Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Mixed reactions"

Introduction: When it comes to Halo and most games actually, I am a multiplayer junkie. SIngle player is not my cup of tea. Halo has had a lot of intense, addicting and competitive multiplayer throughout the franchise, so how does Halo 4 match up?

Positives: 343 clearly put a lot of effort into the multiplayer format. The menu interface and effects are clear, crisp and well designed. The music is well done and something that will get you jazzed to play when you turn your Xbox on. There are a lot of game mode options, but perhaps not the ones you might be looking for if you've played past Halo games. There are a lot of options for your pre-designed "Spartan" loadout. Which includes several choices of weapons, secondary weapons, grenades and other skill abilities (Such as active camo, for example). Match making is easy and normally quick. The gameplay is smooth, familiar and well designed. The sound effects are sharp and distinctive. There are those epic moments when you laugh at how awesome that double or triple kill was.

Negatives: My biggest disappointment is that there is no competitive ranking system. In past Halo games you competed in ranked matches to raise your overall number rank. There is none of this in Halo 4, in fact, the only incentive to keep playing, other than having fun, is to rank your number up through game EXP and unlock new weapons and items. This is fun and all, but if I want that, I'll go play Call of Duty. The intensity of ranked matches in past Halo games was epic and addictive. Ranking up felt great and losing and ranking down was devastating. For those of us who were good enough to compete in the high ranks. I'm being a gamer snob, but I think some of you appreciate what I am saying.

With that aside I will make the rest of the negatives quick. No 1v1 match mode, no 2v2 match mode, no normal FFA mode.

Sometimes when you match make, you will join an in progress game- which I hate. There is not an option to turn this off and sometimes you will join an in progress game, you can't avoid it.

Summary: All in all, 343 has done a fantastic job and Halo 4 is a must buy for FPS enthusiasts. Although there are some flaws in the multiplayer, that prevent the game from being a 9.0 for me personally, I'm certain that others have had a different experience. I hope 343 will change the multiplayer options to fit a bit more with past Halo games and leave Call of Duty to Call of Duty. But if not, I'll still be playing. I just wont really care if I win or lose or how I perform.