I can’t think of another game, besides maybe the original Metal Gear Solid, that I was so obsessed with growing up despite never owning it. I remember those incredible trailers, those Neil Blomkamp shorts, the Believe ads, hands down the greatest marketing campaign for any entertainment product ever, nothing comes close. I remember all the machinimas for it online, Go Halo Go, Red vs Blue. And I remember desperately coping with the fact that I couldn’t play it by telling people, and myself, that Uncharted is better, Resistance is better. But they weren’t better. They were fine, they were good, but they weren’t THIS. Halo is once in a lifetime and we’re very likely never going to see anything like it again.
I’ve played pieces of the multiplayer and forge mode at friends’ places over the years, but it’s only now that my brother has a refurbished Xbox 360 that I finally have a chance to play through this game’s campaign myself. And it’s easily one of the greatest shooter campaigns I’ve ever played. It’s epic in scale, open ended, full of unique weapons, enemies, vehicles, varied areas, incredible art direction and it has maybe the comfiest gamefeel of any fps. What I love most about it though is how freeform it all is. The levels are wide open and you decide what weapons, what vehicles to use, what routes to take, how to get over the hurdles the game throws your way. While it has lots of incredible scripted moments, most of this game’s moments happen organically. I was honestly a bit mindblown when I realized the massive Scarabs were organic entities within the level, not just stuck to a railroad like they would be in almost any other game. The AI is also easily the best I’ve ever experienced in a shooter. Enemies will act in character, push up, try to flank you, some will panic and retreat when you take out their leader, others will make a desperate final bull rush when they’re low on health. Allies will push the objective, scavenge enemy weapons when they’re low on ammo, hijack vehicles, and hell I can’t think of another game where I’ve felt so comfortable in the gunner seat with an AI driver. Then there’s the story. It has the resonance of something like the original Star Wars trilogy, in that you take it seriously when you need to, you’re interested in all parties and buy the dire stakes, but there’s always a certain fun loving pulp to everything. Fun loving is how I’d describe everything in this game. It’s so unpretentious across the board and never loses sight of the fact that it’s a video game above all else.
Every part of this game I’ve touched is so lovingly crafted and carefully thought out. It’s everything I want in a shooter, a true AAA masterpiece if ever there was one. I only wish I could’ve been there to be part of the community and the hype while it was in its prime.
I’ve played pieces of the multiplayer and forge mode at friends’ places over the years, but it’s only now that my brother has a refurbished Xbox 360 that I finally have a chance to play through this game’s campaign myself. And it’s easily one of the greatest shooter campaigns I’ve ever played. It’s epic in scale, open ended, full of unique weapons, enemies, vehicles, varied areas, incredible art direction and it has maybe the comfiest gamefeel of any fps. What I love most about it though is how freeform it all is. The levels are wide open and you decide what weapons, what vehicles to use, what routes to take, how to get over the hurdles the game throws your way. While it has lots of incredible scripted moments, most of this game’s moments happen organically. I was honestly a bit mindblown when I realized the massive Scarabs were organic entities within the level, not just stuck to a railroad like they would be in almost any other game. The AI is also easily the best I’ve ever experienced in a shooter. Enemies will act in character, push up, try to flank you, some will panic and retreat when you take out their leader, others will make a desperate final bull rush when they’re low on health. Allies will push the objective, scavenge enemy weapons when they’re low on ammo, hijack vehicles, and hell I can’t think of another game where I’ve felt so comfortable in the gunner seat with an AI driver. Then there’s the story. It has the resonance of something like the original Star Wars trilogy, in that you take it seriously when you need to, you’re interested in all parties and buy the dire stakes, but there’s always a certain fun loving pulp to everything. Fun loving is how I’d describe everything in this game. It’s so unpretentious across the board and never loses sight of the fact that it’s a video game above all else.
Every part of this game I’ve touched is so lovingly crafted and carefully thought out. It’s everything I want in a shooter, a true AAA masterpiece if ever there was one. I only wish I could’ve been there to be part of the community and the hype while it was in its prime.