Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (Master Chief Collection) Review

By this point in time, the story of Halo: Combat Evolved is well known to most people. Following the events of Halo: Reach, the Pillar of Autumn crash lands on the ringworld of Halo. The humans and the Covenant proceed to complicate matters even further when they loose the parasitic Flood and endanger the entire galaxy. I first played Halo: Combat Evolved when it was released for the Xbox in 2001, so it was definitely a fun and nostalgic experience revisiting this beloved story.

The plot of Halo: Combat Evolved is great. This was definitely not the first story of its kind, but it was definitely the most memorable of my early adolescence. I still believe that the Flood introduction is excellent and, if you’re playing through the game for the first time, it is a crazy twist that you definitely don’t see coming. The characters leave much to be desired, as they really only exist as plot devices, but that is a minor complaint when it comes to first-person shooters from 20 years ago.

Story: 5/5

My biggest complaint about Halo: Combat Evolved is that some aspects of the gameplay have not aged well. The shooting still feels very satisfying, though today it also feels pretty simplistic. Without any cover mechanics, the straight run-and-gun style gets tedious after a while. Towards the end of the game, I found myself avoiding as many enemies as possible because I was simply tired of pumping bullets into them until they died.

A large contributing factor to this is the fact that most of the indoor environments are similar and boring. Don’t get me wrong, the outdoor portions are beautiful. However, those metallic gray corridors and open rooms got really tiresome really fast. The Flood did not help this feeling, either. While I love the story behind the Flood, they are extremely not fun to fight. There’s nothing worse than randomly getting blown up by a rocket from out of nowhere as you’re trying to fight off a swarm.

I realize that Halo: Combat Evolved is 20 years old, so I will try not to complain too much about the AI. Both the allies and enemies are rather dumb, though they have occasional moments of tactical brilliance. It was frustrating to discover that the AI wouldn’t drive the Warthog, thus making it impossible to act as the gunner in any circumstance.

Gameplay: 2/5

I remember the original Halo: Combat Evolved being stunning for its time. The first time I stepped out onto the ringworld of Halo and looked up into the sky, I was blown away. I realize that was 20 years ago and perhaps nostalgia is tainting my memories, but the Anniversary edition definitely does not disappoint when it comes to the graphics. As I’ve stated previously, all of the outdoor environments are gorgeous.

Likewise, the sound effects and soundtrack are just as amazing as I remember. The music swells and amplifies the combat scenarios, and the ambient music really makes the game feel like an alien experience. The voice acting is all well done and still holds up today, with Jennifer Lee Taylor’s Cortana being the standout performance.

Graphics, Sound, Voice Acting: 5/5

Overall, I enjoyed Halo: Combat Evolved. Some of the missions were a lot more tedious than I remember, and the Flood were definitely more frustrating. Despite these few shortcomings, Halo: Combat Evolved told an interesting and complex story that kept me engaged from beginning to end.

Final Score: 8

Halo: Reach (Master Chief Collection) Review

The plot of Halo: Reach follows the events of the Covenant’s attack on Reach, and begins with Noble Team discovering the invasion. Having only ever played Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, it was intriguing to witness where the story truly began. I also really thought it was cool to see how Cortana made it onto the Pillar of Autumn and get a few, albeit vague, insights into her origin. The various members of Noble Team were also somewhat interesting, though I feel like their diverse appearances and ethnicities superseded any real sense of personality that could have distinguished them. Because of this, the numerous deaths that occur didn’t impact me as much as they could have.

I enjoyed most of the locations that the Halo: Reach campaign explored, with the majority of them being memorable. Fighting through the ruined city on Reach was really cool, and felt like I was actively attempting to repel the Covenant incursion. The missions that took Six into space to engage the Covenant in ship battles were also really awesome, as well.

Story: 4/5

One thing that doesn’t seem to have changed since Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 is the gameplay, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Halo: Reach maintains the frantic feel of battle and the satisfying feeling of killing Covenant aliens. One of my biggest complaints about the combat is that any gun without a scope feels bad to use, since so many enemies rely on precise shots to defeat them. This resulted in me using very few weapons throughout the game, and feeling significantly disadvantaged if they weren’t available.

I also found that the friendly AI is pretty bad in most cases, and letting them drive any sort of vehicle is not a good idea. This becomes a problem in certain encounters, such as engaging in a fight with two Hunters and your team-mate stands in a corner instead of distracting them. I really appreciated that Bungie changed up the gameplay loop a little and added some space combat and flying missions, and I enjoyed both of those aspects quite a bit. Having only played the first two entries in the Halo series, it was also cool to have other Spartans participating in combat. I just wish there had been more tactical choices and better AI involved.

Gameplay: 3/5

There are some really beautiful and breathtaking moments in Halo: Reach. I have never played the original game, but I couldn’t find much to complain about graphically when it comes to the remastered version. I did experience some minor audio desynchronization in cut-scenes, but I found the voice acting itself to be great on all accounts. Halo always excelled in the sound department when it came to weapon effects and alien voices, and that is true about Halo: Reach as well. Likewise, the music here is also incredibly well done. There are moments in tense firefights when the soundtrack ramps up and greatly enhances the experience, and the music during the sad moments accomplishes the same effect.

Graphics, Sound, Voice Acting: 5/5

Overall, I really enjoyed Halo: Reach. It was a fairly short but action-packed journey that gave me a new perspective on Halo. Despite its flaws, namely characters that I ultimately wasn’t invested in, Halo: Reach manages to combine fun and exciting gameplay with an intriguing story.

Final Score: 8