Review
Kicking off the Xbox era, Halo: Combat Evolved started the generation with perhaps Xbox’s greatest flagship. Since its inception, Halo has proven to be one of the most popular Xbox titans, always relied on to deliver a hell of an adventure. Despite that, its beginnings were a little rocky.
With Halo: Campaign Evolved around the corner, it felt like the perfect time to revisit why we fell in love with the story in the first place. Taking place in the far future, Halo: Combat Evolved focuses on a long-standing war between the UNSC (United Nations Space Command) and the Covenant, a collection of species who declared war on humanity.
In this story, we take on the role of “The Master Chief” (voiced by Steven Downes), an elite, genetically augmented soldier known as a Spartan. The Master Chief is accompanied by an advanced AI known as Cortana (Jen Taylor). Both characters complement each other well; Chief is more the quiet man of action, while Cortana is the woman behind the scenes who does most of the talking and strategising.
Halo: Combat Evolved follows the Chief and Cortana as they land on a mysterious ring-world known as “Halo”. As the pair fight across the vast landscapes that Halo offers, they are forced to contend with many threats & hidden dangers that threaten the whole universe.
Something I found when playing Halo: Combat Evolved was that its narrative often struggles with its overall Level Design and structure. Many of the game’s missions have Chief and Cortana go from 1 location to another, which is not all that unusual. What makes it sluggish is how often we have to backtrack or retread through several areas, or even areas that look exactly the same.
While Chief and Cortana are the heroes of this story, they leave enough oxygen for other characters to shine, even with minimal screen time. Sergeant Johnson has quickly established himself as a fan favourite and definitely gives off an aura of toughness and humour, despite having fought for years. Captain Keyes comes off as an admirable leader, able to think on his feet and keep his head in the game.
As Combat Evolved would be the start of the Halo series, greater context for the Covenant is sorely lacking. Despite that, they are an effective enemy to rally against as humanity takes on the role of the obvious underdog. If this were just the one enemy, it could be forgiven, but Halo: Combat Evolved also makes a bad habit of doing this with two other enemy variants we encounter that each seem like they have an exciting backstory.
With Halo: Combat Evolved comes the addition of the Terminals. The Terminals, which were first introduced in Halo 3, provided a bit of written lore about the Forerunners in earlier titles. Making a return, they actually provide a deeper analysis of 343 Guilty Spark, a minor antagonist whose changing motivations often made for a bit of parody but also character complexity. It’s a good expansion on the already existing narratives on what makes Halo: Combat Evolved's story so fun.
The Verdict
The world of Halo is one brimming with incredible potential as it juggles unique alien species, and a hero bred to be strong enough to face it. While Halo: Combat Evolved may struggle in several areas, its enjoyability more than makes up for it, and it is clear that it is building towards something bigger and grander. All we have to do is sit back, relax and wait for what comes next!
Characters – While the characters may not have much narrative depth, their personalities more than make up for it. The Chief is a rock, as he doesn’t let anything deter him from completing the mission while also not being a heartless machine. His faithful and strong-willed companion Cortana is unapologetically efficient but also has a certain flair that makes her very likeable. While the game’s villains may not have much in terms of personality, there is a lot of groundwork there to begin building on them further in the future, as the Covenant feels like they are missing some much-needed characterisation – 7/10
Main Narrative – The story of Halo: Combat Evolved flows relatively smoothly. For a story that does not rely heavily on exposition, it helps to introduce elements that the players have only just discovered without being confusing. It also does a good job of making sure the mystery of Halo does not go unanswered. While the overall narrative may suffer due to certain level design elements, the story is still pretty good – 8/10
World Building – The world of Halo has so much to offer, and the game’s story does a good job of making sure that it leaves much to our imagination. We are introduced to elements such as the Covenant, the Flood & the Forerunners, but we are never overwhelmed with the information that we are learning. Halo: Combat Evolved is simply whetting our appetites for what comes next, and it does a good job in showing us this – 8/10
Collectibles – The Terminals tell a story on the origins of 343 Guilty Spark and provide much-needed information on the Monitor, even going so far as to expand on his philosophies. The only storytelling Collectible, it is wisely used to give depth to our minor villain and gives us a greater sense of time scale – 7/10
I give this game 8/10 Terminals
