Halo 4 Review - Guest Post by Chris Brown

Game: Halo 4
Developed: 343Industries
Published: Microsoft Studios
Platform: Xbox 360
Release Date: November 6, 2012 (U.S.)
Release Date: November 8, 2012 (JP)
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Modes: Single-Player and Multiplayer

Halo 4 was officially announced on June 6, 2011, at the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). On September 26, 2012, it was announced that the game's development was complete. Halo 4 grossed $220 million on its launch day, with an estimated gross of $300 million in its opening week, marking a new record for the franchise. More than one million people played Halo 4 on Xbox Live within the first couple hours of release. December 6, 2012, the game has sold approximately four million copies.

Halo 4 is not only a success, but a bar-raising triumph for the entire first-person shooter genre. And just how new developer 343 Industries has done it will surprise and excite you. Halo’s weapons continue their trend of working in complementary harmony, where each gun has a purpose, and every situation a fitting firing solution. The inaccurate Promethean Suppressor and undesirable Covenant Storm Rifle proved near-useless at times. The short-range Energy Sword or new Scattershot are great to pack alongside mid-range delights such as the DMR or Battle Rifle. Halo 4 is more about Cortana and the fight for her own – ironically enough – humanity.

In the opening mission, Master Chief is thawed out and immediately put back to work shooting Covenant, evoking both Halo: Combat Evolved (it’s set aboard an under-attack spaceship) and Halo 2 (the stage’s major battle takes place in zero-G on the hull of the ship). Expect your jaw to drop at least once on every level of Halo 4’s eight-mission campaign, especially after crash-landing on the Forerunner planet Requiem, emerging from the wreckage, and ascending a hill whose apex overlooks a gorgeous valley. It is your introduction to the planet you’ll be spending most of the game exploring and fighting the new Promethean enemies. The Halo 4 campaign is paced better than any first-person shooter this side of Half-Life 2, deftly mixing on-foot combat, vehicle sequences, quiet story moments, and key Chief-and-Cortana interactions.

Cortana once asked Master Chief what would happen if he missed his target, and in the single greatest line of dialogue in Halo history, Chief replied with the coolest, calmest confidence, "I won’t."

Chris Brown quotation: "Halo 4 is a great one, I got my Halo 4 when it first came out in December but I'm a little mad that bungie did not make it though 343industries did. I also like the master chief's new suit. but the new guns are awesome!"

Author - Chris Brown
Editor - Bruce Miller
Chris Brown, A Flvs Student.