Halo 4

"We wanted to make the scene after waking Master Chifa kriosna few more ... dramatic, perhaps - says producer fourth edition Halo Kiki Vulfkil sitting in the back row of the theater in Kirkland, which is just a stone's throw away from the office developers - 343 Industries.

- You see, the situation is different: as if to show the chronology of time between the ending and the beginning of the third quarter was enough, but in fact the two main characters did not change anything. " So it is: before you start the game, reporters reminded of the end of Halo 3 : Master Chief sets Kortanoy chip falls into the capsule, and requests to wake him up when the time comes. Cortana waiting in splendid isolation, sending distress signals into space - and it will be a long four years and seven months before the answer comes from the ship UNSC Infinity. Huge spacecraft - more than five miles long! - Respond that the signal is received, approach for evacuation.

Ikak just in time Chief opens his eyes. Did not see anything - until liquid is discharged, glass omitted, everything is a mess of nauseating colors. Takes a step forward, and it is unclear whether the Spartan yet unsteady on his feet, or the ship shakes. Moment - breath, comes to, listens Kortanu. She did not know - the floor out from under his feet, now just shakes the ship - but the sensors detected signals covenants need help Chifa. Not very clear, however, that the intergalactic horde forgotten here, as she found Spartan and what will be the next steps. Have to wait for backup, for now - get rid of the pesky critters, and faster, until they looted or occupied vehicle.

The last thing that happens on the screen resembles the Halo, which I knew it all the time - except that shapely Cortana (now definitely naked woman with body art - children not to watch, close your eyes!) Recalls the events of the first part, and then only briefly . Dynamics increases with wave of his wand invisible conductor, and barely have time to remember how to shoot, how to run and crouch Survarium, Chifa throws into space through a hole in the hull. At the last moment he catches hold of the ledges and climb up, but you have to maneuver, because the flying debris from the top, one hit on the helmet - and the main character will go into a painful trip to the endless cold postoram kosmosmicheskih depths. Podsosznatelno born association, it seems that such a scene had already seen a dozen times in the games released in the past couple of years, but in fact remember only Uncharted and a train wreck.

There is no time to think: covenants are more and more, and illusive hopes that we have to deal with a simple patrol rasstvoryayutsya final. Chief includes safeguards seeking an escape pod, and then before it opens a breathtakingly beautiful view: beautiful planet Requiem, strangely alluring glow, almost divine radiance, stands in front of a background of an entire armada of covenants - and once it becomes clear that the powerful alliance of alien races came here at all not to extradite the carcass home his worst enemy and his AI-girlfriend, but for something more. The only problem is that this "something more" is now actively attracts all that approached its orbit - and the Chief still flies into space, beating his head and otherwise suffer, while his ship, losing the last trim, rushes down burning up in the atmosphere. The next time we see the hero is in the jungle, where he will face a new enemy, which hundreds of thousands of years, and that does not just suddenly change the view of the world Halo, but skukozhivayutsya it to the size of the beads, then hanging over him from above, as Galactus the planets, which is preparing cozhrat. Just in my eyes Halo universe has expanded several times, and I can only heave a sigh and gently ask Kiki, it said, is that, set on another trilogy? Silence. Then gently nod, "Well, you could say that."

Before we go further on the new enemies Chifa and tests to his soul, will rewind the film back a bit - to the very moment when the protagonist encounters with troops covenants seeing a fleet. All well-studied of these enemies, they can not show anything new each class fighter familiar, all tactics tested a thousand times in practice. So when developers say that, they say, the covenants have become smarter and learn new tricks, they are telling the whole story - and if they were smarter, the tangible benefits it makes little to no avail. However, as part of the Halo universe without them it is impossible: first, it is a matter of habit, and secondly, they are all the time was based sandbox mechanic - and to remove them would be to undo all the achievements Bungie. 343 Industries act wisely: Before you break a rule, it is necessary to master them to perfection.

The appearance of the covenants on the transport ship Chifa - this is a brief warm-up and a glimpse of the mechanics of Halo: location is great, long firefights, we can not act mechanically move premeditated routes, the need to quickly adapt to rapidly changing situations. This is an introduction to the course of the case is no more than twenty minutes, but even then it is clear that the new adoptive parents show about someone else like family child care - they managed to understand, interpret and create the atmosphere, the mood of Halo, which in itself is a huge achievement. And that would be enough to remaster the very first issue, but for full cont., license plate, which is the beginning of a whole new trilogy - no, this is not enough.

Therefore, 343 Industries went to drastic, but in such cases, simply the necessary actions, adding a third party to the conflict. Or rather, not even that - in this fantasy world and so quite belligerent, take at least the same colony. Here we are talking about "pervolyudyah" - prometeantsev super race that existed long before the appearance of all other beings in the universe. They - the creators of the world, and the Chief was on their land. In fact, the prometeantsev very complex social system, but the lyrical digressions concerning the development of their unique civilization may yet factor out, leaving three of the main enemies of the player. Shown at E3 prometeantsev trio - it's not just those "drastic measures", which completely break the idea of the mechanics and tactics in Halo 4, but also one of the most annoying enemies in video games in general, and it's obvious from the moment of the first meeting with them .

Running around the walls of the hounds, slouching "knights" in disguise, flying "bodyguards" - it is a headache in the cutthroat its manifestation. Already after the first meeting, they completely demolish the idea of Halo, which we knew all along: the battle becomes more exhausting, tight, and in many cases, and just unpredictable - the configuration of the opposing team are constantly changing, and if we now have to fight off a knight and three bodyguards, it is a one-off episode, three held for passing the game an hour with no hassle prometeantsami not repeated.

There is still, however, have some detail: after the appearance on the scene prometeantsev, covenants-deserved rest do not go away - on the contrary, take active part in the hostilities. And right they were just an obstacle, climbed under fire or distracting, but no - they cheat, dodge and often behave very mean. As a result: while silishsya understand how to deal with one enemy, intervenes in the second - and head in such moments can explode from stress because to count your steps have ten times faster. Whom to attack, whose attention is diverted, as a lead third force, where to get the ammo, and whether we should do better to pick them up, or take one of the new-fangled guns prometeantsev, so beautifully assembled from air directly on the hand of the hero, well, then what are and what to do, when to her charges run out, too. Whirlpool of thoughts does not relax for a second.

However, in the usual formula of "always on edge," 343 Industries tried to add something simpler - entertainment. Got strange when Chief karabakaetsya of covering the ship - well, I must pay tribute, it looks cool. When sweeping a stolen technology covenants, and the earth, literally, cracks and goes under the feet - it's a bit annoying and reminds the final Halo 3. When it has to run on the flame of the corridor, where, in accordance with the script collapsing beams and explodes the floor, and should somehow have time to jump the gap, remember all kinds of shooters turn of the century - and wondered why it is generally necessary.

Finally, there is another important point, which is also associated with all technologies and prometeantsami pervorasy. They are teleported, split into molecules disintegrate after death, comes out of nowhere to move using portals, and some of them can raise Chifa in the air force of thought - in these times want to rub his eyes, but very afraid to let go dzhoypad. In other words, they make a certain element of vagueness, it is not fabulous, but something very close. All these wonders of hard to explain so simply to see how it works. Each time a new gun in the hand is composed Chifa and then produces yellow charge do not understand why, I want to come up with an explanation for the mechanism, but it does not work. Perhaps, sci-fi terminology back in the books based on, but the first few hours and the Chief, and the player, and Cortana will be ignorant. And if the heroes of history, in principle, not very interested in these items, own curiosity pererobot sometimes not so easy.

Halo 4 will be available one week after the release of the printing of this issue. We did not rush things - prepare a full review when the fourth edition will go through and well researched multiplayer (which - in the sidebar), optimism, however, it is impossible to hide - after nearly a day for nearly Bild final game, you want as soon as possible know it will all end and what will happen in the future Chifa - and the question of "fail or not" does not even arise. Halo managed to find a way that the show will be further developed, and 343 Industries definitely know what they want to achieve. This is the most important thing.