Halo: Combat Evolved is one of those rare titles that will stick with you forever.
The opening scene starts with a large ring-world in the background and a ship, whose name you can see on the side. It reads: “Pillar of Autumn”; It is unclear what you are running from, or who is chasing you at this point. The ship’s AI doles out the damage report and current operational status of the ship and the captain makes the decision to go to combat alert. Still unclear who or what is trying to kill you, and enemy they are referring to as “The Covenant.” Then the captain gives the order to crack the hushed casket, and release the Master Chief.
The Master Chief is the only surviving member of the Spartan IV project that was conducted on the planet of Reach. With strength, cunning, and skills far above and beyond, the Master Chief this suddenly thrust headfirst into conflicts that soon become so universally threatening, the tempo will never slow down.
The story progresses in a logical manner as you uncover the secrets of “Halo.” On your journey as the Master Chief you will be guided by your AI construct named Cortana. Along the way you will be aided and hindered by your marines and ancient constructs that were left behind on Halo, and ultimately uncover the secret of what happened to the people who built it.
Graphically, Halo is impressive; the sprites come across in bright colors and detailed graphics help to immerse you in the amazing experiences found throughout the game. While the game does not support any high definition output, it seems hardly necessary with a game that is just this much fun to play. In comparison to most of the newer games out Halo might look really bad, but that should make little difference with this game.
One of the aspects of Halo that makes is such a great game (if you were to consider nothing else) is the amazing re-playability of this game. You could literally be up all night and play through this game twice and have an amazing experience each time you played it without any of those déjà vu annoyances found in most other games.
All of the sound in Halo is orchestrally composed and gives the game that much more flavor. In the light of things, Halo really couldn’t be the same game if you were to give it a more modern soundtrack because most of the battles take place in ancient facilities built centuries ago by the forerunners. Because, of that element, the music suits Halo in a way that another game couldn’t replicate.
It is just so hard to describe all the great times I have had playing Halo, and it almost shames me that I have waited until now to write a user review for this game. Not only is this game amazing, it is one of the super rare games I would call a “Masterpiece.”