A true modern classic
Following the tale of Master Chief, a genetically altered super soldier that just happens to be the last of its kind. Humanity is also locked in a desperate with an advanced alien raced called the covenant. Humanity is slowly losing a war and in a desperate attempt to divert the Covenant happen to stumble across a ring world known as "Halo".
The covenant are your main enemies and although they only come in 5 varieties, each encounter is different enough to keep you entertained. While the covenant due get a little wearisome, the game cleverly introduce new races into the mix that serve to further the game's variety.
Also mixed in with on foot segments, are vehicles. They vehicles rank from turret mounted jeeps and tanks to alien machinery such as the rapid Ghost and the high flying banshee. These makes for some fantastic and intense vehicle combat, where bullets and shells are flying everywhere, vehicles are flipping and the body count on both sides are rising.
Also joining you to help kill the hordes of enemies are your fellow marines. While they may be hopelessly brain dead and really only serves as a human meat shield, they can be a great help and you can come to rely on them. Lets just say when you got a squad of marines protecting your back, it a lot easier than trying to do it alone.
The part of the game that really brings it above other shooters though is its story. While it may at first seem like standard fare, the story develops in a way that by the end it truly feels like its on par with some Hollywood movies. This is especially true for the final scene, were you have 12 minutes to drive over 2km in a warthog, all the while everything around to turning hell. Things are exploding, bullets are flying and its a great way to end the game.
While Halo may not be very innovative, it takes everything we've come to love about the shooter genre and refines it, making it fun to play and a game that everyone who owns an X-box needs to pick up.