3.5/5 ★ – tannytanthecat's review of Halo: Combat Evolved.

This game has a very solid base, unlike HL1 it doesn't feel inherently dated in a lot of it's base mechanics. It looks pretty, it sounds pretty, and the guns are impactful! But, the one aspect that really dates this halo, is the level design! Half the levels are giant, slightly-open world sandboxes with tons of cool shooting, vehicle combat, and pretty visuals. The other half is some of the most tedious hallway corridor shooting out there. For example "Assault on the Control Room" might be one of the worst levels I've ever played in a shooter. Worse than the Library, as that level at least has you use the awesome shotgun for all of it, but AOTC is atrociously bad, it might have single-handedly been responsible for putting my rating at 3/5. A lot of the game does make up for it, 343 Guilty Spark (the level, not the character) is a fantastic level with good atmosphere and varied combat, plus the first few levels are also VERY VERY well designed. Halo feels like a 4-5 hour game, stretched out to 8-9 hours by re-using the same levels again, and again, or using the same layouts again, and again. I do like this game! It's really great at times, but the lows get REAL low, to the point it might be my least favorite game in the franchise...