Single player with weaknesses.

I have now once played this game and would like to talk about my experiences. I play otherwise rarely, my favorite items are the Half-Life series and Kotor 1. I can only report on the single-player mode, because I do not play over the network.

Story:
Humanity is at war with an alien race, which consists of several castes and is only referred to as the "Alliance". The war is going badly for Homo sapiens sapiens, the aliens destroy an underground colony after another. The position of the Earth is fortunately still a secret. You assume the role of a genetically engineered super soldier in a high-tech suit of armor, one has no name, but only one rank (Master Chief). At the beginning you will be brought on the ship "Pillar of Autumn" from the hibernation, and you realize that you are the last superhero of Spartan-II program. This Programmm should actually turn the tide. Instead, one must now flee along with the AI ​​of the ship, because the ship is hopelessly lost. With the alliance on the heels of the ship enters a system where you suddenly discovered Halo, a ring that is artificial on the outside and on the inside track a planet's surface has (one is immediately to the Dyson sphere from Star Trek TNG or Nivens Ringworld recalls). The crew of the Pillar flees to the supposedly safe haven ... once landed, helping in the evacuation of normal soldiers and fought the alliance, where they only meet. Then one penetrates into the artificial heart of Halo and stumbles upon a terrible secret.

Criticism:

The art of the game is fine, albeit outdated by today's standards. It is very stable, there were no bugs or crashes. Is stored only in storage points, on the easiest difficulty level is the cause in about 8 hours ago. The KI accompanied us in the suit as sidekick and tells us more or less discreet about the history of Halo on, even if at the end remain many uncertainties. Interaction with other soldiers is scripted and not worth mentioning. You can only carry two weapons at a time, the Arsenal is in comparison to other games in the genre quite manageable (gun, sniper rifle, automatic rifle, Rocket launcher, two alien weapons). Cutscenes take place in in-game graphics. The levels are extremely monotonous, you walk through endless rooms, all look the same, the external levels are all constructions from these straight. In the beginning it is accordingly great, over time it sucks only. About half of the game the turning point at which one learns the purpose of Halo and a new sinister foe is presented comes shortly called Flood. This point is atmospherically extremely well done. However, the game increasingly tangled in endless shoot-in always the same environment, in low levels of difficulty it is annoying at some point, at high levels it seems to be almost unschaffbar. Since it does not help that some alliance troops running around slapstick in a squeaky voice and shout: "They (the people) are everywhere" or "Flee, that's the end close", etc. Finally, you have to flee from Halo, which in senseless jump- and-Drive opens a jeep, the control with the mouse is just annoying.

Conclusion:

Good story that has drawn even novels by itself, but comes up short in the game. More elements of Adventures would have been great, as in the Half-Life series. Endless Plink in always the same environment, annoying final chord and monotonous level design tarnish the impression. However, the story has a lot of potential and the technology is really good. Therefore three star.