Halo 4

Author: Efrain Silva

Plot

It looks like it was ‘nappy nap’ time for our glorious Master Chief. But cryogenic sleep is no joke, is it? And he’s been deep in it for awhile, but now, the time to awake has come. And so he does.

Shortly after arising from his slumber, he finds out he has just crash landed on some very interesting planet of aliens --- who call themselves the Prometheans. Oh boy, Master Chief, what have you gotten yourself into now? It seems, now, that the war has come to an end, and an entirely new chapter is about to begin in the life of Master Chief John 117, but can he live up to the new challenges that will be thrown at him? That is the real question, key players, and he will need all of your support (through exceptional gameplay and staying on top of those buttons) to make it through alive...one more time.

He also finds out, later in the story, that the Covenant is not quite done away with, though, and that they are, in fact, making every attempt at a comeback --- the Covenant has been newly reformed, not the best news to hear after waking up from a fresh nap, I suppose. But that’s life. New Spartans exist, as well. But also, the Covenant invades Master Chief’s ship, and he finds himself making a quick escape to retreat from them.

And as we later come to find out, things only further unfurl, right from there….

Gameplay

Great first - person screen gameplay and commands. The game’s action remains no less addicting. The same applies to multiplayer mode as well. The 4 - player splitscreen support is phenomenal here, as well, but since it’s Halo, that’s really no surprise --- heh heh.

You can expect to get lots of dynamic movement, all throughout the adventure, whether you’re in multiplayer or campaign mode. Expect to stay on those tippie toes every second, watching for shots, explosions, alien slurs, human shouting, blasts of cannons, and so much more. Yup, nap time is over for Master Chief, for sure…..

Weapons

New, first - appearance weapons listed below :

Levels

Only 10 levels this time : Prologue, Dawn, Requiem, Forerunner, Infinity, Reclaimer, Shutdown, Composer, Midnight, Epilogue.

Forerunner is one of my favorite campaigns, personally. It’s the one in which Master Chief is finally able to track down the Infinity’s signal, right to the very core of Requiem. And his hope here is that Cortana can finally return to Earth and take care of her Rampancy.

Another moment I enjoyed very much, I’d have to say, would be playing through the Midnight level. Here, as you may recall, the Didact has full possession of the Composer, and it’s up to you (Master Chief) and Cortana to work together and stop him before he can use his new, powerful weapon. Don’t let him power it on and use it on his very next target!

Uniqueness Overall

For one, its score was quite different and more unique than most. Play it and hear it to note the differences. The maps in the game also failed to include those three unique Forge environments. But also, Halo 4’s unique for being the first of its class in an all - new storyline, still keeping Master Chief in it (released just before Halo 5, in which his main role is not quite the same and he merely makes shared appearances). Thanks to Halo 4, the Reclaimer Saga was born in the Halo universe, of which many proudly note this game to be the first in that saga.

There’s many new creatures you find here, and creatures, too, that are not in other Halo games or at least don’t take as much of the spotlight --- the Promethean race is one such example. By the way, SPOILER ALERT --- DON’T READ IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW ----- but did you know these creatures, at some point, came from actual human beings? Weird, gross, cool? Interesting. We’ll leave it at that…..and I’ll let you get to that point in the game, when you can find their backstory revealed in some greater detail.

What’s also unique is in Halo 4’s multiplayer maps. In case you did not notice, these are actually not based off of campaign levels, per say. They’ve actually been uniquely designed, separately, from the very ground up, so to speak. The developers certainly deserve a clap for that, and the fans are not disappointed in such a move. There are 10 multiplayer maps total.

Nice….

You get to see John’s armor removed in a rare, memorable cut scene you only see in this game, as well. What else? Well, this game was also uniquely the first in which 343 Industries was known to take over on the development of. Players said “goodbye” to Bungie, the usual developer of the Halo games, and got onboard with 343 with this new style of Halo and an all - new world of story and characters altogether. The Reclaimer Saga indeed became a clean slate, a fresh start, in so many more ways than one….

Anyways, give the game a go. Why not? You won’t know if you like it, until you try it.