Halo: Combat Evolved

"One of the Most Popular Games Ever"

INTRO: First off I must confess, I did not partake in the Halo extravaganza at it's launch. This is simply because at the launch of this game I was still in high school and could only afford one system. So yes I did choose the PS2 and did even participate in fanboyish remarks against the dreaded XBOX and it's said killer app. But now that the XBOX 360 is here I am enjoying it's limited backwards compatible lineup. Now admitting that I did not jump on the Halo bandwagon your probably wondering what exactly my early opinion of this game just is. Well even though I didn't have an XBOX that doesn't mean I didn't have any exposure to Halo. Of course I did have friends who had it. I then thought that the multiplayer was very good and the co-op intriguing but not enough to really judge the game. But also admittedly I was a little bit of a hater on the game because looking at a screen shot of the Halo then comparing it to MGS2, I then felt, and still feel Halo is a technically very overrated game. But despite these feelings when I saw Halo, Halo 2, and Halo 2 Multiplayer expansion pack for $40, I could not resist the urge to finally experience these supposed classics.

GRAPHICS: Like I mentioned before comparing Halo to MGS2 (the bench mark at the time), it appears very obvious that Halo isn't all that it's cracked up to be graphically. First off the frame rate chugs along at 30 fps, something that has been surpassed many times by lesser peers. So what does that mean? Well if you play a lot of PC shooters or even the likes of Quake III on the PS2 then Halo will appear to be moving a tad slow. Also despite the game being vibrant, it can appear a little muddy when again compared to MGS2. And there is the normal get stuck in wall occurrences that come with all FPS that allow you to jump anywhere you can reach. But the game still has a fair amount of graphical feats to impress you with. The draw distance is really impressive, some of the outdoor levels are huge and make for the most impressive parts of the game. The character models are well detailed and original as well. Master Chief (that's you) is one of best looking characters out there. The aliens are unique and are shaded with fairly solid colors, which help with the alien appearance. The weapon designs are nothing novel unfortunately. Except the needler everything is typical FPS standard arsenal,. from the pistol to the rocket launcher, and even a token alien plasma rifle. The vehicles though, are amazing. All of the alien vehicles are very original and cool, and even though the human vehicles are nothing special they are cool too. The effects are really where this game comes to it's own graphically. All the in game explosions are some best this generation, especially the plasma grenades. Not to mention that blowing up a ghost is extremely cool, as is throwing around the warthog with grenades.
Score 7

SOUND: Arguably the best part of the game is the soundtrack. With an inspiring orchestra on par with (if not probably better) then most big budget films. And unlike most other games that do have a good track, Halo has really good execution of the best times to play it's epic songs. As such Halo has a great atmosphere which I think is the primary reason for it's great success. The voice overs are really good for this type of game too. Most shooters don't take the story seriously so the voice acting can be painfully cheesy in most games of this genre. But Halo nails that dead on, which of course further adds to the ambiance of the game. And last but not least is the great special effects. Gunfire and explosions are all very well done. Like said earlier many of the weapons don't look that menacing, but once you hear them you'll have to rethink that presumption.
Score 10

CONTROLS: One of the reasons I was not an initial fan of the XBOX is the clunky controller. But on my redesigned 360 controller Halo is a great handling game. It uses the typical Joysticks to move along with the also very typical shoulder buttons to shoot. You can only carry two guns so as you can imagine changing between the two is really fast and easy. You also have two grenade classes which you can switch between on the fly using the black button. Overall there is not any real weaknesses in the game's controller mapping or in execution. You control Master Chief with expert ease.
Score 9

STORY: Most modern FPS do not have a serious storyline. That is what made Half-life so popular, it actually had one. Halo takes this into respect and presents us with a great plot that leaves a lot to the imagination in a good way. Halo has actually even spawned several books, one of which is a very good prequel(Fall of Reach). But the basic premise of the story is you are Master Chief (which is actually a navy rank so this is a curious name) woken up from a cryogenic sleep with your ship under attack. The game then goes into an introductory level to explain the game concepts as you try to exit the ship. Exit the ship to where you ask? That would be Halo. Halo is ancient alien artifact of the Covenant. What the Halo does exactly is unknown, but is thought to possibly be a weapon. Rest assured as you uncover this part of the game there will be several surprises. The next logical question of course is what are the Covenant? The Covenant are an alien force of differing species with different classes based on the species. They all seem to be bound together in a sort of holy quest, or crusade even, to find these Halos and of course destroy us humans. The main drive of the game of course is uncovering what is the Halo and what do the Covenant want with us? Another interesting spin on the story though is that the humans are trying desperately to keep secret the location of the Earth from the aliens. So ships are destroyed if they are taken over by the aliens. The A.I. on The Pillar of Autumn (your ship) is called Cortana (which houses the location of Earth), with a personality of her own. To keep her safe she was downloaded into the Master Chief, which explains the voices in his head.
Score 10

GAMEPLAY: Halo doesn't have any revolutionary concepts to it that add to the genre. However it does have some that have been kicked around for a while but never executed. One of which is you only carry two guns and 8 grenades (4 of each type). This gives the game a little strategic twist, as you now have to decide what guns work best for what situations. It also makes very clear the weaknesses and strengths of each gun. Second is the shield. You have an energy shield displayed as a bar, when this bar depletes your meager health then depletes very quickly. This makes you think twice about running and gunning. Because with health not that abundant you must rely off your rechargeable shield to get you threw the combat. This means the hiding to let your energy recharge will be a common occurrence. With that said Halo is an otherwise normal FPS that does incorporate the use vehicles into combat very well. The alien ones are especially fun to use. What really makes Halo so fun for most people is the great A.I. They will actually use the environment, including vehicles and turrets to destroy you. The best part is the A.I. will react differently every time. This is the most impressive feat of the game. Now let me go over the sore part of the game. That would be the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde level design. The game features some great outdoor levels with rocks, hills and realistically fashioned cover for you to use on your quest to rid the world of the Covenant. And although it is very linear it appears to be open due to the size of the environments and possible ways you can navigate them. This does give the game another strategic twist to it, which is what makes it even more enjoyable. What doesn't make it enjoyable is the indoor levels. Which are basically endless mazes of bland looking corridors. These are very repetitive and feature the games toughest enemies, and instead of giving them great A.I. they simply overwhelm you with numbers. Particularly the infamous Library level make this frustrating, and on the harder difficultly levels almost impossible to play.
Score 8

REPLAY: Your first time though the game will last you about 15 hours, which is pretty good for an FPS now days. Of course there are multiple difficulty settings, of which legendary will probably be a longer play through then your first time. But of course the big thing about Halo is it is the new Goldeneye in terms of multiplayer. Halo features the now standard split screen death match made popular by Goldeneye and Perfect Dark Zero. The game also supports system link which means with two TVs and two XBOXs you can play with up to eight people. Because the frame rate was never that fast to begin with there is no slow down when these matches are at their most hectic. What really makes Halo special is it's two player co-op. On split screen two people can play through the entire single player campaign. If one dies then the other simply has to find a spot that is combat free and the other player will spawn back. The best part is with two players the AI still does a great job of keeping the difficulty high as well as adding another strategic element.
Score 10

BOTTOM LINE: In the end despite some annoyances and minor complaints, Halo is a great game. The game never really gets that frustrating and keeps the action compelling. If you have an XBOX or XBOX 360 then you probably have this game, but if by some chance not, you need it. But that is not to say it's the ‘best' ever. It has flaws that hopefully will be addressed by it's sequel. Halo definitely gave the XBOX a fighting chance, and is probably a biggest reason that my XBOX 360 even exists.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/14/06