Halo Review (no fat)

Game Description

The player takes the role of a cyber-enhanced super marine known as Master Chief in the future when Earth has begun to colonize various parts of the galaxy. He is called into service to protect Earth and its colonies from an alien threat known as the Covenant who are keen to destroy mankind.

As the Covenant near a human planet, a massive battle is fought in which only one ship Pillar of Autumn survives. The ships commander flings the ship into outer space in hope of luring the aliens away from the home planet.

The escaped spaceship arrives on an alien artifact called Halo, located between the gas giant called Threshold and its moon Basis. After a crash landing on Halo, early on in the game, you spend a good deal of time fighting the Covenant forces and another alien threat called the flood. The plot is engaging, considering the FPS genre.

Halo Gameplay

The game consists of 10 massive levels. Some are played indoors while others are outdoor. Like any other first person shooter the main goal is to blast as many enemies as you can with a number of cool weapons (both Human and Covenant) available throughout the game.

Different types of weapons suit different kinds of tasks. Also, the AI of enemies is done pretty well while the level of difficulty increases as you progress through the game. The game demands not only quick responses but also strategy because you can only carry two weapons at a time. So you have to keep track of ammunition stocks.

Halo Enemies

The player will encounter a number of basic enemy types throughout the game; i.e. small Grunts, force-field equipped Elites, Jackals, Hunters and Cloaking Elites. Each type of enemy will perform according to its 'personality'. For example grunts will mostly attack in groups and run away to regroup when fired upon.

The elites, on the other hand, have shields and are more aggressive and difficult to get rid of. Once their shields go down they will resort to melee attacks. The Jackals hide behind plasma shields and fire in bursts with plasma pistols, you can either shoot at the visible body parts or weaken their shields until they collapse. The hunters are huge aliens that can only be taken down by repeated shooting at their heads…mind that.

Halo Weapons and Equipment

Your major protection in Halo is the armor which recharges itself when damaged. Health packs are not easily available in the game. The weapons available are Pistols, Assault Rifles, Sniper Rifles, Shotguns and Rocket Launchers, in the case of Humans. The Covenants have Plasma pistols, Plasma Rifles and The Needlers. Concussion grenades and Plasma grenades are available for using on groups of enemies.

Halo Vehicles

. The vehicle combat system is probably the most revolutionary aspect of the game. When you switch to vehicle the camera zooms out to become third person. Vehicles used in the game include Human Warthog on which you can have a passenger and a gunner, the Scorpion on which you can seat passengers on the sides and the Covenant Banshee and Ghost.

The game starts to stall about halfway through though. However, the twists in the plot help keep the players interested.

Halo Multiplayer

In the co-op mode the player can play the single player game with a friend. The multiplayer feature offers a number of game types and customization options. All in all there are 26 variations. You can connect with up to four other Xbox's A total of 16 players can participate at a time; however the frame rate will suffer drastically with multiple players.

Halo Graphics

The graphics of Halo are just as impressive as the gameplay, although Halo will not run at 60 frames per second, it is good enough to play at 30 FPS. Sometimes the FPS rate will fall drastically and there is some chopping when multiple vehicles are involved. However, the graphics are quite impressive apart from the small glitches.

Halo Sound Track

The quality of sound is superb. Players with 5.1 Surround Sound will appreciate the voice acting and sound effects. Cortana the onboard computer will tell the player about his objectives and mission progress and the sound also meshes well with the situation and game play.

Halo Summing Up

Halo is one of the best first person shooters to hit the market. If the gameplay and graphics are top notch, the plot of the game is even better. It offers a variety in this genre which has been lacking for years. From bashing aliens on foot to striking them from vehicles, Spectacular graphics, co op mode and multiplayer game, there is something for everyone.

Halo Price

Halo currently retails for $19.95US at the time of writing.