During my stay at the first day of RTX 2012, I had the lovely opportunity to check out Halo 4. Sadly I could only have one go at it since the line was so absurdly long but fortunately my game lasted a good 10 minutes. In the game I played I was in a new playmode called Regicide where players in the map must kill the king, which gives you points. However, you’re not just limited to killing the king. You can kill others who isn’t a king but it will reward you with less points. By killing the king though you will eventually be on the road to becoming a king and you will be hunted more easily since you are constantly revealed on the map.

Regicide definitely a cool mode and one that requires strategy in the long run. For instance, I was cling to 3rd and 4th place for the longest time. As the last minute approached I hurried and went on a regicide and I quickly made my way to first place – something that my friend found great displeasure in. Needless to say, it was very funny.

The core gameplay still is Halo but many changes and how the game controls make Halo 4 feel very different from Halo 3 and Halo: Reach. Certain changes such as including sprint into the core moveset and varying loadouts from your Spartan customization menu really helps to make each encounter unique. Additionally the instant spawn helps for me to instantly get back in the game. While I was really wary of this feature, I really enjoyed that I can just go into the fight and hunt down the punk that killed me. Other features such as random weapon spawns made the combat very dynamic so that people wouldn’t be camping certain locations. Rather, everyone was on the move and killing people.

From my short time with the game, I enjoyed what Halo 4 had to offer. Although it appeared to be something that is an extension of the previous games, it feels entirely new. It’s faster, quicker, brutal, more beautiful, and more. It’s a very brilliant designed game and I’m looking forward to more from 343 Industries. Cheers!