Halo 4

If you have been a fan of the Legendary trilogy of Halo through its duration, you would have, like I, been coming into this whole new introduction expecting (and maybe hoping)for it to crash and burn.

However, 343 has done an excellent job. What I really like is their company name, as it is a reference to 343 Guilty Spark, a large contributor to the Halo universe. They have not destroyed the name of Halo; they have raised it to a whole new level

The campaign is extremely fun, and not too long (8 missions). The story line between Master Chief and Cortana was chalked up to be more than it came out to be, but I found it to be more profound than other Halo story-lines, even if it didn't move me to tears. I blame that on the (while good) soundtrack that just wasn't quite Martin O'Donnell level.

The online play from what I've seen is great: they took some factors from Halo: Reach that worked and they bettered them. (The game style that I particularly enjoy is Regicide).

A good game-- it was everything we needed it to be and more than we expected it to be.

Besides the ever awesome multiplayer, Halo 4's the first entry in the series in which the campaign is written with terrific character arcs, layered thematic content, and an absolutely hard-hitting emotional core. 343 has not only taken up the mantle of Halo after Bungie, but even improved upon the storytelling and characters to a greater degree that belong among the best explorations of speculative fiction in video games.

This game is haunting reflective study of the nature of humanity, death, meaning, obsolescence and inevitability. Cortana and Chief have never been as well realized as people until this game with an ending that ranks among the very best stories I've ever experienced. Chief is faced with confronting whether he's a man or machine for the military with Cortana coming face to face with her own mortality in a manner she's never understood before until facing her own "rampancy" (a stage of AI deterioration) where she, quite literally, thinks herself to death. Alongside all of these plot threads, the duo have to contend with the Didact - an ancient enemy with a grudge against humanity and with no qualms of using destructive means for what he sees as "the greater good". It's an engaging yarn from start to finish that manages to let the story breath and develop naturally while never forgetting the humanity behind all of the explosive action.

Well done, 343. Well done.

I have loved Halo sine its birth on xbox, many a day, night and another day spent playing with my friends and then (later with the release of Halo 2), fellow gamers online. I have enjoyed the whole series, and followed it closely. I have always loved the campaigns and online game play. Recently I got a little bored with Reach online and so put it down for a while, but OMG! I went to the midnight release being a true fan, but still was unsure... OMG people! everything about this game is excellent, the campaign is fun and refreshing, and the online multiplayer is Friggin' fantastic!!!! I wasn't sure with the class' and spartan points and so on, but HOLY CRAP! It is fun, fun, fun. My love of Halo has been re-kindled. I cant wait to get home from work and play it! long live the master chief! Thankyou 343. Thankyou.

Halo 4 is beyond incredible. I went to the midnight release, but unfortunately I had an early morning class at my college so I wasn't expecting to play it necessarily... Then I got to the dorm with my friends and realized... this is frickin' Halo, of course I gotta play it. Long story short, didn't go to class. Immediately it sucks you in. The graphics are by far the best graphics I have ever seen in any video game. It is absolutely astonishing. The campaign is award-worthy. However, for someone beating the game already I would recommend playing it on a lower difficulty to get the feel and message of the game first. I played it on Legendary and it is a PITA at some points by yourself. Although Halo 1 remains the hardest solo legendary experience in my personal experience. Halo 2 is the hardest co op legendary experience. Halo 3 (eh) and Reach (eh). Halo 4 is quite difficult in some parts and I must say the new enemy? The Prometheans? Are very challenging. As a warning, you should probably carry around a plasma pistol as your secondary to weaken their shields first because there are many times you are greeted by more than 5 knights and that is NOT a fun time (or carry around a scattershot).

Additionally, I must say, the campaign is a sad campaign. I won't give away anything even though it is probably circulating all over the Internet by now. It almost gave away from the experience and I am surprised 343 gave it such a ballsy ending but I haven't been disappointed with 343 yet so I am sure they have something big planned.

Multiplayer is very good. It is a little confusing at first to figure out how to navigate things on the screen. It is actually quite similar to Call of Duty in the aspect that you make your own classes. The only problem is it is a little more restricted whereas there are only so many weapons you can choose from depending on the game type. Also, there is a killcam so that also makes it similar to CoD for that reason. But lets be honest, the killcam was a genius idea. But do not worry, the feel is extremely different so it makes up for it. Also the maps are awesome and created perfectly where it is fair for both sides. There are camping spots, yes, but there is almost always a spot you can assassinate them from. It is a very nicely made game.

Firefight is gone, but Spartan Ops is alive (another thing similar to Call of Duty) where you complete brief missions at whatever difficulty; whether it is invading Promethean territory, or destroying jammers and eliminating covenant. Either way it is a nice touch, especially when you are not ready to have the campaign end. There are 5 missions for each chapter and as far as I know there are 5 chapters (Could be adding more).

All-in-all I say this will have a hard time being beat out by Black Ops 2 and by any game for that matter. It is an extraordinary ride and those of you who have given up on the halo series, I would highly recommend changing your views for this game. It is not the same as the rest, trust me. Keep gaming folks.

-10/10

Wasn't as good as Halo Reach but it was still an enjoyable game. I liked how they added grifball as a mainstay gamemode.