Halo: The Master Chief Collection Review – By Our Powers Combined

The greatest regret I carry with me in my gaming life is having missed every Halo game at release. The Xbox One is my first Xbox console, and because of that Halo has always been foreign to me. I would get around to play Halo: Combat Evolved on PC, and play through Halo 3 and Halo: Reach on a borrowed console, but I would never take the steps necessary to see first-hand why the franchise is held in such high regard.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection has been regarded as the ultimate package for Halo fans since its announcement, but it’s much more than that. In my case, it’s a way to catch up the franchise, and see why it’s earned millions of fans. Playing through each game and experiencing multiplayer for my first time, I’ve learned that this series’ reputation is no mistake. These are games unlike any other, and in Halo: MCC they combine their powers into one.

To Infinity And Beyond

The moment you hop into Halo: MCC it makes its tremendous value as clear as possible. You’ll hear the famous Halo Gregorian Chant before being presented with access to the four major installments of the franchise: Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo 3, and Halo 4. These games are unified into a singular intuitive and easy to use interface, making navigation of the colossal package as painless as possible. It even goes as far as standardizing in-game pause menus and settings. A lot of work has gone into piecing this together.

Given that these games, particularly Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3, are indisputably some of the most acclaimed titles in history, the result is something predictably extraordinary. Each game stands on its own two feet, feeling true to the spirit of the original release while benefiting from the Xbox One’s hardware with higher resolution and a smooth 60 frames per second experience. In the case of the frame rate, 60 frames per second is something that tandems well with the cohesiveness of the controls.

A lot of work has gone into piecing this together.

There is some incongruity to the experience, though. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary hasn’t gotten a lot of attention, so it’s still only a modest upgrade. Meanwhile, Halo 3 stands out from the bunch since it has no graphical toggle (you can alternate between classic and modern visuals in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary and Halo 2: Anniversary) and has only improved in minor ways since 2007. Standing out from these two are Halo 4, which looks downright phenomenal, and Halo 2: Anniversary, which is the highlight of the collection. It has no impact on the overall experience, but not all games are equal, that’s for sure.

From the get-go you’ll have every mission of each game unlocked, making the Playlist section a real treat. You can select a basic Playlist that sends you through every game, or specific lists that task you with vehicle only missions, or even Flood-focused missions. For Halo fans that have experienced these games before, it’s perfect for jumping directly into the best moments in Halo‘s mythos.

Related: The 10 Best Moments in Halo History

The Leaderboard system is perhaps Halo: MCC‘s greatest integration. You’ll earn a score depending on your speed, accuracy, and more, adding a competitive quality to the solo or local co-operative modes. You can even tune how you’re scored, and enable a variety of skulls before you get started. There’s enough here to incentivize even the most hardened Halo fans to play through missions of ages past.

The Star of the Show

Originally, Halo: MCC was only going to include Halo 2: Anniversary. Even if that were the case the package would have been one of the best of 2014, because Halo 2: Anniversary is absolutely spectacular. Unlike Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary which made a single generation jump, Halo 2 has been transported from Xbox to Xbox One. Also unlike Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, there are no cases where the old is better than the new.

On the surface it’s absolutely gorgeous. Running at 1328 x 1080 resolution, the image is much sharper than the original release. Effects have been completely renovated, making Type-51 shots explode with dazzling particle effects. More importantly, it runs at 60 frames per second, making gunplay smooth as butter. Taking part in the Halo 2 journey, although it’s not the most prized campaign of the franchise, is an experience that rivals anything on the market today.

In regards to the resolution, it isn’t a full 1920 x 1080 because it runs several engines in unison. By tapping the View button you’ll make an instant transition between the Anniversary edition and the Halo 2 that earned widespread acclaim a full 10 years ago. The difference is drastic, and you just might find yourself spamming the button as you play.

Related: Everything You Need to Know About Halo: MCC

As much as the graphics are highlighted, the audio work stands out even more. Weapon sounds and effects, in addition to environmental audio, have been completely redone, now with much more body. Swiping at foes with the Energy Blade now feels like it has some force behind it. The same can be said of the new soundtrack, which has been re-recorded with a live orchestra. The story’s grandest moments are sure to get your adrenaline pumping.

But if there’s one reason to play through the entirety of Halo 2: Anniversary no matter how many times you’ve completed it in the past, it’s for the new cinematics. Blur has outdone itself, turning nearly 60 minutes of epic cutscenes into something very special. These are the highest quality CGI videos that have ever found their way into a video game, and thankfully they’ve been for a game that deserves it. As with the gameplay, you can toggle between the original and Anniversary version of Halo 2 using the View button. There’s no doubt that you’ll be blown away by the contrast between Halo 2 of now and 10 years ago.

A War of Galactic Proportions

Halo: MCC includes multiplayer for Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 4. Not only are the original experiences here, but so are roughly 100 maps. If you’re interested in hopping online and reminding yourself how great it felt to destroy other gamers on Lockout and Blood Gulch, Halo: MCC does everything in its power to deliver what you’re looking for without compromise.

Accompanying the large sum of maps are all the game modes and options Halo fans look for. Playing two matches that are alike is more uncommon in Halo: MCC than any other shooter to ever be released thanks to the game’s sea of content and options. If you want to spend hundreds of hours competitively playing Halo: MCC, quantity will never be a concern. You can even customize your character, ID, tag, and loadout with a variety of options and unlockables from the unified interface.

Jumping between classic Halo 2 multiplayer and the Anniversary version is a real testament to the advancements made in technology over the past 10 years. The six remade maps are absolutely incredible, breathing life into playgrounds where millions of newbs have been destroyed over the past decade. You can play the originals if you’d like, too.

It does everything in its power to deliver what you’re looking for without compromise.

Forge is robust, but easier to work with than past incarnations. Building custom levels using a suite of new options is sure to consume dozens of hours from creative types.

Unlike most other online shooters on the market, Halo: MCC‘s multiplayer is hosted on dedicated servers. If you’re serious about competing online, there is no better choice in 2014.

Note: At the time of this review online multiplayer isn’t available, but we were able to spend time in local multiplayer. In a nutshell, our experience was fantastic. The games run smoothly, the maps are untampered with, and Halo 2: Anniversary and Halo 4 feel like they belong in 2014.

Conclusion

What Halo: The Master Chief Collection does better than anything else on the market is bringing several must-play games into one package. The minute-to-minute experience of navigating and consuming its wealth of content is as well thought out as it gets. This is the best video game collection of all-time.

As someone relatively new to the Halo universe, Halo: The Master Chief Collection has made me a fan. I can only imagine what it’d be like to revisit these games as someone who spent countless hours playing them with friends. 

Jonathan Leack is the Gaming Editor for CraveOnline. You can follow him on Twitter @jleack.

Copy provided by publisher. Halo: The Master Chief Collection is exclusive to Xbox One.