Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox One) Review

An all-time classic.

 It's the game that launched Microsoft's first-ever home console, changed the first-person genre, and is one of my all-time favorite games; it's Halo: Combat Evolved! Released way back in 2001 as a launch title for the original Xbox, it was regarded as the must-play game on the system. It's success spawned a PC port and franchise which consists of multiple games, books, and so on. For it's tenth anniversary, the game received an HD remake in the form of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary for the Xbox 360. A couple of years later and Halo, alongside its sequels, were bundled up for the Xbox One in the form of the Halo: Master Chief Collection, which is the edition that I'm playing. Halo was my first FPS that I remember playing back in middle school. I spent hours on end playing the multiplayer mode with my friends and soon after would go on playing the remainder of the games. I'm such a big fan of the game that I proudly consider it to be one of the best games that I've played. But enough of the long introduction, it's time to finally talk about the hit game that started it all.


 Taking place in the distant future, humanity's United Nations Space Command (UNSC) forces are at war with a galactic alien race known as the Covenant. You take the role of the recently awakened Spartan solider Master Chief as must fight back the pressuring forces of the Covenant while also uncovering the mystery behind the giant ringworld called "Halo". Though Chief is mostly alone in the adventure, he's accompanied by his wisecracking AI partner, Cortana. Other side characters include Captain Keyes, your straightforward, no-nonsense commanding officer and the demented AI program 343 Guilty Spark, who has a tendency of condescending you on multiple occasions. While not on the epic levels of subsequent games, Halo manages to tell a straightforward story that's not short on excitement, twists, and mystery.

Join the Chief on a gripping space adventure.

 Halo is a first-person shooter where you control the Chief as he treks through Halo. Chief's cool suit grants him an energy shield which briefly protects him from harm and an active sensor that scans enemy activity. In almost each level, you start out with two weapons: a basic assault rifle and handgun. As you fight your way through Covenant forces, you'll be able to pick up their more cooler weapons such as the rapid-firing Plasma Rifle and the Needler, in which its spikes lock into enemies. My favorite of the bunch are the Plasma Grenades that stick on enemies when thrown, ensuring they definitely blow up. I felt that the weapons were unique and each felt balanced, with ammo being placed at just the right amounts to prevent you from sticking on a single one for long.

The gameplay is great with excellent weapons 

and at times, intelligent enemies.

 One aspect that was praised back in the day was the game's AI. Noted for being intelligent and responsive to your commands, it impressed a lot of fans and critics. I'm on the fence on this as while the enemies do group together to strategically pressure you, I often times just found standing there doing nothing when I was a couple of centimeters in their line of sight, which was baffling at times. Moving on, enemies come in all varieties ranging from the wimpy grunts to the more skilled elites to the tank-like hunters, whose only weakness are their exposed backs. There's also more tougher variants that come in red; these guys are stronger and have more defensive power. I especially hated the golden elites who carry an energy sword that can instantly kill you. Worse yet, they're often clocked and can ambush you when your guard's down. Without spoiling too much, the game's packed with enough enemy variety to keep you on edge at all times.

Enemies can move around and try to ambush

you when if you're not careful.

 To spice things up, there are various points during levels where you're free to explore the environment either on foot or by riding vehicles from UNSC or Covenant forces. These include the Warthog, an off-roader with a mounted machine gun that sits two other UNSC soldiers that can join you; the Scorpion, a huge tank that carries serious firepower; the Ghost, an agile Covenant hover bike that can shoot plasma cannons; and the Banshee, a Covenant aircraft that fly you to higher ground. The vehicles were fun to drive and I enjoyed roaming around the levels, though I felt that the unconventional controls could take a while to get used to.

There's a good selection of vehicles to 

explore some of the game's big areas.

 Admittedly, the game is so-so on the level design. There are some great levels that I liked such as "Halo", where you freely explore the ring for the first time while fighting back Covenant forces and driving around the Warthog. Another one is "Truth and Reconciliation" which starts you out at night, stealthily sniping enemies until you make your way to the enemy warship. However, the worst one has to be "The Library", which isn't as bad as some make it out to be, but it's not the most fun. Basically, it has you endlessly walking through huge, dull-looking hallways while facing off against some of the game's most annoying enemies, the Flood. Unlike the Covenant, they don't take cover or strategically pressure you, they just outright gang up on you as swarms, easily killing you. That and the level itself tended to overstay its welcome as it drags on and on. It doesn't help that after that, the later levels were rehashes of earlier ones, so you're not seeing anything new.


 Being a game that's over 18 years old, it's clear that Halo has shown its age. At the time, it was the most cutting edge game on the Xbox but by today's standards, it just looks plain janky. Fortunately, the Anniversary edition is a straight 1:1 remake with new assets and textures being used for character models and backgrounds. With just a press of the select button, you can switch between the classic and new visuals instantly. The new visuals give the game a fresh coat of paint, which should ease newcomers and please veterans as well. I found it especially handy when navigating through the library, where there's more variety as opposed to the original's bland hallways.

The updated visuals give the a more modern look.

 The voicework is awesome with memorable performances from Steve Downes and Jen Taylor as Master Chief and Cortana, respectively. One cool tidbit is that grunts will often yell cowardly in English when you're gunning them down, which pretty funny on a few occasions. I'm gonna say it right away: the soundtrack is straight up legendary. Composer Martin O'Donnell did a fantastic job at creating tense yet ambient tracks that nail the mysterious and lonely mood of the game. I would often get scared out by the soundtrack when I was younger, though after recently playing the game, I grew to outright adore it. Some of my favorites include the likes of the atmospheric tracks such as "Opening Suite", " A Walk In The Woods", "Ambient Wonder", "Under Cover of Night", "Rock Anthem For Saving The World", and "Halo".

 Halo: Combat Evolved is my favorite first-person shooter! It's also one that holds up extremely well by today's standards. I loved the mystery surrounding the story and the memorable characters as well. The gameplay is engaging with the shooting being a lot of fun. There's enough variety in the form of weapons and vehicles to keep you hooked throughout the game. That and the presentation is fantastic with the fresh coat of paint, great voice acting, and terrific soundtrack. Halo took me around 8 hours long, which isn't much by today's standards, but it doesn't overstay its welcome. I'd easily recommend that newcomers start with The Master Chief Collection to experience the game that started it all while also having the option of changing to the newer graphics. Halo: Combat Evolved is my all-time favorite Halo game and one that I can see myself playing for years to come.