One Life Left: Halo 4

343 Studios has quite the boots to fill. This studio, which no one had never heard of before, was tasked with creating the long-awaited true sequel to one of the most beloved series of our time: Halo. I was skeptical. Bungie had put their hearts and souls into this amazingly fun (if a bit campy) universe, so how did these guys ever expect to be able to compare?

Much to my surprise: they did shockingly well. Because the game is so massive, I will be focusing on the multiplayer for this review as it has always been a big part of the Halo franchise and it’s back, bigger than ever.

When I first installed everything, I was terrified that the game was going to be Call-of-Dutified beyond recognition, yet again my fears were poorly placed. While the game does take some cues from its hot-selling competition, its core identity is very much Halo.

The big changes in gameplay are the loadouts. Halo 4 now allows players to customize their beginning loadouts, with their choice in starting weapons as well as various perks and armor powers. What this system brilliantly balances is that unlockable weapons are the fairly standard weapons and not anything that will give you an unfair advantage on the battlefield.

That’s the other big change in the multiplayer: get three kills without dying, and you are granted an ordinance drop, a selection of one of three possibilities ranging from weapons to bonus abilities such as a speed or damage boost.

The maps come back in full swing and vary greatly in terms of visual appeal as well as what game types are viable on it. All the classics are back such as slayer, capture the flag and king of the hill. New game modes include Flood, which serves as a zombie-game type of griftball (yes, the very griftball from the beloved Red vs. Blue online Machinima series).

As for the new weapons, Halo 4 does not shy away. The most obvious are the promethean weapons that look like they’re made from futuristic lego bricks and pack quite the punch. There are also a lot of little tweaks that Halo veterans will immediately notice, such as the rocket launcher which has nerfed its splash damage. In addition, the plasma pistol can act as an EMT pulse when it is used on vehicles, and dual wielding is completely missing. While I feel it was never used extensively, I do miss running around like a maniac while dual wielding different colored plasma rifles.

I also want to make special mention of the Mantis, a bi-pedal walking robot suit equipped with a machine gun on one hand and a grenade launcher in the other. The thing is ridiculously strong, incredibly overpowered and a blast to finally take down (once you can actually get that close to it, that is).

Much like Halo Reach, there are a multitude of challenges for the player to chase after while he or she plays online. These things range from assassinating opponents to being an assistant towards a team player. These give objective-based players something to work for, even if he or she does not care about the various cosmetic options that are slowly unlocked for your character as you play.

This cosmetic customization also features a very silly feature: as you rank up, your customization menu will excitedly tell you that you have new items in your cache and signals this by placing a gold star next to the appropriate menu selection. Yet as you open them, you realize that they are still locked; the game just teases you at how cool your character could look, but you must be ready to work for it.

Halo 4 features both online play as well as local multiplayer, but no matter what region of the world you try to throw plasma grenades at, you will always be having a great time.