Product Details
 | Halo: Combat Evolved |
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Product Description
MODEL- MS-CD46618WI VENDOR- MICROSOFT CORPORATION FEATURES- Microsoft Halo PC 1.0: Combat Evolved Halo PC 1.0 Win32 English NA DVD Box CD. Halo: Combat Evolved gives you a brand-new arsenal of strategies, vehicles, complex characters, and cunning adversaries. You ll find yourself enmeshed in new challenges and surprises, as well as intense online multiplayer competition exclusively for the PC. * Rich sci-fi experience Enjoy a science fiction universe fresh out of a Hollywood movie, with a detailed, twisting storyline, complex characters and cunning enemies. * Vehicle- and foot-based action Storm an enemy base or take the wheel or gunnery position in a variety of powerful vehicles. * Intense online multiplayer shootouts Take the battle online with gamers from all over the world in a variety of individual and team based games. * Huge variety of weapons Crush enemies with weaponry ranging from the stealthy semiautomatic pistols and Needler to the fierce Rocket Launcher and Fuel Rod Gun. * Many missions to choose from Attack outposts, raid underground labs for advanced technology, rescue fallen comrades, steal alien vehicles and weaponry, and snipe at enemy forces. REQUIRES- PC with 733 MHz or faster processor 128 MB of RAM 1.2 GB available hard-disk space 8x speed or faster CD-ROM drive Windows 98SE, Windows Me, Windows XP, or Windows 2000 32 MB T&L capable video card required Sound card, speakers, or headphones required for audio Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device 56.6 Kbps or higher modem or LAN for online play; broadband to run a server. microsoft.comProduct Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #1829 in Video Games
- Brand: Microsoft
- Model: M61-00032
- Released on: 2003-09-30
- ESRB Rating: Mature
- Platforms: Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 1.25" h x 5.25" w x 7.50" l, 2.00 pounds
Features
- A group of alien races called the Covenant is wiping out human bases and colonies across the galaxy. You and a few fellow soldiers are all that's left of a devastated colony-world called Halo. Built for combat, trained for war, you'll do the only thing you can -- wage guerilla war on the Covenant and help other humans escape!
- Incredible graphics bring the alien world of Halo to life, as you explore it and unravel its many mysteries
- Control your Character during massive firefights as you eliminate as many Covenant soldiers as possible
- Use your tactics skills to command squads and eliminate the enemy as you engage in guerilla warfare, using whatever weapons you can find
- Incredible all-new multiplayer maps for up to 16 people, with brand new armaments you've never seen before
Editorial Reviews
From the Manufacturer
Halo,
the award-winning and critically acclaimed science fiction epic
adventure, is coming to the PC courtesy of Bungie and Gearbox Software.
Packed with action, Halo contains all the thrilling gameplay and
rich story that made it a smash hit with gamers all over the world. Now
you can take the battle online with all new multiplayer including new
maps, weapons and vehicles available only on your PC!
Bent on
Humankind's extermination, a powerful fellowship of alien races known as
the Covenant is wiping out the Earth's fledgling interstellar empire.
You and the other surviving defenders of a devastated colony-world make a
desperate attempt to lure the alien fleet away from Earth. Shot down
and marooned on the ancient ring-world Halo, you begin a guerilla-war
against the Covenant. Fight for humanity against an alien onslaught as
you race to uncover the mysteries of Halo.
- New to Halo for the PC: Halo allows you to take the battle online with gamers from all over the world in a variety of customizable individual and team based games. Experience the all new multiplayer with the addition of new maps, weapons and vehicles. Halo's been enhanced for play on the PC with the precision offered by the mouse and keyboard and the support of high-end hardware allowing up to 1600x1200 resolution!
- Rich sci-fi experience: Halo transports you into a science fiction universe fresh out of a Hollywood movie. With a detailed, twisting storyline, complex characters and cunning enemies, Halo will fulfill every sci-fi enthusiast's dreams.
- Vehicle and foot-based action: Tackle missions any way you choose, be it storming an enemy base or taking the wheel or gunnery position in a variety of powerful vehicles. Vehicles range from stolen Covenant flyers to human tanks and more.
- Intense online multiplayer shootouts: Take the battle online with gamers from all over the world in a variety of individual and team-based games such as King of the Hill, Capture the Flag, Race, Oddball, Death Match, and more
- Huge Weapon Variety: Enemies can be crushed with a vast array of human or Covenant weaponry, ranging from the stealthy semiautomatic pistols and needler guns to the fierce rocket launchers and fuel-rod gun.
- Incredible mission variety: Fight the Covenant in a variety of missions as they uncover the dark secrets of Halo. Among the many objectives: to attack enemy outposts, raid underground labs for advanced technology, rescue fallen comrades, steal alien vehicles and weaponry, and snipe at enemy forces.
- Indoor and outdoor combat: Fights are seamless in Halo's ultrarealistic indoor and outdoor environments as gamers hunt the Covenant in a variety of single-player and multiplayer battles.
- Optimized for the PC: With the precision of mouse and keyboard support, playing Halo is like never before. Take advantage of their high-end graphic cards and see Halo in superhigh 1,600 x 1,200 resolution.
- 5.1 compatible: Enjoy a complete surround-sound experience! Enemy troops yell out the front speakers, while friendly troops yell assistance from the right. Meanwhile, hear bullets fired from behind and watch them strike targets in front of you.
Customer Reviews
What's so great about Halo?
If you were like me, then you
have heard about what a great game Halo is, but you couldn't figure out
what was so great about it or what made it so special. It first glance,
it looks so ordinary. You look at the box and see that you are fighting
a bunch of aliens with laser guns and assault rifles. Sounds like a
cliche doesn't it? But what is so great about this game is that it is
just really fun to play. It gets all of the little things right. Halo
isn't innovative as far as setting and storyline go, but it is a big
breakthrough as far as gameplay goes. (Gameplay, remember that?) Even
during the mind-numblingly repetitive spots, it still manages to be
somewhat fun.
Here are five reasons why Halo is a great game:
1.
Weapon balance - every weapon in the game is useful, and none are
overpowered. Every weapon has at least one advantage, and one
disadvantage. The pistol is accurate at long range, which gives it an
advantage over the assault rifle, which is lethal, but only at a short
range. The plasma rifle is good for taking down shields, but can't hold
much ammo, and the rocket launcher is very powerful, but also slow to
reload. You can only carry two weapons, but you will frequently find
yourself changing them out for various situations. The fact that all of
them are useful gives you all sorts of ways to fight differently.
2.
Fantastic AI. The aliens in the game (called "The Covenant") give you
some very smart enemies to fight. They will use cover to let their
shields regenerate and if you are trying to run them over in a vehicle,
they will dive out of the way. They will also use grenades sometimes to
flush you out, as well as try to rush you and/or outflank you. Sometimes
they will jump onto nearby turrets or vehicles. Not only do the enemies
have great AI, but so do your marine teammates. This all makes for some
very exciting battles, which never quite play out the same twice.
3.
The game actually makes you use your skills and tactics, instead of
memorizing where enemies are scripted to ambush you. I love this aspect.
There are very few surprises in Halo. Winning battles requires skillful
use of cover, smart weapon selection, and good use of grenades too. I
am kind of spoiled now, because every other first-person shooter (except
for maybe Serious Sam) seems inferior in this area. Most games require
you to abuse the "quick save" key in order to get through the game.
4.
In Halo, you are always moving forward. The game just flows so fast.
This is due in large part to the regenerating shields mechanic, which is
being copied by lots of other games. This simple innovation means that
you can fight 15 or 20 battles without losing any health, as long as you
are smart when you fight them. Thus, you don't have to backtrack all
afternoon for a powerup. In addition, the game throws lots of ammo your
way, so you don't have to spend much time scavenging for it.
5.
Halo has vehicles and turrets seamlessly integrated into the game. There
are vehicles scattered throughout the game that you can get into and
use to mow down your enemies or fly around and blast them from the sky.
When you get into the jeep, marine squadmates will jump in with you and
take the gunner positions. The vehicles in this game are so much fun.
Sometimes the best way to defeat a group of enemies is to drive around
the perimeter and let your gunner blast away at them.
6. Surprise,
surprise, grenades are not only useful, but crucial to surviving the
game. This is thanks to a separate hotkey just for throwing grenades.
You can be firing your assault rifle and throw a quick grenade, and then
fire your rifle some more. You don't have to switch weapons to throw
grenades, so they become that much more useful. This is another very
simple innovation that substantially changes the gameplay.
OK I
lied, that was 6 reasons. There are actually more, like the wonderful
soundtrack, which makes the game's big battles so memorable. Lots of
people dislike Halo's repetitiveness, especially towards the end. The
infamous "Library" level gets pretty boring, but this is still really a
great game despite being two years old and having some technical
problems.
Lots of Fun
This is a review of the
single player version, so if you are mainly interested in multi-player,
you should skip to the next review.... I am actually playing Halo
through for the second time, on a higher difficulty level. I played
through the first time on Normal difficulty, and was able to complete
the game in maybe 30 or 40 hours.
I thought the graphics were
great, especially the outdoor scenes. I found myself wandering off from a
few fire fights just to take in the view. The first set of enemies you
fight, the Covenant, were unique and funny (at least the short ones
were). They are pretty smart, and like to sneak up on you, lob grenades
at your feet when you're not watching, etc. But the short ones also like
to run away screaming in terror from time to time. The difficulty level
of the game ramps up evenly as you move forward. Although I had to
replay most levels several times to move on, I never had to go to the
internet to find the "right" solution, although I was close to doing
that a couple of times.
I liked that there weren't a lot of secret
areas to find and puzzles to solve. There were a few tricky spots where
you had to figure something out, but the solutions were usually obvious
even to me, and I'm really bad at puzzles. And the tricky spots fit
into the game--I never felt like I was being asked to solve an arbitrary
puzzle just because the game designer liked puzzles.
Being able
to drive/fly vehicles was a nice addition. I especially enjoyed driving
the Warhog and the tank. The controls for those vehicles were intuitive
and were pretty much the same as what you use to move around on foot.
I
also liked the way player health was handled. Because you have a force
shield, you only take damage once the shield is depleted, and the shield
regenerates after about 5 seconds if you haven't been hit during that
time. I often left behind healing packs because I just didn't need them.
I also finished several levels with just one health unit left, thanks
to the energy shield.
On the down side, I thought some of the
levels were a bit too repetitive, and they didn't flow together quite as
seamlessly as Half Life's levels. In a few cases, not being able to
save the game at an arbitrary point became *very* painful. Only being
able to carry 2 weapons at a time was a definite pain. And the second
set of enemies you fight, the Swarm, didn't seem appropriate to the
story. They were more like zombies. These issues didn't keep me from
enjoying the game, but they did cause me to give it 4 rather than 5
stars.
In general, I feel I got my money's worth from the game.
Halo, Good-bye (3½ Stars)
It's finally here! And
it's... okay. That I think is the best way to describe Halo- several
years late, even before Microsoft assimilated Bungie, they had always
planned to do a PC version, and had it been released three years ago, it
would have been cutting edge. Instead, we get a two year old Xbox cast
off retooled by Gearbox Software with oversight by Bungie. Personally, I
think they should have put a little more time into Halo than they did,
because if this is what Bungie had in mind for what was then a ground
breaking title, then I'm afraid it falls short in several areas, not
least of which is some of the most amateurish and dull level design I
have ever seen. I generally hold FPS games up against the likes of Jedi
Knight, Half-Life, and the original Unreal- if it can compare to the
quality of design of those games, then it scores big.
Halo's
story, in a nutshell, is basically this: humanity is at war with a
collection of races known as the Covenant, who are basically religious
fanatics and the gods of which have declared humanity unclean and
therefore must be exterminated. Naturally, the humans are losing the war
so they concoct a plan to engineer super cyborg soldiers to combat
Covenant, which they do successfully, but it's a case of too little too
late. The last Spartacus II, the Master Chief, a.k.a you, are onboard
the human starship Pillar of Autumn, when it engages several Covenant
warships while investigating a ring word (I wonder if Niven got any
royalties for that.), known as Halo. The ship is damaged and crash lands
on the ring, but not before the Master Chief escapes with the Autumn's
sexy babe AI core, Cortana. It is soon revealed that the Covenant have
discovered that Halo is of course a weapon, but don't quite understand
just how powerful it is and what it was originally intended for. Both
sides race against time to gain control of the device to use it against
the other side.
There is so much in this game that's really darn
cool- the overall look and feel of the weapons, characters and vehicles
in spot on, as are the exterior vistas and buildings seen through out
the experience. Music is top notch, though sometimes it sounds like it
came from a cheap Casio keyboard, it is for the most part as good as the
main theme. The sound effects lack, especially in how the weapons
sound, and especially how the aliens sound- they grunt and roar like
cheap cartoon monsters, not the kind of thing you expect to hear from
slick looking beasties in colored chrome battle armor wielding plasma
guns. Game play is pretty good, though I don't like the fact that you
can't double jump, that is jump on to an object then use that momentum
to immediately jump again to a higher position. Then there is the
vehicles- whether flying or driving, it has to be experienced to be
believed, because it's that good. In either the 4WD Warthog or the Ghost
hover bike, ground vehicles are a snap to drive and a lot of fun,
meaning you concentrate more on the game than figuring out how to steer.
The Covenant Banshee, a small attack fighter, is also a cinch to fly,
steer and attack with. Plus the enemy AI is superb- Covenant dodge,
shoot from cover and attack intelligently.
Now for the bad news.
There is no gentle way to say this: Level design sucks. Maybe the bland
stainless steel-like interior textures were meant to give everything a
high tech look, but there are few elements of contrast and most every
wall looks like every other wall. Worse, moving through levels is like a
bad case of deja vu- because basically each new room is pretty much
like the one you left, the main difference being there aren't any bodies
or weapons lying around in the new ones. It appears as though the level
designers merely cloned rooms, stuck tunnels between them to link a
level together. Further, there aren't a lot of objects in them, either,
and everything looks very sterile. There aren't a lot of computer
screens, tools, junk or anything else lying around to look it. This
doesn't just go for Halo's interiors- the insides of Covenant and human
vessels are just as bland, with the same repetitive layout as their
counterparts. If places, chambers, rooms, etc. had been decorated with
as much care as the ones in Unreal II, I feel it might have made things a
little more fun to explore and look at.
What's also weird is that
for all the hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of space on the
ring world, I never saw one example of fauna larger than insects- no
animals, no fish, no birds, nothing. It's like the biosphere gave up
after trees and bugs. Exterior vistas are quite large, especially in
Banshee missions, and as I said, 2-3 years ago, the graphics would have
been ground breaking, but even outside the textures seem kind of plain,
though still attractive. Other annoyances is the switching of weapons
from one mission to the next. There are a couple of instances where the
next mission picks up right after the last one ends, but you no longer
have the weapons you finished with- and that makes no sense. This is
doubly bad since you can only carry two of them at any given time. I
find the shotgun and the Covenant plasma rifle to be the best of the
lot, though the latter must be discarded once out of ammo in order to
find another, because for some reason you can't reload them. And for all
the work Gearbox said they did on this game, would it have been too
much to ask for to give us real save game options rather than stinky
console check points?
My expectations were high and they were only
partially met. There is a lot that's good in Halo- story, music,
characters, vehicles and voice acting, but the things that are wrong
with it are really wrong. It's a good game and it has a lot of elements
that I love, but the uninspired level design, bland textures, dated
graphics and silly aliens detract a great deal from what had the
potential to be one of the greatest games ever made.
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