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Dont worry about low-end systems

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 16
Date: April 27, 2005
Author: Amazon User

A lot of the reviews I read before buying this games said that you need the best computer to run it. This is not true. I have an eMac G4 1Ghz, ATI Radeon 9200 32Mb Video Card and a 17" screen. This game runs fine even at medium graphics settings. Although there are some choppy glitchy parts, I noticed this also occured on some of my other friends' higher-end computers on the same settings. I would recommend getting it for Xbox although it is better to be played with a mouse and keyboard rather than a game controller.

On another note, those parents who keep track of what their kids are playing, do not let the M rating of this game prevent you from letting your kids play it. Rent it for Xbox or buy it used and then sell it back if it doesn't suit your standards. I would compare this game to many T games that I have played, such as Golden Eye: Rogue Agent, Metroid Prime, the 007 James Bond games, Mercenaries, and Star Wars: Battlefront. Most of the explicit content of the game can be disabled or won't even be noticeable during gameplay. The main thing that I have noticed to be a problem is the blood on the ground. Just a tip: You can turn this off in the Options Menu by locating the choice called Decals and disabling it. Other than that, there isn't really any other content that should require an M rating.

Let me add one more thing. If by chance some paranoid parent thinks that their kid might enable anything that they have disabled, trust me. Unless your kid just lives to annoy you and make you mad, they wont because they will be so thankful to you for getting this game for them, they won't do anything that might have a chance of taking it away.

REMEMBER!!!!!! Runs fine on a G4 1 Ghz Mac with a ATI Radeon 9200 Video Card....(The video card is standard for any eMac or iMac G4 or G5

Play it long, Play it hard!!!!!

Another Game to Remain in Your Collection Forever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 15
Date: July 29, 2005
Author: Amazon User

If you like FPS games (first person shooter), then you have probably heard about Halo. My Friends have the advantage of having an Xbox right (because of Halo)? Well as far as I knew Halo was only on Xbox and PC. It made me mad because after playing Halo multiplayer it was a blast and I couldn't even imagine how good the single player game would be. All I have is a Playstation 2 and a Mac. I thought to myself that Bungie (the creators of the game) would come out with a Mac version because their very first games like Marathon and Pathways were only for the Mac! And they were a great mac company. And what do you know, Halo comes out on Mac. I WAS SO HAPPY. I decided before I bought the game I might want a game pad similar to the Xbox controller because that is what i'm used to playing against my friends. So I look around on the net and I found the absolute perfect thing, an Xbox controller USB adapter that plugs in the USB port of your Mac or PC. So I can play Halo on my Mac with the Xbox controller set to the xbox controls!!!!!!!! Just like having an
xbox with Halo. (...) I could not find it anywhere else!!! It's another great buying site like amazon.com but is shipped from Hong Kong. Also if you want a free demo of Halo (which is awesome) go to macgamefiles.com. The demo offers the single player level "The Silent Cartographer" and online multiplayer with the map Bloodgultch!!! TRUST ME THE ONLINE MULTIPLAYER WILL CAPTIVATE YOU FOR HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS. There is also an additional feature for the computer versions of Halo and that my violent friend is the flamethrower! YA THAT'S RIGHT!
Well I really hoped I have helped you make a decision on this game. Give that demo a try also and trust me on the Xbox controller idea.

Lata killas....

Things to know before you buy Halo for the Mac!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 13 / 17
Date: January 07, 2004
Author: Amazon User

To play Mac Halo you need two things:
1. An unbelievably fast computer (preferably with an ATI Radeon 9600 card or newer)
2. An unbelievably fast internet connection

Anything less will lag you out and frustrate you. Especially if you're used to the lag-free world of Xbox Halo. Yes, this game has some steep requirements to get it to play smoothly. (The proper video card alone costs more than an entire xbox console and Halo game combined.)

Halo on the Mac is fun, of course Halo in any carnation is fun, but Mac Halo does have it's downsides - especially when compared to the console version.

Halo Mac does not support FSAA (full screen anti-alliasing) which means the graphics have bitmapped edges that are coarse. Xbox Halo does support FSAA.

Halo Mac does not currently support gamepad use. The PC version of Halo does, but Mac does not. So you'll need to be quite familiar with mouse/keyboard play.

The weapon attributes in Halo Mac are not exact to weapon attributes in Xbox version. Below is a list of how the weapons differ from the Xbox version:

PISTOL - Target reticle is way too large - which is annoying, it has a shorter range and it's weaker than the xbox pistol.
ASSAULT RIFLE - Much weaker than xbox version
GRENADES - They don't throw as far as xbox version, you have to look up much higher in order to throw farther
ROCKET LAUNCHER - weaker

The only weapons that seem unchanged are the alien weapons, the shotgun and the sniper rifle.

Halo on the Mac seems less competitive, most servers are filled with noobs who do nothing but team kill. It's hard to find a good CTF or slayer game. The browser for finding servers lacks interface options. No chat rooms, no server invites, etc. It is possible to find a good server with good players, but you'll have to be patient.

Halo Mac doesn't allow for co-op playing in the regular game mode unlike in the xbox version. This time, you'll have to go it alone.

Some of the mulitplayer maps you've come to love have been altered slightly. Sidewinder for example - the teleporter in the roof section of the bases now is a two-way porter. Meaning you can go through it and come back through it. This changes things dramatically for CTF strategy on this level.

Too many vehicles:
Some levels, in default mode, include new vehicles as well as the old vehicles. Everywhere you look there are vehicles. Blood Gulch starts to look like a parking lot. It's a little ridiculous. Thankfully you can create your own games and specify how many vehicles you want.

NOW FOR THE GOOD THINGS ABOUT HALO MAC...

The reason I bought this game was to play on the new multiplayer maps. There are 6 brand new maps (along with all your favorite maps from the xbox version). The maps are:

-Death Island
-Ice Fields
-Timberland
-Gephyrophobia
-Danger Canyon
-Infinity

Of these new maps Death Island and Danger Canyon are my favorites. All the maps are really cool and provide for the development of new strategies and tactics to make the most out of them. I have not been disappointed with any of these levels and you won't be either.

New weapons:
There are 2 new weapons in Halo Mac, and they are both pretty cool.
Flame Thrower - fun weapon to use, good for guarding a flag with
Fuel Rod Gun - almost as powerful as a rocket launcher, except with rapid fire - deadly weapon

New vehicles:
-Wart Hog with a Rocket Turret
I still like the orginal warthog better (don't worry, it's in this game too.) This new Hog has a rocket turret, but the rocket shoots really slowly.
-Banshee
Halo Mac allows you to fly the Banshee, a Covenant ship from the single player game. The Banshee is a tough nut to crack when one is attacking you. This is a favorite vehicle for new players because they can take off and avoid death more easily.

Easier multiplayer access. Halo Mac allows you to hop into games with other players quickly and easily without having to hook up 6 xboxes to each other or without having to play online via XBconnect or Gamespy. However, the lag can be intolerable if your computer isn't up to snuff. I like that I can now get into games quickly.

Overall: Halo Mac is a great game and certainly better than most games out there. The new multiplayer maps alone are worth the purchase. Halo xbox LAN games are still the best for insane multiplayer, but Halo Mac is pretty good and really fun too. Halo Mac is a good appetizer until the main course...Halo 2...hits shelves this Spring.

I can run it on my iBook

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 12
Date: July 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I don't get why everyone can't seem to run Halo very well on all these high end machines. I can run the single player without lag on low/medium graphics on my 800MHz G3 640MB RAM. I can even run the multiplayer on medium/high graphics. I can run it better than my roomates 2GHz pc. I guess you just have to fool around with the settings and find the one that works.

You do need a fast connection to play the multiplayer though.

Ho Hum

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 24 / 43
Date: October 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

As Penny Arcade put it, Halo has become a "cultural phenomenon", perhaps of a level nearing the phenomenon that was Half-life/Counter-strike. When one is confronted by a game that consistently scores 5/5 on most review sites one would expect the game to be revolutionary.

Halo is, however, anything but. The enemies are stupid (i don't mean that their AI is lacking, but rather, that they are programmed to be invalids and cowards) and excessively numerous. There were many times where I found myself in a gun turret, with my hand off the keyboard, holding down the fire button and leisurely offing fifty or sixty enemies.

After you've gunned down about a thousand incompetent fools who yell "run away, he'll kill us all!" things start to get a little boring.

Halo lacks interesting level design, an interesting story, interesting weapons, or even interesting gameplay. The things that would be "revolutionary" about Halo would be the use of vehicles during combat, and the occasional squad-based skirmish. However, Battlefield 1942 has both of these factors, and in greater amount. There were about five different vehicles in Halo, and there are forty plus vehicles in BF1942.

The worst part about Halo was the massive onslaught of weak enemies. Instead of battling a few, well trained enemies that would offer some kind of challenge, you fight against seemingly endless waves of pitiful enemies.

Perhaps the only thing I found of value in the game was the tactical use of grenades, and the ability to only carry two weapons. The latter would have been much more limiting and interesting if there were more than seven or eight weapons to begin with.

Bottom Line: Halo leaves much to be desired. If you're looking for a first-person shooter with a variety of vehicles, look to Battlefield 1942. If you want squad-based or tactical/realistic action, Counter-strike will leave neither you nor your wallet hungry. And if you want an action packed blow-em-away multiplayer game, they you should look no further than the Unreal Tournament series. If you want unispired level design, a weak story and microsoft (re: really, really bad) physics, than grab yourself some halo.

Some Mac issues - but awesome fun.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: January 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I have a 1.25Mhz G4 iMac with a 17" screen. It is roughly two months old. Halo is the first software title that I've bought since getting the iMac. When I installed it and started playing the first time, I was horrified ... I thought, "I've spent $2,200 for an iMac that doesn't even have the guts to run this game?" If you are having this problem, or if you've experienced the same thing and haven't upgraded to Panther ... do it now. Once I upgraded to Panther, Halo started playing great. Without Panther, the cut scenes were awful. The characters' looked like sticks, and their mouths stayed open when they talked, exposing their teeth. It looked more like resident evil than Halo. With Panther, however, those problems have been fixed.

Graphically, I'm a little disappointed. But I bought my Mac for my design work, not gaming.

Game play, however, is awesome. Online play with my DSL connection is seamless. Sound is great.

I am not at all disappointed that I bought the game. I would recommend it. I wish I could see it in all of it's glory ... but now that I'm hooked, I have a feeling there's an Xbox and Halo 2 in my future.

Exhilirating title...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: January 29, 2004
Author: Amazon User

"Now as a great Halo fan, I was looking for to this for months." This quote, notwithstanding the grammatical error, would've been more believable if the reviewer had stated "years" rather than "months". The keyboard/mouse combo for Halo is the way Halo was meant to be played. This allows for precise aiming and avatar control in a much tighter span of time than with a gamepad- all first person shooter fans understand the difference- even those who own Halo on both the XBox and the Mac (like myself)- moreso for those trying to enter an online fray with a gamepad... they find out, as I once did, that gamepad first person shooter players will ALWAYS be trounced by keyboard/mouse players...

The improvement in gameplay made possible by the mouse/keyboard combo aside, I quickly found out why this game is so addictive. It's the intelligence with which the player must approach all skirmishes/battles from beginning to end. The nearby enemies, the type of enemies, your weapons, your health, the surrounding area- all must be taken into account. A quick, visual poll of the enemies, based on the level of difficulty you're playing on, dictates both the enemy's attack patterns and the difficulty involved in disposing of them.

Everything from trees, barrels, walls, windows, dividers are taken into account when you go for cover- especially when you're trying to allow your shield to build back up from being bombarded by attacks.

Now the afore-mentioned would quickly make most other games a bit tedious after awhile... but that's where Bungie's trademark comes in- the storyline. The storyline, like much of your immediate surroundings in this game, is far from linear and quite far from expected. It's not just based on sci-fi/fantasy... it's like playing through an action-laden science fiction book.

The fun stops when you find yourself barely keeping your eyes open and having to go to bed to wake up in a couple of hours for work... or coming up with a lame excuse as to why you couldn't go see you're loved one that day... lol

Have fun!

I am updating this review (as of 7/7/04) with newer system specs for this game. The only things that have changed are; an operating system version update and a video card replacement. But why bother updating for that? The OS update isn't anything major; 10.3.2 when I first wrote this, 10.3.4 as of this writing. The video card change made one HECK of a difference, though- I usurped my OEM Radeon 9000 Pro with a Radeon 9800 Pro and all I can say is WOW! This is one heck of a card and Halo really shines with it! The games 1. plays smoother with this card and 2. actually looks like the XBOX version!

With the Radeon 9800 the water looks more realistic, the lighting effects are stupendous (even off the weapons!) and the fluidity made me feel great about that 9800... made me play Halo all over again!

HALO Combat Evolved Mac OS

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: October 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Over the past month this has been a truly addictive game. Just the campaigns have had me cringing and jumping out of my seat. The graphics are nifty, even on my somewhat modest dual 867 Powermac G4 with a paltry 32 MB of VRAM. If the campaigns are cool, the multiplayer action is downright marvelous! I connect via gameranger and play for hours against whoever is out there in myriad settings and game types. I am considering upgrading my machine in the hopes that there are more HALO titles coming! Kudos to whoever is responsible for porting this so that we few trivial Mac gamers can enjoy a taste of what the rest of the world is playing...albeit a few years later:-(

excellent first-person shooter with a few minor flaws

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: January 15, 2004
Author: Amazon User

At first I wasn't too impressed by the graphics of Halo. Having heard all the hype about the game, I was expecting a more beautiful and dense rendering, but the game play makes up for it.

Good things: a great storyline with varied tasks (including indoor and outdoor missions), awesome settings, multiple vehicles (including jeeps and planes), long levels, frequent checkpoints, lots of different weapons and villains, seamless loads and saves, stability.

Bad things: occasional slow-downs during "busy" segments, and you have to keep picking up new weapons (but they're usually readily available)

Excuse me -- now I have to go back and play it again!

INTEL MAC OWNERS BEWARE!!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: January 06, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I just purchased this game after getting my new 24" Intel iMac (dual 2.16ghz, 2gb RAM w/ 256mb GeForce GT 7600 upgrade) and I am very disapointed with the Intel port (2.0). On my monster machine it runs at 15-20 FPS on nominal graphic settings, even at 800x600 with all textures on normal. I don't know what MacSoft did with the 2.0 universal update but it runs like an absolute dog on my high end iMac.

To put this into perspective: DOOM 3 maxes out at 60FPS (and 60FPS is the built-in limit for DOOM 3) for 95% of the game on the same machine. Oh, and that is running at 1920x1200 on the highest possible detail, so it's not 'lacking the grunt' so to speak.

My friend has a Powerbook G4 1.5mhz with a 32mb video card and Halo 1.5 (PPC) runs faster than it does on my new high end iMac... So if you're planning on buying this to play on an Intel Mac DO NOT DO IT, YOU WILL BE VERY DISAPPOINTED.

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