I'm fairly new to the gaming scene. Growing up, games didn't interest me very much. It wasn't until my teens that I began to grow a fascination with gaming, and the unique experience interactive storytelling can provide. However, my introduction to the gaming world was mostly on PC, so in December of 2020 when I purchased 343's Master Chief Collection, I went into the world of Halo almost completely blind, with few preconceived notions, and no knowledge of the universe it contained. My unusual introduction to the games have given me some unique takes that I hope may be valuable for first time players, and offer a slightly fresher perspective.
NOTE: This review will not be covering multiplayer. I suck at it and therefore cannot give it an unbiased review.
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I decided going into Halo that I would play the series in release order. I figured doing so would give me the most "pure" experience, as I would be playing the games in the order they evolved technologically, stylistically and thematically. I knew in doing this though, that I'd be playing the older, and harder-to-get-into games first, but I was determined not to let my 2010s gamer brain interfere with my experience too much. Nonetheless, Halo: Combat Evolved was a bit of a rocky start for first-time-player-me. I knew going in that the game was an older style, and that it was slower-paced than the style of action shooter games I was more familiar with. After all, this is partially what makes Halo such an important milestone in gaming: it made combat function fluidly and enjoyably on consoles, and a large part of doing this was making slower-paced gunplay and movement attuned to a controller's sensitivity. In Early missions though, I found that I had trouble learning the exact way the game wanted me to handle situations. The enemy design in Halo is very good, and there are clear strategies to evading, and taking out the various aliens you'll fight, but I couldn't seem to figure them out. The problem was that I had not learned the game's intended way of playing. If I had, I would have probably had a much better introduction to the Halo series.
This brings to the biggest issue I have with Halo: CE: The game doesn't give you very much info about how to play it. The decision of how much information is given to the player is somewhat of a stylistic choice in the game industry, and I don't think it's always bad to choose less over more. Little info on weapon stats can push you to experiment with the game's arsenal more, and it's perfectly acceptable to teach a player the tactics the enemies use by showing their behavior instead of telling you about it. However, Halo I believe suffers from the lack of insight it gives you, because the ideal method to playing Halo clashes with the little bit of insight the game DOES give you. The first mission heavily emphasizes the importance of your shield, utilizing cover around halls and arenas, and knowing which enemies to let your allies pick off for you. Combine this with the game's slower movement speed, and I gained a false impression that Halo was a slow, strategic game with methodical, midrange combat. I ended up approaching the game too much like Half Life, and used too many hit and run tactics around tanky enemies, only melee attacked things from behind to avoid taking fire, and several times, tried to kill everything ONLY as a last resort. I realize now Halo is NOT meant to be played this way, so much so to a degree that a lot of Halo fans don't even like to refer to the game as a "cover shooter" (although the series did pioneer a lot of mechanics for this particular fps genre). I now know most fights in the campaign are best fought by charging right into them. You should locate a few spots to take cover in if your shields get low IN ADVANCE, and seek out and direct your fire at the higher health enemies. You should swap out weapons frequently so you don't get stuck reloading at a bad time. If grunts and jackals become too numerous for your squad-mates to handle, then use melee attacks to kill them to conserve ammo.
Once I figured out how to fight like the one-man army Master Chief is supposed to be in the games' canon, I began to have a lot more fun with the combat. Only then I could properly appreciate the enemy design, and how things I had previously found awkward like the long jump distance and crouching were really useful for dodging attacks. I still find the movement in Halo: CE to be on the dated side, (to this day, I wish there a roll-dodge mechanic seeing as the NPC marines all have one, and it is very helpful for keeping them alive) but when you know how to attack and hold your ground properly, the combat feels very natural, and you start to have a lot of fun thinking of ways to adapt and finish off what you're fighting while you're engaged in the heat of battle, instead of frantically dodging fire, trying to chip away at some magenta Elite's shield, and then scrambling to the nearest medkit or container you jumped out from behind.
Halo CE's campaign is hands-down fantastic. There are some great AI scripted moments which I won't spoil, and the level and arena design is very good. All the corridors, tunnels, bridges and rooms you traverse are designed to match the combat system, but are not without challenge, and are satisfying to overcome. Another great thing about Halo CE, is how open a lot of combat is to the player. The amount of weapons and vehicles the game has throughout its campaign alone is stunning, but what CE deserves a lot of credit for even today is how everything is balanced and has a purpose. There are advantages and disadvantages to every vehicle, human and Covenant alike, but there are still methods and opportunities to use all of them several times. Similarly, there are no extraneous feeling items. While you need to know how to play Halo's combat system to enjoy it, once you have the system down, you have a lot of freedom to experiment with guns you prefer, strategize with the vehicles the game gives you, and have a very personalized experience. This is a defining element of Halo and among the reasons the games are so beloved. I think CE actually achieves this element to the best extent in the series, for future games would introduce new weapons and vehicles that were cool, but more suited for specific in-game sequences. Halo CE is also very good at storytelling. Although it has the most basic plot in the entire franchise, the way the game presents you with several questions and answers few, while making you traverse beautifully mysterious set pieces accompanied by Martin O'Donnell's haunting ambient pieces will certainly invest you in the world you are taking part in.
Although I had a rough first playthrough of Halo CE, it is by all means a great game that I give an unenthusiastic 8.5/10 to. However, my gripe with the game's disconnect between the tutorial levels and the actual combat-loop still concerns me enough that I actually do NOT recommend this game to first-time Halo players. It nearly messed up my impression of Halo, I don't want it to mess up other new players'. I ultimately did not regret my decision to play the Halo saga in release order, but I think that if you want to have the best blind introduction to the franchise, you should play Halo 2 or Halo Reach first. They do a better job teaching you the Halo combat system better than CE, and because of this, you can play them knowing nothing going in and have a pretty good time. If you do want to play the Halo saga in its entirety like I did, playing Halo CE first will pay off, but I DO NOT RECOMMEND going into it blind like I did. Watch some playthroughs of the missions, read some articles about how to face the different enemies, and learn how the various weapons work. See how long-time players play and get the most enjoyment out of the game. You'll have a lot more fun and the more dated qualities of the game will become less detracting.
NOTE: This review will not be covering multiplayer. I suck at it and therefore cannot give it an unbiased review.
**************************************************
I decided going into Halo that I would play the series in release order. I figured doing so would give me the most "pure" experience, as I would be playing the games in the order they evolved technologically, stylistically and thematically. I knew in doing this though, that I'd be playing the older, and harder-to-get-into games first, but I was determined not to let my 2010s gamer brain interfere with my experience too much. Nonetheless, Halo: Combat Evolved was a bit of a rocky start for first-time-player-me. I knew going in that the game was an older style, and that it was slower-paced than the style of action shooter games I was more familiar with. After all, this is partially what makes Halo such an important milestone in gaming: it made combat function fluidly and enjoyably on consoles, and a large part of doing this was making slower-paced gunplay and movement attuned to a controller's sensitivity. In Early missions though, I found that I had trouble learning the exact way the game wanted me to handle situations. The enemy design in Halo is very good, and there are clear strategies to evading, and taking out the various aliens you'll fight, but I couldn't seem to figure them out. The problem was that I had not learned the game's intended way of playing. If I had, I would have probably had a much better introduction to the Halo series.
This brings to the biggest issue I have with Halo: CE: The game doesn't give you very much info about how to play it. The decision of how much information is given to the player is somewhat of a stylistic choice in the game industry, and I don't think it's always bad to choose less over more. Little info on weapon stats can push you to experiment with the game's arsenal more, and it's perfectly acceptable to teach a player the tactics the enemies use by showing their behavior instead of telling you about it. However, Halo I believe suffers from the lack of insight it gives you, because the ideal method to playing Halo clashes with the little bit of insight the game DOES give you. The first mission heavily emphasizes the importance of your shield, utilizing cover around halls and arenas, and knowing which enemies to let your allies pick off for you. Combine this with the game's slower movement speed, and I gained a false impression that Halo was a slow, strategic game with methodical, midrange combat. I ended up approaching the game too much like Half Life, and used too many hit and run tactics around tanky enemies, only melee attacked things from behind to avoid taking fire, and several times, tried to kill everything ONLY as a last resort. I realize now Halo is NOT meant to be played this way, so much so to a degree that a lot of Halo fans don't even like to refer to the game as a "cover shooter" (although the series did pioneer a lot of mechanics for this particular fps genre). I now know most fights in the campaign are best fought by charging right into them. You should locate a few spots to take cover in if your shields get low IN ADVANCE, and seek out and direct your fire at the higher health enemies. You should swap out weapons frequently so you don't get stuck reloading at a bad time. If grunts and jackals become too numerous for your squad-mates to handle, then use melee attacks to kill them to conserve ammo.
Once I figured out how to fight like the one-man army Master Chief is supposed to be in the games' canon, I began to have a lot more fun with the combat. Only then I could properly appreciate the enemy design, and how things I had previously found awkward like the long jump distance and crouching were really useful for dodging attacks. I still find the movement in Halo: CE to be on the dated side, (to this day, I wish there a roll-dodge mechanic seeing as the NPC marines all have one, and it is very helpful for keeping them alive) but when you know how to attack and hold your ground properly, the combat feels very natural, and you start to have a lot of fun thinking of ways to adapt and finish off what you're fighting while you're engaged in the heat of battle, instead of frantically dodging fire, trying to chip away at some magenta Elite's shield, and then scrambling to the nearest medkit or container you jumped out from behind.
Halo CE's campaign is hands-down fantastic. There are some great AI scripted moments which I won't spoil, and the level and arena design is very good. All the corridors, tunnels, bridges and rooms you traverse are designed to match the combat system, but are not without challenge, and are satisfying to overcome. Another great thing about Halo CE, is how open a lot of combat is to the player. The amount of weapons and vehicles the game has throughout its campaign alone is stunning, but what CE deserves a lot of credit for even today is how everything is balanced and has a purpose. There are advantages and disadvantages to every vehicle, human and Covenant alike, but there are still methods and opportunities to use all of them several times. Similarly, there are no extraneous feeling items. While you need to know how to play Halo's combat system to enjoy it, once you have the system down, you have a lot of freedom to experiment with guns you prefer, strategize with the vehicles the game gives you, and have a very personalized experience. This is a defining element of Halo and among the reasons the games are so beloved. I think CE actually achieves this element to the best extent in the series, for future games would introduce new weapons and vehicles that were cool, but more suited for specific in-game sequences. Halo CE is also very good at storytelling. Although it has the most basic plot in the entire franchise, the way the game presents you with several questions and answers few, while making you traverse beautifully mysterious set pieces accompanied by Martin O'Donnell's haunting ambient pieces will certainly invest you in the world you are taking part in.
Although I had a rough first playthrough of Halo CE, it is by all means a great game that I give an unenthusiastic 8.5/10 to. However, my gripe with the game's disconnect between the tutorial levels and the actual combat-loop still concerns me enough that I actually do NOT recommend this game to first-time Halo players. It nearly messed up my impression of Halo, I don't want it to mess up other new players'. I ultimately did not regret my decision to play the Halo saga in release order, but I think that if you want to have the best blind introduction to the franchise, you should play Halo 2 or Halo Reach first. They do a better job teaching you the Halo combat system better than CE, and because of this, you can play them knowing nothing going in and have a pretty good time. If you do want to play the Halo saga in its entirety like I did, playing Halo CE first will pay off, but I DO NOT RECOMMEND going into it blind like I did. Watch some playthroughs of the missions, read some articles about how to face the different enemies, and learn how the various weapons work. See how long-time players play and get the most enjoyment out of the game. You'll have a lot more fun and the more dated qualities of the game will become less detracting.