A cool suit. Cool guns. Cool Vehicles. Sounds Nice! Let me at 'em! (Halo: Combat Evolved (PC))

Member Name: Jack-Voltaire

Product:	Halo: Combat Evolved (PC)
Date:	27/12/07 (25 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Can drive around in vehicles. Can have soldiers help out. Cool suit.

Disadvantages: Aliens not scary at all. Game a bit too short.

---Intro----
Halo is one of the more "alternative" first person shooters I have encountered. Basically, the Halo is an alien weapon in outer space. A floating ring the size of a planet. And quite frankly, it makes the atom bomb look like a toddler's toy. You have to stop the evil aliens from getting their claws on it, and thus insure the survival of the universe. This tasks rests on your shoulders, Master Chief.

---Gameplay----
You start out aboard a ship. You are re-animated from a cryo-chamber to evacuate, erm, defend the ship. You can only carry two weapons at a time, so don't expect to be Rambo reincarnated.
The aliens aren't quite as scary as one would expect, in fact, their a bit comical. But that doesn't mean they can't be a pain in the neck.
That aside, the game is pretty darn good.

You get to explore very large terrains, but at times it seems a bit too pre-determined. There are quite a few weapons available, both human and alien alike. My favourite gun has got to be the pistol. It features a scope and packs a punch that puts Rocky Balboa (Is it just me, or is this starting to sound like a Sylvester Stalone documentary?) to shame.

My favourite part of the game is being able to jump into a Warthog (something between a Land Rover and a Beach Buggy) and drive around crushing whatever (or whoever) is unlucky enough to get caught off guard. You can also get a soldier or two to jump in alongside you and provide covering fire or even let one of them take the wheel (warning: not for the faint of heart, motion sick or those who have road rage issues :-)).

---Graphics and Sound----
The graphics, while not revolutionary, will be enough to satisfy most gamers. The sound and music is binding and the storyline gripping. The aliens may sound funny (as in amusing) at times, but that just makes the game more fun to play.

There isn't a lot of gore or blood, in fact, there's hardly any. So you don't have to worry about your ten-year old refusing to get out of YOUR bed.

---System Requirements----
* Operating System: Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows Second Edition, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), Microsoft Windows 2000, or Microsoft Windows XP.
* Computer/Processor: 733 megahertz (MHz) processor.
* DirectX: DirectX® 9.0 or later. (DirectX 9.0b is installed by Halo.)
* Memory: 128 megabytes (MB) of RAM.
* Hard Disk: 1.2 gigabytes (GB) of free hard disk space.
* Video card: 32 MB with 3D Transform and Lighting capable.
* CD: 8X.
* Sound: Sound card, speakers, or headphones with multiplayer play.
* *56.6 Kilobytes per second (KBps) modem or 10 MB network adapter. Multiplayer servers require broadband to run a server.
* *Additionally, you must have an Internet Service provider (ISP) or a Local Area Network (LAN), if you want to play multi-player games.


---Final Word(s)----
It didn't take me a long time to finish Halo (about a week if I remember correctly, but don't quote me on that). There are many more challenging games out there that may provide you with a longer experience. But all in all, it was fun while it lasted. In fact, I'd be eager to get my hands on Halo 2 if it wasn't for the fact that it was only being released for Vista.
This game is fun to play, but don't expect to be glued to your seat for weeks on end.

Summary: Time to defend the universe!