It's nothing amazing but Halo does both its single and multi-player gaming aspects superbly making it one of the best
I never was a big fan of first-person shooters but i felt the compulsion to buy Halo (and Halo 2) simply because I was an Xbox owner. All the reviews and previews I watched and read all praised nearly everything about the game, from its single-player campaign to its multiplayer craziness to its graphics to its sound and design.
Players assume control of Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced soldier donning the iconic green armour. He's pretty much mankind's last hope against the Covenant, a hostile alien race bent on activating the Halos thinking it to be objects of salvation. Along the way, the Flood, a parasitic alien species get released and it becomes a three-way war throughout, a great recipe for lots of explosions and ass-kicking.
Accompanying MC is Cortana, a hologram who provides most of the game's back story and tactical information. It would have been nice if she added a little bit more than dry dialogue and maybe a little bit more comic relief and witty banter.
The campaign, also available in two-player co-op is fantastic. The maps have good variety, every level feels fresh and there's something new to shoot at, shoot with or drive with and best of all, they're all intense and are made with a sense of urgency. There are few dry moments in a mission, either the Covenant or the Flood keep coming in waves all the time keeping players at their toes.
All AI-controlled proponents or opponents move, act and react wisely as well. They rush, take cover, provide cover fire and fall back as the situation demands. Plus, unlike Cortana some of the human soldiers actually do provide some pretty funny lines, i.e. "You stole my kill, man!"
The final mission is also one of the best and most epic I've played in and not just for FPS but any game type.
Weapons and vehicles come in two versions - human and Covenant, each with their own distinct advantages and disadvantages and they come in a wide variety.
Multi-player mode features a good amount of match types typical of the FPS genre such as Slayer (FFA), Capture the Flag and Team Slayer. Sad to see the limit go only up to 16 players and there are no AI bots so going on Xbox Live is a must for anyone wanting the experience. And it's a pretty damn good one and as great as the single player campaign is, that's just half of the pie.
So albeit having not a lot of complaints about Halo, I'm not giving it the perfect score simply because it didn't blow me away. The single player campaign was fun but nothing revolutionary. Multi-player is quite addictive but so's from other FPS's. That said, Halo is a definite must-own for any FPS lover and Xbox owner. And Master Chief's armour is one of the top 10 coolest video game costumes ever.