Master Chief: Back And Better Than Ever

When 343 Industries revealed two summers ago that they would be taking over the responsibilities for the Halo Franchise from Bungie, fans were understandably concerned. Bungie's five total releases in the Halo canon were ridiculously popular, classic, and at times as disappointing as they were groundbreaking. After ten long years, Bungie passed the torch to 343 industries, and not only is Halo better for it, but the bar has been raised for all first-person shooters.

Halo 4, despite its obvious similarities to the previous games, is a massive overhaul. 343 took some of the features that have helped Call of Duty become the juggernaut that it is and used them to improve the game while keeping the core and the uniqueness of the Halo series in tact.

Most of the innovations are better suited for the multiplayer discussion, so I'll begin by taking a look at the first campaign in the "Reclaimer Trilogy." Simply put, with loyalties and nostalgia aside, Halo 4 is easily the best campaign of the series, and belongs in the discussion of the best FPS campaigns we've seen to date. One thing is certain: this is the finest looking game on the Xbox. The jaw dropping cut scenes, incredibly dense worlds, and characters that are often confused for real life all add up to a game that looks amazing.

More than ever before, this campaign explores the character and humanity of John-117, the man more popularly known as the Master Chief. His AI assistant, Cortana, has slipped into a condition called Rampancy, which plagues all similar AI's after they've been in commission for seven years. They eventually think themselves to death. The heart of what makes this campaign so great is the relationship that is explored between the two, and the surprising humanity that's revealed in Cortana's character.

Make no mistake about it, though. Halo 4 is no sap-fest, and is certainly not short on the action. Since Halo 3 faded to black five years ago, Master Chief has been frozen on the ship Forward unto Dawn waiting to be woken up. When he awakens, he finds the ship being sucked into a massive portal. This portal leads to the planet Requiem, a massive, machine driven planet run by the ancient race of the Forerunners. The Forerunners, who created humanity to eventually succeed them in protecting the universe from the flood, have decided that humans have failed and are unworthy, and as a result need to be destroyed.

The alien race of The Covenant is again involved, but it's the new, forerunner created enemies called Prometheans that really steal the show. For as fun as they are to kill endlessly, the Covenant can hardly be considered scary or intimidating. The Prometheans on the other hand, are imposing, creepy, and all together more challenging to defeat.

Unlike previous Halo campaigns that tended to fall into redundancy, Halo 4 offers surprises at every turn. Just when you think you've been shooting Promethean crawlers for too long, you get to pilot a Pelican, a tank, or even hop in the new, overpowering Mech-Suit. The developers did a great job of providing moments that were challenging, and relieving them with moments that were original and exhilarating. Without giving away too much, it's highly suggested you finish the game on Legendary difficulty, and wait for after the credits. Or, you know, go to youtube.

Along with the Prometheans comes an entirely new set of useable Promethean weapons and grenades. Some of these weapons (The Incineration Cannon) are absolutely overwhelming.

In the past, weapon additions to the franchise have played as more of a gimmick. These new weapons are as exciting as they are purposeful. The game is balanced in such a way that players can form a strategy behind any particular weapon they want. Perhaps the most satisfying weapon addition is the return of the battle rifle, absent since Halo 3.

This brings us to one of the most important innovations in the game: loadouts. Loadouts function much like the class system in Call of Duty. Players can choose which two guns they begin with, as well as which grenade, armor ability, and series of tactical advantages they want to use. Not all of the options are available right away, as players will need to earn Spartan points to unlock all of their abilities. These points can also be used to customize your own Spartan with endless armor and suit options.

Along with loadouts, the tactical package addition is clearly inspired from the Call of Duty games. As players perform better throughout a match, their kill streaks will be rewarded with "ordinance drops." These drops give players a choice of 3 options, ranging from weapons, power ups, and grenades, and places them immediately in front of the player. It's a welcome addition, and one that finally rewards skill.

All of this is great, but how does the game play? Thankfully, the answer is beautifully. Gone are the days where you scream: "I just hit that guy a million times!" or "I clearly just shot him in the face!" Halo 4 is mostly glitch free, and never feels unfair. The frustration and inconsistency that marred some of the recent Halos is now long forgotten.

The campaign and custom games are great, but players really come to Halo for its classic multiplayer matchmaking. Since Halo 2's wildly popular multiplayer, the experience has produced diminishing returns. The games became watered down, and the challenging rank system that capped at level 50 was abandoned. What made Halo 2 so great was the incentive to win, and in turn improve skill. Halo 3 and Halo Reach both ranked players up faster based on how many games and different playlists they participated in, rather than rewarding them for performance. The gameplay was still fun, but heavy incentive to win at all costs was lost.

So how does Halo 4's multiplayer stack up? Well, it's complicated. The number rankings have returned, but they again reward players far too much for simply logging play-time. The only real statistics of any concern now are a player's kill to death ratio. Not only that, but the ranking system is so vast and complex, that completely ranking up could take well over a year.

Once a player completely levels up their first Spartan in all commendations and categories, they unlock a new class. This feature kind of works like prestiging in Call of Duty. There are various categories of classes, each needing to be completely ranked up. The awesome part, though, is that each class has their own advantages and focuses, allowing players to build their own strategy.

Still, it's hard to get past the ranking system. It seems that fans and players have become experience point junkies, resorting to Mountain Dew and Dorito codes to double the experience. As a result, these numbers and ranks never show you who is the better player, or who performs the best. Why take the time to become good at the game, if standing in a corner motionless ranks you up just as quickly. It's one of very few gripes, but it's glaring.

Another important area examine is the maps. Halo 2 had one of, if not the greatest set of multiplayer map sets in shooter history, and each game since has seriously lacked in this department. A great, original set of maps can turn your game into a classic, but an uninspired, boring set can leave fans with a bad taste in their mouths (we're looking at you, Halo Reach.)

Thankfully, Halo 4 comes in with the strongest set of maps since Halo 2. Even if this collection doesn't have any instant classics, each map is still very solid, and all of them are designed to support any game type equally. Favorites are sure to be Haven, Exile, and Complex. The addition of loadouts and ordinance drops really help give each player the opportunity to make each map their own, and play the map how they choose.

Finally, there's the new episodic based campaign/firefight series called Spartan Ops. Each week, 343 updates the playlist with 5 new playable chapters. These chapters function as individual campaign missions working directly with the U.S.S Infinity Ship. Players can play the game type locally, or hop on matchmaking and tackle wave after wave of enemies with players from all over the world. It's an interesting and challenging innovation, but it lacks the frantic, over the top satisfaction that the Firefight game type in recent games offered.

THE VERDICT:

Halo 4 is easily the most focused, polished, and exciting Halo to date. 343 took Bungie's classic series, and brought in welcome additions and inspirations from other franchises, while keeping the integrity of the Halo games in tact. The campaign is exhilarating, and while the final moments may be anti-climactic, the closing cut-scenes and epilogue make it all worth it. Though the time-of-play based ranking system will disappoint hardcore fans of earlier games, the multiplayer is still completely addicting, and as fun as ever. Master Chief's return is absolutely everything we could've hoped for, and 343 Industries has set the bar high for future console shooters.