You are the last of your kind. Bred for combat, built for war, you are master of any

weapon, pilot of any vehicle . . . and fear no enemy.

You are, Master Chief.



TITLE: Halo Combat Evolved NTSC
PUBLISHER: MS
DEVELOPER: Bungie
DATE RELEASED: 2002
Xbox System Link: Up to 16 players with 4 Xboxs
ESRB: M




This is easily one of the, if not the best game there is available for Xbox right now. This is also the best first person shooter that has ever been released, but there are just a few flaws that keep it from being perfect.

Control: 10/10

The control scheme in this game has got to be one of the best setups ever created for a first person shooter on a gaming console. It is fluid, and quick moving and you will always be able to control your character to his fullest ability. The default control setup goes like this: the L trigger is used to toss grenades, the R trigger is used to fire weapons, the Black button switches between plasma and fragmentation grenades, the White button turns on your flashlight,the B button does melee attacks to enemies, the Y button switches between your two armed weapons, the X button reloads, or picks up another weapon that you have found, the A button jumps, the Left joystick moves Master Chief forward and backwards, as well as strafing left and right, the R trigger turns him left and right, and has him look up and down, pushing in on the left joystick has him crawl, and pushing in the right joystick enables you to zoom in with weapons that have zoom capability. You can change it to inverted aim, and inverted flight control. Another first time feature I have seen in a first person shooter is the ability to change the look sensitivity for your controller. This helps some people in multiplayer who love to sit and snipe their enemies all the time. This makes it easier for them to control their crosshair and rack up kills easier.



Gameplay: 9.9/10

The gameplay in this game is just simply amazing. The computer A.I. is some of the most advanced I have yet to see in a game. It makes for a very challenging experience no matter what difficulty you decide to play on, and will keep you going for hours. Enemies are now smart enough to come after you in packs, and if you take out the stronger enemies first, then the weaker ones run away until they can gather more people to help them out. If the elites, or little guys are outnumbered, they will hide behind things so you won't know where they are, and then pop out and chuck grenades at you or ambush you from behind. Bungie has allowed you to get in vehicles such as a tank, a banshee which is a flying alien aircraft, a warthog which is just a offroad jeep basically, and one or two other things that will make your gameplay experience just that much better. Your marines who help you in battle are also fairly smart as well, but they die pretty easily. Bungie has also made it realistic in the fact that the Master Chief can carry only two weapons on him at a time, but he can switch them at will. Most of the levels are designed really well, and the story is incredible and really keeps you wanting you to know what happens next. There is one specific level that is pretty horrible designed. They could have made it better, but I can see where they're coming from when they developed this level. You basically just do the same thing over and over four times in a row. All the other levels are devloped really well, and are fun and call for strategic actions when playing them. Most of the levels take around an average of an hour or so, but if you play several of them on legendary then it could take you three hours because of certain areas you get stuck on. The multiplayer in this game is incredibly fun. You can get up to 16 people playing simultaneously in teams or by themselves going at it in many different modes. There are probably around 20 match types including death match, capture the flag, snipers, rockets, invisible, tag, and many more. You also have the opportunity to modify each type to your fitting, such as having infinite grenades, or all vehicles available in the level. They also created some awesome levels for these multiplayer games. They have some big and spacious levels, that are very exciting to fight in, that make for great sniping arenas. Others are very small and closed in that makes for some heated combat but if playing with a more skilled player, it may make it boring or frustrating for someone else who isn't so skilled.



Graphics: 10/10

The graphics in this game are another amazing feature. It is just outstanding how much big and massive these levels are. There are usually around 5-10 enemies on screen at one time, plus the marines and your player, they manage to get all this on screen without any slowdown. You can also see the ring, which is Halo, from pretty much every outdoor level which just shows how much time and effort they put into designing each of these levels. Explosions in this game are very realistic looking, even though some of them are blue fire instead of normal colored because of the plasma grenades that the Covenant carry. The many vehicles that you are able to control throughout the game look seamless and amazing. The banshee is done really well for a flying vehicle. The two weapons it carries look sweet, especially when you shoot the green grenade like weapon and you see it blow up killing a bunch of enemies. The blood is also sweet looking in this game as well. When you shot enemies the blood sprays out of their bodies and into the air. If they were standing in front of a wall, then the blood will stain the wall with whatever color their blood is, may it be purple, blue, or the nasty brown color blood that the flood have. The enemies all look equally amazing, and the character design is great. They all run realistically, and their bodies look amazing. The best example of the detail put into the characters would be on the Hunter from the covenant. His armor is highly detailed, as well as his body parts and weapon. The explosion his fuel rod gun makes as it hits a person or wall is just downright impressive. The green blast just looks awesome and reminds me of some toxic grenade blowing up.



Sound: 9.9/10

Yet again, the sound in this game is amazing. The music plays along really well when you get to certain points in each level, and it really makes your anticipation rise upon seeing certain things. When you come upon a long stretch of area that is towards the end of the level, the bass increases, and the beat begins to go faster and faster. They also play music louder depending on the situation you are at, and the tempo and things are controlled by this as well. They also play music depending upon which enemies you are facing as well. When going up against hunters, they also play louder and faster music, which is very helpful when trying to play out your strategy to beat the current level or area you are in. The enemy noises are incredible, and are funny as well. When you come upon a group of grunts by themselves, they all squeal, start yelling, and go running around saying "he's here" and stuff like that. Other enemies will say stuff such as "bow down to me" and things of that nature. It's actually quite interesting to just sit there for a minute or so and listen to the enemies talk and stuff. The different noises enemies make and stuff also helps out your strategy immensely, making it so you don't just go rushing into a room that will carry elites and hunters or something. The only negative thing about the sound is the fact that it doesn't support the ripped soundtrack feature, but the music is good enough that people rarely complain about it.



Overall: 9.8/10

Overall this is one amazing game, and is definitely one of, if not the best first person shooter I have ever played. It is immensely fun, and with the multiple difficulties and multiplayer options, this game will keep you occupied for a long long time.

excellent

thanx

You've earned the Master Chief's stamp of approval .

GREAT GAME. My first bought xbox game (came with xbox) good times, good times

good review
but there are some things i would like to discuss

controls:
i wouldn't say the controls for the game is the BEST, i think its the same as any other game
except on how to say that you like it how R=shoot L=grenade, as far as i know not many games do it like this

graphics:
i was impressed be the graphics by this game. you usually expect the first batch of games to have low graphics but this sure did make an impression

sound:
i can' agree with the sound of this game, its just like anything else, nothing really special about it
and as for the music, i see what your saying, when the action starts and the musics starts going, it supposivly gets up pumped up

gameplay:
i liked this game when it first came out, but now its boring, i didn't like the 3 hour long levels
but if you play this for the first time you'll think its awesome

i really can't give ratings on this, im agreeing and disagreeing with you and i can't seem to make up my mind but i would give this game
overall: 7.5/10

i think this is a good rating for someone who doesn't even like the game
im trying to look beyond the gameplay, and see the features of this game
i think its unique on how the game was, but as i said for me it gets really boring and there are other games that i would rather play

i would also like to note that i really like the fact that you put screenshots in your review, thats the first time ive seen this on this site
i wish to see more people do this

lol... too many reviews on this game ohh well personally I would give halo 8.5 out of 10.... only because Halo 2 will be 10 out of 10 Anyway good review and excellent game!

You all are bunch of kiss asses, want me to prove it, THE GAME CAME OUT IN 2001, YEA EVER ONE HURRIED TO THE LAST PART .. lets check the score I hope its not like a 5 or 6.

First off all when Xbox Came out with HALO, GameSpy Tunnel wasn't even available and giving a game suck a high score is ridiculous. HALO is considered a great First PERSON SHOTTER on a console because of the great controls, mostly all FPS games on console arn't as easy to handle as HALO, as far as STORY is concerned, MGS2 had 100 times better, and MGS2 had better production value.

Personally I would have knocked a few points off for such repetitive stages. You often feel as though you have been there before or as though you are going round in circles.

I guess thats the only game on Xbox thats why people tak about it alot. No kidding Halo 2 will be great but I man SHOOTERS on a CONSOLE ?

I personally don't understand why everyone loves halo...

Things they should have fixed in halo:

1: More weapons. (I like a plethora of weaponry at my disposal, not the same pistol I've had since level 1. And why is the pistol the most powerful weapon in the game??)

2: Less annoying grunts. (I don't understand the reson behind the systematic slaughter of oompa-loompa look alikes.)

3: Covenant alien language. (Shouldn't they be speaking their own language instead of english? You didn't hear British troops shouting German phrases to each other during WW2.)

4: More unique levels. (The creators apparently went to the "copy and paste" school of level design. Or maybe the covenant designed their ships to be really boring to make the enemy lose interest half way through the battle.)

5: More enemy types. ("Well, almost at the end now... oh another grunt... BUT HE'S ORANGE THIS TIME! That makes him different than the other five hundred.")

6: A reason to play it a second time. (They could have added some unlockables or something. After playing it through once I had no reason to ever play it again except for multiplayer.)

From what I've read about halo 2, it's going to be halo 1, but with one or two new guns, a few new monsters, and new copy and paste levels. Sounds like a winner.

hey nothing deserves s 10/10 because umm there always room for improvemnt other than that good review and also ,yuor overall would of been a 9.9 not a 9.8 ,i added it up becaused it seemed funny to me

i rule at halo and those who dare question me will be ruled on by me and my team

Ohh, debate..

Well the controls are the best, simply because for most folk Halo is the first Xbox or even console FPS you will ever play, so they become intuitive, and yes they fit in excelently with the gameplay.

All games should have the "Cheif" control option for controls just like MoH has obviusly it wont work for everything but it really pisses me off when im playin R63 and start pressin Y to swap weapons

Also, the graphics are great, Truly they are. For a game so old I still get impressed. I remember people "raving" about the level in Riddik where you have the flashlight on the end of your gun in the dark areas and how "amazing" the effect was. I simply agreed and said how I was "just as amazed" 2 years ago

On a final note the music is so good I would buy the soundtrack if I could find it not many soundtracks evoke this kind of emotion..

I agree its not a perfect game, by far, single player gets boring and its a chore to get through some of the levels. Lack of extra enemys is also one thing that peeved me, but its not as bad as you remember.

However multiplayer rules AND co-op is a great feature.

If you dont like halo, im shocked......... Halo was the first game I played when i got my xbox on Nov 17 01 ..... And the game is amazing ..... There are about 7 guns in the game and pistol is the best ..... Only for some .....

If ur speed sensativity is 5- 6 u can master the pistol.... If ur speed is 1 - 4 u can master the sniper.......

the speeds above 6 are for going crazy or if u have very stable control on ur weopon u can have above 6 .......
The game is great, the story mode is great and the graphics are way better than any other 1st person shooting game.....

Story mode is great ... U cant see masterchief and thats what makes u feel like ucontrol him .... It can be anyone udnr the armor and mask ........

any ways.... i use the pistol and I can take anyone on the web with my friend....

u can see me on xbox connect im 1244 RxP and my friend 1244 RxVG ...

Alright. Here's the thing. You guys who say that Halo sucks, just be aware that anything that doesn't kick ass about the game, would have kicked ass except for the time constraints (remember, they had to practically remake the game because it was originally intended for Mac). Sure the game was a little short, but it has great replayability. In fact, I still sometimes find myself playing Halo on days when I have nothing to do.

As for you people saying that shooter games are only meant for PC, you must remember that just because your taste in games differs from others', that doesn't give you the right to put them down.

I will be playing Halo 2 tomorow when I get it so, being a Halo fan, I will be able to see if the 3 years of waiting was worth it. You people saying that Halo 2 sucks, why don't you actually go out and buy the game? Perfect example: I thought that RS3:BA sucked and I went around saying that I would never get it. But when I played it, I thought it was awesome. I haven't played the original since.

All I'm saying is, give the Halo series a chance. I think that some of you guys don't like it only because it's "the big game" or something and you think that it's taking some of the glory away from the little guys. It got to where it is because of how good it is. It has survived the bad reviews of non players such as yourself and earned itself the title as one of the best games of all time. Halo rocks.

thanx