So I decided after playing the game for a decent amount of time I’d do my own review on it. I will continue editing this as time passes.
First off I thoroughly enjoy this game. Sure it has it’s cons but what game doesn’t? Now with that said it is not the best game I’ve ever played in my life. I’ll start with pros and then cons, anything marked with an asterisk (*) means it is in both pro and con category and anything with an upwards arrow (^) means there is further discussion later on.
Pros:
Variety: This game has a decent amount of variety to it. There are multiple game modes to choose from and each brings a new style of gameplay into place, for example don’t expect to go lone wolf on Dominion and end up winning.
Weaponry*: There are some great guns in this game and I enjoy the variety. Some of my favorites are the DMR, BR, and Covenant Carbine.
Modes^: Going along with variety there is a good amount of game modes to choose from and I often find myself playing almost, if not, all of them.
Gamestyle: This game offers different gaming styles but the way you play can very much affect your team and your score depending on what mode you’re playing. You have a game mode like Regicide where it’s just kill everything you see with a bit of strategy while Big Team Infinity Slayer requires more teamwork in order for a victory.
Heads Up Display (HUD): I enjoy the HUD in this game, it makes you seem like you’re actually wearing a helmet but it doesn’t get in the way as it is almost hard to see, unlike the campaign. The motion sensor is in a great position as well, but it hasn’t changed much, if at all, from previous Halo games.
Assassinations: This feature adds a certain “flavor” into the game, even though Reach was what used it first. In this game I actually feel like I gained something from assassinating someone, unlike in Reach where it became repetitive real quick (for me anyways). The new assassinations also make this a pro in my opinion and the fact that you can now assassinate while holding an item such as a flag or the oddball.
Sound*: What I really enjoy most about the sound is the fact that you actually sound like you weight almost a thousand pounds where in Reach and Halo 3 it sounded like a normal person walking.
Maps^: I really enjoy the maps in Halo 4. They almost remind me of Halo 3 maps but with a tad bit of a Reach flavor. There are practically maps/map variants for all the gamemodes, which is definitely a pro in my book.
Cons:
Sound*: While I put sound in pros, it’s also a con. While this is a futuristic game, I feel the human weapons sound a little bit too fake. Now off the top of my head I can’t remember if the BR in Halo 4 sounds any different from Halo 2 or 3 so I won’t comment on it, but the DMR still sounds pretty weak for a high-powered rifle. Another thing I don’t really care about is the fact that when you play Flood, whenever you get a kill as the Flood or die it sounds like you’re a whale that’s a little bit high on chromosomes.
Weaponry*: The weapons in this game seem to be quite imbalanced. The DMR seems to take the lead in damage while the Covenant Carbine seems to be the best all around as it has a fast fire rate with moderate damage. The AR is a lot more useful than it was in Reach but I still find myself taking a CC over every other gun in the game. If something really needed to be buffed, I think the BR would be the best choice.
Killcams: I honestly don’t see the point in having these in Halo. The slightest pro that you can barely scrape up is that it SOMEWHAT forces campers and snipers to move, but Halo is a lot different from Call of Duty and I hardly find any campers.
Further discussion:
Modes: While I do believe the game modes are a pro, I dislike the fact that there are some really good game modes missing out from matchmaking. Just until the other day you could not play SWAT on matchmaking and you had to go into a custom game if you wanted to play it. Grifball is another game mode that’s missing from matchmaking but if 343i runs this game like the other Halos we should expect these modes to be released at some point, hopefully not being in the far future.
Maps: As I said before I enjoy the maps in this game, especially because there is practically a map/map variant for every game mode, now since that’s the case why in the world am I playing maps that don’t really fit into specific game modes? This is more of a complaint for SWAT, but I feel it still needs to be addressed. SWAT is a CQC game type and should be fast paced and brutal that requires split-second decisions, a fast trigger finger and accuracy. Because of this I don’t understand why I’m playing a map like Complex with the SWAT gametype. To be successful in SWAT on a map like that you almost have to use the DMR, with the only place good for the BR is in the larger buildings.
I hope you enjoyed this review and as I said in the beginning I will edit it on occasion later in the future and as I, or other forum members, find mistakes in my review.