Gadgetory

what's up internet kevin here with TLD bringing you our review of halo 4 exclusively for the xbox 360 now this is the first halo title be developed solely by 343 studios since bungees departure at halo reach and is it to be the first part of a brand new trilogy entitled the reclaimer saga well it has a number of things in common with halo reach it has become quite clear that the style and design of the original halo trilogy that many gamers fell in love with is now gone and has been replaced by something familiar yet different as far as core gameplay goes at first glance for has a vast number of similarities to reach including no form of dual wielding a large assortment of familiar weapons ranging from the standard assault rifle to the no longer mutually exclusive battle rifle and EMR and the armor abilities that received such mixed response before while core gameplay feels similar there are a number of new additions and welcome changes such as an entirely new arsenal of weapons based on forerunner technology switched up in rebalanced armor abilities and class customization options for multiplayer that adds a few more personal touches to your Spartan identity the addition of forerunner weapons has led to what is easily the largest variety of weapons in a Halo game to date not to mention some of the most interesting looking and many of them offer enough differences from past weapons to help them stand out such as the Volt shots ability to charge up for a shotgun style blast or the grenades ability to deal damage with the zone before it's full detonation the more significant upgrade however that makes for feel a lot stronger than reaches its attention and changes to the armor ability system which feels a great deal more balanced than before what few returning abilities there are have been changed or weakened such as the jetpacks reduced flight time well several have been outright replaced such as the armor lock being thrown out in a favor of a slow front facing mobile shield or sprint as a power being replaced by a short-range boost for catching enemies off guard the execution of these abilities is far better than their original introduction reach and on the whole they feel much more balanced for online play now as far as the campaign goes I will say that it is one of the most disappointing ones to me personally especially when compared to past installments this is definitely the shortest campaign in the series lasting only about six or seven hours for a new player on Normal difficulty and a shortest three hours for someone who's really experienced not playing in legendary it's also one of the weakest ones plot-wise to me it comes across a little cheesier than past games and it also relies a lot of people having read or seen extraneous materials such as reading the different halo books there no form of referencing who these characters are or certain concepts that we should be familiar with they just kind of start throwing terms out and those of us that have only played the games are left feeling a bit lost now one of the good things worth mentioning is that this is by far one of the prettiest console exclusive games to exist and the best looking 360 game date now while the initial campaign is short 343 does try to expand the experience through the use of a games online co-op system called Spartan Ops which players assume their own identity outside of Master Chief and played together through a series of light story missions that detail events after the main campaigns end with more chapters coming out as weeks have passed since the game's launch well a bit weaker plotline wise overall these missions do help to add the campaign length and are a great way for less competitive players to find a fun way to play online with others well the campaign overall left me with a mess dealing I have to say the multiplayer has shown itself to be a vast upgrade from reach there's still not hitting the same peak I felt we had back in the first two installments the game's embracement of the now popular class customization feature for online play as well as its refined form of armor abilities as led to what I believe 343 intent was to create an online experience that stays feeling familiar but sets itself apart from previous entries as a new style of Halo game online matchmaking shows a clear favoritism for team-based modes now and while a number of series standards have returned some have received some very interesting and very enjoyable facelifts my personal favorite being the zombie mode being restyled as flood mode making it more relevant to the settings flavor and adding a little more fun and changed appearances for those infected alongside these changes in game modes in the addition of classes there's been some new content for within the matches as well such as the ability to summon orbital drops in order to gain better weapons when performing well like summoning a rocket launcher or a powerful machine gun you can still be killed before grabbing your prize overall I must say while halo 4 is definitely not the best in the series it is a marked improvement over more recent installments and signals a new form of how the Halo series will be played some purists may still find themselves dissatisfied the series is not returning to its roots and one and two but those willing to embrace the new changes will find an immensely fun online shooter well worth putting time into well that's our review of Halo 4 for the Xbox 360 if you'd like to pick up a copy for yourself check out the link in the description for pricing and availability if this is your first time seeing us make sure to subscribe to stay up to date and all of our latest reviews and unboxings and if you like an easy way to stay up to date and all of my current thoughts games I'm playing whether I'm raging at them or loving every moment make sure to follow me on twitter at TLD underscore Kevin as always thanks for watching and I'll see you guys next time