Fourscore and two posts ago, I posted a huge announcement: I was allowed to play Halo. Yes. Halo.
While anyone reading this may be surprised that I wasn’t allowed to play it since I was 9 or 10, keep in mind that my mother dislikes trigger-button-shooters. Mainly, she dislikes me playing them. I don’t know why; she’s always been like that. It didn’t matter that you were killing aliens/diseases; it didn’t matter that at 11 I was shooting a BB gun at my grandparents’ house. It wasn’t until this year, at 12, that my mother finally decided to let me play Halo. She still dislikes the thought of me playing war games, since you’re killing people, but I’m sure Halo is better than any of those. I also believe this has opened the door to any shooters in which you’re not killing humans; I’ve put Resistance: Fall of Man on my Christmas list, actually. (Yes, I’ve already gotten started on my Christmas list…and I know that Resistance II is coming out, but I want the first one for Christmas to see if I like it, and get Resistance II for my birthday if I do). If you want to learn more, read my post entitled, “Halo Everybody!!”
Although Mom didn’t want me playing Halo, she didn’t mind if I learned the story. I already knew a lot about it to begin with, and had seen the endings of Halo 1 and Halo 3 because of my cousin’s intense Halo obsession. I’ve probably seen the ending of Halo 2 as well, but I’ll probably have to beat the game and see it again to remember. Currently, Halo: Combat Evolved and its successors could probably pass as the most story-driven shooters ever made. Of course, I love the story. Very much.
However, the gameplay doesn’t exactly fare as well anymore. Although the game is still a blast to play, lots of crap comes with it. Since the game has 12 levels, I like to mentally separate the game into halves of six levels each. During the first half, you’re only fighting the Covenant. When it’s just the Covenant, the game can be a blast to play on Normal, minus the last level of the first half, known as the Canyon. Don’t make me relive that…
Once the first half is over, the Fludd step in. After the Jenkins cutscene in the seventh level (which is, of course, awesome), Fludd immediately start pouring into the room. They’re everywhere! Everywhere!! The big ones (people or Covenant who have been turned into Fludd, or several small ones clumped together, which diffuse in an explosion when they get near you) are the ones you really need to watch out for, although the small ones can get very annoying in groups. Although the first couple of Fludd levels aren’t so bad on Normal (at least in co-op), the others need to be played on Easy to be fun at all. This is due to the fact that Fludd can close you in small corridors. Then, when you think you’re about to escape, one throws a grenade, which kills you immediately…even if you have a full shield and full health. Not to mention the Fludd often come back to life like zombies. Ugh.
Another thing is the range of the Fludd attacks, grenades, and rocket launcher shots. Several times, I’ve been looking at a Fludd that is five feet away. It punches the air, and it hurts me as if it were standing right in front of me. Also, if you throw a grenade and it lands half a mile away from you, you have to move 10 feet backwards or you’ll die from the grenade blast. And this happened to my cousin when we were playing co-op, and he ultimately made us quit because of it: he shot a rocket from all the way across a long hallway, and the blast killed him.
There are also issues with the vehicles in Halo: Combat Evolved. The Warthog has zero grip, forcing it to turn over several times. Also, when riding it during co-op, the framerate goes ballistic. The Ghost also has no grip. While this is more forgivable, considering it doesn’t touch the ground, it needs some grip to be fun to control. During co-op, accidentally gently touching your teammates with a vehicle that doesn’t even touch the ground will kill them immediately. While in the Scorpion (a tank), a charged shot from a plasma pistol will immediately annihilate your shield, despite the fact that you’re actually INSIDE the tank. The Scorpion’s machine gun is extremely weak. Although devastating if it DOES hit something, the Scorpion’s main cannon is extremely inaccurate, and it takes an hour of charging before you are able to use it again. Though the least of the vehicle-related issues, you can’t ride the Wraiths…
The graphics for the game are great for their time. Despite the fact that the human characters’ mouths move as though they are ventriloquist dummies, everything else looks almost real, such as Master Chief’s suit.
Overall, Halo: Combat Evolved receives a 4 out of 5. Although it has great graphics, fun factor, and story, issues with the vehicles and a nightmarish difficulty in the second half of the game prevent it from getting a perfect score. I’ve played Halo 2, and it’s a lot better. I still say that Halo 1 is “Holy Crap” worthy, though.
This game has received a T-MAN’S GAMES T-MAN’S CHOICE AWARD.
While anyone reading this may be surprised that I wasn’t allowed to play it since I was 9 or 10, keep in mind that my mother dislikes trigger-button-shooters. Mainly, she dislikes me playing them. I don’t know why; she’s always been like that. It didn’t matter that you were killing aliens/diseases; it didn’t matter that at 11 I was shooting a BB gun at my grandparents’ house. It wasn’t until this year, at 12, that my mother finally decided to let me play Halo. She still dislikes the thought of me playing war games, since you’re killing people, but I’m sure Halo is better than any of those. I also believe this has opened the door to any shooters in which you’re not killing humans; I’ve put Resistance: Fall of Man on my Christmas list, actually. (Yes, I’ve already gotten started on my Christmas list…and I know that Resistance II is coming out, but I want the first one for Christmas to see if I like it, and get Resistance II for my birthday if I do). If you want to learn more, read my post entitled, “Halo Everybody!!”
Although Mom didn’t want me playing Halo, she didn’t mind if I learned the story. I already knew a lot about it to begin with, and had seen the endings of Halo 1 and Halo 3 because of my cousin’s intense Halo obsession. I’ve probably seen the ending of Halo 2 as well, but I’ll probably have to beat the game and see it again to remember. Currently, Halo: Combat Evolved and its successors could probably pass as the most story-driven shooters ever made. Of course, I love the story. Very much.
However, the gameplay doesn’t exactly fare as well anymore. Although the game is still a blast to play, lots of crap comes with it. Since the game has 12 levels, I like to mentally separate the game into halves of six levels each. During the first half, you’re only fighting the Covenant. When it’s just the Covenant, the game can be a blast to play on Normal, minus the last level of the first half, known as the Canyon. Don’t make me relive that…
Once the first half is over, the Fludd step in. After the Jenkins cutscene in the seventh level (which is, of course, awesome), Fludd immediately start pouring into the room. They’re everywhere! Everywhere!! The big ones (people or Covenant who have been turned into Fludd, or several small ones clumped together, which diffuse in an explosion when they get near you) are the ones you really need to watch out for, although the small ones can get very annoying in groups. Although the first couple of Fludd levels aren’t so bad on Normal (at least in co-op), the others need to be played on Easy to be fun at all. This is due to the fact that Fludd can close you in small corridors. Then, when you think you’re about to escape, one throws a grenade, which kills you immediately…even if you have a full shield and full health. Not to mention the Fludd often come back to life like zombies. Ugh.
Another thing is the range of the Fludd attacks, grenades, and rocket launcher shots. Several times, I’ve been looking at a Fludd that is five feet away. It punches the air, and it hurts me as if it were standing right in front of me. Also, if you throw a grenade and it lands half a mile away from you, you have to move 10 feet backwards or you’ll die from the grenade blast. And this happened to my cousin when we were playing co-op, and he ultimately made us quit because of it: he shot a rocket from all the way across a long hallway, and the blast killed him.
There are also issues with the vehicles in Halo: Combat Evolved. The Warthog has zero grip, forcing it to turn over several times. Also, when riding it during co-op, the framerate goes ballistic. The Ghost also has no grip. While this is more forgivable, considering it doesn’t touch the ground, it needs some grip to be fun to control. During co-op, accidentally gently touching your teammates with a vehicle that doesn’t even touch the ground will kill them immediately. While in the Scorpion (a tank), a charged shot from a plasma pistol will immediately annihilate your shield, despite the fact that you’re actually INSIDE the tank. The Scorpion’s machine gun is extremely weak. Although devastating if it DOES hit something, the Scorpion’s main cannon is extremely inaccurate, and it takes an hour of charging before you are able to use it again. Though the least of the vehicle-related issues, you can’t ride the Wraiths…
The graphics for the game are great for their time. Despite the fact that the human characters’ mouths move as though they are ventriloquist dummies, everything else looks almost real, such as Master Chief’s suit.
Overall, Halo: Combat Evolved receives a 4 out of 5. Although it has great graphics, fun factor, and story, issues with the vehicles and a nightmarish difficulty in the second half of the game prevent it from getting a perfect score. I’ve played Halo 2, and it’s a lot better. I still say that Halo 1 is “Holy Crap” worthy, though.
This game has received a T-MAN’S GAMES T-MAN’S CHOICE AWARD.
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