Halo 4 Review | Blistered Thumbs

BT writes: 343 Industries have created a title here with sparks of brilliance, making me really get into the Chief/Cortana relationship for the first time, but the whole experience is let down by lackluster gameplay and poor pacing. This studio obviously has it in them to produce, and the last few sequences show promise that hopefully can be expanded upon in the sequels. Despite this, I fail to see how I can possibly rank this game anywhere above average.

[JANF]

5/10 really? There's always a website looking for hits.

[SonyStyled]

agreed, looking for hits. i generally ignore/dont trust reviews that seem out of place compared to other review scores.

[knowyourstuff]

You're always going to find excellent games with bad reviews, MGS series, Uncharted series, God of War series, there's always some douchebag out there looking to sh*t all over everyone else's fun in their own uppity way.

[AngryTypingGuy]

So far I've seen IGN's score of 9.8/10, and now BT's score of 5/10. Either IGN is giving up its reputability and kissing MS's ass, or BT is trying to be "that website" by being different. Time will tell as more reviews roll in. Considering the people behind Halo 4 and the fact that MS spared no expense, I'm willing to believe that IGN's score is more accurate.

[Kurt Russell]

Gotta love it when someone like DatNJDom81 calls everyone a fangirl then goes mega nerd rage on our arses.

[darthv72]

there are many factors that go into how someone reviews something. It could be that they just simply didnt like it and had to give it a score.

Or it could be someone trying to stir up stuff for hits (as others have said). We all know that opinions differ but we should reserve our. The game IS for me so I will judge it accordingly.

I would expect someone who has played the series and understands the story dynamics to be a rational person the review. I would NOT expect someone who's main role in life is to say "what fries with that" to be the voice of reason in writing a game review.

There are people suited for certain tasks that are just better at it than others. And by no means was i implying the reviewer is the "fry guy". That was just an example.

[Statix]

@TheRealSpy said:

"you have no sub-par exclusives to pretend are good (ie uncharted, killzone). we get it."

Are you joking?

[ShinMaster]

Sounds about right.

There are plenty of Halo fans and they'll always buy and like these games no matter the flaws.
People don't understand that it doesn't have to be revolutionary or that it doesn't have to win over new gamers. It just has to be good enough to satisfy the fans.

Maybe the reviewer is jaded. And although some points he made were quite valid, maybe he was a bit too harsh.

[Qrphe]

Basically what knoryourstuff said

They're called outliners, and they're ALWAYS there.

[NewMonday]

So far about 100 comments and counting

"looking for hits" is cheap but works

[ZombieNinjaPanda]

IF you look at this from a reviewers perspective, he gave it a 5/10 meaning just about average.

People gotta remember there are 2 halves to the 10 point scale.

[Insomnia_84]

Medal Of Honor: Warfighter 4.5/10..5/10..6/10..8/10

Some "gamers": "if they say it is bad that's because it is.

Halo 4: 5/10 7/10

Some "gamers": "nahh they are just looking for hits"

lmao! some people..

[Blacktric]

"Either IGN is giving up its reputability and kissing MS's ass, or BT is trying to be "that website" by being different."

IGN

reputability

BAHAHAHHA!

[Yodagamer]

The site was probably looking for hits, but there is also the possibility that he just didn't like the game.

[Bathyj]

Even if he personally didnt enjoy it, I dont believe for a second this game is of such poor quality as to warrant a 5.

A 5 is a broken, unplayable mess.

A review is supposed to be a reflection of quality. Some of these hacks need to get the notion out of their heads that calling it opinion justifies anything they want to say including baggage they brought with them.

[JasonXS12]

@Bathyj
Well said. A lot of reviewers these days review games based on bias and opinionated thought and no actual work goes into reviewing the game for what it actually is.
Simple instances such as rating the game bad because of 1 issue (eg. a bad ending), and disregarding the rest of the game's quality.
I think one game that suffers from this is AC3. Most of the low rated reviews for AC3 only have pointless complaints and a bad ending. A bad ending doesn't justify a 5/10.

[shodan74]

@Bathyj

Er, I was under the impression that a 5 meant 'average' - not "an unplayable, broken mess".

Don't get me wrong, this score certainly seems drastically lower than the consensus and would appear to be quite harsh. But I blame review score inflation generally for the kind of ire these verdicts attract. If the writer did indeed feel the game was average and, under their site's score criteria a 5 is considered to signal as much, then there you go.

[Hellsvacancy]

IGN gave MOH a 5, and MOH isnt a broken mess, I can tell you that, as ive played it a little, its boring thats the problem, but it doesnt deserve a 5 like IGN gave it

"theres no better review than your own"

[Grap]

No MOH is broken the game itself run that way no update can fix it.

[ginsunuva]

@bathyj

5=average. You're just accustomed to the elementary school grading scale.

[HammadTheBeast]

I saw "Cortana/Chief" relationship and stopped reading. This isn't a low budget soap. It's Halo.

[Omnislash]

@Hammad

Im actually interested in video game stories, Im gonna judge this game myself solely on the story. When I play this game the story better blow me away or Im pretty much going to agree with this review...

How different can this Halo be from the other ones anyway? C'mon be real....

[DARK WITNESS]

Not quite sure what you mean Hammad, Cortana and chief have had a relationship since Halo CE.

It's one that has grown over the series.

That is part of what makes Halo.. well Halo.

[chaos-lockheart]

I hate critics, just like to judge games and not play to have fun. "Master Chief is brought out of cryostasis and teams up with Cortana. They accidentally stumble across an artificial Forerunner planet. "If that sounds like a lack of creativity and new ideas, then you should wait until you get into the game"
what does this got to do with anything??? Tetris doesn't have story, bomberman had a short simple story, but it was all fun to play, people gave it high reviews, to me i think this game is a plus to even have a story, they can just make online play only and everyone will still love it.

[admiralvic]

While having a story is usually a plus, not every game needs a story, thus it's only an issue when it needs to be one.

Take Spelunker, it's a simple game about a spelunker in a cave. Sure odd stuff happens to him, but do you really need a story about how aliens came to Earth to create creatures, which resulted in these series of odd caves and the creation of the human race? (thats pretty much what the mural you could form / true ending implies) If you ask me, a story like this would be dumb as **** and I would give the game less credit over having absolutely nothing.

In the end, we all ascribe different meanings to different things. These can change wildly based off the most minor of differences. Mass Effect 3 was highly regarded, but the ending apparently "ruins the series". This basically suggests that the scores would be wildly different between someone that finished and someone that played till some point. While I certainly agree gameplay is the most important, these are subjective things. I thought Bioshock was an okay game with an amazing story. Does it really warrant a 5 or even as low as a 7? Ultimately we should expect more from developers, not less.

[Rage_S90]

Who are they again?

[Lovable]

Scores sounds about right.

[Flewid638]

@ JANF,

So it's humanly impossible for someone not to like Halo 4??

Wow...

[wages of sin]

What a stupid, hyperbolic comment. Stop being a dramaqueen because that's not the point being made here. It's the quality of the writing, the actual review that is being questioned, not a pesons 'right' to like/not like Halo 4.

[Insomnia_84]

There can only be one of us, CDzNutts.
>:L

[AO1JMM]

They must know Brandon Justice from EGM. It is a nobody site anyway.

[Gamer1982]

Oh dear a website gives a game its honest opinion and doesn't like a game AND NOT EVERYBODY DOES REALITY CHECK! and its fishing for hits now... This just proves its not a 10/10 game.

[NastyLeftHook0]

its an opinion. GET OVER IT. he has the right to not like the game. and 5/10 is medicore.

[inf3cted1]

Pff, they can brag all they want. Its not gonna show up on metacritic, so yeah..

And no Halo 4 doesnt deserve a 5/10. This guy just doesnt get that for Halo to be awesome, it has to play like Halo and feel like Halo. This reviewer thinks everything would change, but its not how it works.

And its not like they didnt change anything. There is some new gameplay added without breaking the formula.

PS: And this websites really slow. Might pop up a second comment of mine. Sorry about that.

[Kohven]

Yeah just wait. Metacritic trolls are going to be flooded with PS3 fanboys.

[Megaton]

Trying too hard. I don't think it deserves all of its 10's either, but come on. Assuming it's exactly the same as all the others, it's at least a 7.

[SAE]

i would give it a score between 7 and 9 but not above , that if i reviewed it as a halo game and didn't compare it to other games ..

[Wile]

Meh, I'd play the game before I offered up any score, otherwise it's an assumption rather than an opinion.

[SAE]

It's just a bigger halo game with a different story just like gears of war 3 , i don't need to play it to know if it's good or not or worth higher then 9, i always know the special game when i see it , like when you look at gta v trailer you know it will be above 9 game

it's not that i don't like halo or gears , they are just really hyped , i love the original games , the sequels just doesn't worth above 9 for me compared to the first games ....

i think these sequels should be made in next generation to blow us again , but in this generation they are just normal games to me and im not impressed at all like before ...

[chaos-lockheart]

I can play with my eyes blind and even give it a 7 or 8

[Linko64]

''The amount of things Microsoft said I couldn’t talk about in this review!''

Surely if that was the case then all that is required is to buy the game then review it? or does said author not wish to spend money?

[RockmanII7]

Probably wanted to get the review out before release date.

[slugg]

according to what I've read other places, he is referring to MS asking reviewers not to reveal story spoilers and such in their reviews.

[CommonSenseGamer]

Obviously the gameplay was not to his liking however, definitely seems to be in the minority over this one.

[HeavenlySnipes]

For those who didn't read (and I know most of you never bother reading these type of reviews lol) herer is his criticism.

- Game isn't radically different from previous Halo games. Feels its uninspired because 343 chose to build upon the Halo formula and do it well instead of making something different

- Enemy types are too similar. The new enemies resemble the covenant to much and (according to him, didn't specify what difficulty he was playing at) they are dumb as hell

- To many character military stereotypes in the game, only well written ones are Cortana and Chief

- Weapons are varied but all feel the same.

- MP is bland

- Concluded game is unoriginal

Felt like I was reading a rant, but I won't know if his criticism hods any merit until I actually play the game because som of his points go against things that other reviewers have sad (AI behaviour for example)

[konnerbllb]

Thanks.

[bubblebeam]

Well, some reviewers probably never played Halo, as everyone knows that Halo, unlike many other things, drastically increase the intelligence of their AI on harder difficulties, not just have a higher enemy count.

I highly doubt he played on Legendary. Also, I can't wait to see what he gives other FPS games along the way.

Before I logged on today, I was waiting for the usual douche looking for hits. I knew this was coming before today. They do it to every exclusive, Uncharted 3 being the most memorable (a 4/10???? GET THE FACK OUT).

[Chad Sexington]

Halo has never increased the intelligence of its enemies as you go up the difficulties. They just make them harder to kill which means you spend most of your time cowering when playing Legendary, while the enemies go through the same routines as they would have done if they'd lived longer on the easier difficulties.

Seriously, put any Halo game on in normal and shoot at the enemies but don't kill them and you'll see the same AI routines as in the higher difficulties.

[bubblebeam]

@Chad Sexington

No, you are wrong. Everyone knows that Halo increases AI on harder difficulties. It waqs even in one of their interviews.

Heroic is when most of it comes in, the strategies and what not, and Legendary is more so a power up.

http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/...
HEROIC DIFFICULTY:
"■Enemies are smarter regarding tactical actions, and are thus harder to kill (ex. starting to hide behind barriers when their shields are down)."

Meh, unless you want to disregard that. Plus, minor elites are replaced by zealots and major elites, who are smarter.

[miyamoto]

To summarize it even further by 5 he said it was average not bad but not great either. Its his grading standard.

Sometimes true fans of a game who developed an emotional attachment to it expects a lot from his beloved franchise but when disappointed will honestly speak out his heart.

To be fair this is nothing new. Look at the case of Resident Evil when the original fathers of a game leaves it to the publisher most of the time the franchise goes downhill & the magic vanishes.

Also look at how M$ treated Halo Wars?

But like for any other game never let others opinions steal the fun out of your games.

[Parapraxis]

5/10 ....really?
Even if the author didn't like the fact that everything in the game wasn't changed (why would they do that anyways?), should that really knock the score down that low?
It seems most reviewers are regarding this game as being very good.
This same guy gave Fable: The Journey a 7/10.

[Kingthrash360]

Crazy how I see soo many bad reviews this season. Something's really off. I'm not a fan of halo trust me, I've played it beat it but won't stand in line for it. I know it's a great game and should be rated more than a Average five. Because its fun. Ign gave it a 9.8. But in the same token ign gave Sony Vita's Sfxt a 6. In the review he said it was fun. every other site rated it 8+, I even seen a 10 on n4g. As I say something off now days. I'm starting to miss mags like gamepro. these sites now are free so no pressure but mags had to sell so more pressure.so when gamepro would review they had a score and have a fun factor. That is what should matter. FUN FACTOR the reviewer could hate the game but it would set aside his dislikes and ask him self "was it fun" And give a FF score alog with the overall score.That's the number one thing gone now, so we are stuck with bad reviews like this one by people who do trool reviews for hits. Reviews are now Facebook opinions. Smh

[aviator189]

I respect opinions, but I know when to stay away from a website.

Sorry, reviewer, but I'm not clicking that link.

[eliteslaya13]

Blisteredthumbs.net gave Halo 4 a 5/10?

Pre-order canceled.

[Balcrist]

Not sure if serious... or just being sarcastic...

[eliteslaya13]

Sarcasm.

[shammgod]

Lol
*goes back to playing Assassins Creed 3*

[newn4gguy]

If you'll refer to the "+" next to the name of the website under the "Read Full Review" link...and kindly hit the "WTF?" and "No" options, that would be great. ;)

I have never enjoyed a single moment of playing a Halo game, but giving this one a 5/10 is ridiculous.

[DARK WITNESS]

I think it's fair to say not every body is going to enjoy Halo.

I own a ps3. There are a number of ps3 games that people go on about that I have played and didn't really enjoy that much.

However, I can still draw a line between not liking it for my personal taste and seeing the more objective and technical achievements of the game.

that is what these reviewers need to remember.

[bubblebeam]

"However, I can still draw a line between not liking it for my personal taste and seeing the more objective and technical achievements of the game."

Perfectly said. Plus bubbles.

Reviewers need to understand, that while a review is THEIR opinion, it doesn't ask them to give a score of how much THEY enjoyed it.

For instance, I didn't like GTA4. Does that mean I should give it a 3/10 because that's how much enjoyment I got out of it? NO!. Even though 'I' didn't liie it, I can still see it is an excellant game, so I'd give it a 9/10 at least.

I think proper standards need to be set, as their is too much corruption and hit seeking involved in game reviews. Maybe a swift knock on the door by a games authority followed by a knock-out punch and a few head stomps?

[palaeomerus]

I give Blisteredthumbs.net a 2/10. I didn't actually go there, and I'm not going to, but I just want some hits, so I'm being controversial.

Seriously, what a shitty review. And site.

[A7XEric]

The only complaint in this whole thing that I can sympathize with is the lack of the original Halo theme which I think is a really arrogant, poor move on Neil Davidge's part. If this was a spin off game I could understand its absence, but I think it's expected that the Halo theme actually appear in a numerical real Halo installment.

[IIC0mPLeXII]

Garbage site.

[glennco]

don't click it

[StreetsofRage]

Welp that's it. Because of this review, millions have cancelled their pre-order. :/

Anyways, because of the ease of creating a website, any noob can create one and put their crappy review. I miss the days of just EGM and Gamepro. Now everybody and their grandma's have reviews.

Word of advice, pick 1 gaming magazine, not some random website, and stick with them. I personally love and respect Game Informer reviews. They are always on point with their reviews and they gave this a 93 which is extremely high. And never never pay attention to Metacritic which adds every single random fanboy review that either gives it perfect scores or terrible scores just to move the average. Losers.

[ALLWRONG]

EGM and Gamepro are about as bad as this. If you want a reaL game mag, go with Game Informer, OPM (yup I said it) or OXM.

[jmac53]

Thanks for helping in making my decision to never read Blistered Thumbs. They are just a Hits Troll.

[devilhunterx]

Shoe is on the other foot, fanboys

[seanpitt23]

Wow cannot believe it's that bad o well better look with halo 5.

[jonli1]

wonder what this person problem in wrting this article

[josephayal]

Halo 4 deserves better than that

[thatsBangin]

most honest review yet

[lionelbodestrung]

Guys chill yourselves please, these 'numbers' don't even exist. A review is meerly someones opinion, nothing more. If you need some dude to give a game a number for you to justify buying it then you need to start thinking for yourself. Thats all this reviewer did. It doesn't mean the game is bad or amazing just thats his view of it. just buy games that YOU think look cool and fuck everyone else, the games review industry does more harm than good nowadays. As they say in The Life of Brian "You don't need to follow me, you don't need to follow anybody. You've got to think for yourselves, you're all individuals. Don't let me or anyone tell you what to think"

[pennywhyz]

This game industry is getting stupid and old fast.we all know its not a 5 like KZ2 wasnt a 5 either.Dont feed into this shit.

[Loki86]

No comment on the idiocy level of the reviewer.

[The real Colombian]

This review is just a ploy for hits and it's working. What is sad is that it's evident that he didn't even play the game, plus it's n4g and the fanboys can't stand that there is nothing on the market that can compete with Halo and it's consistent track record. I rate this review a 2 out of ten it's pathetic. This is what is wrong with journalism.

[legendof117]

The internet says...

How do you like me now?? With all my freedom of speech!!!???

[Mkai28]

Makes me wonder how he even got Halo 4 to review it. This guy fails to explain why he thought the characters were not compeling. What is wrong with the AI in Halo 4?True he mentions that the game is the same as other halos. But if It ain't broke why fix it. Other games such as CallOfDuty, Uncharted, Gears Of War, and Kill Zone has the same gameplay for years. It's very risky to change something that gamers are accustomed to from years of success. He fails to mention the visuals, sounds, ect. What of Forge, this " journalist " has reviewed this game in a incomplete manner.I could even understand a 7 out of 10, but 5/10 is an insult. Only fanboys would say " only for halo fans".

[OniXRuleZ]

Destructoid - 10
Machinima - 10
MondoXbox - 10
Game Revolution - 10
NZGamer - 10
Gaming Age - A
Joystiq - 5/5 Stars
IGN - 9.8
Gaming Trend - 9.6
Polygon- 9.5
OXM - 9.5
Game Informer - 9.3
Canadian Online Gamers - 9.3
Gamespot - 9
Xbox 360 Achievements - 9
GameReactor Sweden - 9
GameReactor Denmark - 9
Halo Council - 9
Eurogamer Italy - 9
MMGN.com - 9
Gamer.No - 9
GamesBeat - 9
1UP - A-
G4TV - 4.5/5 Stars
Eurogamer - 8
Metro Game Central - 8
CVG - 8
Giant Bomb - 4/5 Stars
Kotaku - Play This Game
Rev3 Games - Buy it
Like it or Not Halo 4 will be Best Game of 2012!

[AO1JMM]

Blistered Thumbs and EGM are both SHAT Websites anyway.

[L4NCEYJSC]

I message when I get irritated by silly posts by silly people. I'm personally not a Halo fan but even I can see this is going to be an ace game and well above a score of 5. Think this website needs higher monitoring or some control of what posts get added as half the time I'm reading lies, elaborate stories or just pure crap!

Since Gametrailers changed it's format this is the only gaming website I visit but will be looking to move if posts don't improve.

[IIC0mPLeXII]

Angry Joe is on the site I instantly have no respect for anything coming out of this goofy ass site.

[g5bay]

great review lol its halo4 repetitive and unoriginal like cod at least cod have a interesting story.

[Plagasx]

Oh boy, it's RE6 all over again...

[Braid]

While I respect your opinion, and your freedom of stating what you think, it's sometimes just plain wrong to state something like "Ferrari's a slow car" if you want to be taken seriously. You know that, and even the most hardcore Sony fanboy know deep inside, that Halo's not a 5/10 game. I mean, come on now...

Gotta admit, I'm a bit surprised. Those guys at Blistered Thumbs looked like decent gamers with good shows. I don't understand why they suddenly turned the troll switch on, but judging by the comments here it looks like it'll pay off. Congrats on your "uncredible" stamp for the rest of your internet career, you'll be surprised how retentive some gamers' memories are.

[adrenilinmatt]

its funny that call of dutys formula hasnt changed since day frigging one and yet it gets good reviews every game. this game has even been said to change alot yet the controversy seeking critics will take advantage. sure. sad this wont happen to cod. activision will just pay for it not to.

[GTRrocker666]

I thought Halo 3 sucked.

[Marquis_de_Sade]

I thought your post sucked.

[Locksus]

Your avatar stopped me from taking you seriously.

[GTRrocker666]

I bought both consoles

[Wintersun616]

This bull$#!t is getting ridiculous! Though I haven't played it, there's absolutely no doubt that Halo 4 is one of the best games coming out this year.

[JohnApocalypse]

Not going to click on that link

[OllieBoy]

8.8 average now...ouch.

MS needs to send out more $800 Dorito swag bags.

[G-Ham]

Lackluster gameplay? Pretty much every review thats given halo 4 a positive review has said if the storyline isnt the best the gameplay is better than ever. Talk about craving for attention, but then i guess im giving it to them by writing this. Still calling absolute bullshit on 5/10. Just cant handle the halo is all.

[tinezedw]

i hope this website is not in metacritic

[Kos-Mos]

Why? metacritic is the most crappy compilation of "picked" reviews on the internet. metacritic for the mindless masses.

[Silly gameAr]

Well, I think it's pretty obvious that this review is meant for hits.

[TheGamingShelf]

It's pretty obvious you've never looked at the site before and are just saying what everyone else in the thread is saying.

[Omnislash]

What so anyone that doesnt praise this game and actually reviews it based on its innovations and new experiences is suddenly some kind of phony? How different can Halo be from the past Halo games? Im reserving my judgement but Im extremely skeptical about it. I think its a safe bet that the game has a bad story and everything else is just the exact same as past Halo games. I really dont believe MS is going to do anything innovative.

[iNFAMOUZ1]

haterz gon' hate, sites just dumb, oh and keeping halo the same is a good thing morons, change isn't always good, look what happened from halo 2 to halo reach, keeping the same halo formula is A GOOD THING and shouldn't be counted as a negative thing on any review, change doesn't mean a good review, anyone with that mind set is either a fanboy or a total snob.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Embarrassing agenda piece that ruins the credibility of this site.

[IIC0mPLeXII]

Site has no credibility anyway, a bunch of no names reviewing games.

[TheGamingShelf]

I contribute videos to Blistered Thumbs and know the writer personally. This isn't a grab for hits, trust me. All the writers are volunteers that write because they love games. "Trolling for hits" wouldn't benefit them in any way. This isn't that kind of site.

Also, 5/10 on BT is considered "Average" on their scale, not terrible. Plus, how do you guys even know if it's good or not? Have you played the game? It's not even out yet.

[TKCMuzzer]

I thought Halo 3 was average when it came out, many disagreed because of the reviews. Going back and playing it again confirmed my original thoughts, Halo 3 is average.
I'm not saying Halo 4 is average because it looks better but I will be surprised if it's a 10/10 like some sites suggest.

[TheGamingShelf]

A reasonable person on the internet!? The world truly is coming to an end!

[DivineAssault]

damn, they got bashed here.. I dont believe it but hey, my brother said he didnt like it so who knows? i dont play shooters anymore so i couldnt care less what it gets

[TKCMuzzer]

Can't imagine it's a 5, on other hand I can't imagine it's a 9.8 either.

[Zha1tan]

gotta love it how people still cant grasp that a game review is nothing more than one opinion.

[OniXRuleZ]

I dont care about the opinion of a guy o has a pic of KILLZONE on his profil! haters!

[memots]

This is not a 5 out of ten. 5 of out ten is for game without budget or simply broken. This game oozes quality and investment this is one of those title that is wroth spending 60$ on. Maybe its not a 9.8 or 10 but its far from being a 5 lol

[Bumpmapping]

5/10 seems about right.Very well written review btw.

[OniXRuleZ]

i heard that 90% of PLAYSTATION gamers are not hardcore gamers, they are just 12 and 15 years old kids, and for some of the coments i see in here, i see that is true!