Hello, Halo 4

Headshots and splatters seem easier in Halo 4 than any other online shooter I’ve played. I can get about three of each in a match. I don’t think it has anything to do with skill, really. I think it has more to do with people lolling around while I shoot them. They seem okay with that. Unlike other iterations in the franchise as well, bullets have an effect. It use to be you had to empty two clips into an enemy to kill them. Now, I can fire three well-aimed shots and get a kill. Hip firing, as always, is easier than scoped kills in Halo. I had to struggle to remember how to even zoom, and which weapons had a real zoom-option and which immediately snapped you back to regular crossfire. In the end, I gave up on trying to get long-shots and settled for mid-range to close kills. I don’t bother with fancy weapon pick-ups either and I stick to the regular battle rifles. They seem balanced enough to go up against a better armed opponent with poorer aim.

It may be the graphics upgrade, but it’s easier to target enemies and time shots. Splattering is just ridiculous in this game. It’s more difficult to jump out of the way of an oncoming vehicle than it is to run someone over. You don’t even need the guns the vehicles are equipped with, as they seem merely for show. I can even hijack back a vehicle that’s been hijacked from me, or stick it with a grenade immediately after and laugh my balls off. You can get the gun of your warthog hijacked by the enemy as you’re driving and the two of you somehow become part of the same team. The enemy gunner can’t hurt you as the gun doesn’t reach the driver’s seat and you can’t hurt them directly as you’re driving. You just drive around like a mismatched pair of detectives in an action movie. I had this happen to me tonight and I was stuck wondering what the hell I was supposed to do. I settled for driving the vehicle off-map and jumping out at the last second. The vehicle immediately exploded, killing the gunner as I walked back to shore, unscathed. I stood in front of the explosion like I was Gangaman.

I’m still having trouble at close range with dust-up. When you’re firing into the torso area, and you have to reload, and it’s quicker just to rush forward and punch them than to put a new bullet in the chamber, I always seem to lose.