Halo 4 looks technically impressive for a late-gen Xbox 360 game.

[Protoman200X]

I honestly don't know what kind of magic 343 Industries pulled to make it happen, but upon replaying the series for the MCC (XBO), I'm amazed Halo 4 was released at the tail-end of the Xbox 360's life-cycle and it pushed that console to it's limits in visual fidelity and overall presentation. The game in general had a lot of issues that most fans have beef with, but looking between Halo 3 (2007) and then Halo 4 (2012), there's no denying that H4 was a gosh-darn pretty game to look at at (720p/30FPS for the original release or 1080p/60FPS with the MMC version) & from the smallest rendering elements to the sense of overall size and scale, Halo 4 represents an impressive leap over what has come before.

So, yeah. I don't have anything else to add, other than I appreciate what this game was able to accomplish at the technical level in 2012 and I think it visually holds up. And given that the PC version will probably be released sometime this year, I'm looking forward to check it out again with my beefy PC gaming rig.

 

[Bor Gullet]

It really does, at the time it looked next gen.

Even playing it now it still impresses me.

 

[Deleted member 51691]

I have mistaken Halo 4 screenshots for Halo 5 in the past

 

[mjc]

Yeah I'm not sure how they pulled it off, tbh.

 

[chandoog]

Yes it does. Good art + late-gen console optimizations did great for it.

 

[Uncle Sensei]

It's pretty nuts, but they unfortunately had to cut back on things like explosions and AI to do it. Not sure if it was the right decision

 

[Bane]

It really was amazing. I put it up there with Last of Us, Gears 3, and some others that are just on a higher level visually from the rest of the generation.

 

[Siggy-P]

Oh man, people can say a lot about Halo 4 but godamn if it wasn't an incredible looking game. I'm sure you can find some rough areas but for the most part it looks better than a good amount of Xbox One or PS4 games.

 

[LilScooby77]

The second level out of the cave still shocks me lol.

 

[eraFROMAN]

Yee I felt the same back when it released, it's a massive leap beyond 3 and Reach, which were both also sub HD if I remember correctly

 

[Moose]

This will look nice on PC. One fault of the Reach-2A engine was the draw distance, distant rocks would not load in textures. This was fixed in the enhanced graphics of Reach and 2A multiplayer so I expect the same will be true for 4.

 

[Scottoest]

Yeah, I've got my problems with Halo 4, but you can't argue with the technical accomplishment of it. That game still looks great.

It's actually mind boggling to think about how those screenshots were from a game that came out on the same console as the original Gears of War, Halo 3, or Perfect Dark Zero.

 

[BBboy20]

Was the first video game where I thought it looked like concept art.

 

[Gitaroo]

A lot to do with arts and character models though. I think Halo Reach had better tech, like Halo 4 doesn't even have SSAO, motion blur and large scale battle but H4 had much better image quality.

 

[ATOMICJORGE]

It does 343 did a fantastic job on the graphics side of Halo 4 and I love the campaign, it's going to look insane when it releases on PC later this year

 

[Nei]

I do agree that it looks amazing, but there were a couple of compromises that were required to do this:
- the environments were not as open as previous entries
- enemy AI suffered a bit
- item reaping by the game engine was overly aggressive
- I'm sure there's more

 

[EJS]

The game really blew me away from a visual standpoint. So clean.

 

[RoKKeR]

It still looks amazing. I'm hoping we see that same wizardry from 343 with Infinite.

 

[skeezx]

it does not look like a 360 game

at the time i shrugged it off because it was halo, it was late gen... of course they'll pull out the stops. but in retrospect it was pretty nuts

 

[Moose]

I do agree that it looks amazing, but there were a couple of compromises that were required to do this:
- the environment were not as open as previous entries
- enemy AI suffered a bit
- item reaping by the game engine was overly aggressive
- I'm sure there's more

Click to shrink...

I still like Halo 3's lighting more than 4's and the water. On Ragnarok bodies weren't carried away in the river like Valhalla. Physics in general were nerfed.

 

[Bishop89]

If I'm not mistaken, didnt they have like a senior Retro studio artist on the team?

Also yes, it is a looker.

 

[calibos]

People really pick on Halo 4 for chasing CoD, but it made playing it today a great experience. I fired up the MP a month ago and was loving it, but I remember jumping on the hate train back then for no real reason.

The game is gorgeous, has a great story and plays like silk these days. It deserves more positive attention.

 

[VeePs]

The game was gorgeous. I was glad that ghosting from the temporal AA implementation in Reach was gone.

I do agree that it looks amazing, but there were a couple of compromises that were required to do this:
- the environment were not as open as previous entries
- enemy AI suffered a bit
- item reaping by the game engine was overly aggressive
- I'm sure there's more

Click to shrink...

Skyboxes took a hit.

 

[Barbarossa]

I still like Halo 3's lighting more than 4's and the water. On Ragnarok bodies weren't carried away in the river like Valhalla. Physics in general were nerfed.

Click to shrink...

There were some trade offs for sure, but I think over all it came out better.

Edit: On a technical level at least.

 

[Afro_DusT]

I remember being totally blown away by it while I was playing. I was in college when it came out. I bought the game even though I didn't own a 360 at the time and forced my friend to let me play it on his in his dorm😂

 

[VeePs]

I fired up the MP a month ago and was loving it, but I remember jumping on the hate train back then for no real reason.

Click to shrink...

If memory serves the MP today was not the same from launch. 343i made some improvements and made it less CoD-like (tho the influence is still very much there, load outs, etc.). But its honestly been so long I can't remember.

 

[Iso]

Halo 4 is gorgeous and still holds up today. I've been getting the urge to replay it badly since Infinite hype kicked in but I'm holding off until I can play it on PC.

 

[Chumunga64]

I do agree that it looks amazing, but there were a couple of compromises that were required to do this:
- the environment were not as open as previous entries
- enemy AI suffered a bit
- item reaping by the game engine was overly aggressive
- I'm sure there's more

Click to shrink...

all true but still, it looks great!

 

[AuthenticM]

Yeah I was super impressed back then. That engine is some shit alright.

 

[Bosch]

Best looking game from xbox360 by far...

 

[calibos]

If memory serves the MP today was not the same from launch. 343i made some improvements and made it less CoD-like (tho the influence is still very much there, load outs, etc.). But its honestly been so long I can't remember.

Click to shrink...

maybe? Whatever the case, the graphics, sound and shooting looked and felt very satisfying compared to what I remembered. I think it could have come out today and people would have loved it as long as it wasn't called Halo...

 

[chickenandrofls]

Last couple months I replayed all of the MCC in run-up to Infinite. If you told me Halo 3 and Halo 4 were on different gens of console I would have believed you.

 

[jorgejjvr]

I'm playing it now from MCC and I thought it looked amazing cause it's a Xbox one game

Now I'm realizing here thanks to this thread that it's a 360 game

That's crazy

 

[Lighinthedarkness]

Yeah it's a visually impressive game.

Can't wait to see how Infinite looks with the new engine.

 

[rokkerkory]

It's super amazing from halo 3 to 4 all on the same gen

 

[reclaimerzzzzz]

I do agree that it looks amazing, but there were a couple of compromises that were required to do this:
- the environment were not as open as previous entries
- enemy AI suffered a bit
- item reaping by the game engine was overly aggressive
- I'm sure there's more

Click to shrink...

What do you mean by item reaping?

 

[space_nut]

One of the best graphical features were the rocks in that game O.o

 

[Man Called Aerodynamics]

Maybe the best looking last-gen game, it was amazing at the time. Character models look crazy good.

 

[VeePs]

it wasn't called Halo...

Click to shrink...

This is the issue.

If 343i wants to make something else, they should.

But if you make a Halo game and it doesn't play like Halo, you can expect fans to be upset.

But I agree it is a well made game.



I really loved this track as well lol.

 

[Superking]

I honestly don't know what kind of magic 343 Industries pulled to make it happen, but upon replaying the series for the MCC (XBO), I'm amazed Halo 4 was released at the tail-end of the Xbox 360's life-cycle and it pushed that console to it's limits in visual fidelity and overall presentation. The game in general had a lot of issues that most fans have beef with, but looking between Halo 3 (2007) and then Halo 4 (2012), there's no denying that H4 was a gosh-darn pretty game to look at at (720p/30FPS for the original release or 1080p/60FPS with the MMC version) & from the smallest rendering elements to the sense of overall size and scale, Halo 4 represents an impressive leap over what has come before.

So, yeah. I don't have anything else to add, other than I appreciate what this game was able to accomplish at the technical level in 2012 and I think it visually holds up. And given that the PC version will probably be released sometime this year, I'm looking forward to check it out again with my beefy PC gaming rig.

Click to shrink...

all those shots look great, but these two struck out. the textures and lighting look incredible. thought the claims about looking next gen were hyperbole but i can definitely see it.

 

[Astronut325]

Was this ever released on PC?

 

[Lork]

What do you mean by item reaping?

Click to shrink...

The game despawning weapons on the ground to free up memory/processing for new ones. It's something that I remember being annoying going all the way back to Halo 3, but 4 really kicked it into overdrive. The only thing you could ever trust was what was actually in your hands, nothing else was safe.

 

[cgpartlow]

The game really does look bananas, and the 4k patch on the One X really makes it look clean.

 

[HockeyBird]

Was this ever released on PC?

Click to shrink...

It will be soon.

 

[SunBroDave]

Probably the best looking 360 game.

Was this ever released on PC?

Click to shrink...

It'll be released on PC for the first time this year.

 

[K' Dash]

I recently played for the first time on my Xbox One X and forgot it was a 360 game, it looks gorgeous.

 

[Tagyhag]

Definitely. You can say a lot about the game, but you can't deny it was visually punching above its weight.

Very interested to see the IQ once it comes to PC.

 

[reclaimerzzzzz]

The game despawning weapons on the ground to free up memory/processing for new ones. It's something that I remember being annoying going all the way back to Halo 3, but 4 really kicked it into overdrive. The only thing you could ever trust was what was actually in your hands, nothing else was safe.

Click to shrink...

Oh, is that why running out of bullets was common? I remember running out more than once on the very first level/chapter that I got very good are meleeing.

 

[Deleted member 18161]

Yes it does. Good art + late-gen console optimizations did great for it.

Click to shrink...

An unlimited budget also helps 😝

It was astounding looking at the time. Still impressive today.

 

[Protoman200X]

The second level out of the cave still shocks me lol.

Click to shrink...

For me, it's always been the sequence on Infinity where you pilot the Mantis to clear out Covenant and Promethean soldiers to reach the weapon controls for the Infinity and the book end sequence of the level Forerunner when you're piloting the Ghost through the collapsing/shifting canyon.

Was this ever released on PC?

Click to shrink...

Once Halo 3 and ODST get added, Halo 4 will be up next for the PC release of the MCC. (Some have speculated it will launch on PC in October.)

It really does, at the time it looked next gen.

Even playing it now it still impresses me.

Click to shrink...

Yep, and I admire what 343 Industries did to make this sucker run at 720p/30FPS (with minor hiccups here and there and some slowdown if you play split-screen co-op).