Halo 4 Xbox 360 Review

Gameplay was always going to be the biggest factor of this review for me. Having played all the other Halo games to their limits, I really wanted a game that not only felt new and exciting, but still fundamentally played like a true Halo game. Fortunate that 343i have done an amazing job with the Campaign on this game.

Not only is the story fantastic but the general mission design is what we have come to expect from the series. The first mission is simply mind blowing and really sets the pace for the game. Yet while a lot of missions can boil down to go from A to B, press switch C and kill all of D, this is a formula that has proven successful for years.

While the mission formula can be simple, executing the mission is anything but simple. If like myself you play the game on Legendary (very hard mode), or higher thanks to the games skulls system (see: difficulty modifiers) then you’re going to have one of gamings finest and most difficult challenges on your hands with Halo 4. It’s nice to see a game that can reward you regardless of your ability as a ten thumbed talent-less gamer or a gaming warrior with ninja like reflexes and skill.

Multiplayer has been given the biggest overhaul of the series so far. While Halo Reach introduced abilities such as jet packs and sprint, Halo 4 takes these ideas to the next level. All players can now sprint, but you can unlock and equip secondary abilities such as jet packs, invisibility, the power to see through walls, faster reloads, more ammo, the list goes on and all are very, very cool.

To deal with the influx in setup options 343i have introduced a load out system not unlike that of games like Battlefield 3 and Black Ops. This allows you to setup more than one set of weapons and abilities pre-game that you can select from each time you die in game.

The maps, game types and general vibe are bigger, better and faster paced that the previous games and while it does take a while to get used to, the experience is every bit the Halo game you could hope for with some exciting new features that really bring the series into the modern gaming world.