It’s been five years since we last saw Master Chief save Earth by ending the Covenant war, but much has changed since then. Halo is no longer the most played game on the Xbox 360, as Call of Duty has become the played series on Xbox Live. On the development side, Bungie is no longer behind the Halo brand. In charge is 343 Industries, a first-time developer that has been handed the reins of one of the most popular video game franchises. Did 343 meet expectations? Lets go find out …
The audio department in Halo 4 is astounding. The sound effects allow the alien weaponry to have a grounded sense of realism. Neil Davidge scored the soundtrack, replacing the iconic Martin O'Donnell, but his music is one of the biggest surprises. The new theme captures the struggles that Master Chief and Cortana go through and establishes the beginnings of a new Halo trilogy.
Halo 4 sounds like a homerun by first-time developer 343 Industries, but the problem is that it plays it safe and never gives us anything new. Playing through Halo 4’s campaign feels more like a giant checklist that 343 sought out to achieve, but without anything new added to it. Crazy near-life death vehicle scene, check! How about another Scarab scenario? Check! There are total of eight missions in the campaign and all of them are just recreations of past Halo experiences. Making matters worse is the cookie cutter sequel bait that Halo 4 unacceptably finishes on, which will leave fans asking for more when the closing the credits appear upon the screen.
Halo 4 will be nostalgic for many, but it fails to capture the magic the first Halo had when it appeared on the original Xbox. Competitive multiplayer is still its core experience. Halo 4 isn’t a bad game by any means, however 343 Industries didn’t take enough risks, allowing the product to become a stale experience.
Score: 8.5 / 10
