Happy Anniversary, Halo!

For the ten year anniversary of the release of Halo: Combat Evolved, I'm replaying the original... and for my enjoyment, tehe. Halo 1, in my opinion, is still one of the most balanced shooters to date. Granted, not all levels are that exciting - in fact you can be sure you'll hear a lot of nagging once I get to the Library mission - but the combat, the enemy AI, and the weapons are balanced out perfectly. Not that the AI was that smart, but in combination with your move set and the weapons you have, everything falls into place. Above all, I've played this game a lot of times now, but, yesterday, when Srg. Johnson gives his first speech on the hangar deck of the Pillar of Autumn, believe it or not, I heard yet another dialog variation I had never heard before. Also, you only start to appreciate the missions once you've played them a couple of times and realize just how perfectly every piece of cover and spawn point is placed - compared to the irritating checkpoint placement in Halo 2.

Yesterday I played through the first level. I just love the Alien-like introductory shot with the ring and the gas giant in the back panning down and the Pillar of Autumn flying in from the right - so great that they picked that shot for the end of Halo Reach and the credits - coming full circle. The first cutscene is quite long and back in 2001 when the game was first released its scope was just mind-blowing. It still amazes me how well this first cutscene manages to establish all the major characters and in such a relatable way - Captain Keys, Sergent Johnson, and the Master Chief a.k.a. Sierra 117 (John). Apart from Starcraft II, the Jedi Knight Mysteries of the Sith, and Star Wars The Force Unleashed, the Halo franchise still has one of the best spaceship interiors. Little details like the digital notice boards with their inside jokes are quite telling about the game's age. Half-Life 1 also had a lot of these, but alas, few of the recent games. One cool Easter egg in this first halo mission is the endless wave of soldiers you can trigger if you go back an kill everybody one the bridge once Captain Keys has handed you the pistol. Indeed, there's a lot happening in this level. Making your way from the cryo bay to the bridge, introducing Cortana. Locking back at how shooter where back then (take Half-Life for instance, before Alyx and her dad and dog or Barney; Gordon never said anything and if you didn't run into some scared scientist the only company you had was a very generic computer voice giving you status updates on your hazard suit) shooters where very quiet. It was mainly you, the player, always the silent type, with very little interaction with other friendly characters. Having Cortana as a constant companion was a great addition. Not only does she give you mission objectives on the fly, but I love that she has a will of her own rather than just being the voice of your suits computers She and the Masterchief both trying to have their way makes for lots of nice bits and nips along the way.

So expect more to come. Once I've completed mission 2 I'll probably post another update.