Why the Spartan Ops are a Must-Play

Halo 4. Mine and many others favorite game to date. It sure felt good to play as the Master Chief once again . Discovering a new world, blasting through enemies old and new alike, Halo 4 delivers a riveting story line and really sheds some more light on the touching Chief-Cortana relationship. However, many gamers may simply pop the disc into their console, fight through the campaign, tackle the multi-player and continue from there without ever giving the new Spartan Ops a glance. I can tell you right now that you are missing out on something great!

Now I won't go into heavy detail, but instead lets just talk about what the Spartan Ops are. Spartan Ops is a brand new installment to the Halo franchise which delivers numerous missions which are called Chapters. 5 Chapters make up an Episode and the Episodes compile to create a Season. So far we have 1 completed Season titled 'Exodus' which contains a total of 10 Episodes, thus 50 Chapters.

The planet Requiem where these Spartan Ops take place

 Without going into heavy detail, here's the background as to how these Spartan Ops formed. A new Spartan program is underway and many of these Spartans reside on the UNSC Infinity. The difference here is that these Spartans chose to enlist, they were not kids abducted by the UNSC as were the first Spartans. The new Spartans have various missions they need to complete upon Requiem, the Forerunner planet. These ops contain everything from search and rescue missions all the way to investigating Covenant digs and Forerunner objects. Here's why I love them though: they actually give the gamer a satisfying military feel as opposed to the traditional lone-wolf we get with Master Chief!

Fireteam Majestic: one of the many Spartan teams upon Requiem

Don't get me wrong, I love playing as the Chief. It's probably one of the most satisfying things a gamer can do. However the Spartan Ops give a better sense of realism because in these missions we are completing essential military tasks. The player plays as a member of Fireteam Crimson, working with Spartans Miller and Dalton along with Commander Palmer. Receiving orders, getting pinned down and then having an ordnance drop, these are the things that really make the ops feel real! Sure the missions get repetitive. You're often doing the same things and fighting off predictable waves of enemies, but that's part of the realistic work a soldier has to do and you come to appreciate it! But, if that still isn't enough to get you hooked, you have to play for the story.

Some Spartans fighting off the Prometheans 

The reason the story to these Ops is significant is because the conclusion of Season 1 contains events that in no way would have been predicted from just completing the Halo 4 campaign. We get to discover much more about Dr. Halsey, the origin of the new Spartans, and the content on Requiem that Master Chief did not encounter such as Covenant terrorist leaders and different Forerunner artifacts. To put it simply; when the next Halo is released, there may be a reference in the story that you don't understand because you only played the campaign in Halo 4 and NOT the Spartan Ops. 

For hardcore Halo fans, what I'm saying is irrelevant. We've already played these ops one or two times over and are contemplating a third. They are a great way to level up and easily complete commendations. No, this is for the Halo fan that only plays the game once and then jumps to multiplayer. Or for the ones who started the Spartan Ops, played a few chapters, experienced repetition, and gave up before even getting to the significant story line. I'm telling you now, you NEED to play this new mode. It is worth your time. See you ground-side Spartans!

Feel free to leave comments and discussion! What was you're favorite op in Season 1? What do you think Season 2 will hold? Let me know!

Also scroll down for my reaction to the new Batman Arkham Origins teaser trailer!