★★★★★ 4
Somewhat underwhelming; but still a good book that references a lot of things Halo 4 related
Format: Hardcover
I have been looking forward to this book for several months now, as there is not a lot of material out there that covers Halo 4 or the lore around this newest entry (and upcoming trilogy). There is the "Halo Encyclopedia" (released in 2009), which only covered everything up to Halo 3; and the first "Halo: The Essential Visual Guide" (released in 2011), which covered everything up to Halo: Reach. The first Essential Visual Guide was basically a watered-down version of the Encyclopedia. While both of those are great books, the Encyclopedia is one of the best sources out there for definitive Halo information.
So here we finally get a book regarding the new lore of the Halo universe we've been learning about since 2011 (starting with the Forerunner and Kilo-Five novel trilogies, and Halo 4 itself). But don't get your hopes up; unfortunately, this is nothing like the Encyclopedia that we already have access to. Overall, this is a good book, but I was a bit underwhelmed with it. Let me try and explain why.
If you are a newcomer to the Halo universe, then obviously this book would do a great job in introducing the new characters/enemies/locations of Halo 4 to you. But if you are a veteran like me, who has been delving into Halo lore for over a decade now, the book doesn't really show or teach you anything new. Each entry is basically a very rushed explanation of what that particular person, ship, location, etc is about. I know it's unfair to assume that this would have been a definitive source for information, but it's just a shame how bland the detail is. Several of the entries in this book have enough information regarding them to where it could cover several pages, yet just about everything in this book is narrowed down to one page.
I understand it is a Visual Guide, and not a factual, historical records of Halo events; but even the pictures are somewhat underwhelming. Each entry could have contained so much more information and photos than they had. The UNSC Infinity, for example, was simply stretched out across two pages, with not a lot of information regarding it and a grand total of three pictures (none of which were even of the interior).
I will say there were some entertaining parts in the book, especially regarding the Spartans of Majestic Team (since not much background info was explained in the game). But these were so few and far between for me. A good half of the book covers the weapons, vehicles, armor, and multiplayer maps in Halo 4. In my opinion, a lot of that stuff shouldn't have even been covered (since a lot of it has already been covered in the past, in the Encyclopedia and the first Essential Visual Guide). So again, that just goes with my point about the book not meeting my expectations.
But let me elaborate one more time, that I am a fanatic of Halo lore. If you are like me, and have been following the franchise since it's beginning, you probably won't find too much stuff in here that you don't already know about, and the book may be kind of a let down because of it.
But if you are a newcomer to Halo or simply a casual fan, then this book is a good enough catalog of information regarding just about everything Halo 4 related. The best part of the book were the first 20 pages or so, where they showed off all of the major characters. After that, there just wasn't enough for me to be excited about; simply because I already knew just about everything they were trying to explain.
I really wish DK and 343 Industries would update the Halo Enclyclopedia (or just create a brand new one) to include all of the new stuff pertaining to the Forerunner novels, Kilo-Five novels, Halo 4, and everything else post Halo 3 related we have learned in these past several years. But none the less, this book is still a good enough reference for a great price. And I anxiously await to see what 343 Industries does next with the series, regarding both the games and possible novels/comics.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2013
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