There’s been a lot of talk of Spartan Ops and the UNSC Infinity and all that sort of PR-friendly, big-sounding concept stuff from Halo 4. That stuff sounds cool, but what was nicest about seeing the game at E3 was a chance to get hands-on with a few multiplayer matches and one of the new co-operative campaign experiences to see exactly what’s changed about the bread-and-butter Halo gameplay.

The good news is that Microsoft and 343 Industries haven’t been making lots of noise about their new multiplayer dressing because the core game is broken – it’s not. It feels as great as ever, and has that same great Halo feel – described once by Bungie as the ‘holy trinity’ of Guns, Melee and Grenades.


To say that Halo 4 feels like Halo might be considered a bit of a cop-out, but it’s an accurate description – but the few changes that the team at 343 have made push the game to become something else – but this is a game that isn’t afraid to show awareness of Call of Duty and other popular shooters without ripping elements wholesale from them.

Customizing your load-out from a list of weapons and side abilities might sound very Call of Duty, but it’s been implemented here in a very Halo way. The cosmetic side of what kinds of Spartan armour you’re kitted out in has been expanded on from Halo: Reach’s list, but the big addition to your customization is in picking weapons, grenades and perks.

Yes, the P-word – but it still doesn’t feel the same as that other big military shooters. Part of that is down to how Halo 4 slims it down and keeps it simple – there’s less weapons in the Halo universe, but the ones there have clearer, more discernible differences to them than two different variations of a sub-machine gun might.

I’m a big fan of the original Halo and have a lot of fond memories of playing it online through the rather messy XBConnect service, which tricked the original Xbox into thinking games played over the internet were actually over LAN, and so picking the Magnum as my side-arm was an obvious choice. For my primary weapon I went for something new – the Covenant Storm Rifle, a weapon that fills a similar role to the old Plasma rifle.

The perks include things like the ability to carry two primary weapons instead of one and a side-arm, or Promethean vision, which allows you to see through walls to spot the enemy incoming from a while away – an incredibly useful skill. Others included widening the radius of your radar, a movement speed bonus and the ability to pilfer ammunition from fallen enemies.

Time is short, so I pick my options and create a load-out which then takes up one of the five that you can take into any match and switch between on the fly. In multiplayer everything is familiar – the countdown boops and beeps that you’ll hear when you die and before you respawn, the movement speed – it’s all incredibly familiar.


There are changes, though. In one of the game-modes I played there’s very few weapons scattered on the map – instead forcing players to focus more on their load-outs. Ordinance, called in by getting several kills in a row, feels ripped straight from Call of Duty.

At one point I rack up enough kills to call down an energy sword and do – and that does, I admit, feel more satisfying than camping out around the area where it might spawn. As a side note, the lunge on the sword feels significantly tweaked and nerfed, making it feel a little fairer.

One weapon that was left on the map was the new shotgun-like scatter gun, demoed briefly in the campaign demo seen during the Microsoft press conference. That’s a badass new weapon, and could become one of the Halo series’ most iconic. The way these new weapons assemble themselves to ‘fit’ you when you pick it up looks great, but what’s better is how the gun’s ammunition is fired out with a bright orange glow.

Better still, that particular ordinance bounces off floors and walls, effectively allowing you to shoot around corners if you use it effectively. It took a few shots to get the hang of it, but it quickly felt as natural as any other Halo weapon.

There’s a feel to this new gun that almost feels reminiscent of some of the over-the-top secondary fire modes of the classic weapons from Perfect Dark, and for me that’s a very good feeling to evoke. I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on more of the new weaponry.

Scoring in multiplayer also feels a little more Call of Duty, now rewarded in groupings of five rather than one point for one kill. It’s a strange change and one I don’t really understand, but has no material effect on the gameplay experience.

A more material change is the addition of a permanent sprint option, not locked to a perk. Sprint makes travelling maps easier but won’t be any use in combat and so doesn’t adjust that all-important Halo balance.


The influence of Call of Duty is obvious; but that doesn’t mean this is a Call of Duty clone. Halo 4 has the speed, pacing, look, feel and sound of a Halo game – but one that’s been rebalanced to be more immediately rewarding and more tactical. The rock-paper-scissors of weapon effectiveness still matters most, but there are now additional ways you can turn the tide aside from bum-rushing the power weapon spawns.

Let Microsoft and 343 talk game about War Games, Spartan Ops, the UNSC Infinity and this all-inclusive multiplayer experience all they like – just know that the core of Halo 4 – the game – is still bloody good. It’s also still bloody Halo. Crisis averted.