Halo: The Master Chief Collection Reviews
If it weren't for the multiplayer options, The Master Chief Collection would have garnered a much lower score. The multiplayer suite is truly the saving grace of this package and worth the price of admission alone.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection – The True Meaning of a 'Definitive' Collection
The Master Chief Collection is a dazzling package, but the current issues around its online modes prevent us from issuing an unequivocal recommendation for the time being.
If you like games that are so big you can immerse yourselves in them for months, The Master Chief Collection offers excellent value. It's an absolute monolith of a package, beautifully presented for the 21st century.
Fans of the series will no doubt feel that this is the ultimate tribute to Master Chief and his adventures so far while those who have yet to experience the Halo franchise will enjoy all it has to offer, but in one simple package. The added benefit of the Xbox One hardware also makes it better, with improved visuals in campaign and new Halo 2 Anniversary maps, as well as the control options. Add to this that the amount of extras are long and lasting, and you have a total package that makes for quite a high benchmark for all developers/publishers to meet when considering releasing a collection of a game series.
Master Chief returns to Xbox with an amazing soundtrack and enough tweaks to rekindle any Halo fan's love of the series. While the ports of Halo 3 and 4 suffer ever so slightly, Halo 2 makes up for those dips in performance tenfold.
Based on my experiences with the four Halo campaigns, it's clear that Microsoft and 343 Industries have set the new bar for remake collections. They could have easily just packaged Halo 2: Anniversary as a stand-alone title, exactly like they did with Halo: CE Anniversary on Xbox 360, and it would have been justifiable to recommend. Add in three more full Halo games, all with graphical and framerate enhancements, and The Master Chief Collection is very easy to recommend.
In the end, The Master Chief Collection brings a better version of the first Anniversary, a similar treatment for Halo 2 producing even more impressive results, and tweaked versions of Halo 3 and 4 for good measure. That's a no-brainer for both singleplayer and cooperative fans, but the weight of the multiplayer – re-capturing the gameplay and maps of Halo 2 to the finest detail – can't be underestimated.
The Halo Master Chief collection is the most massive and quality port package ever. 343 industries managed to overhaul the campaigns, also very well combine different types of multiplayeres from each title while maintaining their specific style and now in 1080p and at 60 fps.
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A great collection for all shooter and science fiction fans. As well as Halo, of course.
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Yet it's hard to get hung up on slight missteps when The Master Chief Collection is already so generous. It's a grand celebration and a potent reminder why the green Spartan rose to a level of prominence that few can match. Many HD collections or remasters are often pleasant trips down memory lane, but this feels like more than that. It's a gripping reintroduction into all things Halo and something that will likely be enjoyed for years to come.
With four complete single player campaigns, over 100 multiplayer maps, and a ton of other extras, Halo: The Master Chief Collection stands as the greatest compilation and remake in gaming history. Anyone with even a passing interest in the series will find a lot to love in this package.
What was intended as a nostalgia trip has also become a blueprint for how remastering games ought to be done.
As mentioned earlier, this is the best fan service (on any console) that I have seen. If you're feeling nostalgic, the purchase is a no-brainer. If you want a piece of gaming history, same rule applies. Master Chief has returned to Xbox and he's better than ever.
This is a dense, content-rich package that raises the bar for remakes and re-releases. Whether you want to relive the campaigns or revisit multiplayer, you can find something here to enjoy
Halo: The Master Chief Collection sets a new benchmark for remakes, HD collections and re-releases by delivering thirteen years of excellence in a single purchase. Four restored campaigns, comprehensive multiplayer, one cohesive experience that reminds us just how important Halo was to videogames and the FPS genre... and how much fun it still is.
For me, being able to finally play Halo 2 multiplayer again was worth the price of admission, but toss in 100 maps, Forge, Spartan Ops (coming) and four of the best FPS campaigns in history and it is impossible not to recommend this. If you own an Xbox One this game is a must own. If not, it might be time to buy one.
Even with these minor gameplay concerns, Halo: The Master Chief Collection offers the best version of each game contained within - and the fact that there are four games here (complete with four games' worth of achievement points) for the price of one makes this a thoroughly worthwhile package. Longtime Halo fans get the opportunity to quickly and easily revisit their favourite levels, or jump into a reinvigorated multiplayer; newcomers to the series get the best, most seamless experience of the Halo series.
If you disliked the original Halo games, odds are this collection and its new coat of paint will not convince you that a sci-fi FPS is right for you. If you loved the Halo games, odds are you have this title ordered already and are anxiously awaiting dozens of hours of story content and potentially hundreds of hours of online play.
Packed with content and freshly remastered, Halo: The Master Chief Collection is the definitive celebration of a series and its fans.