Halo 4: Retrospective and Review

[@LaperLarden]

So, apparently this video has been hit by a copyright claim as the music for Halo 4 isn't under the same licensing agreement as the other Halo games. So if you lads do get ads on the video, my apologies. Other than that though... Get keen for next week. We're starting off the 20th Birthday Celebrations for Halo with a bang.

[@deadman9335]

I actually never had much of a problem with halo 4. I liked a lot of the new stuff. The flood mode was limiting, forge often took a moment to load between being a Spartan and a forge monitor. The prometheans are a great enemy type that should have been used a little less in the end as knights are sponges and on legendary also have aim bot. The didact is underwhelming because we don't actually get to fight him. Other than that I just didn't like most of the armor from 4 or 5.

[@deadman9335]

I have now watched the video. I forgot Spartan ops was even a thing, and the deep dive into chief character. I have been able to understand loss since I was 11 when I lost 3 members of my family including my 3 year old sister. But unfortunately I might be next in line in my family as I developed completely random symptoms of something or multiple things just months after they all died. It has progressively gotten worse and 4 days ago I was rushed to the ER just short of 18 because I might have had a heart attack the day before which might have lead in a stroke. I got to go get checked out again basically tomorrow in 25 minutes.

[@suryaselvakumar5385]

You missed halo wars 2

[@Wernissage]

@@KoffeServer I second that

[@Wernissage]

@@KoffeServer that I completely agree!:)

[@Pinkmusak]

Fun fact: In the first level of CE, a marine yells “He’s taller than I thought.” I don’t know if this plays every time, but I like seeing it represented in Halo 4.

[@exilezalama1685]

Well in Halo 4 Palmer does tell the Cheif "I thought you'd be taller" during one of the campaign cut scenes

[@MrKaji010]

​​@@exilezalama1685 yeah because now there's a entirely new generation of Spartans and master chief wasn't the only one now. But then Halo infinite just decide oh let's kill a couple hundred Spartans

[@gagefisher4785]

As a late teen/young adult playing through Halo 4, I jumped on to the "Halo 4 hate" bandwagon. Now, as someone who is in their thirties, I have a new appreciation for Halo 4. Perhaps when I was younger I didn't care for the themes of loss and identity crisis, and just wanted more "big green guy just makes aliens go bye bye", but as I grew older and experienced my own losses and crises, I began to appreciate media that delves into those topics.

[@dani_i8942]

A lot of the criticisms are from simplistic plebs who think Halo 3 is the definitive Halo game, which it isn't. Halo 3 had the cheesiest dialogue and a story that completely abandoned any themes of discovery or exploration. Halon4 didn't get everything right, however it brought back intrigue and discovery than was missing in the games after CE. All in all Halo 4 is probably my 3rd or 4th best Halo campaign. A fantastic game with hits and misses, but generally far more of a success than people give it credit.

[@XenoAlbedo]

@@dani_i8942 While I personally prefer 3's gameplay, I have to agree that its story and dialogue were really bad. Not Halo 5 bad, but still very bad. It's really good at creating memorable or "epic" moments, but everything in between is horribly written. It was such a big letdown after 2's story.

[@EthanRom]

@@dani_i8942 Halo 3’s campaign is honestly really bad, it only had great set pieces to mask how horrible the plot was. The enjoyability of the levels made you forget it

[@FakeJake5843]

@@dani_i8942 Facts the gameplay was better but the story was such a letdown when comparing it to halo 2s story. Halo 2 has so many great quotes

[@jaymesscott9327]

Loss is tough to quantify, the fact that it was done so well in Halo 4 is really surprising. But the depth it added to the story made it better for sure.

[@danielcowboy3992]

The only thing I would change about the campaign is reverting the new Forward Unto Dawn ship to the version in Halo 3. Then the Master Chief would encounter the new models of weapon and vehicle only when he first encounters the Infinity. That way the new art style can be seen as an evolution rather than a reset on the Halo franchise.

[@randomuser1579]

Just changing the first 2 missions to be more like halo 3 then Bringing in all the new stuff from the moment you reach unsc troops onwards would’ve been the best way to go about things Would’ve been ok with a Gen 2 mk6 like in multiplayer instead of the og halo 3 model for the first part at least

[@LaperLarden]

The way I see it, is that Halo 4's art style walked and fell into a ditch so Infinite's art style could run. While it might've pissed a lot of people off at the time, it helped to usher in a new era for the franchise visually. So, at least we have that to thank it for.

[@RandoGrunt]

I was preplexed about the Forward Unto Dawn being different than I remember it, but I had to assume it was just an acceptable break from what it was in order to give us a suitable playing ground to walk around for the first mission as UNSC frigates aren't really that big at all

[@EthanRom]

As much as I would like that. Imagining Halo 4 with the Bungie era design just feels wrong. Halo 4 is it’s own thing and the design goes with it even if it’s not the best thing ever. It’s in Halo 5 when things started get wacky with the Spartan armors.

[@LogicAndCompassion]

Wow, this is an absolutely brilliant idea. This could have been another subconscious way, to show that chief is getting old... outdated... Can he still save the world? Kool concept. Bravo.

[@LordBeef]

I relate so much to the “This was *my* Halo“ comment. I had been playing through all of the Halo games, starting with CE, but this is the first one that came out after I got into the franchise. It’s multiplayer was a blast on BTB, despite the flaws inherent to the loadout system, and the story is one of my favorites in the entire franchise (second only to Halo 2, in my opinion). Great overview, Spartan.

[@jurassicarkjordanisgreat1778]

117 is such an amazing theme for masterchief. I really hope it returns in infinite somehow along with under cover of the night.

[@LaperLarden]

You just listed off the two pieces I want to hear the most in Infinite. Under Cover of the Night is just an absolute bop.

[@BONKSHLOB]

The only good thing about halo 4

[@jamiecarpenter6452]

This man out here giving me the feels for a game I didn't even like. Goddamn.

[@bobbob-cd9yl]

lmao feel retrospectivly a lot of the halo community respects halo 4 these days

[@FakeJake5843]

@@bobbob-cd9yl true

[@YukiiSahashi]

Newsflash: you don't actually hate Halo 4. Others told you to hate it.

[@bobbob-cd9yl]

@@YukiiSahashi I was stuck with the duke xbox till 2014 so I was not around for Halo 4's launch. But I will say I loved the story and the lore, I only had issues with the level design other than that I actually like it more than halo reach

[@FakeJake5843]

@@YukiiSahashi I never hated halo 4. I played the campagin so much I memorized the dialogue from the cutscenes

[@bobbob-cd9yl]

Mate I really hope your channel blows up eventually. The quality in your videos is amazing my man. Love your content as I like a lot of your opiniated videos as it opens up talking points.

[@MobiusTrigger7]

Halo 4 is the Star Wars revenge of the sith of video games

[@JãoVitu10]

Words of ultimate wisdom

[@bobbob-cd9yl]

Halo 4 had a great story and I LOVED what they did with the lore. My main issue really came down to level design and the gameplay in general not being fun. I mean damn even if you had halo 5's gameplay and put halo 4's story on top that would actually be a bloody good game

[@LaperLarden]

Cheers Bob! Yeah, I think that the level and enemy design for H4 is really where it fell flat. It's a shame though because the story is so damn good.

[@deerecoyote2040]

I agree. The level design isn't great. But... I did think that the gameplay was fun tho. I enjoyed the game. It was worth my time. Was it my favorite? Not a chance. Was it the worst? Not by a long shot. And yes, I think Halo 4's story and Halo 5's gameplay would have been really fun if they were put together.

[@linkndark]

Totally agree. The gameplay and the levels of Halo 5 were much better, but due to the weak story (delivery) and bland characters, it did not really work for me. Whereas in Halo 4 the story is amazing. I am glad they finally nailed it with Infinite, which is an improvement over 4 and 5 in all categories, even though the content is missing at the moment.But what is there is pure gold. If they keep delivering in that quality, eventually it might end up being the perfect Halo.

[@ano_nym]

@@deerecoyote2040 the prometheans were very boring and tedious to fight. Not fun as the Covenant.

[@ano_nym]

@@linkndark Infinite nailed nothing with the story. Halo 4 did it much better, and was actually emotional. Infinite is one of the biggest let downs in gaming history, story wise.

[@Wernissage]

What an incredible video. Editing and pacing is just fantastic, well done! I wholeheartedly agree with you. Halo 4 might not have been perfect, but it was the most important game for me, the one that re-introduced me to the franchise. You earned a new sub. Looking forward to the future of this channel🔥

[@LaperLarden]

I'm in genuine disbelief right now. Wernissage himself has subbed to my channel. You're my idol, dude. Thank you so much ❤

[@Wernissage]

@@LaperLarden I’m honored! Right back atcha🤘

[@unnecessaryedits2818]

The final scene between Chief and Cortana is my favorite in the series. First time I played the game, as someone who played every previous game and had read most of the books at that point, I really felt the pain of Chief losing her. I was excited to see what they'd do in the next game. And then there was Halo 5.

[@ano_nym]

And now there is Infinite were they basically drops it all. It's tragic really...

[@panmajin6895]

I remember not having any f**** ammo, because dropped enemy weapons despawn as soon as you stop looking at them. Who tf designs a SHOOTER game like this?!

[@trying2think765]

To this day, this is my favorite Halo game. Imo it's the best looking Halo game to date, which is really impressive considering it ran on Xbox 360 hardware, with the detailed art and textures, and the story is heart-wrenching and beautiful. And I know I'm gonna piss off a ton of people by saying this, but Chief talking more and having more input in the story was really cool. To me, it helped me connect with him more because he felt real.

[@trying2think765]

@@tormclean9657 funnily enough Halo 4 uses Reach’s engine, but it was tweaked a bit for Halo 4’s new art style. But yeah, I agree that Reach is a great looking game.

[@chazzilla8919]

I respect your opinion, but I disagree. I think the best Halo graphics in any game are Halo 2 Anniversary but I do like Chief and Cortana's storyline

[@helio1055]

Im sorry to hear that, you should have played the originals when they came out

[@XBLMA]

Halo 4 was definitely a strong start to the next trilogy. The mistake they made was killing the Diadact off screen. He should of remained the nemesis for all 3 games like the prophets did and it could of worked.

[@ano_nym]

Yeah, the new trilogy feels very unplanned, hardly connected. Reminds me of Disney's Star Wars.

[@fr33dom_s4int]

I have always thought Halo 4’s story was excellent. I’ve defended it since its release. The music is gorgeous, and the relationship between Chief and Cortana is heart-wrenching.

[@joeynikolas7647]

I agree

[@simounobrien9096]

Even when Halo 4 first came out, I loved it. And I still do to this day. Infact, I never once understood why people hated it. Clearly the most underrated game of the Series and one of the most underrated games ever.

[@TheOraclearchive]

It was not bad at all, but starting weapons, having BR, and DMR on spawn was a bit luxurious, gave no encouragement to immediately get involved with the map, however everyone was on level ground. Ordnance was a blast. Forge was weird.

[@sonicboom104]

That first mission when you fall from space and cortana tells chief about her well being and chief damn near stutters, starts talking over her refusing to accept that... Shit hit me in the feels. Was like damn, never seen humanitys savior choke up and become flustered. He's literally tained to go to hell and back but this is what causes him fear. Fucking LOVED it, lmao i grew up with this series so the ending legit had me crying. And that phrase Lasky says to chief on the ship home to earth, about soldiers being human. Goddamn art man... and then halo 5 happened.. smfh Edit: 18:22 Infinite respect, this man knows halo. Sub

[@storyseeker6028]

4 started the Fan-fic. We are Forerunner, “I am a monument to all your sins.”-Gravemind, “And this time, none of you will be left behind”-Prophet of Mercy, “You are Forerunner!”-343 Guilty spark. 1 set of terminal entries made by Franky doesn’t change the ending of 3. Neither the Covenant still somehow existing nor the Diadact make any sense. As above we are Forerunners, that’s the point of 1-3, to change that is to diminish everything that came before. The Covenant betrayed and genocided the Elites, why are we fighting Elites? Wasn’t the Covenant disbanded in 3? What even do these guys want? All of this takes away from what came before. I know books are there to try and explain the changes but no, required reading is bad for a visual entertainment product. I could say more but no. Halo 4 is the Force Awakens of this saga.

[@RandoGrunt]

Nothing can ever can take away that feeling of awe when you go through the tunnels on the second mission, and behold the gigantic forerunner structure with Requiem playing.

[@LaperLarden]

Man, that's easily one of my favourite moments in the entire series. The music that plays too... Goosebumps every time.

[@RandoGrunt]

@@LaperLarden Oh yeah, it's one really well done scene. It also seems like Infinite wants to go by the concept of the following Warthog drive which gave the feel you got a whole lot of land to go through on a Forerunner world and take the aliens on as you see fit by pretty much yourself. Other things I like in Halo 4 is that it goes out of the way to strike an emotional cord to the player behind the controller, be it like the transition period from a "once per game Scorpion Tank rampage" up to the face of the 343 Industries Era vehicle the Mantis by having that storm the Infinity to make the player feel completely unstoppable as everything explodes around them, to feeling like a straight up hero by flying a Broadsword in a Death Star Trench Run at the end of the game. Anyway yeah, I honestly think this game gets far too unfairly bashed. It's like the Halo 2 hatred from back in 2004 all over again. Granted somethings can be done better, but I think that just goes for about everything in the entire series.

[@JãoVitu10]

It's pretty good. I think it would've been even cooler if the classic halo theme played at that moment

[@kboi1170]

Honestly Halo 4 had the most underrated story. The main problem that they ran into was that 343 seriously underestimated how many Halo fans actually read the extended lore, and H4 requires a bit of knowledge of the Halo lore to fully get what's going on. I've seen a lot of people say it's excusable because of the terminals in the game, but the terminals are optional and are usually stuffed away in a corner somewhere. When I first played Halo 4 I was like 14 or 15 and didn't understand ANYTHING that was going on. I ended up playing it again a few years later after I knew more about the Halo universe itself and the game made a lot more sense. They really should've done a better job explaining the Didact, Librarian, ancient humans, etc. If they had explained everything better this game wouldn't have gotten anywhere near as much flack.

[@CT--ko8js]

Personally I don’t think we should have had promentheans. I think the villains should have been the UNSC and the story can take the more interesting direction of showing how awful ONI really was. I mean after all you already beat both the covenant and the flood. The only faction that needs to be gone now is the UNSC

[@alexfrost2799]

Honestly, this points to the main reason why a lot of Halo fans didn't like Halo 4: the vast majority of them aren't lore junkies like you or me. Or, at the very least, they didn't read the first book of the Forerunner trilogy like I did, so everything with the Didact, Librarian, and Ancient Humans, came out of the blue to them. For lore nerds, Halo 4 might have the best, most personal story, with the most emotional beats, but for everyone else, not so much

[@goatman9499]

@@CT--ko8js It would be a really good fan game to make where its set on outer colonies and a traditional human vs human conflict with the unsc weapons having much more realistic handling, recoil, and ballistics, maybe a couple exotic covenant guns aswell because it IS a halo game after all A more tactical/hardcore game with ONI/UNSC faction, Corporate Contracted Mercenaries, NURF(new united rebel front) and some other colonial insurgent force There is lore about mjolnir designs and visr making its way into the public markets so Id be interested to see what an augmented NURF trooper in spartan armor would look like probs a few pieces of red. If this game ever gets made I hope it captures the feeling from halo landfall, chaotic yet coordinated.

[@felixtla93]

@@alexfrost2799 but they are in game where you can access them and learn more and not like you need to read the book to know this unless you're blind when playing

[@TRG_R17]

Reply 5, books are the only way 343 can make something good for halo

[@f0x268]

Halo 4 is my favorite halo gameplay wise. In particular, I enjoyed the faster pace of multiplayer gameplay/combat compared to previous halo entries which I thought was an improvement to the franchise. Since then, my interest in Halo has fizzled out with halo 5 and infinite seeing as how the community and 343 are primarily concerned with recreating 15 year old gameplay rather than making a progressive halo that expands and improves upon the halo formula.

[@SilverViper1000]

I really don't know why so many people think the graphics are good? Halo reach looks much better nowadays than halo 4. And I am not talking about the art style

[@spartanjohn-1176]

No lol

[@echo1180]

Totally underrated Halo video, this explains exactly how I feel about Halo 4 as well. Not a legendary experience like the originals, but still a damn good game that I have many memories within due to it.

[@TheE_G_G]

I feel like if halo 5 truly followed up on halo 4 more than it does, we would appreciate both significantly more

[@anthem4333]

Halo 4 was the first Halo to have an assault rifle sound effect than wasn’t stock. 343 actually produced their own firing sounds, which is why the H4 assault rifle actually sounds cool

[@axolotl09]

After I watched this video, I was shocked that you only have 800 subs! you deserve more

[@ctmusic1]

My start to Halo was with Halo 4. I had to work my way back to the older titles when the MCC came out. I've watched many reviews on Halo 4 to see if anyone else feels as I do, that the game was actually quite good. More often than not, the reviews would trash it in ways that I personally disagree with. Then I watched this video. No other video hits it home the way this one does for me. Especially the closing portion of it about growing up from a child to an adult. The way you use your words is almost poetic, another thing that other content creators on games seldomly do. You earned my subscription.

[@tulio.guitar]

My favorite campaign, and one of my favorite multiplayer experiences ever, I loved it since it came out, it's the only game to date that had made me cry, I absolutely love this game to death

[@MrKaji010]

I'm not kidding but I just replayed the master chief collection. And I swear when I reached Halo 4 for some reason my eyes started watering up and I had a huge smile on my face. And it's because I actually have a emotional connection with this game this was my first ever game in the series. And when I hear the soundtrack my eyes just start watering up and I'm glad that Halo 4 is getting a little bit more love. I'm just saying I'm proud to be a part of the halo community

[@mcsqu1zzy317]

Bruh. I am SO glad that KZbin put your videos in my feed. I absolutely love your channel. I really hope you get the attention you deserve.

[@LaperLarden]

Thanks!

[@TheZamaron]

I don’t think Halo 4 was as deep as you’re trying to make it. For me Chief knows his purpose. He’s mostly stoic in the trilogy because it’s routine, get an objective, figure out his way to complete it, with Cortana mostly by his side. If he has any emotional issues he buries them, his mission focused mindset is his mental shield against issues, eventually he succeeds and goes into Cryosleep, Halo 4 is the first time at least that we can see where he’s in the unknown, he and Cortana make up objectives like getting through the Dawn to activate a missile to fend of the Covenant, but he’s in the unknown, no idea why he’s under attack, the state of the galaxy, but upon landing he sees how messed up Cortana is, and so his objective is to get her to Halsey somehow, they explore Requiem, pick up Infinity’s signal, and follow Cortana’s objectives to try and warn them, awakens the Didact, makes contact with the Crashed Infinity, simply put he’s at his most emotionally vulnerable as his objectives change, he wants to help Cortana but knows the Didact has to be stopped, and so stays behind on Requiem as he still needs Cortana’s help, we also see him soften up when she messes up, he comforts her, and despite her questionable effectiveness sticks with her still asking for help, in the end she sacrifices herself for him, she became someone he cared for, connected to closer then anyone else, she asked him about being a machine, and I don’t mind how he was handled in Halo 5, constant missions was his way of coping with his loss, defending Humanity was the only thing he has as a purpose in life, so seeing a possibility of Cortana alive and going AWOL to find her is in character for him, there was no big threat he at the time of Argent Moon knew of, so finding her made sense, but as the story plays out he pushes forward to Cortana to get to the bottom of this, then he’s hurt by who she is now, and while he still fights on mission focused as always, he feels guilt at this being his fault, as we see him say to Fernando Esparza in Infinte he could have prevented alll of this from going wrong, and so his mission focused personality remains, but no longer as a coping method for loss, but a drive to end this, a drive to save everything, I think being with The Weapon helped him heal mentally, and getting a last good bye from Cortana has now set him right, sure she’s gone now, but a version of her does remain in The Weapon. A new start to a new version of an old partnership. But yes while Chief and the Didact I don’t think really affect each other personally, they do act as a good dichotomy, both engineered as the best soldier of their race, but Didact lost everything and so carried on his own mission of revenge on Humanity from stewing in his own madness, but Chief will be different, he still has his people, and unlike the Didact still has a noble cause to fight for. Didact became a soldier with no people or noble cause left, all he had was vengeance.

[@jimmyneutron5724]

So glad this was recommended to me by the algorithm gods. Thank you for making such an amazing analysis/video essay on the underrated gem that is Halo 4!

[@fernandomontemayor6457]

that Green and Blue song still hits me the same way it did when i first saw that ending Really like your content, hope your channel keeps growing:))

[@LaperLarden]

I've got so much nostalgia associated with that song, as I remember sitting on the menu of H4 for ages just waiting for that song to play. It's truly beautiful.

[@commanderosis435]

Yes it was

[@Reekumon]

Wow for a fairly new KZbinr, your video essays are great, the speed in which is post is crazy, and you just sound super professional! Hats of to you man! Keep up the great work

[@JFlintstone1]

Glad someone else had the same feeling at the end of Halo 4. I bought the soundtrack and loved listening to Green and Blue, the Chief and Cortana song.

[@LaperLarden]

I don't think it was Cortana's death that got me choked up on first playthrough, it was Never Forget playing in the credits.

[@JFlintstone1]

@@LaperLarden “I finished the fight but at what cost?”

[@ZacTheFirst]

You don’t need a bunch of books to understand Halo 4 at all. The terminals give more context to the Didact and Librarian’s backstory but even then it doesn’t give you any more information you absolutely need to understand the story. Just from playing the game, even if Halo 4 was your first Halo, you’d understand that the Didact has been gone for a long time and hates humanity. What I like about Del Rio is I love to hate him, but I also understand where he’s coming from. Del Rio knows Chief is a legend but hasn’t experienced him firsthand. He’s more of a politician with a Captain nametag, who rose up the ranks when humanity wasn’t in deep trouble. He likely buys into ONI’s new propaganda painting Spartan 2s as inhuman killing machines, and thinks Spartan 4s are the real deal. There’s a scene that shows Del Rio nervous, worrying and thinking before giving orders. He cannot get it together. He gets humanity’s biggest, most prized and heavily advertised warship stranded on an alien planet, and he has a plan to escape to at least escape momentarily and give the ship and UNSC a chance to catch its breath and prepare against this enemy they’ve never fought before and have very little experience with. Then the most legendary soldier that ever lived shows up with a rampant A.I. that is threatening to entrap them on the planet, and says the best plan he can come up with is shit. So all that stress on his brain comes out and he blows his lid on Chief. To him, he doesn’t see why everyone has THAT much faith in Chief alone to succeed, especially with a dangerous rampant A.I. He wants to get the Infinity the hell out but Chief insists on charging headfirst into an army of armored robots with digitized people inside of them, what’s let of the covenant, and the Didact whose ship can travel at the speed of light. It’s also very understandable why Del Rio would want to deactivate cortana. Look at what she did in Halo 5 (yes H5 is terrible but the cortana-villain thing is a decent concept that was executed in the worst way possible) We’re in the same shoes as Chief at that time. Literally the only reason we don’t want cortana deactivated is because we, and Chief, are attached to her. On a realistic level she’s just an advanced machine that is breaking down and more or less has a virtual form of extreme dementia. But we don’t want her dead because she’s Cortana. Lord Hood had worked alongside Chief for about half a year straight, so in Halo 3, even when everything is absolutely fucked and Lord Hood is doubtful that Chief can succeed and save humanity from the covenant and the flood all at once, Lord Hood decides to make the decision to trust Chief. Del Rio made the other decision. But we love to hate Del Rio because, while it’s understandable the way he thinks, we know he is dead wrong. He clearly rose up the ranks while Chief was gone and hasn’t seen Chief firsthand. He has no faith, he fucked up, he is a short-tempered angry pussy who thinks too practically, and is too nervous, and his plans are too conservative for the situation. We’re not used to seeing a high ranking officer not putting every ounce of faith they have in the protagonist and bowing to his every will. Ever since Chief’s been gone the UNSC has gotten more safe and more propagandized. So Chief says “no, sir.” To all that shit. He knows he is a legend. He knows he is supernaturally lucky. He knows he’s the protagonist. Fuck this politician with a Captain nametag. Fuck not having faith to succeed. Now I promise I’m not trying to make this scene sound deep, it’s not really a very deep scene. But it’s kinda cool how we sorta get the perspective of Chief and Del Rio. We are wholeheartedly on Chief’s side but still can kinda see where Del Rio is coming from, from a practical standpoint. He knows Chief is a badass but doesn’t see the hype. He doesn’t see the inhuman, unnatural, superhero who can do anything on his own, that both Lasky and Palmer saw in the room that day. That both Lasky and Palmer refused to arrest. Every time I play Halo 4, I appreciate this scene and everything in its campaign a bit more, except for anything involving the covenant. They wanted a story about Cortana and the Prometheans, but they still wanted good ol’ covenant as the main gameplay, so they said “uuhhh…uhhh covenant splinter faction with blind faith in the Didact”. Halo 4 isn’t the best thing ever, but I really appreciate things about it, namely how they gave Chief humanity while acknowledging that he lacked it in the past games, yet still allowing him to be a badass.

[@LaperLarden]

I think Del Rio is unironically a character that I'd like to see return. Lasky, Lord Hood and Shipmaster are all up there, but Del Rio is a close fourth place as I love the dynamic he has with Chief. There's something really interesting about having a character who is effectively the opposite of Lord Hood, someone who while being in a position of power, doesn't trust the Chief and his luck/instincts. Someone who is Chief's superior and technically can call the shots. I'd love to see a Story DLC where Chief is not only having to contend with the Banished but also interference from his commanding officer as well, potentially trying to get back at Chief for being one of the driving reasons for why he lost the Infinity.

[@ZacTheFirst]

@@LaperLarden Yeah similar to how Lord Hood became a depressed drunkard after Halo 3, I’d like to see the aftermath / epilogue to both of their careers. Maybe even a book where Lord Hood and Del Rio happen to meet, both depressed and retired, and have conflicting world views but become friends and reach an understanding in some wacky adventure or something. In fact, Lord Hood is the one who got Del Rio removed from his position before the last mission of Halo 4

[@beswick9644]

Damn alot of work went into this video. Nice work

[@shepardren8006]

Halo for me ended with 4. I still cry watching the end. And I'm almost 30

[@MasterCheeseII7]

Your talent for writing and editing is phenomenal! I'm addicted to your content mate

[@TaiidanOnslaught]

Im going to have to staunchly disagree. I will cite “Halo 4 : Worse than you remember” 2 parter by Andy Insp. Magnum. Any time I hear someone say “Halo 4 was good” or some variation of which, I think they are seeing it through some skewed lens. That said, you did an exceptional job on this video, and I applaud the effort.

[@alexfrost2799]

Damn, hitting all of the nails on the head with why Halo 4 was as divisive as it was. Halo 4 has perhaps _the_ most emotional story with the most personality we've seen in Chief in pretty much any Halo game. Unfortunately, the Forerunner segments, the gameplay and level design, and multiplayer either all fell flat or appealed to anything but the Halo audience. Stories like ones connecting the Master Chief and Cortana are great overall for older people like me, it's just that they will often fly right over the head of the little kid or teenager that hasn't felt anything like that before and therefore doesn't care

[@abadmeme0484]

Halo 4 is by far my favorite of the Master Chief led games. Reach, being my favorite Halo game. The promeatheans are annoying beyond belief though. Dear god, those watchers piss me off. Its multiplayer is not the best, but I always have fun with its chaos.

[@LaperLarden]

Yeah... There's a reason I didn't mention the Prometheans. They're hot garbage.

[@TifffanyTaylor]

Can you all just be real & admit it had the best cortana design & that's why you like it. 😂

[@LaperLarden]

I can neither confirm or deny.

[@TifffanyTaylor]

@LaperLarden 🧐🤔

[@adriankuzu6312]

loved the way you executed the campaign on a mental level for chief, i feel like people need to hear this cause everyone i know sh!ts on halo 4 for how ‘bad’ it was, i really enjoyed it, but sometimes i was annoyed by it. great video man you’re too underrated🙏🏾

[@chunkblaster]

I actually really liked halo 4's campaign and was kinda surprised when i found it people didn't like it Then again i thought Reach's campaign was pretty cringe and apparently that's also a rather hot take EDIT: Cope and seethe Armor lock was based =P

[@HeWhoComments]

KZbin put this in my recommended and I’m not mad. Great video

[@JimothyBratwurst]

Great video. Best one I’ve seen. I relate to your opinion on so many levels. This is also MY halo game.

[@LaperLarden]

Glad to hear I'm not the only one!

[@JFOJEDI117]

This is a great video. I played Halo 4 with my best friend years ago, I'll never forget it.

[@paperclip6377]

Bruh its literally worse than I remember. Because I saw this vid I decided to go play it and it's horrible. Especially when paired up with the bad writing and forerunners retcon

[@LuffyTheLabrador]

It's ok dude this guy is just your typical 343 shill. His entire channel is based on licking the boots clean for 343 and their halo games. Don't take it to heart their just copping with their bad taste in video games.

[@isaiagonzalez2652]

Your script writing reminded me of the tears I got when Cortana died. Man you are awesome!

[@mikeyrocks8664]

I really didn’t like the new armor art style in halo 4. I’ve seen that a lot of people did but I really wasn’t a fan. Im glad they went back to the OG style in infinite.

[@gearheadboss7028]

How could you like the uglier art style?

[@trillionbones89]

You guys trying to reminisce here: replay the campaign. Your rose tinted glasses will fall off. It being better than Halo 5 is not an achievement. *Incredible story and visuals... Lol

[@RatSentinel]

I got into halo through infinite a while ago, bought the MCC and played htrough every game except for 4 because I had heard so many bad things about it, but when I was insanely bored one day I played it and it became my favourite halo game yet. I love the fast gameplay, all the guns feel great and I even like spartan Ops

[@X1erra]

It was worth playing through Halo 4 despite the objections I have with the enemies' shielding speed, but the narrative? Yeah, can't top that one. We saved the world, now we save ourselves. I love the idea and I hope Infinite has both of those aspects in the narrative.

[@ZHibiki]

How is it that you have less than 1000 subscribers? you deserve a lot more

[@LaperLarden]

We're getting there. Hoping to make it to 1,000 by the time Infinite releases!

[@thaneros]

I think you, like most, is missing the point of Chief's transition to Halo 4 to Halo 5. Nothing was scrapped, Chief is actually behaving like how most people would after lost. He's just keeping himself busy to not think about the past and his feelings. It would be until Halo Infinite Chief grows as a human due to his interactions with the Weapon

[@FernandoRodriguez-fj5pj]

This channel needs so much more attention!

[@johnderat2652]

Halo 4 was goated. If you were gonna cry at some point to a Halo game, it was gonna be Halo 4. I haven't played the Halo campaigns in around 6 years (I last played them in ~2016 to get Helioskrill in H5), but I absolutely loved Halo 4 for how different it was from the others, it was so emotional. Absolutely phenomenal game, if only 343 had stayed on that path for Halo 5

[@thirdwordbird3011]

I think something often overlooked is how incredibly bad the campaign balancing and AI was. The weapons were mostly garbage and there was almost no diversity later in the game, killing replayability. And on heroic and legendary, the game was almost too hard for how limiting the sandbox was.

[@elijahnajera5425]

I never mind the story that much at the time, it was a large change that's for sure, but it was a change I liked. With the death of Cortana constantly lingering over you since the second mission while you fight through an unknown enemy that calls the planet home, it really set a sense of urgency for me. I thought I could save the day like the Chief did as before, but as Cortana's condition got worse and the chances of coming back looking slimmer by the minute, dread started to set in. Once it all ended, I just sat there and pondered it. The companion I fought with for two whole games (couldn't play Halo 2 at the time) is gone. I still couldn't save her, and wondered how things will go on after this. Then Halo 5 happened and I just looked a little dumb founded. Then there's the gameplay, like seriously who at 343 thought it was a good idea to have enemy needlers supercombine you during campaign LIKE WHAT THE FU-

[@jloxley2003]

Really, really good video man. You got yourself another subscriber 👍

[@zalrohglekgolo6149]

Halo 4 is tied with 2 as my go to Halo experience. Multiplayer included.

[@shangothunder1055]

I enjoyed Halo 4s story very much never had a problem with it outside of linearity. I liked Chief's and Cortana's new infuses on character fleshing/development, and the direction I felt the Reclaimer Saga was headed. As for the multiplayer yea it was a COD trend chasing bust but; I still have some good memories playing it. Halo 4 to this day not counting Infinite has the best Big Team Battle; super chaotic with nice maps. I've played far more Halo 4 than 5 explicitly becuase Halo 5's HEAVY AIM, SWEATYNESS, and lack of casual game modes at launch rendered it nearly unplayable for me. At least Halo 4 launched content complete.😒

[@LaperLarden]

Yeah, that is one thing that I'll give it over 343's later instalments. It had everything it needed to start off with. Just didn't quite hit the mark in other respects.

[@EmSee360]

One thing I like in 4 better than it's predecessors is it's gun play. Every gun has a use even in legendary. I can actually successfully use the AR alone on legedary which is something you can't do after CE.

[@jowoman7799]

The editing here mixed in with the Halo 4 soundtrack was brilliantly done. Brought me the emotions I felt playing it for the first time just recently. Something about Halo 4 just sticks with me more than any other Halo game. It's probably my favorite. The feeling of seeing someone you love and care about fall apart and degrade as your helpless is an all too real feeling. Master Chief never felt more human and emotionally vulnerable. Trying everything to ignore what's going on with Cortana, because he's saved so many before. He can do this again. But he can't. Each choice is a mistake and he loses everything. This game made me love Chief more than ever. The OT is iconic and he's a badass. But in 4 he's so human you can see the pain through his mask without needing to see his face when Cortana dies. I am so sad we never got and never will get a proper sequel to 4. I'll just consider this the end of his journey because it's like Logan, as you showed. I know Halo 4 has issues but to me it's an emotional masterpiece in storytelling. I love this game.

[@nicholasshealy9040]

I’ll be honest, after Halo 5 got all its content updates I thought it was better than 4. Sure 4 did have a good story and had a unique spin on the series, but not without some serious controversy. Not saying 5 didn’t have that, with its bad story and microtransactions and the like, it also got a metric fuck ton of content post launch, a phenomenal Forge (or so I’ve heard, I’m not a Forge person), A FRIGGIN’ CUSTOM GAMES BROWSER, silky smooth gameplay that has sprint which didn’t make you feel like you were sliding on thin ice, et cetera. But I’ll be honest, this video is making me rethink things. Perhaps I’ve judged Halo 4 too harshly. While Halo’s 4 and 5 don’t really feel like Halo games, they’re still solid games in their own right, in my opinion. And yes, Logan was a damn masterpiece.

[@thaneros]

I really don't understand how people say Halo 4 has a good story and Halo 5 does not.....Like in Halo 5 we visit a glassed planet trying to rebuild, go to the Elites homeworld in the middle of a civil war and visit another shield world with a likeable monitor....But hey but a characters death in a game and people automatically calls the story great! I'm not knocking Halo 4 but its weird that gamers tend to only remember the endings of games and not the moments between the start and finish.

[@nicholasshealy9040]

@@thaneros You’re being disingenuous, to put it incredibly lightly. The people who remember “the moments between start and finish” are the same people who like 4’s story and hate 5’s story, generally speaking. In 4 it’s not that a character died but it’s the circumstances behind it, take a look at the Last Jedi. A very beloved character died in that film but people hated it because it was super disrespectful to the character. It’s not like that with Cortana, Chief’s only friend left is dying and it’s the focus of the story with tons of good character moments in between. When Cortana does die, Chief gets some great character development as he goes from a static character to a dynamic one and we have Cortana’s death thanks to that. Not to mention we get some nice one liners and memorable moments in 4, like the “Broadsword Run” and Lasky’s conversation with Chief in the end. But 5 is an absolute travesty, and I’ll explain why. Remember Chief’s character development at the end of 5? Well forget that ever happened because he’s back at being a static character. And Cortana is abruptly brought back, making her death completely pointless. Those are TWO major plot points from the previous game made entirely worthless, and that’s not even the end of it. While most of 4’s cast isn’t something to smile at 5’s is a million times worse, with so many new characters with cardboard personalities and “returning favorites” that don’t feel like themselves, like Buck or Arbiter. Speaking of Arby, sure it was nice to see him again and travel to Sanghelios but both of them could’ve been replaced with literally any other Elite and planet and the story wouldn’t have made a damn bit of difference. They were in the story purely for fan service. And about Meridian, sure it could’ve been a cool moment to see a glassed planet and care for its inhabitants IF it wasn’t explained through boring exposition. And the story just somehow gets worse when you realize there’s an AI uprising because some dumb decision to bring Cortana back and Genesis is a constant reminder of that. For most if not the entire campaign you’re doing a bunch of menial tasks, that’s not fun no matter what game your playing, usually, whereas 4 you had a reason to do what you were doing because your friend’s life is on the line, among other things. Not to mention, you had to listen to a podcast of sorts, read several novels and comics, and watch an animated movie and live action show to learn about the characters and understand 5’s story as a whole AND THAT’S BAD! 4 did have the same problem with the Didact but it wasn’t nearly as bad as 5. I think I’ll stop there while I’m at it, how people can think 4 has a bad story and 5 a good one is BEYOND me. If I didn’t make you understand why people think the opposite and you still want to then look it up, there’s tons of Halo fans out there who’ve explained their distaste for 5’s story. The Act Man being a prime example. But if I didn’t make you understand then I don’t know what else to tell you.

[@thaneros]

@@nicholasshealy9040 There was no character development at the end of Halo 4. Chief just remembered Cortana's words which was due to Lasky pointing it out to him. You actually think a person who didn't have the time to grow and develop due to being trained as a super soldier at the age of 6 will change immediately? Sure Cortana was one of his closes friends but one of the most common paths people take when dealing with loss and grief is to keep themselves busy. Instead of typical Hollywood fashion of dealing with loss is to grow like magic, Chief is actually in a state of regressing because that's all he knows. Mark my words but Chief will change in Infinite. Why? Because of the character The Weapon. The character looks and sounds like Cortana yet is like Chief in that she is task driven....like a machine. So throughout the game Chief will have to be the one to teach the Weapon how to be human and eventually talk the Weapon from not deleting herself.

[@Ian-Threaded]

The only major problem I had with halo 4 was how they hid the 1-50 skill ranking on waypoint or whatever instead of showing you on the game itself. Loved the video. Very nostalgic

[@Windjammer19]

My mantra for Halo 4 is: The good things are REALLY good, but the bad things are REALLY bad. Unfortunately, there's more bad than good. Chief and Cortana's dynamic is GREAT and I wish I understood it better as a kid. But the supporting cast (sans Lasky) is pretty bad. Del Rio? I like that he opposes Chief and doesn't worship the ground he walks, but H4 paints him like he has some personal grudge against Chief. And it's made worse by us not getting a proper reason for that (I don't think it's even in the books, although I could be wrong). Him wanting to decommission Cortana was fine, and it followed protocol, but the arrogance and lack of respect he showed to a soldier that was MIA for over 4 years was startling and made me very sick of him quickly. Then he just... vanishes. "Give me that Chip" was the last cutscene he was in. He never gets the chance to redeem himself or show more positive qualities. He's was just meant to be a "hate sink" for the player. And I think that sucks. Palmer? She has the weird line as her FIRST ever line. Her CHARACTER INTRODUCTION. I've heard that it's a reference to CE, but maybe it's the delivery of it that makes it weird. IDK. I initially didn't have an issue with it, but it feels out of place regardless. But Palmer's true fault is that she does NOTHING in the campaign. She doesn't fight with you in jungle after you meet Lasky, she does accompany you the mammoth (she does run command, so that counts I guess), she doesn't attempt to arrest Chief. Nothing. Like it or not, as Chief is to Spartan IIs and spartans as a whole, and as Noble Six is to Spartan IIIs, Palmer is THE spartan IV. She is the first Spartan IV we meet and the only named one in the Campaign. Locke somewhat usurps this role in H5, but Palmer will always be the first impression. Didact? I lost all faith in him as a competent villain when he force chokes Chief within seconds of awakening, holding him in front of him like toy doll, then tosses him aside, instead of killing him. Didact had no reason to let Chief live. None. But he lets him scamper around, fight back, and destroy things while lecturing him about his "insolence" as he sits in his ball scanning us with McAfee. I assume he wanted to compose Chief, that's the only thing I can think of as to why he'd go through the trouble of keeping him alive. Then he composes New Phoenix... Arizona. Why there? Was it just the first place he had the gun lined up to? Either way this "devastation" he causes in only told to us. We never visit the street of New Phoenix to see what he's done. Not like walking the destroyed streets of New Mombasa or flying throw the crumbling skyscrapers of New Alexandria. Finally he's "killed" before he can do anything remarkable (composing New Phoenix isn't remarkable because it isn't mentioned again outside of Spartan Ops which got retconned). Then he "survives" and is killed for real in a book. The FIRST forerunner we meet and this is how he's treated. No one seems to hate 343's character more than themselves.

[@blake7675]

Your editing is extremely good!!

[@LaperLarden]

I certainly try!

[@Ikkey]

crazy how you're not even 1k subs. I hope to see your number hit 100k and beyond!

[@Montasir125]

I played H4 fairly recently. So I was aware of the hate surrounding it, but I reserved judgement until I finished it myself. I think everything you said about MC's growth in this game & the emotional stuff with Cortana is damn good. The series tugged at my heartstrings for the first time. It was a shame that almost everything else felt so average. The covenant was dumbed way down to make the forerunners a bigger threat, & the forerunners themselves felt like pests rather than the big bad of the game.

[@BargMonster]

Fantastic vid my guy

[@themaskedman757]

Hey really good video man amazing blend of active and funny editing with deep genuine discussion. I could either play this in the background or actively watch it and not many strike that balance

[@FakeJake5843]

My favorite halo game that had a special place in my heart

[@tiago5001]

Halo 4 was the first Halo I ever played so it is flawless in my eyes. Halo 4 is my baby. Do not insult Halo 4 or I will steal your Halo Infinite campaign codes.

[@TheFirstCurse1]

Halo 4's story was great overall. It was Halo 5 that messed it all up. It made sense for John to go rogue after 4 and Locke would have to hunt him down, but to say that they screwed that up would be an understatement.

[@nonAehT]

As someone who played Halo 4 as a non Halo fan years after it's release after playing through halo 3 and 4 back to back as the preparation for a pen&paper rpg. It was an absolutely terrible experience and i had to force myself to play to the end. The enemies aren't fun to fight, the guns aren't fun to use and the story really wasn't anything special.

[@Narv58]

I Still remember when I beat this game at 17. Those Halo 4 credits hit different though.

[@EpicGamingLiveEGL]

I played Halo over my friends house but the first time I actually owned a Halo game was Reach. Halo CE Anniversary was the first game I pre-ordered and Halo 4 was the first game I was obsessed with from the moment it was announced to every single leak or rumor that came out. I remember coincidentally staying home sick from sick the day the gameplay reveal came out in March 2012. I completely admit my bias when it comes to Halo 4, it’s such an important game to me growing up. Even looking back at it now with all its faults and how much it deviates from the original Halo formula, it still told a beautiful story from a rookie developer, Its just unfortunate that 343/Microsoft learned the wrong lessons from it.

[@knightspartan7201]

Very good video, pretty much exactly how I feel about the game too

[@levijonathansix]

At the end of the day Joseph Staten was right- Master Chief is narratively the player. He doesn’t have depth and he doesn’t have a complex or intricate relationship with the narrative because that’s not the focus of a good Halo game. Larger than life set pieces, retro futuristic sci-fi aesthetic, bombastic vehicle combat, interesting/ cool weapons and a fun sandbox. Halo’s story, while good, was largely a vessel by which to deliver unique and terrific gameplay because it is a videogame first, not a piece of cinema or a book. Because the books are purely narrative they are and always will be the best place to explore Chief’s humanity in an engaging way. In every regard, Halo 4 feels like a step back in terms of gameplay. And as far as feeling cool and having that power fantasy, it has the hardest time delivering. I don’t hate the game, but having just finished Halo CE, 2, 3, and 4 on legendary I can safely say Halo 4 was the least enjoyable and the biggest eyesore even with it’s polished graphics.

[@EthanRom]

Strangely enough I’ve been enjoying the H4 Multiplayer in MCC. Then again that’s after years of refinement and title updates so the H4 now is a far cry it’s original version

[@yahlibar6832]

I remember opening this game as a kid for the first time, and seeing the opening and thinking, wait, they went live action for the cutscenes? And then realizing it just looked that good… I was so impressed, now it just looks normal but compared to the time it came out it’s really good

[@ebomb1133]

I loved all the Cortana/Chief bits of the the campaign, but those Forerunner segments still piss me off to this day. My main criticism lies with the Didact being WAY overpowered and the Librarian info dump a little past halfway. I've never read the Forerunner trilogy and don't plan to bc I like the concept of the Forerunners being mysterious and not knowing much about them aside from what they left behind. Then 343 goes and makes it almost mandatory to understand what is going on in the story. When the Librarian shows up and starts spouting exposition I was perplexed. I has no idea what was going on and hated this from a narrative standpoint. The other issue was how incredibly powerful the Didact was, but just kept letting Chief live for no reason. He could have crushed Chief like a Soda can anytime through the campaign, but just..... Doesn't. I'm all for a powerful villain, but at his power level was almost beyond anything we have seen in the Halo universe.

[@teneesh3376]

In terms of story, it's a mixed bag. The parts with master chief and cortana are great. But the forerunners and their lore is complicated and boring

[@spagheddie1673]

Great vid, the halo community tends to make things seem more polarising then they actually are 😅 and I'm looking forward to that medley of covers next week 👀

[@drawedified]

It seems like only yesterday, that this game came out and was new to me. Feels strange to have time go by so soon.

[@mikeyahl7363]

I have a lot of nostalgia for the Trilogy, but Halo 4 & 5 slipped past me during high school. Though I didn't have an Xbox, a few spoiled friends had multiple consoles & all the newest games, so I was able to experience the Halo 1-3 (albeit, as Player 2). Since I already had the rest of the MCC on Steam, I thought "Why not?" & played it after over a decade of abstaining. Just this fall of 2024, I finally played & finished Halo 4 (First on Legendary, but I eventually just lowered it to Heroic because...Prometheans). As a fellow artist & game dev, I will say this as succinctly & respectfully as I can: Halo 4 is the only Halo title which I have *no desire* to re-play.

[@greatsaiyaguy8868]

It's a shame man, Halo 4 was the first Halo game I got for myself too, the day after my 12th birthday after preordering it. Played Halo 1, 2, and most of 3 yet for some reason I just could not get into the campaign's gameplay or story. It was the first time I beat a Halo game and had no desire to play the campaign again. I even had my cousin who got me into the series to play the split screen with me and they weren't that into it either. I am glad you and obviously so many other people had positive experiences with it cause I would have loved to have not felt so alienated (that might sound too strong but whatever) by my favorite fps franchise.

[@HughS-kp1fv]

Halo 4 was great, however I did like how 343 first approached it, the hangar mission was different and you got to see requiem open. I also liked the original idea of knights rolling up into a ball to move. What I would change to set things up for halo is re-unite blue team with master chief on mission 4, infinity. And have a legendary ending that shows Cortina wandering in the domain.

[@thevortexianbolt2970]

Halo 4 is my favorite game in the series, and even though it gets so much (mostly undue) hate i'm still super glad many people like it just as much as I do. Better words have never been spoken about this game than in this video.

[@moltedjet5291]

halo 4 will have a place in my heart as its the 1st halo i got and played fully but 8 so years later and haveing played all the main halos games many time i do see the flaws in 4 its good but not the best

[@ignaciopartida1047]

Love your video bro 🙏 thank u

[@ShawFujikawa]

Regarding the story at least from someone who did not play Halo 4 back in the day (I stopped after Reach due to moving away for university), Halo 4’s story aged way better than Halo 3’s did for me. The cutscenes and interactions are far more memorable than Halo 3’s ever were.

[@Artis_OTS]

Always said i liked the narrative of 4 the most. It wasnt the most fun gameplay wise but it very effectively made me finally care for chief. It's why i was so disappointed in Halo 5s narrative since felt like a side adventure compared to 4.

[@Greez1337]

I loved Halo 4 when it came out, and I still really enjoyed the story parts that bothered to be told. A stunning 360 game for sure. I loved how they tried gave the HUD more "you are wearing the helmet, you are chief" vibe. I also loved the gun sounds in Halo 4. A stark contrast to what is happening now...

[@jetracoon54338]

My only problem about Halo 4 is the lack of UNSC weapons in the campaign