Pure carnage

Author's Rating:

Pros: Great graphics,game play ,effects,excellent AI

Cons: Limited replay value-offline

The Bottom Line: 
HALO is a must buy for every XBOX owner, regardless if they like shooters or not. Action, depth, gameplay and graphics are all well above par.

Author's Review
I purchased HALO much against my typical aversion to first-person shooters, but was quite surprised at this enormously addicting game. I fired this bad boy up on my Xbox at 2pm and was up until 3 am screaming obscenities at the alien targets..LOL. This game is probably the most addicting game I have EVER played.

The game has a great storyline, borrowed from Larry Niven's Ringworld concept- A large ring in space is actually a planet inside the inner loop. The main character- the TOP SARGEANT- has been assigned the task of determining the origin and purpose of this Ring before the alien pond scum Covenant forces do, and ultimately discover the ring's (HALO) true nature. The story is complex, but not overly so, and has very few plotholes, with great attention paid to character development.Most of the secondary characters are funny or interesting to interact with. This is unusual with shooters, most storylines being ridiculously complex or impossible to follow. The story follows TOP SARGEANT as he eliminates Covenant forces and finally faces 'The Flood'- a alien forces akin to the Alien from movies fame. These guys are truly bad news, as they come fast, furious and endless. HALO has a horrifying ultimate solution to the 'The Flood', elegant, but brutal. Endgame had the TS trying to stop HALO from carrying out its plans.

The graphics are stunning, although some of the underground areas are a bit dull. I think that was mainly to provide a good 'killing field' for the shooter and to aid later multiplayer games. Outdoor is another matter- water moves, dirt clods jump and tree bark flies off when shot at. Absolutely awesome. Sounds are equally up to task, with a great soundtrack that adds to the excitement- it starts the music as you approach the end of a level. It's a great dramatic touch that adds excitement and tension to the end of each level. I love how everything can be blown up or shot up. Bullet marks don't fade and secondary explosions are common.

The targets and weapons are varied too, which is nice. Body parts fly off, blood squishes never disappear and the weapons all have strengths and weaknesses. Many other games off a variety of weapons but vary little when it comes to how they ultimately kill. In HALO, there are certain weapons that are ideal for certain situations...a nice touch and shows the programmer took some effort on this one.I don't like the fact you can only carry two weapons at a time, but real combat is like that, I guess. Ammo is never a problem either. Just as you seem to run out, more awaits around the corner. I rarely had to budget my shooting. Laser guns overheat(causing the TS to yelp in pain and shake his burned hand), and can be set to overload, which is slick too. You can jump in jeeps and take over enemy tanks, a nice idea.

The AI is excellent too. Enemies duck and run for cover- yelling "Grenade" when you throw one. They also will try to outflank you and head for the high ground. Having been in actual combat, I can tell you this game was as close to an intelligent enemy as a real one is. These guys are pretty smart. The Marine 'buddies' you are sometimes given don't seem to be very smart though. They tend to run out into the open and get slaughtered easily- often running into your own field of fire- then yelling at you for doing the same (nice touch actually). The only real help is when you get into a 'Warthog" jeep. Then they take the gunner position and are quite deadly. Otherwise, they seem to be cannon fodder. By the way, your gunfire DOES hit friendlies, although there doesn't seem to be any penalty for this. Friendlies are funny with their comments- a good sniper shot is answered with 'Great shot" or 'Save some for me!"
You gotta love it. Also, borrowing from the movie 'ALIENS' there always seems to be one Marine who yells "They're everywhere! We're all dead man!" and starts running around panicking and shooting the bugs with reckless abandon. That's great stuff.

The only issue I have with the game is that most levels you have to fight 'twice'- one on the way in, then fight your way out. I never liked that, no matter how realistic that might be. I understand you can effectively double a game's play time like that, but it gets boring after 20 or 30 levels. I would say that is the only flaw to a truly remarkable game.

This one is a must buy for any Xbox owner. I can't wait for the online version with the headsets to come out on this- it should be awesome.