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POSTED 17/11/14


HALO: THE MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION

Microsoft Studios



Must resist crap cooking show references...

It put the Xbox on the map. It was the advance on first-person shooters that the genre needed. It was Halo, and it’s back. Which is pretty fucking obvious considering the title up above there.

What isn’t necessarily glaringly apparent is just what this collection contains. Going for kinda but not entirely completely Halotastic, but more complete than on any one format previously, this release lassos the original Halo in its Combat Evolved Anniversary remastered glory, Halos 2, 3 and 4 as well as some ancillary stuff, like a preview of Halo 5 and access to the digital series Halo: Nightfall.

“Yeah, but the original Xbox one looked like shit,” some twats may moan. Yeah, well Halo 2’s been all gussied up like the first Halo and looks spiffygasmic. Next whinge?

“Yeah, but what about all the add-on stuff?” The majority of it – multiplayer and maps - is here. Can we stop the whining and just get on with things?

What jumps out when plundering the memory banks while taking in the original Halo here is just how much fun – and how influential - it was. Even when pressing a button to recall its original graphics, the gameplay’s so solid that it clicks why it’s become one of the most revered titles on any format. That it’s Microsoft’s, all Microsoft’s, must have them rubbing their hands together in unbridled, Unca Scrooge-like glee.

Despite some initial multiplayer hiccups, this collection is more than a tawdry cash-grab. For despite its obvious retro memory pandering, and hence being something that sends consoles walking out doors (hopefully after being paid for), The Master Chief Collection also serves as a reminder of how fun Halo games have always been – and how far the FPS genre hasn’t evolved since.

Bon appetit!

take me back to the start...

 



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ALL WRITTEN CONTENT COPYRIGHT © AMY FLOWER 2008-2018. GAME IMAGES COURTESY OF RESPECTIVE GAMES COMPANIES.