Microsoft Halo: Combat Evolved v.1.0

This is to the guy w/ a 9700 pro....

Strengths: everything about this game..

Weakness: none

This is to the guy w/ a 9700 pro. I also have a 9700 pro 1.6ghz p4 512 mb ram...at first this game sucked cause it lagged like crazy until i uninstalled some of the crap on my computer [Like other unusfull games i dont even play] and defragmented and d/lded the 3.7 catylist drivers after that i tryed the game again and the graphics are awsome i run it easily at 1280x1024 w/ no problems at all.I...
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This is to the guy w/ a 9700 pro. I also have a 9700 pro 1.6ghz p4 512 mb ram...at first this game sucked cause it lagged like crazy until i uninstalled some of the crap on my computer [Like other unusfull games i dont even play] and defragmented and d/lded the 3.7 catylist drivers after that i tryed the game again and the graphics are awsome i run it easily at 1280x1024 w/ no problems at all.I must say this is the only game i have finished in a long time from beging to end it gets a litttle hard tho toward the end but thats ok i give this game a thumbs up WOOHOO

By dankster10 - Oct 12, 2003

Great Game. Great graphics and...

Great Game. Great graphics and story and gameplay and everything. This game rocks. It's a great game and a must buy for all gamers. Get it.

By WhyWouldIStop - Aug 3, 2004

One of the most legendary gaming...

Strengths: Graphics hold up pretty well, killer story, excellent marine AI.

Weakness: Suprisingly system killing, a bit short, hallway levels get extremely boring.

One of the most legendary gaming titles has come home to the PC, finally. Halo is one of those games that everybody talks about in hushed tones and I have no doubt that some people have shrines to the Master Chief in their closets. Much like Star Wars, pretty much nobody can approach this game with an objective attitude anymore. What the hell, I'll try anyway. Graphics: For an engine that is...
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One of the most legendary gaming titles has come home to the PC, finally. Halo is one of those games that everybody talks about in hushed tones and I have no doubt that some people have shrines to the Master Chief in their closets. Much like Star Wars, pretty much nobody can approach this game with an objective attitude anymore. What the hell, I'll try anyway.

Graphics: For an engine that is pushing 4 years old, the graphics of Halo are still pretty strong. There is a certain sense of lushness to the outdoor environments that helps sell the illusion. In addition, the weapon and lighting effects are still top notch. The animations of all characters are strong, despite the lack of ragdoll physics, and the game is full of little touches that make you smile, like the brake lights of a vehicle popping on when you slam on the peddle. On the flipside, for a four year old game it is unusually demanding on even modern PC hardware. Gearbox software has obviously upgraded the engine slightly for PC release, but there is no apparent reason why it should cause frame rate stuttering on a system roughly three times as powerful as an Xbox.

Sound: Everybody knows the sound of Halo's music, and it is so impressive that the rest of the audio really doesn't come anywhere near the impact. Sure, the sound effects are well done and pack a good bass punch, but they can't hold a candle to that main theme.

Gameplay: A mix of the brilliant and downright boring. The early levels, with their wide vistas and battles, are fun and still give a charge even in the era of Far Cry and Call of Duty. It is here that you get to drive the infamous warthog, or fight alongside a dozen highly intelligent marines that act and react like humans, or fly the Covenant banshee and strafe squealing aliens on the ground. However, once you hit the halfway point and a major plot element occurs, the gameplay alarmingly downshifts into mindless look alike hallways and repetitive action (the library level, in particular, is a serious chore to play). Thankfully, a killer final level of total chaos redeems the game, and the last section where you race across the surface of an exploding ship is one of the most entertaining levels in any game, anywhere.

Storyline: This is where the game, and developer Bungie, excel. There is a rich background to all the happenings here, and all the levels (despite there sometimes dull play) exist to serve this story. While Halo 2 dived further into the relationship (or lack thereof) between the Covenant and Earth, the lack of a 'big picture' in this installment works better, IMHO. In this Halo, the Covenant are dangerous and the mystery surrounding their interest in Halo and their lack of overall motives fuels the story.

Overall: Halo is a very strong game, and definitely earns a place in the top 50. It isn't perfect, though, with it's frustratingly repetitive middle half and overall short length. However, the game packs enough strong sections to overcome these defects, and the overall result is a solid FPS.

By dentj - Jun 5, 2005

don't worry about that one review...

Strengths: everything that was on xbox and more. love the multiplayer add-ons. all around a good game.

Weakness: has some driver issues with lower radeon cards. cant run a nvidia FX 5200 non ultra. Halo is a system hog..

don't worry about that one review with xbox lover said the game works very well with the new radeon drivers. altough i was able to run it very good on my geforces 2 and 3. halo is a good game nomatter what he says.

By oherror - Dec 15, 2003

Love it. The new multiplayer maps...

Strengths: Great detail.

Weakness: Need a fairly good system to run at high res.

Love it. The new multiplayer maps are awsome. Same great story line as XBOX version. Online gameplay is great. Also, I'm not sure about you alone... But I have a Radeon 9600 pro, Athlon 2700+ and 512mb pc2700, and I run this game at 1024x764x32x85 and it runs great!

By HardcoreGamer - Oct 12, 2003