Stopping the Larp
Long story short recently I decided to stop larping halo. I had always considered myself a fan but honestly the only ones I had ever played were Halo5 and Halo Infinite (only multiplayer for Infinite). I had always heard about halo all my life and had always had an xbox so when my parents bought me an xbox one they also got me Halo 5. Even back then I thought Chief being in only a few missions was weird but that’s a story for another time.
Anywho I finally got the MCC and was like fck it let’s actually play these games I’ve claimed to like and it’s honestly been amazing. I finished CE yesterday and it was great. Amazing even. Don’t worry I played on og graphics. Even before I realized that was considered the right way to play it i just thought og looked better. And even a couple times during my play through i kept thinking “dang this game looks so good! i must be on anniversary graphics,” only to switch and realize id been on og graphics the whole time! the art direction of CE is breathtaking. everything feels tangible but also ancient and grandiose.
My biggest complaint is that the level design does start to feel a bit samey towards the back half of the game. I didn’t mind too much because I was having fun but it’s something I definitely noticed. Probably just a product of being a 25 year old game lol. I will say this game kicked my ass and I was playing on normal. The covenant is cool and the flood is terrifying. It’s all so good.
Fun side story, after putting keyes out of his misery i put it on anniversary graphics to see how gross he would look (the extra faces were a nice touch) when the flood came out to attack. i jumped off the back of the little platform and saw this glowing red thing. i went over to it and completely by accident discovered the keyes terminal. it gave me goosebumps. watching him try to fight the influence of the flood was tragic. finding the other terminals is the only reason i’d replay CE with anniversary graphics.
I give Halo: Combat Evolved a 9/10!!