Halo in 2019: A Newbie’s Review of a Series, 18 Years Late (Part 1)

The Halo series has always lay in the periphery of my gaming life, ever present but rarely engaged with. Even owning an Xbox 360 for 10 years, I was never drawn to the games bar the occasional Halo 3 multiplayer game.

Teenage me saw the games as silly, surely incapable of telling an engaging story when there’s little bipedal tortoises (called grunts) running around, presumably screaming for their next hit of helium.

Thankfully, as I’ve grown older, this snobbery has been replaced with a willingness to try before I judge a game (although let’s be honest, grunts still sound ridiculous).

And so, with the recent purchase of an Xbox One S and the Master Chief Collection, I was ready to give the Halo series a proper look, starting with…

Halo: Combat Evolved

The first thing that struck me when I began Halo:CE was the confidence with which Bungie kicked off the game. With an opening shot reminiscent of Star Wars: A New Hope, we are plunged right into the middle of an escape, chugging through space towards a mysterious ring, with an enemy named the Covenant at our heels. Within the first ten seconds, we are provided with a sense of emergency and also a sense of mystery: Why are we being chased? What is that massive ring?

This confidence carries through into the presentation too. As I progressed through the levels, I adored the black bars that filled the top and bottom of the screen as I reached the next story beat. It felt cinematic, and that’s perhaps the best compliment I can pay this game. Everything, from its soundtrack to its tonal similarity to films like Aliens and Starship Troopers; it oozes with reverence to cinema. It’s no wonder Steven Spielberg has shown interest in adapting the series for Television.

Halo also clearly draws upon years of Science Fiction writing in the construction of its main plot. Humans pitted against an aggressive alien force? Check. An ancient force that threatens both sides of the war? Check. It’s a story that has been told many times before Halo:CE, and many times since. Yet its prevalence in Science Fiction stems from the simple fact that the unknown is a terrifying prospect, particularly when it concerns space. And just as H.P Lovecraft drew on this cosmic fear in his literature, so too does Halo with the Flood. Even though I initially rolled my eyes when I heard of the forerunners, the revelation of their motivations and solution to the Flood was a direction I wasn’t expecting. Their decision to destroy even themselves to contain the spread makes the Flood an even more formidable opponent, and I look forward to seeing where this storyline goes in future games.

In terms of gameplay, I was surprised with the freedom I was afforded in certain sections of the game. Although linear, the areas in which I fought the Covenant were open enough to allow for experimentation with the many tools provided. I was genuinely impressed when I hopped into a Warthog, only for another marine to hurry over and man the turret mounted on the back. Perhaps I’m jaded from years of terrible friendly AI, but having teammates that provided actual support was refreshing, and further emphasised the sense of camaraderie that pervades the game.

But that Warthog. That damned Warthog.

Was it drunk? Was the Warthog drunk? Because I can’t see any other explanation for its decision to do the absolute opposite of what I wanted it to do 90% of the time. In a game with such tight shooting mechanics, the controls of the most prominent vehicle stick out like a sore thumb. I felt as if the smallest bump would send the Warthog tumbling, crushing my teammates and leaving me exposed. The decision then, to end the game with a Warthog obstacle course (against the clock) left a sour taste in my mouth. Instead of awe and excitement as the Pillar of Autumn came crumbling down around me, I felt only frustration as I repeatedly flipped into walls with even the tiniest of jumps. It is a shame that Bungie began Halo with such confidence and ended with a showcase of the game’s weakest mechanic.

But even such an anger-inducing finale couldn’t spoil what was overall a surprisingly enjoyable experience. I went into Halo:CE unsure of whether it could still hold up, particularly in regards to its writing. Yet by telling an original story that is steeped in cinematic and literary tropes, the game feels somewhat timeless.