izigame.me

Well... HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED, this game started a very famous (and very good) series of fps games, the HALO franchise, and also revolutionized quite a bit the gaming industry, console gaming above all... in 2001, i was not even a gamer and had other things to do, so i played it just now (in 2023-24 i think)... and so i don't have ANY nostalgia for it, and i played it and... i gotta say with all honesty, one of the very few, but very, very few... 10/10 game, NOT JOKING...
let's break down some aspects of this game, starting with:
-- the gameplay--
the gameplay is one of the best gameplays i ever seen in a game, it's perfect... the game is an fps where you fight enemies, but there is a difference between this and other fps games, in this game the gameplay is very realistic and it's very similar to a real war, there are games like doom where you have a lot of weapons, fast speed, and enemies are stupid, and you kill them with your weapons easily... but this game, is different, enemies are very smart, and the gameplay requires that you cover a lot and also wait quite a bit, and enemies do that too, in the real life war soldiers stay behind pillars or something for even hours, and the enemy do that too, and this is quite the same thing, so it's very immersive gameplay because it's not you, rambo vs stupid enemy, but you and the enemy are on the same level actually, you can carry only two weapons, and that is fantastic, you have to choose what weapons to carry almost wisely, and you can change weapons whenever you want, and you have to because some weapons have limited ammo, so it's a very realistic game in the gameplay, you are also slow in the movement, which i like because so you can't run n gun mindlessly, and you enjoy the enviroment and atmosphere... so the gameplay is quite realistic... ... BUT, it's fun as hell, it's satisfying and really immersive and just... good...
the gameplay is good because there are WEAPONS... and there are ENEMIES... these two elements are a lot balanced, the weapons are all useful, all have PRO and CONS, and this work perfectly with the ENEMIES, the enemies are a few type, but they work so well, every enemy has STRENGHTS and WEAKNESSES... the enemies can resist a "tactic" (how you approach them and with what weapon) and can be killed with another tactic, every enemy has different AI and behaviour, and can be dangerous towards you in some way, and be weak in another way, in practice this is balanced PERFECTLY, it's chess... and every battle can be very different from each other, but that is you that have to decide because you are NOT forced to use a specific tactic in every situation, the game is good because most of the battles can be completed in different ways and tactics, there are some battles where the game offer you a lot of options, and you can choose what you want, the game has alsoa "random factor" in his battles, where sometime the enemy do this and sometimes this, and sometimes another thing, that adds a lot of life and immersion in the game, the game really feels alive... ..so, perfect gameplay... perfect
-- the graphics/artistic direction/level design/immersion-- (talking about the original graphics, not anniversary)
this game is also famous for his world, this ring planet, and his structures... i do not praise and love every single thing about the world, but i gotta say... it's pretty good, or it's just pretty... the scenographies and and the "weird" things in the art of halo, are very good, they create a very good immersion into the game, the feeling, the atmosphere is all around that, this game have pseudo surreal art, it's similar to earth, but it has also weird structures and settings, that i honestly... like a lot, some of the scenographies are fantastic, and the iconic ring, the HALO... is always pretty when you look at it, but the thing i love the most are the interiors, almost all of them create a very magic and pretty atmosphere, and they are very immersive... i like the art (also, fun fact: i already saw that art before playing the game because i visited a lot of "art places" (of all kind) and i was a pseudo-critic, and some students drew so halo inspired drawings, i believe one of them was from the silent cartographer mission, which is actually very pretty so im not surprised)
but now let's get spicy, i said this is a 10/10 game no? well so i guess you all waited for this moment: LEVEL DESIGN, hahaha (evil laugh)... yeah, is pretty criticized, honestly i was very critic of it the first time i played it (brutally critic) but with time i understand it, and now i want to say that is perfect, the open spaces, and the closed spaces are perfect... my favourite missions are assoult on the control room and two betrayals, because i like the close envioroments in thos missions, people say they are copy pasted and repetitive, but you ever wondered WHY they are? because they are so good, the immersion that they create is magical, the repetition is perfect because it all feels surreal, that is what i want from a game that is on an alien planet... i love the level design, in all chapters is really good, then when it's not "really good" it's.. fine, never horrible, maybe just 1 time, or 0... ... the library? first of all, before doing the critics of art, let's do the psychologists: HOW DO YOU GET LOST, HOW?!... ... perfect, now in an artistic perspective: i think it's fine... the primary setting first of all is genial, is perfect for the mission, then the mission is monotonous, but i love the library, im happy that is that long, actually sometimes it feels too long sometimes too short, so i think it's good... (also the library is easy af, you did not played any run n gun shooter if you say it's hard)... ... so, level design of the entire game, is practically perfect, FOR ME...
--the campaign--
we talked theory for almost all this review, what about practice? because all of this is in a single campaign, a PERFECT campaign if you ask me... the campaign has 10 missions, 10 perfect and very good missions, all of the missions feels complete and solid, not like halo 2 or 3 where the missions are shorter and feels more like standard levels, in HALO CE the missions are... poetic, they are all very long, and they all feels very complete, they feels like 10 different games... the first part of the campaign it's perfect, but honestly the first two missions of the game are the ones that i like less, because the mission HALO above all is very nostalgic, i absolutley see the nostalgia, but i have not nostalgia for it, though i see it clearly, the first two missions are good, but they are the most boring parts... and my good they are good for being the "boring parts", the game becomes peak (and not even the highest peak) with the third mission, all mission 3-5 are incredibily good, i can't believe they are so perfect... truth and reconciliation is long af and it's hard af... and i like that, i can't quite explain but i love that mission, silen cartographer is silent cartographer, and then assault on the control room, my second favourite mission in the game, it's so long and epic, it's such an epic journey... then there is the second half of the game, that honestly i like MORE than the first, the flood are so iconic and peak, and two betrayals is the peaks of the peaks, one of the best missions in gaming history no joking... the ending it's perfect, the maw is such a perfect ending, the game change tone a lot, and become VERY 2001, like in that mission, the nostalgia go hard, it's so 2001, early 2000s videogames... i love the final mission, it's the best ending they could've chosen... 10/10 game, it's so fun, chaotic, immersive, and atmospheric... now, last things i wanna say: this game is only playable on legendary, other difficulties are too easy and change the game, who hate halo is a classic boomer shooter fanboy, return to kill cyberdemons... and in this game you die a lot (on legendary) so don't have anger issues