Halo 4 Passes Its First Crucial Test: Metacritic - Wall Street Journal (blog)

By Ian Sherr

Microsoft Corp. has a lot riding on its new alien shooting videogame, Halo 4, which is part of the blockbuster Halo franchise and debuts Nov 6. (read “The Big Game Battle“). But there’s one thing over which Halo 4′s creators can breathe a sigh of relief: the game’s review score from Metacritic.com.

Metacritic, which aggregates videogame reviews from various game publications such as GameStop ’s Game Informer magazine and AOL’s Joystiq, gives videogames an averaged score ranging from 1 to 100. The ranking that a game receives is regarded as a barometer for whether a title will sell well, with many game industry veterans and analysts saying a game needs to score in the mid-80s to be a certified hit.

“I’d be hard pressed to buy a 60-rated game,” said Josh Holmes, “Halo 4′s” creative director. “Anything below 75â€"that’s the kiss of death.”

Marc Doyle, Metacritic’s co-founder and games editor, said the site’s mission is to inform customers about the quality of games, whether or not they’re made as part of a popular franchise such as Halo. “I run this website to service the average consumer,” he said.

Early Thursday, shortly after “Halo 4′s” reviews began hitting the Web, Metacritic gave its all-important score: 91 based on 37 reviews. The Halo team sent out 800 review copies of the game to media in the U.S. alone, so many more reviews are likely to be added to Metacritic’s average. Indeed, as the hours wore on and more reviews were mixed in, Halo’s score dropped to 90.

Still, Bonnie Ross, head of 343 Industries, the Microsoft-owned studio making Halo 4, is relieved. “We’re happy to see that so far the critical consensus is that we succeeded,” she said. “Now we can look forward to feedback and reviews from players, as well as press.”

Ms. Ross has had Metacritic on her mind more than a few times in recent months. She has asked her team a couple of times in various meetings whether they could deliver a “90-plus” quality game, referring to the score. “It’s make or break,” she said.

Chris Lee, Halo’s lead producer, said making Halo meet that 90-plus standard has been hard.

“We’ve had to build a studio, hit a release date we have to hit, make sure we maintain the legacy of one of the most successful console franchises of all time and drive innovation and push the boundaries of a game experience,” he said. “We need to make sure we’re 90-plus and we have to do what we need to get there.”

One way 343 Industries is trying to ensure Halo’s quality is by throwing a lot of people at the problem. The headcount of the team making Halo 4 tops 340, more than three-times the industry average.

Another way is marketing. 343 Industries has created books, websites and an elaborate five-episode live-action mini-series called “Forward Unto Dawn,” which tells the back story of how the game’s hero, Master Chief, meets another new character. The company spent five weeks shooting the series in Vancouver, which cost “millions of dollars,” Microsoft said.

But the most important aspect of any game is its quality, said Frank O’Connor, Halo’s franchise development director and a veteran of several Halo projects. That means strong visuals, enticing gameplay and a good storyline.

“You have to just keep your head down and try your absolute hardest,” he said. “You can’t just be as good as the last game, but in order to compete, you have to be better.”