Way Back Wednesday - Halo:Combat Evolved

Back in 2001 Bungie studios, in conjunction with Microsoft released one of the most revolutionary First Person Shooters in the history of video gaming: Halo. Halo brought a new feel to the First Person Shooting industry with both a compelling story, and arcade style multiplayer online combat. Originally released for the PC and Xbox console, the Halo franchise has seen 5 new titles, a spin off anime series, several books, and other merchandise released since its successful debut. But what exactly makes this game such a classic? Let's walk down the long road of memories and find out.

Concept art for the alien "Covenant Elites

Halo: Combat Evolved took the general design behind the First Person Shooter genre and turned it into a spectacular visual display for it's time. Bungie created lush environments, from enemy ships, to rolling hills, and even desolate swamps, the game was beautiful. But not only did they introduce an interesting environment, but realistic representations of mankind, and interestingly obscure aliens. There is also a wide array of new technology seen in Halo, which all has very a very convincing appearance. Alien vehicles and weapons have a sleek design, while human weapons and vehicles look like futuristic versions of our own. Overall, the game has great visual appeal for its time, and is even passable in today's age.

The soundtrack for a game is a very important selling point. Background music helps set the mood for the various situations a player will encounter while playing a game. Halo's mood is perfectly punctuated by it's soundtrack. I remember back to when the game was first released, before I had even played it. My friends and I were on our way to the local laser tag arena and someone put the soundtrack for the game on in the car. Immediately I knew the game was going to be an amazing experience.

On the topic of voice acting, there are no big names in the line up. Though a few experienced voice actors such as David Scully, and Jen Taylor are in the cast, there very few voice actors who have done any other games or animations. However, this does not subtract from the quality in the least.

Master Chief is an experimental super soldier who, in an attempt to divert the Covenant attack force, inadvertently discovers a space station called Halo. To provide some clarification, the Covenant is an allien alliance who despises the human race and seeks to exterminate it. They also revere the Halo as a religious artifact. Halo, is a station with an artificial environment, and is of unknown origin. A covenant ship follows Master Chief and attacks the ship he is on, causing it to crash land on Halo. Master Chief must now locate the survivors and attempt to escape, while uncovering Halo's dark secret.

It is a fairly basic plot for any normal video game, but when you make the player experience it through the eyes of Master Chief it turns this basic plot into an intense fight for survival. This story continues in the following Halo 2 and 3, and will continue in the upcoming Halo 4. Halo: Combat Evolved provides a good setting for the following games, and also succeeds at standing independently of the continuing plot.

Halo: Combat Evolved provides many different ways to play. You can play through the single player campaign alone, or split screen with a friend on the Xbox. Or you can play in many different multiplayer modes online on the PC, ranging from free for all death match, to team capture the flag. You do not have access to online multiplayer if you are playing on the Xbox console, however you can play with up to 4 players on one console, or up to 16 with a Local Area Network or LAN. The gamplay does not stand out from modern First Person Shooters but it released many features that are used frequently today, such damage absorbing shield that recharges when you are no longer taking enemy fire. Halo bridged the gap between story driven FPSs like Medal of Honor, and Quake or Unreal Tournament which were multiplayer driven. It set the bar for all shooting games to have both single player and multiplayer game options to succeed, and its influence can be seen in many games today.

The Halo franchise has been successful since its beginnings, and though people may disagree on the overall quality of the recent games, most can agree that the first installment was thoroughly enjoyable. The game's overall quality rating for it's time would be about an 8.75. Personally, I really enjoyed playing Halo: Combat Evolved with friends before the recent games, and even going back and playing it now, so I would give it aa 9.5.

I hope you enjoyed this review even though it isn't really relevant to todays day and age. It's just my overall experience and opinions of older games. What's your fondest Halo memory? What games do you play today that you can see Halo's influence in? Do you think Halo: Combat Evolved should be considered a modern classic of the video game industry? Please leave me your answers, questions, comments, suggestions, or even complaints. And don't forget to subscribe via email for constant updates! I'll see you over the weekend for the next installment of "Oh! I play this game."