Halo In Review

[Samael 35]

The television screen was dark, monks chanting softly, slowly building up to a beautiful menu for Halo: Combat Evolved. Those of us old enough to remember the original Xbox should remember this well. Millions of fans cherished this simple yet wondrous game. The controls fit perfectly, the weapons balanced each other flawlessly, with high powered bullet hoses to a Magnum that didn't know when to quit, leaving wielders and receivers shivering and yelling for more. The enemies were enough of a challenge solo or co-op to keep you playing it over and over again, with levels that made you want to explore, even though it was a linear story without side quests as we have in most games today. Halo also had a variety of maps for all manner of slaughterfests so players could kill the ever-loving crap out of their friends in split screen, LAN, or online with the PC version.

 

Fans couldn't get enough when Halo 2 hit shelves. Most gamers didn't even know it came out until they walked past and dropped to their knees in marvel in aisles all over the world. After mopping up their drool over the Master Chief beckoning them with dual wielded SMGs, fans found a new slightly less blocky world. Earth needed a hero and we just so happened to have battle rifles. Also, after years of envying those blasted Sangheili, we finally got the mighty energy sword. After going through the entrancing story which tag-teamed between the Master Chief and the oh so shamed Arbiter, one could find skulls which made the game even more fun. Mind you, obtaining them was not for the faint of heart as they only appeared on legendary, or as most of us called it, curse word after curse word followed by “Ha! mother fu†before being cut off by more cursing.

 

After a long and arduous journey through one of the hardest Halo games of all time, we arrive on the online battle field. Xbox Live was just blossoming and it was perfect for Halo. After a long wait and a new system, players got their hands on Halo 3. Sadly, even though it fell short of being quite as epic as Halo 2 it was quite enjoyable. The Flood went from being something to fear to something to laugh at, and the Brutes could never replace the mighty and very annoying Elites, yet it had its own challenges. This was the first Halo to include achievements (aside from Halo 2 PC), the epic and exhilarating Forge, still in its youth, a multiplayer battle system that had its moments of glory and its moments of shame, and a theatre where you could watch all the teabagging, frag grenading, and Mongooses getting hit by Brute choppers you could possibly imagine. 

 

ODST offered a story from the view of an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper stranded from his team in a dark city. Covenant littered the streets, both alive dead; well, mostly dead after you rolled through. Contrary to popular belief Bungee didn't get rid of shields, just weakened it and called it stamina instead. ODST may have had no slayer aside from the Halo 3 multiplayer disc, but what it did introduce was Firefight and the most holy of artifacts, Recon, which had to be unlocked by getting seven of some of the most annoying achievements I personally have had to get. 

 

The next installment is Halo Wars. This real time strategy was the first Halo to have beautiful cut scenes. But Halo Wars was not without its own flaws. For example, the level where you had to rescue Forge and Anders from Hhunters and other Covies had a nasty habit of glitching your cursor inside the wall, forcing you to restart the entire level. Halo Wars was the perfect blend of challenge, length, and custom modes to keep it interesting. However, the multiplayer was a touch lackluster outside of Skirmish. 

 

The next installment of the legendary era of Halo was Halo: Reach. This was by far the best Halo ever made in my opinion. Its story was amazing, the graphics were beautifully crafted, the weapons were deadly in a master's hands, forge was at its pinnacle with its only drawback being limited to a single, massive world, and it was the only campaign to rival Halo 2 in difficulty. Bungie did away with the fifty system which led to level lock, bringing in the credit system, which again had its drawbacks such as boosters. The lobbies acted much like the glory days of Halo 2 and replaced the BR with the DMR. Weapon bloom was annoying at first, but timing proved victorious to rapid pulls of the trigger. Sadly The Flood was not present and the Spartan 4s didn't fit in with the established story of Reach, but the Spartan customization that it allowed made any die hard Halo fan overlook that slight speed bump. 

 

Sadly the days of Bungie passed and 343 stepped In. They remade Halo: Combat Evolved with Halo 2 queued up for sometime in 2014-15, which earned them the respect of Halo fans. Halo 4 dropped and billions of fans flocked in, to see the worst explosion in Halo history. Halo 4 innovated Halo, some say for the better, I say for the worst. However, Halo 4 did have a interesting storyline; if it was a stand alone game it would have been a much better success.

[Badfur 13]

The television screen was dark, monks chanting softly, slowly building up to a beautiful menu for Halo: Combat Evolved. Those of us old enough to remember the original Xbox should remember this well. Millions of fans cherished this simple yet wondrous game. The controls fit perfectly, the weapons balanced each other flawlessly, with high powered bullet hoses to a Magnum that didn't know when to quit, leaving wielders and receivers shivering and yelling for more. The enemies were enough of a challenge solo or co-op to keep you playing it over and over again, with levels that made you want to explore, even though it was a linear story without side quests as we have in most games today. Halo also had a variety of maps for all manner of slaughterfests so players could kill the ever-loving crap out of their friends in split screen, LAN, or online with the PC version.

 

Fans couldn't get enough when Halo 2 hit shelves. Most gamers didn't even know it came out until they walked past and dropped to their knees in marvel in aisles all over the world. After mopping up their drool over the Master Chief beckoning them with dual wielded SMGs, fans found a new slightly less blocky world. Earth needed a hero and we just so happened to have battle rifles. Also, after years of envying those blasted Sangheili, we finally got the mighty energy sword. After going through the entrancing story which tag-teamed between the Master Chief and the oh so shamed Arbiter, one could find skulls which made the game even more fun. Mind you, obtaining them was not for the faint of heart as they only appeared on legendary, or as most of us called it, curse word after curse word followed by “Ha! mother fu†before being cut off by more cursing.

 

After a long and arduous journey through one of the hardest Halo games of all time, we arrive on the online battle field. Xbox Live was just blossoming and it was perfect for Halo. After a long wait and a new system, players got their hands on Halo 3. Sadly, even though it fell short of being quite as epic as Halo 2 it was quite enjoyable. The Flood went from being something to fear to something to laugh at, and the Brutes could never replace the mighty and very annoying Elites, yet it had its own challenges. This was the first Halo to include achievements (aside from Halo 2 PC), the epic and exhilarating Forge, still in its youth, a multiplayer battle system that had its moments of glory and its moments of shame, and a theatre where you could watch all the teabagging, frag grenading, and Mongooses getting hit by Brute choppers you could possibly imagine. 

 

ODST offered a story from the view of an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper stranded from his team in a dark city. Covenant littered the streets, both alive and dead; well, mostly dead after you rolled through. Contrary to popular belief, Bungee didn't get rid of shields, they just weakened it and called it stamina instead. ODST may have had no slayer aside from the Halo 3 multiplayer disc, but what it did introduce was Firefight and the most holy of artifacts, Recon, which had to be unlocked by getting seven of some of the most annoying achievements I personally have had to get. 

 

The next installment is Halo Wars. This real time strategy was the first Halo to have beautiful cut scenes. But Halo Wars was not without its own flaws. For example, the level where you had to rescue Forge and Anders from Hhunters and other Covies had a nasty habit of glitching your cursor inside the wall, forcing you to restart the entire level. Halo Wars was the perfect blend of challenge, length, and custom modes to keep it interesting. However, the multiplayer was a touch lackluster outside of Skirmish. 

 

The next installment of the legendary era of Halo was Halo: Reach. This was, by far, the best Halo ever made, in my opinion. Its story was amazing, the graphics were beautifully crafted, the weapons were deadly in a master's hands, forge was at its pinnacle with its only drawback being limited to a single, massive world, and it was the only campaign to rival Halo 2 in difficulty. Bungie did away with the fifty system which led to level lock, bringing in the credit system, which again had its drawbacks such as boosters. The lobbies acted much like the glory days of Halo 2 and replaced the BR with the DMR. Weapon bloom was annoying at first, but timing proved victorious to rapid pulls of the trigger. Sadly The Flood was not present and the Spartan 4s didn't fit in with the established story of Reach, but the Spartan customization that it allowed made any die hard Halo fan overlook that slight speed bump. 

 

Sadly the days of Bungie passed and 343 stepped In. They remade Halo: Combat Evolved with Halo 2 queued up for sometime in 2014-15, which earned them the respect of Halo fans. Halo 4 dropped and billions of fans flocked in, to see the worst explosion in Halo history. Halo 4 innovated Halo, some say for the better, I say for the worst. However, Halo 4 did have a interesting storyline; if it was a stand alone game it would have been a much better success.

[Samael 35]

The television screen was dark, monks chanting softly, slowly building up to a beautiful menu for Halo: Combat Evolved. Those of us old enough to remember the original Xbox should remember this well. Millions of fans cherished this simple yet wondrous game. The controls fit perfectly, the weapons balanced each other flawlessly, with high powered bullet hoses to a Magnum that didn't know when to quit, leaving wielders and receivers shivering and yelling for more. The enemies were enough of a challenge solo or co-op to keep you playing it over and over again, with levels that made you want to explore, even though it was a linear story without side quests as we have in most games today. Halo also had a variety of maps for all manner of slaughterfests so players could kill the ever-loving crap out of their friends in split screen, LAN, or online with the PC version.

 

Fans couldn't get enough when Halo 2 hit shelves. Most gamers didn't even know it came out until they walked past and dropped to their knees in marvel in aisles all over the world. After mopping up their drool over the Master Chief beckoning them with dual wielded SMGs, fans found a new slightly less blocky world. Earth needed a hero and we just so happened to have battle rifles. Also, after years of envying those blasted Sangheili, we finally got the mighty energy sword. After going through the entrancing story which tag-teamed between the Master Chief and the oh so shamed Arbiter, one could find skulls which made the game even more fun. Mind you, obtaining them was not for the faint of heart as they only appeared on legendary, or as most of us called it, curse word after curse word followed by “Ha! mother fu†before being cut off by more cursing.

 

After a long and arduous journey through one of the hardest Halo games of all time, we arrive on the online battle field. Xbox Live was just blossoming and it was perfect for Halo. After a long wait and a new system, players got their hands on Halo 3. Sadly, even though it fell short of being quite as epic as Halo 2 it was quite enjoyable. The Flood went from being something to fear to something to laugh at, and the Brutes could never replace the mighty and very annoying Elites, yet it had its own challenges. This was the first Halo to include achievements (aside from Halo 2 PC), the epic and exhilarating Forge, still in its youth, a multiplayer battle system that had its moments of glory and its moments of shame, and a theatre where you could watch all the teabagging, frag grenading, and Mongooses getting hit by Brute choppers you could possibly imagine. 

 

ODST offered a story from the view of an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper stranded from his team in a dark city. Covenant littered the streets, both alive and dead; well, mostly dead after you rolled through. Contrary to popular belief, Bungee didn't get rid of shields, they just weakened it and called it stamina instead. ODST may have had no slayer aside from the Halo 3 multiplayer disc, but what it did introduce was Firefight and the most holy of artifacts, Recon, which had to be unlocked by getting seven of some of the most annoying achievements I personally have had to get. 

 

The next installment is Halo Wars. This real time strategy was the first Halo to have beautiful cut scenes. But Halo Wars was not without its own flaws. For example, the level where you had to rescue Forge and Anders from Hunters and other Covies had a nasty habit of glitching your cursor inside the wall, forcing you to restart the entire level. Halo Wars was the perfect blend of challenge, length, and custom modes to keep it interesting. However, the multiplayer was a touch lackluster outside of Skirmish. 

 

The next installment of the legendary era of Halo was Halo: Reach. This was, by far, the best Halo ever made, in my opinion. Its story was amazing, the graphics were beautifully crafted, the weapons were deadly in a master's hands, forge was at its pinnacle with its only drawback being limited to a single, massive world, and it was the only campaign to rival Halo 2 in difficulty. Bungie did away with the fifty system which led to level lock, bringing in the credit system, which again had its drawbacks such as boosters. The lobbies acted much like the glory days of Halo 2 and replaced the BR with the DMR. Weapon bloom was annoying at first, but timing proved victorious to rapid pulls of the trigger. Sadly The Flood was not present and the Spartan 4s didn't fit in with the established story of Reach, but the Spartan customization that it allowed made any die hard Halo fan overlook that slight speed bump. 

 

Sadly the days of Bungie passed and 343 stepped In. They remade Halo: Combat Evolved with Halo 2 queued up for sometime in 2014-15, which earned them the respect of Halo fans. Halo 4 dropped and billions of fans flocked in, to see the worst explosion in Halo history. Halo 4 innovated Halo, some say for the better, I say for the worst. However, Halo 4 did have a interesting storyline; if it was a stand alone game it would have been a much better success.

[Badfur 13]

Looks good to me, I'm okay with it being published.