Halo: Combat Evolved
March 7, 2013
By Jacob Malewitz
Halo is first person shooter game with the story of a film and the artwork of a graphic novel. Some say it's overrated; it's one of the most replayable games I've ever come across, especially when you're playing with friends.
So why not buy the original Halo? Halo: Combat Evolved is a game with an incredible story and which allows you to stare at the incredibly detailed sun rays until you go blind (that joke was for Halo veterans). Best of all, you can buy brand new X-Box systems cheap. Even better, you can get the original Halo: Combat Evolved for pennies on the dollar of its original $50 price tag.
What Is Halo?
So what is Halo? I am addressing this to the newcomer, that guy who just played computer FPS games or strategy games like Civilization. It's a an FPS (first person shooter) which has legions of fans across the world; it's the signature title for the original X-Box system, and some say the best game put out on the original X-Box. The original spawned a comic series published by Marvel, novels published by speculative fiction publisher Tor, and even some talk of a movie.
But what is Halo? Halo 1, 2, and 3 are first person shooters, but they go third person shooter. You are Master Chief, a hybrid future soldier fighting to keep humanity alive. In your face is the covenant, an advanced alien race set out to end humanity. It's somewhat odd our last hope is an android, but it actually happened in "Terminator 2" and is about as fun.
Who Do You Fight?
The Master Chief fights the Covenant, a race full of all sorts of odd characters, from Elites to Grunts, Hunters to Jackals. Each opponent faces you in a different way: a grunt, a small, scared character, usually runs from you unless there are plenty of them. But the Elites and Hunters on the other hand, bigger opponents, are smarter and willing to charge right into you with gun or blade.
Gameplay:
This is where Halo rises above many first person shooter console games. In the original, Halo: Combat Evolved, you're just playing as Master Chief, unlike the Halo 2 where you can play alien characters. You face the Covenant for much of the game, then on later levels you will be fighting the Flood, another dark alien race who look quite like zombies, and act like it too. But the gameplay works so well here. The opponents are actually smart! They can trick you... charge you... form against you... or even snipe you from a distance. It's like an advanced war game built with high end graphics.
Story:
I will say it again: this is where Halo rises above many FPS games. "Doom," for instance, had a decent story, but not as a good as the entire Halo franchise. You are humanity's last hope, a soldier with the odds against him. Simple as that.
Graphics:
It's perhaps the best game for the original X-Box in terms of graphics. It doesn't get much better unless you play "Halo 2." I mentioned the sun rays. You can actually stare into the sun rays, seeing a halo of light. That is one fine example of the remarkable talent put into creating realistic environments.
Replay, Replay, Replay:
If you want a fun team game, something you can get together with friends and just blast some stuff, Halo: Combat Evolved is a good choice. Playing with only one other person can get old. Or having one very experienced player against a novice also gets old. But if you play long enough, get good enough, it's almost a guarantee the vs or team games will be fun. And did I say anything about difficulty? Try out "legend," the hardest difficulty. Then, after you die... try again.
The next games to buy? Buy first person shooter games for the PC. Buy the Playstation - Quit X-Box. Halo is over. Kill Zone and Crysis are available on the PlayStation, along with other shooters and dungeons and dragons games. You cannot just play shooters. You might play some strategy - some gun games with puzzles.
I have a blog called ArtofTheChessBoard which has the game of Chess. All games can be chessed. If you want to check that out, check out ArtoftheChessboard.Wordpress.com.
Article Source: Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo is first person shooter game with the story of a film and the artwork of a graphic novel. Some say it's overrated; it's one of the most replayable games I've ever come across, especially when you're playing with friends.
So why not buy the original Halo? Halo: Combat Evolved is a game with an incredible story and which allows you to stare at the incredibly detailed sun rays until you go blind (that joke was for Halo veterans). Best of all, you can buy brand new X-Box systems cheap. Even better, you can get the original Halo: Combat Evolved for pennies on the dollar of its original $50 price tag.
What Is Halo?
So what is Halo? I am addressing this to the newcomer, that guy who just played computer FPS games or strategy games like Civilization. It's a an FPS (first person shooter) which has legions of fans across the world; it's the signature title for the original X-Box system, and some say the best game put out on the original X-Box. The original spawned a comic series published by Marvel, novels published by speculative fiction publisher Tor, and even some talk of a movie.
But what is Halo? Halo 1, 2, and 3 are first person shooters, but they go third person shooter. You are Master Chief, a hybrid future soldier fighting to keep humanity alive. In your face is the covenant, an advanced alien race set out to end humanity. It's somewhat odd our last hope is an android, but it actually happened in "Terminator 2" and is about as fun.
Who Do You Fight?
The Master Chief fights the Covenant, a race full of all sorts of odd characters, from Elites to Grunts, Hunters to Jackals. Each opponent faces you in a different way: a grunt, a small, scared character, usually runs from you unless there are plenty of them. But the Elites and Hunters on the other hand, bigger opponents, are smarter and willing to charge right into you with gun or blade.
Gameplay:
This is where Halo rises above many first person shooter console games. In the original, Halo: Combat Evolved, you're just playing as Master Chief, unlike the Halo 2 where you can play alien characters. You face the Covenant for much of the game, then on later levels you will be fighting the Flood, another dark alien race who look quite like zombies, and act like it too. But the gameplay works so well here. The opponents are actually smart! They can trick you... charge you... form against you... or even snipe you from a distance. It's like an advanced war game built with high end graphics.
Story:
I will say it again: this is where Halo rises above many FPS games. "Doom," for instance, had a decent story, but not as a good as the entire Halo franchise. You are humanity's last hope, a soldier with the odds against him. Simple as that.
Graphics:
It's perhaps the best game for the original X-Box in terms of graphics. It doesn't get much better unless you play "Halo 2." I mentioned the sun rays. You can actually stare into the sun rays, seeing a halo of light. That is one fine example of the remarkable talent put into creating realistic environments.
Replay, Replay, Replay:
If you want a fun team game, something you can get together with friends and just blast some stuff, Halo: Combat Evolved is a good choice. Playing with only one other person can get old. Or having one very experienced player against a novice also gets old. But if you play long enough, get good enough, it's almost a guarantee the vs or team games will be fun. And did I say anything about difficulty? Try out "legend," the hardest difficulty. Then, after you die... try again.
The next games to buy? Buy first person shooter games for the PC. Buy the Playstation - Quit X-Box. Halo is over. Kill Zone and Crysis are available on the PlayStation, along with other shooters and dungeons and dragons games. You cannot just play shooters. You might play some strategy - some gun games with puzzles.
I have a blog called ArtofTheChessBoard which has the game of Chess. All games can be chessed. If you want to check that out, check out ArtoftheChessboard.Wordpress.com.
Article Source: Halo: Combat Evolved
Posted by Steve Pfister.