Halo: Combat Evolved was the first Xbox game I'd ever played, It was enjoyable running around the first two or three levels, and to an extend the third and fourth, especially with a good friend over a hot pizza. Running around the crowded corridors of the Pillar of Autumn gave such an exciting invigorating adrenal rush, the vast open space of the Halo surface were intricate and detailed, yet unsuspecting. Then we came to the Silent Cartographer, our first detailed glimpse into the workings of the Forerunner complex, forever deep and maze-like, a thrill or a kill around every corner until the unveiling of the map room. Then it went downhill. Just straight down. Not even a hill, a straight drop down a cliff. The levels became boring and repetitive. VERY repetitive. It was exactly the same thing over and over, not in a metaphorical sense but a literal sense it was just cut and pasted level after level somewhat, probably to prolong gameplay. It went straight from being a nice, well-rounded game to walking through hummus for an hour. The story degraded in the latter half, and gave no explanation for why the player was doing any of these things, mostly by himself. The final levels were annoying, and made the game painful to play through, it was no longer a fun story-driven twitch-shooter. That's single player.
What about the Multiplayer aspect? Absolute Genius.
A bunch of mates hanging around at 10? Pizza getting cold? Boy are yo in for a blast. Jumping around Blood Gulch dodging Warthogs is the best part of the game, trying hard to snipe the driver out, so concentrated you get punched from behind, the sand boxy arena, the high-speed firefights, it makes the single-player campaign forgivable. The only complaint about that I have is three-player split screen is unfairly biased in player ones favor. I would never forcibly subject someone to the Campaign beyond the Map room, but I would tie them to a chair and put a gag in their mouth to get them to try multiplayer.
Bottom line? Buy Two Xboxes, a lan cable, and a bunch of pizza, gather your closest friends around two large TV's and prepare for the frag fest of a lifetime!
Learning Curve: Instant!
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