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Great launch title for the X-Box, will be hard to follow

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 07, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Simply put, this is a great game. I'm not going to go into the graphics and sound, because you already know they're very good. What makes this game great is the gameplay. It is simply one of the best FPS I've ever played. I rank it right up there with Medal of Honor.

Probably the closest game it resembled that I've ever played is Red Faction. (I'm told it's close to Half Life but I haven't played that one). As the last of a group of super cyborg warriors, you will battle aliens through several different missions and levels. You will encounter a variety of weapons and vehicles to use to complete your missions. Although the game primarily takes place as a FPS, when driving a vehicle the perspective is in the third person view.

One of the interesting twists of this game is the fact that at any given time, you can only carry two weapons. Which means as you find different weapons, you have to make strategic choices about which ones to keep. A lot of the weapons are really fun to use, (I love the sniper rifle) but often not very practical. The vehicles can be difficult to control but once you get the hang of it, it will just add to the fun.

The control interface is laid out very well and while awkward at first, you'll soon get accustomed to it and find it very easy to use. As you progress through the game you will complete checkpoints and you can save the game after any checkpoint. If you're killed, you're taken back to the last completed checkpoint. The game has 4 levels of difficulty and even the easy level can be challenging in latter missions. About 3/4ths of the way through, you'll encounter a new alien group that just puts a whole new twist on the game.

My only real complaint about the game is that a lot of the maps are used over and over, and the levels can be quite long (I played this game for hours) which sometimes leads to getting lost as each room you enter looks EXACTLY like the room you just left. I would have like to have seen a little more variety.
I've read some reviews where some people complain that the game becomes repetitive and I can't completely disagree with that, but it didn't really seem to matter as the game continues to be fun all the way through.

If you have a X-Box, I HIGHLY recommend this game. If you're considering a X-Box, this game alone is reason enough to get one.

Best FPS ever - No contest

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: April 10, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is the best FPS for a console type player ever. It's not even a contest. The controls, the AI, the graphics---Everything is the best. It is the only FPS that I feel is truly intuitive, particularly the smooth, natural movement when siting on targets. The melee feature is great also. The details on the game are also amazing, such as the shell casings dropping out of the assault rifle as you shoot. You can actually hear each one drop onto the floor and then find them lying around. The comments made by the little grunt aliens are pretty hilarious also. If you compare this game to say Ghost Recon or Dead to Rights, it only takes a few minutes before you completely come to appreciate just how good Halo is. Those other games are just primitive in comparison and totally difficult to operate compared to Halo. Don't even waste your money on the others. The only things I would suggest as improvements would be to allow players to consistently carry over the same weapons from one level to the next. For instance on some levels, you end them with say a shotgun in your hand, and when you enter the next level the shotgun is gone and instead you have a plasma pistol and assault rifle instead. It would be great if you carried over the same weapons from level to level. The only other thing is that you take too much damage from alien weapons when you are in the tank. With that much armor around you, it doesn't make sense that a weapon like a Needler or plasma pistol would have much impact. This is all just minor stuff, though.The game is awesome. Hopefully, Halo 2 will just raise the bar again. Don't let anyone tell you that this game isn't as great as everyone says---It just simply is.

One of the best games EVER!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 17, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Halo is a awesome game,and a definite must own for any Xbox gamer.This is one of the best games ever,on any system.This is also possibly the best FPS of all time,too.I doubt that any FPS could top it except for Halo 2,which is going to be the ultimate FPS of all time.The gameplay in Halo is extremely awesome and the multiplayer matches are addictive.It also has perfect controls.I had no problem with the controls at all.Every thing handles fine,from the weapons to the vehicles.The graphics are also some of the best the genre has seen.Halo 2 is going to look even better,but for now these graphics are amazingly good.I think the music is great too.This all comes down to a must have game.Its perfect.

Very Nearly Perfect

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: March 26, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Review Context: I am not, at heart, a console gamer. The last console I seriously gamed on was the Colecovision. I'm a PC gamer and a traditional gamer. If you are like me, this review may be useful.

I'd been waiting for HALO to come out for well over a year. I followed its development online, downloaded all the movies and waited with broken heart as features fell out of the game.

Much like going to see a film you've been interested in for a long time that's missing scenes you know were filmed because they were in the previews, HALO is not the game it could have been. In spite of that, HALO is worth it. It's worth buying an XBOX, mostly because of the success of HALO as a game, but partly because of the success of the XBOX's design (for which, see my XBOX review.)

HALO is a great game, easily one of the best I've ever played, the best of its genre, and up there with classics like Starcraft and Diablo that people will be playing for years.

At the heart of HALO lies a story of amazing depth and complexity. I imagine some people will play the game just to blow things up, but I can't speak to them. For me, who followed the setting and story before the game was even out, the story and the game are inseparable.

The guys at Bungie have learned a lot over the past 15 years or so. They've learned a lot about the computer game as a storytelling medium, something yet to be explored fully, but HALO is a giant first step. The Marathon series, of which HALO is an oblique prequel, had an epic, space-opera storyline involving insane AI's, time travel, and the heat death of the universe. The story was hard to follow.

HALO's story is easy to follow, and fun to get more involved in. It rewards you at every level. The conceit of a computer built into your head, who knows more than you do and can therefore tell you what to do is something you can only do in a video game. Cortana, the AI in question, doesn't just convey game info, but story info as well. There are many, many unanswered questions in HALO. Who are the Forerunner? Who are *you*, the main character? Why does 343 Guilty Spark call you 'Reclaimer' and refer to conversations you've never had? Some of the answers can be pieced together, others will have to wait for a sequel, others may be unanswerable.

Gameplay is stunning. Each level is huge, sprawling, a world unto itself. Other reviewers complain about the repetition of levels, and that's fair if you're not paying attention to the story. I, too, would have liked to have seen more of HALO, gotten to pilot bigger ships to other parts of the Ring, and explore the functionality of the Ring a la Larry Niven's ringworld. But Bungie has a story to tell. A hell of a story and revisiting those previous levels is part of that. Here's your capital ship in the beginning when everything's working and its manned with thousands of crewmen-your fellow marines. Now, 10 levels later, here it is again, crashed and broken. Nothing's working and hope may be lost.

The AI, and the interaction of your character and the enemy has to be seen to be believed. Bad guys pick up grenades and throw them back at you. Marines talk to each other in chatter so realistic its perfect. The chatter changes and reacts to what you do in ways that have to be played to be believed.

Easily one of the great joys of HALO is the multiplayer game. If you've played the game once by yourself, you've only gotten 1/10th of the experience. Playing with a friend in co-op mode is simply stunning. You learn to move and fight as a team. It's thrilling. Unfortunately, co-op mode only supports two players. This is largely a game-balance issue. One skilled player can take on dozens of enemy at a time. Adding one more player makes many levels very easy. More players would require wall-to-wall enemies and grind the processor to a halt, as well as making things look absurd.

Hooking up two XBOXes and playing multiplayer is as easy as it could be. As a long-time PC gamer, I've spent hours wrestling with computers, getting them to `see' the network, getting them all the right drivers and newest updates for the game as well as the maps and skins we're using. HALO just plugs in and you start playing. There are several different game-types making the classic CTF game seem kinda boring. Most of these game types are carryovers from Marathon. The multiplayer maps are great, classics. Outside arenas, indoors arenas, vehicles, everything.

There are many promised features missing and for that reason I'm looking forward to the PC version. Additionally, the TV resolution is. . .bad compared to a PC. But not bad compared to a TV, the images look great, but they'll look better on the PC.

Overall, it's worth not only the [money] for HALO, but the [money] for an XBOX as well. You'll be playing this game with your friends for years.

superb first-person shooter

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 26, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This is the best first-person shooter game that I've had the opportunity to play. Many people compare it to Goldeneye, but it is vastly superior - both in gameplay and in graphics. Because of the built-in Xbox rumble-pak (in every controller), it rumbles as you fire weapons. Live grenades stick to enemies that you hurl them at, and the enemy flips out (some charge you, some scream). Nothing compares to cruising around in a tank as you cooperatively play with a friend who lies on the side sniping bad-guys. Even after the single-player campaign is done, the multiplayer deathmatches will last just as long as in Goldeneye. This one is a classic, folks.

A Calculated Review.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: October 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I don't like typically jumping on a bandwagon of any kind, so that's not what this is. I 5-starred the hell out of this game because it was very, very fun.

With Halo 3 coming out last month, I decided it was time to figure out what all the fuss was about. I own several FPS's, and I don't know why. I just keep buying them, but they're not really that fun. It's just not my bag, I guess.

FEAR is spooky, but redundant redundant redundant re... you get it?

QUAKE 4 is pretty, but also pretty standard.

PREY is innovative, but sometimes difficult to figure out where to go next.

But a launch game from the LAST generation of systems has just proven to me why there ARE so many FPS's out there today. HALO was FUN.

When I first tapped into the game, I didn't really get it. I couldn't get behind the idea that these silly Covenant forces were a threat. I didn't know how to utilize my different weapons, and I NEVER understood my shield. Face it, I'm a casual gamer, and Halo came off like just another boring FPS in my collection. But over time, as I went through endless levels of dealing with the Flood, I longed for combat against my Covenant counterparts. I found out that the Needler is the most fun weapon to wield in all of FPS history. And I learned that patience truly is a virtue, because when those warning alarms are going off, that means it's time to run for cover until my shield has recharged itself.

In my opinion, the real joy in playing this game comes from a meshing of all of these somewhat standard elements with a VERY exciting AI, whether it be the enemies or your own teammates. Wow.

I'm writing this review in October of 2007. I've played Gears of War to death, and I absolutely HATED my AI teammates. They were constantly getting themselves shot down, and waiting for me to either heal them, or defeat all the baddies in the area. Halo AI teammates can do stupid things, but they aren't important to the story. If you kill more than one with friendly fire, they'll turn on you. But there were several instances in the game where I had to sniper rifle at least one of them in the head just to get his standard automatic rifle for combat, or to keep him from accidentally shooting ME. This, in my opinion, was not a faulty game mechanic. I ENJOYED picking off my own team. Let's face it, I'm the Master Chief and *they're* not, so they have to do what I say! If that means I kill them and take their guns, so be it.

I could go on forever about the thought they must've put into the various weapons (though simple they may be) and how you have to choose the right weapon quickly for a certain scenario, but it's probably best you just get on this bandwagon next to me and start playing. If you're not a big FPSer (like me), give it a few plays, and you'll eventually "GET" Halo.

I think this review is very fair, since I'm not writing it the day the original XBOX came out. The graphics didn't blow me away, as I'm playing it on my 360, but they're still quite good. If you think MC looks funny as he's falling to his death, just remember that you're still laughing as he's falling to his death, thereby negating any graphical "errors" you think you're seeing. For example, once his body comes to a stop, and he's face down, for some reason he almost always does what I call "the butt twitch" right before I'm respawned. I usually chuckle at this point, and immediately get blown up by a plasma grenade because I wasn't paying attention and didn't realize I was already back in the game.

For some reason, it reminds me of the days we used to play Goldeneye 007 with our friends, and we'd set it up on Slappers Only, turn ourselves into midgets, and run around at double speed just slapping the crap out of each other. You can still laugh at it to this day, so it doesn't matter how crappy the graphics are. It's still fun.

So anyway, Halo taught me that FPS's - in a perfect world - COULD be fun. I just wish all my other FPS's didn't suck. And *they're* all for the 360. Does that make any sense to you?

I can't wait to get my hands on Halo 2 and play as the Covenant. Sounds fun.

Master Chief Is Cool

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: May 14, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I was very late onto the Halo bandwagon...I didn't play the first until the last was already released...I should have gotten to it sooner.

Halo is probably the best game I've ever played. The storyline is engaging, and the cut scenes are actually more informative and entertaining than annoying. At the risk of sounding insufferably corny, I became quite attached to the story, and sometimes felt like I was ACTUALLY fighting the Covenant.

A very, very, very, very good game. Good graphics, weapons, characters (The Master Chief is the best hero put on disk) gameplay, and levels. Ten stars out of ten!

Bungie has done it again! Another amazing world!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: August 08, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I know... reviewing this in 2008 probably seems kind of stupid. Who out there hasn't heard of this game/franchise yet?? I really just like having things complete so I figure I'll review this just for the sake of completing my reviews. Plus I might have a slightly more in depth perspective than a few others since I followed Bungie long before Halo ever came out.

When I was younger and got my very first computer I was absolutely outraged at my family! They decided to get a Macintosh and I didn't even have a gaming console at the time. I saw my future gaming career dwindling as I booted up the Mac. Now this was around 1994/1995 and Doom II was still a hot topic. So we looked at a special software catalog and talked to someone on the phone, they recommended a game called Marathon. By now you're asking what the point of all this is? Well Marathon was developed by Bungie. It was their first major development and to this day it is one of the most engrossing and best First Person Shooters I've ever played. Since then I have followed Bungie's career and have always wished they would remake Marathon on an updated platform. They kind of fell off my radar for a while then Microsoft decided to purchase a controlling interest. Originally Bungie was planning on continuing with the Marathon saga in some fashion, but they turned it into a new project to be main release for Microsoft's new console system: The Xbox! Enter the Halo project. This game would practically single handedly transform our expectations for console games. Not to mention I consider the Xbox to be primarily marketed towards the computer gamers, like myself.

Well I have to hand it to Bungie, despite the fact I was disappointed in the lack of a new Marathon title, I am definitely awed with the new world they have created. In the far future the human race has come across a powerful enemy. It's not a single race of alien, but a group combined into a huge force that call themselves the Covenant. Their ruling structure is actually fairly interesting. They form a very hierarchical structure and the grunts of their forces are mostly treated like slaves. However these slaves have weapons and do fight against you with their overlords. The major issue that makes the Covenant such a major threat isn't just the sheer size of their force, it's the amount of technology they have at their fingertips. The human race has already gotten quite far with technological advancements, but the Covenant is still light years ahead of us! You can really see the influence from Marathon in the design and structure of the enemies. While they look very different from an artistic perspective you can tell that their hierarchical structure is modeled after the S'pht. In Marathon you fought against an alien organization that was made up of many different kinds, not just a single species. This added element in Halo made it a lot of fun for me because I think they got that kind of alien threat right with Marathon. However, in order to win this war we're going to need something special. Enter the Mjolner armor. This name is taken from Viking mythology and is actually the name of Thor's hammer. This special armor is worn by an elite force known as the Spartans, another name taken from history... albeit Greek this time. Apparently there were more of these enhanced super soldiers, but the Halo story line mostly follows the story of Master Chief and to find out about the others you'll just have to read the novels. The armor design is really cool and enables the wearer to have enhanced strength and reflexes. On top of this it has its own shield, kind of like a force field that can stop enemy fire and lets you last longer in battle. To help the wearer along his way it is paired with an incredibly advanced artificial intelligence. These AI's are fully self aware and the one that is paired with your character is the beautiful Cortana.

Strangely the game doesn't start us out at the beginning of this war; in fact it seems to have been raging for quite some time. The Spartan has been dispatched to help a new command crew and the game opens up in the midst of a battle. The ship we're on jumps to slipspace (basically a dimensional gateway) to get out of a lost battle. They pick a trajectory at random and before our eyes we come out into unknown space to view a giant ring floating in space. Halo. Unfortunately the Covenant are still on our tail and boarding the ship. The only option is to fight our way to the escape pods and to take refuge on the alien ring world. From there we are brought on a journey of epic proportions to find the mystery of Halo. The Covenant seem to worship it, yet know little about its origins too. For them it is a structure made by the Gods. Surprisingly it seems we stumble upon a threat even worse than the Covenant. Just what is Halo and what is this new threat? Play through this amazing game's story to find out just what is hidden in the vast reaches of the universe.

I have to say that this is one of the most fun games I have ever played and has tons of replay value. One of the things that really set this apart from others is the co-op play that the system allows in order to play through the story with a friend. My friend and I have played this game over and over again on co-op and worked our way through all the difficulty levels. It's so much fun that even years later we still want to play this game from time to time! I was very impressed with the enemy AI throughout the game and as you increase the difficulty the AI gets a lot smarter so it's more than just the sheer volume of enemies that makes things difficult. Another aspect that impressed me was the view. It feels like your kind of looking through a bubble and gives you the illusion that you actually have peripheral vision when you don't. I don't know if this was an intentional design, but I thought it was great! One thing people may dislike is the lack of a map to help you get through the levels. I think Halo accommodates for this by making Navigation (Nav) points. Although sometimes they are hard to see in the background of the sky, so in some way they should've made them more prominent. This is basically my one complaint. The graphics are simply stunning as well. They are surely on par with games like Half Life 2, though the world we're in isn't nearly as interactive. However, you do get to drive vehicles in this and that was an element that was a lot of fun. It seems like a lot of FPS games are including this now, but the only one I can think of before Halo is this obscure FPS called Redline. It wasn't all that great, but driving the cars was fun. You get a decent array of weapons to choose from; however you can only carry two at once. This is kind of different from other FPS games where you can carry all kinds of different weapons. Although, I will admit that it does allow for a decent controller configuration because there's nothing you need to push to make a weapons menu show up and you can seamlessly switch to a different gun in the heat of battle.

This game is the reason I pretty much picked up an Xbox in the first place and I'm glad I did because I've been introduced to a lot of new and awesome games. However, none of the Xbox only titles really compete on the same level as Halo and this game makes me wish all FPS games had the co-op function. Bar that, all games in general! I've played Diablo as a co-op on my home LAN, but never an FPS of this caliber. Oh how I wish Half Life or Doom 3 offered the same feature on the Xbox! Either way, if you're a big fan of Science Fiction, First Person Shooters, and epic stories then Halo will swiftly be launched into one of your all time favorite games. For me I think it actually ties with the universe of Half Life, though in some respects Half Life is a lot deeper, but Halo is just a plain awesome fighting adventure. Ultimately I can safely say that I still associate the name of Bungie with the word quality and while the Halo story isn't as huge or engrossing as Marathon, they've still written something very enthralling for us to enjoy.

The best X-box launch game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: May 10, 2005
Author: Amazon User

When halo was previewed at e3 2000, It was buggy and wasnt recieved well at all. But when the game was released, it blew people away. I believe it was the first game to ever use spectral high lighting (the shiny effect) and bump mapping. It only ran at 30 frames per sec, but ran good.

One of the most impressive things about halo is the story. It was so well crafted and done so well, they could use the game script and make a movie and have it be good. It had so many twists and turns, it was just great.

The sound was good too. Halo and Halo 2 boasts one of, if not the best video game soundtrack of all time. The music is Oscar quality.

Overall, Halo is one of the best action games ever made.

(these scores are for the time when it was released)

Concept- Make the X-Box a power player when it comes to consoles by making a phenominal game

Presintation- 10- Box art is cool and the cinimatics could win oscars for the directing.

Graphics- 9.5- wow, halo was one of the best looking games of the x-box launch, if not the best looking. New wethods were introduces with this game.

Sound- 10- Best music in a game? Yes. Best voice overs in a game? Yes.

Playability- 10- it is so fluid and easy to controll. It really shows off the x-box controller.

Entertainment- 9.6- The best x-box launch title and one of the best action games ever made.

Replay Value- 9.4- This game came out before X-box live, so the only way to play multiplayer was either split screen or system link.

HALO - Still King

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: April 06, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I know, I'm reviewer #, like, 1678 or something, but it's time for me to pay my respects, 'cause I have never played, since the 5 years it's been out, a more impressive game, including Halo 2 and, YES, even F.E.A.R. Everything about it is just terrific...weapon balance, pacing, and character speed. The characters move a little slower than most FPS to date, but I think it helps with realism (and it's a game that lets me rip others to shreds with the sniper rifle). I just thought Halo 2 was a little unbalanced. It's a race to the best weapon and, if you don't get it, you die. But Halo let's every weapon shine on it's own merrits. You can even blast people with the plasma pistol if you're good enough. I just enjoy the experience. I've played it for every weekend since 2001 and it still doesn't get old because, outside of the scripted part, the enemies still do some things I have never seen duplicated twice, such as a Wraith shooting down it's own team member in a Banshee by accident, or a guy in a Banshee going Kamikazee, only to flatten his own guys. It's a great game...don't pass it up.

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