Halo

So i wanted to see what all of the hype is about and i got myself Halo to see if it was "the greatest shooter ever" as so many seem to put it. I then found myself in an over-hyped, average shooter that was actually... pretty boring.

The game doesn't really do a good job of explaining where you are or what you're doing or why you're doing it. You're some important guy that was frozen and now you're being thawed out to kill some alien guys.

Ok let's go shoot some stuff.

The first thing i noticed is how SLOW master chief runs. It feels like you're running through a tub of molasses while two midgets cling to your legs. This can become very annoying when you're trying to run for cover or trying to evade an enemy up close. In addition to this it's very easy to lose your bearings as you frantically try to swing around in close quarters.

The shooting mechanics are... ok. Point and shoot works well here. Though most enemies are better dealt with a swift gun butt to the face (can be difficult with the sluggish controls at close range) or a grenade at their feet. Tossing grenades is a very strategic aspect of the game and is quite interesting. Though running around and shooting at the same time can become a bit clumsy at times.

But it's not like the enemies are geniuses. Most of them consider strategy to be running out into the open and shooting at you, then running behind cover and waiting for you to run up to them and shoot them.

Your allies aren't master minds either. Sure they talk like marines and act like marines. But they don't shoot like marines. They typically just run around like morons and get shot. At one point of the game i had 15 marines backing me up. Within 5 minutes they were all dead.

Now let's talk about the vehicles. The ability to climb into vehicles and pilot them is something people praise Halo over. However i can't find any reason why. There are only a handful of vehicles for you to use and none of them are particularly responsive or (more importantly) fun to drive. The first one you hop into is the warthog jeep thing. Despite it having large rubber tires that appear to have plenty of grip, the warthog slips and slides around as if you were driving on a lake of ice after slathering your tires with bacon fat. This makes it practically impossible to navigate around obstacles or get away quickly when in a pinch since it accelerates slowly, turns slowly, and likes to crash into things. However other marines can hop onto your warthog and help you. There's a rear mounted gattling gun and a marine can jump into the passenger seat and shoot at stuff. Sounds like a formidable machine, but it's not. The gunner is a dumbass that doesn't pay attention to what's going on around him and doesn't always see enemies in the wide open. Even when he does see them, his aim is horrid and he can't hit crap. And you can just forget about your passenger marine, he's practically useless. You're better off just trying to run over enemies for an instant kill but the controls are so unresponsive that you'll crash while trying.

There are like, 3 other vehicles in the game but they're not worth mentioning. All of their controls are as slippery and clumsy as the warthog.

Some of the environments are really big so you'll need to jump into a vehicle to get around quickly. However, most of the environments are small rooms or corridors. In fact, most of the room is the same 4 rooms and corridors over and over again. I was half way through the game when i realized something. I just walked into the same room after running down the same hallway and killing the same enemies that i did 50 times before. Hey! I'm doing the same thing over and over and over and over and over again.. only slightly different each time. This is... fun? No, it's not. I was really bored.

Even worse, Halo transitions from a tactical shooter into a run of the mill survival horror game with generic monsters leaping out of unseen areas and running at you over and over again... and over again. I can only walk into the same room and shoot the same monsters that run at me so many times before i get bored...

Don't forget the backtracking. Instead of sending you into new and interesting locales, Halo sends you to boring corridors, boring rooms, and boring areas over and over again. And they're always full of the same enemies you killed hours ago. It seems like you have to go through the same 3 areas twice, and that's the entire game. Zzzzzz.....

There are however some interesting things that go on during the game. Every enemy with a weapon will drop their weapon when you kill them, and you can pick it up and use it. But, and this is a big but, you can only carry two weapons at a time. This can be frustrating when you don't want to drop one of your weapons in case you need it later. Like say, the rocket launcher. At some points of the game there is alot going on around you and it can get a little exciting.

Well i can't think of anything else to say right now. Time to break it all down:


Gameplay: 3. I just didn't have much fun playing this game and at times i was really annoyed at either the repetition or the clunky controls. The level design is also breath-takingly horrible and bland. Sure there are large environments but that's pretty much all they are; large. Don't expect many exciting elements of scenery. Level progression is also ass-backwards. You walk into a room, you kill stuff. You run down a corridor, you walk into a room, you kill stuff. Rinse, repeat, and you've got Halo.

Control: 3. Master chief's jumping mechanics are really floaty and it makes it difficult to jump onto things. This, and the game just felt really slow. I suppose this pace is fitting for the console, but on the PC, this just doesn't live up to the tight control of Unreal Tournament or Half-Life.

Story: 3. Kind of interesting but not very developed. It doesn't really tell you what's happening during gameplay so you have to wait for the cutscenes.

Sound: 3. There are some nice sound effects and the music at times can be lively. However the environments severly lack atmosphere and the elite covenant guards sound and act just like the slegs from Turok Evolution.

Graphics: 3-5. If you have a really high-performance video card, Halo will look excellent. However if you're not so fortunate, Halo will have to look a little... worse. But it's still playable even on the absolute minimum settings.

Fun Factor: 2.5. As i've already mentioned many times above, this game just isn't that fun...


Overall, Halo is a very over-hyped game. If you enjoy repetition, then this is the game for you!

3 out of 5. Completely average.