Is Halo: Combat Evolved A Masterpiece?!

[Music] bringing low level systems online cracking the case in 30 seconds I want everyone at this station everyone fair and Cortana [Music] let's give our old friends of warm welcome [Music] halo combat Evolved a game so influential it created a multi-billion dollar franchise revolutionized the FPS genre and is credited as being the biggest reason why Microsoft was able to grab a foothold in the video game industry halo 1 defines the word legendary in every sense its reputation critical and commercial success the gameplay captivating soundtrack incredible setting beautiful graphics split-screen co-op land parties and its pure form of arena multiplayer there's certainly a reason why combat Evolved is the highest-rated video game on the Xbox why it was labeled the killer app and why it coined the phrase Halo killer there's a reason why Master Chief has become a household name and a gaming icon as well as the face of the Xbox if you got a great game that's only available on Xbox and the thing that everybody's excited about then they're going to go out and buy Xbox Microsoft's development team bunch provides the must-have game for the deep enjoy every single piece of Halo lore every novel product toy accessory every halo themed Xbox or controller spawned from this game I mean I could end this video right now and just bring up the ridiculous numbers 13 games 65 million copies sold over 20 novels and so on it doesn't take anything less than a masterpiece to create a franchise of this magnitude but is all this praise and success still relevant does halo one story and gameplay hold up after all these years and what about some of the more controversial aspects like the recycled areas the flood or the infamous library is halo combat Evolved a 16 year old game worthy of being called a masterpiece before we get started let's remember a few things one the expectations and landscape of the gaming industry in 2001 2 we're not judging halo by today's standards but we can compare it to modern games for reasons I'll explain later 3 this is the first game in the Halo series so remember that neither Bungie or Micro I knew if this game would even be popular so with that said let's keep our pistols loaded and crash our lifeblood straight into this why do we always have to listen to this old stuff start watch your mouth son this stuff is your history I should remind you runs what we're fighting to protect you can learn a lot from a game movie from its introduction and what halo does at the very beginning is set the tone and establish the setting right off the bat the opening cinematic is showing us what's important this mysterious space ring the pillar of autumn and the characters on board the music creates a sense of mystery and a foreboding atmosphere that captivates the player right away after that we see troops tanks and pelicans all preparing for battle as the music changes to reflect that and then we see one of the greatest motivational speeches of all time I don't damage our homes my son of a [ __ ] machine or a giant hula-hoop we're not gonna let them have it but we will let them have it's a belly full of lead and a pool of their own blood to drown in am i right Murray hmm damn right I am within three minutes you get the sense that this is going to be some epic sci-fi action game surrounding a mysterious ring and that's exactly what it is during every cutscene and minute of gameplay halo sets a deliberate authentic tone and feeling through its visuals sound design and music while Marty O'Donnell is our Lord and Savior his work is impressive the soundtrack is simply timeless but more importantly than the music itself is the pacing at what points do you hear which songs halo doesn't assault your eardrum with music playing over every second of the experience sometimes you don't hear anything and that's a good thing because it means those moments when you do hear music are much more impactful and memorable whether it be action-packed carnage still be precision or mysterious wonder combat Evolved as a song for everything it wants you to feel the soundtrack overall has a well-defined identity and it's because of the music that halo has a unique feeling from start to finish and this opening cutscene sets the stage perfectly but it's not just the opening cinematic or music that gives the game a powerful feeling it's also the control it's not good it's not great or even awesome it's [ __ ] perfect the control is so fluid and natural you won't even be thinking about it it's simple fair balanced and reliable meaning that any mistake the player makes is entirely their own fault now combat Evolved was by no means the first FPS game but it was the first that brought intuitive controls to the console market they made shooters accessible to the casual gamer who didn't have a computer even games like Goldeneye perfect dark and banjo tooie that came out on the Nintendo 64 didn't have the same long-lasting impact on the gaming industry like Halo did the controls set a clear standard for the franchise and the industry moving forward and this was because aiming with four buttons just didn't feel as good as aiming with a control stick also the controller was made for people with three arms and most most people don't have three arms now a lot of the younger kids might not know this but when the original Xbox controller the Duke came out it was a laughing stock and not just because it's as big as your mom but because the idea of playing a game with two control sticks it was considered crazy at the time for the controller with the features that we wanted which was two analog sticks that were sort of off yeah but things are seem obvious now which were batshit under that point yeah prior to halos release pc FPS games dominated the market and most people didn't want to venture away from mouse and keyboard to play a shooter but combat Evolved changed all of that important aspect of the game was how it also limited the player to two weapons most other shooters had you juggling a wide array of weapons all at the same time and if you wanted to use grenades in melee you'd have to cycle through a menu to use them it's crazy to think the formula for almost all FPS games since halo can trace their roots and inspiration back to it to see just how revolutionary this game was all you have to do is look at any shooter released since halo how similar is the control scheme how many of them have a two weapon system regenerating health a specific button for melee and grenades vehicle combat and a greater emphasis on the AI it's also worthy to mention that Bungie gave players different options so if the default control didn't feel right you could always change it there's so many things that halo revolutionized in the FPS genre it's mind-blowing to think about System Link gaming land parties or players split-screen co-op campaign and having an actual story when most games didn't bother or didn't have much in 2002 halo was the first real first-person shooter game I ever played and when I stepped out of that life cloud onto that gigantic ring my world changed forever and so did the gaming industry if there's anything that shows us combat Evolved is a masterpiece it's the gameplay and the difficulty not just from mission to Mission but as a whole what halo does best is create a fun fair balanced and challenging video game experience and quite honestly it does this better than every other Halo game and most first-person shooters that I've played that's a bold statement cotton and it might not pay off but I've had a lot of experience with these games I've beaten every campaign on legendary multiple times so I have a pretty good idea of what I'm talking about first we got to ask ourselves why is it important for a game to be challenging and fair well the long and short of it is our brains reward us when we overcome challenges the more difficult the better we feel after accomplishing it our brains punish us when we don't succeed there's a fine line every person walks between failing but getting up and failing so many times you decide to quit or take a Dark Souls is the epitome of this concept and combat Evolved is its FPS counterpart now don't get me wrong both Dark Souls and halo on legendary are very hard games but the same principles of overcoming that difficulty is what makes them so satisfying because the amount of times you will fail in combat Evolved because of some [ __ ] some straight of [ __ ] is almost non-existent when you die 99% of the time it's your fault and that's a good thing because you have control over your fate you don't feel cheated you feel like you can handle whatever this game throws at you if you play smart and well failing is the best way to learn while doing my legendary no death challenge every time I failed I went back and saw what happened and the answer was crystal clear to me so I could alter my play style in certain areas to achieve success I've beaten combat Evolved on legendary without dying once but I don't think that is possible in any of the other campaigns that's because combat Evolved contains almost no artificial or [ __ ] difficulty almost now I want to stress that just because a game is challenging doesn't mean it's fun or fair sure it might be hard to consecutively shoot 13 sniper jackals with pinpoint accuracy what is that fun of course it might be challenging when enemies can kill you with an underlay attack that happens within one sixth of a second but is that fair what it boils down to is the best games are fun and challenging without being unnecessarily frustrating so with this brief summary of why difficulty is important in video games let's look at what combat Evolved does well and what it doesn't rocket launcher flood [ __ ] these enemies are honestly the only thing that is unfair because they have a one-shot kill weapon but don't have a predictable animation when they fire it anything that can kill you instantly needs to be telegraphed so you can hear the mortar of the rate sword elites will yell giving you a moment to react you'll mostly encounter these guys in one mission and they die as easily as the other flood so it's not super frustrating you could argue that the vehicle physics are pretty hilarious and for multiplayer I definitely agree but because of how old this game is and being one of the first competent FPS games to integrate vehicles you really can't criticize it for that everything new has to start somewhere I'd love it if you baculum I had I've heard people complain that the checkpoint system is unfair but in the 15 years I've played this game across three different consoles I can safely say any problems with checkpoints and combat Evolved are incredibly rare or non-existent the big thing people criticize this game for is its repetitive level design and we'll definitely talk about that later but that's a pretty short list of complaints for a game people have had 16 years to criticize and I think that's an indicator of just how sound the game design was in my Halo 4 review I talked about how halo is like a chess game because each enemy you fight has a unique role with obvious strengths and exploitable weaknesses so let's look at our cast of enemies grunts are the cannon fodder they have strength in numbers but are weak on their own they can toss grenades carry heavy weapons and run in terror if they're elitist killed elites are high-ranking soldiers of the Covenant they can be invisible carry swords and in the later levels throw grenades these guys are smart cunning and will put up a very strong fight jackals are defensive and will usually try and hold a specific position so you need to be precise or use grenades wisely to get past them hunters are tanky mini bosses that roam in pairs they have powerful fuel rod cans but a predictable melee and crippling weakness to the pistol and sniper the flood are all about swarm tactics they'll charge and try to overwhelm you and by shooting off their limbs you can eliminate their ability to attack you up close and at range finally sentinels are flying laser spewing robots the beauty of halos design is you have to think about the best strategy in order to progress through the level the exciting gameplay comes from the different combinations of enemies and how you the player decide to deal with them most importantly no one strategy is always the best strategy for example a plasma pistol may be perfect at dealing with sentinels and elites but it's far less effective against hunters and flood a rocket launcher is good against everything but you can't use it all the time because it's ammo is limited the sniper is effective against most enemies but it's useless against the flood so when you combine the two weapon system the predictable unique designs of the enemies what happens is the player starts playing with intention they start making meaningful decisions this is what makes a game so fun and interesting because you're subconsciously thinking about which route to take which enemies to kill when why and with what weapons or vehicles these are the fundamentals of Halo that turned the gameplay into a sort of dance where you move and jump to avoid damage while also finding the best position to deal damage there's always more than one way to get the job done halo was absolutely groundbreaking for the design of its artificial intelligence the enemy is always strategizing and thinking of the best way to kill you every enemy and vehicle you face gives you audio and visual cues that allow you to predict its behavior there are countless examples of this within Aiello's gameplay and even if you might never have thought of it your brain recognizes these patterns and reacts to them instinctively if you're driving by a group of Covenant most of the time they'll jump out of the way so you have to adjust how you drive if you want to run them over when a Marine grunt or elite throws a grenade you can see the animation and hear them yell [Music] seeing a shade turret in your vicinity means it's possible for both you and the enemy to use it so you have to keep an eye on them if you don't see an enemy on your radar you can listen closely for the sound of their footsteps you may walk into an area with enemies that are unaware of your presence you'll see them casually patrolling the area or even taking a cute little map oh isn't it adorable guys good guy when they notice you they'll shout out to their allies and alert them for most every action taken by the enemy you the player are given time to react by learning how enemies will react to your actions that is how you can master the game and play through on the hardest difficulty without dying once but I want you to ask yourself without exploits is that realistically possible for any of the other Halo games I wouldn't think so this is why I believe combat Evolved has the best gameplay in the series and one of the best in the FPS genre because it can be learned and mastered to such a degree and still be challenging and fun what halo gives you that most other FPS games don't is a buffer it gives you a generous room for error your health bar is what protects you when you get into a rough spot or make a mistake so rather than instantly punishing you with death the game gives you a chance to recover from your mistakes without having to constantly restart from the checkpoint this also brings in an interesting mechanic where you have to manage your health and power-ups so it's not about just waiting for your health to regenerate you have to actively seek these power-ups and health packs there's always been a lot of subtleties in combat Evolved that I really appreciate and I'd like to highlight a few of them that stand out what's really cool is the difference in difficulties doesn't just tweak the numbers in terms of damage and health changing the difficulty changes the game some areas might have invisible sword elites on heroic and gold sword elites on legendary ranks might get higher or the combination of enemies will change even the opening and ending cutscenes change and you just gotta luck the level of blood in this game it's ridiculous it's over-the-top and man does it feel like a battlefield when you stop and look around I really enjoy the amount of personality Bungie injected into each of your marine allies and the Covenant they all feel look and talk different and it gives the game an unforgettable charm Mach 5 you won't die instantly in combat Evolved when you walk out from cover like in Halo 2 you won't be fighting and ridiculously hard vehicle sections where the Marines take more bullets than you like Halo 3 you don't die by undoubtable insta kill melee attacks allow reach 4 and 5 you don't die from [ __ ] you can't predict and it's because GE is more focused on making the game fair that you can easily learn from your mistakes despite how challenging it is and not be forced to repeat the same section until you do it perfect these are the main reasons why combat Evolved gameplay is so fun challenging and revolutionary and when you think about it it's no wonder why the game holds up so well sixteen years later most people might not know this but halo combat Evolved wasn't just a first-person shooter it was actually two games in one you might be asking how could Halo be more than just an FPS game well I'll show you no kill timers no sky ceiling and only one invisible barrier that you can crash into if you drive through water for five minutes you see in most games even the newer halos they simply put a barrier there or make the water kill you instantly but in combat Evolved the levels don't restrict the gameplay in any way that gives players motivation to explore them in whatever forms insanity comes to their mind that's the beautiful thing about this game it was right for tricks exploits there were ways to get out of just about every level some so outrageous you wonder how they help people figure them out in the first place and some so easy anybody could do them the game doesn't limit you in any way which is a stark contrast to how on Rails and controlled most FPS games have become this right here is one of the most vivid videos I remember watching a guy named miss man was able to get this shade to it in a specific position on the cliff and managed to melee it all the way down to the bottom of the level I mean what like how the [ __ ] did you figure that out dude after watching this as a kid I realized just how many possibilities there were to explore the game there was a seriously dedicated group of gamers that wanted to do tricks like they were all in a goddamn biker gang the hardest of the hardcore exploring these levels was like playing something else entirely I've always had this desire to see more of the game to see those hidden parts I wasn't meant to get to or view things from a different perspective there's something so fascinating about Halo its architecture and its visuals it wants you to explore the fact that the game actually has a scripted moment for when you start murdering people on the bridge just goes to show how free you really are I gave you an order get off ish what the hell are you doing security to the bridge the master gene and Don rabbit take em down boys I mean how many games are there we're jumping around the level becomes something of an art form even without exploits Hilo has this tremendous feeling of freedom of course Bungie was very clever with the Easter eggs they put in and it's these little things that you tell your friends about and share a good laugh or show them how you got to this secret spot this go wherever the hell you want type of attitude just doesn't exist in FPS campaigns anymore and it's one of the things that made combat Evolved feel so expansive it doesn't matter how fun or awesome the core gameplay is if there aren't interesting locations to play in level design needs to complement the gameplay and let me tell you combat Evolved has some of the best level design you'll ever see it's mind-blowing to think about how much thought Bungie put into each mission again you might not have thought of this before but what halo does so well is give you something new with each mission the elements of the game unravel in increments it doesn't just throw everything at you right off the bat imagine if captain Keyes gave you a pistol and then you started seeing Seward elite hunters blood Beck ops enemies Wraith branches and all that crazy [ __ ] it'd be too much it's because halo reveals new things at the right moment that the game keeps your interest the entire time first mission makes you feel powerless you don't jump out of the cryo tube and start wrecking the place you're introduced to the enemies you see how they fight without being able to fight them the level is mostly corridor shooting teaching you how to use grenades take cover the bases second mission opens up lets you roam wherever the opposite of the corridors on the fill or bottom then you're introduced to drop ships banshees jackals the sniper rifle and warthog third mission introduces the role of stealth you'll notice there's no pistol here either because the game wants you to learn how to use the sniper then it throws hunters turrets invisible elites and sword elites at you this is the entire game in a nutshell with each level offering something new but not completely changing it when the game takes elements away it's for a deliberate reason more noteworthy is the number of routes you can take to progress through encounter for instance even though pillar of autumn is mostly corridor shooting there are different paths to take flanking routes most FPS games are pretty linear and even though combat Evolved has eight linear missions they don't really feel like it halo and the silent cartographer are the only nonlinear missions in the series aside from new Alexandria and Mombasa streets on halo you can save the Marines in any order you want on silent cartographer you can explore the levels in any way you want I think it says a lot when it gained this old manages to make nonlinear levels when later games in the series hardly ever tried to do that whatever happened to that lost ambition the level design can only be described as dynamic for the first half of the game I think everyone agrees halo 1 is awesome but it's when we get to the seventh mission that mission that problems start to arise it's no secret that sea erie uses levels assets and visuals and the library is notorious for being repetitive and difficult what are these criticisms as bad as people make them out to be let's look at assault in the control room you go through a series of rooms bridges and elevators that seem to be copy and pasted but all these areas play differently the enemy combinations are different the gameplay is different and that's what matters hypothetically removing these somewhat redundant areas would make the overall game feel and look more unique however that would also make the game much shorter and because the gameplay is so damn fun in the first place I'm glad the levels are longer maybe if they looked and felt a little bit different people wouldn't have criticized them as much the library is when we get the real [ __ ] as the only enemy is the flood and we're forced to fight them in very similar-looking rooms and while young me certainly hated this level as an adult I've actually come to appreciate it being hunted by a seemingly endless swarm of flood might be frustrating for some but to me it's exhilarating it provides pulse-pounding action as you always have to be on your toes and keep a close eye on your radar the flood will hunt you from every conceivable angle they spawn behind above in front on the sides they jump through doors climb up walls in this dimly lit labyrinth you're constantly on edge as the unsettling music follows you through on a thematic level it works great as this is the point where you realize what the flood lack in brains and advance tactics they make up for in numbers and that's what makes them scary this library that could have once been a mystical beautiful area is now overrun by the horrors it was meant to contain while the level isn't the best halo has to offer I respect the library for the way it changes the gameplay forces you to switch up your strategy and adds elements of horror into its gameplay I leave home for a few days and look what happened this won't take long keys in the mod do have you returned to areas from before but the levels are so vastly different with places you've never been but they are hardly similar to the previous missions then we come to two betrayals a level that many people hate because it's simply assault in the control room backwards but as I see it this is the best and most entertaining level in the Halo franchise as I said before the landscape is reused but the encounters aren't - betrayals has a totally different tone and feeling than its counterpart what makes this level so fun is the AI as the game has turned into an all-out war between the Covenant flood sentinels and you throwing the player into the mix of all these large-scale battles makes you feel small but not powerless you get a sense of scale and conflict as the halo ring is being devastated around you and your choices for each encounter are numerous do you watch from afar and see how it plays out do you shoot everything without discretion or do you help one side destroy the other to make it easier on yourself making these choices and watching the AI fight each other is what makes the level so entertaining time and time again to me it doesn't matter that some of the levels have the same layout as before because I'm playing them in a completely different way if you enjoy the gameplay then these flaws won't distract much from the experience combat Evolved gives you fun enemies to shoot and interesting dynamic locations to fight them in but it goes one step further by adding context and purpose to the gameplay a story that you're invested in is what makes a good game become great and what halo does incredibly well is provide a reasoning behind the gameplay the context of each level is told and shown to you through cutscenes and in-game dialogue this allows players to get more invested into the combat as there is something at stake and it's not just a kill these bad guys to advanced type of game coming here was reckless you to know better than this Thanks there's always an important reason an urgency for what you're doing from the very beginning the consequences of the players death are laid out before you which is where you come in to get Cortana off this ship keep her safe from the enemy if they capture her they'll learn everything force deployment weapons research earth I understand and all the way through to the end your objective drives Master Chief's actions the story always gives you a sense of urgency to accomplish your task making it more intense and I really enjoy how the Marines themselves play a role in the story it creates a sense of unity Brotherhood between you and your allies and the cause you all fight for the in-game dialogue is used to flesh out the universe and the halo ring so as you play through the exposition that Cortana or other characters gives you teaches you more about the setting this cave is not a natural formation someone built it so it must leave but what about the narrative itself well as I said before there's a reason why halo has such a rich expanded universe and it's because this game planted all the right seeds prior to its release neither Microsoft or Bungie knew of Halo would be a one-off game or something that would warrant a sequel so they had to make the story self-contained but the potential for expanding upon it's safe to say halo didn't become a one-off game and the way it's set up humanity reach the characters covenant flood forerunners in the halo ring left the door open for a more in-depth look into all these elements which is exactly what future games books and TV shows did in the future the common criticism people make is that combat Evolved doesn't tell you everything you don't know the origins of the chief the Spartans covenant or reach now back then games used to come with these things called manuals remember those and in the manual it tells you everything you need to know about the backstory the question you need to ask yourself what is most important and what does the audience need to know in the opening cutscene if we had five minutes of exposition on the events of reach that would have taken away the intensity and urgency of the situation at hand we don't need to know what exactly happened on reach or who the Master Chief is because what's more important is what is in front of us chief himself has been criticized as being a mostly flat character but halo isn't about the Master Chief it's about his journey your journey having him remain silent through gameplay allows you to immerse yourself in his shoes because you're not watching the events of Halo unfold in a movie theater you're playing through them in a game the point is the mystery surrounding sheep is what makes him interesting and having him be a blank slate allows you to more easily connect with the story the universe and this ancient ring of mass destruction combat Evolved story is rather simple but simple doesn't mean bad as I said in my read review some games have a story based around a setting rather than dynamic characters si is no different as the lens is focused on this foreign world and the secrets and conflicts that take place around it it's a story of discovery on traveling the mystery of an ancient world with action-packed moments that contrast the quiet parts so much of the story is told through the levels themselves for example the game has you play through the attack on the pillar of autumn giving you a first-hand look at how ruthless the Covenant are then you crash land and you're forced to seek out other Marines to form a resistance you see a bunch of downed life pods and you imagine what exactly happened what are the stories of the Marines in those lifepods Truth and Reconciliation puts you aboard a covenant ship and you get some insight into their foreign technology there's a moment in two betrayals when you're going through a room and you only encounter human flood with no weapons apparently these guys were meant to be the remnants of fireteam Zulu that you save an assault in the control room if you look closely at the proto gravemind and keys you can actually see the captain's pipe nearby hope that last smoke was a good one and earlier in the level we see the flood gathering bodies in the corner and it's just so freakin creepy on the mall you see the pillar of autumn and extreme decay you go through a bunch of armories that have weapons all over the place but none of them have any ammo it makes it feel so desolate and empty but the best in-game storytelling by far comes in the mission 343 Guilty Spark the build-up and reveal of the flood is one of the most iconic and vivid moments in videogame history and it's all done while you're playing through without any exposition from Cortana the description says creep through a swamp to meet the only enemy the Covenant fear at the beginning we see covenant fleeing in terror of something then we come across a downed Pelican with a mysterious foreboding distress call a seemingly random explosion occurs scaring the covenant fighting our way through the fog filled jungle creepy music sets the tone as we see what appears to be friendly Marines in the distance we go through a series of tunnels there's this green goop dripping from the ceiling you see all these flashing lights and then there's Kneedler ammo and that's the moment you realize something is terribly wrong because there's never been any needler ammo and the rest of the game then there's this marine that's gone insane he shoots at you wildly and spouts crazy dialogue about some monsters there's blood explosions bullet holes and fire and you're just like brah I didn't [ __ ] do this I was never here at this point you're weirded out because of all this crazy [ __ ] and there doesn't appear to be any elites here next you cross this light bridge and you see blood all over the place what happened to these Marines and boy you're about to find out oh what's that what's that sound what's what's happening and after encountering the flood it hits you the reason there aren't any elites in this level it's because they're all flood now holy [ __ ] and now you see how easily the Covenant and your allies fall against the flood without leadership oh yeah all those dead bodies you saw on your way here they're gone there's even a part where you can go back to the elevator you came in on and it [ __ ] collapses damn what eventually we get to the real elevator thank God and we're ready to get the hell out of here but wait what you ever wonder how so much blood got on the walls here it's because the flood were throwing dead bodies down the elevator shaft I mean this level is simply a plus story film and it's not mandatory for you to see all this stuff but it's there if you really pay attention and halo isn't shy of adding a bit of humor in an otherwise serious situation falling apart it'll hold we're not gonna make you did that on purpose didn't you Chief and Cortana have a lot of memorable one-liners as well now would be a very good time to leave budget ah the characters weren't exactly deep with expansive character arcs and it's because they didn't need to be captain Keyes Cortana Master Chief and Guilty Spark all play important rules and how the story plays out they got personality they're charming and the dialogue and voice acting is pretty damn good hey remember how I said see II was ripe for expanding upon that's exactly what 343 did with the anniversary terminals adding that extra layer of depth to the characters in a way we all imagined them to be point is halo doesn't try to sell you a character-driven story it tries to sell you a setting driven story and if it succeeds at what it attempts why would it need to be anything else there are some plot holes and moments that feel a bit too convenient like the sudden appearance of a teleportation grid but for me these things never took me out of the story I was able to suspend my disbelief and roll with it because I was having so much fun now we also have to remember that storytelling in first-person shooters had no real expectations at the time if Halo launched and had cut 90% of its story and cut scenes out nobody would have batted an eye it's because halo executed an ambitious idea so well in a time where video games storytelling was still in its infancy and the way it complemented it with great voice acting and music that the narrative became so beloved in the first place we consider everything that halo combat Evolved brought to the table the revolutionary impact it had on console and FPS gaming along with its incredible soundtrack dynamic levels interesting enemies fascinating story the groundwork it laid for the franchise the way it put Xbox on the map and how its formula is still being replicated to this day it seems impossible to classify this game as anything less than a masterpiece a game this well designed deserves every piece of recognition and praise that it get and the fact that we're still talking about it the fact that the game has been remastered twice and released on four different platforms is a testament to halos well-deserved legendary status and how well it holds up 16 years later no game is perfect and combat Evolved certainly has its flaws but as far as I'm concerned this is as perfect as it gets calculating alternate escape route inventory shows one longsword fighter still talk too much mate 7 we move now we can make hello Claire [Music] [Music] for now

Channel: The Act Man

Views: 2,018,184

Keywords: Halo CE, Halo ce review, Halo CE legendary, Halo CE walkthrough, Halo 1, Halo Custom Edition, Halo: Combat Evolved, The Act Man, Bungie, Halo CE Legendary walkthrough, Halo MCC, Original Xbox, Xbox, Microsoft, Shooter, FPS, first person shooter, top 10 games, Halo CE cutscenes, Halo CE funny, flood reveal, Halo Anniversary, 343 industries

Id: 40LF5qxMwSE

Length: 38min 56sec (2336 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 26 2017

Reddit Comments

[u/Gamecheat13]

The only thing i can say for certain I never liked about the game was all the backtracking. Too many areas used more than once.

[u/TheEld]

Yes

[u/Homerduff16]

I wouldn't say perfect but it's definitely a damn good game. While there's so many parts of CE that the other games improved and expanded upon, there were a lot of things that CE did better than its sequels. Easily deserves the praise it gets.

[u/Ode_to_Sunshine]

Yes?

[u/MartianMallCop]

Shit. Now I want to go play CE again... And it's finals week.....

[u/EHHTALLGUY]

My favorite part of the campaigns was keeping the marines alive...I really hope they bring that back in 6.