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Halo 4: Review Thread

O

OldAsUrSock

Banned
Woorloog said:
In FPS genre? EDIT also depends whether one wants SP or MP.
CODs suck in single player front. Nothing of value lost by not playing it. Very different multiplayer.
Battlefield series has pretty bad SP experiences generally. Very different multiplayer.
What else... Gears of War is not FPS technically.
MoH tries to be COD apparently and thus probably not much lost if one skips it.
Crysis is ok. Best of what i've listed so far.
Click to expand...

WAW and COD4 had great SP. The others were a little above average.
Battlefield SP is horrible. Except bad company's
The MOH I played(not warfighter) had a good story but the multi was lacking.
Crysis, you either love it or hate it.
 
K

Ken Masters

Banned
Will IGN's Ryan McCaffrey ever address why he went with the 9.8 but not 9.7? Would like to hear his explanation on why 9.8 was the magical number, why not just give it a 10 if it was that good?
 
F

Foxy Fox 39

Banned
hmmm....those reviewers sound like they had the same halo fatigue I do and got too excited for a new edition.

ill have to adjust my hype accordingly.

edit: what Wiggum said.
 
I

ironcreed

Banned
A couple of reviews that are suggesting 343 "played it safe" come off as if they wanted them to make it something other than what it is... which is Halo. So I can really only take such a criticism as a good thing. Especially when most reviews are praising it for not only being a great Halo, but maybe even the best one yet. I can only imagine the sort of backlash had they not "played it safe" and tried to change the series into something else.
 
A

Apath

Member
Syphon Filter said:
reach is most likely better than H4.seems more inspired and the character design is better.
Click to expand...
In what way?

ironcreed said:
A couple of reviews that are suggesting 343 "played it safe" come off as if they wanted them to make it something other than what it is... which is Halo. So I can really only take such a criticism as a good thing. Especially when most reviews are praising it for not only being a great Halo, but maybe even the best one yet. I can only imagine the sort of backlash had they not "played it safe" and tried to change the series into something else.
Click to expand...
Can you blame them for expecting something a little different? We have a completely different development studio that could provide a totally fresh take on the series in and of itself. Combine that with the completely different setting (Covenant mostly wiped out, isolated from humanity, on a foreign planet) and you would expect things to feel a little different.

I haven't played the game, so I really am not qualified to criticize. However when I found out the new enemies were only three prometheans and they didn't even have any new vehicles, I was really disappointed. I thought the covenant would only have a heavy presence in the first level, and the rest of the game would be them playing a minor role as the prometheans took over as the primary enemy. This seems to be not the case. Instead it's just Master Chief + Humans vs Covenant vs Prometheans instead of Master Chief + Humans vs Covenant vs Flood.
 
G

GarthVaderUK

Banned
ironcreed said:
A couple of reviews that are suggesting 343 "played it safe" come off as if they wanted them to make it something other than what it is... which is Halo. So I can really only take such a criticism as a good thing. Especially when most reviews are praising it for not only being a great Halo, but maybe even the best one yet. I can only imagine the sort of backlash had they not "played it safe" and tried to change the series into something else.
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly. Pretty darn pleased with these reviews!
 
O

Orayn

Member
Lyphen said:
Is that an acronym?
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Aim down sights, as popularized by Call of Duty, where holding the left trigger adjusts the camera to look down the weapon's iron sights or scope, zooms in your view, improves your accuracy, decreases your movement speed, and applies a SUPER COOL depth of field effect to the screen.

And no, Halo doesn't have that, just some scoped weapons that work the way they always have. Well, unless you get the new perk that prevents you from being automatically zoomed out if you take damage.
 
G

Grief.exe

Member
drewface said:
How come no reviewers ever faulted CoD for being the same thing every year? It seems like with franchises like Halo which are different from the norm when it comes to the FPS genre, people expect more out of them in terms of creativity and innovation; when the games are already innovating by not just being another CoD clone (despite the changes to Multiplayer in H4)
Click to expand...

Because Activision has the largest marketing budget.

Lyphen said:
Is that an acronym?
Click to expand...
Yes. Aim down sights
 
L

LosDaddie

Banned
Sai-kun said:
it's bad
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No u



Wiggum2007 said:
I think comments like this are silly, Jeff's thoughts are perfectly valid. After 5 games with the same formula it's reasonable that some people are finding the series a bit stale and were hoping for a change-up. No different then when people complain about, say, a new CoD being released every year with little changes. I don't think it's unfair to have wanted the series to take more chances in switching things up.

Obviously some people are going to be more burnt out on Halo than others, and some might think that a Halo without say the Covenant and Human sandbox would be too much of a change. I know I was looking forward to this prospect from the early premise of Halo 4 but it turns out much has remained the same. It's all subjective, but there's nothing wrong with someone wanting more change this far into a series.
Click to expand...

Yup. After reading GB's review, I thought it was fair. Jeff wanted something different than previous Halos. No Covenant, little-to-no humans. etc. And that's fine.

I always knew 343 would play it safe. Some familair, some new. Nothing radically different.
 
D

Dance Inferno

Unconfirmed Member
wwm0nkey said:
I've posted my impressions over in HaloGAF but I am a huge Halo fan so I am not sure how my impressions will effect you.

Halo 4 takes Halo's story to a new level and actually develops and builds character while at the same time bringing in a lot of extended fiction stuff that Bungie was VERY reluctant to do. My Campaign run was on Heroic and lasted around 8-9 hours and every enemy encounter was a great experience and sometimes even the sound design helps me out before I take out a group of enemies. There were 2 very specific mission that I know Halo fans will remember for awhile or at least have an adrenaline rush while doing.

There are 2 problems though, some story stuff might be confusing to people who don't know the extended fiction and also I wish there were more Promethean classes.

The first issue can easily be fixed with the terminals though, I was not able to view these as I was playing offline.


Overall as a Halo fan this is the game I have been waiting for, 343 has combined all aspects of the Halo universe that Bungie didn't dare touch and built an amazing story with a great sense of scale and the thought that there is an immediate danger happening.


Also I do not know how 343 did it but the aiming system and hit boxes are so good that the aiming in this game is best described as you think about it and it happens. I have never been able to do snap shots in my life but I have been pulling them off nonstop in Halo 4 and I will dare to say that this has the best aiming system of any FPS on the consoles.
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Hmm that sounds promising at least. I always thought Bungie's characterization of its characters was terrible, so I can't see 343i doing any worse. I'm not very familiar with the extended fiction though, so that might be a sticking point.
 
E

erpg

GAF parliamentarian
Shadders said:
The Halo Waypoint Store is up!

http://halowaypointstore.com/


Shutupandtakemymoney.jpg
Click to expand...
The new SUCCESS meme.

etc-costume-halo-deluxemasterchief-full.jpg
 
S

shinobi602

Member
A question for anyone who's played the game:

Are Knights, Watchers, and Crawlers the only Promethean enemies besides bosses? Are there no other regular Promethean infantry units?
 
P

Petrichor

Member
shinobi602 said:
A question for anyone who's played the game:

Are Knights, Watchers, and Crawlers the only Promethean enemies besides bosses? Are there no other regular Promethean infantry units?
Click to expand...

yes they are the only ones - and there are no bosses - disappointing eh?
 
P

Phat Michael

Banned
I put this in the other thread but no one can answer as yet.

Hey im trying to save my game and quit - it says "not enough storage on this device" - i have 57.3GB space free...

i click "search for new storage device" nothing happens.

i quit - ive lost over 2 hours worth of progress and it doesnt save. im playing offline. has anyone else encountered this?

its not letting me save..im not sure if this is because im not on live or not?
 
I

ironcreed

Banned
Kenak said:
Can you blame them for expecting something a little different? We have a completely different development studio that could provide a totally fresh take on the series in and of itself. Combine that with the completely different setting (Covenant mostly wiped out, isolated from humanity, on a foreign planet) and you would expect things to feel a little different.

I haven't played the game, so I really am not qualified to criticize. However when I found out the new enemies were only three prometheans and they didn't even have any new vehicles, I was really disappointed. I thought the covenant would only have a heavy presence in the first level, and the rest of the game would be them playing a minor role as the prometheans took over as the primary enemy. This seems to be not the case. Instead it's just Master Chief + Humans vs Covenant vs Prometheans instead of Master Chief + Humans vs Covenant vs Flood.
Click to expand...

While I can certainly understand why some wanted something a little different, I can also understand why they did not introduce or change too much. Because Halo has an absolutely huge fanbase and changing too much could result in a tremendous backlash. I would wager most Halo fans want a great Halo first and foremost with the return of Master Chief and a new studio at the helm. It appears that 343 mainly wanted to prove that they could deliver in spades in this regard, while remaining true to the series and it looks like they more than did so. Can't wait for it, myself.
 
A

Apath

Member
ironcreed said:
While I can certainly understand why some wanted something a little different, I can also understand why they did not introduce or change too much. Because Halo has an absolutely huge fanbase and changing too much could result in a tremendous backlash. I would wager most Halo fans want a great Halo first and foremost with the return of Master Chief and a new studio at the helm. It appears that 343 mainly wanted to prove that they could deliver in spades in this regard, while remaining true to the series and it looks like they more than did so. Can't wait for it, myself.
Click to expand...
Sure, and I actually agree to an extent. But you can see where people are coming from when they say 343 played it safe, and how it isn't so much they wanted Halo to not feel like Halo, they just wanted it to feel completely fresh. At least that's my take from the reviews.
 
F

Floex

Member
REV 09 said:
GiantBomb has given all their Halo reviews 4/5 stars. The series just doesn't seem to click with them as much as other outlets.
Click to expand...


Such a ridiculous comment unless trolling

I think Jeff has the exact same problems I have with Halo, I want big open battles, not being funnelled down a corridor. I don't want to fight Hunters or the same enemy types any more, it's tired and predictable.
 
I

ironcreed

Banned
Kenak said:
Sure, and I actually agree to an extent. But you can see where people are coming from when they say 343 played it safe, and how it isn't so much they wanted Halo to not feel like Halo, they just wanted it to feel completely fresh. At least that's my take from the reviews.
Click to expand...

*Shrugs* Opinions vary, but I just think it looks like they respectfully remained true to the series, while at the same time delivering that traditional experience that made the series what it is in it's grandest presentation yet. I really could not ask more from them based on what I am seeing, but sure, everyone has different expectations. At any rate, I'll know for sure come next week.
 
K

KageMaru

Member
SniperHunter said:
I only believe the Eurogamer and edge reviews....all the 10/10 reviews are complete bull shit.
Click to expand...

Have you played the game?

REV 09 said:
GiantBomb has given all their Halo reviews 4/5 stars. The series just doesn't seem to click with them as much as other outlets.
Click to expand...

Is this a joke? 4/5 is a great score. Isn't that comparable to 9/10?

Ken Masters said:
Will IGN's Ryan McCaffrey ever address why he went with the 9.8 but not 9.7? Would like to hear his explanation on why 9.8 was the magical number, why not just give it a 10 if it was that good?
Click to expand...

Didn't he have a couple issues with the game? Two cons = .2 off =p
 
M

Monumental

Banned
So for anyone that's loved Halo before, you will love it now. For many others, there have been some barriers to Halo which 343 has put great effort in to breaking down. The graphics are breath taking. The story, especially due to the characters, is A LOT more engaging. The game's pacing is absolutely brilliant, with none of the crippling lows that previous games were hindered by. Of course, if you didn't like Halo's gameplay before then you won't like it now. If you didn't like the controls, or didn't like the sandbox then you won't like it now. But if you were ever interested in Halo before and believed that it had more potential than some of the games were doing justice, than you will be extremely pleased by Halo 4. Halo 4 is consistent in a way that no other Halo is. It has graphics like no other Halo. It has character interaction like no other Halo. It polishes the best of the past, and brings with it exciting and interesting new elements, and it's a wonderful promise for everything that is to come in this new trilogy. All of that wrapped in a heroic 9 Hours.​
This was my summation of Halo 4 before, and it stands true now. The variation of scores depends entirely on how much someone wants a refined and polished Halo in comparison to someone who wants (or expects) Halo to change.
 
D

Demon Ice

Banned
Lyphen said:
Can you tell that I don't play any FPSes except TF2, Tribes and Halo? I thought we called those ironsights.
Click to expand...

They're still called that, unless the gun has some sort of scope or sight mounted on it. ADS is the action of aiming down the sights, iron or otherwise.

Ken Masters said:
why not .1 off?
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Oh good, you're back.

KageMaru said:
Is this a joke? 4/5 is a great score. Isn't that comparable to 9/10?
Click to expand...

My PhD in maths leads me to believe it's actually closer to 8/10.
 
G

GarthVaderUK

Banned
Ken Masters said:
would you displeased if the scores were lower?
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Depends on the review text - if it got a really low score and the reviewer's main justification for it is that it's more Halo, I'd still buy, play and most likely enjoy it. If something major was really wrong with the game though, then yeah, I'd be disappointed - thankfully that doesn't appear to be the case!
 
Hitmonchan107

Hitmonchan107

Member
After a detective entry and a gritty entry in the Halo series, I wanted a return-to-form game. Sounds like 343 has the same magic touch that Bungie has.
 
C

Clay Davis

Member
wow, amazing reviews all round. the ign video review in particular is very hype inducing, I really shouldn't have watched it, it's only going to make the wait until next week feel even longer.
 
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