I know this review is a bit late, but I didn\'t have enough money at the time for both an X-Box and a Gamecube, but through a little bit of fortune and with the grant from a very generous loved one, I now own one and Halo is but one of the three games I now own. Anyways, here\'s my (late) review.
Halo: Combat Evolved
To start off, I would like to say just how difficult this review has been to write for several reasons. The first one being that this is a PS2 forum and I can totaly understand the reservations a good portion of you all have against the X-Box and against Microsoft in general. In fact, I share quite a few of those same reservations about the system and the company, but that isn\'t even the half of my difficulty in writing this review.
The most difficult aspect was that after I had played the game sufficiently over the course of four or five days beating the single player twice, once by myself and a second time with a good friend of mine as well as testing out the multiplayer aspect of the title, I had a hard time starting this review. Not because I wanted to approach the game as objectively as I could, but because I wanted to keep playing. The more I wanted to write and the more I wanted to say, the more I just wanted to stop and go back to wiping the Covenant off the face of Halo. That alone should be a testament to just how good this game is, but it doesn\'t end there and I would never leave any of you gamers hanging in the wings.
Graphics
With me, First Person Shooters are strange things. I always felt they were meant for the PC and it all started way back when on the Super Nintendo with ID\'s Doom. The controls were always so awkward and the way the game was viewed in this low resolution low FPS always hurt my eyes and gave me a headache in just a short half hour of play.
Today, a mere seven years later, console FPS games still irk me the same way with the exception of Medal of Honor for the original PSOne and at times, Goldeneye for the N64, except for when I had to aim above or below the horizon line. Otherwise, unless it was on the PC, I could expect the game to give me a headache as soon as I started playing. Even Red Faction suffered from that same issue. However, for some reason, Halo never brought me that same headache pain and the controls were good enough as too never really get annoying for any reason, but I\'ll get into that moreso later.
Typically, FPS games are filled with nameless soldiers, useless enemies, and hordes of different masses that will soon meet a gruesome end by your hands and your rocket launcher, but thanks to the polygon pushing power, the reflection mapping, and several different lighting effects, each character is beautifully animated casting their own shadows with themselves and the muzzle flashes of their weapons. What\'s so great about all this? It\'s how immersive it makes the world around them.
There are a few flaws with the graphics however, namely the framerate. At thirty FPS, I don\'t complain much so long as it\'s constant through any and all sections of the game. Unfortunately, when Halo chokes, it chokes hard causing a huge bout of slowdown that renders the game nearly unplayable in every aspect. Fortunately, the bouts of slowdown that occur are roughly few and far between. Most of the game is spent wading through hordes of enemies with utterly no slowdown at all and that is a big plus. It\'s too bad the framerate isn\'t a constant 60FPS, but what it offers on screen in its place is quite amazing.
Gameplay
I am a firm supporter of the keyboard\\mouse combination with PC FPS games. The ability to turn and move as you would in real life can only be dusplicated with that combination allowing the mouse to control your head basically and the keyboard to control your speed. The combination of the two can not be duplicated on any console and even with the release of Halo, I still feel that that combination is the only true way to control FPS games.
That\'s not to say that the X-Box controller doesn\'t make a worthy attempt. In fact, I feel the single player missions control quite remarkably with the controller to the point that it\'s almost on par with the Medal of Honor games. What\'s bad is that for certain actions, you must relinquish control over the right analog stick (which direction you are facing) in order to hit a specific button. Reloading, switching grenades, turning on a flashlight, dropping a weapon, swithing a weapon, and attacking someone with a melee attack can not be done unless you let go of the right analog stick. Suffice it to say, using melee attacks on the weaker enemies is rendered worthless on enemies that move around a lot since you can\'t follow them as quickly as you\'d want to.
Control issues aside, the game is incredibly engrossing telling of an original story that has a couple of great plot twists for the player to discover. Unfortunately, when the twists begin, so does the back tracking. About half the game is spent going back over the other half of the game in reverse encountering the same corridors, the same switches, and the same areas. Alhough new enemies and new obstacles inhabit the areas, it\'s not enough to make them feel new and fresh like the rest of the game. In other words, because Halo is so beautiful and original in its execution at the start, you\'ll be yearning for that same style once you reach the end.
Gripes aside, the best part of Halo is the enemy AI. Taking a few cues from Medal of Honor, the enemies react properly to your actions gradually increasing in intelligence as the game progresses. They run from grenades, hide under cover, and out-flank your position. Additionaly, each enemy react differently with their abilities. Elite Covenant soldiers will stand tall against you and try and fend you off with their plasma rifles, but single grunts will run from you and regroup with others for a more formidable stand. It\'s great to see this level of intelligence in your enemies for a game that is so linear as this one, but with the addition of different types of enemies, weapons, and intelligence, the way you approach your battles makes you rethink your run-in with guns blazing strategy.
On top of all this, there are vehicles. That\'s right, glorious glorious vehicles. We\'re talking about Warthog Jeeps, enormous tanks, Covenanrt hovercraft, and Banshee attack aircraft. What\'s great about these beauties is that they all have unlimited supplies of weapons, unlimited fuel, and are fairly powerful. Controlling these things, unlike controlling yourself, is incredibly easy. One analog stick controls your motion while the other changes your direction. It\'s so easy that after a little bit of practice, you\'ll be negotiating corners and turns almost as soon as you hop into the vehicle.
All these things coupled together along with some great multiplayer features make this game very addictive and incredibly fun. Destroy the Flood, destroy the Covenant, destroy your friends and become the ultimate Master Chief cyborg soldier. More than anything else, I honestly wish this game had online play, but if the rumors are true about Bungie and Microsoft releasing an upgrade disk later this year which will include new game modes and online play, then I don\'t really have much more to complain about. It\'s great fun overall.
Sound
I want this soundtrack. It\'s probably one of the best soundtracks I have heard for a game in awhile even though it is underplayed and changes through roughly 6 or 7 different tunes. The music is superb and I love it the most about the whole game. The sound effects are familiar, but the 5.1 surround sound really makes the game immersive as you listen and hear all sorts of enemies from different parts of the map talking, screaming, and writhing in agony.
The voice work is also very nice sporting decent talent here and there for the narrative. It\'s not MGS2, but it\'s definitely worth the listen. The voice talent is what makes the story flow and I am very thankful that the actors hired are not total lamers.
Lasting Appeal
As I said in the beginning, even after I beat the single player twice and tested out the multiplayer, I wanted more. I feel that the replay value could have been even greater with online play (just imagine you and two friend in a jeep storming a fortified base), but beggers can\'t be choosers and I am very pleased with what the game offers regardless.
Bottom Line
Halo is a great game that is both fun and addicting. There are a few things I would have preferred changed about it, but I\'m sure if given more time, Bungie surely would have made those things happen. It truly is a great game and those who are ducking the X-Box for whatever reason are really missing out on a great FPS title.
Final Score: 9.3/10
