Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

Halo is perhaps the most successful video game of all time, selling over 65 million copies and netting over 3 billion dollars over the series. Various development companies have been associated with the game over time, but the standard of gameplay and strong back-story has been rigidly maintained.

The game follows the adventures of Master-Chief John 117 who leads a group of super soldiers known as the Spartans. A name that may sound familiar, Cortana, is that of the group's artificial intelligence assistant/ companion. Master-Chief leads missions, defeats enemies and completes quests, all set against a story-arc. In fact, each mission has its own tale with the game, the game has its own tale and there is an overall story or history in which the entire series of games is set.

The Master Chief and the Spartans are cybernetically enhanced and each mission can involve bringing to bear a particular skill set. Apart from learning to aim skilfully to take out the enemy, the player can experiment with various types of weapon and even use different vehicles.

The game is that most popular of gaming genres, the first-person shooter, and each chapter is standalone. This means that players who enjoy the story element can play along with the narration of the story, while those who just want to complete missions can also be satisfied. The long term story line establishes that the Halo Rings, which give the game its name are a last line of defence weapon in an age-old battle to defeat a parasitic and insidious enemy known as the Flood. Ancient people called the Forerunners build the ring-shaped structures as a last line of defence, setting them off before fleeing. Our game takes place many years later, when the Spartans come along in the faster-than-light spaceship, which uses a form of travel called 'slipcase' travel.

So popular is the storyline of the game that several novels have been published detailing the adventures of the crew for those who do not want to play along to find out what happens next! In fact, there is a whole range of Halo merchandise, from a Master Chief waxwork in Madame Tussauds Las Vegas to anime films to lunchboxes.

Halo's commercial success is so vast that the game has become something of a benchmark for the industry, with the phrase 'Halo killer' coming to mean 'a game so good that it is even better than Halo'. It has also been called 'the game that reinvented a genre that didn't know it needed to be reinvented'. Which is not bad going for a humble soldier's shoot-em-up!

The settings and graphics in the game are crystal clear, detailed and, usually, quite visually stunning. The game flows smoothly with no glitches or issues and often play becomes intuitive as soon as the player learns the controls and tricks of the game.

A game that built a wild fan following, Halo: Combat Evolved, is the first game that hit the Halo series, and it was only one out of two games ever released on the PC. Despite its age, the developers designed the game so that its popularity rages on. In the game, you have a first-person shooter that takes place in a world of science fiction. You have a wild and interesting solo campaign with a great story line. You also have fast and furious multiplayer battles that have made the game famous.

First released in 2001, Halo: Combat Evolved looks great for its age, and you have an art style that suited that technology of the time. While the single player demo game lets you experience the dynamic combat system, what most players will come back for is likely the multiplayer gaming. Anyone who has played first-person shooting games will be familiar with Halo, and they will pick up the game modes fast. It is a game that has been designed around simplicity for easier gaming.

With the multiplayer demo, you will have access to just one of the maps, but it can be a lot of fun to play, and you have no problem with finding other people to play with. The game has a rich selection of vehicles and weapons, and Halo runs smooth with almost all of today's PCs. You do not have to worry that your computer hardware will not be able to handle this game because technology has outpaced this game.

As a classic shooter, online play has always been the highlighted point and reason that most people like Halo. The company itself has earned an excellent reputation for creating FPS at a staggering level of quality. While the combat of Halo does offer a challenge, it never gets repetitive or old. You have good enemy AI in the solo campaigns, and your enemies will react in many ways based on the situation. For example, if you have a cannon vehicle in the area, they might hop into it and blast glass shards at them. In a way, Halo feels a lot like the 3D version of Ikari Warriors or Contra. It has that feel that you are a single man in an army and ready to fight. Halo gives you an almost perfect level of difficulty without throwing your computer at the fireplace in frustration.

What makes Halo great is also what it avoids. For example, you do not have boss battles or platform jumping that plagued games like Red Faction and Half-Life. Instead, the game focuses on the story and the action. Even with the single-level demo, the advantage of Halo games is how huge the levels are.