I love the first 3, though in my opinion 3 does go a bit crazy story wise. ODST was an interesting idea but I think its story is very poor and same for Reach. Halo wars is awful.

@Hailinel: No, I don't really mean either of those. Definitely not mature on some symbolic plane. 

I mean in terms of what age groups gaming as a medium pitches itself toward, or rather, as a window through which we can see how the gaming medium perceives itself. Mario and Sonic, probably even as far back as Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, serve as monoliths for an era in which gaming was almost exclusively focused on a flashy, "fun" experience. In point of fact, it wasn't very self-serious. 

Master Chief certainly wasn't the beginning of the video game medium taking a more mature turn, but he's definitely representative of the kinds of tones video games wanted to shoulder (and continue to shoulder) in the current phase of video game history, what some might call the second renaissance of the shooter. People can't really identify random-Call-of-Duty-soldier from random-Battlefield-soldier (nor should they, really, since the point of those games are to give people the ability to live vicariously a pseudo-realistic military conflict), but Master Chief--as a stand-in for Halo and, more broadly, first-person shooters in general--is a mascot for a newer generation of gamers, whose tastes are cut from a different cloth. 

So, I guess I mean "mature" contextually. In a broad, critical sense. 

@Raven10 said:

For me the series goes like this (from best to worst): Halo CE, Halo Reach, Halo 3, Halo 2, Halo ODST for single player For MP the series is: Halo 3, Halo 2, Halo Reach, Halo CE, Halo ODSTA lot of it is hard to judge though. For example, Reach had the best graphics technically, and I really liked its art direction as well. The music from the first game is certainly iconic, but I would say Halo 2's music is overall the best. That said, I think the best song in the Halo series is Finish The Fight from Halo 3, and ODST's soundtrack has the most depth and variety. I think the combat in single player was best in Reach because of the highly intelligent Elites, while the first game is probably the most influential for console shooters. As for the story, I think the story in CE is by far the best and the story in 2 is by far the worst. ODST and Reach suffer from a severe lack of Master Chief, and 3 comes in second to CE. It's really hard for me to judge. The maps in 1 and 2 are probably the most iconic and some of the most balanced, but the weapons are much better balanced in 3 and Reach. And in terms of sheer content, Reach has a ridiculous number of modes and options. I can't really say any one of them is the best. I can say that ODST was the worst but that is the best I can give you.

I disagree, I consider Halo 2 to have the best storyline in the series. The dual perspectives of the Arbiter and the Master Chief made the plot complex and intriguing. It even had subliminal themes, not present in other Halo games. Yeah, it did have that abomination of an ending, but everything else about the story was solid. I also found the Arbiter to be a far more interesting and empathetic character than the Master Chief. I say Reach or Halo 3 have the worst story in the series.

@greenygrey said:

One of the problems I had was the lack of epic set-pieces, and Bungie touted that the campaign will hold 40 to 60 A.I. on screen at once. But this is complete farce, as the game only had SLIGHTLY more enemies on screen than prior games, but not a single battle made me feel I was part of a war and there weren't any memorable set-pieces.

 

There's actually a thread on Bungie.net where the OP goes level for level through Reach and H3 and compares the enemy count. What Bungie said was in fact true.

I saw that thread before, and wasn't entirely true. Through theater mode, there were only two moments that had 40 enemies on screen at once, and they basically played out like a FireFight mode.

Plus, none of the battles came close to portraying an all out vehicle battle like this cutscene.

I thought I was going to b an intense epic batlle. But nooo, I have to be in the sidelines, taking out a bunch of AA batteries. Thanks a lot Bungie!

@greenygrey said:

@Raven10 said:

For me the series goes like this (from best to worst): Halo CE, Halo Reach, Halo 3, Halo 2, Halo ODST for single player For MP the series is: Halo 3, Halo 2, Halo Reach, Halo CE, Halo ODSTA lot of it is hard to judge though. For example, Reach had the best graphics technically, and I really liked its art direction as well. The music from the first game is certainly iconic, but I would say Halo 2's music is overall the best. That said, I think the best song in the Halo series is Finish The Fight from Halo 3, and ODST's soundtrack has the most depth and variety. I think the combat in single player was best in Reach because of the highly intelligent Elites, while the first game is probably the most influential for console shooters. As for the story, I think the story in CE is by far the best and the story in 2 is by far the worst. ODST and Reach suffer from a severe lack of Master Chief, and 3 comes in second to CE. It's really hard for me to judge. The maps in 1 and 2 are probably the most iconic and some of the most balanced, but the weapons are much better balanced in 3 and Reach. And in terms of sheer content, Reach has a ridiculous number of modes and options. I can't really say any one of them is the best. I can say that ODST was the worst but that is the best I can give you.

I disagree, I consider Halo 2 to have the best storyline in the series. The dual perspectives of the Arbiter and the Master Chief made the plot complex and intriguing. It even had subliminal themes, not present in other Halo games. Yeah, it did have that abomination of an ending, but everything else about the story was solid. I also found the Arbiter to be a far more interesting and empathetic character than the Master Chief. I say Reach or Halo 3 have the worst story in the series.

Yes, it was an amazing conflict.

I can't really say much since Reach is my first owned Halo game. But, I think it is possibly the definitive game for the series because Bungie has been able to polish and refine with each and every game. I really hope they continue to support it and not just abandon it after they release their first game for Activision, but I doubt they will be able to commit the resources they currently are.

None of the other Halo games will touch CE in regards to campaign.  CE's campaign is just on a whole other level and I had to have played that campaign through at least 20 times on co-op.  All of the other Halo games I only played through once or twice on Legendary.

As for multiplayer for me, H2 was the best.  CE being a close 2nd (played on XBconnect).  Though I do feel that Halo Reach improved on the multiplayer experience even though I don't really like the class system they introduced.

@npeterson08 said:

It's definitely the best Halo game. However, I think the original Halo: Combat Evolved was extremely definitive, not only to the Halo franchise, but to the First Person Shooter genre in general.

It seems you've never played Half-Life before. :P

Halo 2 = best multiplayer
ODST = best campaign
Reach is the second best multiplayer though.

@greenygrey said:

@npeterson08 said:

It's definitely the best Halo game. However, I think the original Halo: Combat Evolved was extremely definitive, not only to the Halo franchise, but to the First Person Shooter genre in general.

It seems you've never played Half-Life before. :P

If he's talking about for consoles then he is one hundred percent right.  Halo is what started the FPS genre going in the right direction and was the first really good one on consoles.

@Hailinel: You're missing the point. We're saying the same thing.

As many people have already said, Halo: CE will be the one I remember the most. I remember buying an Xbox solely for that game and I haven't looked back since. Although, everything about Reach is brilliant.

As many people have already said, Halo: CE will be the one I remember the most. I remember buying an Xbox solely for that game and I haven't looked back since. Although, everything about Reach is brilliant.

@Jaserno said:

As many people have already said, Halo: CE will be the one I remember the most. I remember buying an Xbox solely for that game and I haven't looked back since. Although, everything about Reach is brilliant.

The matchmaking is too slow. I love the game but I would gladly pay for a new one this year if It had modern warfare 2 like matchmaking speeds, and you join and leave a game in progress.

I don't know if it's the definitive version but it's certainly my favourite.

Multiplayer, absolutely. Single player wise, it's the only Halo game I've ever felt compelled to finish, I've tried to play all of the others and got nowhere. 

I really loved the first game. It was definitely one of my favorite FPS games in both single and multi player. I didn't enjoy 2 anywhere near as much because I saw so many faults. I actually bought custom edition of number 2, and I returned in 2 hours later when character models and texturing didn't load in the videos until the videos were half done. And I tried that on 2 xboxes with the same results. I traded it, got the regular edition of the game used a month later, and I bought a few good games for the price I paid for the custom edition. Number 3 was okay in multiplayer, but boring in single player. I found myself bored of levels, and the end was so anti climatic it irritated me. I sat down and played reach, and had a blast the whole way through. One of the best games of that year I had played.

I wasn't too fond of the entries in the series between Reach and Halo 2, both of which are my favourites, though Reach would have to be the better game among the best.

Halo is the definitive Halo game.

I thought Halo 3 was a damn fine game. I also thought Halo Reach was a damn fine game. But at the end of the day, Halo 3 ran at a smooth 60 frames. So it wins for me, personally.

So far? Yes, I do. Admittedly, I only ever finished 2. I didn't like 2 much at all. Pure corridor shooters rub me the wrong way.

Halo CE is the definitive Halo game.

Nope, I think it's Halo 2

I felt 3 was better. I liked the rank up system in 3 and it had more than 4 maps.

definitive?  that'd be 3 in my book. 

@greenygrey said:

I know the game only came out a year ago, but it's a question I would still like to ask Halo fans. Before it's release, Bungie were hyping it up as the best Halo game and they would send their last game in their beloved (and often despised) franchise with a bang.

From a multi-player standpoint, I definitely think it's the best in the series despite the godawful maps that came with the game and armor lock. Definitely one of the most enjoyable and balanced online multi-player shooters of this generation.

But from a campaign standpoint, I thought it was the weakest or second weakest in the series next to ODST. One of the problems I had was the lack of epic set-pieces, and Bungie touted that the campaign will hold 40 to 60 A.I. on screen at once. But this is complete farce, as the game only had SLIGHTLY more enemies on screen than prior games, but not a single battle made me feel I was part of a war and there weren't any memorable set-pieces. Also, I found the story to be forgettable. A lot of people found the characters to be memorable, but I didn't give a shit for them. Kat and Jorge hinted character development, but they died off WAY too quickly to care. The story only really consisted of completing contrived errands for the UNSC, and the story didn't pick up until the last third act of the game. I will say that the ending was creative and emotionally engaging, but that's the best compliment I can give it. I don't think the campaign is bad, it's good but could've been better and the Vidoc hyped it up way too much. I will say that the enemy A.I. is very impressive; especially on Legendary where it's on par F.E.A.R.'s A.I.

 

I think ODST had a great campaign, what exactly did you find bad about it (other than not having the Master Chief in it)? For me, the campaigns from best to worst would have to be Halo Wars, , Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo: Reach, Halo 2, and Halo 3. I thought Halo 3 had the worst campaign in the entire series. For me, its campaign was forgettable, and even if I try to go back and play it, its just too boring. From a multiplayer standpoint, Halo: Reach definitely has the best, and requires the most skill. I liked the campaign, and find myself coming back to it often.  It feels like, at least from most of the stuff I've read on b.net, that people don't like the campaigns for Wars, ODST, and Reach simply because the MC isn't in them (not saying that's the case with you). I do agree, that I never really felt like I was in a big battle, but I didn't mind. I love Halo: Reach, and I think it's a fantastic multiplayer game, and full of content. I'm glad they removed dual wielding and regenerating health, and even though the framerate in the campaign can slow down a teeny tiny bit every now and again (though not often), it doesn't bother me, and shouldn't really bother anyone else. Not really a big deal.

As someone with "117" in my username, yes.

@PrivateIronTFU: No Halo games run at 60, they're all capped at 30.

Halo is the definitive Halo game.

@PrivateIronTFU: No Halo games run at 60, they're all capped at 30.  

@PrivateIronTFU: Capped doesn't mean can't move from that FPS rate, just that it can't go higher than that. So that argument doesn't really make sense. Like I've said already, I've not noticed any slow-down when I played Halo: Reach and that's both uninstalled, installed and on an older and S model 360. Halo 3 and Reach ran about the same, and I played both of them a hell of a lot.

I love Reach but I'd probably consider Halo 3 the definitive Halo.

Halo 3 is probably the definitive Halo experience, but it's hard to deny the polish and advancements of Reach. It would be a cold day in hell for me to pop Halo 3 back into my tray, but I still think the overall experience was better than Reach.

I'm responding to this a bit late I guess....

I'm at the end of the game right now and I have just been grinding away for a while. I think the definitive Halo game will still be 3. Everything came together so well for it. The multiplayer was killer, and Earth was being invaded for a little while. We all waited for Halo to finally come out on the 360. That's the keystone of the console!

For what it's worth, I've had the strongest emotional feelings with Reach. It is depressing. The music, above anything else, is really driving me to finish the game and feel bad about the events. I don't know if you guys have ever noticed, but the music is depressing even during big exciting firefights.

Halo 2 still will probably be my favorite because of all the memories in multiplayer. We all forget they reinvented what a multiplayer shooter could be on a console with clan support and friends lists that other games didn't have even on the same service. They also made some of the most memorable maps in my memory, alongside a ton of extra content. They even released old Halo maps when hardly anyone was playing it anymore!

Halo is the definitive Halo game.

Not even close to the definitive Halo; it's only marginally better than Halo 3.

H: CE >>>>>>>>>>> H2> Reach > H3.

Well, I don't have the time to get to deep into it, but Reach did a lot of things for me, it was a Halo game that finally looked good enough in my eyes, the gameplay was a good mix of the Original and features from 2-3-ODST, Better storyline than 2 and 3 combined, fucking space.

I spent so much time playing through the solo campaign of Halo that at the time I could step through every moment of the game in my head as if it was the rooms in my house, I don't remember ever getting tired of it which is the remarkable part. Any time friends were over we played the co-op and a bit of multi player action, and every LAN I went to had some Halo fun for the majority of the time while the rest was the latest battlefield stuff etc. So at the time of playing each halo game it's easily Halo CE that was the most fun for the longest for me personally, and of course I was very different back then with my gaming habbits and life in general because I don't think ANY game could engulf me in the same way. I feel you only really get a small period in your life where you're susceptible to that sort of deep interest to a video game. 
 
With Halo 2 there was obvious excitement but I played significantly less of the single player campaign, prolly only played it a few times through, and the first time was playing through co-op and I literally couldn't keep track of the story or levels as we went, was just following the indicator on my hud most of the time and it was more of a chore than anything else, but we were both so tired at that point it wasn't really a hassle we were just in zombie mode etc. 
 
Halo 3 definitely looked a lot more interesting to me before it released compared to the second game, like many 3rd games of their franchises I guess it's the chance to pump up the marketing and promise 'the fun of the first one' etc. I did play a lot more of the single player for halo 3 than Halo 2 though still not matching my time with the original I feel that I did truly like halo 3 in a similar way as the first, I even played a lot more online as well, whereas with Halo 2 I at some point stopped because I couldn't compete with the infamous 'crowd' that Halo 2 brought to Xbox Live at the time... very obnoxious kids (and I wasn't exactly old at the time either, by compared to the yelling kids I mostly encountered my age of 17 was way older then how they all seemed to be). 
 
ODST was nice, I don't really have any strong opinions on it. I like Nathan Fillion and Halo... so it was nice. 
 
Reach was great fun and even though I don't play it any more I attribute that to my overall attitude with games now than a lack of interest specifically with Reach. If I were to find myself wanting to play an online game every night on my 360 it would easily be Reach, and every time I do find myself playing the game it's always great fun and less frustrating that the past entries in the series. 
 
So I guess 
 
Reach 
Halo CE 
Halo 3 
Halo ODST 
Halo 2 (though I really did enjoy 'some' of the cut scenes for the game) 
 
I really look forward to Halo Anniversary because all my real life friends will definitely get it and I can finally be able to play Halo with them again.

 
Halo Combat Evolved had the best campaign, but it's a tie between Halo 3 and Halo Reach for the best multiplayer imo.

I think it is a very good game, and one of the best FPS games out there, but it is not the best Halo game. For me, Halo 3 was the best one. It has one of the best campaigns in the series next to Halo 1 and Halo ODST, and it has the second best multiplayer in the series next to Halo 2. The thing that really sets it apart from the rest of the series, though, is the feel of the shooting. No other game even comes close to matching how great Halo 3 felt to play, not even CoD. The guns were well balanced, the grenade throwing was very accurate, and the equipment felt like a great add-on to the game. I like the abilities in Reach, but they just dont feel as smoothly implemented in the design as the equipment from Halo 3 did. That said, Firefight in Halo Reach is one of my favorite things to play when I dont have much else to do. There is certainly a lot of value in the Reach package, but the game (specifically the combat) just doesnt feel as smooth and as fun as it did in Halo 3.  
 
My ranking of the Halo games is as follows: 
1. Halo 3 
2. Halo 2 
3. Halo: Reach
4. Halo 1
5. Halo: ODST 
 
I feel bad about putting ODST that low because I really did enjoy that game, but it just isnt as complete a game as the others. Still though, being the worst Halo game is like being the worst starter on a championship sports team.

@Pinworm45 said:

Halo is the definitive Halo game.

If you mean CE, then I definitely agree with you. There isn't a single level in 2, 3, ODST, & Reach that came close to The Silent Cartographer.

Halo is the definitive Halo game.

@greenygrey said:

@Pinworm45 said:

Halo is the definitive Halo game.

If you mean CE, then I definitely agree with you. There isn't a single level in 2, 3, ODST, & Reach that came close to The Silent Cartographer.

So you thought Silent Cartographer was the best level? What about 343 Guilty Spark, the level where we are first introduced to the flood?

No. The skill ceiling in Halo 2 is definitely higher.