PC World writes: After the announcement of Halo 4 at E3 2012, fans everywhere have been pining for more information and a deeper look at the upcoming sequel to the hugely popular Halo trilogy. Last week I was invited for some hands-on time with 343 Industries’ first attempt at a true Halo game, and walked away more impressed than I had thought possible.
Dawn, the first campaign mission, picks up right after the ending of Halo 3. Cortana wakes the Chief as the ship is under attack; it isn’t immediately clear what is attacking the ship, but she needs his help protecting it. This marks both the literal and figurative return of Master Chief, and that immediately comes across in the opening sequence. The Chief and Cortana reunite and he heads out to find out what’s going on. Unfortunately, what they find isn’t exactly comforting: they’re right in the middle of a Covenant fleet in the orbit of a Forerunner planet, Requiem.
It wasn’t all story reveals either though, as I was able to experience one of the coolest introductions for the Halo series in a while: first-person action sequences. Sure, technically the entire game is a first-person action sequence, but at one point the Chief must climb an elevator shaft while dodging falling metal. That might sound like a terribly generic game sequence, but it wasn’t a quick-time event; I had full control the entire time. I even managed to run straight into a falling piece of metal, only to have the Chief fall before barely grabbing onto a ledge of the elevator shaft in time. It might be somewhat of a videogame cliche, but it’s also an evolution of the classic Halo gameplay, something I don't think we would never see in the original trilogy, and that makes it noteworthy.
In Halo 4, 5, and Infinite, Master Chief became a more nuanced, human character.
In spite of the Halo series’ struggles, 343 deserves praise for adding nuance and characterisation to the ever-beating heart of Halo - The Master Chief. Playing through Infinite, it's abundantly clear that the events of the current and previous trilogies have irrevocably changed the iconic hero. He’s no longer the ‘blank slate’ that was previously presented by Bungie. He’s a fatigued, damaged and fallible protagonist, and one who is meandering through currents of grief, while reveling in his newfound agency. Giving the Chief a compelling and meaningful voice was no small feat, and 343 should be proud of that victory.
This article completely misses part of the appeal of the original iteration of character in the original game trilogy. It was the Chief and Cortana vs an entire alien collective. The blank slate Bungie displayed in their games was genius, he was an mysterious hero a wide audience could identify with because he wasn't as clearly defined as most characters.
The books added a lot of lore and backstory but most Halo players just want a fun game with exposition that doesn't get in the way of gameplay, it's why the Cortana level in Halo 3 was derided.
Not every character has to be a damaged soyboy, a soldier has to suck it up and do his duty.
The 343i Master Chief has is based on the books. However, in Halo 4-Infinite, the Master Chief overtime become. gradually becomes more willing to show some emotion.
It’s a law of nature that eventually, every long-running game franchise will have a particular entry that gets dinged for straying too far from what made it so fun in the first place. Your Super Mario Sunshine, your Dragon Age II, Assassin’s Creed III, and so on. Whether or not that opinion changes more favorably over time, the initial specter of negativity will forever hover it. Microsoft’s Halo is no exception, except that negative specter hasn’t hovered over one particular game, but one whole studio.
Halo 4 released 10 years ago today, and its disappointing reception was just an omen of things to come with 343 Industries at the helm.
Halo 4 and infinite have a 87 on metacritic and five a 84🤣. 343i need contents and everything else will play it self out.
Halo 4-6 are like the Star Wars sequel trilogy
They all just seem like a brand new games with small connections to the last one but no solid arc connecting them, you’re just told stuff that happened off screen in between the games and nothing makes sense
It’s like they didn’t plan a new trilogy out
I'm getting a good gaming laptop soon and i'm finally going to play through the Halo franchise again plus Infinite but i never played Halo 4 before .. can anyone tell me how's the campaign in comparison to the games before it and compared to Halo 5 ?
The picture of the mech above looks like Optimus Prime minus the head. And bent legs.
That was a good read.
Thank you Borderlands for giving me something to do until H4 releases ( a fun something to do at that). The more I read, watch, and listen to, the higher my internal hype meter gets for Halo 4. The Chief is my favorite FPS protagonist, and can't wait to fill his shoes again.