Halo: The Master Chief Collection

Editor's Notes

Disc version reviewed. Severe multiplayer issues are noted in the review and in the score.

Introduction

Master Chief. A simple two word military title, which up until 2001, was largely unknown to the gaming audience at large. Enter 'Halo: Combat Evolved,' not Bungie's first step up to the plate in the realm of the first person shooter, having broken ground with the acclaimed, but I'd argue still obscure, 'Marathon' series.  What was originally to be a Mac exclusive, turned cross-platform release, ended up being the face that launched half a million Xboxes (my own rough estimate given claimed sales figures). Since that initial game, the series has seen a steady release, every three years or so, with the exception of the timeframe hovering around 2010, wherein three tiles in the universe flooded the market. Of course, Microsoft has always had a growing degree of oversight on the mega franchise, and that oversight has seen the development transition from Bungie to 343 Studios and more recently, from the 360 to the Xbox One.

It's nigh impossible to try and succinctly make sense of the storyline of the series, but one figure remains a beacon throughout: Master Chief. For all the diversions and cross-media spin-offs, what brings players back to the universe is Master Chief (and personally, I'd argue Cortana). His saga, told over the course of four games, spanning over a decade, now can claim dominance on three consoles, with the release of 'Halo: The Master Chief Collection.'

The Game Itself: Our Reviewer's Take

While the original 'Halo' had already been remastered and re-released on the Xbox 360 and 'Halo 3' and 'Halo 4' were native releases to that console, 'Halo 2' remained the wild card; one of the only games to natively run backwards compatible on the 360, its origins were still firmly rooted in its original Xbox release. If there's one solitary selling point of this new anthology, it's the new anniversary version of 'Halo 2', remastered not for the 360 up-rezzed for the Xbox One; no, 'Halo 2' is remastered from the ground up for the Xbox One, and what a sight it is to behold. Let's not get too ahead of ourselves though, as Master Chief's story began a game earlier.

The target audience of this release doesn't need a detailed recap and breakdown of the series, so I won't attempt to provide one. That said, it's highly recommended gamers revisit (or in some cases visit for the first time) the series in order, in order to appreciate the evolution of the series, not only narratively and systemically, but from its parent, Bungie, to new keepers, 343 Industries.   'Halo: Combat Evolved' is the roughest of any title in the saga, but it's still well worth playing. The plotting and pacing of the story is a bit bloated and often-sheer numbers of enemies feels like a cheap substitute for more modern AI. Still, it's clear to see why the title original sold millions and the work done on the previous anniversary remake of this one is even more pronounced on this generation of hardware.

'Halo 2' may be the Holy Grail for some fans, but in purely objective terms, it's far from the best the series has to offer in all aspects. The fancy new HD visuals, from the in-game action to completely overhauled cutscenes is the selling point and a very strong one. When you get down to the campaign, there are still some thrilling moments: racing through the streets of New Mombassa annihilating Covenant soldiers, while hijacking new vehicles to continue your steady wave of destruction is a fluid piece of action any FPS should aspire to. What isn't so hot, is a story suffering from the opposite issue of its predecessor. 'Halo 2' is short and still ends on a cliffhanger.

'Halo 3' and 'Halo 4' definitely hold up more steadfast in a post 'Modern Warfare' world. 'Halo 3' was a huge flagship title for the Xbox 360 and replaying it, there's no question why. It's a more fluid game than either 'Halo' or 'Halo 2,' even despite not pushing the 360 to its own limits. Its story is more evenly paced and sets an emotional tone that would carry out through subsequent titles in the series. 'Halo 4' is the most recent in the series and the groundwork Bungie laid out in 'Halo: Reach' really shines through in 343's first title. It's a pure sci-fi action epic that pushed the limits of its parent console and has much more breathing room on the Xbox One.

Simply being able to play 'Halo' and then jump into 'Halo 4' with remastered graphics in one sitting is reason enough to at least give 'The Master Chief' collection a look. It's rare to be able to closely examine the evolution of a series with such ease and despite the passage of time and advances in gaming technology, the Master Chief saga is still a must play and must replay. The only bittersweet aspect of the release, is it really is only Master Chief's story. As phenomenal as they are, I long for the opportunity for 'Halo: ODST' and 'Halo: Reach' to see a similar release, as both, narratively pushed the series forward and really forced 'Halo 4' to up its game in all aspects.

Multiplayer Status - We've Got Serious Issues

Here's where Bad News Barrett would feel right at home. Multiplayer. Truthfully, the real reason most will choose to pick this release up. On paper, 'The Master Chief Collection' should be the ultimate multiplayer experience. If the remastered campaigns weren't enough, the thought of being able to experience four complete multiplayer experiences, spanning 100 or so odd maps would only keep away the most cynical contrarians. Yet, 343 drops the proverbial griffball, hard. As I put the final touches on this review, the multiplayer system isn't up to snuff. 343 has already acknowledged major issues with matchmaking, going as far to restrict the options available to a few popular settings. I was able to get in a few matches, but only after waiting 5-10 minutes for a lobby to populate. In no universe is that kind of wait time acceptable. For that reason, I'm considering the multiplayer aspect of the game to be incomplete and penalizing the game's score as a whole, for now. When (I have full faith there's no "if" in the equation) multiplayer works as advertised I will revisit this review and offer a full rundown. Until then, 'The Master Chief Collection' is a product only operating at 50-percent full capacity.