Halo: The Master Chief Collection is a bit like an art gallery. Art gallerys take the best work of a painter and package and present it in a way that’s totally impressive, faithful to the painter and lets each piece shine. This is exactly what 343 Industries have done with Bungie’s and their own work. The sheer scale of Halo: The Master Chief Collection astounds and taking a tour around it’s world’s really reminds you how Halo has changed the world we game in.
“Experiencing each game just a pleasure”
Halo: The Master Chief Collection lets you experience the entire Halo world. No boundaries, no DLC, just every game, expansion, video, series, everything in one package. All of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo 3 and Halo 4 are present. If you’re looking at pure value for money this Christmas then Halo: The Master Chief Collection will last you for a very very long time. If 343 Industries stopped there, then this would be a very good deal. Except, they’ve added to each game. Each game now runs at 60fps at 1080P. You wouldn’t think this makes much of a difference but it makes experiencing each game just a pleasure.
Halo 2: Anniversary:
343 Industries didn’t stop there, in Halo: The Master Chief Collection we now have ‘Halo 2: Anniversary’, a remaster of Halo 2. While the in game graphics have been noticeably improved with better draw distances and detail, it now has new cutscenes and this is what impressed me most about Halo: The Master Chief Collection. The cut-scenes are the best graphics I’ve ever seen in a game. There is no competition. I would happily watch a film if it was at that standard. It makes the jump into gameplay quite jarring. It’s like jumping from a 4K TV to an old 14” portable television but I don’t care. The game looks fantastic and even though it’s one of the weaker games in the series, you’ll have to split hairs if you want to criticise it.
“How you actually experience Halo has been changed too”
How you actually experience Halo has been changed too thanks to 343’s approach. Each mission is unlocked from the start and 343 have included playlists of missions. Want to play some of Halo’s best vehicle missions? You can. It’ll mix in missions from all four games. Want to tackle Halo’s toughest bosses? You can. It negates one of my biggest annoyances with games (withholding content) and really lets you get a lot out of the game if you don’t want to play each game sequentially. It’s all accessed from an easy to use menu system.
Multiplayer:
That’s single player covered but what about multiplayer? Arguably one of Halo’s best features? It’s there and oh boy you are going to lose a lot of time to it. Halo: The Master Chief Collection has over 100 multiplayer and Spartan Ops maps from all four titles and yes, Halo 2’s maps got an upgrade too. Just like single player, you’ll be able to select from 343’s lists of curated playlists and maps and get to work using the XBox One’s dedicated servers. You will lose days to this game.
What else could 343 possibly include? Well they have Halo: Nightfall in there. Based around UNSC ops, the live-action series executive-produced by Ridley Scott and Scott FreeTV President David Zucker is there too. I’m not going to spoil that one for you!
“343 Industries take the Halo franchise seriously”
The scale of this game is immense. The love poured into this collection is second to none and it’s the best jumping in point a Halo fan could ask for. Sometimes to look forward, you have to look back and it’s incredibly true with Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Halo 5: Guardians is expected to launch next year on Xbox One and if you get Halo: The Master Chief Collection you’ll get a sneak peek of what to expect as you get access to the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta. It’s a sign that 343 Industries take the Halo franchise seriously and it’s something I can’t wait to get my hands on.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection was reviewed on the Xbox One using a retail download code provided by Microsoft.
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