This is a long article, so for those who want the TL;DR option. The book is MEH.

I got this delivered yesterday from Amazon.  And I have to say I’m a bit underwhelmed. Why? Let’s explore that…

First, I thought the book would be bigger. Not just in page count but in actual height/width dimensions. As a VISUAL guide, I’d like to see…you know…bigger visuals. Some of the pics inside are rather small. Some are crossing over into a two-page spread that just cuts the image in half and distracts from what should be an otherwise great graphic.

What’s most disappointing to me though is that the NEW things Halo 4 brought to Halo lore and the franchise are not focused on. Rather characters like Lasky, Del Rio, ships like the Infinity and other entires have a paultry one or two-page spread. The Infinity’s entry is SO disappointing. It’s one of those where the graphic is cut in half. The information about the Infinity is VERY lacking. This should have been a HUGE entry in this book, covering several pages. It would have been great to have seen an ‘exploded’ view showing the key decks of the ship. More pics from the inside of the ship could/should have been shown.

I DID like the additional info on Fireteam Majestic. It’s nice now knowing the first names of Madsen and Hoya. Madsen’s minimal backstory though makes him out to be even more a loser than I thought he was. He should have never been a spartan. Heh, in fact his story is actually what I would have expected with that yutz of a Spartan, Miller. Funny, no mention of Miller in this book either…

I have to be honest that I skimmed over most of the weapons and vehicles. Since most were NOT new to Halo, there wasn’t much of a need to all read all of those entries word for word. In fact those entries could have had a lot LESS info about them.

Another section showing the various Spartan IV Armor in Halo 4 was uninspiring to say the least.

This book was written as if it was ‘factual’ historical data, rather than a look at the game, how things came about (NO Concept art at all, which was HIGHLY disappointing) and in the case of armor for instance what it takes to unlock said armor in the game.

I get that this is a visual guide, however more attention could have been paid to the information about each entry as it relates to the game and not just the faux historical data. Which itself was lacking in most respects.

I will say that there were parts that were entertaining. These however were so few and far between for me that I just didn’t feel the book was worth the cost, even the discounted price I paid for it.

Now take that last statement with a grain of salt though. I’m DEEP into the lore of Halo and can recite quite a bit from memory. So if you are a newcomer to Halo or are ‘casual’, then this book IS a good repository of information and visual references. If you’re a moderate fan who knows some of the lore, this is a good book for you.

However, if you are like me and have been following the franchise since it’s earliest days, the book is a bit of a let down.

The highlights for me were the named characters. Sadly that is at the front of the book. After this, with exception to some of the ships near the end of the book, there just wasn’t enough for me to be excited about reading nor considering rereading in the future.

This is in part due to me already having the Prima Games Halo 4 Guide which gives you MUCH of the same information and nearly all of that in digital form too.

Had the Halo 4 Essential Visual Guide also had a companion digital version that you could view (after say using a code to unlock it), then this book would have been definitely worth the price.

Had I created this book, I’d have included such things as star charts showing the location of the Gamma Halo, Requiem, Infinity’s shipbuilding yard, etc. As well, a height chart showing the key characters would have been a great visual. Less info about things we already know about quite well like weapons and many of the vehicles and MORE info about all the NEW stuff added to the Halo lore in Halo 4 would be been the rule for this book.

It’s sad when you can easily find most of this info and in better detail on the internet. The price isn’t bad at $16.99 (I paid $14 for it through Amazon). So it’s really up to you to decide if you want a book you likely already know much of what’s inside and just want pics OR pass on it hoping for something better down the road.

Given the many months wait for this and now having it in my hands has left me with wanting SO much more than what was given to us.

Since this is a review and I give a score at the end of my reviews typically, I have to give this a 5 out of 10. It’s great for newcomers, good for middlin fans, but disappointing to those of us who are hardcore into the fiction.

If some ask, could I do better? Well, frankly YES, I could. If I were given the graphics to put a book together like this, I could easily write a bigger, better book. Sadly, unless 343 challenges me to do so and gives me all the material I request, it won’t happen.

For those who may cry foul here, let me state that I’ve been in the marketing and advertising field for more than 16 years now. During that time I’ve been a production artist, graphic designer, and art director. I’ve also been a marketing and advertising assistant manager. My skills and experience in designing and producing print publications would speak for themselves if given the opportunity to create a book of this kind in the future.

Oh and yes, my lack of cleaning up the pic at the beginning of the article is in direct correlation to my feeling underwhelmed but the book.

Should you still want to take a look at this for yourself, you can find it at most major book sellers and through Amazon.com.

-Sal