Halo Master Chief Collection
In the history of modern gaming there has never been a more enduring title than Halo. The game redefined the first person shooter and influenced many of today’s top game developments. It has a huge loyal fan base, as well as its many haters. But this is a post Halo world, filled to the brim with Call of Duty iterations and massive online games such as Destiny. Halo has become somewhat of a fond memory for those who spent hundreds of hours pwning newbs and rampantly tea bagging our opponents.
But fear not fellow Halo fans, Microsoft and 343 Industries have brought back the Halo story in its entirety. What’s even more enticing is that the body of work that comprises the Halo franchise has had a remake, a modern facelift to bring it into the modern console era.
Halo Master Chief Collection comprises of the 4 main story elements. Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo 3 and Halo 4. From a simple menu you can jump into any of the stories at any stage you wish. Start a campaign from scratch or jump into your favourite sequence, the Halo universe is at your disposal. But take a moment to reflect on the nostalgia, with the simple push of a button you can revisit the original artwork and cut scenes. This simple mechanism kept me busy for hours, watching over and over the progression from early console UI to the newer 60fps modern console look.
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However in the case of Halo, while the look has undergone a massive overhaul the game play is still very “Gen 1”.
The icing on the cake for this collection has to be Halo 2: Anniversary. Widely accepted as the Halo that changed it all. This particular version took hours out of our lives, with plenty of late nights and early mornings attributed to play. 343 Industries have done an amazing job remaking this particular version. Massively overhauled visuals and cut scenes make this version feel right at home on the XBOX One.
The Cutscenes alone are outstanding. Again by pressing a button you can switch even in the cutscenes back to the original conent. The Halo 2: Anniversary remake really chronicles the outstand leap forward in Console Gaming. This really show cases the history of XBOX from the original through to the latest XBOX One.
While the magic of all 4 titles are neatly bundled up, the extras however are a little less exciting. Multiplayer for one has been a source of frustration. The promise to allow a multiplayer bonaza on every single Halo level has fallen short in a hail of matchmaking frustration. While this has improved since launch day, there still rings a distaste for the early adopters.
343 Industries however have worked overtime to fix the situation, and have announced in recent days a thank you to the early adopters who suffered the pain. Click here for the official Press Release.
This thank you will consist of 1 month of free Xbox Live, an exclusive in-game Avatar & NamePlate, a HALO 3: ODST Campaign remastered and the Halo 2 Relic multiplayer map.
This collection, while not without its quirks, does deliver quite a bit of punch. For the Halo fans its a colelctors piece that will sit nicely among the modern titles of your XBOX One. For the casual observer, and potential future fan, it provides a unique glimpse into a significant part of XBOX History. It chronicles the progression of the FPS genre on the console and allows the player to relive the original battles that capture previous generations of gamers.
Reviewed on: XBox One
Rating: R16 Contains Violence.
Reviewed by: Skip
GAMEGUIDE rating:
