Dec 8, 2012
    2
    This isn't the continuation of Halo that I had anticipated. Having played each Halo, there was a reason Halo was different from all the other FPS games available on the market, not anymore. Upon playing the first campaign level I noticed all the sounds were different and not in a good way, you don't change perfection. The physics also felt as though they were taken back by about aThis isn't the continuation of Halo that I had anticipated. Having played each Halo, there was a reason Halo was different from all the other FPS games available on the market, not anymore. Upon playing the first campaign level I noticed all the sounds were different and not in a good way, you don't change perfection. The physics also felt as though they were taken back by about a generation, not nearly as smooth or fluid as the Reach physics system which ironically, is the backbone of Halo 4's physics engine. How do you manage to make ideal physics.. worse than their previous state and using the same engine? Its more choppy and feels jittery.

    The campaign is short, and is a try hard. You are forced to try and have feelings for Master Chief and Cortana and this can be felt constantly throughout the entire campaign with constant scenes of Cortana resisting "rampancy" and the Chief seeming worried, you just can't feel for something that doesn't truly require it. The previous studio has always stayed very close to original halo lore yet in the beginning you seem to be wearing incorrect armor and aren't even inside the correct pod. Many of the events of Halo 4 also tend to require you to have read "Glasslands" the bridge seemingly between halo 3 and 4 in order to truly understand what and why the events are happening. There are parts in the campaign where on legendary you cannot do anything but constantly re-try as skill will not have any impact on whether you pass or fail. Enemies seem seem to use decent tactics but it can be repetitive constantly facing enemies in similar scenarios. Overall the campaign was decent through the use of some decent driving, flying and cinematic cut-scenes. They tried to keep the spirit of previous games but it doesn't seem to have gone over too well.

    Microsoft Studios claims this is their most expensive project yet, I suppose if you throw enough money at something you can make something mediocre without even trying to be clever innovative. Granted they are picking up a series that is already several games in, but Reach was a testament that you can mix up the old. Then we have the multiplayer. Oh yes, the feature this is most important of all, or wasn't it the campaign? Anyways it seems as though there have been several elements taken from other popular FPS out there something I'm sure we all love and are very original features like a "killcam" or instant re-spawning (remember when you had to wait 5 seconds before you could flail about again?) and when you get many points you get "ordinance" to help the winning team win faster, personal loadouts, pathetic armor abilities and sprinting whenever you please though I understand that they had to generalize the abilities in order to balance loadouts and game modes. They also removed TrueSkill which seems to have made stacked matches even worse, given it happened in previous titles but not as bad as it seems to be at present. Weapon balance seems to be absent as you can lose to a DMR nearly every time, yet at close range you can easily get wrecked via assault rifle resulting in a majority of players all using a DMR. In previous titles you couldn't gun down an opponent on the other side of a map, you can now with the hyper accuracy of the new weapons. In a way it's like Title Updated only worse and all the time.

    Visuals. The interface can seem very overbearing for newcomers and seems littered with unnecessary things making hard to navigate and unintuitive. The game looks great granted, but it sometimes can strain your eyes as there is just TOO much going on at the same time. The end result? Forget about your older Xbox playing this smoothly, 4-player splitscreen runs at 15 frames 22 on the slim. Overall experience can feel choppy.

    One last thing to note is customization and ranking. There used to be shiny cool looking badges for your rank, but we seem to have devolved into numbers, how exciting reaching SR20 isn't it? About 20% of the armory is locked due to per-order incentives, console bundles and limited edition exclusives along with Map Pass extras meaning if you want to have it all, better get out your wallet. nearly all of the new armor also seems to be hideous and makes to sense in terms of 'how do you even see in that' ? You can't tell armor apart except for helmets as it all seems so identical and many helmets seem to lack visors in lieu of lights on your face or just not bothering with openings. At the very least can I change my lights from white to something else? It's a similar story with emblems, locked away exclusives or requiring you to be a higher rank. Aren't emblems supposed to represent ourselves? I can't help but feel as though it's wrong. A massive lack of campaign and Spartans Ops theater doesn't help.

    Remember when you used to argue about Halo vs another FPS? How it was different? Now we talk about what features it has from other titles and how similar it can be. Fan since Halo 1.    … Expand
  62. dpb39
    Nov 8, 2012
    2
    The single player campaign is probably one of the better of the Halo series. I am rating mainly based on the multiplayer. The game consists of nothing but players using Battle Rifles and DMRs to peg each other in the head. Who's bright idea was it to put a four hit kill weapon that can strike anywhere on the map in the game?

    Many of the guns outside of the marksman rifles have no    The single player campaign is probably one of the better of the Halo series. I am rating mainly based on the multiplayer. The game consists of nothing but players using Battle Rifles and DMRs to peg each other in the head. Who's bright idea was it to put a four hit kill weapon that can strike anywhere on the map in the game?

    Many of the guns outside of the marksman rifles have no chance in a firefight and most of the armor abilities are completely useless (I'm looking at you Thruster Pack). Hell, the "Covenant" and "Promethean" weapons are just direct analogs to the human counterparts, barely different in any way other than the visual portion.

    The game has so much bloom that it really hides most of the UI elements. You will constantly lose track of your ammo and grenade counts because the light blue lines are totally lost in the overwhelming bloom the game has in effect. In other words, it's too damn bright and everything just looks washed out because of it.

    Halo multiplayer has not been varied and balanced for a good long time and Halo 4 just continues this trend. If you were hoping for a varied array of useful and cool weapons and armor abilities you'll be disappointed with what halo 4 has to offer.    … Expand
  63. Franky4Fingurs
    Nov 10, 2012
    2
    I've picked up every Halo game on launch and for the most part been really happy with each release. First off the Halo music is not there.. Think of Disney redoing star wars but the theme music doesn't start while the words are scrolling.. The levels are so bland and boring and your map doesn't update on where to go next unless you step into part of the level that triggers it. TheI've picked up every Halo game on launch and for the most part been really happy with each release. First off the Halo music is not there.. Think of Disney redoing star wars but the theme music doesn't start while the words are scrolling.. The levels are so bland and boring and your map doesn't update on where to go next unless you step into part of the level that triggers it. The forerunners look totally generic, and their AI is almost as bad. Cortana lost her charm and is just annoying now, just constantly talking with her annoying voice, it's awful. I don't understand how MasterCheif's armor has upgraded when he has literally been in a cryo-chamber the last 4 years. Lastly..... Indoctrination? Really? 343 took what Bungie left behind and poorly made the next chapter using the story of a original game, Mass Effect..… Expand
  64. BadmanFaust
    Nov 11, 2012
    2
    Best Call of Duty Game Ever! ... wait.... Halo? are you sure? I'm pretty sure that useless loadouts and button mashing 'kill the bad guy' cut-scenes are a call of duty thing. Those bastards!!! Don't get me wrong the cinematics were great, the sound quality was eerily near realistic, and the musical score made me feel warm and fuzzy. But that does not give 343 industries license to pull aBest Call of Duty Game Ever! ... wait.... Halo? are you sure? I'm pretty sure that useless loadouts and button mashing 'kill the bad guy' cut-scenes are a call of duty thing. Those bastards!!! Don't get me wrong the cinematics were great, the sound quality was eerily near realistic, and the musical score made me feel warm and fuzzy. But that does not give 343 industries license to pull a George Lucas and mess with something that was perfect. So this goes into the cannon of pop culture which i will convince myself don't exist like the last three episodes of Star Wars, AC/DC's Black Ice album, the last Indiana Jones movie and Spider Man 3. Seriously if I wanted my Multi-player experience to be like Call of Duty I would have stood outside in line for two hours for the midnight release and shelled out $60 for COD.… Expand
  65. Metallic
    Nov 12, 2012
    2
    As a halo fan I was ready to give 343 industries a chance and looking back now, how wrong I was to even think about buying it.
    Starting off with the PROS:
    1. the game looks very well polished and sleek (a bit too polished) 2. they've brought some old guns back 3. sprint is a standard ability given to everyone 4. master chief talks more That's about it... CONS: 1. the menu screen    As a halo fan I was ready to give 343 industries a chance and looking back now, how wrong I was to even think about buying it.
    Starting off with the PROS:
    1. the game looks very well polished and sleek (a bit too polished)
    2. they've brought some old guns back
    3. sprint is a standard ability given to everyone
    4. master chief talks more
    That's about it...
    CONS:
    1. the menu screen has been played with too much making it feel odd
    2. possibly the biggest problem, the music. if it's perfect don't change it
    3. boring campaign only consisting of objectives like ' hold the enemy off ' or ' destroy the shields '
    4. forge feels like its been copied and pasted added with a pile of turd stuck on top
    5. boring new maps that are no good for forge and make a bad multiplayer
    6. the mantis is a good concept but the design is terrible
    7. the forerunner weapons look cool but imo aren't good for any situation
    8. people on line are either idiots that camp or people who waste their life devoted to levelling up. It's becoming just like COD is.
    The game is just a let down. Sadly, 343 industries have ruined the halo era.    … Expand
  66. saucyninja007
    Nov 14, 2012
    2
    Halo used to distance itself from other shooters like COD and Battlefield. It wasn't necessarily better, just different. However, Halo 4 ruins that tradition. Halo 4 borrows too many mechanics from COD and Battlefield and loses sight of what made the previous Halo games so great. Halo 4 has a campaign that looks great but is simple, predictable, tedious, and ultimately too short. TheHalo used to distance itself from other shooters like COD and Battlefield. It wasn't necessarily better, just different. However, Halo 4 ruins that tradition. Halo 4 borrows too many mechanics from COD and Battlefield and loses sight of what made the previous Halo games so great. Halo 4 has a campaign that looks great but is simple, predictable, tedious, and ultimately too short. The campaign tries to create a story that the player can get emotionally invested in, but it just doesn't work. That being said, most people play Halo for the multiplayer. Is the multiplayer fun? No, not really. It no longer means anything to have a BR because now everyone can spawn with a BR if they so choose. That is not Halo. Players can customize their starting loadout for matches, which seems like a good idea at first.... then you realize that this makes the game inherently unfair; people will start the game with advantages that others do not have. That is not Halo. If you are doing better in a game, you get rewarded with weapon drops. This may make sense to those who are familiar with COD, but, once again, this is not Halo. But what about the graphics in Halo 4? Aren't they amazing? No, not really. I don't understand why people are gushing about them. First of all, graphics take the back seat behind story and gameplay. Second of all, what game isn't good looking nowadays? Third of all, the new look to Halo 4 is... well... annoying. Everything is all bright and reflective, just for the sake of showcasing the graphics, but I think most people will agree with me when I say I want to be able to SEE my radar and the people I am shooting. Finally, the controls for Halo 4 are very annoying. Did you use the "recon" configuration in Halo Reach like I did? Well, have fun using X to sprint instead of left bumper. In conclusion, I was very disapointed with Halo 4. I wouldn't buy it. Maybe rent it.… Expand
  67. BrandonsZombie
    Dec 23, 2012
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Firstly, I can't say I liked ANYTHING about Halo 4. The campaign was drole and boring, and it related to the original story line at the very minimum. The multiplayer is basically just those new Alien weapons and it ruined every game mode that the previous Halo's thrived in. The Campaign, as I said, was far too easy. It wouldn't of even been a problem, really, if the difficulty was too easy or hard if the game itself were fun, but no! You repeat the same cycle of activating switches to get closer to the origins of Cortana to attempt to save her from her decaying demise. The last level in particular was truly a "What the **** moment when you are, yet again, set out to set three different switches that are separated by little bridges and walkways. It's as if they wanted to make the campaign fun, in the aspect of just making you go back and forth to a switch. (Getting the hint?) This was, as you would guess, extremely boring and not challenging, as I beat Legendary Solo in under 6 hours. Now, I guess the best thing about the campaign was how relative it was to all the other Halo series.. Right? Wrong! It just throws some curveball at you where you aren't doing any of the norm. You're constantly being yelled at by Cortana to save her precious life, and I don't understand why they introduce another forerunner, since the ring story was going so well, especially in the books. But NO, it's like making a Family Guy special on Dora the Explorer. I suppose this could be because 343 took over after Bungie, but I don't care, they're paid to supply the best game and dammit this wasn't it. Also speaking, the multiplayer. Absolutely astonished at how much it's changed. I was a huge fan of Halo 2 and 3, so I expected (after a let down when Reach came out) a nice competitive gameplay where I wouldn't feel like I'm in a COD game. But what do you know, they changed it to be nearly identical. The class system is just contradicting to the Halo gameplay! How would you expect Halo to be the same when, instead of the regular weapons on map spawn, you spawn with a weapon of your choice. No, it shouldn't work like that. Also adding to the sour of the online is the killing of any team based games. "What, we're playing CTF? No, I just want to get some EXP to level up my ultra pro spartan." That's what it sure as hell seems like. Without team xp, instead of individual, Halo is at a ruin with the amount of COD players rushing in. It's just horrible now. I suppose the only few benefits are the graphics and maybe possibly the forging, though I was getting annoyed at the constant stoppage of the shadowing. Other than those two, Halo 4 has been the biggest let down yet. Back in Halo 3's prime, I wouldn't of ever assume the series would go the **** Now, well, I guess I thought wrong.… Expand
  68. BadGuyJack
    Jan 1, 2013
    2
    Story-wise, Campaign was acceptable, but gameplay flopped. It felt more like work than fun, and it was incredibly repetitive with no real "WOW!" moments like the previous Halo games.

    Multiplayer has changed. Old Halo fans such as myself would find it to play like Call of Duty. Custom classes? Perks? Kill streaks? Not the classic multiplayer that made Halo a big game in the first place.    Story-wise, Campaign was acceptable, but gameplay flopped. It felt more like work than fun, and it was incredibly repetitive with no real "WOW!" moments like the previous Halo games.

    Multiplayer has changed. Old Halo fans such as myself would find it to play like Call of Duty. Custom classes? Perks? Kill streaks? Not the classic multiplayer that made Halo a big game in the first place. 343i said that they would include a classic playlist. There is no such playlist. They said the classes would be balanced. They lied. Spartan Ops is terrible. All of the maps are multiplayer rip offs. Bad animations, pointless story, and just plain boring.

    If you liked Halo for Custom Games and Forge, you will hate Halo 4. 343i took out many custom games options. You can barely edit the Flood gametype. You can't even change the Flood's weapons. This prevents probably 60% of the custom games that were made in Reach and Halo 3 from being made in Halo 4. If you want more info on the Halo 4 custom games situation, Check the following link: https://forums.halowaypoint.com//yaf_postst127421_This-is-completely-unacceptable--343.aspx

    In closing, Halo 4 is a joke. 343i did not listen to the community. They gave their fans no room for input. Instead, they had their mind set on money, and made a Call of Duty clone. 343i does not deserve the Halo franchise. They do not deserve to make more Halo games.    … Expand
  69. RollBread
    Jan 31, 2013
    2
    Instead of trying to "reinvent" Halo maybe 343 Industries should focus on original content. Every change they have made to the gameplay mechanics has been done before and some of them detract from the idea that Halo was a competitive shooter.

    I'm giving it a two because I've seen this game before. It wasn't in the future, but it was the same.
  70. sportsaddict009
    Feb 26, 2013
    2
    This game ruined halo. Like many have said, it's such a copy of MW, and they dont even try to hide it. 5 Classes, you pick a primary and secondary weapon and perks. You get something comparable to scorestreaks. The armor abilities have been weakened considerably, jetpack may get you 5 feet off the ground and then take 30 seconds to recharge. The maps arew poorly designed as well, old mapsThis game ruined halo. Like many have said, it's such a copy of MW, and they dont even try to hide it. 5 Classes, you pick a primary and secondary weapon and perks. You get something comparable to scorestreaks. The armor abilities have been weakened considerably, jetpack may get you 5 feet off the ground and then take 30 seconds to recharge. The maps arew poorly designed as well, old maps had at least 3 outs to any battle anywhere on the map. These maps you run into a corridor and are committed, if you meet anyone in it you win, or you die, no escape. Terrible game.… Expand
  71. Silentwalker
    Mar 9, 2013
    2
    Halo 4, the campaign... For me was utterly terrible. I'll start with something that I think plays a major part in Halo and that is the Music. Music within the halo games have been excellent in portraying the feelings between the master cheif and cortana. Marty was excellent at giving feeling and depth to situations within halo.

    Unfortunately within halo 4 it's more like white noise. The    Halo 4, the campaign... For me was utterly terrible. I'll start with something that I think plays a major part in Halo and that is the Music. Music within the halo games have been excellent in portraying the feelings between the master cheif and cortana. Marty was excellent at giving feeling and depth to situations within halo.

    Unfortunately within halo 4 it's more like white noise. The sounds and music are repetitive and god awe full, they give no depth nor feeling to the game or any of the situations you're in.

    The campaign felt like a long walk with button pushes along the way, the writing was terrible along with the level design. They created a game that looks good but only to take your eye away from the poor design. In comparison to Halo 3, there were many memorable moments and quotes that I'll remember forever, such as.

    "You are, all of you, vermin. Cowering in the dirt, thinking…what, I wonder? That you might escape the coming fire? No. Your world will burn until its surface is but glass, and not even your Demon will live to creep, blackened from its hole, to mar the reflection of our passage. The culmination of our Journey, for your destruction is the will of the gods! And I? I am their instrument!"

    The emotion between the cheif and cortana was not there at all where as in Halo 3 you could really feel it. 2 words 343, Body Language. "You know me when I make a promise"

    Multiplayer on the other hand yet still is not as good as the previous games but I can understand why they went in the direction they did with games like cod and needing to keep up with any new fanbase.

    The multilayer for me is a 4/10 yet is still playable and good. The level design is 'OK' with new map packs improving on design slightly. The skill gap has been narrowed by a lot and they have made it so almost anyone can pick up and play if they have played fps's before. Where as the previous Halo's (minus reach) were on a more competitive scale.

    Hopefully with Halo 5 they will do a better job, as for now I think I may be going over to the Dark side next gen.    … Expand
  72. mk7khatrj
    Mar 31, 2013
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have been a COD and a battlefield player and i decided to switch to Halo 4 because of all of its hype. But to be very honest it doesnot live up to its hype The graphics are good but the storyline is boring. The objectives are too repetitive. The guns are awesome but not the enemies. Repetitive enemies and poor objectives spoil all the good features such as amazing graphics. Poor expeirience and m now switching back to Bf3.… Expand
  73. Gearhart7302
    Mar 31, 2014
    2
    This game absolutely kills the Halo franchise by not only killing the Halo story but ruining everything else in the story. All of the guns were redone but the UNSC weapons are completely useless, and it gets better, the new Forerunner weapons are a copy paste of the UNSC weapons with little to no good atributes. The story is too emotional for a Halo game and the threat of Cortana dieing isThis game absolutely kills the Halo franchise by not only killing the Halo story but ruining everything else in the story. All of the guns were redone but the UNSC weapons are completely useless, and it gets better, the new Forerunner weapons are a copy paste of the UNSC weapons with little to no good atributes. The story is too emotional for a Halo game and the threat of Cortana dieing is the worst part. The final boss completely kills the game because instead of the Halo 3 boss battle or the newer Halo Reach standoff, guess what all of the fans get? A retarded quick time event that completely kills the Franchises amassing endings. Hey, do you like being able to customize your equipment and change your symbol? Well to bad because the new multiplayer function doesn't allow you to customize it, unless, you level up which if you have no friends to play with or now Xbox live gold, is hard, you better like that armor you're wearing.… Expand
  74. TeemoTime
    Sep 4, 2023
    2
    I do not like this game at all. The campaign is an attempt to rekindle the series that had been beautifully capped at the end of Halo 3, which was never needed. Sure, I can see why some people like the story, I just don't see at as appealing personally. The game looks like every late-era xbox 360 game, dull and washed, a blur of green and grey most of the time. A few decent set piecesI do not like this game at all. The campaign is an attempt to rekindle the series that had been beautifully capped at the end of Halo 3, which was never needed. Sure, I can see why some people like the story, I just don't see at as appealing personally. The game looks like every late-era xbox 360 game, dull and washed, a blur of green and grey most of the time. A few decent set pieces doesn't save half the game looking bad. But Halo 4's biggest sin is it's multiplayer. It takes a perfected formula, and turns it into Call of Duty. No equal starts, weapons avaliable in loadouts being so broken you would think it would be a power weapon. Map layout knowledge is also gone because of markers and weapon drops that completely ruin the games arena shooter roots.… Expand
  75. streicher117
    Nov 6, 2022
    2
    Un juego muy lento que rompe con el clásico triangulo de halo, check points muy lejanos unos de otros y gráficos malos
  76. Invader-Nik
    Oct 19, 2013
    1
    I've been with Halo since the beginning. I beat Halo 1 and 2 100 times, and I hyped the s**t out of Halo 3. The first three halos are the best. ODST and Reach were not my favourites. But this. This is not Halo. This is just a shell of Halo. When I heard they were making a Halo 4 I was rather excited getting to see what happens to Master Chief. But this is lousy. In terms of graphics andI've been with Halo since the beginning. I beat Halo 1 and 2 100 times, and I hyped the s**t out of Halo 3. The first three halos are the best. ODST and Reach were not my favourites. But this. This is not Halo. This is just a shell of Halo. When I heard they were making a Halo 4 I was rather excited getting to see what happens to Master Chief. But this is lousy. In terms of graphics and gameplay its nice and stable, but the story and the impact on the Halo universe it has is awful.
    I always wanted to see what Forerunners looked like, but now that I do know I wish I never saw them. I wish Bungie had left it at Halo 3, but no, Microsoft had to push for a 4.
    Screw this COD clone. I do not acknowledge this as a Halo game.    … Expand
  77. BeardtobeFeared
    Nov 12, 2012
    1
    Got it as a gift and it's garbage. It's Halo: Reach COD-ified. Plenty of bugs (Certain maps aren't appearing in cycle, for one), short story, boring missions abound. I would return it if I could. It stings even worse knowing how far one of my favorite game series has fallen.

    Why not instead of trying to grab fanbases of CoD and Halo, you just make an original and intuitive f*cking game?
  78. 343blows
    Nov 6, 2012
    1
    343 you blew it! Promises that aren' t kept. With the limited edition it is promised specialzations "available launch day." That is a lie and false advertising. 343 put a cap on daily XP, thus making it impossible to access your items "launch day." Really, an XP cap? The sound is broken, DMRs are overpowered and grenades are similar to throwing a ball full of confetti.
  79. brightandblue
    Nov 7, 2012
    1
    I give this game 1 point, because it has the name Halo on it. Other than that, it doesn't live up to it's predecesors, let alone, makes for a good game on it's own. I hate to say this, but Halo is dead, my friends.
  80. hilly2257
    Nov 8, 2012
    1
    Great graphics. The campaign does not differ much from the previous games. The multi player levels are not very exciting and it rotates between 4-5 boards. I am somewhat board with the game already.
  81. MasterOfMetroid
    Nov 12, 2012
    1
    I bought this game anticipating a great multiplayer experience, but what I got was a tired formula of a series that just isn't fun anymore. It just felt like a prettier, less fun halo game compared to the original, on xbox. Never have I ever felt so ripped off until now. If you're looking for a fresh new shooter, this isn't the place to look. Microsoft needs to do more than just Halo andI bought this game anticipating a great multiplayer experience, but what I got was a tired formula of a series that just isn't fun anymore. It just felt like a prettier, less fun halo game compared to the original, on xbox. Never have I ever felt so ripped off until now. If you're looking for a fresh new shooter, this isn't the place to look. Microsoft needs to do more than just Halo and Kinect if they want their next console to be a success.… Expand
  82. Viperspider
    Nov 25, 2012
    1
    This is my second review. Unlike my first this will be quick and to the point. ||||| Halo 4 is a horrible pathetic disappointment. I have had this game for maybe 3 weeks and I've already shelved it for good. It is my brothers game so i cant return it, but i wish i could. Keep in mind that i only played the multiplayer on the weekends and i played the campaign through while i had a weekThis is my second review. Unlike my first this will be quick and to the point. ||||| Halo 4 is a horrible pathetic disappointment. I have had this game for maybe 3 weeks and I've already shelved it for good. It is my brothers game so i cant return it, but i wish i could. Keep in mind that i only played the multiplayer on the weekends and i played the campaign through while i had a week off from college with a little MP here and there. So i havent even been playing this game extensively, and it still bored me to tears in just 3 weeks. |||| The campaign is horribly written, boring and theres nothing compelling you to keep playing, The ending is the worst i've ever seen, instead of a nice cut scene we get a horrible "Press LT to ***" which was the most pathetic excuse for a climax i've ever seen. The multiplayer is stale, unbalanced, laggy and the maps and playlists are horribly designed. The only good map is a Halo 3 remake. |||| The latest Halo title is just another addition to the stagnant pool of FPS genre titles that have come out in the last 3 years or so. Dont buy this game people, save your money for toilet paper because you'll only end up wiping your ass with this game anyway.… Expand
  83. alexk1682
    Nov 13, 2012
    1
    I have been a hardcore Halo fan since the beginning (except for Reach of course). I followed Halo 4 news and updates since they announced that the game would be coming out. Now that it is finally here, I am beyond disappointed. I've tried so hard to like this game but every time I play it I want to spike my controller in frustration. There is so much wrong with this game I can't even thinkI have been a hardcore Halo fan since the beginning (except for Reach of course). I followed Halo 4 news and updates since they announced that the game would be coming out. Now that it is finally here, I am beyond disappointed. I've tried so hard to like this game but every time I play it I want to spike my controller in frustration. There is so much wrong with this game I can't even think of a decent place to begin. How about the campaign. For starters why the hell is chief suddenly so talkative, did anyone else notice this? Throughout the ENTIRE halo franchise Master Chief has been a man of few words, a mysterious, silent, badass. Now its like there is a differnt person inside the suit. Throughout the Halo 4 campaign he is unbelievably uncharacteristic asking question after question to Cortana and saying things that the REAL Chief would NEVER say. Also, his voice is different, they used the exact same voice actor (Steve Downes) but for whatever reason his pitch is off and his voice lost that serious badass tone. I could continue to go on about the campaign but this review would run out of characters so I better get on with 343's disastrous multiplayer. Well for the first week or so I enjoyed it until I realized all the bullsh*t I was being fed. Lately i've found myself changing the gametype after every game. I figure out why I was doing this so often until I came to the conclusion that I was simply bored. I was hoping to find something exciting, fair, and fun but simply could not because 343 did not deliver. When in game I should not have to stick a banshee or ghost twice to destroy it, not only does that make absolutely zero sense but it's almost impossible to do. Like all the Halo's in the past, sticking a vehicle should almost always guarantee a kill. In addition to the complete failure of the grenade's function in Halo 4, they are absolutely useless when it comes to combat. By the time I throw my grenade, I am already almost dead and if i do have a good throw it will at most take half their shield down, the grenades are nerfed beyond belief. Next would be how the power weapons disappear. Being a huge sniper fan, i'm always looking to get my hands on one, so when I do I am for once enjoying playing the game. Only problem is when I die and go back 10 seconds later to retrieve my favorite weapon it is gone. What good does setting fun weapons like the shotgun, sniper, and fuelrod with a 10 second respawn do? It's like they don't want us to use them, its already hard enough to find a good gun with the COD style load outs. Now the dreaded medals. Why the hell are there so many medals!? Getting a medal used to be for something you did that was for a unique way of killing someone like getting a headshot with a sniper or getting a perfection (may I add that both of these classic metals are completely removed from Halo 4). Now we see people getting up to 60 medals a game making a metal just another little stat instead of something that you could marvel over after a good game. There is even a medal for a "generic kill" "assist" and "distraction", honestly who cares about earning something like this? Next is the ranking system which is one of my biggest issues. The new system gives you your "rank" based off of how much experience you have or in other words how much you play. Since when does how much you play show off your skill/rank? Honestly 343, how could you create such pathetic ranking system. It's the most inaccurate representation of skill for a ranking system I have ever came across. Halo 3 had it down perfectly and no one complained so why would you mess with perfection. Speaking of perfection, Halo Reach did managed to create an excellent playlist called infection. It was fun, fair, and simple. It was one shot to the head or one close blast of a shotgun to kill an infected. In addition it was nice seeing the cool medals you could receive for sprees correlating with the classic killing spree, frenzy, and running riot (at 5, 10, 15 kills). Now in Halo 4 Flood Mode we get sprees at strange increments that don't match at 4, 6, and 10 and it takes 4 headshots to get a flood kill! On top of that they got rid of the sprees for weapons like the sniper and sword as well as splatter sprees, which I used to enjoy getting. To conclude my endless rant about the medals, it appears that they hired a 5th grade class to redesign them because apparently they didn't look good in the past and we now have bizarre and confusing designs. I didn't like the sharp, clean-cut ones in the past, thanks 343. Lastly don't bring back the battle rifle and call it the battle rifle. That thing in Halo 4 is not even close to feeling or resembling the battle rifle. How could they take one of the most symbolic weapons in Halo and change everything about it, it sounds strange, shoots too fast, and now has a rectangular scope..WHY. Wow 5,000 words, they must have really screwed up for somebody to type this much for a video game review. BAD.… Expand
  84. Speed4Runs
    Dec 24, 2012
    1
    Always the same game. There are only 2 weapons, slow gameplay, same graphics level, boring game and overall bad done. Not recommended.
  85. sweatyfatfngrz
    Dec 1, 2012
    1
    Am I reviewing the right game? I keep reading all these positive reviews and I have to wonder how many bong rips you'd have to take to get that perception of this game. Seems like the only thing going for it is the huge fan base that the other Halo games established. The story was cheesy, graphics left a lot to be desired and the online game play was so lacking that I'm not sure whyAm I reviewing the right game? I keep reading all these positive reviews and I have to wonder how many bong rips you'd have to take to get that perception of this game. Seems like the only thing going for it is the huge fan base that the other Halo games established. The story was cheesy, graphics left a lot to be desired and the online game play was so lacking that I'm not sure why they even bothered. About the only thing that came out of this game is now I know which of my friends like purple, cyan and pink. Thank God the new Black Ops is out and I get $40 for trading this in! Would have given it a 0 out of 10 but that is just ridiculous.… Expand
  86. kolopop123
    Dec 4, 2012
    1
    This is no longer Halo, it has been sold out to the CoD kiddies. Its been sped up, sold out and now takes next to no skill to play. 343 have destroyed it

    RIP Halo
  87. matadorred
    Apr 12, 2013
    1
    bad multiplayer, no weapon balance, they give the user the option to customize their loadouts with the various amounts of guns, but there's only 1 viable loadout and its DMR boltshot. they focused less on core halo multiplayer and more on their stupid spartan ops which gets an update every week while multiplayer has yet to get a balance patch, and they took out core halo playlists likebad multiplayer, no weapon balance, they give the user the option to customize their loadouts with the various amounts of guns, but there's only 1 viable loadout and its DMR boltshot. they focused less on core halo multiplayer and more on their stupid spartan ops which gets an update every week while multiplayer has yet to get a balance patch, and they took out core halo playlists like KOTH, Lone wolves FFA, in favor of their own dying playlists like Dominion and Regicide. For most of the start, there was no competitive playlist so most of the old halo fans left. 2 map packs were BTB, while only 1 had 3 small maps. On top of that, they released a puny amount of on-disc maps, with only 4 being small maps and catering only to BTB players. so theyve aliented half their playerbase, most of the old halo fans have left, so good luck with halo 5 and good riddance… Expand
  88. mrgeebaby
    May 12, 2013
    1
    343 are armatures they have never made a AAA game yet, and it is something that still needs ticking off their 'To Do' list.

    Matchmaking (ignoring all the gimmicks and broken mechanics) is a laggy mess! It is broken simple as that. They sold me a game that does not work. Campaign Pathetic Patronising button push sequences stolen from CoD Why? Whole levels based around    343 are armatures they have never made a AAA game yet, and it is something that still needs ticking off their 'To Do' list.

    Matchmaking (ignoring all the gimmicks and broken mechanics) is a laggy mess!
    It is broken simple as that.
    They sold me a game that does not work.

    Campaign Pathetic

    Patronising button push sequences stolen from CoD Why?
    Whole levels based around pushing a button at the end of a map and then going back to the start.
    A Boss you don't fight.
    Stupid enemy AI new Prometheans have no tactical manoeuvres like the covenant.

    Online population has seen a massive drop which makes finding a MM game even more difficult!

    Avoid this game!

    Destiny Awaits!    … Expand
  89. Tokokojin
    Jun 4, 2013
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game one a steaming pile of Not only did they take what was good with the halo series and absolutely destroy it, they also decided that call of duty was a good game style to jack. Literally call of halo. Call of duty is the poster child for over-used garbage, and 343 decided to the out of it. The story is beyond trash, plot holes everywhere, and the ending is a joke! Since when can an AI produce a shield to block a nuclear explosion? If so, WHY THE DO YOU EVER DIE IN THE CAMPAIGN? Why did cortana hold that back during the entire game. 343, do me a favor, go bankrupt, then kill yourselves.… Expand
  90. Reveiwer
    Dec 13, 2013
    1
    WTF IS THIS!!!??? I'm so disappointed. Boring campaign, terrible muti-player, 'Spartan ops' is compared to firefight, and forge is terrible. Loadout system is lazy and the maps are puny. DON'T BUY IT.
  91. ObliviousWest
    Dec 23, 2013
    1
    As a Halo Fan i am disapointed in halo 4. The story line doesnt sucks you in to it. The Multiplayer is to boring Split Screen will lag the game. Loadouts are stupid but i know why Bungie stopped halo, because Halo is Death. Their game Destiny will realy shine and Rise again. I give this game a score 1 because of the graphics
  92. kingofkoopas
    Apr 20, 2014
    1
    I believed the hype IGN said about the newest Halo game, calling it the best Halo yet! Hype works people, it really does and they know it. The hype got to me so bad that I ignored one of the most obvious things there is to this game, it is not made by Bungie. Hype works even better on people who don't have what it takes to spot all the terrible flaws that certain product can have, in thisI believed the hype IGN said about the newest Halo game, calling it the best Halo yet! Hype works people, it really does and they know it. The hype got to me so bad that I ignored one of the most obvious things there is to this game, it is not made by Bungie. Hype works even better on people who don't have what it takes to spot all the terrible flaws that certain product can have, in this case, Halo 4. Everything that made you a Halo fan is not to be found in this new entry to the franchise. This game is terrible, a true stinker. Bungie must be pretty angry for what they have done to their creation. After only two days, I traded this turd back to Gamestop, kept the case though, it's the only cool thing about this new Halo.… Expand
  93. JinntheMGTOW
    Nov 24, 2018
    1
    I still don't get it that many players actually love this garbage. Story was awful, new gun was not that good, mood was just so dark and strange that I've not thought this series is Halo.

    Stupid piece of junk and anybody love this.... Go and play. Yeah, but don't think that 4 is the greatest. I've beated this peice of crap on Hero so don't tell me 'Haven't you played game?'. And    I still don't get it that many players actually love this garbage. Story was awful, new gun was not that good, mood was just so dark and strange that I've not thought this series is Halo.

    Stupid piece of junk and anybody love this.... Go and play. Yeah, but don't think that 4 is the greatest.

    I've beated this peice of crap on Hero so don't tell me 'Haven't you played game?'.

    And you who said 4 is better than whole franchises, Go and suck 4    … Expand
  94. IDKWTPH
    Feb 22, 2019
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is bottom of the barrel, having played every single Halo game before this (including Halo Wars and Halo 3: ODST), I can tell you that this game is easily the worst of them all. I give this game the second lowest score, a 1. Where do we even begin...OH! THAT THE FORWARD ONTO DAWN LOOKS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN THE END OF HALO 3. Yeah, if you look on Halo 3 at the end, it looks a lot like a...well, UNSC SHIP! Second of all, the graphics on this game were stunning for 2012, I have to give it that. If it weren't for that, this would easily be a 0. Third of all, Master Chief, you aren't the guy that is supposed to talk your ear off, but nope. Also, even Halo 4's online couldn't save this (besides Infection), everything about this game is utter crap. Halo 5 did slightly better (3/10), but I couldn't even give it that. This game is not just a crap game, but also a INSULT TO THE HALO FRANCHISE AND THE XBOX 360 CONSOLE ALTOGETHER! But, there is a way to fix Halo 4. And that is to.......well, COMPLETELY SCRAP THE THING! Not only that, but in some levels, at certain EASILY ACCESSIBLE PORTIONS, YOU CAN LITERALLY LOOK THROUGH THE WALL! In-fact, I have been going lighter than I could on this game, first of all, THIS GAME HAS SO MUCH BUGS THAT ITS UNPLAYABLE! THIS GAME IS SUCH A BROKEN MESS THAT I CAN'T EVEN CALL IT A GAME!!! IT IS UNBELIEVABLE HOW BAD THIS SAD EXCUSE FOR A GAME ARE! DON'T EVEN CONSIDER BUYING THIS GAME! IN-FACT, STAY WITHIN A MILE OF THIS GAME AT LEAST! THIS GAME HAS NO RIGHT TO BARE THE HALO NAME!! Basically, this game is a buggy mess that I wouldn't even send my worst enemy through.… Expand
  95. PandaPowGames
    May 19, 2020
    1
    The campaign is dry as a desert and a step back from all the other games it’s only thing good is the graphics which are beautiful and the multiplayer is OK but every is kinda bad
  96. Chromium
    Nov 7, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Halo 4 is a sad, sorry sequel to a good series. From start to finish, the game underperforms dramatically; the level design is insipid and repetitive, the enemy design ridiculous, the gamefeel vague or even absent. Major plot points and characters pass by without comment from the Chief or Cortana, critical events go unnoticed, there is no air of mystery or wonder. Halo has always been about being pitted against incredible odds in a high-stakes gamble for the fate of the galaxy; this time it feels like a hissy fight between Cortana and a monkey in a ball.

    Overall, the game is forgettable and bland, lacking any flair or polish. I regret paying $60 for this game; hell, I'd regret paying $30.    … Expand
  97. cobra872
    Nov 9, 2012
    0
    I never thought I'd review this game here. But man I am so angry with it... I had to.

    Is it a bad game in general? Not exactly. But what makes me angry about this game is the fact that they implemented so many things from Call of Duty. It's unreal. Instant respawn times, the COD kill cam, everyone has sprint (makes the game seriously fast along with the respawn time), ordinance drops    I never thought I'd review this game here. But man I am so angry with it... I had to.

    Is it a bad game in general? Not exactly. But what makes me angry about this game is the fact that they implemented so many things from Call of Duty. It's unreal. Instant respawn times, the COD kill cam, everyone has sprint (makes the game seriously fast along with the respawn time), ordinance drops (like the care package from COD, in Infinity Slayer), the scoring system and even perks! It's crazy. They did absolutely nothing innovative, and rather added features from a successful game just because they were scared that COD would be at the top on xbox live over Halo. What made Halo was that it was different from Call of Duty. It was balanced and it was competitive. Now it is not balanced. You will have to play a bit before you get all your loadouts stacked. The loadouts include your weapon setup, amor abilities and perks (tactical packages and support upgrades). I was talking about multiplayer of course. I haven't finished the single player, but from what I heard it is only a few hours. I can see that, because the missions I had to do were short. But why in the world could it be that short? It's been years since a Master Chief campaign, and they give you something that isn't lasting? This is the Master Chief! He is the face of the Xbox. There is absolutely no reason for it to be short.

    The only positives are the sound and the artistic design. Coming from someone who studied sound design, the sound is really amazing (excluding music, it's nothing spectacular compared to the Halos of the past). Just fantastic. Also the artistic design is beautiful. There's great scenery and there are some pretty gorgeous cinematics.

    Other than that, I am extremely disappointed. 343 Industries says they didn't copy Call of Duty. They absolutely did. I would think Bungie would be pretty sad at the outcome of this game. Their whole objective was to not copy things like Call of Duty. They were innovators, not copiers. I am going to give this a 0. I am not a professional reviewer and the scores shouldn't mean much to anyone anyways. But that's honestly how I felt with the game. I'm getting rid of it.    … Expand
  98. Coeco
    Feb 3, 2013
    0
    Doggy-chew for the fanboys. Don't expect any originality or new content for that matter here. Don't believe me? Look at the 10's. Save your money and go buy a quality FPS, like Half Life. Anything beat this turd of a game, really.
  99. BabuYagu
    Nov 8, 2012
    0
    The single player campaign is entertaining up to a point but then you reach a level where you are stuck using the lame Promethean weapons, which look cool at first but feel just like hi-tech versions of the human weapons. 343 are really lazy with level design and there aren't many classic Halo moments of jaw dropping scenery. Lots of the later levels look similar and the final third of theThe single player campaign is entertaining up to a point but then you reach a level where you are stuck using the lame Promethean weapons, which look cool at first but feel just like hi-tech versions of the human weapons. 343 are really lazy with level design and there aren't many classic Halo moments of jaw dropping scenery. Lots of the later levels look similar and the final third of the game is just a slog. I could forgive most of this if it wasn't for the Call of Duty style multiplayer mode. 3 games online and my friends and I went straight back to playing Halo Reach. Massive disappointment.… Expand
  100. jbelote
    Jan 25, 2013
    0
    Same game, slightly better graphics. The multi-player is almost not even worth playing anymore. Please just stop, it's about as bad as a new COD every year.
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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

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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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