3/5 ★ – Manic_Zucc's review of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.

Fair warning: this is my first exposure to a Halo game, I have no nostalgia. There’s a lot to like about the first Halo and I can easily see how this became an immediate classic. The core combat gameplay, the weapon variety, the enemy AI, and especially the music (can’t emphasize that one enough) are all outstanding. I also love the games general vibe, the writers and designers do a great job making this feel like a lived in universe with a long history. The game manages to capture epic sci fi battles, spooky flood levels, and even occasional funny moments in a great balancing way. The main reason I don’t rate this higher is sadly the actual level design. It’s pretty rough. Most missions feel like they go on way too long and just start throwing the same enemies and environments at you. The Library is the worst example of this but plenty of other levels suffer from the same thing. This is such a core aspect to a game’s experience that it deals a pretty big blow to the score. Some levels are still solid though with “The Silent Cartographer” being an easy highlight. I have some other issues like inconsistent checkpoints, janky vehicle controls, and way too many one hit kill weapons near the end, but these are fairly minor in comparison. At the end of the day my experience with Halo was overall positive, but the repetitive nature of the levels has makes me somewhat hesitant to jump back in anytime soon. I am however very excited to play the sequel, which I’ve heard is a significant step up.