User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 3901 Ratings

User score distribution:
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  1. Jul 24, 2020
    6
    Halo 4 takes the hard work of Bungie and looks to change the core feature that make Halo different from other first person shooters.
    The first issues is the changes to the master chief, his armour no longer looks like it did at the end on halo 3 because apparently nanites change and upgraded his armour while he was in stasis, and it looks worse, the textures are lower resolution the model
    Halo 4 takes the hard work of Bungie and looks to change the core feature that make Halo different from other first person shooters.
    The first issues is the changes to the master chief, his armour no longer looks like it did at the end on halo 3 because apparently nanites change and upgraded his armour while he was in stasis, and it looks worse, the textures are lower resolution the model doesn't fit the the game historic art style and even the sound effects of the player punching an enemy sounds like the suit is made of plastic and this overall change in art style, models textures affect every aspect of the game taking away the iconic look that is Halo, if you need a clear example of the misunderstanding 343 had on this aspect just look at the changes to the Elites who are now more like the brutes.

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

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

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

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

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

    6/10
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  2. Nov 13, 2021
    6
    This was my first Halo game, and even though I enjoyed it, it was a very shallow experience. The gameplay is fun, the graphics are fantastic, the character models look great, and it's a well made game overall, but the story & characters are forgettable.
  3. Aug 8, 2019
    6
    You want to know the definition of disappointment? Fine gameplay, 7/10 story, music was disappointing.
  4. Jun 24, 2020
    6
    Nunca conecte con el juego, sentí que nunca hubo innovación en la narrativa y en gráficos. Lo único rescatable eran las partidas con los amigos por las tardes.
  5. Nov 22, 2021
    6
    Pros:
    + sprint button
    + beautiful graphics
    + hud improvements
    + improved crosshair

    Cons:
    - Prometheans enemies
    - Prometheans weapons
    - indoors section
    - repetitive
    - bad level design
    - convoluted story
    - Master Chief and Cortana dialogues
  6. Jul 18, 2020
    6
    This game is very polarizing for me. I love so much about the story, and the character development that it has. The themes it sets up is great and new for halo. But, the gameplay and multiplayer falls short. The changes made make it not feel like halo. The loss of weapons and the change of art style makes it almost a completely different game. I just wish they had more familiar aspects.
  7. Jan 15, 2021
    6
    this game is odd however has some good however a lot of bad, this was 343s first attempt to make a halo game and the outcome was moslty bad, this game banks off of alot of highlights, the pretty good story, and being a halo game. the multiplayer is a cheap rip off of call of duty, the forge was a shell of its former glory, the gameplay is horrible, and the story is good however itthis game is odd however has some good however a lot of bad, this was 343s first attempt to make a halo game and the outcome was moslty bad, this game banks off of alot of highlights, the pretty good story, and being a halo game. the multiplayer is a cheap rip off of call of duty, the forge was a shell of its former glory, the gameplay is horrible, and the story is good however it completely drives away from the past halos. this game had alot of shoes to fill and halo 4 had feet that were to small for those shoes, this game is a halo game, however a bad halo game, better than 5 however just a nock off of its competition. Expand
  8. Mar 14, 2021
    6
    Halo 4 is infinitely better than halo 5 and it has some good concepts, it just executes them poorly. The story isn't by all means dreadful, however it just feels uneventful compared to previous Halo games. The characters aren't by all means bad, they're just not as good as the previous Halo games and some are even unlikeable.
    Halo 4 however falls flat on its gameplay. It's boring, not
    Halo 4 is infinitely better than halo 5 and it has some good concepts, it just executes them poorly. The story isn't by all means dreadful, however it just feels uneventful compared to previous Halo games. The characters aren't by all means bad, they're just not as good as the previous Halo games and some are even unlikeable.
    Halo 4 however falls flat on its gameplay. It's boring, not very fun, it's tedious and some of the enemies are just poorly designed. Enemy variety has never been Halo's strong point, but no matter the enemy type they where always fun to fight. Halo 4 is the opposite, the promethians are not fun to fight and the covenant are not fun either.
    So whilst there are some nice concepts with halo 4, like the story for example. It just isn't a fun game to play.
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  9. Nov 17, 2020
    6
    Jogo bom, pudi me divertir muito. Gostei muito do que joguei, me diverti muito
  10. Sep 8, 2023
    6
    Halo 4 is a decent time, the graphics are beautiful and the machanics are tight.

    But the ugly new designs for old characters, the annoying enemies, and the over dramatic narative keep it from being a truly great game.
  11. Mar 27, 2022
    6
    the game is ok i did not like the story the gun play is good i have not tried the multiplayer but that all i have to say
  12. Aug 21, 2022
    6
    Really felt like a departure from the original series. I was never a huge halo fan but even I knew this game didn't feel true to the spirit of the franchise. The game mechanically was decent, the story was decent, and the gameplay sections were decent, ultimately the entire experience felt painfully average. The only thing helping this game is the multiplayer is fun even though it stillReally felt like a departure from the original series. I was never a huge halo fan but even I knew this game didn't feel true to the spirit of the franchise. The game mechanically was decent, the story was decent, and the gameplay sections were decent, ultimately the entire experience felt painfully average. The only thing helping this game is the multiplayer is fun even though it still doesn't feel like traditional halo multiplayer and feels much more washed out. Expand
  13. Jun 20, 2023
    6
    For me this halo game has the worst campaign of all the halo games. Mainly because in this game you have to fight the sentinels the most. It also made you fight the flying drone sentinels the most and that was so annoying. The missions were more boring than other halo games and the story was also very boring and dull- there were a few fun missions though- the one with the massive vehicle.For me this halo game has the worst campaign of all the halo games. Mainly because in this game you have to fight the sentinels the most. It also made you fight the flying drone sentinels the most and that was so annoying. The missions were more boring than other halo games and the story was also very boring and dull- there were a few fun missions though- the one with the massive vehicle. The multiplayer tried to copy call of duty in some ways and so was quite meh. The maps of the multiplayer were quite solid though. Overall a disappointing halo game. Expand
  14. May 6, 2023
    6
    I give this game a review of six out of ten because it is not particularly fun.
  15. Sep 7, 2023
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Halo 4 was not great for the time, and did not live up to Bungie's line up of Halo games, however, it was not bad. The art style was done somewhat subpar, however you could deal with it in this game. The campaign was alright. The Prometheans were very generic, they were not that amazing, and got pretty old the more that I played the campaign. The Didact for a villain was good, however, did not follow Bungie's original plan to make Forerunners human, which came off a little weird coming from Halo 4, but not horrible. The multiplayer was average, even down to the core gameplay. It did feel a lot more like a Call of Duty game with the way that sprint worked. The Loadouts were not a very good idea, as all they did was allow you to pick the weapons you wanted, but there was kind of no point of getting other weapons that were around as powerful. Ordinance ray was also kind of dumb, and did not make sense being in a Halo game, there was no need for it. Spartan Ops was easily the worst part of this game. Most of the missions felt like repeats, and not only got repetetive, but on legendary, was somehow WORSE than Halo 2 jackal snipers. The story also eventually would lead into the events of Halo 5's campaign, which was a failure of campaign story writing. The Forge mode in this game was also average, and nothing was expanded more than what was already in Halo Reach. Overall this game was average at best, and sometimes lackluster, although, you could find some good times, in Forge and Multiplayer, and Campaign. Expand
  16. Jun 24, 2014
    5
    I've only recently become a fan of the Halo franchise (thanks to Red vs Blue), mostly due to the fact that I'm not a big fan of FPS games in general for one reason: I do not enjoy online multiplayer. Co-op is better than competitive, but I still dislike it. One of the major reasons I played WoW for a few years was because I knew people I could play with personally, and I could solo theI've only recently become a fan of the Halo franchise (thanks to Red vs Blue), mostly due to the fact that I'm not a big fan of FPS games in general for one reason: I do not enjoy online multiplayer. Co-op is better than competitive, but I still dislike it. One of the major reasons I played WoW for a few years was because I knew people I could play with personally, and I could solo the game front to back if they weren't around. The loss of Firefight-mode with nothing to replace it that I'm willing to play and don't have to pay more money for is a fatal one, and turns a game that would otherwise be something I'd keep for a long time into one I'll be trading in. Sure, the graphics are nicer, the story is great and it was a total blast to play, I just can't really play it more, as much as I'd like to. I'm just an old fart that likes to play alone, and you just can't do that with this game without playing the campaign over and over. Expand
  17. Dec 2, 2012
    5
    Distinct sense of "Meh" - the Halo storylines have become weaker and weaker since the original. The single-player campaign is of course graphically gorgeous, but boring and unmotivated as all heck. The enemy AI is seriously dumb; the one redeeming quality is the ability to play coop.
  18. 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
  19. 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
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  20. Nov 6, 2012
    5
    Genearlly an average game, it does have pretty graphics and an okay story, but in the end I was dissapointed with most of the games aspects, I wasn't a fan of the story or of the multiplayer and I found that the game was lacking in some areas during the campagin, but despite these problems of course fans are going to like it, but if you're not a fan, don't buy it, a waste of time and money.
  21. Mar 13, 2014
    5
    Two things up front. Firstly I’m a long-term Halo fan, having played all the games from the beginning -- not some PS3 fanboy. Secondly, both positive and negative User reviews on this site have been grossly over-exaggerated for dubious reasons. Let’s be realistic folks, few games deserve a zero and no game is worthy of a 10 because no game is perfect!

    I had high hopes for Halo 4 after
    Two things up front. Firstly I’m a long-term Halo fan, having played all the games from the beginning -- not some PS3 fanboy. Secondly, both positive and negative User reviews on this site have been grossly over-exaggerated for dubious reasons. Let’s be realistic folks, few games deserve a zero and no game is worthy of a 10 because no game is perfect!

    I had high hopes for Halo 4 after the superb job that 343i did in revamping the original Halo. Perhaps they should have stuck to polishing other people’s games for a while because, sadly, they don’t seem to have the finesse (yet) to create an admirable game from scratch. When I first read the Quarter to Three review by Tom Chick in the Critic section, I felt it was a bit harsh but after playing Halo 4 for myself, I now consider it a tactful understatement.

    As far as I’m concerned, the only real improvements in Halo 4 are the more realistic sound effects and cut scenes. Clearly these two elements are a cut above previous Halo games but just about everything else is a backward step and second-rate for a AAA title. For all the hype from 343i about the game being a labor of love, there is a shocking lack of attention to detail not found in Bungie’s instalments. But of course, most fans won’t be prepared to admit that because a successful continuation of the series means so much to them. It’s an emotional investment – sort of like staying with a bad lover for old time’s sake.

    As others have stated, the Halo 4 story is boring and manipulative with unsympathetic characters and repetitive scenarios. Somehow, it also manages to be confusing and cliche-ridden at the same time – just what you don’t want in a game, particularly a FPS. (Unless it’s satire and this isn’t – it’s overblown seriousness).

    The superlatives being lavished on the graphics by many reviewers are way over the top. For me, good graphics are in the details and many in Halo 4 are noticeably absent. Gone, for example, is the superb purple and bronze pattern detail previously found in Covenant hardware. Some of the alien architecture may look impressive but the backgrounds are often foggy and indistinct. A close inspection of outdoor environments and objects reveals nothing but jagged, blocky and/or blurred textures. Those representing the terrain are muddy and ugly while foliage and fire look like they were rendered in a primary school art class! Decals (projectile damage) look nice but are inconsistent, appearing only on certain surfaces and sometimes they look sharper than those surfaces themselves, which is ludicrous. A useful graphics comparison can be found in some of the beautifully detailed weapons and environments of the Serious Sam HD games and they were made by a much smaller company on a fraction of the budget!

    Another aspect where Halo 4 falls short is the AI. For example, at the beginning of the Campaign chapter, Size Matters, I experienced a fellow Spartan continually running into a rock face. Belting him with a melee attack had absolutely no effect on his mindless course of action so I eventually threw a grenade at him and he jet-packed to the adjacent Mammoth. That glaring faults this basic were allowed through to the final build of a multi-million dollar project is an absolute disgrace and demonstrates a distinct lack of respect for the fan base! In addition, the beloved Covenant species have had many of their personality attributes that made them so interesting to fight, reduced or removed altogether. They now share the stage with generic new enemies which are highly reminiscent of those from other games. Anyone else notice a resemblance between the Promethean Watchers and Crawlers of Halo 4, and the Icarus and Parasite creatures from Quake 2? Or the Promethean Knight and the Bloodletter Daemon from Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine? The appearance and behaviour of these pairs is strikingly similar!

    Enough has been said about the multiplayer aspect by others – obviously a blatant blending of COD features to draw in that crowd. Firefight is sorely missed and Spartan Ops is a thinly-veiled attempt to increase Gold account sales on Xbox Live.

    Other major gripes include: the extremely bland game menus (hate the floating debris image), limited brightness control, rigid corpses, clipping, minor objects that can’t be damaged, invisible walls, and VERY weak grenades.

    I give Halo 4 a score of 5 for retaining a semblance of the enjoyable core combat of the series but if there’s genuine pride in the making of this game, it’s hard to detect from the final result. Perhaps it’s a case of "too many cooks spoil the broth" but it smells more like a money tree to me.

    NOTE: This review was initially posted in Nov. 2012 but somehow it was deleted from Metacritic so I've had to resubmit it.
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  22. Jul 5, 2014
    5
    As an enormous fan of the original Halo, it's difficult to express my disappointment with how this series has been humped into mediocrity. The game-play itself is alright, nothing astounding, and the graphics are really quite impressive. My issues come from the story. I could have come up with a more compelling story with better dialogue, and that's not talking myself up as much as it'sAs an enormous fan of the original Halo, it's difficult to express my disappointment with how this series has been humped into mediocrity. The game-play itself is alright, nothing astounding, and the graphics are really quite impressive. My issues come from the story. I could have come up with a more compelling story with better dialogue, and that's not talking myself up as much as it's putting 343 Studios down. The Didact is a miserable villain, and his goons are bland / annoying along with their weapons. Bah I say. Expand
  23. Nov 15, 2012
    5
    I played Halo when it first came out on the Xbox a decade ago and i still remember the good memories. The game was about the Halo rings , the covenant , humanity and ofcourse Master Chief. The story was good and well conceived. This game is nothing like that. I had great expectations for Halo 4 but unfortunately this one sucks. It's as if 343 copied all the good parts from other games andI played Halo when it first came out on the Xbox a decade ago and i still remember the good memories. The game was about the Halo rings , the covenant , humanity and ofcourse Master Chief. The story was good and well conceived. This game is nothing like that. I had great expectations for Halo 4 but unfortunately this one sucks. It's as if 343 copied all the good parts from other games and mashed it together. The fore runner corridor and ship levels are all shiny and metallic like Tron. Other Tron levels in the game have the same look except a different color palette (blue to red). The jungle level looked like i was playing Crysis. The fore runners looked like Turians from Mass Effect. Heck even the main bad dude (The Didact's) voice and look felt as if he was a Collector from Mass Effect 2. I think a big portion of this game is a copy of Mass Effect 2. The emotional sickness exhibited by Cortana didn't feel real (not to mention the annoying damsel look on her face) and in the end i didn't care if she lived either. And how come MC blows a nuclear bomb in his hands and comes out unscathed? It's impossible! I felt let down. Go spend your cash on something better or heck just rent the game. Expand
  24. Nov 6, 2012
    5
    The kills suck. Repetitive death animations, incredibly unsatisfying shooting. Loud noises, and pretty lights galore, but just generally not as sweet as say a game like Max Payne 3. Euphoria and Ragdoll Physics FTW! screw motion capture.!!!
  25. 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.
  26. Nov 6, 2012
    5
    You already played this.

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

    After over ten years of halo games Halo 4 is exactly the same formula :-/
    Pretty graphics, decent sounds,cool new enemies (finally).
    But I am very disapointed that the series hasn't envolved.
    Come on 343 what modern shooter doesn't zoom with all guns to aim!
    It needs to be faster! Also the slomo jumping got to go!
    Average game thanks to its dated nature smh...
    Will be trading her in tomorrow.
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  27. Nov 11, 2012
    5
    The campaign is great and the story is finally back on track from that debacle that was "Reach". Spartan Ops is interesting and it's cool to see the story of the universe expand past campaign.......

    The reason why the score is so low is because the Multi-Player is "Turrible"... It is the worst bastardization of a solid franchise i have ever seen. The game copies so many other games that
    The campaign is great and the story is finally back on track from that debacle that was "Reach". Spartan Ops is interesting and it's cool to see the story of the universe expand past campaign.......

    The reason why the score is so low is because the Multi-Player is "Turrible"... It is the worst bastardization of a solid franchise i have ever seen. The game copies so many other games that it no longer feels like Halo. The maps are poorly laid out with poor spacial referencing for callouts. The small number of maps is appalling. The whole multiplayer experience is inconsistent with all the random weapon spawns, ordinance drops, and all the random variables and "perks" that the games are loaded with. The entire game could be great if they would just make classic playlists.... Personally it feels like a Beta, with 4 maps to choose from in any playlist and weapons that are polished but need some work on balance. The game feels noobie and too much like COD....
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  28. Nov 18, 2012
    5
    They didn't really do anything to improve upon the Halo Universe - same (for the most part) weapons, vehicles, etc. The campaign was much more repetitive than any other Halo and the story was not very good (why can't these big game companies find decent writers??). Lots of button pushing, and inconsistencies with the space (for instance, you land on a "tower" which is maybe 200 yardsThey didn't really do anything to improve upon the Halo Universe - same (for the most part) weapons, vehicles, etc. The campaign was much more repetitive than any other Halo and the story was not very good (why can't these big game companies find decent writers??). Lots of button pushing, and inconsistencies with the space (for instance, you land on a "tower" which is maybe 200 yards wide, but the interior of it is about a mile deep... Not very well thought-out. Very small, annoying missions (lots of "activations" or "deactivations" at the end of each mission), which remind me of some of the more boring games out there - if it had not been Halo characters I truly believe this game would have gotten much worse critics' reviews. Expand
  29. May 1, 2013
    5
    The main problem with this game is the convoluted story, and the repetitive game play; so little change since Reach. The graphics are dated, and the new dialogue between the Chief and Cortana is cringey. The new enemies are also poorly designed and boring to fight- the flood was way more fun. Multiplayer is fun though, best yet in the series.
  30. 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.
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Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 87 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 83 out of 87
  2. 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. 90
    In the end, this game is still a fairly conservative and faithful to the original spirit, even with some significant changes.
  3. 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.