Halo 4

The first course of the Halo 4 banquet is the single campaign, the beginning of a new and already confirmed trilogy that will take us to Halo 6. After more than four years of cryogenic sleep, Cortana awakens Master Chief, drifting into space on the wreck of the Forward Unto Dawn. The destination, as anyone who has completed Halo 3 on a legendary level knows, is Requiem, a mysterious planet that is home to the greatest secrets of the precursors. Our hero, sucked into his gravitational field, will find new enemies, facing the usual Covenants and discovering the lethal Promethean. His adventure, crucial for the fate of the galaxy, is intertwined with the story of Cortana, grappling with an age malfunction, common to all types of Artificial Intelligences of its type. The tension of the events and the clashes is underlined by the evolution of the relationship between the boss and his faithful holographic friend, with sequences and dialogues that for the first time explore the feelings of Master Chief, trying to show the man who hides behind to that impersonal green helmet. It is almost a love story, albeit implicit and science fiction, that will be able to excite long-time fans, also thanks to a top-level narrative, well integrated into the furious rhythms of a subjective shooter.

Requiem weather forecast: heavy rain.

From the gameplay point of view, the campaign is undoubtedly the most traditionalist side of Halo 4, with an almost total adherence to the pillars of the series. We have a linear but spacious level design, which alternates narrow corridors with airy arenas in the open field. There are vehicles to fly, CPU controlled allies and a myriad of monsters and enemies, all with precise movement and attack patterns. Even the management of weapons recalls the old episodes, with a constant lack of bullets that always pushes to collect new rifles from the corpses, giving life to a pleasant alternation of different types of firing, which marks the rhythm of the action. For health we return to the origins, and more precisely to Halo 2 and 3, with shields that automatically regenerate when they do not take damage for a few seconds. The most significant innovations come with weapons, which for the first time include the devastating technologies of the Prometheans, capable of adapting to the hands of almost any species.

There is nothing revolutionary, but there is enough variety to entertain until the last mission, also thanks to the presence of some new enemies. The great protagonists are undoubtedly the Promethean Knights, very fast and armed warriors, capable of dodging bullets and teleporting when things go wrong. Their strength multiplies exponentially when the hateful Watchers come in, flying sentries who, in addition to shooting, can create shields for the enemy and even resurrect the fallen Knights. They are an exciting variable for many fights, also because they often willingly force the player to deal with them before, discovering the side to the attacks of other enemies.

The graphics are applause, especially considering the age of the Xbox 360.

It is a varied and intense action, without downtime, which contains more gameplay and ideas than most of the other shooters on the market, without deviating from the series formula. Some will criticize the duration of the adventure, which depending on the level chosen will require 6 to 8 hours, a figure destined to thin by tackling everything in a cooperative. Personally I prefer experiences like this, incisive and without watered down levels, but I can understand that someone can be disappointed.

343 Industries, however, prevents criticism from those who would have wanted a few more hours of plot with the Spartan Ops, missions designed for the cooperative, published in episodes. The first season, completely free, will see 50 missions, published at the rate of 5 per week. These are not trivial cooperative arenas or Firefight-style modes, but a series of adventures focused on the Majestic team, complete with dialogues and interlude scenes. The first Spartan Ops available are of excellent quality, and in addition to the online game they also support the splitscreen, which thanks to the clean graphics and the chromatic choices of 343 is more readable and usable than usual. The individual missions last about 15 minutes and can be replayed at various difficulty levels, together with up to three friends, locally or through Xbox Live.

It is a solomonic solution to the eternal dilemma on the duration of the shooters: on the one hand we have an intense main campaign, also suitable for those who do not have infinite hours to devote to video games, and on the other we find valid episodic content, which for more than two months will continue to give us Halo pills. The only problem is that Spartan Ops are accessible only to those who have a Gold subscription to Xbox Live: it is a very questionable choice, destined to raise the protests of offline players, but all in all forgivable. Halo 4 is a 70% online game, and buying it just to play solo is a waste to say the least.

The Spartan Ops, in cooperative, are a total fun.

The big knob of discord, destined to attract the ire of some fans towards 343 Industries, is undoubtedly the multiplayer, the front on which the most daring changes have been made. Looking into the future in my magical sphere, I see hordes of Bungie followers, complete with pitchforks, shouting: "You have turned Halo into Call of Duty, damned filibuster!" Some of the elements introduced, in fact, blatantly wink at Activision's workhorse, altering the rhythm of some modalities, and above all requiring veterans to develop new strategies.

Halo's competitive multiplayer has always orbited around the control of the most powerful weapons, which in the past appeared at regular intervals at specific points on the map, of crucial tactical importance. Halo 4 completely overturns this system, removing the fixed spawns and replacing them with random releases, which in some moments of the game make a weapon or a grenade appear at an always different point. It may seem like a small detail, but the pace and structure of the games changes radically. The dropped weapon appears on the viewer of all players, who can therefore immediately identify the extent of the threat: a handful of grenades can be cheerfully ignored, but a sniper rifle or a railgun are dishes too greedy to be left at the mercy of the enemy. This creates interesting dynamics, which create impromptu "hot spots" on the map, which at times remind us of objective methods. There are those who coordinate with their companions to grab a precious weapon on the fly, but also those who take advantage of the random release as bait to attract the most unwary Spartans and shoot them from distance. In doing so, moreover, campers have a more difficult life, given that the balance of the map moves continuously, making the classic stalking useless.

The Halo 4 multi takes place inside a simulator on the Infinity ship.

The other change that can be misunderstood as an imitation of Call of Duty is the character growth system, complete with experience points and levels that unlock aesthetic elements (such as armor, fully customizable) and gameplay, with weapons , powers and tactical packages. Players can therefore create various equipment, and then choose comfortably with each respawn. If in the old Halo everyone started with a soldier identical to the others, here everyone can customize his spartan, deciding before the game what type of style to adopt.

Even the powers of the armor, which in Reach were to be collected on the field, are a trait that is unlocked and assigned from the equipment menu. Once again we are faced with a bold, marked change, which clarifies the will of 343 Industries to distance themselves from the last choices made by Bungie. The armor powers in question have also been changed and renewed: Reach's hated Armor Lock has disappeared, the shot has become an innate skill of every spartan and there are powers of great weight such as the Promethean view, the active camouflage and the holograms. The other news are the immediate respawns (only in some modes) and the so-called "Infinity drops", rewards for players who get more points during a game, and who can choose whether to receive a weapon, grenades or an upgrade (at the armor, at speed or damage dealt).

Artificial Intelligences don't need bras, apparently.

La Fucina is also back, the mode for geeks who want to create new levels, which sees a series of improvements to the interface, with the possibility of duplicating objects, a system of dynamic lights that also involves the structures placed by the user and the introduction of particular areas of influence, in which a myriad of variables can be modified, from the force of gravity to the shields of those inside them.

It will take a few weeks of play to observe all the consequences of 343 Industries' choices, and above all a more in-depth test of what I was able to carry out during the review phase, even just to observe the functioning of matchmaking and netcode. That said, going beyond the appearances and the bogeyman of a flattening on Call of Duty standards, Halo 4 is and remains a Halo experience, with different rhythms but similar to the spirit of the series.

It is natural that the new studio receives a shower of criticism, because the gamer is a capricious creature who detests repetitive experiences but is at the same time troubled by changes, but 343 Industries has done an excellent job. They are sensitive but respectful modifications of the series, which demonstrate the desire to take the future of Master Chief in hand and take it in new directions, with the enthusiasm that was beginning to lack in the last productions of Bungie.

Fabio Bortolotti once fell in love with an IRC bot named Anna, but would also gladly invite that great daughter of Cortana to dinner. Come and suggest improper rhymes on Facebook and Twitter.

Master Chief has long left the Halo series. The Bungie team abandoned the legendary hero after the third part of the game and devoted themselves to developing other threads in the following episodes: ODST and Reach . In addition to the main character, the artistic concept followed by the series until 2007 was changed. The next installments of the well-known series were more and more dark, pessimistic and - according to malicious ones - less kitsch. Halo 4 , created by the 343 Industries studio, follows the path laid out a few years ago, while restoring the brave Spartan to the rank of the most important figure.

The fourth game in the Halo series was a great unknown from the beginning, thanks to a new developer. The current producer - Bungie - parted ways with Microsoft after the completion of work on Reach , leaving the legacy of people from 343 Industries. The new team trained hard on the remake of Halo: Combat Evolved , then jumped into the deep water and prepared the "four". Against the legend, the American studio managed to come out unscathed - Halo 4 does not differ in quality from what we have got used to over the years.

Halo 4 is a direct continuation of the "three". The Master Chief and Cortana find a mysterious planet, where they meet the no less mysterious race of Precursors and the sinister Dydakta. The latter is very perfidious and like any nasty character he wants to take over the world. Our brave Spartan cannot let that happen, of course, so traditionally he tries to stop him. It will not be easy, because if all this was not enough, Cortana begins to break down and go crazy.

The infantile plot, unfortunately, does not impress, but to be honest, Halo 4 did not make a big surprise in this matter - the subsequent episodes of the saga never told any fascinating stories, the "four" maintains a similar level. In fact, only the Precursors save the story and from the very beginning of the struggle you can see that the authors had an idea for them. The whole game is full of themes related to this mysterious race and it is nice, because for the first time in years we get something really new.

Halo 4 is by far the prettiest, most epic, monumental and atmospheric installment in the series. The artistic concept chosen by 343 Industries turned out to be a bull's eye here. The studio continues the trend started in ODST , i.e. giving up the excess of bright colors, and it is compensated for by a subdued, often dark setting, mixed with dark-orange accents of the Precursors. The locations we visit are absolutely beautiful. A jungle shrouded in mist, wide, burnt steppes, powerful space stations, illuminated industrial complexes. Exactly - illuminated. It is mainly due to light that we owe this amazing atmosphere, the skillful use of reflections, reflections and sunlight has done wonders. Most importantly, despite all these visual fireworks, we will experience here the old, often heavily criticized kitsch. Without a doubt, 343 Industries has created the most beautiful Halo in the history of the series, making exploring the location one of its greatest attractions.

The Precursors themselves were also brilliantly designed, leaving the Alliance far behind in terms of artistry. It is a pity that the new enemies can be counted on the fingers of one hand: in fact, we only meet dog-like, fast-running creatures and tall armored beasts wielding high-class lethal toys. The latter are perfidious because they usually come with a flying drone that can heal them, shield them, and even resurrect them. The fight with a few such funs can be really hard.

In Halo 4 , there are also new guns that look really great . The light rifle quickly became my favorite - perfect for long ranges, with high fire rate and high damage. Binary weapons, in turn, are the equivalent of a powerful sniper rifle, capable of taking out even the toughest man with two accurate shots. Of course, four cartridges in the magazine are a trinket for it, so you have to take into account the permanent shortage of ammunition. A huge cannon that releases a beam of grenades is also a powerful means of extermination. When such a load hits the target directly, there is too much to collect. If he misses, then nothing is lost - after hitting the ground or a wall, the projectile launches a burst of splatter to the sides. We also have more standard weapons, such as pistol, machine gun and shotgun. At close and medium ranges, the latter is particularly pleasant, as it deals a lot of damage and has a lot of ammo.

It is worth mentioning that the entire arsenal of Precursors has been designed in a very interesting way. It consists of separate "tiles" that levitate next to each other when reloaded, and then return to their place. These guns blend very well with the mysterious breed, and shooting them is extremely fun and satisfying.

On the positive side, the single player campaign is definitely one of them. It is true that you can complete it in the cooperation mode with friends, but due to the extremely successful atmosphere, I suggest you complete the first pass yourself. The missions are varied, although in some places you can notice a typical routine of the series - there is mandatory tank driving, flying a plane and fighting with a Warthog. Thanks to the Precursors, the new interior architecture and the premiere types of weapons, the game can surprise and for a large part of the adventure we experience an irresistible feeling of discovering interesting elements. These include, for example, the improvements proposed by the authors. Master Chief has the opportunity to use a special view mode that exposes enemies in the area, summon his own flying drone for help, or shield himself with an energy shield. Some old improvements, such as the jetpack and the hologram, also return.

Unfortunately, Halo 4 has a terrible problem with the endings, which is the grand finale - another thing is that most games in the series also suffer from this disease. The last missions are boring, not very varied, sometimes even frustrating. We go through dozens of similar corridors and fight the same types of enemies all the time. Towards the end, the small number of Precursor units also makes its toll. Something that was fun and a breath of fresh air at first gets really tiring as you get closer to the final fight. It is a pity that there was no attempt to diversify the enemies more - the game would certainly benefit from it, and a lot.

Many people will surely be interested in the fact that Halo 4 is available in our full Polish language version. Microsoft is clearly changing its strategy and more and more often decides to support games released on our market, a good example of which has recently been Forza Horizon . Unfortunately, while the location of Forzy was on a really good level, Halo 4 did not do well in this respect. Cortana's voice is especially irritating. It is weak - both in terms of acting and character of the character. The going crazy and falling into psychosis artificial intelligence clearly exceeded the localization possibilities of our team. Interestingly, Master Chief's voice is pretty good, or at least not irritating.

The campaign on the normal difficulty level can be completed very quickly, a skilled player will "run" it calmly in about five hours. However, I recommend - as the series tradition dictates - to raise the bar right away. Only then does the game show its claws, forces frequent changes of weapons, the opponents do not turn out to be so blunt cannon fodder, and the fight is a lot of fun and satisfaction. In this case, the gameplay can extend up to about 8 hours, serving much greater emotions at the same time. Especially when we can be shot with one accurate shot from a sniper rifle or a larger gun.

For dessert, the authors also prepared a mode called Spartan Ops related to the animated series, the episodes of which will be periodically broadcast and ready to be launched in the game menu. It has a separate story, the action of which takes place on the planet Rekwiem six months after the events of the main part of the campaign. Our task, alone or in cooperation with three other people, is to successfully complete several missions that mostly involve the extermination of more and more demanding enemies. In a very simplified way, this mode could be compared to the standard Horde, but it wouldn't be entirely fair. Spartan Ops allows for a lot of freedom in completing each mission, offering something like a not too large sandbox. It is definitely a few hours of extra fun and fun with friends, provided that we decide to complete the whole thing on the Legendary level.

What about the classic multiplayer? In Halo 4, the multiplayer mode is now hidden in the menu under an entry called Infinity, which represents the largest ship humanity has ever built. It is used to simulate skirmishes known as War Games. This is a fairly standard set of options that allows you to choose several traditional game modes, known from previous parts of the series, on ten maps of different sizes. 343, however, did not fall asleep pears in the ashes preparing new attractions.

The first surprise is a mode called Domination, which has replaced the popular Invasion. Its main assumptions are quite similar, so the main goal is still taking over enemy bases, but with some modifications similar to the method of capturing points in the Battlefield series. The mode called Kingsicide is also very interesting, in which one of the players, visible to all opponents by displaying his position on their visors, becomes the target of hunting. The person who kills the selected enemy automatically becomes the king himself, and killing him gives you more points. Which brings us to the next, most serious change related to the new Halo .