Originally conceived as a third - mortal actual - time scheme game for Mac computing machine , Bungie ’s Halo dealership has gone on to become one of the biggest first - person shooter franchises in play and an incredibly authoritative one at that . It ’s not unreasonable to say that if it was n’t for Halo , Microsoft ’s Xbox stain may not have survived past its first console . complain things off with the original Xbox launch titleHalo : Combat Evolvedin 2001 , Bungie effectively revolutionise the console first - mortal shooter with a game that boast an challenging sci - fi story and setting , a magnetic hero in the Master Chief , and of course , smooth control and exciting gameplay . In the X and a one-half since Halo first arrived on the setting , the franchise has become synonomous with the Xbox make and has launch many sequel and spin - offs of varying lineament .
I have n’t been able to play Halo Wars 2 yet , so I have n’t included it here , but I ’ll be indisputable to lend it in once that changes . Also , I ’m not includingSpartan Strikebecause it ’s fundamentally an inferior version ofSpartan Assaultand would grade at the bottom of the list anyway .
9. Halo: Spartan Assault
put between the events ofHalo 3andHalo 4,Spartan Assaultis a top - down matching - stick hitman that was in the beginning loose on mobile platforms , but finally made its way to Xbox One and Xbox 360 . Unfortunately , the start to consoles did n’t do much to changeSpartan Assaultfrom the unremarkable , though competent twin - stick shot that it is . This is a music genre , after all , that has given us some incredible games over the years , such asGeometry Wars , Super Stardust HD , andResogun , and Spartan Assaultfalls far short of those title .
The game ’s online co - op mode and overall presentation are decidedly its best feature , but at the end of the day , this is more of a passing curiosity for Halo fan than an experience they ’ll want to return to . There are much better twin - reefer shooter out there that are actually worth your clock time and money and are n’t laded with microtransactions .
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2025-01-05/halo-spartan-assault-review Source : IGN
8. Halo Wars
For a console - only RTS , Halo Warsis better than it has any right to be , given how difficult it is make real - meter strategy games work properly with console controls . Featuring an honest - to - goodness campaign with a solid story set prior to the event ofHalo : Combat Evolved , as well as the usual miscellany of multiplayer modes you ’d expect to find in a RTS , Halo Warsexcels at accessibility and is the idealistic game for those put off by more complex RTS games found on PC . However , that accessibility is also what holdsHalo Warsback , as it ’s too simplistic to appeal to the more hardcore RTS crowd and not compelling enough to sway most Halo fans away from the series ’ more traditional first - individual shooter experiences .
Additionally , while I ’ll concede thatHalo Warsdoes an special job of interpret the Halo population into a capably - made RTS , I ’ve never been a huge sports fan of the genre , which is part of the reason why I ’ve ranked it so low . Still , Halo Warsdid well enough to spawn a sequel and by many account statement , it ’s even dependable than the original ( it in all probability help that this one is also uncommitted on PC this fourth dimension out ) .
Photo : Microsoft
7. Halo 4
When Bungie left Microsoft in 2007 to mate with Activision for what would eventually becomeDestiny , the keystone to the Halo dealership were handed to 343 Industries , a Microsoft - have studio apartment , after the passing of Bungie ’s final Halo game , Halo : Reach . To say that 343 had big horseshoe to fill would be a vast understatement , as they not only needed to evidence withHalo 4that they could craft a game that could be up to Bungie ’s employment , but also justify the tax return of Master Chief , who had effectively “ finished the combat ” at the conclusion ofHalo 3 . To that end , 343 was mostly successful . One field that Bungie never precisely excelled at was craft games with pretty art , so it come as a turn of a surprise to see just how much betterHalo 4looked than its predecessors ( severely , it ’s still a wonder how they fuck off it running on the Xbox 360 at all ) .
The game ’s campaign was ambitious , introducing musician to a whole new planet and race of enemies in the Forerunners , while also diving profoundly into the franchises ’ mythology . Spartan Opswas another fun plus , giving role player a variety of concerted missions to play with friends that only got better as they went along . Unfortunately , some questionable design decisions make Halo 4 the worst ‘ traditional ’ Halo game . While the campaign featured a turn of cool setpieces , narratively it was all over the mathematical function and near - incomprehensible to the average player , rely heavy on impertinent textile such as book , strip , and even a ( admittedly passably good ) miniseries calledHalo : Forward Unto Dawnto fill in the gaps . However , the big problem withHalo 4was easily its multiplayer , which tried to caricature Call of Duty ’s loadout and perk design too heavy , resulting in an experience that totally missed the point of Halo ’s level playing field mentality . Fortunately , 343 made step to ameliorate these government issue with their next kick at the can , but not without introducing a few young job along the way .
http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/halo-4-review/1900-6399288/ beginning : Gamespot
6. Halo 5: Guardians
The first proper Halo secret plan to seem on Xbox One , Halo 5 : Guardiansdoesn’t seem to get enough mention . A big reason for this may have to do with 343 ’s regrettable decision to cut out split - sieve completely in favor of reach better ocular faithfulness and a high skeletal frame rate , a decision that relieve oneself off a ton of sports fan who were used to Halo being their go - to lounge co - op shooter ( myself included ) . Once you get past the sting of only being able to meet with your champion online though , Halo 5actually has a set to offer . While its campaign suffers from many of the same job asHalo 4’sand ends on a cliffhanger to boot ( you would believe Microsoft would have put a moratorium on cliffhangers after the enormous backlash toHalo 2’sending ) , its grade design was a bit stronger ( a mission on the elect — dreary , Sangheili — homeworld is a highlight ) and was designed with carbon monoxide gas - op play in mind , for both better and worse .
Still , as crucial as Halo campaigns are , the multiplayer is the principal draw for most players and it ’s this component that givesHalo 5the edge over its harbinger . Thanks to a number of gameplay tweak focused on character nimbleness , Halo 5is the fast and most fluid plot in the enfranchisement and its militant mode made first-class use of these changes by ditchingHalo 4’sCoDinspirations in favour of a return to more traditional design . Simply put , Halo 5offers one of the best competitive online experiences in gaming right now thanks not only to how well design it is , but because of 343 ’s allegiance to on a regular basis declare oneself gratis update . In an geological era where gamers are broadly speaking expect to pay for extra function , 343 has taken a different path and made every new update spare to all of its players . In fact , they ’ve added so much to the game since its late 2015 release that it barely resembles the game it was at launching and in some way of life feel like the most amply - realized Halo multiplayer offering to date .
Shame about that deficiency of split - screen though .
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2025-02-15/theres-a-huge-problem-with-these-halo-5-reviews-and-only-one-way-to-solve-it/ Source : Forbes.com
5. Halo 3: ODST
start life-time as a piece of expansion content toHalo 3calledRecon , ODSTmorphed into something a bit more challenging during development and effectively became an independent entry in the franchise , despite what the ‘ 3 ’ in its form of address might suggest . Set on Earth during the event ofHalo 2,ODSTswitches things up by casting players not as the Master Chief but rather as ‘ the Rookie , ” a fellow member of the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers who gets separated from his police squad after dropping into the devastated metropolis of New Mombasa . Featuring a somber scotch by former Halo composer Marty O’Donnell , ODSTdropped instrumentalist into a rain - soaked urban center and put more focal point on exploration than past Halo games , with the Rookie explore the metropolis for evidence of what happen to his missing squadmates . Each piece of evidence triggers a flashback mission that are typically more activity - orient than the Rookie ’s , helping lend some motley to the proceedings .
Although the Rookie still command similarly to the Master Chief , he ’s no Spartan and is much more vulnerable as a result . This small modification has a big impact on the moment - to - minute gameplay , as players have to take a more deliberate approach to fighting than they did in previous Halo games , even on lower trouble . ODSTalso introduced the horde mode - instigate Firefight to the series , a conscientious objector - op mode that tasks players with holding out as long as potential against moving ridge of increasingly unmanageable enemies . Unfortunately , ODSTloses aim for its transience and lack of private-enterprise multiplayer , but it is in spades a game that punch above its weightiness and lots power point for trying ( and come through ) to be a in spades unlike kind of Halo experience .
https://www.vg247.com/2025-02-21/halo-3-odst-joins-the-master-chief-collection-this-friday/ Source : VG247
4. Halo 2
Halo 2has become infamous for its cliffhanger finish , which admittedly is still one of the speculative in play . The other main problem that buff often raise is that the safari spends too much time on the Arbiter , who was introduce as a Modern playable character in this installment , at the expense of the Master Chief . To be honest , I preferred the Arbiter ’s missions overall and thought he was a fascinating addition to the cast ( it help that he ’s vocalize by Keith David , who never disappoints ) . That being say , Halo 2could have no campaign at all and would still be among the dear Halo biz thanks to its multiplayer , which represented the dealership ’s first foray into online gambling .
There ’s a good reasonHalo 2was the most pop game on Xbox Live in its heyday , as there was just no other multiplayer experience like it on consoles . The map selection is arguably the salutary in the series , with all - time favorites like Lockout and Zanzibar making their introduction here , and the introduction of new gameplay systems like dual - wielding and vehicle highjacking gave players a lot more options on the battlefield . you’re able to by all odds see the sign thatHalo 2was rushed to securities industry — belike most evident in its distracting texture pop - in and abrupt end — but it ’s also one of the most important games in Xbox account and offered an early blueprint for how to do online multiplayer right on Xbox Live .
https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/games/halo-2 Source : Halo Waypoint
3. Halo: Combat Evolved
Where does one even start out withHalo : Combat germinate ? This is the game that launch the Xbox and revolutionise first - mortal shooter design in a way few other plot have done before or since . What ’s singular about the first Halo is that it still holds up signally well today , more than 15 years after its original release . Sure , it now look quite dated and its level innovation starts to diminish off a cliff around the halfway point , as Bungie recycle corridor - after - corridor for pad out the game ’s length , but this is in spades a type where the positive far outbalance the negatives .
Who can draw a blank the first time they spring into the driver ’s hindquarters of the Warthog and start driving around Halo , the second spirit level in the game , or storming the beach on The Silent Cartographer ? These are stake moments that stick with you and they were anchor by an interesting sci - fi account , unbelievable weapon design ( has there ever been a better weapon in a FPS thanHalo’spistol ? ) and , oh yeah , a ridiculously addictive multiplayer mode that was bring religiously in many a dorm room in the other 2000s . Later Halo games improved onCombat Evolved’sdesign in many area , but it ’s hard to conceive of many other first bitch at the can that turned out this well .
Plus , there is no better title of respect screen in all of gaming . That music …
2. Halo: Reach
Bungie ’s terminal Halo games was also one of its fine , asHalo : Reachis a near - perfect sendoff from the storied developer . Even though it does n’t feature the Master Chief , Reacharguably has the best overall campaign in the intact serial , as each of its nine missions is a winner and there ’s no Library grade in muckle to drag the whole thing down . A prequel entryway detailing one of the big conflicts between mankind and the Covenant , Reachdetails the fate of Noble Team as they desperately fight to stop the Covenant from annihilating the planet orbit . Whereas every Halo biz that puts you in ascendence of Master Chief is designed to make you feel like an unstoppable super soldier , Reachtakes the diametric approach and quickly becomes a plot about failure . Sure , your character ( the white slate make love as Noble Six ) is just as capable in armed combat as the Chief , but he and the rest of his squad are fighting a warfare they have no Leslie Townes Hope of get ahead . While the game does finish on a hopeful government note , Bungie ’s conclusion to throw player into a losing struggle that only gets big as the account progresses is a bluff one and few games , FPS or otherwise , have achieved the same level of melancholic sacrifice asReachis able to convey in its campaign .
If that were n’t enough , Reachalso feature one of the in effect multiplayer experiences in the franchise , with both Firefight and the common suite of competitive modes present and accounted for . WhileReach’soverall map selection is a moment weaker than the likes ofHalo 2andHalo 3and the inclusion of armor ability was cool , but restricting — retrieve , this was before sprinting became a lasting ability in Halo — I firmly believe that Sword Base is the greatest Halo function of all clock time and its comprehension alone elevatesReachto all - time condition in my eyes .
1. Halo 3
Halo 3may not be my overall favorite plot in the franchise , but I ca n’t refuse that it is the in force . Bungie ’s trilogy - capper not only addressed somewhat much every problem the great unwashed had withHalo 2 , but is arguably the most complete Halo secret plan ever made . Starting with the campaign , Microsoft marketed the game as Halo that would “ finish the engagement ” and in this regard , Halo 3did not disappoint . The game finally give sports fan the full - exfoliation Earth invasion they had expected from Halo 2 and while the levels set on Earth are great , the back one-half of the campaign up the ante with levels set on the Ark , the installation that created all the Halo rings in the first space ( that being said , the stage Cortana can go die perpetually ) . After the polarizing comprehension of the Arbiter inHalo 2 , it was great to play through a hunting expedition as Master Chief again , butHalo 3also gave the Arbiter his due with its cooperative play , with support for up to four thespian .
move onto multiplayer , Halo 3’smap selection was a slight step back from the stellar plan ofHalo 2 , but it made up for this with its almost - pure balance . It ’s just hard to find faulting with much of anything when it comes toHalo 3multiplayer , as it feel like it was designed with every fan in judgment . Want to climb the ranks in competitive play ? Done . Want to just hang out with champion and fiddle with your brother online , with split - screenland guests to boot ? you’re able to do that too . Heck , Bungie even figured out a mode to balance out dual - wielding with the relaxation of the weaponry , to the point where either felt like viable pick as oppose to wayHalo 2privileged dual - wielding at the disbursal of everything else but the ability weapons . This is also the game that introduce Forge , which has become a mainstay modality ever since .
Bungie managed to cap their Halo trilogy off with the best game in the series and I can only desire 343 can follow suit withHalo 6 , which will stand for the end of their Reclaimer trilogy . Until then , it’sHalo 3’sfight to miss when it come to the upright overall Halo secret plan .
http://www.gamespot.com/halo-3/ Source : GameSpot
