Anniversary: Halo

[Neon Ignition]

We've just seen the release of the HD update of the first game to celebrate 10 years of the series which typically generates quite strong views. Two generations in, a main fourth installment impending and a developer switch later what are your thoughts on the series and which is your favourite release?

[nakamura]

I loved the original. It felt like an epic battle as a human against aliens. Stunning visuals, truly superb music and the multiplayer kept us hooked for a long time.

Halo 2 was ok but I was bored within 4 levels. It felt thrown together in places and being an alien at this time did not appeal. Didn't play much of Halo 3 but it didn't look that good.

Halo Reach was average gaming of the highest order. Every level felt almost the same, walking along to one big battle after another. I completed around 7 of them in online co-op play and was bitterly disappointed.

So, Halo then for me. Easily the best in a series that could have been so much better imo.

[Flabio]

ODST by a long way. No uber soldier, decent dialogue (it's basically Halo: Firefly), and a really interestingly delivered plot.

It's the furthest from the 'mould', so maybe that's part of it's appeal to me.

[Skull Commander]

Another vote for ODST here as well. I'm not the worlds biggest Halo fan (but like them enough to play through them), but I felt that game had the best atmosphere and it also had some of the best levels of the series.

[Neon Ignition]

To be honest, probably Halo 3. It wasn't anything amazing but it effectively was a Halo 1 remake as though after the concerns about Halo 2 Bungie became scared of deviating. Though it doesn't cheaply rehash the game to extend it's life like 1 did. Halo 2 was decent but flawed with the poor boss fights etc. I didn't mind Wars, was a decent game and Reach was okay if suffering due to the series fatigue. For me ODST is easily the worst entry, mostly looking like an XB1 game with a stronger focus on the series terrible plotting and storytelling and a horrendous hub system.

It's been an interesting ten years in a way from more of an observational one. I've always seen Halo as a decent but hugely overrated game which spawned a series with less evolution than othr FPS series which come under greater scrutiny. There was definitely massive room for potential in the series though I don't doubt that with Bungie unwilling to explore it, I can't see MS and 343 trying and Halo 4 will continue to offer just more of the haggered looking same.

[Dogg Thang]

I didn't get on with the original Halo. I thought the indoor levels were archaic and dull, I found the AI to be mostly enemies ducking in and out from behind stuff, I couldn't get on with the driving and I just found there was very little to keep me pushing through it. So I didn't.

The only other Halo game I played was 3 and, while the similarities are obvious, for whatever reason I got on with it much more. I found the design to be really interesting, I loved the strategy I needed to use to get through it in places and I especially loved that, every time I died and restarted a section, the enemies used different tactics. I found it hard, but rewarding mostly. My main criticism of 3 would be how terribly the story was told - I had no idea what was going on or why I was doing anything. But, generally, I felt it was a very strong game and I think I could finally see what people were seeing in the original that I missed the first time around.

[Guts]

Haven't played the remake so it's the original Halo for me by a mile. The reason I bought the Xbox and jumped back into console gaming after the Nintendo 64 era, co-op was incredible fun as was playing 4 player multiplayer with a system-link.

Halo 2 gets the steaming turd award.

[mr_sockochris]

For me it would have to go -

Halo > Reach > ODST > Halo 3 > Halo 2

Having replayed it a few months back i can safely say (without rose tinted specs) the original is still my favourite. The best levels of the series (Cartographer, Control Room), the best battles (the Elite AI was spot on and the Hunters were always a challenge) and I preferred the smaller selection of weapons over the later games where they added too many different types.

Reach was really well done, often feeling like the original with its outdoor sections being far more open than in 2 or 3. Armour abilities were fun, the weapon selection a bit more focused compared to Halo 3 and the pre-Halo story worked well.

Halo 2 I didn't really get on with. It had its moments but I often felt the Xbox was holding it back and Halo 3 felt more like a true sequel as a result.

ODST polarises opinion but I really enjoyed it. It had a different feel to the rest outside of the missions but a familiar feel within them.

Looking forward to Halo 4 but I can't help but wish it was a next gen release title....

[Family Fry]

ODST also had some brilliant music throughout.
Ahhh Halo Wars glad to see it in the poll at least. Cut scenes were pretty cool and coming from someone who doesn't really gel well with RTS, I actually enjoyed it so that's a bonus.
I was playing a bit of anniversary in co-op and coming from someone who played about 2-3 levels of the original game 10 years ago by myself and got bored, same thing happened again whilst in co-op on new game. Played 3 levels and got bored, big levels are BIG.
So from the enjoyment I've had on single player campagins I would say.

ODST > Reach > Halo 3 > Halo Wars > Halo 2

Now I will play through Halo, so maybe that will change when I get to later on levels. I won't put in rank just yet.

[Howiee]

I didn't get on with the original Halo. I thought the indoor levels were archaic and dull, I found the AI to be mostly enemies ducking in and out from behind stuff, I couldn't get on with the driving and I just found there was very little to keep me pushing through it. So I didn't.

I thought the same until one year my 360 red ringed, I dusted off my original Xbox and gave it (yet) another try. For some reason it clicked and I learned to love it.

The original Halo for me!

[Dogg Thang]

Yeah, having gone through Halo 3, I suspect the same would happen to me. Much of what I enjoyed in 3 really wasn't all that different to stuff I didn't initially like in the first one. May have just hit me at the wrong time or something.