The original Halo trilogy is one that holds a special place in the hearts of many people thanks to their memories of split-screen co-op and multiplayer, but despite how iconic the franchise is, I only really remember playing one of the games at a friend's house once. Because of this, I've really been wanting to play the first three Halo games, and so I was glad to find all three of them last week. For a game whose 22nd anniversary is coming up this year, Halo: Combat Evolved managed to feel just as grand in its sense of scale and scope as it probably did back in 2001, and while I did have my fair share of issues with it, I still had a great time with it.
What's interesting about Halo: Combat Evolved is that, although it's a space opera with its own alien species and history of conflicts, the game spends no time explaining who's fighting what and instead throws you straight into the action. Normally, something like this would be an issue, and while it was definitely jarring to just start fighting the Covenant without really knowing who they were or why they wanted Earth destroyed, I didn't actually mind this approach. Storytelling isn't that big of a focus here, because while the plot is definitely serviceable (albeit not all that great), the real star of the show here is everything surrounding it. In terms of gameplay, the best parts of Halo: Combat Evolved would easily be its big, sprawling battle sequences, as not only did the guns feel great thanks to the solid controls, but the game's different vehicles were all a blast to use and gave me a lot of options when taking down Covenant forces. Many of the game's levels blend these amazing outdoor sequences with linear corridors, and while this combo did work for me in terms of making these levels more balanced and varied, the initial contrast between the entirely straightforward first level and the entirely open-ended second level was nothing short of breathtaking.
I played Halo: Combat Evolved using the ten-year anniversary remaster so that I could play the game in 16:9 widescreen, and despite the efforts made by 343 Industries with their new take on the game's visuals, I had no reason to turn these new graphics on. Not only did the original visuals have much more charm and also matched the stiff animations much more than 343's new coat of paint did, but they were also designed with visual clarity in mind. Whether you were fighting the Covenant, the Flood, or 343 Guilty Spark, every enemy in the game was supposed to stick out from the environments through their distinct designs and color-coding, and since 343 Industries apparently missed out on that memo, I kept the superior original graphics on throughout my entire playthrough. As great as the gameplay was, the real heart and soul of Halo: Combat Evolved for me came from the gorgeous score by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, as their uses of Gregorian chants fit the game's ambitious, grandiose feel while also giving its world a great sense of mystery. The first half of Halo: Combat Evolved was consistently terrific, but I felt that the levels took a bit of a dive in quality with the introduction of the Flood, as having them infinitely spawn as you gunned them down made them much less interesting to fight than the Covenant. This especially applies to the game's seventh level, "The Library", which was so unbelievably boring in its tedium that it was the only level in the game that I straight up didn't like. That second half was still full of great moments, though, and the ending setpiece was an especially fun and exhilarating note to end on. Despite its flaws, Halo: Combat Evolved was still a great game in my eyes, and I'm pretty excited to check out the other two games in the original trilogy soon.
What's interesting about Halo: Combat Evolved is that, although it's a space opera with its own alien species and history of conflicts, the game spends no time explaining who's fighting what and instead throws you straight into the action. Normally, something like this would be an issue, and while it was definitely jarring to just start fighting the Covenant without really knowing who they were or why they wanted Earth destroyed, I didn't actually mind this approach. Storytelling isn't that big of a focus here, because while the plot is definitely serviceable (albeit not all that great), the real star of the show here is everything surrounding it. In terms of gameplay, the best parts of Halo: Combat Evolved would easily be its big, sprawling battle sequences, as not only did the guns feel great thanks to the solid controls, but the game's different vehicles were all a blast to use and gave me a lot of options when taking down Covenant forces. Many of the game's levels blend these amazing outdoor sequences with linear corridors, and while this combo did work for me in terms of making these levels more balanced and varied, the initial contrast between the entirely straightforward first level and the entirely open-ended second level was nothing short of breathtaking.
I played Halo: Combat Evolved using the ten-year anniversary remaster so that I could play the game in 16:9 widescreen, and despite the efforts made by 343 Industries with their new take on the game's visuals, I had no reason to turn these new graphics on. Not only did the original visuals have much more charm and also matched the stiff animations much more than 343's new coat of paint did, but they were also designed with visual clarity in mind. Whether you were fighting the Covenant, the Flood, or 343 Guilty Spark, every enemy in the game was supposed to stick out from the environments through their distinct designs and color-coding, and since 343 Industries apparently missed out on that memo, I kept the superior original graphics on throughout my entire playthrough. As great as the gameplay was, the real heart and soul of Halo: Combat Evolved for me came from the gorgeous score by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, as their uses of Gregorian chants fit the game's ambitious, grandiose feel while also giving its world a great sense of mystery. The first half of Halo: Combat Evolved was consistently terrific, but I felt that the levels took a bit of a dive in quality with the introduction of the Flood, as having them infinitely spawn as you gunned them down made them much less interesting to fight than the Covenant. This especially applies to the game's seventh level, "The Library", which was so unbelievably boring in its tedium that it was the only level in the game that I straight up didn't like. That second half was still full of great moments, though, and the ending setpiece was an especially fun and exhilarating note to end on. Despite its flaws, Halo: Combat Evolved was still a great game in my eyes, and I'm pretty excited to check out the other two games in the original trilogy soon.