Also available on Xbox One and Windows Halo 4 marked the end of the Bungie-developed Halo games and the beginning of the 343 Industries-developed Halo games. In other words, this is where Halo starts is decline in quality. The Covenant saga is over (although the Covenant are still here in a sense), and the "Reclaimer" saga has begun. You know how, after Goa'uld were defeated in Stargate SG-1, they tried to introduce a new antagonist and story arc to keep it going, but it just kind of sucked? Yeah, that's Halo under 343 prior to Infinite. Halo 4 was the first game in the series that I was able to play on release because it was the first game that came out when I had an Xbox. To say I was disappointed in the game is an understatement. The game starts with Master Chief being brought out of cryosleep after an accident left him and Cortana adrift in space far from Earth for over four years. He finds himself on Requiem, a Forerunner shield world. Unfortunately, he's not alone; what he awakens to find is an attack by Covenant remnants. This opening part of the game feels right at home - you're Master Chief, kicking Covenant ass like old times. Unfortunately, that's where things get weird. The Covenant remnants aren't your main antagonists here; the Prometheans are, Forerunner-created military AIs (sort of) that are led by Ur-Didact, a Forerunner. Or a Promethean. Or some mix of the two, I don't know; the game isn't super clear on that point. That's my biggest gripe with the game - the Forerunners. 343 went and retconned established lore; Halo had strongly hinted at it since the original game, but in Halo 3, 343-Guilty Spark outright confirms to Master Chief that the Forerunners were ancient human. In comes Halo 4, and suddenly, nevermind, they were weird flat nosed Odo-looking aliens that hated humans. It's not that Forerunners being separate bothers me on its own; it's that it contradicts established lore. Aside from that, the game is okay. The storytelling is pretty bad - there are multiple instances where something happens and the game doesn't explain it well at all - but the gameplay itself it fun enough. The story and storytelling is its biggest flaw; as my buddy Patt put it, "I shouldn't have to read three tie-in books just to understand the story of a video game." To the game's credit, it looks amazing. Like, when this game first came out, I couldn't believe I was looking at an Xbox 360 game. After seven years of the Xbox One and two years of the Xbox Series X, it's not quite so mind blowing these days, but still, for a game on a console that launched in 2005, this game these visuals are incredible. Halo 4 makes me sad because it's the harbinger of Halo's decline in a lot of ways. It had great multiplayer, and it looked incredible, but the single player was just disappointing. It was fine - certainly not as bad as what came next - but it just utterly fails to live up to the incredible foundation that Bungie laid for them. It's not a bad game, per se, and I did enjoy playing it, but as someone who plays Halo for the world and the story more than anything else, it was just frustrating and disappointing. My Rating - B |
I'm a teacher.And I like to play video games. I like to collect video games. I like to talk about video games, and I like to write about video games. During the day, I teach high school history; during the night, I spend my spare time gaming. Then I write about it. Archives
March 2024
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