Halo: Combat Evolved

"Excellent AI, slick controls, and intense gameplay put this at the top of your must-play list"

I found it difficult to suppress my skepticism when I first began to play Halo. Anyone playing a game that received so much hype should begin with at least some modicum of caution. Halo has been called the savior of the Xbox, the greatest First Person Shooter ever created, and even the best game ever… but can it meet any of these unbelievable expectations for a newcomer? Well, its supporters may be hyperactive when praising the game, but Halo doesn't force you into this mindset. It has a subtle way of convincing you that its merits are at least partly true, through its addictive gameplay, and immersive atmosphere.

Halo takes place in a future where humans are battling a race of aliens known as the Covenant. A small armada of Covenant ships has chased your particular cruiser into deep space, near a previously undiscovered “ringworld” called Halo. You take on the role of Master Chief, an enigmatic super-soldier, who is a leader and hero to the masses of marines that accompany you. The Covenant attack your ship and force your troops to land in scattered areas on the surface of the Halo. While your first objectives will be to gather your dispersed comrades, you will eventually attempt to muster enough of a force to put up a fight against the Covenant and take control of Halo.

The story is told through cinematic cutscenes and in-mission dialogue. One of Halo's major achievements is the fact that the story never gets in the way of the superb gameplay. The pacing keeps you riveted, as you'll just finish a mission and be greeted with a new and interesting plot development. There were plenty of moments when I said, “Okay, now that I'm finishing this mission, I guess I'll take a bre—Oh, man! I gotta keep going!” The plot is always just enough to keep you from other unnecessary activities such as eating, sleeping, and the much overrated toilet break.

Halo will send you on a variety of well-designed missions that offer quite a few tactical elements. You will rarely be forced to complete a mission in a set way, and the Covenant AI will constantly challenge you to think on your feet (I'll discuss this aspect in more detail a little later). You will be provided with a few mission objectives, but the methods and tactics you employ in achieving them can be as varied as you wish to make them. It's not easy to break down any of the missions into one particular format, because they all offer unique experiences, but one thing you'll encounter quite often is the repeated process of eliminating Covenant squads and then regrouping to prepare for one of their drop ships to bring in reinforcements. For an artificially created ringworld, the Halo offers a lot of variety in environments. You'll battle over green, expansive hills, across rocky beaches, in dense woods, and in tight, maze-like corridors. Some of the areas are reused later in the game, but this is never a horrible detractor, since the gameplay shines. The level design always gives the player a feeling of freedom without moving from a linear setup. You can roam pretty freely, and approach enemies from a variety of directions, but you probably won't feel lost or disconnected from the action. Another highlight in the gameplay is the use of vehicles, which is implemented well and they also control well too. The warthog is my favorite, as it has kind of a loose and wild feel to its controls.

Halo's controls work very well, but if you're not happy with them, you can always move them around to suit you. You are given the standard for FPS's, which is the ability to move with the left control stick and look/aim with the right. The buttons are used for organizing your weapons and the shoulder triggers are for firing and grenades. There are multiple control stick variations to suit your style, as well as plenty of button configurations. It is unlikely that you will feel that there isn't a control scheme that works for you.

The Covenant utilizes a range of infantry, from the Grunts, who act as initial fodder, to the leaders known as Elites, who'll sweep in after a conflict has begun to throw the action into full gear. There are also the bird-like Jackals, who use shields, and the massive Hunters, who are slow and lumber with a distinctive determination, and will eliminate you quickly if you aren't careful. Each one of the different varieties has its own ranks and they get progressively more difficult to outsmart as the game progresses. Which leads me to the Artificial Intelligence in Halo. To put it lightly, the Covenant is not stupid. Part of what makes the missions so varied and interesting is the fact that your opponents will react differently depending on the exact circumstances and they all have multiple choices to employ in avoiding/attacking you. There was one part of an early mission in which I had to repeatedly attempt to escape this building that I had trapped myself inside due to the auto-saving feature (I'll explain auto-saving in a bit). This might sound like it would be a boring experience, having to try the same escape over and over again, but the enemies kept me interested. As I reached the entrance, there was always an Elite to meet me, but he was quite the crafty foe. Sometimes he would charge as soon as he saw me, forcing a close range, melee fight. At other times, he would strafe across the entrance, peppering me with bursts of plasma. He also liked to kind of lure me out and then ambush me with his backup troops. It was really very gratifying to finally outsmart him, and it gave the mission an extra little boost. If you're tired of FPS's that use a “shooting gallery” style of AI, then Halo will really please you. You marine allies are smart and courageous, but don't get too attached, because you'll often find yourself as the sole survivor of a marine drop.

There isn't an overwhelming amount of weapons in Halo, but they have proper balancing, which keeps the ones that you have at your disposal fresh and useful. You will rarely find yourself relying on just one weapon, and the fact that you can only carry two weapons at a given time will force you to think strategically about what you'll enter battle with. Both races have their own assortment of weapons, and each race's particular weapon has a counterpart belonging to the other race or something comparable to it. Humans use bullet weapons like a pistol, assault rifle (automatic rifle), sniper rifle and a rocket launcher. Covenant use plasma weapons, and these are similar to the Human weapons, but they offer their own advantages and disadvantages. The pistol, for example, is pretty weak, but has a scope that allows for limited sniping. The plasma rifle, which is the Covenant answer to the assault rifle, has a fast firing rate, but can't charge up like some of the other plasma weapons. The main difference between the two sets of guns is the way they use ammo. Human weapons have clips that must be reloaded when they run out, while Covenant weapons use a battery which eventually runs out, but can be used for longer intervals.

Halo is graphically impressive, but it does suffer slightly from being an Xbox launch title. The landscapes are textured nicely, with realistic grass and sand, but they are not all that exciting, because sometimes is looks like there is only one type of tree, bush or rock. I did find myself gazing up at the ever-present Halo above every now and again. It is always off in the distance, arching away and looping back behind you. Its presence is a simple addition, but it gives the game a unique and consistent atmosphere. The human characters and marines move well, but they don't have very good facial animations. Sometimes it's hard to look at them when they talk, but it's not too big of a deal. The Covenant are animated so well that you'll think they were motion captured. Their combination of charges, ducks, dives, and energetic fist pumps look realistic and intimidating at times. As you turn a corner and face an Elite, he'll look surprised for a second and then charge you ferociously, which can give you a pretty good scare if you're not expecting it.

The sound in Halo does an excellent job of bringing the ringworld to life. The soundtrack is a gripping mix of pounding percussion and epic strings. The game opens with a haunting Gregorian chant that sets the tone of the game and gives it the feeling that the Halo is an ancient and sacred world. The voice acting is well done, and the marines that follow you always chime in with interesting quips. Sometimes they'll shout “You want some more?” when shooting enemies, or “They're everywhere!” when the Covenant appear. The Covenant themselves sound real, and also make a variety of noises and sometimes even say things to alert you of their actions. A Grunt who is about to throw a grenade sometimes can't keep from yelling, “Down in front!” as he lets it go. The sheer amount of sounds that can be heard give the game a great deal of personality. One of my personal favorites is when your marine buddies will cheer or yell “Kickass!” when you make a jump in a warthog jeep.

Halo uses an auto-saving feature that can be your savior or the bane of your existence. When you reach the next step of a mission, you'll see “Checkpoint… done” appear at the top of the screen. This means that your progress has been saved and you'll be returned to this checkpoint upon dying. This is great when you're in a decent position and have some choices available to you, since you won't have to start the mission from the very beginning. There are moments, though, when you'll be restricted by it. For example, I mentioned earlier a scenario in which I was trapped at the bottom of a building. What happened was that I went to the basement to find some marines, and when I finally found them my health was nearly depleted. Then I saw what I had dreaded – “Checkpoint… done.” Now I had to fight my way out of the building with almost no health and when I died (which I did several times) I was brought back to the basement with the same meager amount of health. It was partially my fault, but the auto-save contributes to one of Halo's few detractors.

Now, you might be wondering why I haven't mentioned Halo's multiplayer aspect. The reason for this is that I feel it is really just a nice add-on to an excellent solo experience. It offers a decent selection of well-designed areas, several of the standard FPS multiplayer modes (like deathmatches, team battles, as well as others) and plenty of options. Multiplayer combat can be addictive and rewarding, but without the online features like those sported in Halo 2, you'll really be relying on the single player campaign for your Halo fix. And you won't have to worry about the campaign letting you down. If the missions have become stale or predictable (you'd have to play for a long time for this to happen, mind you), you can always ramp up the difficulty to Heroic or Legendary. With tougher enemies and even smarter AI, you'll have to completely rethink the way you play Halo. In the end, you'll feel a great sense of accomplishment and great variety in play will keep you coming back again and again.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/05/04, Updated 12/06/04