Buzz
What began as a third-person real-time strategy game for Mac computers soon became Bungie's Halo franchise, which has since evolved into one of the most influential first-person shooter series in gaming. It's hard to argue that, without Halo, Microsoft’s Xbox brand may not have withstood its initial console release. Starting with the original Xbox launch title, Halo: Combat Evolved, in 2001, Bungie redefined the console first-person shooter genre with a captivating sci-fi narrative, a compelling protagonist in Master Chief, and, of course, smooth gameplay that kept players coming back for more. Over the next fifteen years, the franchise grew to embody the Xbox brand, spawning numerous sequels and spin-offs of varying levels of quality.
While the franchise may not hold the same level of popularity it once did, with Halo Wars 2 releasing this year and Halo 6 on the way, it's clear that the Halo universe isn't going anywhere anytime soon. As a long-time fan, I thought it would be fun to rank each game from worst to best (excluding remasters and collections, of course). Naturally, this ranking is subjective, but I’ve made sure to provide justifications for each choice. Feel free to share your own rankings in the comments!
I haven't had the chance to play Halo Wars 2 yet, so it’s not included here. However, I’ll be sure to update the list once I get the chance. Additionally, I’m not including Spartan Strike, as it’s essentially a less polished version of Spartan Assault and would rank near the bottom anyway.
9. Halo: Spartan Assault
Set between the events of Halo 3 and Halo 4, Spartan Assault is a top-down twin-stick shooter that was initially released on mobile platforms, later making its way to Xbox One and Xbox 360. Unfortunately, the console versions didn’t significantly improve Spartan Assault, leaving it as an average, though functional twin-stick shooter. This genre has seen some stellar titles over the years, such as Geometry Wars, Super Stardust HD, and Resogun, and Spartan Assault just doesn't measure up to those classics.
The game's online co-op mode and overall presentation stand out as its strongest points, but in the end, it remains more of a fleeting interest for Halo fans rather than an experience they’ll revisit. There are plenty of superior twin-stick shooters out there that are more deserving of your time and money, without the burden of microtransactions.
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2013/07/30/halo-spartan-assault-review Source: IGN
8. Halo Wars
For a console-exclusive RTS, Halo Wars is surprisingly solid, given how challenging it is to adapt real-time strategy games to console controls. Featuring a full campaign with a compelling story set before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved, along with a variety of multiplayer modes typical of the RTS genre, Halo Wars excels in accessibility, making it perfect for those who are intimidated by the complexity of PC-based RTS games. However, this accessibility also limits Halo Wars, as it feels too simplistic for hardcore RTS enthusiasts and doesn’t offer enough to draw Halo fans away from the series’ more familiar first-person shooter experiences.
While I’ll acknowledge that Halo Wars did an impressive job of adapting the Halo universe into a competent RTS, I’ve never been particularly fond of the genre, which is one reason for its lower ranking. Still, Halo Wars succeeded well enough to spawn a sequel, which, by many accounts, improved upon the original (the fact that it’s available on PC this time likely helped).
Photo: Microsoft
7. Halo 4
When Bungie parted ways with Microsoft in 2007 to collaborate with Activision on what would become Destiny, 343 Industries, a Microsoft-owned studio, took the reins of the Halo franchise following the release of Bungie’s final entry, Halo: Reach. The challenge before 343 was immense—not only did they need to create a game that could stand up to Bungie's legacy, but they also had to justify the return of Master Chief, who had seemingly completed his mission at the end of Halo 3. In many ways, 343 succeeded. One surprising aspect was how much better Halo 4 looked compared to its predecessors, especially considering the constraints of the Xbox 360. Bungie was never particularly known for its stunning visuals, so the leap in graphical quality was a welcome surprise.
The campaign in Halo 4 was ambitious, introducing players to a new planet and a fresh set of enemies in the Forerunners, while expanding the series’ lore. Spartan Ops was another great addition, offering cooperative missions that got progressively better as they went on. However, some questionable design choices hold Halo 4 back from being the best of the ‘traditional’ Halo games. Despite featuring some impressive setpieces, the narrative felt disjointed and at times nearly impossible to follow, relying heavily on external content like books, comics, and even the (quite good) miniseries Halo: Forward Unto Dawn to fill in the blanks. The biggest issue, though, was the multiplayer, which borrowed too much from Call of Duty’s loadout and perk system, disrupting the balance that Halo was known for. Thankfully, 343 made improvements in their subsequent releases, although new challenges cropped up as well.
http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/halo-4-review/1900-6399288/ Source: Gamespot
6. Halo 5: Guardians
Halo 5: Guardians, the first true Halo game for Xbox One, doesn’t seem to receive the praise it deserves. This could be attributed to 343 Industries' unfortunate decision to completely eliminate split-screen gameplay in favor of improved graphics and a higher frame rate. This move angered many fans, myself included, who had come to rely on Halo for their couch co-op sessions. However, once you get past the sting of no local co-op, Halo 5 actually delivers. Its campaign shares some of the same issues as Halo 4’s and ends with another cliffhanger (you’d think Microsoft would have learned after the backlash to Halo 2’s ending). On the plus side, the level design is better, with a mission set on the Sangheili homeworld standing out, and the co-op features are thoughtfully integrated, though not without some flaws.
Although the Halo campaign is central to the series, the multiplayer is the main draw for most players, and in this regard, Halo 5 surpasses its predecessor. With improved gameplay mechanics that enhance character agility, Halo 5 stands out as the fastest and most fluid game in the series. The competitive modes took advantage of these changes, moving away from the Call of Duty-inspired elements of Halo 4 and returning to more traditional designs. Simply put, Halo 5 offers one of the finest competitive multiplayer experiences currently available, thanks to both its design and 343’s commitment to providing free updates. In an age when extra content is often locked behind paywalls, 343 made every new update available for free to all players. Since its 2015 launch, so much has been added that the game now feels more polished and well-rounded, making it perhaps the most refined multiplayer Halo experience to date.
It’s a real shame about the lack of split-screen though.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2015/10/26/theres-a-huge-problem-with-these-halo-5-reviews-and-only-one-way-to-solve-it/ Source: Forbes.com
5. Halo 3: ODST
Originally conceived as an expansion to Halo 3 called Recon, ODST evolved into a much more ambitious project during development, ultimately standing on its own as an independent game, despite the '3' in its title. Set on Earth during the events of Halo 2, ODST changes things up by shifting the focus away from Master Chief and putting players in the shoes of ‘the Rookie,’ a member of the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers who becomes separated from his squad after being dropped into the ravaged city of New Mombasa. With a somber soundtrack by former Halo composer Marty O’Donnell, ODST immerses players in a rain-drenched city, placing an emphasis on exploration as the Rookie searches for clues about his missing comrades. Every piece of evidence uncovers a flashback mission that is more action-oriented than the Rookie’s slower-paced segments, offering a nice variety.
While the Rookie controls much like Master Chief, he’s no Spartan and is considerably more vulnerable, which significantly changes the gameplay experience. This subtle difference forces players to adopt a more cautious approach to combat, even on the lower difficulty settings. ODST also introduced the series to Firefight, a co-op mode that tasks players with surviving waves of increasingly tough enemies. Unfortunately, ODST falls short with its short runtime and absence of competitive multiplayer, but it more than makes up for this by delivering a fresh and distinct kind of Halo game that punches well above its weight.
https://www.vg247.com/2015/05/27/halo-3-odst-joins-the-master-chief-collection-this-friday/ Source: VG247
4. Halo 2
Halo 2 has earned a notorious reputation for its cliffhanger ending, widely considered one of the most frustrating in the gaming world. Another major gripe from fans is the focus on the Arbiter, a new playable character introduced in this title, often at the expense of the Master Chief. Personally, I found the Arbiter's missions to be a highlight and enjoyed his addition to the story (it certainly helps that Keith David voices him, who brings his usual brilliance to the role). However, even if Halo 2 had no campaign, its multiplayer would still make it one of the finest in the franchise, as it marked the series’ initial foray into online play.
It’s easy to see why Halo 2 became the most-played game on Xbox Live during its peak, as it offered a multiplayer experience like no other console game at the time. The selection of maps is perhaps the best in the series, with legendary battlegrounds such as Lockout and Zanzibar making their debut, and the inclusion of new gameplay features like dual-wielding and vehicle hijacking opened up even more strategies. Although it’s clear that Halo 2 was rushed to meet deadlines — particularly with noticeable texture pop-ins and the jarring ending — it still stands as one of the most pivotal games in Xbox history, providing a template for future online multiplayer experiences on Xbox Live.
https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/games/halo-2 Source: Halo Waypoint
3. Halo: Combat Evolved
Where does one even begin with Halo: Combat Evolved? This is the game that not only launched the Xbox but also revolutionized the design of first-person shooters in a way that few other titles have matched. What's truly remarkable about the first Halo is that it still holds up surprisingly well today, even over 15 years after its initial release. Sure, its graphics now seem outdated, and its level design starts to falter about halfway through, with Bungie resorting to corridor after corridor to extend the game's length. But this is one of those rare cases where the strengths of the game far outweigh its flaws.
Who could forget the first time they took the wheel of the Warthog and cruised around Halo, the second level in the game, or charged the beach on The Silent Cartographer? These are iconic gaming moments that stick with you, driven by an engaging sci-fi story, impressive weapon designs (is there a better weapon in an FPS than Halo’s pistol?), and of course, a ridiculously addictive multiplayer mode that became a dorm room staple in the early 2000s. While later Halo entries refined the design, it's tough to think of many other first attempts that turned out this well.
And let’s not forget the best title screen in all of gaming. That music …
2. Halo: Reach
Bungie’s final Halo game was also one of its best, as Halo: Reach serves as a near-perfect farewell from the legendary developer. Even though it doesn’t feature the Master Chief, Reach arguably offers the most well-rounded campaign in the entire series, with every one of its nine missions a winner and no Library level to bring it down. As a prequel set during one of humanity’s biggest conflicts with the Covenant, Reach tells the story of Noble Team’s desperate fight to prevent the Covenant from destroying the planet Reach. While other Halo games cast you as the Master Chief, a virtually indestructible super soldier, Reach takes the opposite approach. The game quickly shifts into a narrative about inevitable defeat. Sure, your character (the faceless Noble Six) is as capable as the Chief, but he and his team are fighting a war they cannot win. Although the game concludes on a somewhat hopeful note, Bungie’s bold decision to immerse players in a losing battle that only escalates in tragedy is one that few games, FPS or otherwise, have achieved. Reach masterfully conveys a sense of melancholic sacrifice through its gripping campaign.
As if that weren’t enough, Reach also boasts one of the most enjoyable multiplayer experiences in the entire Halo series, featuring both Firefight and a host of competitive modes. While the overall map selection in Reach isn’t as strong as the maps in Halo 2 or Halo 3, and the inclusion of armor abilities was an interesting touch (though somewhat limiting — keep in mind this was before sprinting became a permanent feature in Halo), I wholeheartedly believe that Sword Base is the best map in Halo history, and its inclusion alone elevates Reach to legendary status in my view.
Photo: Microsoft
1. Halo 3
Halo 3 may not be my personal favorite in the series, but it undeniably stands as the best. Bungie’s grand finale to the trilogy not only resolved nearly every issue Halo 2 had, but it’s arguably the most complete Halo game ever crafted. Kicking off with the campaign, Microsoft promoted it as the Halo game that would ‘finish the fight,’ and in that sense, Halo 3 delivered in full. It gave fans the large-scale Earth invasion they had hoped for in Halo 2, and while the Earth-based levels are great, the later campaign levels on the Ark, the installation that created the Halo rings, raised the stakes even higher (though I do wish we could do without the Cortana mission). After the divisive inclusion of the Arbiter in Halo 2, it was great to return to playing as Master Chief, but Halo 3 also gave the Arbiter his due in cooperative play, supporting up to four players.
When it comes to multiplayer, Halo 3’s map selection was a slight step back from Halo 2’s exceptional offerings, but it made up for it with near-perfect balance. It’s hard to find much to criticize in Halo 3’s multiplayer experience, as it feels like it was crafted with every fan’s preferences in mind. Whether you wanted to climb the competitive ranks or just hang out and play with friends online, with split-screen guests no less, it delivered. Bungie even found a way to balance dual-wielding with other weaponry, so both options felt equally viable, unlike Halo 2, where dual-wielding overshadowed everything except power weapons. This is also the game that introduced Forge, a mode that has since become a staple in the franchise.
Bungie successfully concluded their Halo trilogy with the finest entry in the series, and I can only hope that 343 Industries can deliver something equally impressive with Halo 6, which will mark the conclusion of their Reclaimer trilogy. Until then, Halo 3 remains the undisputed champion when it comes to being the best overall Halo game.
http://www.gamespot.com/halo-3/ Source: GameSpot
