Microsoft and 343 Industries just announced that Halo 4, the first game in the series not developed by Bungie and the beginning of a new “Reclaimer Saga” trilogy, will launch on November 6th in America. Personally, I’m still not sure what to think about Halo 4. I’ve read all the previews, watched the trailer, etc., and while it certainly looks good and the new development team at 343 Studios sound like they know what they’re doing, it’s hard not to be apprehensive when an established franchise is handed over to a new, untested developer.
On the other hand, 343 has already unveiled some cool details regarding Halo 4 that have given me more reasons to be optimistic about it: the co-op campaign, which features free, regularly updated “episodes” to keep people playing is definitely a cool idea. I’m not a huge fan of CoD-style “level-up” systems in competitive shooters, which 343 is adding into Halo 4 (as opposed to the mostly aesthetic upgrades that Reach doled out as rewards,) as it makes it harder to compete against dudes with no jobs/school/women/social responsibilites/ who reach the max level and get all the best gear within a week of a game’s launch, but I suppose if 343 can get the balance right, I’ll be fine with it.
The launch date will officially be unveiled (probably alongside some new footage) on tonight’s Conan O’Brien show on TBS.
Sure, it’s trendy to hate on Halo for whatever reason nowadays, but I still think there are few experiences in gaming more satisfying than sticking a grenade to that one douche in multiplayer who won’t shut up, or going toe-to-toe with an Elite during the campaign, so I’m cautiously looking forward to Halo 4’s launch on November 6th. Until then, I think it’s safe to say Microsoft will be slowly releasing more and more details regarding the game to build up momentum for the unstoppable hype train that this game is sure to have before its launch.
