What will give you the most replay value in Halo 4 is, of course, the multiplayer. I've spent the majority of my time Infinity Slayer, which is your typical 4v4 team deathmatch with ordinances. Ordinances are weapons or temporary power-ups that you can earn during the game. When you get an ordinance, you'll use the d-pad to select one of three different items, such as an Overshield, increased damage, a shotgun or a saw rifle. There's still guns like the rocket launcher that are located on the map, so don't worry about that. All of the other matches that you expect are there — like Capture the Flag and King of the Hill. There's a few new additions — like Dominion, Extraction and Regicide — that I can see becoming quite popular.
Getting into a game is pretty simple and fast. You can get thrown into a match already in progress, instead of having to wait to fill a spot from a player that's dropped out. Multiplayer did change a lot in regards to progression and loadouts. Outside of the default loadouts, you now are able to control what your primary weapon, secondary weapon, grenade and armor ability will be with five custom loadout options. As you play, you earn experience and level up. Every time you level, you get one Spartan Point (SP) that you use to unlock weapons, grenades and armor abilities. But first, you need to level up to unlock said weapon or ability for purchase with SP. There's also Tactical Packages and Support Upgrades that you can purchase with your SP. Think of them as Perks from Call of Duty. Tactical Packages give you upgrades like unlimited sprint or the ability to carry tow primary weapons instead of one. Support Upgrades give you upgrades like faster reloading and starting with more ammo from your loadout and ordinances. Between Support Upgrades, Tactical Packages, weapons, and Armor Abilities (including a new auto sentry ability), you can really make some unique loadouts that suit your playstyle.
One big thing gone from Halo 4 is Firefight mode, which was a favorite of mine. In its place is Spartan Ops, which is a decent replacement. Spartan Ops is an episodic story-driven mode that have four players exploring Requiem, the planet where most of Halo 4 takes place. Every week for the next 10 weeks, players will be given a new cinematic that progresses the story after the events of Halo 4, in addition to five new levels that will last about an hour. You can play these levels with one to four players on each difficulty. Overall, there will be 50 initial episodes that you get for free, which is pretty good. You're still fighting waves of enemies, but the difference between Firefight and Spartan Ops is that each mission comes to a close.
Forge is back and better than ever. If you've never dabbled with it before, Forge is a player toolset that you can modify multiplayer maps with. There's three Forge worlds, each with a unique feel and look, where you can place objects, weapons and vehicles, and also alter visibility, physics, damage and player movement. You can upload and share your creations, as well as play your friends' creations. There's just more options and more to do in the mode than ever before, and you can spend hours upon hours just creating. Of course, Theater is back, so you can upload your favorite kills.
There's no doubt about it, Halo 4 does the franchise proud. While there are a few minor grips — like no Firefight and some weak level design — 343 Industries has done a fantastic job of redefining the Halo experience. It's still the great combat of past Halo games with a little tweaking, but now it adds a story that resonates with the player. Master Chief is brought to life and feels like a person more than a super-soldier like never before. And the Cortana and Master Chief storyline is one of the most captivating and heartbreaking stories I've experienced. All of this is packaged in one of the most visually impressive games of this console generation. The care that 343 Industries handled Master Chief with has to be applauded. Halo 4 is a stud of a game and one that this console generation will be remembered for.
You can follow Movies and Culture Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. He likes talking sports, video games, and the stupidity of celebrities. Email at LLiebl@GameZone.com
It's been five years since we've had a Halo game starring Master Chief (2007's Halo 3), and it wasn't until I started playing Halo 4 that I realized how much I missed him. 343 Industries tasked themselves with the burden of making Master Chief and Halo better than before — and they've succeeded. What they've done is take a popular FPS series, put their stamp on it, and recreate it with a focus on cutting-edge visuals, character development and a strong narrative — all while feeling like a Halo game. What they've accomplished will make Halo fans undoubtedly happy.
The biggest improvement over other Halo games comes from Halo 4's story and characters. 343 Industries' goal was to get personal with Master Chief. He's referred to as 'John' a couple of times throughout the game, and one of the game's arcs is the Master Chief figuring out whether he's a machine (figuritively, not literally) or human. The other big part of the story is his relationship with Cortana. Through three Halo games, they've been through hell with each other, and their friendship is explored deeper than ever before. I actually found myself caring more about their story than the new enemy that had risen to destroy humanity. The characters now feel like real characters, with each having legit emotions and responses to the things happening. The feel of the game is a bit reminiscent of Halo: Combat Evolved, where you're thrown into a conflict you don't fully understand. If this is your first Halo game, you might feel a little lost with what's going on. While it would've been nice to have a little recap of the story so far, a quick visit to Wikipedia can catch you right up.
Other notable characters include Commander Andrew Del Rio, who is a son-of-a-b*tch, and Thomas Lasky. I can see Lasky's role growing more as the Reclaimer Trilogy continues into Halo 5 and 6, as he was also a big part in the Forward Unto Dawn web series. The villain in Halo 4 is The Didact. I don't want to spoil anything, but he's the villain that Master Chief has been waiting for. The Didact is powerful and hates humans — what more can you ask for? We may or may not delve deeper into his story in the next game, and I certainly hope we do. Regardless of whether or not that happens, he has a reason for hating humans, and the story for a massive war between his army and humankind is all there.
All of these characters are brought to life by some of the most gorgeous graphics. It is not a stretch by any imagination to say that Halo 4 is the prettiest game on the Xbox 360, and maybe out of the three consoles. The Promethean enemies look terrifyingly gorgeous. Human characters look so realistic, you'll have to stop and look closely to make sure they aren't real actors. The environments range in beauty from vibrant, open landscapes to the cold, metal, mysterious interior of an alien construct. And oh, those particle effects! Watching Promethean enemies die and deconstruct into an orange digital ember is a sight to behold, and the Promethean weapons' animations are just mouth watering. Needless to say, Halo 4 pushes the envelope in the graphics department.
Then there's the sounds, which are equally as impressive. Simply switching to a shotgun has a crisp tone to it. All of the sounds feel revamped and have an edge to them. Also, the voice acting is the best in the series. There's a moment in the campaign when Andrew Del Rio shouts, and it was so powerful that I got goose bumps. You can hear the hurt in the voices of both Master Chief and Cortana, and the voice acting helps those characters become deeper than ever before. The music, however, felt a bit weak. While there were some fantastic tracks, it just didn't have the epic feel of past Halo games.
This is all great, but it wouldn't matter if the game didn't play well. Luckily, Halo 4 feels like a Halo game at its core. It's the same Halo combat that fans of the series love, so they'll feel right at home. From Energy Swords and Gravity Hammers to Battle Rifles and Needlers, the combat is fast, action-packed and a ton of fun. The controls feel more precise, including how responsive and accurate the use of armor abilities are. If you didn't like Halo's style of combat before, Halo 4 won't change your mind, but the series' style has become this popular for a reason.
My main problem with the combat in the campaign is the level design. Sure, each level is visually impressive, but the level layout feels a bit uninspired. For a campaign that doesn't take longer than six to eight hours to complete, I should never feel like a level is lasting too long, which I often felt. Maybe it's because I've seen levels like these in the other Halo games. While the multiplayer maps are better, they feel really familiar. That's both a good and bad thing, but there's not that one map that stands out as truly different. The campaign does feature your standard driving and piloting segments, including a sweet piece that is reminiscent of the Death Star trench run. Also, you can play the entire campaign with three other players. I didn't get to try that out, since all of my friends have been obsessed with multiplayer, but I definitely look forward to playing through the game on Legendary.
One other big problem with the game is the final battle, which essentially becomes Call of Duty. I would've much rather seen that last fight played out in a cool cutscene — which are amazing when you see them, and would've like more of them in the game — than having to push a button to input a nonsensical command. It's like 343 Industries missed a big opportunity at the end of the game. That being said, the Promethean forces are a force to be reckoned with, and there's some stellar enemy AI work taking place.
