The Halo That Started Them AllHalo: Combat Evolved is the first game in the acclaimed Halo series and a major influence in the modern first person shooter. Not to mention it practically saved the Xbox from complete failure. Developed by Bungie, Halo has since been hailed as one of the greatest shooters, if not one of the greatest games, to have ever been created. Now I will take a look at it and decide just where this game stands, and whether it really is as great as many claim it is.
Graphics: 7When you first start to play Halo: Combat Evolved, you may notice that everything looks like it's made of plastic. With today's graphics, that would be an issue. However, Halo was released in the early days of the Xbox. At the time, these graphics were the standard. And despite the plastic-like look of most objects and people, Halo did do one thing very well. The explosions and other gun effects were decent for their time. Nothing particularly amazing, but still better than the average game. In summary, the graphics are good for their time, but still not perfect.
Sound: 9Next up, the sound. Halo's sound works great. The gunshots match their weapons, the soldiers sound authentic, and the explosions are, well, explosive. Everything has its own distinct sound, and everything has just the right sound to compliment it. Even the low rumbly voice of the elites and high squeaky voice of the grunts both work rather nicely (as long as you're not hoping for a scary enemy, that is). But what really sets Halo above and beyond its peers is the music. I had decided on this the day I played Halo for the first time, and I still stand by it to this day: the music in Halo is my favorite in all of gaming. I don't know what it is, but Halo: Combat Evolved just has really great music. Overall, Halo has pretty good sound. I've heard better sound effects, but such instances were few and far in between.
Addictiveness: 8The goal of Halo is to either run or drive around, shoot as many aliens as you can, and then get to whatever objective Cortana is complaining about at the moment. This makes a pretty good system. As the video game industry understands very well, there's nothing a gamer likes quite like pretending to shoot other living things. Combining this blood lust with the variety of different tools at your disposal, Halo is one of those games that always has you coming back for more. Though it does get repetitive, it's still very fun.
Story: 7In Halo: Combat Evolved, you are trying to prevent an alien race known as the Covenant from wiping out humans. On top of that, a plot twist about half way in throw the flood and the halos right into the center of the mix. Even as far back as the first Halo, the story is very thought out and well done. There are multiple interesting characters and the story keeps you guessing until the end. That's not easy for a video game to do. But that's just what Halo did, and Halo did it right. Though the story is not totally elaborate (that happens in the sequels), it's more than enough to create an interesting and exciting atmosphere for the game.
Depth: 6Halo came along pretty early as far as first person shooters go. This is why it was so groundbreaking when it came out and had as much as it did. In addition to the ten levels on four different difficulties, Halo had one of the earliest multiplayers that is comparable to those we know today. It also has several different weapons and vehicles that the player can use throughout the game. Unfortunately, it is held back by its lack of flexibility in game play, instead opting for a more linear setup. There is not much exploring to do or bonus content to find, because there is no more than point A to point B.
Difficulty: 5Halo's difficulty system works great. On easy, Master Chief is practically immortal. On Legendary, it can take considerable time to complete one level. Because of this, difficulty is ultimately up to the player. Beside the difficulty system, there are no real roadblocks that make the game more difficult than it is intended to be.
Overall: 9Halo: Combat Evolved is a classic Xbox game, and rightfully so. It helped define the first person shooter, and also kicked off one of the most successful shooter franchises there are. Halo's game play works very well, giving the player plenty of opportunity to kill aliens, whether it be with his rifle or with the front bumper of his warthog. Despite the linear game play, Halo proves to be a great game for shooter fans everywhere.
Graphics
7 Sound
9 Addictive
8 Depth
6 Story
7 Difficulty
5