The graphics are amongst the best to date, says John Walshe of the next installment of Halo, with a great story to boot.
You may have thought you’d seen the last of Master Chief, but the faceless hero of the Halo trilogy is back with a vengeance in the fourth instalment of Microsoft’s landmark shooter series (not including Reach or Wars). But when your day-job is saving the galaxy from all manner of nefarious alien races with human annihilation on their mind, life is rarely dull and once the eerily excellent title music begins, you know you’re back in the world of Halo, and nothing here is ordinary.
The Covenant, having been defeated in the epic conclusion to Halo 3, return facing a new enemy, the Prometheans, hell-bent on the destruction of the universe as we know it (although our old Covenenant foes do reappear in sporadic form throughout this game).
The game begins as we watch Dr Halsey, the scientist behind the creation of the Spartan super-soldiers, explain why they are the next step on our evolutionary ladder. Before you can say ‘moral dilemma’, though, we’re whisked to a remote space station in 2557, four years after the events of the last game, where everyone’s favourite hologram helper, Cortana, suddenly flickers into life and reactivates our space marine.
Soon, you’re knee-deep in alien bodies as our old friends from The Covenant make an appearance, toting their guns like the last four years never happened. To be honest, The Covenant are really only there to help you familiarise yourself with Master Chief’s movements and weaponry, because it ain’t too long before your new nemesis rears his less than beautiful head from the core of the planet Requiem, complete with hordes of insect-like minions, providing players with a whole new set of problems to overcome. This being Halo, problems are solved with a bullet rather than the lost art of negotiation and the good news is there’s a whole heap of new weaponry to go along with the bad guys, and some of it is seriously good fun: boltshot, I’m looking at you.
The relationship between the Master Chief and Cortana is excellently handled
The graphics are amongst the best seen to date on the X360, particularly the frighteningly life-like cut-scenes and the stunning array of vistas, from barren planets to lush jungles. The sound is much improved too (Master Chief is chattier than I remember him being in any of the other games). The storyline is more immersive than any game in the series to date (kudos to new development team at 343 Industries), as the relationship between Chief and Cortana is excellently handled.
That said, you don’t enlist with Master Chief for the plot, the voice-acting or visuals, however spectacular, as Halo has always been about action, and even experienced shooter fans won’t be disappointed as the relentless legions of rampaging aliens, along with their loathsome liege, will keep your trigger fingers in constant motion. Add in some intriguing downloadable co-op missions (Spartan Ops), and a stunning array of multiplayer options (War Games) and you have positive proof that the finest shooter series on the X360 has just reclaimed its crown.
Platform: X360
Publisher: Microsoft
Cert: 16
Score: 5/5
John Walshe
