If there is one good thing about Halo 4 that we can agree on, its that Halo 4’s graphics are superb. Of all the Halo 4 maps, which is the best/worst looking, and why?
For best, I’d have to pick either Solace or Longbow. Longbow is an awesome successor to Avalanche(in terms of visuals). It has those gorgeous ice tunnels, a nice ice cave background, and it has snow. It also has an exciting skybox, with beautiful constellations (that are visible in the day!) and Requiem in the background. I remember when I first saw Longbow at RTX (through YouTube). I thought is was ugly, and did not watch any gameplay of it. When I booted up Halo 4 and played my first match on Longbow, I was blown away! It was so good looking, it was distracting.
Solace on the other hand, I was indifferent to upon seeing for the first time (through YouTube). But when I played my first Infinity Slayer match on Solace, I was blown away. It wouldn’t be until I played CTF that I saw those suns/stars behind the bases. It was also stunningly distracting. The stars are amazing and incredibly detailed, but on the blue side(I think its blue side) there’s a dazzling over look on an ocean. The light shines off the ocean with photo-realism, and on top of that there are little Forerunner bases on either side that stick out of the stone foundation of the map. There are beams of light that shoot from the bases directly to the stars. Its magnificent, glorious, - erratic!
As for the worst looking map - Vortex. Without a doubt the most boring and hideous map in Halo 4. It reminds me of Cybertron from the 80’s Transformers cartoons. Ugh.