Finally ran through this on Legendary with a friend. A really good proof of concept for what the series would "evolve" into overtime, but really rusty when playing it in 2020. I have my fair share of issues with some of the level design, a generally weak weapon sandbox, and neither graphics options available for this remaster being particularly ideal (classic is too dark in many places and a tad bland, while the remastered graphics are often overdesigned and straining on the eyes). I still appreciate Combat Evolved for its advancements in the console FPS genre, essentially being the Half-Life of console shooters as opposed to PC shooters, but it hasn't aged as well as its later entries. Even with its problems accounted for, Halo: Combat Evolved has still aged better than plenty of other games from the early 2000s and is still a blast to play to this day.

The Library still sucks, though.

The game that started it all. Well, sort of. I'm not a games historian and as such, I find it silly to rate games on their historical importance, but on that front, I'd say that any credit Combat Evolved deserves for revamping the console shooter, it deserves equally as much derision for its cowardly assassination of the weapon wheel. Still, only carrying two weapons does speak to this game's general ethos of simplicity (aside from the expanded universe lore, and the garish and thankfully optional visual overhaul found in Anniversary), which serves to both the benefit and detriment of the game.

Continuing my journey through the Master Chief Collection, I found many of the problems that I had with Reach, from the lack of proper context and humanity to a core structure that merely passes by on good game feel. However, like Reach, there are some strikingly standout moments, from the whole of The Silent Cartographer to the reveal of the Flood to the final escape sequence in the Warthog. As unqualified as I am to speak to specifics about Halo's place in history, it's presence undeniably looms large, and it stands as a solid, decent time twenty years later, and that's because Bungie knows how to serve the meat and potatoes.

Completed on March 14th, 2020
Score: 3/5

one of the most explosive starts to a game series of all time, halo ce comes at you instantly with escaping the maze-like pillar of autumn and crash landing onto a gorgeous landscape located on an artificial "planet" of sorts known as halo. from there on, you explore some of the most iconic levels of all time with some of the most satisfying gameplay an fps has ever seen (not to mention how innovative the console controls were for its time). the game is truly a timeless classic, and, while it's not perfect by any means (the library is fun the first time and painful during any replays, having to backtrack through 3 different levels isn't exactly the greatest level design), it's DAMN fun and should get anyone hooked on the halo series.

i'm reluctant to be too critical due to its age and influence in the FPS genre but I still get irritated when people tell me levels such as "Assault on the Control Room" are the greatest ever made after I've had to double round and retrace my steps four times as everything looks the same and isn't clearly signposted.

Anyway, these were infinitely surpassed by later entries but this started it all off and the story especially is great. The stakes are there, easy to understand and engaging with a small but memorable cast of characters. Foehammer respond!

Time has not been kind to Halo CE. All of the standards and precedents this game set for essentially the entirety of gaming are noticeable here. But the environments, waves of enemies, and poorly outlined objectives make this game feel old and tired very quickly. That being said, the large scale combats, vast array of weapons, and vehicular combat are still the focal point of this game. It also picks up and begins to move a bit faster in the second half, but random difficulty spikes put a damper on the fun I was having. Overall, not a bad game, but not worth going back and playing if you lack the nostalgia to fuel it.

One of those games where even today you can feel how influential it was. Lotta repeated environments make some levels tedious but the combat is fun enough that I didn't mind that much, even when I had to replay half of the control room level because of a dumb death and bad checkpoint.

Also: the portrayal of the "marines"? EXTREMELY 2001.

I find it really weird how the design of every location, enemy, ally, weapon, and vehicle are so instantly iconic and yet the actual building the world part of worldbuilding is so muddy. How... big is the Pillar of Autumn, exactly? Where did it crash? I know, on Halo, but where? How are any of these spaces connected to each other? Almost all of the travel between locations happens off-screen. For being the title character, the Halo itself is pretty undefined.

Halo 1 is the only Halo campaign I've played so far, so I'm expecting that they really improved the storytelling once they knew this was going to be a massive franchise. Looking forward to it.

Halo is a really good game right up until it isn't. I think it's rightfully earned it's legacy as on the the xbox "classics" but mostly because people only really remember the first half of the game. In the first half the campaign has a huge variety of levels with wide open spaces and fun combat, but the second half of the game introduces the flood... which... well...

Ok so just straight up, the flood are not fun to fight, they're gigantic bullet sponges and when the game throws 12 of them at you in a cramped hallway the game becomes an exercise in frustration.

Still, for what it's worth the first half of the game is still pretty fun! And worth checking out if you've ever been curious, just don't feel pressured to keep going when the fun stops.

Halo CE já tem 20 anos de idade, e mostra isso bem menos que a grande maioria dos jogos de sua época. Claro, o remaster ajuda batante em mantê-lo palatável, ainda assim, a capacidade de surpreender da sua AI, o design dos encontros e a ambientação misteriosa do jogo ainda se mantém tão estelares quanto antes eram, ficando como defeito óbvio apenas seus mapas extremamente repetitivos. Quando jogado de cara contra os seus sucessores, fica óbvio que ele deixa a desejar - seu status como clássico, porém, não pode ser desafiado.

Minha primeira vez jogando a franquia. Realmente é um FPS de extrema qualidade... Bem, pelo menos até a metade. Lá para o sexto capítulo começa a literalmente reutilizar níveis, e pro final vira um monte de corredores lotados de zumbis (digo, Flood). Não chega a ficar ruim, mas a queda de qualidade é bem notável.

Mas antes dessa queda, Halo tem todos os aspectos de um verdadeiro clássico. Visuais refinados que envelheceram muito bem, level design primoroso, história bacana, ótimos personagens e controles sensacionais (joguei usando um joystick e não senti falta do mouse uma vez sequer — mais do que pode ser dito de muito jogo de tiro atual).

Dito isso, é impossível ignorar a importância desse jogo. Ele foi considerado revolucionário para o gênero em 2001, e agora que enfim o joguei concordo, apesar de com alguns asteriscos. Algumas de suas inovações foram "revolucionárias" apenas para shooters de consoles: o multiplayer com 16 jogadores e os níveis expansivos já não eram novidade no PC, e o mapeamento dos controles não é tão impactante numa plataforma com o combo teclado+mouse. Outros elementos já são concernentes ao game design e tiveram uma influência bem mais duradoura e apreciável por todas as plataformas. Qualquer FPS com veículos, escudos/saúde regenerável e um arsenal reduzido a duas armas simultâneas que veio depois bebe diretamente de Halo.