Halo 4: Can it carry on Bungie's success?

Halo 4 is set to release on November 6th this year. I for one, am very excited about the next installment of Halo and the beginning of a brand new storyline. But can 343 Industries carry on Bungie's success with the legendary Halo series?

Well, from what i've seen and heard so far, it's looking good for 343, they seem to be dedicated and enthusiastic about carrying on the epic series and maintaining many aspects which simply put, made Halo awesome. But to keep up which Bungie, they are going to have to seriously provide. Over the last few Halo games Bungie have given us great campaigns and fun multiplayer, with constant updates, new maps and playlists. The level that they went too to provide an amazing multiplayer experience was great. I played a fair bit of the halo franchise and it always has provided a decent time for me.

Bungie always managed to get every aspect almost spot on with halo games, from the story all the way to the epic music to create just the right atmosphere to force your way through the waves of covenant that lay ahead. If 343 Industries can pull it out the bag as well as Halo 4's predecessors, I will be very excited to get my hands on this new title.

I think the part that separated Halo from it's competitors really was the commitment from the developers. Many FPS games suffer from a lack of teamwork and getting hit by a lot of glitches, hacks and mods. Halo was not one of these, well not in my experience anyway. I remember in matchmaking that people would always charge in to grasp a flag or plant a bomb, of course there was always some idiots who would friendly fire and the likes, but it wasn't long before they were booted from the game back to a lonely lobby. And it wasn't just booting from a match for people who ruin matches, eventually they would feel the wrath of Bungie's infamous 'Banhammer'. They had no problem banning you from matchmaking, be it for days, weeks or even longer. The addition of a ban for leaving games in Reach was effective in keeping games tense till the end with full teams battling on till the final moments. So why don't more games introduce an effective 'Banhammer' ?

The simple answer is, it takes a lot of work keeping track of so many players, especially on huge titles, Bungie could afford to do it, they weren't releasing multiplayer titles year on year so they really could put the man hours into creating an awesome experience. The new Halo developers really should take inspiration from Bungie. They are awesome developers and provide new content to keep games fresh. It's looking good so far 343 Industries, so keep it up!

Halo 4 will be hitting the shelves on the 6th of November, which i see as a very bold move. The well known CoD series release around the same time every year. Taking on a series of an even bigger size than Halo is a bold move in terms of sales. For many people, it simply wont be an option to buy both Halo 4 and Call of Duty on release days. I remember previous Halo titles releasing in September, which gave many avid gamers enough time to scrape together enough to keep up their gaming pastime with new titles, and play both series. So why the change this year? Is it an attempt to push CoD off of it's top dog status? Or is it just as soon as they can get the game fully finished and out to stores? Who knows.

Which game will you be buying, Halo 4 or the next Call of Duty? Maybe you can buy both, that is certainly what I am aiming for, but at the moment Halo 4 is very near the top of my most wanted list. Remember to check back here for Halo 4 news nearer it's release.