Halo 4, for potentially the first time ever, gave players a reason to care about Master Chief deeper than because he's the character you control in each game. Aided by great performances and a genuinely cinematic presentation, 343 Studios' debut entry into the franchise provided players with a confident and emotional new beginning for the Master Chief, all the while creating some of the series' most iconic moments in the process. Although the gameplay didn't iterate much over the foundation set by Bungie's swan song, Reach, the story felt like such a step forward, such a bold move in a new direction, that the familiar gameplay didn't come across like a hindrance for 343's first attempt at leading this respected franchise. Going forward to Halo 5, the developer has proved itself as a worth successor to series creators Bungie, and using the great foundations set by this fourth entry, the upcoming Xbox One game looks to only improve on this impressive new beginning.
Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.