I've never played this for more than a few minutes as a PC demo years ago. Is it worth the 5 or 10 to pick it up now, or is there a better shooter I could spend the same money on at this point?

I would seriously suggest that you play it on xbox. But yes i think it´s worth playing. Not only because it´s a great game but also so that you can play Halo 2 and Halo 3 with all the background story gathered. 

You need to play Halo: Combat Evolved RIGHT NOW. You hear me go, get up and drive (or get someone to drive you) and if you can't do that then go to your computer buy it there. And if you do decide to buy Halo: CE, then let me advise you to look for the Xbox version as it was designed for the Xbox first and therefore it will play better with a old Xbox controller than with a mouse and keyboard.

Unless you don't have an Xbox in which case buy it for your computer then. And the reason why I have said all this is because Halo: Combat Evolved is still one of the best FPS games of all time. So I hope this answers your question. If not then ask me a question about it (after all I still play Halo: CE on my old Xbox) and I'll try and give you an answer. However I make no promises.

The first Halo is clearly the best.  Halo 2 was like MGS2 controversial.   The multi in H2 was a great step, but the single player was ..well... 

Thanks for all the thumbs up(s). Short on money now, but next payday is looking bright.

The only thing which goes against now is the frame rate seems exceedingly choppy. Still a really fun game though.

Yeah, totally worth picking up. I still think it's the best in the series as far as single player goes. Maybe the best single player FPS campaign I've ever played.

Yeah, definitely worth your money.

If you've played other FPS games since Halo came out, the power of the first game may diminish somewhat. But Halo does offer a cool campaign and fun vehicles to play around with. And I bet you can find it for dirt cheap now.

Yes, definately.

Then buy Goldeneye.

Play Halo 1 co-op with a friend. It's better that way.

"The only thing which goes against now is the frame rate seems exceedingly choppy. Still a really fun game though."

For a slightly order shooter game you can't go wrong with the original Halo, it's badass!

Contrary to what you would expect, Halo 1 plays great on PC. And it's old enough that it runs on pretty much any old piece of junk.

"HandsomeDead said:

"The only thing which goes against now is the frame rate seems exceedingly choppy. Still a really fun game though."

This might be true for the PC version, but the Xbox version always has run at a silky smooth 30 frames per second.  I play through the original Halo maybe three times a year, and every time it's been a delicious experience."

I'm also going to throw this in: it's not a true nostalgic experience unless you play with

the Duke

I played it recently it actually holds up against today no nostalgia goggles needed (well apart from the graphics)

The online multiplayer on the PC version is good.

Get the game for the xbox, get an old box, or a 360, get two controllers, and play the campaign co-op splitscreen on legendary diff w/a good friend.  You will not soon forget that experience:-)

The best shooter ever.  It hasn't aged a day.

"Sir_Ragnarok said:

"HandsomeDead said:

"The only thing which goes against now is the frame rate seems exceedingly choppy. Still a really fun game though."

This might be true for the PC version, but the Xbox version always has run at a silky smooth 30 frames per second.  I play through the original Halo maybe three times a year, and every time it's been a delicious experience."

Weird. It's the Xbox version i'm talking about. Mine's probably some busted old copy because it seemed so much choppier than both 2 and 3."

Pick this up, but only play it with the Duke. Just 'Cause.

You basically NEED the game. I don't think I've ever seen someone on a gaming site that has never played more than a few minutes of Halo. It's such a big name in the industry.

It's a great game, can't go wrong picking it up for $5-$10.

It is probably has the best singleplayer of the trilogy. Go get it!
 
EDIT: God dang it. How did I fall for this?

I'm sick to death of Halo games now but the first Halo is still fantastic and the best.
 
Edit: Christ, bumping a year old thread? Really?

Duders, nice resurrection spell.
 
But on topic, for anyone who might stumble in this thread, go for it. I prefer Custom Edition for PC, but the xbox version was great too.

The first Halo is crap.  It was heralded as brilliant only by those who knew no better and sadly they get repeat prescriptions for those rose coloured glasses free on the National Health Service just in the same way I do for Zelda IV.  Halo 2 single player was better.  It had a much more mature story and you got to play The Arbiter and see both sides of the war, but that was sadly pissed away in the third game when the smallminded said "We wansaz blay az masschacheedf all tiime, not sstoree good care, grrrrrr!!!"
 
Halo 3 is a great co-op laugh, ODST less so - the hub sucks balls but some of the levels are ok.  Some.

It was my first FPS and I really loved, the campaign was quite amazing(I prefer its campaign to Halo 3's), but it does not hold up as well if you have played a decent amount of FPS'(For example, I really hate the way the guns don't seem to have much of a visual effect on enemies until they are dead.)

Get it for the Xbox, if you feel like picking it up. Playing it on the PC makes it all the more obvious how it was designed for the more sluggish controls of a gamepad.
 
Get it, as it's still a great game.

Hella old thread.  Did you get it? Did you play the Library on legendary?  Inquiring minds want to know.

I had fun with the game, I also played the PC version.

" Christ, bumping a year old thread? Really? "

Yeah, was surprised to see a PM from someone on this thread. 
 
FWIW, I spent most of January-February 2009 playing Mass Effect, BioShock, and the Orange Box. 
Played a bit of COD:4 and Halo3 (didn't finish either one) in April thanks to loans from my brother in law. Took a long breather until FEAR2 this past February, then ODST and BioShock2 last month. I liked FEAR2 enough to make a couple blog posts about it; ODST, not as much.

Get the PC version for the better graphics, play it on a gamepad. :P

I just finished it today. I remember hating it 6 years ago, hating it 2 years ago, but now I really enjoyed it?
 
My biggest gripe is the length. Could have and should have been cut half. So many needless sequences it's baffling. But still, good game. Shame I only finished it just now.