There’s a pattern you see with video games, which probably isn’t all that unique to the medium when you really think about it, but nevertheless, it’s something you see a lot of in gaming in particular.
An initial game in a potential franchise will launch, generally with pretty good “bones” – perhaps it’s got a great concept, or maybe it nails some element that can become foundational later on – but the thing nevertheless isn’t 100 percent on point.
Not yet.
The game has some rough edges, some problems, and some things you wish weren’t there.
We can guess that it needed more time in the oven. Or even that it was probably realistically pushed about as far as anyone could expect for a first crack at the thing. But either way, the end result is the same: It doesn’t have polish.
It was a proper idea, but it’s just not quite there yet.
When the sequel(s) come along, that’s when you see your desired refinement occur. Everything that worked about the first game gets built upon and expanded. Everything that didn’t work gets thrown out.
More of the good. Less of the bad.
What emerges is generally a better game than what you had before.
Now, there are plenty of examples of sequels that don’t follow this script — games that deviate too wildly from a winning formula, games that fail to improve upon what came before,* or worst of all games that were given to a team of developers who just weren’t up to the challenge of duplicating what made the entity special to begin with. These are your “disappointment” sequels.
* Probably the most notorious examples of this are your annual EASports-type releases of games that barely change what came the year before. You’ve gotta squint to see what’s been improved from one game to the next. “Hey, the rosters are slightly different … buy it now!”
But by and large, if you want to talk about some of the most successful sequels in history – universally beloved hits like Mega Man 2, Street Fighter II, Tecmo Super Bowl, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Donkey Kong Country 2 (just to name a few) – those games didn’t necessarily reinvent the wheel. They built on what had previously been established, and they did so with brilliance.
A game comes out. It establishes a franchise. It’s improved in the sequel(s). And off we go.
Thus, we can say that in general, there’s simply a level of presentation and polish that’s present in a sequel that you don’t see in an original outing. The first game in the series is going to be a little rough or janky in comparison.
It’s the sequels that nail the concept.
And THIS is what makes “Halo: Combat Evolved” a remarkable game.
It sticks the landing on the very first attempt.
Halo: Combat Evolved at a glance:
Genre: First-person shooter
Released: 2001
Platform: Xbox
IGN’s fourth-best FPS ever
The original salvo in what would become a lasting, significant series, “Halo: Combat Evolved” was conceived originally as a spin-off to previous first-person shooters Marathon and Marathon 2. However, the company working on the game, Bungie, was acquired by Microsoft mid-project, causing the scope and intent of the project to morph considerably during development.
The short version of that history is that the game was eventually earmarked to become the tentpole launch title for Microsoft’s new gaming console, the Xbox, and the team working on the project had about a year to convert a collection of concepts into an actual working game, and not only a game, but a game meant to inspire consumers to purchase a new gaming console from a company that had no track record in that space.
The co-launch of game and console would occur in late fall of 2001. By contrast, established gaming behemoth Sony had already launched its super successful PlayStation 2 in the spring of 2000, while Nintendo had its own advantages of a few months head start with its debut of the GameCube in September of 2001 to go along with its reservoir of patented IP like Mario, Zelda, and Metroid to lean on for support.
Also looming was the spectre of Sega’s recent failure, as the company discontinued support of its Dreamcast in the spring of 2001, just a couple of years after the system’s debut, announcing a transition into third-party game development and an abandonment of the business of selling gaming consoles altogether.
Such was the daunting landscape when the Xbox was set to launch, with Halo, a brand-new property, meant to spur sales for a debut system entering a cutthroat environment.
Think they felt a wee bit pressure trying to get this thing right?
I think that’s important to understand, because we can say things like “debut games generally don’t have this level of polish,” but then you ask why, and I think there’s a lot of your answer. Yes, Bungie was drawing from its own experience in crafting first-person shooters, but also, Microsoft REALLY needed this game to be good, and they threw a lot of money and attention toward making sure that it was.
Of course, we now know that they were successful. Halo sold over 4 million copies over its first few years of release, and it had a high attach rate to the Xbox, meaning that when people bought the system, they often bought this game in particular alongside the console.
Why that matters in a modern context is that for people circling back to this game in particular, they get to enjoy one of greatest first-person shooters of all time, as well as a game that is truly synonymous with Microsoft and the Xbox. They also get to do so with the knowledge that Microsoft and its Xbox brand are still in business today, still churning out games and enjoyment for people on a regular basis.
That almost certainly wouldn’t be happening if it weren’t for this game.
What exactly makes Halo such a great experience in the first place?
Well, it’s a lot of things.
We’ve talked a lot about immersion over the course of this series, having also discussed games that are cinematic and story-driven, and well, Halo is pretty dang clutch on all of those fronts.
FPS games are, by their nature, meant to be immersive, giving the player the impression of being “in the game” as their point of view essentially is mirrored by the protagonist’s.
That protagonist, “Master Chief,” suffers from some of the same goofy, over-the-top masculine characterization that we see from the likes of “Solid Snake,” but to be fair, within the context of the game – shooting at a bunch of hostile aliens – it works just fine.
Master Chief, in contrast to Solid Snake, is also given more of a blank canvas, with little in the way of personality or backstory provided (we are simply meant to understand that he is a badass), so in that way, he’s easier to superimpose oneself over as protagonist, making the enterprise a little more immersive on that level alone.
In terms of cinematics and story, the game may (intentionally) give us a pretty boring main character, but it does go to great lengths to create a lore and backstory, and a rich universe to inhabit.
Yes, long scenes of exposition are required, but they aren’t altogether unwelcome, because we want to learn about what we’re experiencing.
That’s a tremendous credit to the above-mentioned rich universe that has been constructed in Halo.
Part of that is due to tremendous visuals and sound. While graphics have improved since then, I think it’s worth noting that the stereo sound in particular in Halo does an astounding job at plunging you right into these environments.
“I’ve got the drop on these guys, ha ha. Oh shit, what was that sound behind me … FUDGE!!!!”
Where the visuals hold up is in their creative design. Yes, graphics have improved since this game was released. But these visuals are successful at what they do. In addition to creating environments well suited to this sort of free-for-all combat, the developers went above and beyond to create a playspace that is not only alien-feeling, but also unique.
This does not resemble previous alien civilizations we’ve encountered, either on film or in gaming.
The title object, the “Halo” which is the giant ring circling the planet, is mystifying and confounding and seems physically impossible, and the story reflects those impressions, telling us that the characters trying to navigate their current conflict have little understanding as well. This allows the mystery to unfold gradually and naturally, and as said before, welcomingly.
In addition, the game does a fabulous job of not wearing out its welcome. A variety of weapons and enemies help stave off boredom early, and as you progress, you eventually discover the ability to get into vehicles and drive them about (the game switches to third-person view for these sequences). These vehicular distractions are almost always welcome and wildly entertaining.
Piloting a hovercraft into position to mow down a troublesome heavy hitter is always gratifying, as is launching an ATV up a hill, into the air, and over a gap to land safely (sometimes) on the other side.
I don’t want to undersell this stuff, because it’s super fun.
In addition, we already mentioned the story more than doing its part to keep you interested. But perhaps the biggest thing the game does to stave off repetitiveness from a story perspective is halfway through the game it introduces a third party into the mix.
You’re no longer fighting a group of aliens. You’re now fighting TWO groups of aliens.
The particulars of this reveal are a fairly significant part of the experience, so I won’t go into any further detail. Suffice to say, the new faction spices things up quite a bit and helps to get you, the gamer, to the finish line, exhausted, thrilled, and satisfied.
Halo was ported to the PC and received mostly favorable reviews, though many considered the original Xbox version better (primarily due to performance issues on PC). A “custom edition” was released a few years later that allowed gamers to tweak arena maps, before the game was remastered in 2011. That remastered version is available today as part of the “Master Chief collection,” a collection of the first six games in the Halo series all in one spot.*
* Worth noting here: this collection goes on sale on Steam fairly often and is a ridiculously good buy at the lower price).
So, what I’m saying here is that you’ve got options to circle back to this sucker if you want to.
So what makes it worth playing today?
Halo is an all-time great in the first-person shooter space, combining masterful presentation and superb controls to create a whole that never gets dull.
Moreover, it’s historically relevant, not only for being a significant title for Microsoft and the Xbox, but also as an important piece of the evolution of first-person shooters in gaming.
Finally, as we stated up front, this game is unique as an example of a franchise truly sticking the landing from the opening jump.
If you’ve been following along with this series, you’ve seen me list these first-person shooters in the following order: Doom (the OG for demon killing), Metroid Prime (Nintendo’s stab at immersive exploring and puzzle-solving), GoldenEye 007 (for the roots of multiplayer shenanigans), and now Halo: Combat Evolved (polish, polish, polish).
This is also the very first Xbox game included (appropriately enough).
I feel pretty decent about all of that, to be honest.
Halo doesn’t break new ground in quite the same ways those others did, but we also cannot deny that it established a new baseline for what first-person shooters could and should be, while simultaneously launching a whole friggin’ gaming company from the ground up.
And gosh darnit, the game is FUN. That’s why it’s here, above some other genuine bangers and more historically critical titles.
Halo is just a whole lot of fun.
Pew pew.
Dave’s Score: 9/10
Check out the whole Retro Gaming Essentials list here!
How to play
- Original hardware (Xbox or Windows)
- Remaster (Xbox 360)
- The Master Chief Collection (Xbox One, Steam)