Retro Review: Halo: Combat Evolved
To kick-start this series of retro reviews, we have picked a special one just for you power hungry Xbox fans. Remember the day the original Xbox was released. I do. I also remember the first game I got on that Xbox; Halo: Combat Evolved. This game changed me in a special way. I never really enjoyed shoot-em games, as the only one I ever played was Goldeneye on the N64. This game put my faith in these types of games back into perspective. It also helped shape the way I looked at fantasy games as well as shoot em ups. I am an avid Zelda fan and will continuously play those games, but with games like Halo, which constantly grasp the audience and the viewers so well with the ever growing universe that holds these rings, I couldn’t just say no, could I?
Back in the day the graphics were top notch. Everything about the look and stylistically was amazing. We could see a brand new world that no one had ventured through before. Of course as with every game this had it’s fair share of glitches, but I shall not dwell on that. This was a beautiful game. The music accompanied the scenery to ut-most perfection and brought together Halo. Of course we had the aliens to, who didn’t look horrible or scary, just like normal aliens. They were a nuisance and you had to fight the Covenant for power over Halo, a ring with magnificent power. Of course there is more to this than meets the eye. This is later explained in the next installments of the game, as the series becomes more popular and popular amongst the fans themselves.
When we look at the soundtrack we can see that there are a few tracks that stay with us for a while and maybe still to this day. The title music is the most gripping, with the choir singing their part, the soft back up of classical musicians and the lead into a rockier, heavier sound, which brings out the fight in all of all. Of course as the game progresses we begin to recognize where the music is to be played and which bits make sense and so forth. The music throughout the game is constant and Martin O’Donnell has done an amazing job bringing together such an amazing soundtrack, which I myself still listen to at this moment of time.
The story involves a character that makes even Chuck Norris cringe. You take control of Master Chief, one of the last Spartans alive due to a previous war. Spartan number 117 and perhaps the greatest of them all, Master Chief sets out to stop the Covenant and Halo from gaining control and power over the universe. The mission of this game is to assemble human survivors after the Pillar of Autumn crashes and find Captain Keyes. This also follows on to finding a new enemy named the flood, which are a very old race. I won’t go too much into the story there are many who have not played this game and should experience this to it’s full extent. Of course they will be able to do this with the current remake of this game, which features Reach’s multiplayer experience.
Multiplayer was a big part of this game, as two of you could go through the main storyline together and/or just battle against each other on various maps, with up to 16 people. This game has been rated as one of the greatest multiplayer games created and still lives on with that title today! There may have not been many maps shipped with the game, but when you consider how well the maps were laid out and the thought of trying to kill your friends on maps that are still considered very large in comparison to some of the Reach maps.
Of course, one big thing about this game is its weaponry. The Halo 1 pistol is considered as one of the most powerful weapons. Ever. In the Halo franchise, there has never been anything as powerful as this one. The other weapons are standard, even though I do still have fun with the rocket launcher and still hate the sniper. The addition to pick up Alien weapons also adds to the games fun factor, but I can’t shack the feeling that they are not as great as the human weapons.
Overall this game is Nostalgic. One of the most perfect games out there and you can’t generally ever get better than this. Pick this up before the new remake and experience the way the game played before the 360. It will guarantee the satisfaction you desire!
Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary is released tomorrow on Xbox 360!