Game Informers Halo Review!

Here it is straight from this month\'s Game Informer:

HALO
THE XBOX ESSENTIAL

The hype on the street for Xbox has gone from good, to bad, to who knows what, but all along everyone looked to Halo as one of the premier titles, and a benchmark for how the system would be judged. Whenever my phone rang while I was reviewing Halo, the people on the other end would ask how good it was and then instantly ask the question of the day: "If it\'s just a first-person shooter, how different and revolutionary can it be?"

While I didnt get the chance to finish Halos eight gigantic levels before deadline, from what I did see, Halo does offer a lot to make it one of the most impressive, if not THE most impressive, first-person shooter consoles have ever seen.

Playing the role of Master Sergeant, you are a super trooper who is seen as the savior in a war to uncover the horrible secrets of a mysterious ring-world known as Halo, and to crush mankind\'s sworn enemy, the Covenant. Since its a war and not an "one man against the world" scenario, you find yourself fighting alongside your troops throughout the game. This is one of the amazing things about Halo, since the combat can become a frenzy of enemies coming from all sides and friendlies frantically blasting while trying to hold a position. If you think it sounds cool. wait till you see it in action with bullets and explosions going off everywhere.

Even better is that you come across friendly troops, they will tell you (via voice-overs) how happy they are that you are there to save their butts, and then update you on the situation at hand. Plus, the troops will always work to take out the enemy, leaving you the opportunity to flank or use other strategies to destroy the vile Covenant.

The gameplay itself is incredibly smooth, and is one of the instances where the Xbox controller really shines. As expected, there are lots of weapons to wield- from shotgun to sniper rifle to needler guns- both of the human and alien variety. But since the alien force is so strong, youll quickly discover that grenades are one of your best friends and are critical for clearing the alien swarms that seem to pop up around every corner.

The player is also not limited to just standar first-person fare. There are diferent places of hardware you get along the way, including buggies (where you can drive or be the gunner), gun turrets, and stolen Covenant flyers.

While there really isn\'t enough space to go on about all the great features Halo has going for it, the most impressive thing to note is the fact that the whole adventure is seamless. When the Xbox hits the streets, every player will want to get their hands on a copy of Halo- it\'s really that outstanding. It may not be a system-seller to the masses, but the hardcore players will love its intense action. Sixteen-player LAN deathmatcehs and multiplayer co-op are icing on this already delicious cake.- ANDY

Bottom Line 9.5
Concept- As super trooper Master Sergeant you take the lead role in an intergalatic war.
Graphics- Fantastic environments and characters
Sounds- Literally hundreds of voice overs that give the gamer a feeling of really being there
Playability- Standard first-person shooter fare, but created for console play, so its very easy to aim even without the benefit of a mouse
Entertainment- If you have ever dreamed of being on the front lines, this is your chance
Replay Value- Moderately High

The game sounds like a riot

anybody want to lend me the time and money

They have an X-Box and one of the most anticipated launch titles and that weak-ass \'review\'/regurgitation of the PR sheet is all they can do. I could have written that review without even playing the game.

Where\'s Ryu when you need him?

Ryu sold out, don\'t you remember?


Eric Jacob

What kind of criteria is that?
Entertainment? Playability? Concept?

If by playability he means gameplay its kindo of sad that the best thing he could say to describe it was that its "Standard first-person shooter fare, but created for console play, so its very easy to aim even without the benefit of a mouse."

Oooh, its easy to aim without a mouse! Clearly this is one of the gameplay\'s more outstanding points.

It sounds like a good game from all I\'ve heard about it, but like ddaryl, I have neither the time or the money.

Originally posted by kangu-G^Ltt^s
What kind of criteria is that?
Entertainment? Playability? Concept?

If by playability he means gameplay its kindo of sad that the best thing he could say to describe it was that its "Standard first-person shooter fare, but created for console play, so its very easy to aim even without the benefit of a mouse."

Oooh, its easy to aim without a mouse! Clearly this is one of the gameplay\'s more outstanding points.

When they say "playability" they\'re talking about controls, not gameplay.

Where\'s Ryu when you need him?

Sadly, I won\'t be playing any X-Box games for at least a year.  Fortunately, there will be a PC version of Halo, at least I hope there will be, with all the things that this game is missing.  A PC port with all the high multiplayer features is almost a requirement.

Ryu sold out, don\'t you remember?

I don\'t work for any X-Box or PC sites.

Ryu, what did he mean by you selling out?

Lovin\' the avatar, by the way.

Originally posted by Nu Gundam
Ryu, what did he mean by you selling out?

Lovin\' the avatar, by the way.

He got hired by a magazine or webzine or something.  He can\'t post his reviews of games on this forum anymore because of it.  I\'m sad we won\'t see any more of his reviews at this forum, but I\'m glad that Ryu is using his talent to help himself.

Ryu, who do you work for now?

I\'m on standby for writing at the moment.

For my PS2 reviews, previews, and feature articles, hit up http://psera.com.  You won\'t find any of my NEW reviews on the site until the site relaunches with its new design.  However, four of my reviews are on the site right now including ZOE, NBA Street, GT3, and one other that escapes me right now along with my extensive MGS2 preview I wrote awhile ago around E3 2000 and ECTS 2000.

For my GCN and GBA reviews, previews, and feature articles, hit up http://gcadvanced.com.  I won\'t start writing for them until I actually HAVE a Gamecube unit November 18th so you can check them out.  They have a really nice web design as well.

For my Anime DVD reviews, hit up http://anime-entropy.com.  I will be writing for them about Kenshin, Street Fighter, Macross, and many other animes out there to build the greatest anime information site on the net.  Their site will open once their redesign finishes and it will be very detailed.

[/self-promotion]

Sounds cool Ryu.  I can\'t wait to read your Street Fighter anime review.  I loved that movie, but I guess I\'m a little biased.

This is how Game Informer rated all Gamecube and XBox games in their 103rd issue:

Three Gamecube Games:

Luigi\'s Mansion 9/10
"If you can overlook the strange nature of this title, the gameplay is brilliant and up to par with Miyamoto\'s best."

Super Monkey Ball 8.5/10
"It\'s a simple, yet brilliant, concept that harks back to the earlier days of video games, when all that mattered was pure gameplay."

Waverace: Blue Storm 8.5/10
"My only strikes against this game are that the levels of eerily familiar to the Nintendo 64, and the graphics aren\'t quite as clean as many of the other games we\'ve seen on the Gamecube."

Four XBox Games:

Halo 9.5/10
"Halo is one of the most impressive, if not THE most impressive, first-person shooter consoles have ever seen."

Tony Hawk\'s Pro Skater 2X 8.5/10
"I originally though this release was going to be overkill, but Activision saved the best for last, and I loved every second of it."

Madden NFL 2002 9.5/10
"This Madden doesn\'t better the PS2 edition, but it\'d be a cryin\' shame if you didn\'t pick it up on launch day."

4x4 Evolution 2 7.5/10
"The environment looks incredible... You\'ve got a fun game that\'s definitely good, but should have been better."

IMO, Game Informers is more generous giving out scores than ps2.ign.com.