Halo: Combat Evolved

The story revolves around the conflict between humans and an alien race known as the Covenant. The aliens have discovered a powerful artifact--on the ring-shaped planet called Halo--that will shift the balance of power, and it's up to the player to stop them. In addition to several first-person-shooter levels, the game offers numerous opportunities to engage in vehicular combat. Both the enemy and allied artificial intelligence are extremely impressive. Enemies will use the terrain and layout to put you in tight spots. Allies will know when to cover and aid you. For instance, if you hop into a jeep, an ally will know to jump in and man the turret on the back of it.

The graphics are exquisitely detailed, but only move at 30 frames per second rather than 60. The sound effects and voice acting are superb. The level design is among the best ever; most of the game is engaging and challenging without being frustrating. There's also high replay value thanks to the built-in single-player, cooperative, and deathmatch modes.

Much like the outstanding GoldenEye 007 for Nintendo 64, Halo raises the bar for console first-person shooters. All console action games will be measured against Halo for years to come. --Raymond M. Padilla

Pros:

• Outstanding game design
• High replay value
• Impressive AI

• Several maps are used multiple times
• Save functions could have been better implemented
• Graphics move at 30 frames per second, not 60

My mind was instantly changed.

Halo is not just another video game, it's more of an experience that on higher difficulty levels, you don't just play, you survive. The story is well-planned and well-paced, the weapons are oh-so-cool, the digital surround sound helps to hear behind you (online challengers don't stand a chance), the music is stirring and epic, and the graphics are simply jaw-dropping. Nothing I've played in the past year has put these essential components together quite like Bungie Studios has with Halo. Single player missions are a blast, and you actually feel like you are a super-soldier fighting an alien menace on a strange artificial ring-world in the middle of who-knows-where. But playing by yourself misses the thrill of this game completely.

Anyone with broadband access can use GameSpy Arcade, download the necessary components, cheaply purchase extra equipment, and go online to show the world what you are made of. Multiplayer separates the kids from the adults more than any other console game I have EVER played. To survive, you must be strategic, yet ruthless. You must know the levels, know how to hide, know how to shoot accurately, and know how to move effectively. Once you take some time to master these skills, you feel like you've accomplished something great...

Oh, and if you have friends with copies of Halo, use the biggest room you have to link up 4 XBoxes for 16-player deathmatches (the one catch, every 'Box has to have its own TV). Trust me, nothing brings friends together like 8-on-8 Team Combat. You run to the shotgun room to take care of the weapons cache, Friend #1 runs to the Rocket Launcher for heavy artillery, Friend #2 takes up a sniper position with Active Camouflage (think Predator), Friend #3 waits at the end of the bridge with Fragmentation Grenades, Friend #4 packs a Plasma Rifle to slow down enemies and destroy their shields, Friends #5 and #6 secure medical packs for the squad, while #7 and #8 go freelance and be bait/avengers. And that's just an example of the Slayer mode, where the most kills wins. You've got King of the Hill modes, Capture the Flag, Oddball (he/team that holds the ball for the longest amount of time wins), Races and more. And it's not just mindless killing, all these modes require team strategy and underatanding of the playing field terrain. The more you know about where you are, the better off you'll be when the scores are final.

The only way this can get any better is when Halo 2 comes out in 2003. By then, XBox Live (Microsoft's online game service) will be up to full steam, and who knows what the future could hold (besides the super-cool headset microphones that let you talk to squad members)...

If you own an XBox and don't own this game, shame on you. If you don't own a 'Box, buy one for THIS GAME. You'll thank me later.

Onto the graphics... Evil Empire or not, Microsoft delivered on the graphics in Halo. Halo is a sunny world with bright blue skies complete with drifting clouds. Jutting steel towers hiding vast underground complexes are set against a background of curved landscapes (another words, Halo's engine does curved surfaces and they are not afraid to show it off). All the character models look and move organically and the vehicles, though somewhat derivative of Star Wars, are very cool. I heard some complaints about frame rate from a guy on the losing team of our little competition, but I thought it played smoothly throughout.

Because of the noise at the party, I can't judge the audio, but I can tell you that the game would be worth it with no sound at all. Halo is packed with features, including, I'm told, new multiplayer game types and all the networking software needed to make hooking up your Xbox to a LAN, or directly to a cable modem, a snap. And last but not least, lets not forget that the fun factor is high, after all you even get to jump into vehicles and mow down everything in your path. Basically, I am willing to go out on a limb and say Halo looks like it will live up to, and maybe exceed, all the hype. Buy an Xbox so you can play this game.

In respect to audio, Halo outshines the competition. The sound effects are spectacular and the soundtrack is killer. In-game voice acting has never been so good. You can hear your allied marines chatter about the enemy, when they have been hit, where the enemy may be, etc etc. In addition, you can hear the frantic cries of the running enemy when you and your shotgun sneak up on them. Playing this game in Dolby Digital will give the gamer an unsurpassed gaming experience.

In actual gameplay, this is where Halo redefines first person shooters. No other console game has gone where Halo goes. Halo is comprised of 10 well-designed, surprisingly large levels, mixing indoor and outdoor environments, to give the gamer an experience which will not soon be forgotten. And this is no normal shooter either. You can play campaign mode single player or with a friend. This is the first game to have a great "co-op" mode. If you can't beat a level, call a friend and work together. Playing the 'single-player' mode with a friend makes the game a far more enjoyable experience.

The developers of Halo knew what they were doing when they included vehicles in the game. Throughout the game, you will use a variety of vehicles to help you defeat the enemy. Some are slow but powerful tanks, while others are quick hovercraft. Several of the vehicles allow more than 1 player to get in, thus letting 1 person drive while the other blast the enemy away.

However, where Halo really shines is in its multiplayer. With 4 players, 2v2 deathmatches are just a blast. However, with a Cable or DSL connection you will be able to play Halo online! You can play with up to sixteen players in pure madness. Of all the time I spend playing Halo, 90% of it is online. It is just incredible. It takes everything positive about console gaming and pulls the online gaming from traditional PC games to make Halo one of the most enjoyable games ever made.

Should you buy Halo? Absolutely! And don't worry about getting bored anytime soon. With friends and online play, you will be playing this one for months.

Other things about the game that seemed annoying at first actually turned out to be very cool.

1) No boss monsters. The game is linear for the most part but each level ends usually ends with particularly challenging fight with either a ton of enemies or a few enemies in a very strategic position making it difficult to take them out.

2) Only seven different enemies. There's two races of bad guys, each with 3 or 4 different soldiers. Not a lot of variety, but more realistic. Each type of enemy has its own detailed AI. Example - One type charges you when they're out of ammo, the other runs away.

3) Weapons - First, you can only carry two at a time and there is virtually no ammo lying around. If you are low, you gotta kill something and steal its gun. Each weapon has different effects on each enemy. The shotgun takes out a Flood Elite with one shot but has virtually no effect on a Covenant. You need to have a solid strategy on which two guns to carry at any given point on a level. Again, more realistic. Unlike Bond where you can carry 5 or 6 weapons. Second, there are only seven different weapons but the whole "which gun, when" thought process keeps it interesting.

4) Saving - You don't save just anywhere. The levels are broken up into multiple checkpoints and the game saves after each checkpoint. Not really annoying, just different.

5) Health - You have Shield and a Health meter. The shield depletes first, then the health. The cool thing is the shield regenerates after a few seconds if you aren't being hit. So basically, when your shield gets low, hide and wait for it to regenerate. Once the shield is gone, health drops quick. The shield will regenerate, but health stays low until you find a health pack (sparse). Not annoying, just different.

Other High Points
-A jeep with a huge Gatlin gun. Two marines can ride with you, one in the gunner seat and one in the passenger seat.
-A tank with a Gatlin and missile launcher. Four marines can ride along on top.
-A hovercraft with plasma cannons
- Mini-jet with plasma cannons and a plasma missile launcher.
-Cool death sequences.
-Melee attacks (pistol whipping, jamming the butt of rifle into the back of its neck, etc.)
-Sniper rifle with night vision.
-Motion tracker ala "Aliens"
-"Sticky" grenades
-Carcasses - When you kill something, the body will be there the rest of the game (no "fade away" ala Bond). You can continue to smack it with your gun and spray blood everywhere. If a grenade goes off nearby, all the carcasses fly in the air and land somewhere else.

Final thought:
You must try this game.

Needless to say, I picked up the Xbox and Halo a day after it was realeased in the US. I powered on the machine and threw in Halo. To my dismay, the game was alright on a controller. The learning curve was about thirty minutes to an hour for the control via the dual analog sticks, but after that, everything was smooth and precise.

The game itself is a modern console masterpiece. If you are a PC gamer, a console gamer, or both, pick up this game. The story is nice, the control is nice, the graphics are overpowering, the soundtrack kicks in at just the right times. Voice acting is also superb. Alright, so it is nice, that doesn't mean it is a masterpiece. Well, I am moving to that in a minute. AI, artificial intelligence is where the game becomes a masterpiece. AI on both sides, your marines, and the enemies (The Covenant and The Flood) are both amazing. It never feels like you are battling ET, these are full fledged strategic beings with energy weapons. They will strafe, hide behind obstacles, send out decoys, everything that you would do.

On a final note, Halo offers co-op mode. A buddy and yourself can play throughout the entire story together. To put it bluntly, this mode rocks! The game is a five star by itself. Then add a great co-op mode and the scale needs a few stars added to be able to keep up with Halo's gameplay