I’ve never been much of a first-person shooter kind of guy. So it may come as quite a surprise that I really enjoyed the Original Xbox exclusive “Halo Combat Evolved”. Halo has become one of if not the biggest reason why the Xbox is a console to be reckoned with. After two decades, can this game still deliver on the entertainment value today as it did back then? Let’s find out.
Now I will admit that the story goes many places so I might not be able to give a clear synopsis of the basic plot of the game but to sum it all up, sometime in the 26th century an alien species called the Covenant is at war with military space marines and it’s up to a super soldier called master chief who is the last of the enhanced super soldiers to help aid the others in battle. Later, Master Chief escapes a destroyed ship through the escape pod and lands on a strange planet with a Halo ring in the sky. Master chief soon discovers that there is more going on the planet he crashed on as he makes new allies and finds new enemies.
Much like any of the Good Star Wars movies, Complicated storylines and lore is not required to fully understand when playing the game. Sure, the story can act as a bonus if you can follow along with it, but in hine site, the game’s main objective is to run around areas of a level and shoot off alien enemies while exploring the many areas you come across. The graphics are definitely of the times, but back then it still is impressive looking for a game that came out at the beginning of the 21st century. The levels are a good mix between open-world exploration and confined spaceship hallways. There are many enemies to defeat and weapons to collect. The regular first-person controls are smooth and functional and I like that you can have the option to make the game’s levels easier or harder depending on your experience.
My only complaint that I have with the overall game is the driving mechanics. Instead of using the main buttons for gas and the left analog stick for driving you instead have to push up with the left analog stick for the gas and use the right analog stick to turn your vehicle. It’s not the worst thing ever and I appreciate the game for trying something different with its mechanics, but it would have been better if they used the traditional driving controls as it would have been easier to make more precise turns especially when it comes to the last level.
Amazingly, this game managed to surprise me in ways in a lot of interesting ways and this is coming from someone who’s doesn’t get into Rated M first-person shooter like games. While I wouldn’t as far as to say it’s my favorite game of all time, Halo is an impressive first-person shooter that has a cryptic and edgy sci-fi setting, simple yet effective game mechanics, and a great sense of action and adventure. I enjoyed this game and I honestly can’t wait to play the next one after this.
(Grade: B+)