Halo 4 – First Impressions

Having played all of the previous Halo games available on the Xbox360, I wasn’t sure what to expect in the latest title, post the developer transition from Bungie to 343 Industries. I received my pre-ordered copy and popped it in to get a feel of it before going to bed on Tuesday night.

First off, the game is beautiful – both from an art and sound point of view. The artwork and design elements around the initial level and the first world are really impressive – more so than I expected, to be honest. The sounds of the ship tearing apart or the whine of a Warthog rumbling through the terrain is very distinctive. The opening sequence pulls you into the narrative quickly and effectively, and reestablishes that this is still the Halo you know and love, just under new management. The level design varies beautifully between being in the tight corridors of a crumbling ship to the wide-open planet below.

Gameplay is virtually identical, although the game seems a little more difficult than I remember (on Heroic difficulty). Enemies seem to dodge, take cover, and coordinate a little better. Running elites over with a Ghost is no longer the Grand Theft Auto-like experience it once was, as the AI seems to know to just get out of the way. I was even surprised at how effectively a grunt with a mounted plasma cannon was able to keep me pinned down.

At the end of the day, it’s Halo, and it’s (so far) a well-made version of Halo. I have yet to try out the cooperative or multi-player modes, but if they’re as well designed as the main campaign, it will be well worth the time.

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