Most Halo fans (myself included) were nervous when they found out another company was taking up the mantle of telling Master Chief’s story—a story many thought was closed. But after 343 Industries' excellent handling of Halo: Anniversary, I was cautiously optimistic for Halo 4, and that optimism paid off with some pretty awesome dividends.

Halo 4 begins right where Halo 3 left off, with Master Chief floating through space in a damaged spaceship with only his borderline insane companion Cortana. After impacting a Covenant ship, Master Chief is jolted awake and once again begins his wholesale slaughter of anything non-human, this time after landing on a Forerunner planet infested with old, sentient Forerunner machines.

With these new enemies come countless new strategies. One enemy resembling a dog from hell made a habit of rushing me while simultaneously shooting me. Other larger enemies (called knights) made a priority of physical attacks while deploying airborne enemies that fired down on me from the sky. With the new enemies, Halo 4 introduces some truly incredible new guns with which to take them out. Though these new weapons mostly fall in to the typical classes (shotgun, sniper, assault rifle), each brings its own unique function to the table. Further, many of the attachments featured in Halo Reach make a return this time around.

At times, throwing a new grenade, deploying a shield, and switching to a shotgun to kill the hellish hounds swarming around me became a bit overwhelming. But this is really the strength of Halo 4. Unlike previous installments in the series, this game doesn’t reward simply rush headlong into battle with a finger planted firmly on the fire trigger. Instead I found myself devising complex battle strategies for each bout. When playing co-op with my friend, we often discussed how to approach a certain situation instead of engaging in unrelated conversations (as we so often did with other Halo games). When defeated, we would analyze the situation and change our approach.

Halo 4's story dragged me in just as much as its gameplay. As a shameless fan of the Halo universe who's read all the books and consumed many other forms of Halo-related media, I was giddy to see where John 117 would go next. Every part of the campaign—from the extensive cut scenes to the drastic increase of dialogue—showed a laser-like dramatic focus that demanded my full attention. For once, I cared about Cortana as a "person," not just as some disembodied lackey.

In previous Halo games, the lion’s share of the story was communicated during gameplay. In Halo 4, the spectacularly voice-acted cut scenes—by far the best looking in the series—do a better job of telling a much more personal story. Watching the emotion on Cortana’s face as she grows impatient with a commanding officer is more delightful than trying to listen for that same emotion while shooting a grunt in the face.

Finally tearing myself away from the campaign after a stellar conclusion to the story, I ventured over to multiplayer to test my mettle against other Spartans. Once more, I was delighted by the changes 343 Industries has made. The game seems to have taken to heart advancements in multiplayer design that have become standard in other first-person shooters. Halo 4’s multiplayer now features loadouts and more in-depth player customization. Leveling up, in a manner familiar to any Call of Duty fan, makes Halo 4 altogether more accessible and enjoyable. I’ve come to expect the ability to adjust my character in between FPS matches to be more competitive, and doing so in a Halo game definitely improves the experience. Being able to pre-set loadouts with attachments like jetpacks and shields adds a new layer of strategy to the multiplayer game as well.

Fans of past Halo games will be happy to note that the addition of loadouts doesn't mean maps no longer include more powerful weapons that give players a definitive advantage. But the effect of these weapons is bit more muted this time around; being the first to the shotgun no longer guarantees victory or ensures a player will dominate a match. The map design is practically a reason to buy the game in and of itself. These are the best maps I've seen in the series and possibly some of the best multiplayer maps I’ve experienced in a first-person shooter, period. Aside from that, matchmaking is smooth, quick, and seamless; even with only a few dozen players online at the time, I was able to get into a balanced match within seconds.

Halo 4 also rounds out the multiplayer experience with the new Spartan Ops mode. Despite the unfortunately derivative moniker, the new mode presents ideas that are new to Halo and, indeed, video games as a whole. Each week, the game offers a new, free downloadable episode combining five co-operative missions integrated with an absolutely jaw-dropping CGI animated short that establishes a storyline foundation. Though brief, each weekly episode offers insight into some interesting side-stories involving the now ubiquitous Spartan soldiers.

These missions each have different objectives, but in most the goal is simple: work together with friends to slaughter every enemy on the screen. Respawns come quickly after dying here, giving the feeling of a multiplayer match rather than a campaign mission, and each mission ends with both a kill-to-death ratio and experience rewards that carry over to your multiplayer character. You can also use the same loadouts you've prepared in multiplayer, or change your character on the fly if you find they're not sufficient for the objectives at hand.

For me, the bar is always extremely high when it comes to Halo games, and I wasn't sure what to expect going in to Halo 4. However, from start to finish, campaign to multiplayer, the game grabbed me by the hand and tugged me along like an excited child at Disneyland. This is a first-person shooter that never lets up or stops presenting engaging content at an unprecedented level. With Halo 4, 343 Industries has finally settled the question of "can someone other than Bungie make good Halo games?" Their answer? A resounding "hell yeah."

The Good

Sparkly new storyline sure to please longtime fans

Influx of weapons and enemies demand more strategy and less mindless shooting

Multiplayer and Spartan Ops are some of the best multiplayer offerings on the market today

Incredible showmanship: voice acting, animations, and cut scenes all shine brightly

The Bad

Campaign is a tad on the short side

Learning curve with new weapons and enemies can be fairly steep

The Ugly