Master Chief and Cortana are back, and it is one hell of a ride.
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: 343 Industries
Platform: Xbox 360
Rated: Mature
Released: November 6, 2012
Visuals:
The visuals for Halo 4 are absolutely stunning and it is a much needed to change to a series that was kind of getting dated over the last few entry's in the series and in comparing visuals from this one to Halo: Reach's even though they also stunning but the visuals for Halo 4 are much more prettier then Reach's and much more improved upon which is great for the series going forward.
So the detail's to the new world know as the home world of the Forerunners is just breathtaking once you set foot on this world from every aspect of this world from all the great looking details to this world and it does stretch a nice vast and you will get a chance if you haven't already, get to take all in from the beautiful jungles to depths of the planets core, it is all nice to look at and take in as you play through this games campaign.
The detail's to the character's in this game look really nice and stunning and they're some noticeable changes to the stars of this game like to Master Chief's armor and visor and you can actually now see Cortana's expression can really be shown as she drastically goes through changes. they are nice changes to them both as they needed and the armor as a aged look to it and other noticeable changes to the armor. You also got the great detail of the Covenant and the new enemy known as the Prometheans and the detail to them are great as they have robotic kind of look to them which are again still nice to look at.
So in short for the visuals for this game are this and the are very stunning to look at and all the changes to the visuals were needed the detail to the world and the characters and even the enemies are all great to look at and from the time that I spent with this game I did not notice and issues with the game like the frame rate was pretty smooth and basically everything on the visual side of things ran very smooth. So yes the visuals for Halo 4 are just absolutely stunning and breathtaking to look at.
Audio:
Now the audio for Halo 4 is also spectacular as always from the superb voice acting, to the amazing musical score/sound track and even the sound F/X are all nice to hear and is just a joy to listen to as you play through this game killing the Covenant and the Prometheans.
So in this game the voice acting just spectacular as the voice actors for this game were just excellent and you can just feel the emotion through the cinematic moments between the game's two stars, the musical score/sound track is as it always is amazing and it just fit in every moment as you go through this game from gameplay and the cut scenes, and the most improved part as the guns and other weapons sound a lot better then they sounded in other games in the series and this game they just do sound better even the sound's of the vehicles sound better as well.
So in short on the audio is that the voice work and musical score/sound track is amazing as it always is and the sound F/X are very improved on the weapons and vehicles even all the other F/X as well are just simply put amazing.
Gameplay:
Singleplayer:
Now the gameplay for Halo 4 is well still impressive as always is and in this case it is a new story and a new trilogy for the series and the story see you as Master Chief and Cortana the A.I in a game that has continue where the Halo 3 ended and you find your self on a new world to discover that is know as the home world of the Forerunners and you will find your self fight those pesky Covenant which are explained as some sort of private/pirate type of deal and if you have played the previous 3 Halo game's that are based on this story line that we're on a separate quest to find this world and have no idea that their is now peace between the Human's and Covenant and so basically it is not long before you know it all hell has broken lose between you and the Covenant and you as you eventually do find out what is going on late in the story and you meet a new enemy know as the Prometheans which are like a robotic/machine type of enemy and you will meet a new main boss sort of speak known as the Dydack ( I think that is how it is spelt ). So as you encounter this advisory you will be on a thrill ride to stop him on his quest to rid you and your human race.
The control's have changed a bit as they added a sprint mechanic and other cool new features and the driving of the Warthogs handle the same but are improved and are better to handle. So in short the story is great and is a very emotional and action pack thrill ride from beginning to end.
On-line:
So the on-line for Halo 4 is changed and has some new nodes and feature's as well and the on-line is now called War Games and all the standard modes are there from Slayer and Team Slayer and all the Objective based modes are there and one of the new modes or it is kind of new and it is called Infection Flood this mode is pretty fun. You might also experience some lag and some other on-line issues but it is all very smooth as you play on-line and the on-line can be very addicting and for me it was very addictive and it might be the same for you as well and it is just plain fun.
Co-op:
This game does offer two types of Co-op as you can play the story with up to 4 players and that can be enjoyable with you and three of your friends. You have another mode that allows you to either play it by your self or with three friends and this mode is called Spartan-Ops and this a 5 episode season type mode and this mode is fun but it does get boring fast as you play this as it basically sets you in areas that you have visited through out the main story and the main enjoyment you will have is the CGI sequences that is telling a story and is also possibly setting up for what might happen in Halo 5. So this is fun but get boring fast and a little repetitive as this mode is basically Firefight mode from Reach and ODST.
Overall:
The overall point for Halo 4 is this and that it brings new life to the series and a much needed improvement to every aspect of this game and for better or worse it is a nice breath of fresh air to this franchise and this game proves that the Master Chief still as a place in this gen and in the next. So great work 343 Industries and keep it up looking forward to what you have in store for the future. This game is a masterpiece and is a blast to play on and off-line.
10 out of 10.