I always loved Halo for its excellent plot and immersive worlds filled with acti

on and adrenaline. This was a constant across all the Halo games published this
far and looking at this recent release in seems that Microsoft did it again. So
here we go again, embarking in a great adventure along Master Chief, the same Sp
artan soldier that we have met in the previous games.
Mission briefing
As you might remember, if you have ever played one of the Halo games, the Master
Chief is part of a special unit called the Spartans. They are heavily modified
soldiers, improved with mechanical components and a very tuff armor that allows
them to resist in the hardest environments. With an hierarchy that reminds of th
e modern American Navy, this special soldiers were initially created to fight ag
ainst the rebels, but soon they found themselves in the first line of defense ag
ainst an alien invasion.
It was the XXVI th century when the covenant came to Earth. This was a powerful
alliance of aliens united together under a common religious belief in a higher a
lien civilization that once lived in our universe, the Forerunners. And so it go
es that the Covenant decided that the humans in their quest for space were actua
lly heretics and deserved to be punished.

Now I must tell you that the Forerunners, as high tech as they were, did indeed
almost get defeated by the Flood, parasites that infested any form of intelligen
t life turning it into a killing machine. And so, as a last resort, the Forerunn
ers built some circular shaped devices, called Halos, meant to repel the Flood b
y destroying any trace of life in that part of the universe.
And now back to the present of the game, back in the end of Halo 3, humanity obt
ained a truce with the Covenant but thru a series of unfortunate events, both Ma
ster Chief and his AI, Cortana got lost in space adrift on the Forward Unto Dawn
ship.
The awakening
The game starts with a dramatic cut scene, awesomely made to the finest detail,
where Doctor Halsey, the researcher behind the Spartans program is under investi
gation for the way she (and her team I suppose) has modified the young soldiers
participating in the program. This becomes an excellent opportunity to recall so
me of the most important moments in Earth's fight for survival, especially for t
hose that haven't played any Halo title before.

The epic line moves then, light years away, on what seems to be the remains of t
he Forward Unto Dawn ship. Here, half a decade ago, the Master Chief entered in
a state of cryonic sleep, letting Cortana know to awake him if she needs him.
After Forward Unto Dawn is scanned and Cortana detects some intruders on the upp
er levels, she decides to awake the spartan, letting him know that while he was
asleep she operated some modifications to his battle suit. And, you've guessed i
t, not long after that the shootings start.
Level by level, guided by Cortana and picking weapons on the run, Master Chief c
leans the ship of any alien presence. But trouble is never too far away and just
after the last alien is killed, the Forward Unto Dawn gets attracted in a Gravi
tational Well, down onto planet Reqviem, the place where most of the game's acti
on will take place.
Gameplay & gunplay
Sometimes, Halo 4 tends to appeal to older games in the franchise, like the figh
t outside the ship (Halo 2) or the theme of the aliens coming aboard (remember C
ombat Evolved) In any case, the guys at 343 Industries really worked hard for th
is game, raising the bar once more for the next games to bear the Halo logo.
But lets face it, the thing that always made the Halo games look different from t
he rest of the modern shooters was the gunplay. For example, using the grenades
has nothing to do with changing the primary or secondary weapon. In fact you jus
t throw the grenade and continue shooting afterwards. Believe me; those extra fr
actions of a second can be quite precious some times, especially as the aliens'
AI was significantly improved.

Another particular thing about this game is the health system. It only features
a blue bar on the top side of the screen showing what the damage has inflicted t
o the battlesuit's shield. Generally if it goes thru some peaceful moments, the
bar will recharge itself but if the enemy fire will be too intense and the damag
e inflicted, too big, then the shield will be depleted and the Master Chief will
become more than vulnerable. So in order to avoid seeing your last saved checkp
oint once again, don't push your luck with the enemy fire.
But darn, the best thing possible is that when the UNSC arsenal is not at hand,
our spartan can easily "borrow: some weapons from his enemies. That's fun but it
also requires some attention in picking the right weapons as some are more powe
rful while others are better in accuracy than in damage.

Another interesting side to the game is the relationship between John 117 and Co
rtana, showing the more humane side of the Master Chief while also setting a ref
erence point. That's because Cortana is sick and quite old it seems. As it does,
most of the AIs never pass the age of 6 years but she is already 7 years old an
d her neural circuitry is deteriorating fast, taking her step by step to a state
of digital madness.
A look into the XXVIth century
Now let's talk a little about the visuals. Because Halo 4 uses the old graphic e
ngine, but not precisely the same. In fact its a tuned up version prepared by 34
3 industries especially for this game. The stunning graphics don't manifest them
selves only in the cut scenes but also on the entire length of the game, making
it one of the best I've seen this year.
It's a sure thing that the graphics in Halo 4 are just awesome but sadly, no PC
owner will get to say that because it seems that Halo 4 is going to remain an Xb
ox 360 exclusive forever.

Anyway, I must admit that a few years ago when Bungee studios separated from Mic
rosoft, the second made the right call in letting 343 Industries responsible of
the Halo universe.
Yes Halo 4 is a good game, a very good one in fact. The plot is well written and
the action tends to keep you tensioned all the time, a thing that is also enhan
ced by the excellent soundtrack that comes with a game. So if you like a good Fi
rst Person Shooter, you should buy Halo 4.

raven