9/18/2023 0 Comments Halo combat evolved games![]() The level designs, whether in an enclosed space or a wide open map, were curated for another player to embark on an alternate route and flank the energy sword-wielding invisible Elites or offer some other tactical advantage. The Warthog sections are best done cooperatively. Halo: Combat Evolved was created this way by design. Similar to Nintendo’s beloved lineup of party games, Halo can deliver the joyous Christmas morning-style video game experience of playing with family and friends on the same couch. Halo: Combat Evolved is terrific because it’s meant to be enjoyed with those we love. Bungie’s legendary run on the series was great even beyond it having the best assault rifle in FPS history, versatile enemy aliens with various strengths and weaknesses, and the awe-inspiring locale of a ring world. I did what any good gaming aunt would do by firing up 343 Industries’ Halo: The Master Chief Collection, a stellar bundle that currently contains the remasters of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 along with rereleases of Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo 4 and Halo: Reach.Įnjoying Halo: Combat Evolved’s campaign mode via split-screen co-op reminded me why I fell in love with the series to begin with. Nearly an hour of indecision passed before it dawned on me that the youngin had never experienced Halo: Combat Evolved. Yet on this particular weekend, the two of us were looking for something different, something we hadn’t played together before. Ultimate, Mario Kart, Gears of War, or Call of Duty. In most instances, we play Super Smash Bros. My teenage nephew was visiting my home for five days, and whenever he stays over, we make plenty of time to play video games together via same-couch split screen co-op or multiplayer. My Halo obsession remained shelved until just last week. As a result, I parked the Halo franchise in the back of my brain space and preoccupied myself with more groundbreaking titles like Bloodborne and Horizon Zero Dawn. Whether it was the ineffectual iron sights function or the lack of splitscreen co-op and multiplayer, Halo 5: Guardians is a monument to all of 343’s sins. 343 Industries’ design philosophy? Indecisive with an inability to commit to either overhauling Halo’s established formula or modernizing it. The sole new Halo title released during the Xbox One era is the franchises’ worst outing by a slipspace jump. Halo 4 was good fun, but it felt as if 343 Industries was trying to gather its footing before developing a much grander installment with even more potential.ģ43 Industries unfortunately squandered that good will with 2015’s Halo 5: Guardians. 343 Industries focused on building linear yet large terrain, mayhemic vehicle sections, and Battlestar Galactica-style sci-fi melodrama rather than spicing up the formula. Unlike Bungie’s 2010 swan song walk-off grand slam Halo: Reach, Halo 4 acted as a retread of the series’ traditional gameplay components. Master Chief’s first post-Bungie spacefaring adventure didn’t reinvent the IP or the FPS genre like prior installments. Halo 4 was a solid, yet safe debut effort from 343 Industries. So what changed? Whatever happened to Halo mania? When did the series begin to plummet from the stratosphere like an ODST? Halo 4 is the most obvious answer to these questions. More recent installments have done little to reinvigorate excitement in the blockbuster property to the point that even I, a self-avowed shrieking Master Chief cosplaying stan, have been pondering if Halo was ever that good to begin with. Ever since Bungie passed the creative reigns over to 343 Industries, fan enthusiasm for the franchise has waned. Make no mistake: I was Halo crazy.īut in the last decade, Microsoft has careened Halo’s Warthog into a Blood Gulch ditch. Anticipating a new adventure featuring Master Chief and Arbiter got me into a fangirl frenzy like ‘60s hippies catching a glimpse of John Lennon and Ringo Starr. The Halo series was essentially my virtual anchor into the video game landscape for more than a decade. I played each campaign dozens of times, spent hours immersed in online matchmaking, and fooled around with Halo 3’s map editor for more time than I’d care to admit. As a teenager and young adult, Bungie’s definitive space marine first-person shooter was my favorite gaming franchise. ![]() Halo was The Beatles of my video game upbringing. ![]()
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