TITLE: Halo: Combat Evolved
PUBLISHER: MS Game Studios
DEVELOPER: Bungie Studios
DATE RELEASED: November 14, 2001
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1-2 for Campaign, 2-4 for Deathmatch on one XBOX
XBOX SYSTEM LINK: Up to 16 players with 4 Xbox's: only for Deathmatch
XBOX LIVE COMPATABLE: No, the game was released before Xbox Live came out
GENRE: Action
ESRB: Mature: Blood and Gore, Violence (Content Suitable for ages 17 and up)
Retail Price: $49.99
Introduction
Let me come right out and say I don't like Halo. I don't particularly hate it, it isn't awful, but I find it to be tremendously overhyped and a symptom of a complete lack of developer interest in the xbox. If Halo were released as a PS2 or GCN title by now, it'd be on the 19.99 "greatest hits" rack. But, since it's all the xbox has going, they continue to gouge 50 bucks out of everyone because they can.
Graphics: 7/10 - look good, but lack variety
The graphics start out just great. They look really impressive as you start to play. All the grey walls of your space ship set a mood. When you reach the second mission, and the graphics are the same - they're less impressive. Eventually the quality of the graphics takes a backseat to the complete lack of graphic variety. The levels are forgettable because they all look the same.
Sound: 9/10
The sound is great, here I have no real complaints. The ambient sounds fit the environments, and the music fits the mood/action.
Gameplay: 5/10
It's an FPS. On a console. Better than most console ports, its actually playable. The enemy AI is decent, the aliens duck, dodge and hunt you. I'm probably not impressed by this game because I'm sick of FPS titles in general.
Replayability: 5/10
Multiplayer is the only thing this game has going for it once you complete the missions. And unless you have a good broadband connection and are lucky enough to find folks close enough to you, it'll be mostly unplayable through tunneling services. The multiplayer levels are too few, and the match types are standard fare in the FPS world - CTF, KotH, etc..
Overall 6/10 - It's just another title in the sea of mediocre FPS games.
If MS was serious about pushing its console, then this game would be old news by now, as I said. It would be in the 19.99 "greatest hits" bin - instead that bin looks like the "greatest flops" bin with unprofitable xbox garbage like Simpsons Road Rage. It was a big whoopty doo TWO YEARS AGO, but now it's simply yesterdays news. It's getting pathetic to point to this game as proof of how great the xbox is.
Which would make one wonder, do I really dislike Halo, or am I disgruntled by MS's lack of interest in bringing top calibur titles to the Xbox. A little of both, really. I bought Halo at the xbox launch, and was tired of it within days. A month after buying it, I stopped playing it completely.
It's really just another FPS title to me, and I can't give it a good review or reccomendation at a retail price that's still 49.99. It's a two year old game - it belongs in the classics bin, as I've said so many times. If it was 20 dollars, it'd garner a better review from me.
But it's not, and as such, I'm forced to compare it to all of the other titles for all systems that cost 50 dollars. It simply does not measure up in my books.
