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
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. joker8765
    Jan 29, 2013
    9
    343 industries has managed to do what many including myself would have deemed an impossible task. They have managed to both keep the Halo that I know and love while at the same time making slight adjustments to the formula, most notably in the multiplayer. While some of the story elements are poorly explained within the game itself, though those of you who read the books should find them343 industries has managed to do what many including myself would have deemed an impossible task. They have managed to both keep the Halo that I know and love while at the same time making slight adjustments to the formula, most notably in the multiplayer. While some of the story elements are poorly explained within the game itself, though those of you who read the books should find them perfectly understandable, I found the overall story to be satisfying and the ending resonated with me long after I put down the controller. In short Halo 4 is an exceptional game and while some may complain of the ordinance drops or the tactical packages in multiplayer, I can honestly say as a devout Halo fan that this is the most fun I've had playing a Halo game in years and that most importantly of all it still feels exactly how Halo should.… Expand
  2. greekaussie
    Jan 28, 2013
    9
    This review will be for halo fans and i can only say that if u love the other halo games you will certainly enjoy this one. Only a couple of things though,the battle areas arent as big as they are in reach or no.3 and some of the later stages are a tad repetitve but graphically is probably the best halo. I still think that reach is a touch better and halo 3 a little more epic but overallThis review will be for halo fans and i can only say that if u love the other halo games you will certainly enjoy this one. Only a couple of things though,the battle areas arent as big as they are in reach or no.3 and some of the later stages are a tad repetitve but graphically is probably the best halo. I still think that reach is a touch better and halo 3 a little more epic but overall this can stand proudly in the halo canon.… Expand
  3. Aleluis
    Jan 28, 2013
    10
    10/10 is the minimum i would have give a 11/10
    This is the game of the years the best game in the world
    Fun and not violent like the others fps this game is the best game i know the reason I sold my ps3 and buy a xbox360
    You will love it as I do
    Enjoy ;)
  4. nuckchuckler
    Jan 28, 2013
    5
    My actual review is a 9, a very solid game indeed. My actual score is just in retaliation for the negative reviews 'HaloBestFPS' had left on a variety of games that happened to be made by Sony.
  5. aaronmwolford
    Jan 27, 2013
    7
    The Halo franchise has embedded the perfect dent in the first-person shooter genre, however while 343 has taken the series and knocked the multi-player out of the park the single-player takes a tremendous downward spiral into unavoidable oblivion. Mundane, repetitive, and monotonous are a few a adjectives to describe the campaign experience. Beauty cut-scenes and intriguing story are notThe Halo franchise has embedded the perfect dent in the first-person shooter genre, however while 343 has taken the series and knocked the multi-player out of the park the single-player takes a tremendous downward spiral into unavoidable oblivion. Mundane, repetitive, and monotonous are a few a adjectives to describe the campaign experience. Beauty cut-scenes and intriguing story are not a fault. The mere repetition of repeated metal "things" and disconnect from the world was the heaviest boulder to overcome. Halo used to be about expansive worlds and driving the warthog from point A to point B for the sake of; it was just to far to walk. Halo 4 puts the player in a metal box and says "hit that button." While the campaign was a disappointment the multi-player is hands down the highest contender of all prior Halos.… Expand
  6. Chris90
    Jan 27, 2013
    4
    Over hyped as usual only protected by nostalgia and fanboyism. Yes it's great to look at but just like all games in the series are your basic and simple shooter. Strip away all the flashy lights and explosions and tell me this game is unique and worth the high praise it gets. Oh and the talking computer is bloody annoying and somehow ends up being center of attention which is a complete joke.
  7. Samotslayer
    Jan 26, 2013
    8
    The story was the big selling point for me and while the Campaign is very short the story made me feel the same kind of sadness I felt for James in Silent Hill 2. The multiplayer is fun but lacks the kind of community Halo 2 & 3 had. The only thing I don't like about this game is the fact that Spartan Ops REPLACES Firefight.
  8. Gollumsvater
    Jan 26, 2013
    4
    Campaign is ok, multiplayer is freaking awful. Too much randomness and garbage taken from COD (flinch, Personal ordnance drops, world ordnance drops, instant respawn) and less features than Halo: Reach make it the worst Halo.
  9. TheStranger
    Jan 26, 2013
    7
    If you play Halo for multiplayer I can't see this game sticking around for long. Something is just missing. I feel the level design of the maps left a lot to be desired. The visuals look really nice.
  10. 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.
  11. ArcticSpartan00
    Jan 24, 2013
    10
    I gave halo 4 a 9/10 because it wasn't perfect. Halo 4's campaign was compelling and I didn't want to stop until I new the end. I was a little disappointing in the end but I still liked it. Originally I was going to buy Borderlands 2 but when I saw how you could customize your Spartan on how you want it to look. I liked how you had to unlock helmets, armor, and stances to make the coolestI gave halo 4 a 9/10 because it wasn't perfect. Halo 4's campaign was compelling and I didn't want to stop until I new the end. I was a little disappointing in the end but I still liked it. Originally I was going to buy Borderlands 2 but when I saw how you could customize your Spartan on how you want it to look. I liked how you had to unlock helmets, armor, and stances to make the coolest spartan. The only bad thing about Halo 4 is that in Spartan Ops it has a little when there are a lot of explosions. All of these reasons is why Halo 4 is one of my favorites. It's so good I still play it online.… Expand
  12. Caedis
    Jan 24, 2013
    8
    As a longtime Halo fan, Halo 4 was an excellent addition to the franchise. 343i did a great job taking over for Bungie. The campaign was very well done with an excellent story that actually made you feel more for the characters. The gunplay and levels were all very Halo-esque. I was a little disappointed with the Promethean enemies simply because, while different than the covenant, you canAs a longtime Halo fan, Halo 4 was an excellent addition to the franchise. 343i did a great job taking over for Bungie. The campaign was very well done with an excellent story that actually made you feel more for the characters. The gunplay and levels were all very Halo-esque. I was a little disappointed with the Promethean enemies simply because, while different than the covenant, you can deal with them in similar ways. For example, the Flood in previous Halo games required far different tactics...shotty helped made sure they stayed dead, you could remove limbs, and each "possessed" species behaved differently (i.e. flood humans vs. flood elites). With the Prometheans, you still just pump rounds into them until their shields go down, then you put a few more in until they're dead. The watchers and crawlers add some interesting interplay but aren't handled much differently. The multiplayer in Halo 4 is some of the best yet. Although they pretty much lifted the perks from Call of Duty, it's done very well with a Halo feel. I wish they would have taken it a step further and allowed you to customize your weapon as well. It would be cool to take the light rifle, for example, and make it your own. All in all, an excellent game and certainly a must-buy for any fan of the Halo franchise.… Expand
  13. Antonio2032
    Jan 24, 2013
    9
    +Awesome Campaign
    +Cool Multiplayer
    +Spartan Ops
    +Master Chief is Back!
    +Gorgerous Graphics Halo 4 is a masterpiece game,graphics,campaign ad multiplayer
  14. Tighmor
    Jan 23, 2013
    8
    Halo 4 is not the masterpiece but it has its place in the Halo universe, Halo 4 has not had many drastic changes in multilayer except from the new load out system that brings a whole new depth to the multilayer, as it is no longer a rush for the best weapons at the start and felling like there no way back when you stuck with the Assault Rifle over someone with a DMR sniping you from aHalo 4 is not the masterpiece but it has its place in the Halo universe, Halo 4 has not had many drastic changes in multilayer except from the new load out system that brings a whole new depth to the multilayer, as it is no longer a rush for the best weapons at the start and felling like there no way back when you stuck with the Assault Rifle over someone with a DMR sniping you from a higher vantage point. it also allow for new players to get into the game due to it similarities with Call of Duty (this can be seen as good or bad). The single player on the other hand is the one of the best Halo campaigns to date maybe even one of the best FPS campaigns to data, with so many twist and turns throughout the story, if you have played the other Halos and felt something for the story's then I believe that you have to try this game if only for the single player, we have to give credit where credit is due as 343 have done a stellar job on creating a deep and engaging story line that bring a tear to the eye at the conclusion. If you have not played a Halo before I think you should steer clear of the single player till you have as you will feel nothing for the story line. I think if this is your first Halo it is more like a 6/10 as I feel the story even though being fairly short is still Epic and bring a huge amount to the game for series long fans.… Expand
  15. Bobacritic
    Jan 21, 2013
    5
    Halo 4 is visually extraordinary, but it lacks the emotional depth and exceptional storytelling of it's predecessors. I can't help but call it a disappointment.
  16. BradySmith
    Jan 20, 2013
    9
    An extremely good game with superb level design. Its storytelling and gameplay are also great with improved gunplay and movement mechanics. However, it doesn't match the original trilogy's quality. It's not as long and doesn't have nearly the same lasting impact those games left behind. You'll also miss the original trilogy's musical score because although this game's is good it's notAn extremely good game with superb level design. Its storytelling and gameplay are also great with improved gunplay and movement mechanics. However, it doesn't match the original trilogy's quality. It's not as long and doesn't have nearly the same lasting impact those games left behind. You'll also miss the original trilogy's musical score because although this game's is good it's not nearly as masterful. It also doesn't have as much epic grandeur as those games even if it has more than most others. The bottom line: An excellent game living in the shadows of its predecessors.… Expand
  17. Jacob
    Jan 20, 2013
    8
    Overall, I really enjoyed Halo 4. While I did not enjoy as much as Halo 3 it was still a great game. It had its problems but it was a lot of fun. The single player was finally good. The multiplayer was fun and Spartan Ops adds legs to the game. While there are things I would have liked the game there is a lot of good stuff in here. Halo 4 is the best Halo since Halo 3 and hopefully 343 canOverall, I really enjoyed Halo 4. While I did not enjoy as much as Halo 3 it was still a great game. It had its problems but it was a lot of fun. The single player was finally good. The multiplayer was fun and Spartan Ops adds legs to the game. While there are things I would have liked the game there is a lot of good stuff in here. Halo 4 is the best Halo since Halo 3 and hopefully 343 can keep it up with Halo 5 & 6.… Expand
  18. Eggroll
    Jan 19, 2013
    8
    343 have done a great job with this game, the campaign is blast to play through and multiplayer is fun but not as good as Halo 3's. The only complaint i have with this game is that the Spartan Ops mode feels dull and uninspired, however that should improve upon further episodes. This is a must buy for every halo or fps fan.
  19. watithink123
    Jan 19, 2013
    9
    I was hoping this would be my GOTY 2012 but just a few games were a little better. Okay this may not be the best Halo, but 343 you have didn't let this game crash and burn, you are pushing the series to the next generation of Halos. Campaigns really good but is not as gripping as other Halo campaigns and got a bit too serious on the story. But its their first Halo so they will learn likeI was hoping this would be my GOTY 2012 but just a few games were a little better. Okay this may not be the best Halo, but 343 you have didn't let this game crash and burn, you are pushing the series to the next generation of Halos. Campaigns really good but is not as gripping as other Halo campaigns and got a bit too serious on the story. But its their first Halo so they will learn like Bungie did. Multiplayer is a bit of a copy of CoD, but probally the biggest pushes to the multiplayer since Halo 2 and love custom loadouts idea. Spartan Ops is a great new feature and a nice change to firefight. Overall Campaign really good but 2 issus stop it from becoming like Halo campaign good. Multiplayer is amazing step to the multiplayer for a very exiting future for Halo. Spartan Ops is great change to Firefight. Halo may not be GOTY for me but its in my top 3 games this year. Halo 4 9.0/10… Expand
  20. Alptitude
    Jan 18, 2013
    7
    I bought Halo 4 about a month ago since at first I was not all that convinced that 343 would continue the Halo series that I loved. The game lives up to its hype. If you enjoy Halo games in the slightest then this game is fantastic. Despite the short campaign, Halo 4's story I believe is more engrossing than much of the original Halo trilogy. That said, I personally do not enjoy Halo 4 asI bought Halo 4 about a month ago since at first I was not all that convinced that 343 would continue the Halo series that I loved. The game lives up to its hype. If you enjoy Halo games in the slightest then this game is fantastic. Despite the short campaign, Halo 4's story I believe is more engrossing than much of the original Halo trilogy. That said, I personally do not enjoy Halo 4 as much as I did any of the previous Halo FPS installments. My main problems with the game relate to game-play. With respect to the campaign, in Halo: CE and Halo 2, I remember how difficult fighting elites were on legendary and how tactical at times fighting those enemies could be. It was always a relief to fight the flood but still exhilarating as waves of flood tried to overtake me. The Covenant in Halo 4 are easier than the flood were in Halos 1 - 3. Rarely do elites require switching to plasma weapons or require any other thinking than shoot until they die. I will admit groups of Covenant are far more effective in groups since grunts and jackals seem to have been upgraded to do more damage and often an elite is nearby. However, tactical thinking still can be required at points when facing Covenant. If the game's adversaries only consisted of Covenant, I might forgive the easy difficulty and merely add skulls to increase the difficulty. Halo 4's Prometheans really are the most aggravating adversaries. The elite-equivalent Prometheans need to be bursted down but they retreat or warp next to me right as I am about to kill them. Since they retreat so often, I end up wasting all my ammo for my rifle. Since the game constantly blocks previous paths (which had plenty of ammo), I have often found myself running like a madman around the battlefield looking for any type of weapon since my ammo has run out. I do not mind the burst requirement for the Prometheans but I do wish the game felt as open as the previous Halos. MULTIPLAYER (only competitive not cooperative):
    Halo 4's multiplayer is a far more mixed experience. While I find the game-play quite fun and the maps not altogether horrible, War Games really suffers from balance issues. Every previous iteration of Halo provided decent balance and competitive modes. From what I understand competitive modes will be added but I doubt that games will ever really feel balanced. The killstreaks or Ordinances are really overdone. At this point in the game, players mainly choose shotgun-type weapons and camp or they choose sniper rifles if given the option. In past Halo games, getting shot while zoomed in would cause the player to zoom out. Not anymore. This has made sniper rifles easily the best mid-long range weapons since it pretty much guarantees a kill. Yet this really is a minor flaw in the game and it rarely disrupts my enjoyment of the game. The presence of killstreaks, the lack of the ability to grab grenades off of dead enemies as default, and the removal of map and weapon control really augments the feeling that this really is not Bungie's Halo anymore. The game used to reward smart skilled play but really it just rewards people who get killstreaks the fastest which allows them to get more later. Until Halo 4, multiplayer required decent teammates and intelligent play. I cannot give this anything less than an 7 but also anything more than an 8 as this game really is more style than substance. It disheartens me that Halo has moved away from tactical game-play to run and gun idiocy. Hopefully, competitive play will be just that and until then I, regretfully, will probably not continue to play this mass-appealing drivel.    … Expand
  21. LAB200
    Jan 18, 2013
    9
    I started to play Halo in this game, so my opinion isn't of a big fan. But I loved it, the graphics are excelent, but most important: The multiplayer is the best FPS I've ever played. Campaign isn't pretty good, but isn't bad.
  22. Sakai
    Jan 17, 2013
    7
    Halo 4 is a very good shoot 'em up, but is lower than the other Halo Xbox 360 (maybe better than ODST) The story mode could be better, the online mode is not bad, perhaps the use of scores is a point negative. Moreover, it is a good game.
  23. Deadeyejones
    Jan 17, 2013
    8
    Playing halo 4 is like reliving the first time I played the original! The campaign is great the interaction between chief and cortana is engrossing to say the least. The graphics are absolutely gorgeous I spent a lot of time just looking around! The multiplayer is like I said earlier a great throw back with few tweaks thrown in. I think any Xbox owner should have this in there collection
  24. Human
    Jan 17, 2013
    7
    The Master Chef returns with all new recipes and cooking supplies. I had an okay time with this game. The story was easily the worst part (but that's nothing new for Halo), but it looked great and played perfectly. The Multiplayer is very good as well, not much more to say about that. It's good. The score was a bit of a letdown and you can definitely tell this was not made by Bungie. It'sThe Master Chef returns with all new recipes and cooking supplies. I had an okay time with this game. The story was easily the worst part (but that's nothing new for Halo), but it looked great and played perfectly. The Multiplayer is very good as well, not much more to say about that. It's good. The score was a bit of a letdown and you can definitely tell this was not made by Bungie. It's lacking a certain Halo feel, which it makes up for in all new sounds for the guns (all sorts of pew-pews in this game, all sorts). Nothing revolutionary and will be quickly forgotten once Halo 5 comes out, but it's still fun.… Expand
  25. sergiomach5
    Jan 16, 2013
    8
    I cant fault the game for its presentation; this is probably the best the 360 can ever look, and add in a soundtrack where I went looking for the tracks on youtube. The sound effects are done brilliantly, where firing an assault rifle for the first time gives you eargasms, and the environments are varied and gorgeous.

    The game falls down a bit in the gameplay. Its added in modern    I cant fault the game for its presentation; this is probably the best the 360 can ever look, and add in a soundtrack where I went looking for the tracks on youtube. The sound effects are done brilliantly, where firing an assault rifle for the first time gives you eargasms, and the environments are varied and gorgeous.

    The game falls down a bit in the gameplay. Its added in modern annoyances that will deter veterans, but will have newer players looking to see if its for them. Sprint, new abilities, and choosing custom loadouts are a way to catch up with the Military shooters, but it loses the earlier games feeling of being on the same playing field at the start, and picking up powerups and weapons as you go. Having custom loadouts inherently changes players status on the battlefield, and as such loses that competitive edge from Halo 2 and 3. The lack of ranked playlists is the nail in the coffin for competitive types, but social still has its good clean halo fun.

    The campaign is deeper from a character narrative, but seems like it has less scope than Halo 3. It has new enemies to fight, and new weapons to fight them with to keep it from feeling ancient. The main problem is its overly linear feel, but aside from that its still a solid story for the fans.

    343 have done a great job with keeping Halo as a AAA shooter, and despite the complaints I have with the game, it does not mean I hate it. I like the halo feel, while questionning the new direction, and hope the next game they develop improves upon the linear nature of single player, and change the multiplayer somewhat.    … Expand
  26. Ayrkrane
    Jan 16, 2013
    10
    As always, Halo never fails to impress me. The hype was well-deserved. Visually, its hands-down the best on consoles for 2012. Its audio is superb, with fitting elements to fit the campaign and its original score may not be the old Halo OST, but in the direction it is going, its safe to say that its a great direction. The scores are utterly epic. As for the campaign, the storyline andAs always, Halo never fails to impress me. The hype was well-deserved. Visually, its hands-down the best on consoles for 2012. Its audio is superb, with fitting elements to fit the campaign and its original score may not be the old Halo OST, but in the direction it is going, its safe to say that its a great direction. The scores are utterly epic. As for the campaign, the storyline and voice acting is the best so far in the Halo series. The campaign may be short, but the storyline and gameplay makes up for this shortcoming. The relationship between Master Chief and Cortana shown in the campaign has never been moving in a video game. The sounds, are incredible. Whenever you fire a weapon, it sounds like it has more power than in the previous games, it has more "oomph!". Honestly, Metacritic should have given this epic game at least a 90, and the user ratings are utterly blasphemous. Overall, this game, should be your #1 game to get if you are into FPS, and for 2012. However, you may be confused as to what is going on if you do not refresh your knowledge of Halo lore, like the events that lead up to the events of Halo 4. As for multiplayer however, improvements could be made, but otherwise its fun as hell. Spartan Ops is an episodic story with multiplayer in mind. I have to say that the first 5 episodes did not meet my expectation, as the episodes we play has a lack of connection with the stories told in the CG scenes, but from what i hear, episode 6-10 have been improved, and I expect a good show from 343. To everybody reading this review, Halo 4 is a must get. If it does not land on your shelf, then you have just missed out on the legacy of gaming. You will regret it. 343, I salute you. Improve upon whatever you have done, and you shall come out with a proper AAA title once more. Congratulations, 343!… Expand
  27. MDG397
    Jan 15, 2013
    9
    This is a very good game, great multiplayer and great sound design and graphics. The only complaint I have about it is the length of the campaign, it's not as long as the other Halo games and you could finish it in a couple of days. Multiplayer should keep you busy for a long time though, and spartan ops is a good new mode that was added. Spartan ops is like a new mini campaign, theThis is a very good game, great multiplayer and great sound design and graphics. The only complaint I have about it is the length of the campaign, it's not as long as the other Halo games and you could finish it in a couple of days. Multiplayer should keep you busy for a long time though, and spartan ops is a good new mode that was added. Spartan ops is like a new mini campaign, the missions aren't long but they aren't meant to be long so I like it. Any Xbox player should pick this up.… Expand
  28. Ap0CALyPs3
    Jan 15, 2013
    10
    Brilliant graphics . Solid shooting and amazing new guns. Multiplayer is the best . Campaign story is so gooood and intresting cant wait to find out what happens in this amazing trilogy . 343 industries made the best halo game to date.
  29. SpazzBrozz
    Jan 14, 2013
    5
    This is my Halo 3 review. THE BEST Halo game i have played so far. Campaign AWESOME. Multiplayer AMAZING. Forge INCREDIBLE. Theater BRILLIANT. Easy 10 in my mind and a lot of others. HALO FTW!

    This is my Halo 4 review. This game sucks. 343 took out the good and added crap. I have written enough negative stuff about this game on Halo Waypoint so i'm not about to write a whole    This is my Halo 3 review. THE BEST Halo game i have played so far. Campaign AWESOME. Multiplayer AMAZING. Forge INCREDIBLE. Theater BRILLIANT. Easy 10 in my mind and a lot of others. HALO FTW!

    This is my Halo 4 review.

    This game sucks. 343 took out the good and added crap. I have written enough negative stuff about this game on Halo Waypoint so i'm not about to write a whole paragraph on here. 5/10    … Expand
  30. sliceofmoon
    Jan 14, 2013
    9
    Halo 4 is a fun game with hours of enjoment to be had. The campaign is well thoughtout and has a very gripping story line, with graphics that are to die for. War Games is equally enjoyable and the many game types on offer prevent you from becoming bored of the same old team slayer, the loudouts give you a choice of what weapon you wish to bring to the battle field, instead of fighting withHalo 4 is a fun game with hours of enjoment to be had. The campaign is well thoughtout and has a very gripping story line, with graphics that are to die for. War Games is equally enjoyable and the many game types on offer prevent you from becoming bored of the same old team slayer, the loudouts give you a choice of what weapon you wish to bring to the battle field, instead of fighting with someone because they picked up the weapon you wanted. Spartan ops is also fun however compaired to the campaign it can seem a bit bland and too short missions leave the player wanting more. Therefore I think 343 have done an all round good job in carrying on the Halo 4 series that we all know and love.… Expand
  31. BLINGCAMEL
    Jan 13, 2013
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Halo 4 is supposedly the direct sequel to Halo 3, and it is in regards to the story. The campaign follows the story of Master Chief (as always) fighting some aliens on a new planet called Requiem. As Cortans slowly dies from her rampancy, Chief has to help her keep hope and defeat the Didact. This, in my opinion is extremely linear, and the Didact is one of those twirl mustache villains that ones to randomlyndestroy humanity. It doesn't help that every mission you're running around pressing buttons, for no apparent reason. Th campaign was boring and repetitive, and Requiem (the planet) is not as appealing as planet Reach. So yeah Cortana dies, other than that nothing memorable.

    I and many other Halo fans buy Halo for multiplayer, and well this one could use some work. Halo 4's multiplayer takes place on the UNSC Onfinity. A massive starship where the SPARTAN IVs train in the highly advanced war games simulation. Unfortunately, instead of Halo's traditional arena style shooter; this game is a class based arcade shooter. Skill isn't as needed here, as everyone spawns with an instant kill weapon (the Boltshot) if they wish. Halo 4 is shipped with 10 maps, and mostbof them are extremely large. The Kip times are faster, and the game is easier. Players will find an improvement in their K/D ratio and less of a skill gap between pros and lesser players. The DMR more or less dominates Halo 4's sandbox, and active camo is incredibly annoying. Halo 4 also lacks a 1-50 ranking system, giving you little reason to play for a long time. Little things like the inferior soundtrack, broken fileshare, CoD elements, and weak forge really hold the game back. Constant lag makes it a burden to play, and plasticy armor is plain boring. Halo 4 could get better with title updates and DLC but in it's current form it's practically Call od Duty in space.    … Expand
  32. yrcrazy
    Jan 12, 2013
    5
    halo but without the ability to download custom games on console. great visuals and better competitive play than reach but misses out on the key aspect of halo ... fun . A big dissapointment in hindsight but good in its own right.
  33. TheBartlez
    Jan 11, 2013
    8
    I have played every single Halo game, including Halo: AE and Halo Wars, so I have a good spectrum of the Halo universe and the good and bad Halo games.

    PROS: 1) Beautiful graphics and sound. This game just looks good! Lush jungles, cool Forerunner areas, etc. 2) Matchmaking system is great as always... easy to find a game and stay with a group. 3) Multiplayer is good fun. Good maps,    I have played every single Halo game, including Halo: AE and Halo Wars, so I have a good spectrum of the Halo universe and the good and bad Halo games.

    PROS:
    1) Beautiful graphics and sound. This game just looks good! Lush jungles, cool Forerunner areas, etc.
    2) Matchmaking system is great as always... easy to find a game and stay with a group.
    3) Multiplayer is good fun. Good maps, and an old favorite. Vehicles all perform well. Most weapons feel good to shoot.
    4) Loadout system adds something new to match your playstyle, but doesn't make the game unbalanced.
    5) Campaign was solid, new enemies are always welcome after the Covenant was done for multiple games.

    CONS:
    1) Spartan Ops is pretty shallow and offers little to the game or story.
    2) Campaign was short and the plot was all over the place. IE - Who is this guy, who is that guy and why are they important?
    3) Ordinance drops don;t really work with Halo. I would rather have good weapons on the map that respawn quicker. Many ordinance drops make you choose between 3 equally bad weapons or bonuses. Feels too COD.
    4) 343 Studios went overboard on the weapons. I don't need 3 long range weapons, 3 medium and 3 short range weapons. Just a bit too much.
    5) Armor is unlocked through finishing challenges which forces you to use crummy weapons etc if you want the armor. The credit system from Halo: Reach was great and one of the better ideas from that game.

    A pretty good, almost great game with a few issues. Halo 4 doesn't need to copy COD... everyone has had their fill of that anyway. Also, the campaign was fun, but pretty forgettable. Beyond that though, this game has a robust MP that will make most fans and newcomers happy.    … Expand
  34. scorched595
    Jan 7, 2013
    0
    Just terrible. There is nothing wrong with adopting elements from other games, especially competitors, but this game is just a reskinned call of duty clone. Dont see how? Let me explain. First of all, the munitions drops are very similar to care packages, or things along that line, but again, it's not just this, it's because of this and alot of things. Secondly, the spartan points, OH GOD,Just terrible. There is nothing wrong with adopting elements from other games, especially competitors, but this game is just a reskinned call of duty clone. Dont see how? Let me explain. First of all, the munitions drops are very similar to care packages, or things along that line, but again, it's not just this, it's because of this and alot of things. Secondly, the spartan points, OH GOD, the spartan points. Spartan points are just the renamed credit system from halo reach. The problem with the credit system was that it killed custom games, the funnest part of the halo series. You may be asking "How did it kill custom games?", well, it's because it put a huge focus on grinding out your character in match making, leaving people who just wanted to have fun in the dust, like me. Heck, I don't ever see a single one of my friends play Halo 4 for this reason, because no one plays anything besides matchmaking, and matchmaking gets boring because it's the same ol stuff over and over. Not to mention you not only unlock armor, you also have to unlock your weapons, armor perks, and weapon drops, meaning that alot of people will absolutely spank you because you haven't unlocked the weapon your good with yet or because the guy owning you grinded out so much and has a rocket launcher from one of his sure to be many munitions drops. The single player has alot of problems, mainly that it's outright boring. The problem is that it's mainly nothing but jungles and forerunner structures, atleast the other halo games, mainly 2 and 3, had some variety, and while you may say "Your complaining about there being nothing but jungle and forerunner structures on a forerunner planet" Yeah, true, but we didn't know ANYTHING about this planet until the first trailer, so they could've done much better than this. Not to mention the story itself is convoluted and boring. The characters are boring as all hell, to the point that you can tell who's gonna eat a bullet and who isn't, and you can see the ending a mile away. The series as far as I'm concerned ended with Halo 3, where custom games were very common, and almost always fun, the singleplayer stories may have been a little lacking, but there was plenty of variety in the environment, and you didn't have to grind out for armor after you hit your second officer rank, lieutenant, after that, it was just to show off. Halo 3 will always be a masterpiece, as will every halo game before it, but stay away from every halo game after halo 3, because they suck.… Expand
  35. clawman2200
    Jan 6, 2013
    10
    Amazing game! The graphics upgrade that 343 has done on this game is simply outstanding. The new campaign was entertaining and I really enjoyed it. The new Spartan Ops feature is great (New missions with cut scenes done in seasons). At first I was disappointed 343 removed Firefight, but have enjoyed Spartan Ops much more now anyway. The multiplayer is as tight as ever and tons of newAmazing game! The graphics upgrade that 343 has done on this game is simply outstanding. The new campaign was entertaining and I really enjoyed it. The new Spartan Ops feature is great (New missions with cut scenes done in seasons). At first I was disappointed 343 removed Firefight, but have enjoyed Spartan Ops much more now anyway. The multiplayer is as tight as ever and tons of new weapons and abilities and to the package. This game has broken all my expectations and is my favorite Halo game ever.… Expand
  36. BillySpandex
    Jan 6, 2013
    5
    The problem with Halo 4 is that it's a grossly overrated title. However to its credit, it is a better game to Halo 3 and dare I say it Halo Reach. The emotional connection between the Chief and Cortana was very well done, however the whole tale comes undone towards the end. The story's momentum just doesn't hold and at the end, the game feels weak.
  37. AngryGRG
    Jan 5, 2013
    5
    Halo, one of my favorite series. But...Halo 4, is not as well as i anticipated. I believe they should of ended off Halo once and for all at Halo 3. But...we got Halo 4. I hope this is the last one, but it's not. The game is dropping it's edge. My personal opinion is that Halo 3 still remains the one i had the most enjoyment in. Halo 4 is basically Halo 3. But HD. It's multiplayer is sameHalo, one of my favorite series. But...Halo 4, is not as well as i anticipated. I believe they should of ended off Halo once and for all at Halo 3. But...we got Halo 4. I hope this is the last one, but it's not. The game is dropping it's edge. My personal opinion is that Halo 3 still remains the one i had the most enjoyment in. Halo 4 is basically Halo 3. But HD. It's multiplayer is same as old, no drastic changes like Halo 3 had from Halo 2 and 1. Combat is really linear, campaign is too short but highly repayable due to daily challenges and achievements. Story is well written but not very good. It's just fine. Spartan ops is...boring gameplay wise. The only enjoyment i get from them is the 2 minute cut scenes which are from each episode. I was a huge Halo fan, i almost got my self into buying the limited edition, but now. That i see it, i thanked my self i didn't. I would of wasted money. Halo games now are starting to get a bit repetitive which is bad. Overall its a 50/50 shot. If your purely up for it, go ahead and get it. If your not a major halo fan. Dont get it.… Expand
  38. Sceptic
    Jan 5, 2013
    7
    343 has done a fine job with this title,adding a great deal of polish,but little more.It's still just Halo.Nothing more,nothing less.At least it's not a yearly title yet.
  39. Lordeldar
    Jan 5, 2013
    9
    Woah, just woah. I was expecting a pretty good campaign but no where near as good as it was. The story was amazing. Graphics are amazing, especially the scenery. There is nothing wrong with it all. For me, multiplayer was a slight step down from Reach. It's still great fun, if not better in areas. However, one thing I really was looking forward too that I didn't get was Firefight, whichWoah, just woah. I was expecting a pretty good campaign but no where near as good as it was. The story was amazing. Graphics are amazing, especially the scenery. There is nothing wrong with it all. For me, multiplayer was a slight step down from Reach. It's still great fun, if not better in areas. However, one thing I really was looking forward too that I didn't get was Firefight, which was one of my favourite game modes which I would love to have seen brought into Halo 4. Other then that, 343 Industries have done a great job taking over where Bungie left.… Expand
  40. Markiee
    Jan 4, 2013
    10
    I've been a fan of HALO since the very first game (Still own every copy of it). HALO was the very first game i played on my old XBOX. And I fell in love with the game. And I've always looked forward to the next HALO game (except REACH, that game was meh)

    I'm a huge fan of everything HALO, and I have to say I am NOT disappointed with HALO 4. It is everything I hoped for and more. The    I've been a fan of HALO since the very first game (Still own every copy of it). HALO was the very first game i played on my old XBOX. And I fell in love with the game. And I've always looked forward to the next HALO game (except REACH, that game was meh)

    I'm a huge fan of everything HALO, and I have to say I am NOT disappointed with HALO 4. It is everything I hoped for and more. The sounds/audio is amazing. And the voice acting is superb. Graphics are great for a Console Game. The plot/story is just how I imagined it would be after hours of speculation after Halo 3. And the forerunners look just great.

    They did change the sound of several weapons and in my honest opinion. A lot of the sound even better now, and more ear-gasm-ing sounding. You know, they sound epic.

    Level design is good, I love the environments and I found myself spending a lot of time looking around at different things. Love the attention to detail.

    343 has done a great job, and I admit I was scared they would butcher the series. But they have not. They have give HALO new life, and I hope they will give me many more hours of fun to come.

    Spartan Ops is a great addition to the game, I found it to be fun to play, especially with friends.

    I did play a little of the Mutliplayer Aspect in HALO 3 and HALO REACH but I never got into it that much. I enjoyed it but it wasn't for me I suppose. But for those worried HALO 4's multiplayer is going to be vastly different. Fear not, it still feels like the good old HALO multiplayer. and it's even more fun now! I love it!

    This is the first time I've really been playing HALO's multiplayer aspect and loving it A LOT. I never hated it, I liked it in the past. But it just didn't click for me that much. It does now. It feels just like I guess HALO 3 and REACH. But better, different. But in a good way. (No, it's not simplified. I still get my ass kicked as always) But I don't know. It feels like there's less BS with connections and such now. It runs more smoothly. I did spend a good couple of 100 hours playing REACH Multiplayer sure, I did enjoy it but it wasn't my thing for a while. I found it hard to get into. I suppose now that I know how it works, it was easier for me to get into HALO 4's multiplayer.

    Either way, if you're a true HALO fan, you are going to love the campaign and the multiplayer.    … Expand
  41. LostInRealms
    Jan 4, 2013
    10
    10/10

    Great graphics. Amazing gameplay. Diffrent armors guns everything. Only down fault in my opinion is the Story, I love teh cut scenes, But the gameplay itself could of been way better. They did very well on this game.
  42. Rumboom
    Jan 4, 2013
    8
    Graphics was a huge improvement campaign wise and I really like the direction they took with the legacy of Master Chief in campaign mode. I am huge fan of Halo Multiplayer and I thought the changes were pretty good improvements for the most part,but one thing kept nagging me, I felt like a lot of the new ideas were COD ripoffs (E.g. Drop packages, the prestige which not really prestige,Graphics was a huge improvement campaign wise and I really like the direction they took with the legacy of Master Chief in campaign mode. I am huge fan of Halo Multiplayer and I thought the changes were pretty good improvements for the most part,but one thing kept nagging me, I felt like a lot of the new ideas were COD ripoffs (E.g. Drop packages, the prestige which not really prestige, ranking to unlock item system). COD is amazing title but if I wanted to play COD multiplayer, I would go buy it. I think some ideas were needed to improve the competitive play (Ability to enter and exit games without handicapping teammates) but they lack originality. I personally thought the ranking system in Halo 3 was more impressive when a person's skill level was more important rather than his/her ability to not have a life and live on the game, just my opinion.… Expand
  43. PanthersFanStev
    Jan 2, 2013
    10
    After having played many great games in 2012, Halo 4 would be my pick for Game of the Year. By far the greatest Halo game. Good story, great presentation and pacing. Gameplay and weapons the best of any Halo game yet. This renders Halo 3 about unplayable and makes Halo Reach look dated, and that's just the stellar Campaign mode. Really just started playing multiplayer shooters lastAfter having played many great games in 2012, Halo 4 would be my pick for Game of the Year. By far the greatest Halo game. Good story, great presentation and pacing. Gameplay and weapons the best of any Halo game yet. This renders Halo 3 about unplayable and makes Halo Reach look dated, and that's just the stellar Campaign mode. Really just started playing multiplayer shooters last year BF3, Transformers FOC and I really enjoy Halo 4 Multiplayer.. Multiplayer is not as deep as BF3, but man it is awesome fun. Don't know what these low reviewers think they should have done better, probably prefer zombie or kiddie games, but I feel this is the must have Xbox game of 2012!… Expand
  44. DEATH0NWH33LZ
    Jan 1, 2013
    8
    Halo 4 is an awesome game, it continues the story of Master chief precisely 4 years 7 months and 10 days after entering cryo sleep at the end of Halo 3. Chief awakes to find the Forward unto Dawn spiraling towards a mysterious forerunner planet. The story is great, and does a great job at provoking nostalgia. However the story revolves around Cortana more so than Chief, it raises someHalo 4 is an awesome game, it continues the story of Master chief precisely 4 years 7 months and 10 days after entering cryo sleep at the end of Halo 3. Chief awakes to find the Forward unto Dawn spiraling towards a mysterious forerunner planet. The story is great, and does a great job at provoking nostalgia. However the story revolves around Cortana more so than Chief, it raises some interesting themes, and those familiar with the novels will no doubt be excited about Halo 5 & 6 as it delves deeper into the wider narrative. Overall the story is great, and the level design helps keep each mission fresh. Spartan ops is a weekly episodic based series, it is great fun with friends and comes with excellent cinematic cut scenes that is slowly weaving a story of its own. However after the first 5 episodes, many areas have been reused, which has made this mode go stale, repetitive and at times tedious. Thankfully for the next 5 episodes 343 have created all new battlegrounds, so lets hope the 2nd half avoides the first halves shortcomings. Multiplayer has undergone some extensive changes, such as custom loadouts, kill cams and ordnance drops. Custom loadouts have been balanced quite well, with all primary weapons being ideal for certain situations, but no so much that one is necessarily better than another, same with armour abilities, tactical packages and support upgrades. some tweaks to make them more balanced would certainly be welcome, as i have found the DMR might just be a tad to powerful, and the boltshot pistol should take longer to charge. Overall the maps are great, spawning is not a problem in this game. The only map i dislike is exile, even then it is still not an evil map to play on. Kill cams are just that kill cams, while ordnance drops give you a power weapon, an upgrade or grenades after reaching a certain amount of points. these are a welcome addition as weapons such as the rocket launcher and binary rifle only showing up rarely. The upgrades consist of speed boost, overshield and damage boost, each offering only a slight edge, but can often be the difference in a firefight. Overall the multiplayer is fresh and interesting, and is quite balanced, but does cater for noobs a little to much, the maps are great, and it discourages camping. However i found that the multiplayer lacks the wow factor, i have not found myself addicted to this multiplayer as i did in Halo 2 & 3. The sound design in this game is top notch to say the least, each gun sounds badass, and yet sounds like it should. The clunking of your armour as you walk helps build immersion. The graphics are no different, pushing the limits of the xbox 360 to the max. It is the best looking game on xbox. Overall Halo 4 is a great game, with a fantastic single player, a muliplayer that successfully changes so much, Spartan ops being the only let down, but that looks like it could change, so i give this game an 8/10. This a great game and anyone who is on the fence i recommend you get this, it is the Halo you know and love, but with enough new content to keep it fresh. 343 have done a great job with this game and i can't wait to see what they do for Halo 5 & 6.… Expand
  45. castlesiege
    Jan 1, 2013
    10
    Amazing game i mean cortanas pretty much naked and the gameplay is at its peak graphics are at its peak real flood and bigger maps more destructive combat.
  46. Ryanosaur2000
    Jan 1, 2013
    7
    Firstly, can I recommend that you ignore the silly reviewers giving this game 10's and 0's? Halo 4 is deserving of neither score. Like every Halo game to date, Halo 4 is a satisfying (if familiar) FPS that makes no attempt to reinvent the genre. This time around, there is a much stronger emotional edge to the story than we have seen previously in the series with Cortana's relationship withFirstly, can I recommend that you ignore the silly reviewers giving this game 10's and 0's? Halo 4 is deserving of neither score. Like every Halo game to date, Halo 4 is a satisfying (if familiar) FPS that makes no attempt to reinvent the genre. This time around, there is a much stronger emotional edge to the story than we have seen previously in the series with Cortana's relationship with the Chief being central to the plot. The gameplay has not changed, the new enemies are slightly frustrating to fight and the multiplayer is the standard Halo experience. So in other words, 343 have not "tried to fix what isn't broken". Keep that in mind when picking this game up and you will not be disappointed.… Expand
  47. gregthreet
    Jan 1, 2013
    8
    What do you expect from a Halo game? If you expect a rock solid Sci-fi shooter then your in for a treat. Halo 4 is one of the best shooters of the year, hands down. Overall, if you don't want a lengthy review, it excels in everything it does. Sound feels realistic and adds to the atmosphere. Guns sound like they should. Its something you don't expect, to be wowed by a games sound, but itsWhat do you expect from a Halo game? If you expect a rock solid Sci-fi shooter then your in for a treat. Halo 4 is one of the best shooters of the year, hands down. Overall, if you don't want a lengthy review, it excels in everything it does. Sound feels realistic and adds to the atmosphere. Guns sound like they should. Its something you don't expect, to be wowed by a games sound, but its something that really stands out and adds to the impact you feel when you fire a gun. Visually its stunning. The graphics are vibrant and often make you feel like you have to stop and appreciate the landscape in front of you. It especially shows when you look at the games guns. When you pick up the games guns they flick into life, bending and clicking into place on their own. Its amazing. The noise and style of these guns sends me back to my times playing Star Wars Battlefront, which certainly isn't a bad thing. The multiplayer is excellent. Matchs are perfectly paced due to the size of the maps and guns you possess. Much better than the unfair chaos of CoD. Co-op(i'll get to the story in a second) is so very, very fun. Plenty of laughs to be had here. But I had one problem with this though. We started from the beginning. Master chief is woken by Cortana. He gets out the cryo sleep and has a chat with her. "Jameson", as I was called, woke up just after chief and opens up his pod. WHO IS HE(/them if more than one)? They aren't ever talked to by chief or Cortana. I would have like it if 343 put the effort in to give this/these sidekicks a back story. I mean, in the cut-scenes where do they go? Is "Jameson" a forgotten hero? I remember you "Jameson". The story is a bit too much like Portal for my liking. Baring in mind that Portal is one of my favorite games. Cortana has over done her stay as a computer and is slowly turning crazy. Making things harder for you on your than they should be. But the story is still good, none the less. What you do in the story however occasionally lacks the innovation of the other Halo's held. It follows your generic FPS fashion in 2/3 of what you'll be doing. You know the drill? Walk down a corridor, in Halos case a very wide corridor, and shoot the baddies. But due to everything I previously said, it doesn't get as repetitive as I have previously seen. So overall is a consistent package which is definitely worth your buck.… Expand
  48. 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
  49. gumpei
    Jan 1, 2013
    5
    Halo 4 is a real disappointment compared to the past.
    The final duel is horrible and lacking in originality.
    The single players has too many small arenas of multiplayer. Pitched battles in open places are ridiculous compared to the past. The campaign is too short. For Halo 5 343 should be guided by planetside 2, the real Halo 4 of this generation imho. If Halo 5 will like Halo 4,    Halo 4 is a real disappointment compared to the past.
    The final duel is horrible and lacking in originality.
    The single players has too many small arenas of multiplayer.
    Pitched battles in open places are ridiculous compared to the past.
    The campaign is too short.

    For Halo 5 343 should be guided by planetside 2, the real Halo 4 of this generation imho.
    If Halo 5 will like Halo 4, then I do not buy it.    … Expand
  50. Suicidio
    Jan 1, 2013
    10
    Para empezar para ser el primer juego de 343 industries es excelente, no obstante la ausencia de bungie deja un vació muy grande al juego en general .Visualmente cuesta trabajo creer que el xbox 360 es una consola del 2005 no es así ?. El juego es sin duda el mejor juego del 2012 no el mejor halo pero si es excelente. La campaña te atrapa en su argumento de principio aPara empezar para ser el primer juego de 343 industries es excelente, no obstante la ausencia de bungie deja un vació muy grande al juego en general .Visualmente cuesta trabajo creer que el xbox 360 es una consola del 2005 no es así ?. El juego es sin duda el mejor juego del 2012 no el mejor halo pero si es excelente. La campaña te atrapa en su argumento de principio a fin, ost increíble, multijugador impecable tanto el co op como el competitivo, y la IA vuelve tan feroz y tactica como antes. Es triste ver como ahí gente que se empeña en difamar tal vez el mejor juego de la xbox 360.… Expand
  51. dragonbillz
    Dec 31, 2012
    10
    I must admit that this game had me worried. A new studio taking over a successful franchise. Well I think they have successfully justified the franchise. The first thing i noticed was that the graphics seem to have improved significantly. The controls seem even tighter and the game play fully intact. The next chapter seems to be well written and I can't wait to continue with this newI must admit that this game had me worried. A new studio taking over a successful franchise. Well I think they have successfully justified the franchise. The first thing i noticed was that the graphics seem to have improved significantly. The controls seem even tighter and the game play fully intact. The next chapter seems to be well written and I can't wait to continue with this new trilogy. The soundtrack is also as good as it could be. This fits perfectly into the Halo universe and should be recognized for it's detail. An incredible tribute to the entire Halo universe.… Expand
  52. ProcrastinatorB
    Dec 30, 2012
    6
    The Single-player took a great turn for 343 Industries, but the Multi-player is lacking a lot (Bolt shot is overpowered, most guns are basically shooting peas at the thing you're pointing at). Halo was suppose to be a good balance between Grenade, Melee, and Weapons. But 343 just throws that out the window and says "Hey, lets make the most unfair, most hated multi-player ever. That'll sureThe Single-player took a great turn for 343 Industries, but the Multi-player is lacking a lot (Bolt shot is overpowered, most guns are basically shooting peas at the thing you're pointing at). Halo was suppose to be a good balance between Grenade, Melee, and Weapons. But 343 just throws that out the window and says "Hey, lets make the most unfair, most hated multi-player ever. That'll sure show those people expecting a good game." I actually think Call of Duty has a better multi-player than Halo 4, and that says a lot.… Expand
  53. FreakyDan
    Dec 29, 2012
    10
    I personally found this game a blast. This is one of the few shooters that has come out lately that the story really draws me in. If you feel lost or confused about it, find the terminals in Halo 3 to learn more about the two main forerunners and Halo 4 terminals to fill in the gaps of Halo 4's main story. For this installment 343 definitely pushed the graphics as far as they good. WhileI personally found this game a blast. This is one of the few shooters that has come out lately that the story really draws me in. If you feel lost or confused about it, find the terminals in Halo 3 to learn more about the two main forerunners and Halo 4 terminals to fill in the gaps of Halo 4's main story. For this installment 343 definitely pushed the graphics as far as they good. While graphics don't make a game, I would like to note that there are no graphic glitches I am aware of and the frame rate is great. As for combat, the introduction of new weaponry and enemies keeps things fun. The knights are tough, and on legendary they are a great challenge. 343 is also giving us Spartan Ops, which for those not familiar are weekly installments of five missions and a episode explaining the events of the USNC Infinity. These provide lots of replay-ability with or without friends. Multiply player is still amazing. For those concerned about load-outs, relax they are ok. The guns you can have in a load-out are all the basic weapons, you can't have rockets, which means most players of all levels will have rather balanced load-outs. Overall I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to all who enjoy first person shooters. Hope this review helps.… Expand
  54. 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.
  55. 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.
  56. bsd12
    Dec 28, 2012
    7
    This is my first Halo game and the only reason why I played it was for the AMEX promotions (hehe). Anyway, the campaign was pretty good. I thought the graphics were great, music was good enough, gameplay was solid, but repetitive. The enemies were sponges and not that fun to fight. Many levels felt like repeats, however, some driving sequences broke up the monotony. I played about 2This is my first Halo game and the only reason why I played it was for the AMEX promotions (hehe). Anyway, the campaign was pretty good. I thought the graphics were great, music was good enough, gameplay was solid, but repetitive. The enemies were sponges and not that fun to fight. Many levels felt like repeats, however, some driving sequences broke up the monotony. I played about 2 or 3 rounds of multiplayer and I thought it was great. Despite, my first time playing, I did fairly well. My call of duty experience helped me a bunch and I thought it was quite noob friendly. The game is a solid 7/10 for newcomers.… Expand
  57. Ghoster
    Dec 28, 2012
    0
    What a waste of time and money! This game is nothing else than walking from room to room and killing something. Everything except good gfx for a console is just terrible!
  58. mikenasty
    Dec 27, 2012
    7
    Great multiplayer even if you're a beginner. The campaign was way too repetitive where virtually every task was to go from point A to point B so you can do this (aka press a button)
  59. domhearne
    Dec 27, 2012
    10
    I went out today to go and buy this game. It was my first ever Halo game. It is the best game i have brought in a long time. I thought it would be hard to play as i have brought every call of duty game what has been out. I got the hang of this game very quick and i would recommend it to anyone. If you want anymore help finding out about the game or any other games add me on Xbox Pro Hearne
  60. 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.
  61. 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
  62. jedi_khan
    Dec 26, 2012
    9
    Halo has been handed to a new studio. After a decade of producing this franchise, Bungie has handed the reins of Master Chief over to 343 Studios. If you're a Halo fan, you probably already knew that. If you're not, you still probably knew that. Any skeptics doubting 343's ability to make a game handed to it from a top-tier studio should fear, nothing, Halo 4 is the best game I've everHalo has been handed to a new studio. After a decade of producing this franchise, Bungie has handed the reins of Master Chief over to 343 Studios. If you're a Halo fan, you probably already knew that. If you're not, you still probably knew that. Any skeptics doubting 343's ability to make a game handed to it from a top-tier studio should fear, nothing, Halo 4 is the best game I've ever played for the Xbox 360. However, it is not perfect. The single player campaign is one of the best to date. From the very first step out of your cryo-sleep chamber to the end cinematic, you will be amazed. Gameplay (as it always has) revolves around shooting and shooting and shooting. Also shooting. There are few moments in which there is another element to the formula. This doesn't get boring, surprisingly, as (especially through the first half of the game) there are exciting twists to the battlefield or additions to your arsenal that will provide joy and make you stick around until the next one. The story is different from others, in the sense that it is not the story of Master Chief. It is the story of the AI Cortana. Cortana goes through what is called rampancy, defined as an AI deteriorating because of an informational overload, usually occurring after seven years of service. Cortana's voice screws up, and she has emotional outbursts that defy her programming. This is on occasion, mind you, so don't think that this is a continuous annoyance. But you notice it from level one. In past Halo games, Cortana served as the clear-minded one who thought clearly when the Chief couldn't. In Halo 4, this is reversed. It adds a strange reversal effect that past Halo fans will fall in love with. Cutscenes look fantastic, especially the humans. They look real- and it's not live action. The in-game graphics are almost on-par with the cutscenes, with vibrant colors and astounding detail, tapping into what I believe to be the best the Xbox 360 can do. One thing stands out among all the rest: sound. Every sound has been revamped, and for the better. Voice acting is incredible, and the weapons sound beefy and powerful. And they are. Halo 4's arsenal is not amazingly expansive, but it is big enough. Certainly a tad bigger than most shooter games. The only problem I've found is the learning curve. There is a dramatic increase in difficulty from the first chapter to even the third. 343 apparently tried to fit a full game's worth of a difficulty increase into a way-too-short campaign. There are also some moments when I didn't know where to go, but I got through. However, they are minor problems when you get used to them. Single player is excellent. Multiplayer is back for Halo 4, and radically different. Alright, not radically different, but there have been some changes. For example, on the main menu, multiplayer is called "Infinity," supposedly taking place aboard the UNSC Infinity. It took me a while to find matchmaking, now dubbed "War Games." These are just little notes to keep in mind, nothing major. Anyways, there are a lot of new game modes, like Flood and SWAT, as well as a downloadable series of co-op campaigns. Forge mode returns and is changed for the better. A variety of maps are present, a total of thirteen (ten normal maps and three for forge). The multiplayer gameplay is very similar to that of its predecessors, run and shoot at your enemies and use vehicles. Or maybe defend a base. The modes are excellent, down to every last one. This includes classics, like Slayer, or new ones, like Dominion. Everything works well, the loadout system, the "Spartan Hub," the matchmaking... all work just fine; not a single glitch. Finding a game is usually rather fast, and this time around you can join games in progress. Forge mode is better than ever, the primary adjustment being a system of "magnets" that help you attach pieces with smoother lines, for example: two floor pieces together stick on each side perfectly, no small change in elevation or one going through the other on account on the player not centering everything perfectly. There is still no custom game matchmaking, so if you create an amazing map or game mode, you have to find a buddy or two to play.

    When all is said and done, Halo 4 is an excellent game. I gave it a nine out of ten because it is not flawless, but if I could give it a 9.9, I would. The few flaws don't at all remove from the fact that this is a truly excellent game, possibly the best Halo yet and maybe the best game of 2012 across any platform. If you have an Xbox 360, go buy Halo 4. If you don't have an Xbox 360, go buy an Xbox 360 and Halo 4.

    --jedi_khan--PSN: jedi_khan--Xbox Live: Khan Jedi--    … Expand
  63. CursedNonos
    Dec 26, 2012
    10
    When I saw people's opinions were mitigated about Halo 4, I was expecting a medium quality game. It isn't that at all : one can see devs put a lot of efforts making it, and one can feel it. Indeed, it differs of the first games in some points, but my overall impression is very good : nice multi and nice campaign, plus another mode which extends game's life. I don't regret my purchase atWhen I saw people's opinions were mitigated about Halo 4, I was expecting a medium quality game. It isn't that at all : one can see devs put a lot of efforts making it, and one can feel it. Indeed, it differs of the first games in some points, but my overall impression is very good : nice multi and nice campaign, plus another mode which extends game's life. I don't regret my purchase at all!
    A big good point of the game is the splitscreen : it is one of the rare games in which you can play with three friends on the same console. And you have fun!    … Expand
  64. bulbrook
    Dec 26, 2012
    10
    This review is from the perspective of a guy who is busy with life. My time is filled with working, traveling, going to the gym and cooking meals. I spend time with my wife and friends, and have a little time left over for everything else. Gaming is a one form of entertainment I enjoy, along with movies and sports. The original Halo on xbox was one of the best gaming experiences of myThis review is from the perspective of a guy who is busy with life. My time is filled with working, traveling, going to the gym and cooking meals. I spend time with my wife and friends, and have a little time left over for everything else. Gaming is a one form of entertainment I enjoy, along with movies and sports. The original Halo on xbox was one of the best gaming experiences of my life. I rate it up there with Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy, and the like. It was mind blowing to play through coop with a friend. Driving the warthog, throwing grenades, flying, jumping, swarming enemies. It was a blast! Not only was it fun, but it was epic. The graphics were awe-inspiring. It was like being the lead in a science fiction movie. All of the love for Halo has been once again renewed for Halo 4. The previous follow ups have all been ok, but not able to capture the near perfection of the first game. Halo 4 does it. Graphics- mind blowing. How they taken a 5+ year old console and put together flowing work of art like this I do not know. Playing this on in my home theater, on a 120" screen is incredible. Sound again perfection. The music track, the weapons sounds- they sound powerful and heavy, but not overly booming. Story was actually interesting. Picking this up every few weeks for two months to beat it. I could actually follow along and get what the hell they were talking about (for the most part). I don't touch the multiplayer as busy lives don't leave time for that. For an epic, fun single player experience, on an old console mind you, it doesn't get any better than this. Buy it or rent it, and enjoy the heck out of it. Then get back to the real world.… Expand
  65. jul320
    Dec 26, 2012
    10
    Fan of the Halo franchise, and is a fantastic start to a new trilogy. Graphics, sound, combat, multi-player, everything was just great... except for Johnson not being there.
  66. Necrotaur
    Dec 25, 2012
    7
    Single player wise, Halo 4 fails to deliver. I always appreciated the backstory for the Halo universe, and the concept of humanity being on the edge of extinction due to war with the technologically superior Covenant. Now, you're not only fighting Covenant for some reason but also Forerunner dudes (all 3 types) because of... a prophecy? I guess? I don't know. Apparently if I had readSingle player wise, Halo 4 fails to deliver. I always appreciated the backstory for the Halo universe, and the concept of humanity being on the edge of extinction due to war with the technologically superior Covenant. Now, you're not only fighting Covenant for some reason but also Forerunner dudes (all 3 types) because of... a prophecy? I guess? I don't know. Apparently if I had read Glasslands it would have made more sense, but I'm not going to buy a book just to get the backstory for an FPS. The campaign is at times pretty, until you set foot into a Forerunner level and your eyes are burned from their sockets by the overwhelming blue/orange contrast. Fortunately single player ends fairly quickly, but not before you see Cortana become Master Chief's crazy emo girlfriend. The multiplayer manages to make up for the single player, and ironically seems to be where 343 focused most of the story. You've got the standard Halo MP fare, with a few modes that have been more fleshed out. The biggest addition is Spartan Ops, which replaces Firefight from previous titles. It's pretty decent on it's own, and plays a bit like the standalone co-op missions found in other titles like BF3, though the loss of Firefight does kind of suck. Maybe it'll be re-introduced? We can always hope. Anyway Halo 4 is a solid game if you're looking for just MP stuff, but I'm a bit worried about the direction 343 is taking the storyline.… Expand
  67. F4c3m3n
    Dec 25, 2012
    9
    My hats off to 343, they managed to craft a unique but classically feeling halo title. Though it is not perfect, as it has minor weapon balancing issues, as well as forge not having as many improvements as it should. It has become more modern and fast paced, but at the same time juxtaposes this with old school shooter mechanics and does this so extremely well that fears of it becoming justMy hats off to 343, they managed to craft a unique but classically feeling halo title. Though it is not perfect, as it has minor weapon balancing issues, as well as forge not having as many improvements as it should. It has become more modern and fast paced, but at the same time juxtaposes this with old school shooter mechanics and does this so extremely well that fears of it becoming just another shooter are completely extinguished upon becoming an experienced player. The campaign story is fantastic but quick time events take you out of the mood sometimes just for cool screen effect but it doesn't detract a single think from the gameplay itself or its incredible story that's told. Spartan ops is an intriguing new mode that packs a lot of fun in a 15 minute level but suffers from reused environments though this is said to less common in later episodes, which by the way are weekly dlc. This mode is good but has much potential to be better. The multiplayer is one of the best in the series, second only to halo 3. As said before, it is more modern as it has load outs and perks. The perks don't break the game in any way and in fact only seem to help you work your way around the map your currently playing on. Though games such as cod have perks, halo does it slightly different in that they are just for style, with a few exceptions, such as dexterity which speeds up reload speeds. The game has also added random ordinance drops, which is a new spin on the classic halo tradition of finding weapons on the map, also tied to this is the personal ordinance, which at first may seem like a cod rip off, think again because instead of getting a bomber to fly over and get kills for you, you get a choice between 3 random choices of weapons grenades and power ups, all you need is 4 kills, thats it its not really a streak. As a whole personal ordinance is a great new addition and is perfectly original. Once again halo 4 is a great game that has old school shooter roots mixed with modern mechanics in its multiplayer and has evolved much since reach, while staying true to its own style rather than becoming a cod clone. It's definitely a must by for halo fans. Oh and check out halo 4 forward unto dawn, which is a live action 5 parts web series about the beginning of the human covenant war within the halo universe… Expand
  68. killiana1a
    Dec 24, 2012
    4
    Single player consists of a great story interspersed with more hallway levels than you would ever expect to or want to see in a Halo game. A new developer created this game and it shows with the way Cortana is treated. Needless to say, the most memorable part of Halo 4 was Cortana and her story. The new developer through their treatment of Cortana essentially told players that Halo isSingle player consists of a great story interspersed with more hallway levels than you would ever expect to or want to see in a Halo game. A new developer created this game and it shows with the way Cortana is treated. Needless to say, the most memorable part of Halo 4 was Cortana and her story. The new developer through their treatment of Cortana essentially told players that Halo is going in a different direction.

    More importantly, the single player gameplay went from Halo where the road splits at 4 forks whilst you are driving a warthog to Halo 4 where it is one big Gears of War duck and cover level interconnected to each other with hallway battles. If that ain't bad enough, the multiplayer from the moment you buy and turn on the game is discouraging from the get go. Halo 4 has a "season pass" ala Call of Duty. What the publisher says is a discount on DLC is in reality, a Halo club card where if you don't buy into it, then you are potentially left out of matches because you don't want to pay $10 for 3 recycled multiplayer maps. Overall, Halo is the space FPS while Call of Duty is the terrestrial FPS. Both have terrible single player campaigns, while the multiplayer is becoming more and more exclusive with each new iteration in the series.    … Expand
  69. mikeachu7
    Dec 24, 2012
    10
    Such an amazing game can't stress that enough, great physics, color, detail, lighting, vehicles, weapons, I could go on and on..........................................................................................................................................................
  70. jasir98
    Dec 24, 2012
    10
    (out of 100)
    Visuals: 97
    Game play: 98
    sound effects: 100
    Campaign: 97
    pacing: 99
    story: 96
    Multi player: 100
    Replay rate: 96
    Overall: 98
    Halo 4 is the best halo game ever created and probably the besthooter of the year or maybye even the game of the year
  71. 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.
  72. 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
  73. alkrn21
    Dec 22, 2012
    8
    Very short campaign and actually easy, but for those who were waiting the return of the Master Chief it cannot be a disappointing game, it is not perfect but it is a very good game. Awesome story, incredible soundtrack but it is too short. 343 did a great job
  74. GoodTasteGamer
    Dec 21, 2012
    8
    I played Halo 4 for a week and i felt like i didn't really receive the game that i was waiting for. This is NOT a bad game guys, definately not a bad game by a long shot: it has a fun multiplayer and an epic campaign, even being "asphyxiantly" short. The main problem is that it LACKS CONTENT. I can't even understand why i need two cds: The first cd has only the campaign, that it's epic butI played Halo 4 for a week and i felt like i didn't really receive the game that i was waiting for. This is NOT a bad game guys, definately not a bad game by a long shot: it has a fun multiplayer and an epic campaign, even being "asphyxiantly" short. The main problem is that it LACKS CONTENT. I can't even understand why i need two cds: The first cd has only the campaign, that it's epic but it lasts so much as a kid's popsicle on a hot day in the middle of the beach. Then you have Spartan Ops and Multiplayer, both of them requires you to install the cd 2 before you start to play. Why i need to install cd 2 ( that creates a file of more than 4 GB on the hard drive) to play Spartan Ops and Multiplayer ? Spartan Ops is only 1 f#cking episode, it's boring and it's impossible to play it offline so if you're not a gold member Microsoft f#cks you in the @ss. Then you have multiplayer, where you are allowed to choose between... what ?... 3 maps on the big modes - not even a half of what we had on Halo 3! The graphics are good, clearly not the best but in the top 5 of the console for sure. The scenarios are big and high detailed. I played sick battles on them with no frame-rate issues whatsoever. The "level up" system is unfair because it rewards the people who bought the game earlier than others, the sickest weapons and habilities will always be available exclusive to players with high rank level (but still a mile away better than any COD multiplayer). The game also doesn't have any punishment for friendly fire and that sometimes can be very frustrating. There are various modes for multiplayer and almost nothing for the campaign: skulls without points and some "movie only" chapters to give you the impression that the campaign was satisfactory: it wasn't. The history is incredible weak, to be fair it would be almost childish if wasn't for Cortana's drama. Unfortunately, it's not a journey because Halo 4's campaign is not long enough for the player to feel connected with the characters and the events. The motion capture doesn't add too much. The soundtrack is good but not even close of being excelent as the soundtrack from the original trilogy. Halo 4 is far from being bad but it's unable to hide the fact that you bought a blank and incomplete product, that surely doesn't live up to its ambitions. Buy Halo 3 instead.… Expand
  75. popopooo
    Dec 21, 2012
    0
    Terrible. 343 killed Halo. Buy Halo 3 instead.
    If you are a long time Halo fan, you will hate this. It is just a casual noob fest that has been made too much like call of duty. They have removed all competitive elements and ruined the classic halo gameplay.
  76. dark_knight_98
    Dec 20, 2012
    10
    Possibly the greatest Halo game yet, not only does the campain provide an amazing gaming experience but the multiplayer is now much improved. Simply, if you are a Halo fan you need to buy this game. If you are not a Halo fan you also need to buy this game.
  77. sowhigh12
    Dec 18, 2012
    10
    Overall 343 did an amazing job at Halo 4.
    Now over a month after release and after I have spent several dozen of hours I can quite well say that I really like this game. The campaign is a little short but still provides a great and enjoyable experience. Haven
  78. TOBYSMG
    Dec 18, 2012
    9
    Ah, Halo, how I love you.
    Master Chief has returned in the new installment of the explosive blockbuster franchise, and I (like so many) am as happy as Larry to see that this game is so fantastic.
    Graphically, this is one of the best looking games on the Xbox 360, and in the first cutscene, I did mistake the CGI for reality. Honestly, it's that good-looking. Although textures are    Ah, Halo, how I love you.
    Master Chief has returned in the new installment of the explosive blockbuster franchise, and I (like so many) am as happy as Larry to see that this game is so fantastic.
    Graphically, this is one of the best looking games on the Xbox 360, and in the first cutscene, I did mistake the CGI for reality. Honestly, it's that good-looking. Although textures are sometimes a little on the dodgy side, and explosion effects are rarely just not exciting enough, this is undoubtedly a graphical triumph.
    The sound design is almost flat-out the best you will ever experience. Buy a good pair of headphones and you will drool at the sound of the DMR punching holes in enemies' faces. I actually start shouting "Pew, pew, pew!" in some sections of the campaign, in which voice acting (for most characters) is brilliant. 343 Industries took a leap of faith with an entirely new musical score, and let me tell you that on the way down, they grew a pair of wings and flew up high into the sky! The music sometimes doesn't complement the situation perfectly, but for the most part it was great.
    Let's think about the campaign for a second. This time around, I really began to care for Cortana and John 117 in a way that I never originally had before. Their bond grew so much stronger in the game, and it brought out who Master Chief really was, and what he thought of himself and others. Story-wise, this game is very memorable, with a good (if slightly under-explained) villain. Some of the secondary characters get lost in the thick of it, and the commander of the ship Infinity has some completely unjustified orders, which make you question his competence as the captain of the biggest human spaceship ever. These minor gripes do not affect the overall product, which is a beautiful culmination of everything Halo. A saddening (but definitely satisfying) ending ties things up perfectly, making this one of the best stories ever told in a Halo game. Gameplay-wise, the campaign retains the sandbox mechanics of previous Halos, but only widens the possibilities with the new enemies: Prometheans. These are fun new enemies to fight, as they employ new tactics to keep you on you toes: Crawlers climb around, pounding the player with light arms fire, Knights bring the heavy weapons and blast though Covenant and UNSC personnel alike, and Watchers (spawned by Knights) float about, spawning more Knights and Crawlers, and giving your forcefield something to think about. After a while, the campaign begins to get a tad repetitive, but the objectives can differ enough for it to stay almost perfect throughout, with the last mission putting a wonderful spin on the classic Halo Warthog run. The campaign is, in every sense of the word, incredible.
    A welcome change in Halo 4 is to the multiplayer, which allows players to create their own custom classes, with various weapons, armour abilities and armour mods. This creates the fear of unfairness in multiplayer, but that fear is crushed by how balanced the game seems. Gameplay is now faster-paced, with sprinting now a default for all players, letting the maps get bigger and bigger- some too big. Most maps in this game are enjoyable to play on, but the good-old medium-sized maps have almost completely disappeared, spare two or three that you could class as such. New gametypes arrive, however, such as Dominion, Regicide and Infinity Slayer, which bring the best kind of change to multiplayer, whilst catering to the sizes of maps and mixing things up perfectly. Altogether, multiplayer is wonderful.
    And now, the newcomer: Spartan Ops, an episodic series of missions, updated weekly for insane cooperative play, but replacing the much-loved Firefight. It's great, but there are several flaws. The maps are recycled several times (but are used for different objectives), the story is very basic and hardly exists outside of the eye-popping CGI cutscenes, and some of the characters are completely unlikeable, though to counter that, there are some that you'll like a lot. This was a very bold statement for such an anticipated game, and, overall, it is a blast to play with people online as well as friends.
    Forge remains relatively untouched, but with new (if smaller) Forge environments, making the possibilities for map design even more exciting.
    That just about wraps the review up. This game is an absolute must-buy for all Xbox 360 owners, as it pushes the system to its limits, delivering one of the best games on consoles!    … Expand
  79. Kirillionaire
    Dec 16, 2012
    8
    The graphics were superb; some of the best I've ever seen on any game console. The music is good, but it reminds me too much of the Mass Effect series. It just doesn't sound... Halo-ey. Despite its length, I got really sucked into the story. This is the type of game where it really helps to go a little slower and take in the sights, learn some backstory, and appreciate the amount of workThe graphics were superb; some of the best I've ever seen on any game console. The music is good, but it reminds me too much of the Mass Effect series. It just doesn't sound... Halo-ey. Despite its length, I got really sucked into the story. This is the type of game where it really helps to go a little slower and take in the sights, learn some backstory, and appreciate the amount of work put into what you're looking at. I still don't understand how some of the environments were rendered in real time on an Xbox. The cutscenes were even better.

    I felt like the stronger relationship between Cortana and Master Chief was a little cheesy, but with good reason. It was still sometimes a little embarrassing to watch certain cutscenes with friends around.

    The multiplayer plays more like Mario Kart as opposed to chess in the other games. In the older Halo games, you had discrete options; with memorization of where power weapons spawn, you could play the game out decisively and with foresight.
    In this version, loadouts and random drops from things called ordinances dictate what power weapons you can obtain. This leaves a lot up to chance, and makes the gameplay feel cheap. Available power weapons on the map are also indicated on your HUD, which I think is sort of cheap. There should be a "classic" gameplay variant where where weapons spawn in regular intervals in certain spots, and everyone spawns with the same weapons. Also, no armor abilites and other ordinances and perks **** That's what COD is for.

    Spartan Ops is a sort of "Spartan-IV-marines point of view" weekly-updated episodic campaign. It feels pretty cheaply made, it's nowhere near the quality of the actual campaign. The cut scenes are rendered well and visually look just as good as the campaign ones, yet they don't hold the same emotional or situational impact. I would rather they have put more time into the campaign mode. It's just a repetitive series of "protect this, kill that, press this button, kill this, go here, retrieve the artifact, kill that, press this button." None of the locations used are new; they're all recycled from the campaign or multiplayer maps. On top of that, in different episodes, they have used the same maps, so it just feels like you're doing the same thing over again. Its really only worth watching the cutscenes, which you can do online anyway.........    … Expand
  80. Scholarch
    Dec 16, 2012
    7
    First off ill be clear, I have not finished the campaign but am 4 hours in and I have 10 hours in multiplayer and have played numerous rounds of each game type. From my experience here are the aspects that i enjoyed and those i do not. Campagin: BAD Inconsistent difficulty: some areas are boringly easy ( played on heroic) while other areas are controller throwing difficult.

    GOOD:    First off ill be clear, I have not finished the campaign but am 4 hours in and I have 10 hours in multiplayer and have played numerous rounds of each game type. From my experience here are the aspects that i enjoyed and those i do not. Campagin: BAD Inconsistent difficulty: some areas are boringly easy ( played on heroic) while other areas are controller throwing difficult.

    GOOD: Beautiful graphics. I died at one point because i walked out of a crevice into an open area and was standing just looking at the amazing scenery.

    BAD: The AI is simple: The enemies generally repeat a simple pattern and dont seem to act as if they have any tactics. ( shoot a grunt in the back and often they wont even turn around)

    GOOD: voice quality. I always felt in the previous games that the voice recording quality was lacking. However the voices in the campaign have been wonderfully crisp.

    BAD: overpowered weapons. It seems as though the method to make the game more difficult is to simply ramp up the enemy weapon damage. This leads to a jackal with a needler being your worst enemy rather than a skillful elite.

    GOOD: Controls: while the control layout has changed the fluidity of the control is such that the controller never feels like a barrier.

    BAD: Vehicle sounds: Every vehicle sound so far has been annoying to the point that I've actually left behind a ghost so I didn't have to hear it. The warthog is a military vehicle not an alcohol dragster. Any enemy within a half a mile would hear it coming. BAD: Checkpoints. Bungie was always careful to ensure that difficult areas had strategic checkpoints that would help you progress while still allowing for deaths. Halo 4 barely has any. If you cant get through a 30-40 minute section without dying, be prepared to see the same area and hear the same dialog, possibly for hours till you can find just the right sequence of maneuvers to get you through. Multiplayer:

    BAD: Locked Loadouts: The fact that those who have been playing longest get access to the best gear is frustrating beyond words. Dont like the jetpack at first? Tough. BAD: Dynamic game joining. More than once it seemed that one team got to start the game 10-30 seconds before the other allowing for advantages that were near insurmountable ( acquiring both mechs in capture the flag on Valhalla)

    BAD: Mechs. Any game that include the mechs regardless of the actual type becomes "capture the mech" these things are so incredibly overpowered its inconceivable they made it into the final game in this form. BAD: Map design. Most of the maps feel cluttered and lack a sense of flow, with many having a "perfect spot" eg. The tree near the crates on Abandon is so easily defended that an oddball match can be won in a blowout if the carrier stands behind it.

    GOOD: Player skill matching. Despite playing against opponents some 20 levels higher the game seemed to balance the teams well. Rarely did it feel like one person won the game.

    GOOD: SWAT. SWAT still plays as vicious and frantic as always and the new instant respawn helps keep the game moving Overall while the game most definitely feels like a halo game it lacks that sense of razor thin balance that made the prior games so much fun. While the new graphics bring a greater feeling of realism failings in gameplay constantly break immersion. A shaky start to a new era of Halo.    … Expand
  81. darkmauv
    Dec 16, 2012
    8
    this game present the best graphics in Xbox 360, the campaign is short but is very amazing, takes the good things the previous Halo is the best halo since Halo CE. This game is essential in any collection of a user of XBox 360
  82. Magitek
    Dec 15, 2012
    10
    Halo 4 by 343 Studios is an attempt to win a race that began with a little outfit named Bungie. If nothing else, this title stands as the last solid breath of the XBOX 360- a final burst of energy from a console on its last leg. Morbid as that may seem, the result is a milestone for both the 360 and the Halo franchise as a whole. It doesn
  83. 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
  84. TheGeckOH
    Dec 14, 2012
    9
    Although I rated this game a 9 out of 10, which means its an amazing game. If I were to compare it to Halo 3 I would give it a 6. BUT as a new company with a new direction its heading, I think they did an amazing job. First off if you are buying this expecting it to be like halo 3, don't its the polar opposite of halo 3 which in a way sucks. But as its own game it is amazing, the campaignAlthough I rated this game a 9 out of 10, which means its an amazing game. If I were to compare it to Halo 3 I would give it a 6. BUT as a new company with a new direction its heading, I think they did an amazing job. First off if you are buying this expecting it to be like halo 3, don't its the polar opposite of halo 3 which in a way sucks. But as its own game it is amazing, the campaign needed 1 more level in the middle to make the transition better, the campaigns ending (NO SPOILERS) is too embarrassing as a halo fan, although it is a really good ending it was extremely pathetic (you'll know what I mean when you beat it) The multi player is a 80% cod clone but still halo. It has specilizations, support upgrades, and armor abilities (3 "perks" like cod) sprint is with everyone and needs some weapon balancing but that can be fixed. With halo 3 having about 7 flawless maps (guardian, highground, pit, snowbound, avalanche, Last resort etc) and halo 4 having 2 (Exile, Haven) the maps aren't something to brag about, ALTHOUGH the maps are nice and exciting they aren't on par with halo 3 maps. With that said lets move onto the gamemodes, these following complaints will most likely be fixed soon so thats why it doesnt effect the score. But there are very few modes for online, no multi team, no rumble pit, no assault, no one flag, no "fun" modes like action sack from halo 3. But there are great modes added such as Dominion, Regicide (the only ffa mode atm) Extraction etc. With halo 4 being Big Team focused and having valhalla being remade there is no shortage of big team maps and gameplay, but with there being only 2 good small maps (haven, adrift) it lacks what halo 3 had that sense of (lets go **** around on guardian with snipers. Haven just doesnt cut it vs guardian. In ctf being able to wield a pistol while carrying the flag is stupid, and not having to HAVE the flag at base to score is stupid. My biggest complaint about this game, and this is half of the reason halo 4 is only a 9/10 not 10/10 is the forge. Oh man oh man this forge is 100% terrible, the features are nice, but the 3 small maps are absolutely trash, small spaces, tons of barriers, restrictions to the max. Forge world was massive, and had about 9 great areas for forging, with the 3 maps you get a crappy small "forge world" type space but it resemble the pinnacle rock from forge world... THATS IT its that small, the space one is the only viable map to forge on, but with unwanted holes in the ground, and an unremovable building it still isnt that great. Also one of the things they bragged about with forge was that it looked different then reachs. NO IT DOESNT instead of having all silver pieces we have all white pieces with shadows. The magnet thing is nice the gravity zones are amazingly cool, the playspaces are trash certain affinity did a horrendous job with forge. Now that I got that off my chest I will say this, although it looks like I have 9000 complaints about this game, I gave it a 9 because its still halo at its core, and thats what we want as gamers, that and most of the stuff I mentioned are fixable as in game type issues weapon balancing etc. But the forge maps im sorry to say but we probably wont get a sandbox type map as dlc in the future which sucks. But overall this game is outstanding despite the sucky forge and 1 level too short campaign with a predictable ending. If you are a ginormous fan of halo 3 and expect this game to be as fun, I'd say pass because this isnt "classic" halo its halo 2.5 (reach being 2.0) it adds alot of features, takes a couple out and overall wont appeal to the oldschool halo fan, it appeals to the casual gamer who wants to mess around and have fun (like me) I hope you read this review and took it with an open mind. In summary this games campaign needed one more level in the middle (hard transition), not for the oldschool halo fan, has stellar multiplayer for the casual gamer, needs a few maps similar to guardian/pit and a sandbox remake and this game will be a perfect 10. Thanks for reading.… Expand
  85. Snipestrifer
    Dec 14, 2012
    7
    First let me get this out of the way. I don't hate Halo, I gave Halo 3 a 9 and Halo Reach an 8. The problem with this game was that it was very clearly rushed to meet BLOPS for release. The reason I say this is because it not only rips off ideas from COD and implements them poorly (Not always, mainly multiplayer) but that there are many positive aspects from the old Halo games that don'tFirst let me get this out of the way. I don't hate Halo, I gave Halo 3 a 9 and Halo Reach an 8. The problem with this game was that it was very clearly rushed to meet BLOPS for release. The reason I say this is because it not only rips off ideas from COD and implements them poorly (Not always, mainly multiplayer) but that there are many positive aspects from the old Halo games that don't appear in Halo 4. That said, the campaign was terrific. We had a much more personal adventure with Chief this time around, and to see his friendship and desperation to save Cortana as she devolves into rampancy is heartwarming. This works even better because you are constantly reminded of Cortana's rampancy throughout the narrative. Every few minutes her voice will change a little, she will have an angry outburst or blue lights will flicker around the edge of your visor. You really do want to help Cortana in ths campaign. Unfortunately, there are a couple of plotholes that bothered me, but it was never really an issue. The music was also outstanding and it has really become a trademark of the series at this point. Grass grows, the sun shines and Halo has fantastic music. The problems start with Multiplayer and Spartan Ops, which are really not as polished as they could've been. Multplayer has some balance issues. Melee doesn't work properly, DMR sniping and Ordenance (Although Ordenance does have some upsides) dis-courages map movement, and while most of the maps are good or even great maps, there are almost none at all for each game mode. In fact, the amount of maps available is tiny for each gamemode. The boltshot is OP, everyone already knows why, it is a sidearm shotgun. DMR's are still as OP as always, and there is almost no reason to use anything else as a primary weapon. As for the new Mantis it's... well... Just kinda annoying rather than an actual threat. I feel that Halo has lost some of its competitiveness while regainiing some of it at the same time (Reach did hit competitive gamers a lot harder), especially considering a skill system no longer exists but power weapons now hae to be earned rather than just. Yes you can go onto waypoint to findout, but going onto waypoint after almost every match is annoying as hell, and you're skill having no effect on your rank makes it irrelevant. As for joining mid-game, yay! But why didn't you improve it so we wouldn't enter games that are almost done? Lazy work just ripping out a feature of one game and shoehorning it in another 343. The progress system kinda sucks really. The biggest issue is it feels like a GRIND. Grinding for armour unlocks, for f***ing emblems and poses is beyond stupid. At least in Reach I generally could buy what I wanted and it didn't feel like a grind until General and onward. As for forge mode, I'm sad to say it has been butchered, and is one of the main reasons why I think this game was rushed. There are few options when compared to the last forge mode, and there is no forge world. WHY? I had no idea they could mess it up this badly. It's quite sad really. Finally there is Spartan Ops. It's... fun, but rehashing maps and just saying "Defend this, attack this"... I'd expect more for the removal of firefight, and the lack of story is disappointing considering they seem to want to do one, but never really do anything with the characters or setting. They do a bit, and they are doing more wuth each new episod they release, which is good. Overall, this game had (And still has) a ton of potential, but only really delivered in the campaign and on the Spartan OPs, which is a real shame.… Expand
  86. rollersox
    Dec 13, 2012
    9
    This game is by no means the best, but this score of 7 is just ridiculous. Considering it as 343i's first Halo game, it's pretty damn amazing. The graphics are one of the best on console, no argument. The music, while lacking in some areas compared to O'Donnell's compositions, is, frankly, amazing, and the campaign is very good--especially the revelation that Master Chief has an emotionalThis game is by no means the best, but this score of 7 is just ridiculous. Considering it as 343i's first Halo game, it's pretty damn amazing. The graphics are one of the best on console, no argument. The music, while lacking in some areas compared to O'Donnell's compositions, is, frankly, amazing, and the campaign is very good--especially the revelation that Master Chief has an emotional side as well. The multiplayer is fast-paced and more COD-like, for better or for worse is you to decide. Spartan Ops is fun as hell, especially as it provides a campaign-like co-op.… Expand
  87. 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
  88. Flowone
    Dec 13, 2012
    5
    Halo 4, one of the biggest disappointments of this year. Don't let that box fool you, you're not buy a Halo game. You're buying a game that not only does it rid itself of all content and quality that made Halo what it is they adopt elements from every other generic FPS on the market. Neither do they even attempt to make sure these elements work in the preexisting game play. Horrible mapsHalo 4, one of the biggest disappointments of this year. Don't let that box fool you, you're not buy a Halo game. You're buying a game that not only does it rid itself of all content and quality that made Halo what it is they adopt elements from every other generic FPS on the market. Neither do they even attempt to make sure these elements work in the preexisting game play. Horrible maps from Certain Affinity, an asinine weapons sandbox that is littered with 1 hit kill weapons, no competitive ranking system to make sure a beginner doesn't fight against someone of same skill but someone who is light years ahead of them. Custom games setting basically got nurtured, almost 6 weeks after it's release and they still don't have file browsing up. It's a box of broken gameplay elements, false promises, poor execution. The only thing this game has been is one continuous promotion of Mountain Dew and Doritos.… Expand
  89. lionalio
    Dec 12, 2012
    10
    the first time you play the game, all you can say is: awesome. Not only the addicted shooting and action throughout the game, but also the very memorable story, and plus, the almost-unbeatable outstanding visual. You cannot help but falling in the famous multiplayer of the game. Without a doubt this game is the killer application, a genuine signature game of XBOX 360. If you intend to buythe first time you play the game, all you can say is: awesome. Not only the addicted shooting and action throughout the game, but also the very memorable story, and plus, the almost-unbeatable outstanding visual. You cannot help but falling in the famous multiplayer of the game. Without a doubt this game is the killer application, a genuine signature game of XBOX 360. If you intend to buy a XBOX just for playing Halo 4, it's a good reason… Expand
  90. robozot
    Dec 11, 2012
    8
    Only playing for the campaign, no time for online...
    It's a beautifully presented game. Guns are awesome. Incredible SFX.
    Gameplay is smooth, involving, flow is flawless. Not much thinking involved, no emotion. Pure reaction, exhilaration. Fine by me. The sci-fi world and story is daft, and incomprehensible next to the sleek and involving sic-fi of Binary Domain. As a videogame fan and    Only playing for the campaign, no time for online...
    It's a beautifully presented game. Guns are awesome. Incredible SFX.
    Gameplay is smooth, involving, flow is flawless. Not much thinking involved, no emotion. Pure reaction, exhilaration. Fine by me.
    The sci-fi world and story is daft, and incomprehensible next to the sleek and involving sic-fi of Binary Domain. As a videogame fan and Halo agnostic, I enjoyed this game a lot though.    … Expand
  91. yolandivisser
    Dec 11, 2012
    10
    I hate halo! but this one is a lot of fun for online play. I normally can't stand generic FPS shooters but let's be honest: where are you going to find the best online play? Halo pretty much...
  92. AliGSix
    Dec 10, 2012
    5
    One of the most over hyped games ever. The campaign is very short and very easy it can easily be completed on legendary difficulty with two people with their eyes shut. When I heard about Spartan ops I was quite excited however, same as the campaign too easy and really boring straightforward objectives. Tries to be Halo 3 but fails miserably.
  93. 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
  94. aadms
    Dec 8, 2012
    7
    This game plays very similiar to the other Halo games with its face paced combat, excessive dying, same enemies and an addition to a few knew ones. In fact, the game plays out so "the same" that it seems like the Halo series is now "the never ending story". And I think this is the disappoint that I have with the game in the underwhelming adversary that follows the same potline as theThis game plays very similiar to the other Halo games with its face paced combat, excessive dying, same enemies and an addition to a few knew ones. In fact, the game plays out so "the same" that it seems like the Halo series is now "the never ending story". And I think this is the disappoint that I have with the game in the underwhelming adversary that follows the same potline as the first three games. There is a deeper interaction with Master Chief and Cortana, however, that alone is not enough to make the game really interesting. When a game is only six hours long, you need a story to compensate the short game play. This one wasn't as bad as O.D.S.T, but not much better.… Expand
  95. RamboDash
    Dec 7, 2012
    9
    I'm only giving this a 9 to pull this game out of an injust 6.8 user rating... While I felt it was more along the lines of a high 7 to 8. Halo is by far my favorite franchise, it tells the best story I've ever heard, with the smoothest gameplay, most stunning visuals and ground-breaking musical scores... The scores. That's where MY score comes in. I hold Halo to such a high standard thatI'm only giving this a 9 to pull this game out of an injust 6.8 user rating... While I felt it was more along the lines of a high 7 to 8. Halo is by far my favorite franchise, it tells the best story I've ever heard, with the smoothest gameplay, most stunning visuals and ground-breaking musical scores... The scores. That's where MY score comes in. I hold Halo to such a high standard that once Marty left the party I was legitimately scared. Turns out I was right... Neil Davidge does not show this game justice, and while his musical score was quite good it can't touch Marty's legacy with a 40 metre pole.

    During the entire campaign, as soon as I started to feel the thrill of past Halo's rush through me, I would cut myself short and wonder where the amazing music was. Then I would realize that Marty is gone, and slump back into my couch, apathetically racing a ghost through a wonderfully designed level.

    That is my great critique as a Halo fan; however the rest of the campaign was not perfect, not even on par with Reach in my opinion. I disliked the poor character development of the captain of the UNSC Infinity, I disliked the feeling that 343 rushed to tell a story (where can they even go with Halo 5?) and above all I disliked the Diadact. He was most certainly the most poorly developed villain in the Halo universe.

    Multiplayer wise, however, I was blown away. The fact that they could revolutionize the good old Halo experience by adding weapon drops, new (BALANCED!!!) armour abilities, and custom classes which aren't overpowered; by this I'm referring to something along the lines of COD, where if you want to play with the best you need a silenced UMP, or a Type 95. The way they allowed players to customize their classes was FAIR; not better, not worse, just different, to respond to different situations.

    My only critiques I have of the multiplayer aspect of the game are spawn times, the Mantis, and starting grenades. All of these can easily be modified later, which is why I don't feel they are fundamental gameplay errors. I feel that instant spawns is taking the Halo out of Halo, as we now have problems of "reverse spawn camping" (killing the player whom killed you, as you can go after him instantly). The Mantis needs to be nerfed a little, since (as any banshee pilot can attest to) a single fly-by is fatal, and there is no chance in hell you are able to take down a mantis from the sky. Lastly, spawning grenades. This is the only problem I have with customizable loadouts, as it can turn simple infantry into anti-vehicle nightmares; right from the spawn. There's few things more frustrating than loading up a warthog at the beginning of a match, knowing (falsely) that the only plausible oppositions are enemy vehicles, only to be stuck by a few stragglers instantly.

    This is my review, which doubles as a rant. Hope it was helpful and that you enjoyed it. Cheers :)    … Expand
  96. Makaveli
    Dec 7, 2012
    9
    I liked Halo 1, didn't care for Halo 2 and Halo 3 was okay. It's actually really refreshing to see a shooter other than Call of Duty. The game is leagues ahead of any CoD game, and what I don't understand is that the overall "Professional" scores of this game is on par with Black Ops 2??? That doesn't make any sense considering CoD has been the same since MW2. Halo 4 is in somewhat theI liked Halo 1, didn't care for Halo 2 and Halo 3 was okay. It's actually really refreshing to see a shooter other than Call of Duty. The game is leagues ahead of any CoD game, and what I don't understand is that the overall "Professional" scores of this game is on par with Black Ops 2??? That doesn't make any sense considering CoD has been the same since MW2. Halo 4 is in somewhat the same as Halo 3 was but also a lot different. I liked how they gave MC more character development which was lacking in the previous titles. The game looks great, the sounds are awesome, the multiplayer is even better than the previous games, even though it's always been pretty good anyways. If you give this game a low score but give any Call of Duty game a good score then there's something wrong with you. Even Halo 1 still has more things you can do with than any CoD game. I own a PS3 and a 360 and I usually play my PS3 more, but I have to give this game my recommendation, it's probably the only shooter that is different than the others and is one of the best to date IMO. Keep in mind that this franchaise is what made the original Xbox and without this franchaise we might not even have the Xbox 360 today :)… Expand
  97. airborne17th
    Dec 7, 2012
    8
    I rented this game at my local grocery store and only got to play this game for like 6 hours. 2 singleplayer in forever alone world and 4 in multiplayer with friends. My biases here? I fell out with Halo after Halo 2 and never got interested in it again till Halo Reach. So I'm missing Halo 3 and ODST. So when the story started I was rather confused so I had to wiki the story. The thing isI rented this game at my local grocery store and only got to play this game for like 6 hours. 2 singleplayer in forever alone world and 4 in multiplayer with friends. My biases here? I fell out with Halo after Halo 2 and never got interested in it again till Halo Reach. So I'm missing Halo 3 and ODST. So when the story started I was rather confused so I had to wiki the story. The thing is even after two hours, the story still seemed a bit unexplained and the designers at 343 assumed that you know and accept everything that happened before Halo 4. Honestly, they could of weaved the narrative better and had a better 5 minute introduction (see Extra Creditz) Alright, that doesn't bug me that much because the game is smooth and controls extremely well. But that this point the combat of Halo has not evolved very much. I swear if there was more time and budget for it, Halo 1 could of had the same armor abilities as this Halo. This game actually is pretty boring playing alone, if I had time for co-op, I assume that I would of had a better time. The multiplayer? I had a lot of fun with. During my first match, when I got my first airdropped rocket launcher my first thought was, this was a hell of a lot like Call of Duty. After I got that feeling I couldn't shake it off, it didn't help there was custom classes, leveling, and unlock tokens. Interestly, Black Ops 2 and Halo 4 were developing at similar times. Were designers at 343 and Treyarch sharing ideas? Not to say this is a bad idea, taking what good design choices from other games and putting it in yours to improve the experience is a good idea. Overall, I don't feel Halo 4 improved much on the template of Halo. I'm probably going to get this during the holiday season, but there was always the feeling of slight disappointment while playing Halo 4. Still you did a relatively good job, 343. Halo 5 should be able to make some improvements...hopefully… Expand
  98. Haon
    Dec 7, 2012
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'd give this game an 8.75. There are a few overly cheesy sequences in the campaign (I'm sorry, but Cortana just hasn't been the same since HALO: CE) and I personally don't find all the loadouts useful. The music isn't quite as spectacular as the originals, but hey, blame that on US Trademark law, not 343. NOW, THE GOOD! With the exception of the cheesy speed bumps, the campaign is spectacular. As Reach was the eulogy of a planet and a squad, Halo 4 is the final moments of gaming's oddest love story. The relationship between Chief and Cortana is utterly amazing, as is their debate about the humanity of one another. The multiplayer is just, wow. 343 really did a great job at making the weapons balanced (and sounding awesome!) and the maps unique. But more than anything, the ability to subtlely change the loadouts (no power or weapon is overpowered), the addition of ordinance drops, and creating randomized power weapons on the map keeps the focus on the battle, not on finding the best uber-weapon to blow things sky-high. Having logged over 100 hours into multiplayer, I still find myself going back for more, something I NEVER do with multiplayer. Seriously, try out Big Team Battle; it's like no other BTB in Halo. Spartan Ops is also decent, but where Firefight was slightly better than multiplayer in Reach, War Games is far and above more engaging than SO. Oh, and I love how they have a rotating game mode each week; it's nice way to keep things fresh. So, no game is perfect, and Halo 4 has it's flaws. But as a test of skill and teamwork that stays fresh, it shines like few others.… Expand
  99. JusticeSilfies
    Dec 7, 2012
    10
    With a game like Halo 4, you have to review on both Story AND Multiplayer. When it comes to the game overall, it is a compelling masterpiece. It's visually a work of art and gameplay is spectacular. With most Halo games, I often found myself having to replace broken controllers due to dying so much. But not with Halo 4. 343 did an amazing job keeping true to the legendary franchise ofWith a game like Halo 4, you have to review on both Story AND Multiplayer. When it comes to the game overall, it is a compelling masterpiece. It's visually a work of art and gameplay is spectacular. With most Halo games, I often found myself having to replace broken controllers due to dying so much. But not with Halo 4. 343 did an amazing job keeping true to the legendary franchise of Halo, but while also putting there personal signature on it. I was slightly skeptical about the new Forerunners. It's obvious that you can't just keep killing Covenant all the time, but it was a risky move and they still pulled it off. They did a great job giving the player a nostalgic feeling while killing the Covenant, which were graphically beautiful. But also in giving a player a rush of excitement of facing an unknown enemy. Whilst the story was not a complete turn from the other 3, it still had a new sense of adventure to it. A very compelling story line which for the first time was even quite emotional for me. For story, it's a 10/10. Now, multiplayer. While you can't expect anything new from a Halo multiplayer, they dished out quite a few new interesting features. Including customizing loadouts and even more customization with you Spartan Armor to the point where you truly do feel unique in your own way and not just a different color copy of some other player. Some of the maps are small, but still well designed. Whilst multiplayer can get quite boring, you have Spartan Ops which is a great feature that was added. Whether you want to go Solo or play with a party, you engage in unique actual missions that are quite enjoyable and make you eager to get the next season of missions. Spartan Ops is a great choice if you liked playing campaign with other players. It's new and fresh and does not get old. Multiplayer gets a 10/10. The music is great. The graphics are spectacular. The voice acting is excellent. It's a fantastic game. I would recommend this game to not only true fans of Halo, but gamers in general. Definitely one of the most amazing games I have ever played.… Expand
  100. ToM-tOm
    Dec 6, 2012
    10
    I will put it simply, Go with the vast majority of professional critics, There's a reason the users on here aren't professional critics, they haven't got a clue, it's a fantastic game and is very much worth your time, in the list of things not worth your time are haters on metacritic.
Page:

Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 87 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 83 out of 87
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 87
  3. Negative: 1 out of 87
  1. Hyper Magazine
    Dec 17, 2012
    90
    Halo 4 eschews esoteric delivery for a sledgehammer story with a blockbuster aesthetic. Epic, engaging and sensorially awesome. [Jan 2013, p.60]
  2. Eurogamer Portugal
    Dec 5, 2012
    90
    In the end, this game is still a fairly conservative and faithful to the original spirit, even with some significant changes.
    Read full review
  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.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »