The Ultimate Halo 4 Critique

[@BenPlaysGames]

Subscribe: kzbin.info Support the channel: www.patreon.com/ben_plays_games The toughest Halo so far to get through, although it did have its odd highlights!

[@regularphill]

What 343 did was just unforgivea- OH LOOK! Sticky detonator!

[@Samurreye]

Hated that thing

[@regularphill]

@@Samurreye but why tho?

[@Samurreye]

@@regularphill hates a strong word but it just wasn’t it for me ig

[@Rocco049]

I got a Kilimanjaro with a single shot once

[@Samurreye]

@@Rocco049 that’s sick!

[@omarrojo9484]

43:40 "Sarah Palmer, the first Spartan to appear in the series besides chief" Noble Team in Halo Reach and Red Team in Halo Wars: 🗿🗿🗿

[@Fireheart318]

24:47 I think the reason the Flood are like that is bc they kinda flail around: Combat forms’ heads dangle behind them, infection forms throw themselves around like projectiles and rush forward like a literal flood of water, and carrier forms waddle & stumble around. They all have a feeling of “wrongness” about them, like they’re being puppeted or repurposed for something they weren’t meant to do, which fits perfectly!

[@CriticalShot1]

A very fair, honest take. Halo 4 did a lot of things right, and i loved the direction it was heading however they fumbled quite a bit. Had 343 just tightened up the ship, they might have gotten an amazing sequel to this. Unfortunately we all know the route halo 5 took

[@woodsyjones]

Let’s goooo!!!! 🔥🔥Another one down. Hoping to see an Ultimate Critique of Halo Wars 1 and Infinite 👀

[@sirpsycho986]

I've never liked the art style of Halo 4 and I could never put my finger on it until you said it- OVER DESIGNED. Even so, I still can't explain exactly why or how this is. Would love to see some deeper analysis of the art style specifically, it feels like such a drastic change from Bungie's games, and not in a good way

[@jakespacepiratee3740]

Hot take: the Sound Design for the Forerunner Weapons were SO MUCH BETTER than in Halo 5 or Infinite. They sounded aggressive, alien, energetic, in halo 5 they sound like drops of rain hitting metal.

[@ogshermac]

343 taking masterchief from just an unlucky orphan forged in fire and pain to be the last resort for humanity into "lol i did it 1000 lifetimes ago you are the ONE" is their biggest crime.. the whole point of never showing his face so we could all imagine we were him.

[@BASS_JOCKEY]

I wouldn't say he was unlucky, luck is kind of a whole plot point for Master Chief

[@inductivegrunt94]

Halo 4 is really underappreciated. For as much as it got wrong, it was 343's first game and they still did so much right. The soundtrack stands out as one of the best, a lot of the setpieces and skyboxes are breathtaking, and the game's tone, especially with the Chief and Cortana moments, was beautiful. Not the best Halo game, but still a good game in its own right.

[@blueguy2128]

Definitely, I know I love it.

[@John630]

The music was meh, not bad but very overrated, the music gameplay wss very overlack, in cinematics is just ok

[@xboxgamerJ16]

The skyboxes were backgrounds. The only real skybox this game has was in the first mission with Requiem sucking everything in.

[@isopropyltoxicity]

The fuckin game just looks so ugly the art style is unbearable tbh compared to the perfect art style of bungies games

[@LastGenRichtofenn]

Reclaimer literally has the ugliest skybox I've ever seen in any game ever.

[@gyrosphinx]

It is amazing how good Halo 4 looks considering it came out on the 360.

[@BenPlaysGames]

I played at 4k/120fps on PC for the video and it genuinely rivals modern games graphically. That they were able to get it running on the 360 at all is a miracle.

[@sttubz]

I've always made it a challenge to try not to run out of my UNSC weapon ammo during the Forerunner levels, since the ammo depletion is especially egregious.

[@paybo3573]

I played 4 for the first time 8 months ago, I was extremely disappointed

[@cdyjv118]

Welcome to the club

[@MIBxSpartan]

Was a solid 4/10. If I turned my brain off and played it assuming that it wasn’t a Halo game I could have fun.

[@ドリアンDorian]

So, stay away. Halo 4 is for the real gamers.

[@cdyjv118]

@@ドリアンDorian Not really. It was dumbed-down to cater to a casual audience.

[@shepardren8006]

Halo 4 would have a better retrospective view if 5 had been handled better

[@todddouglas7231]

Within the first 5 minutes of Halo 4, 343's first original halo title, chief says "I thought we had a truce with the covenant". This NEVER happened. It's as if the game wants you to know right off the bat, that these new 343 halo games are on a completely different timeline than Bungies. And it confirms this with the retcons to the forerunners, completely redesigned artstyle, etc. Halo 4 and onward are not canon to Bungies halo

[@RoyalFusilier]

Or the Master Chief was speaking colloquially.

[@Mint_petal]

The amount of copium this man is huffing It's not a new timeline. (And the forerunners have been shown to utilize different types of architecture.)

[@todddouglas7231]

@@Mint_petal Only people who're 'huffing copium' are anyone defending 343 at this point, especially those trying desperately to over-explain all of their alterations to the lore, characters, basic plot points, and overall crap writing. If Halo 4 starts off with a terminal that has backstory that never happened, chief says something that never happened, and the rest of the game makes up a bunch of crap about the forerunners and the covenant that contradict the old titles, then yeah logic says its a new timeline. 343 just won't say it because that would admit that they changed a beloved storyline to fit their own garbage writing. I truly hope you don't love 343i as much as you appear to because bro, you could'nt have picked a company to defend that hates you more than them.

[@Nighterac]

Frank O Connor definitely wrote that line, because it's also in an episode of Halo Legends that he wrote. He literally has no idea how Halo 3 ended. They had a truce with the ELITES. Not the Covenant. The Elites were NO LONGER part of the Covenant because they broke off from the Covenant. They paint their Phantoms green to show this. They're even called "Covenant Separatists". Chief KNOWS that the Elites are no longer part of the Covenant. You can see this if you just play Halo 3. The easiest fix to do is just say "I thought we had a truce with the Elites" instead. But they couldn't even do that, because Frank never played Halo 3. It's like saying the Banished is part of the Covenant, or Insurrectionists a part of the UNSC still. It's blatantly untrue

[@LKNear]

@@Mint_petal Its not a new timeline yet it retconns everything that came before so hard it might as well be lol

[@tom-xz4ox]

3:01 it may have been some description of UNSC propaganda due to humanity still possibly being uneasy at the idea of allyship with the Sangheili

[@Phillibetrus]

37:22 No, this was a horrible introduction. The Didact comes off more like a James Bond Vilnian or a bland Marvel villain. He has Chief dead to rights Monologs and then tosses him aside. Even putting aside the retcon of Human being Forerunner Which is where Halo 3 left off in its last level, this cutscene established the Didact as someone who I could not take seriously and just didn't fit in Halo. I was actually enjoying Halo 4 up to this point, first issue was after CE I learned (and thought chief learned) not to mess with Forerunner tech you don't yet understand... last time Chief did this he almost killed everyone with Instillation 04 and this time he unleashed an ancient Horror. Then we release this guy and I was barely invested in the game any more. The Librarian cutscene later fully wrecked any last hope I had for Halo under 343i.

[@Vantud391]

I really like Chief's armor design in this game.

[@zombie2011]

Great job as always! Just played through 4 and 5 again and was really surprised how much I liked them. I found both forgettable when I first played them, however both games have some really great levels and set pieces.

[@BenPlaysGames]

Haha how did you even find this!? It's unlisted till release this evening. And thanks dude!

[@dyanfisher]

Dudes a wizard

[@oliverosborne-rayment5789]

As a "bungie stan" who started playing at 3 years old almost 20 years ago, this broke me. Halo 4s campaign was heartbreaking, halo 5s was horrible. The multiplayer tho, 4 was bad, 5s warzone at 15 had me on for almost a year. I'm a campaigner, but my god was that MP banging. Just wish I could say the same for infinite. If something is worse than the flood, you just wiped the first 6 games to nought. Point of the Halo Array was the flood. The whole reason the universe was wiped clean. Also I'm still standing with bungies old storyboards. WE ARE FOREUNNER. Sorry for rambling but passion is passionate.

[@HorizonSilver]

I totally agree about how the Forerunners should have remained mysterious. I know they will likely not back-pedal on this lore, but I do not like the "humans were an ancient space species that then got devolved" lore. The original trilogy only really implied that humans were to succeed the Forerunners, (EDIT: Or were their descendants. I guess I briefly forgot that that was implied too), forming a more organic and natural progression. I liked that a lot more than the Forerunners getting mad that the Precursors chose humanity to inherit the mantle and stealing it for themselves and basically causing the Flood in the process.

[@V.I.L.]

I recently did the smooth operator achievement on MCC. It becomes *really* apparent just how stripped back the weapon, vehicle and enemy variety is in halo 4 from reach and 3 when you’re fighting against 6 gold elites immediately followed by 4 knights repeated 15 times over before pushing a a button and doing it again.

[@Samurreye]

I just finished making an edit for a halo video I’ve been working on, guess I know what to watch when I’m working on the rest of it 🙌🏻 great quality brother.

[@False_Convoy]

Something I think often not mentioned with Halo 4, is just how brilliant the soundtrack is. I think it flawlessly captures the games tone, energy, and atmosphere.

[@rm25088]

It does work great for the game.

[@clydemarshall8095]

It’s a good score, it just isn’t a good Halo score

[@Swaggs907]

God 4 on legendary is so infuriating.

[@blueguy2128]

I always liked fighting the prometheans because of their difficulty. It made me a monster in the multiplayer

[@ilu9170]

i will never forgive you that you never mentioned the insanely poor explosions in Halo4 specially at 9:02, look at those fragments of the ship, same when you destroy a phanthom

[@cameronb.6657]

Awesome video. I really hope you do a critique on Halo 5 one day. I'd love to see your takes on the game's campaign as a whole

[@RoyalFusilier]

He spoke on this during a recent livestream, and he has zero interest in that. The video would just be two hours of screaming, and let's be fair, the internet has a lot of that.

[@saschaberger3212]

Being Eye candy is just not enough

[@therealruski3906]

Full disclosure haven’t seen the vid yet but it came in my feed at the best time. I’m currently re-listening to the forerunner trilogy. I know it contradicts the originally implied identity of the forerunners, and I hate when most brands do this with their IP but I actually liked it here. I just wished they handled the didact better in the game and keep working within the world building in the books.

[@frudydoo7541]

Halo 4 Cortana is the only thing this game got right

[@JediSteve-J3-]

Recently played through the main 4 games for the first time in like 5 years, realized CE is not as boring as I originally felt, 2 is not as brutal (but still challenging), 3 is pretty much the same (then again that and reach are my most played games), and 4... 4 was, not as good as I remembered (the ghost section in forerunner was certainly overhyped by younger me) but not as bad as I remembered (infinity wasn't as much of a slog). Thinking of playing through Guardians again for the first time in forever, just not looking forward to fighting Wojak Eternal for the hundreth time.

[@rm25088]

I will always dislike 5. I haven't played it in a while and don't really plan to.

[@lovefan7694]

It would be cool if you added subtitles for dialog. Some aren't very clear on computer speaker

[@beastsgaming223]

Halo 3 odst had a split path at the start of the mission the rookie makes his way towards dare, you can either fight a pair of hunters in a large square, or fight a squad of brutes jackals and grunts who have a fuel rod cannon in a seperate road.

[@chuexsy672]

Halo 4 is the prime example of “The Halo Cycle” not being a thing for me. I hated everything about it in 2012 and 12 years later I haven’t changed my mind about a single thing. I’ve come back to try to give it a second, even third chance and my dislike for it continues to grow each time. As for Reach, I still dislike everything that I disliked in 2010, but I’ve acknowledged that it was still a good game just a bad Halo. Great ideas bad executions. As for Halo 4, I can’t give it a single saving grace and it will perhaps always be my least favorite video game of all time.

[@bsquared89]

I’m the same way. The Halo Cycle doesn’t exist for me. My opinions on the games haven’t really changed. I didn’t like Halo 4 on release and I don’t like it now. The only thing that changed was when I thought “well, halo can’t get worse than this”, and then Halo 5 came along.

[@chuexsy672]

@@bsquared89 yeah man, typically the Halo Cycle is just a series of thoughts the fans have when they realize the series has just progressively become worse and worse. They’ve made positive changes but 2012 feels like an eternity ago and they’ve continue to make bad decisions.

[@dylanhudec979]

To me I just see you guys are just a bunch of Bungie blazers who can’t let go

[@chuexsy672]

@ we haven’t gotten an acceptable title in 15 years. This debate is well over my friend.

[@rarepep329]

I think a lot of reboots/sequels bank too much on nostalgia. It can work, but not whem it dampers the original. Im notna fan of the start of chief and cortana discussing her rampancy and her saying "dont make a girl a promise..." We already had the pay off for that and it was beautiful. Do something different or jist say nothing at all ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

[@DT25659]

have you listened to Halo's 4 cut dialogue?

[@deanobeany]

Finished my first playthrough today after not really touching the franchise for years. Unbelievably the audio on voices doesnt play on the second half of the game, apparently its a very common problem. MCC is a 12yo game and a 10yo release playong on the flagship series X. I mean, wish granted i guess, because i was thinking, "god damn master chief talks a lot in this," but still, embarrassing bug for such a well funded studio.

[@BigJMC]

I think halo 4 would benefit the most from a remake. If they ironed out the kinks and fixed up gameplay issues it could absolutely be an amazing game.

[@Jim-jo8vz]

Halo 4 in 60 fps with infinite ammo on legendary is awesome the story is awesome yet executed poorly unfortunately BITTERSWEET

[@fredlagg27]

Buddy, forerunners are humans, halo 4 isn't canon.

[@gabe1298]

Not the worst by far, but definitely the beginning of the end. Thank you for your service Ben

[@pacificblue5461]

Keep it up mate

[@Mitch_NZ]

I just finished the MCC, here is my ranking from worst to best. Halo 4 Halo: CE Halo 2 Halo 3

[@rm25088]

I can take or leave Halo 4. It has its moments, but it is still completely different than Bungies Halos. Everything about it. The drama, art style, everythng. I have always thought it was a kind of love story between chief and cortana. Cortanas model is nice to look at when she isn't bat shit crazy.

[@dylanhudec979]

I honestly feel like halo four was supposed to be a non-Canon story with its own timeline but 343 was greedy and wanted to do things their way

[@rm25088]

@@dylanhudec979 Yeah I agree. They are greedy and their hatred for bungie is nuts.

[@Cryolord68]

I was gonna play H4 on legendary. Then I got to forerunner. I now DESPISE H4

[@sttubz]

I'll never stop loving your British quips and jokes, lol, never stop doing them ✌😅

[@Kaboose666]

Haven't watched the video yet (but I will because I adore these critique videos), but I have to leave a positive take on Halo 4. It obviously has its flaws, but I love its story with Chief and Cortana, music is amazing, the world had the same mysterious wonder as the first Halo had and it is still to this day visually stunning game. I have been a fan of Halo since the first one came out and it has been a big part of my life and I can say that Halo 4 is one of my favorites in the series.

[@benedictjajo]

Don't care what anybody say, Halo 4 Cortana is best Cortana.

[@Hypernova6641]

To be honest, I suffered through this game. Of course my first play through was on heroic, and it was difficult. This game had no reason being as difficult as it was. I probably just have a skill issue, but I don’t care. This game was alright, and at least the story was…okay. Also I’m excited for the Halo 5 video because despite what a lot of people say, I absolutely love Halo 5

[@benjaminbertrand1259]

Slams it on for bed time

[@xb2856]

Great video. Halo 4 is just so ugly to look at, all the soul taken out of the series.

[@darrylstubblefield]

Literally bias

[@meltedicet777]

Another banger video

[@Zoomygoony]

Thank you for giving an actual honest review of a 343 game and not the incoherent “343 sucks uhhhhh halo bad 343” That I hear nonstop 😂

[@kalebkuhn9128]

Literally everywhere I look I see people sucking off Halo 4, so I have no idea what you are going on about.

[@trinstonmichaels7062]

I don't hate halo 4 I despise it.

[@zacheryanderson7363]

I rather like the unsc propaganda at the beginning that covers up just how bad and thoroughly humanity's ass has been kicked by the covenant. Probably a good idea to leave out how the luck of one super solder and the changing alliance of another is the only reason humanity won? Not saying jus sayin' 🤦🤔

[@austintalley4070]

Halo 4 bad

[@tomyno99]

The graphics are cool but the disign of the all the game is terrorism for Halo continuities is the same level of shit as the Halo CE remasted. It has to be done but not like that, it’s absolutely awefull to watch the covenant looks like a cartoon parody I realy hate, and it’s painful to me replay this game

[@dylanhudec979]

Every time a halo fan tries to say something positive about halo 4 they just can’t help but yap about a bunch of dumb excuses

[@lololololololo]

lolol Tourist. lolol 250-0

[@harmagedonFR]

The halo game i hate the most

[@dylanhudec979]

Average Bungie fanboy

[@harmagedonFR]

@dylanhudec979 no because halo 5 is one i like a lot, the multiplayer IS so good,halo 4 multiplayer IS just garbage,worst of the franchise objectively

[@peterlawson8040]

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[@BenPlaysGames]

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