A review of Halo:
Just another glowing review on all that HALO is: a good look at it as well...........
Review of Halo
Xbox Launch Title Explodes with Visuals, Gameplay, Audio and Replay!
Buy This Game
Imagine Half-Life, Tribes 2, and Goldeneye all mashed together, then multiply it by one thousand, and you still wouldn't have a game as captivating, exciting, intense and fun as Halo. Several years in the making, Bungie has had the expectations of a masterpeice all throughout their ride, being the eye-lock at E3 for two years in a row, and having a huge 'Potential Killer App' title posted on their game. Being the weekend after the Xbox's launch, some disoriented fans are still unsure, is it worth the 50 bucks, will it be a dissapointment? just another first person shooter? Before writing this review, we turned on Normal mode and went straight through the end to get a good idea of Halo's gameplay, to ensure it wasn't a 1 hour thrill, to spill, and to give a confident saying on any redundance, keeping in mind we literally played 3 days straight, you can see where this is headed.
Halo is graphically superior to any other FPS game on the market. The level of detail in the sprites, environments, and objects is simply astonishing. The screenshots you have been seeing for the past year aren't lying, the graphics in halo explode past any and all of the graphical boundries we have seen in shooters over the past decade. Stepping out of the aircraft into the giant world of halo is like opening your eyes for the first time. You will be reminded of the awesome detail and visually captivating graphics when you turn on your flashlight, jump in your vehicle, rip through the skies in your aircraft, or even when you fire your weapon, pulling down the trigger treats you to an amazing array of lights, colors, and textures. And for all you E3 dwellers, the framerate isn't a problem, the game runs as smoothly as any other Xbox title should run at.
Singleing out what I enjoyed the most out of the game was the challenge of the environments, and the skill and dynamic behaviors of the artificial intelligence (AI). Driving the jeep, across the uncharted terrain was a blast, not only did it provide pin-point perfect detail, the vast and unique environments gives the gamer freedom in feeding themselves with a rich and exciting ride exploiting anything from smooth ground, bumpy hills, really bumpy hills sending the vehicle airborne, to even allowing for a nice ride right off the edge of the land to your demise. The AI was no better described as awesome, the little buggers were programmed in with attack tactics, defence strategies, and group combat techniques. It's like this, a drop-ship lands, and unleashes a swarm of covenant, some stay behind, while others rush the front line, taking cover behind rocks/trees/hills, and forming groups to bombard you with plasma, though they do also pop up for the occasional kamikaze attack, which don't get me wrong, can be effective if you are surrounded.
Halo's gameplay definately does not stop there. Let's drift into the modes, this is always an interesting topic... One of the better features in the game is companion mode, something that is missing in all of Halo's predessors. As long as you have at least one friend, try this mode as an alternative to playing alone. Working cooperatively and mutually with your partner (or even secretly running over him with the jeep when he's trying to board it and disguising it as an accident) is a feeling never before experienced on FPS games, Chris and I had a blast with the vehicles, we would take turns driving, tail-gunning and firing from the passenger side. During combat, when one of us died, it was all up to the other to finish off the opponents around the area before respawn, which provoked a few, quote 'words of encouragement', and several charlie horses. The split screen is a bit sketchy at first, but it melts in, as long as your tv isn't a 12", you should be fine. Halo also sports several other multi-player modes, which include:
Slayer: 15 kills to win, deathmatch modes are classics to most FPS, Halo excels in the level of enjoyment these modes provide. The Slayer mode does not start you off with any special weaponry.
Slayer Pro: 25 kills to win, This mode starts you off with a Pistol, Assault Rifle, and Grenades.
Elimination: Each player only has 1 life, The winner is the last man standing.
Phantoms: Everyone is invisible, first person to kill all targets in order wins.
Endurance: Each player has 5 lives, first person to 10, or the last man standing wins.
There are 20 other modes to choose from, each with it's own unique way to accomplish the task at hand.
The controls of this game were a tad sensitive and unusual for me at first, but taking out my excitement a little less furociously on the controller led to the comfort I had been searching for. Once you get the jest of the buttons, you will be able to dive and strafe left shooting the sniper, while switching to your needle gun to jump and bash an unlucky covenant over the head to death with it. If you don't like the way the buttons work, no problem, Bungie created this game with the option to change the controls all around, so if it's too uncomfortable for you, go ahead and make it right. An added bonus is the use of Xbox's stellar controller vibration system, it contributed realism and immersion into the gameplay.
The Audio of Halo is magnificient. The precision of the environmental and gunshot noises, with the sprite speeches, and targeted background music blends together perfectly. Never once was I annoyed with any redundant sounds, in fact, I cranked up the volume on my TV to get a more immense feeling.
The Gameplay, Graphics, Audio and Replay Value of Bungie's masterpeice Xbox launch title Halo exceed the expectations of everyone who has been lucky enough to experience it. If you havn't been treated to this game yet, you honestly do not have any idea what your missing. Just as Goldeneye for the Nintendo 64 did in the past, Halo is setting the new standards, and redefining the boundries of Shooters. It just very well may be the best FPS of all time on any platform.
The Final Verdict
Gameplay
Halo boasts the most extrodinary gameplay I have ever seen in a Shooter, it's incredible storyline, and characters pumped this game up to where it is. 10
Graphics
The graphics on Halo are simply magnificient. If you can find better, smoother, more dynamic graphics on a First Person Shooter, then you are lying. Incredible detail in the sprites, environments and objects. 9.6
Sound
The Sound in Halo is wonderful, precise triggered sound speeches really add to the story of this game. The background music sets the mood for this intense video game. 9.8
Ingenuity
It took a lot of brains to pump out this idea, the incredible AI system, and the challenge make this game exceed in a category where most others fail. 10
Replay Value
The Artificial Intelligence in Halo makes you want to play again and again on more challenging difficulties, the AI is different with their attack and defence tactics every time you play. 9.6
Overall Score (not an average) 9.8
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