Halo 4

Novemeber brings us a lot of good things such as Thanksgiving, hot new movies such as Skyfall, or in the case of this November, the next game in the well known series called Halo. Halo 4 was released Tuesday, and video game lovers from all over were anticipating the release of this game, many with high hopes. So, did it live up to anticipation?

In some ways yes, in some ways no.

The story still centers around our silent hero, Master Chief and his A.I companion, Cortana, and their quest to save the galaxy once again. However, his companion is having issues with an A.I degenerative condition called Rampancy, a condtion known to sging A.I where they think themselves to death. While Master Chief is trying to save Cortana, the Forrunners are making their presence through the galaxy and Master Chief must save the galaxy as well.

Story wise, if you have not read the books (which I have not yet) the story on the Forerunners will be a complete mystery. They could have easily done more with the story of the Forerunners or at least expanded on the story or had them tie in with Cortana's story. Cortana's story was great due to the fact that they help expand on the A.I and their workings and Master Chief's relationship. However, I am not satisfied by the end of the story. I will not spoil anything, but they should have made a better ending and intertwined the stories and made them more fleshed out. I hate super long games due to a short atttention span, I would have gladly accepted a few more hours to the campaign rather than have the end.

For me, the graphics were the best selling part of this game. Requiem, the planet where most of the game takes place, is amazingly beautiful. The trees were well detailed and the other places the game takes place is bizarrely beautiful. The new enemies, the Prometheans, have unique designs. The Crawlers looked like insect dogs and the Knights, although hard to kill, had something interesting going for them. Cortana's design was also updated, giving her more of a bobbed haircut and you could see the circuitry in her design where her clothes were supposed to be. Chief's armor has also been updated again, making it a bit more detailed. Along with  hat, they have made the gameplay seem like it more through the point of chief, giving the helmet interface and when Cortana starts to go a bit rampant, they show the red in the visor, which to  me scored points in my book. (In case you're wondering, Chief looks sexy in 1080p.)

 Sound wise, the OST is amazing. I will admit to buying the OST before playing the game, but the real test was could the match the OST with the mood of the game. Honestly, they mixed it very well and the music matched the mood of the moment very well. I will give them credit, I was very surprised when they brought back some of the first Halo music. It was nostalgic and made me happy from the bottom of my heart.

Overall, I am a little dissapointed by the game, but it makes me want to play Halo 5 and Halo 6 ironically. Maybe it's the quest to know what happens next, or maybe it's the wanting to know more about Master Chief, who knows.   I will admit, the game had its good points, but also its bad, but for good or bad, I enjoyed the game.

Special thanks to Mike who did campaign with me and for lending me the book Cryptum!!