Halo 4 Review

I came to two conclusions tonight.  The first being that trying to write a review while watching Obama’s acceptance speech can lead to some serious typos.  The second is that no matter what happens over the next four years in this country, Cortana will still be hot and Master Chief will still rip new assholes.

Today I got the privilege to review the latest in the line of Halo games from 343 Industries (A subsidiary of Microsoft Studios, they took over the Halo franchise from Bungee after they left Microsoft).  It’s the first in the newest Halo series known as the “Reclaimer Trilogy”.

Many of us have fond memories of playing every single Halo game thus far.  And although none will have that special place in my heart the way the first one did, this one comes mighty close.  And although there’s no halo-shaped planet to explore, it still feels like the same game, only evolved.  Pardon the pun.  It’s been a long night so far.

Halo 4 takes place in the year 2557, and ushers the return of Master Chief.  He has been drifting through space along with Cortana since the end of Halo 3.  And for the first time since Halo 3, he is the playable protagonist.  Having been lost in space since the finale of Halo 3, Master Chief and Cortana drift aboard the wreckage of the UNSC frigate Forward Unto Dawn. Cortana wakes Master Chief after a mysterious disturbance and warns him Covenant forces are trying to board the ship. They find themselves near a mysterious Forerunner planet, Requiem, where most of the campaign takes place. Cortana reveals that the normal lifespan of an AI is seven years and she is currently in her eighth year. Her exposure to Halo and her operation beyond her natural lifespan have contributed to her becoming “rampant”, a mental state of aged AIs akin to insanity, and which normally results in the ‘death’ of the AI.

As I said before, the planet feels much like the original Halo planet.  I’ve always found the foliage quite cartoony in these games.  Much like the aliens themselves.  But while I find it hard to take the foes seriously, the game is nothing if not downright enjoyable.  Wandering this planet as the most badass Spartan that every walked, killing anything with a big head or the gall to fire a Needler at you is probably the best thing one can do to take their mind off all this election hoopla.  And the holidays are coming up.  Yeah.  We all want to kill stuff this time of year.

The gameplay is crisp.  343 spared no effort in making the aliens as life-like as possible, and gave Master Chief and Cortana as much personality as one could hope for in a game.  This isn’t Mario, folks.  Steve Downes reprised his role as MC, and Jen Tayor once again voiced the sexy A.I. vixen Cortana.  Along with other cast featuring Conan O’Brien and Andy Richter, the game feels more like a movie than anything else in some aspects.  The beginning cutscene, for example, blew me the f*** away.  I had to convince myself it was only CG, and not real people on the screen.  You’ll see what I mean when you play it.

This game marks a new turn for the Halo franchise.  It explores more than just killing stuff.  It explores the depths of John’s (Master Chief, for the uninformed) own emotional ties to Cortana as he not only has to save the planet, but also save Cortana from herself.  As the trilogy proceeds, we get to see more and more of what ticks inside the mind of Master Chief.  But seriously, in this game alone you find out more about the man than you ever dreamed would be created for the character.

The main aspect of the game, and what makes it an excellent FPS, is the gunplay.  All the old guns are there, and true to form, each has its own place and time to be used.  There was once scene where I was fighting a flying machine that no matter what I fired at it, it simply wouldn’t kill off.  Finally I just hauled ass up a hill to fight something a little less… bulletproof.  While I do love the games, I’m still far from willing to memorize what each gun does to each foe.  I did it with Dead Space.  I refuse to do it with Halo.  There’s only so much space left between my ears for that kind of knowledge.  But I have no doubt that dyed-in-the-wool Halo fans will have no trouble picking up where Halo 3 left off.

Now back to my previous “cartoony” comment.  Yes, I said the characters were cartoony.  And while I still believe that about many of the Covenant aliens’ actions, I refuse to say that about the graphics.  Seriously, they are amazing.  The art director for the sandbox-style Halo 4 is Kenneth Scott. He described the visual style of Halo 4 as being more ingrained in the expanded universe fiction, and more “mature” than before. With the game’s increased focus on the Forerunners, the artists have invested heavily into the look and feel of Forerunner technology. It has also been stated that there will be more diversity to Forerunner structures, including fully active Forerunner technology as opposed to the mostly inert and abandoned structures seen in the earlier games.

The sound definition is also splendid.  Everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING, is heard.  From the sound of a distant engine to the grunting of a Covenant soldier in hiding, it’s all vivid and crisp.  I played both with my surround sound setup and with my Turtle Beach headphones, and found absolute clarity in sound no matter which way I played.  And for those who value the music that Halo has brought to the world, Neil Davidge has taken over the role of mixing the score for the newest game.  Most wouldn’t notice the change, but he pretty much changed everything and left the game with all new tracks that leave a litle to be desired.  Fortunately, the rest of the game makes up for this.

And for the biggest selling point for Halo games; the multiplayer experience.  I know guys who bought the previous games for this alone, and still haven’t played most of the campaigns.  Without revealing too much, get ready for some new twists in this edition of multiplayer glory.  You’re going to see some Spartan-vs-Spartan  training sessions onboard the UNSC Infinity, and will get to rip aliens to shreds alongside other Spartans at the amazingly crafted Blood Gulch.    And that’s only a taste.  The selection of battlegrounds leaves nothing to the imagination.  It’s all there, ripe for the picking.  You just have to have the bloodlust to take it.

All in all, Halo 4 was everything I expected from this franchise that seems to delight in presenting perfection.  If there’s one thing you should have on your list this holiday season, it’s a copy of this game.  Happy gaming people.  Kick some Covenant ass.