Halo 4: Chief is back!

     Halo 4 is freaking great. There's my review. Ok, I'm not going to leave you with only that bit of information. However, I still stand by my statement that Halo 4 is freaking great. When the first Halo debuted on the original Xbox it was a monster hit and made the Xbox a must own console. The Halo series has continued to be a huge success and has continued to cause people to purchase a Xbox, and make those who don't own one jealous. The series has always been developed and cared for by the great people at Bungie Studios. Well that all changed a couple years ago when Bungie announced they would be moving on to other projects and that 343 Industries would be developing Halo 4. I will admit that this made me nervous but I was willing to give them a fair shot. Needless to say, 343 Industries have created an amazing game and taken care of this beloved series.

     The story of Halo 4 takes place five years after the events of Halo 3. You take control of Master Chief once again. As you are awaken by your favorite A.I. partner Cortana you are thrust right back into action. At first you fight against those pesky Covenant forces and are defending humanity. Things suddenly go from bad to worse as you are introduced to a new alien threat known as the Prometheans. As if this wasn't enough you are also spending the campaign trying to find a way to save Cortana. She is basically dying because all artificial intelligences are decommissioned after they have been active for seven years. Trying to save her, fight alien forces, and keep humanity alive all make the story of Halo 4 exciting and great. You also have the option of playing the campaign in four player co-op, and to me that makes the campaign even more enjoyable.

     The enemy A.I. is quite good in the campaign and especially on heroic or legendary difficulty. I recommend playing on heroic. Let me tell you that the Prometheans mean business. They reminded me of the way the Elites were in Halo Reach. You actually fear them and take that extra time to carefully take them down. You don't want to simply rush into the area with guns blazing. Graphically the game looks great and is the finest looking Halo game. There's a lot of detail in the weapons and characters. The lighting effects are spot on and the music (particularly the orchestral pieces) is fantastic. The sound effects on weapons is top notch and each weapon sounds like it should. The level designs are amazing and range from jungle like, space stations, to very other worldly looking environments.

     Of course no Halo game would be complete without its robust and popular multiplayer section. A new addition to the online/multiplayer side is the Spartan Ops mode. Basically these are extra cooperative missions that are released as chapters that contain five separate missions each. 343 Industries will be continuing the release new chapters to lengthen the Spartan Ops missions. These are a lot of fun and just add more sweet cooperative moments to the game. You'll also earn xp to level up your spartan and unlock weapons and other equipment. If you are more of the competitive type then there's the traditional multiplayer side. One thing I've always liked about the Halo multilpayer is that there are a lot of different modes to choose from. You have your standards like team deathmatch and capture the flag, but then there's other modes like oddball that add a little bit of flavor and change.  Of course there is a wide variety of vehicles (warthog, ghost, banshee, etc.) you can use to cause a little more mayhem.

     Just like in Halo Reach you can create different loadouts to fit your play style and become better suited for certain maps and modes. You can choose your primary and secondary weapons, grenade type, special armor ability, and now there is a perk type system like Call of Duty. You'll also be able to unlock different armor pieces, and create different symbols and colors for your spartan. Everything works well and you'll find yourself wanting to keep playing and leveling up your spartan to unlock more goodies. Halo multiplayer maps have always been both eye catching and fun to play on. This is no different in Halo 4. One of my favorite maps "Valhalla" returns but with a little bit of change. The theater and video editor mode is back and it's easy to use and upload your favorite moments and screenshots for others to view. Also the very creative forge mode is here so for all of you who love to build and create your own maps you can go nuts with this.

     Honestly I can't complain about Halo 4. The campaign is great, there's awesome co-op modes, and the competitive multiplayer has plenty of maps, modes, and customization to keep you coming back for more. Many people love the Halo series and thanks to the hard work and dedication of everyone at 343 Industries, the series continues to improve and be a must own game for the Xbox. If you're not already playing this game go get it and have a great time. Now move out spartan! There's a warthog with your name on it and some alien baddies that need to be taken down.

Final Verdict: 10/10

Written by: Alter Ego 83