343 Industries had a big job. It had to take Microsoft’s flagship Xbox franchise, which has sold 43 million copies across all games, and put its own stamp on it. Their developers had to keep fans happy, but also stay ahead of other great shooters. The studio had to prove to critics it could carry the mantle passed on from Halo‘s previous developer, Bungie.
Thankfully, Halo 4 is just that good.
Halo 4 is a tight, competent shooter, but it doesn’t rest easily on its laurels. The game and its developers put in so much effort to prove Halo wasn’t just Bungie’s domain. Halo 4 pushes the envelope in both its presentation and content without losing anything important to the franchise.
New Adventures, Old Chief
343i has said that its biggest investment in making Halo 4 its own was creating a more immersive story. Players first saw glimpses of this deeper story in Forward Unto Dawn, the live-action miniseries shown exclusively on YouTube that cost Microsoft $10 million to make. It gives you glimpses of young cadet Thomas Lasky, in a UNSC military academy, about 15 years before you see him Halo 4.
Halo 4 starts four years after the end of Halo 3. Master Chief and Cortana have been floating in the ship Forward Unto Dawn, both suspended until they are found or needed. The world has continued without them, and the passage of time isn’t always kind.
The biggest story changes players will immediately notice is that the stoic Master Chief has gotten a little more chatty. It might be jarring to players who are attached to the silent protagonist, whose lack of personality was purposeful in previous games. Chief’s role has moved from quiet killing machine to integral plot point, especially with the degradation of his AI counterpart, Cortana.
Cortana’s dialogue traditionally led Halo‘s narrative, but in the fourth installment, she develops signs of “rampancy” — a terminal state for AI constructs that makes her prone to outbursts and poor decision making. She will eventually “think herself to death” if a cure isn’t found. Chief’s concern and care when these moments happen is almost tender; their bond is clearly the deepest and most important to the story, and will be to players who have followed the series.
Master Chief’s age and purpose also come into focus here. His design, his humanity and his usefulness to the UNSC are often questioned. It becomes a thought-provoking point, and many game moments strive to point out his duality as hardware and flesh. It’s a darker trilogy that Master Chief has woken up in (Halo 4 is the first of three new games), and 343 doesn’t let the player forget it.
If that isn’t enough to digest, you are stranded on an unknown planet fighting both the Covenant, an enemy familiar to every Halo player, and new adversaries known as the Prometheans. If killing Grunts and Elites feels like second nature, players will be excited by the challenge the Prometheans can bring in battle. Enemies can teleport and even heal, and airborne aliens offer shield protection to the ground troops. Also, the weapons they drop are some of the most fun to use in the game, and have extra flair with creative reload animations.
The Halo universe has deep lore, more of it found in the nine novels than the games themselves. Casual players may find some of the cutscene references a little obscure, and may end up running to Wikipedia for backstory. This isn’t a complete weakness, but it’s worth noting in terms of accessibility to new fans or those who have only dabbled in Halo. Hardcore fans will get the most reward, but this story will hopefully inspire new players to dig deeper into the Halo universe.
There is so much more to the story of Halo 4, but we’ve tried to keep this review as spoiler-free as possible. A new foe and an ancient artifact are just some of the surprises in store for players.
If it Ain’t Broke…
If you’re likely to cry, “Hey, there is too much story in my Halos!”, don’t worry. One of the things Halo has always excelled at is combat. Thankfully, picking up the controller feels just like spending time with an old friend. The weapons perform the same as previous games, and the new ones add enough pizazz to keep combat fresh.
The mission objectives keep the game exciting. There are plenty of times you have to fight through waves of enemies, but they are often bookends to fun vehicle sequences in a variety of Halo‘s coolest rides. Nothing ever drags on for too long, which can be a common problem for many shooters.
The beautiful game setting also adds so much to your battles. One of the most enjoyable moments I experienced was fighting a wave of Covenant in a cave, and as I pushed forward, I was greeted with beautiful shafts of sunlight that looked almost real. Despite the aging Xbox 360 hardware, the game looks great. This makes it a bigger shame that Microsoft has stopped porting the Halo series to PC, because newer hardware would probably dazzle even more. Hopefully Halo 5 will coincide with the release of Microsoft’s next generation console, whenever that is.
It’s a good thing 343 had so much to prove, because it really stepped up to the plate for Halo 4. Old fans can trust the developers to handle their beloved series, and hopefully use its polish to bring new people into the fold.
Did you pick up Halo 4 at midnight? Let us know what you think of the game so far in the comments.
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