Halo: The Master Chief Collection Reviews
Halo 3 is the most iconic entry in Microsoft's sci-fi shooter franchise, but how well does Master Chief's romp translate to PC?
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.
Connection issues have blighted the multiplayer so far, but this is otherwise a brilliant and generous compilation of one of the industry's most influential video games.
The Halo 3: ODST port on PC is essentially perfect, and so far, it's 343 Industries' best work with the Master Chief Collection.
Halo 3 is a very good game. As a conclusion to the storyline, it's hard not to be engaged with how things play out with the UNSC, Covenant, and Flood all appearing. Gameplay is very satisfying. Nothing beats sniping enemies, or dual-wielding and taking out the brutes. Although the campaign is shorter than in Halo 2, most players should feel satisfied with the amount of content overall. Multiplayer is a lot of fun. Finally, as a PC port, Halo 3 comes with no notable complaints whatsoever.
If this is your first time playing Halo 4, prepare for a treat. Gameplay remains identical to previous installments, but with some additions enhancing the experience. The story is also a big highlight. With this game, it's hard not to consider Master Chief and Cortana as gaming's greatest duo. Halo 4 caps off The Master Chief Collection on PC nearly perfectly.
Today on PC, the campaign for Halo 3: ODST is a mere $4.99. A majority of the troopers may not be the most engaging, but the combat and music are a treat. The weapons, from the Spartan Laser to the Brute Plasma Rifle, are a blast to use. The game also brings ODST Firefight mode to The Master Chief Collection for all of your survival needs.
The port of Halo 3 to PC is excellent across the board, and the addition of new features and content make it the best the game has ever felt to play.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection is as close to a masterclass in the field of remastered collections as we've seen to date. It's lacking in some areas - like those pesky (just about) untouched versions of Halo 3 and 4 - and there's the odd glitch here and there, but that's just nitpicking. The interface alone (kudos to co-developer United Front Games, there) blows away these concerns, and you don't even shoot anything with that.
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.
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.
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.
An awesome Halo package with a temporary caveat thanks to multiplayer instability.
Halo 3 for PC is an excellent re-release of an already amazing FPS, despite being held back by a few issues (no advanced graphics settings and the heavy changes of the netcode).
Review in Italian | Read full review
Not since Valve’s The Orange Box collection has a game's singular price tag offered so much bang for your buck. Whether you're after a spruced-up trip down memory lane, or entering the series for the first time ahead of Halo 5's launch, the Master Chief Collection is a stunning, meticulously crafted deal.
There's a lot of beauty in Halo 2: Anniversary, and even more if you consider the fact that all four titles are playable in a row. For new fans and old, the Master Chief Collection stands as a can't miss. And we haven't even considered the multiplayer yet.
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.
The "Halo" series has had a pristine record when it came to online stability at launch, but now that record is tarnished. This review will be updated again once these multiplayer issues are rectified, but right now this is a major disappointment. This is a series that was built on multiplayer action, and the online features are a mess.
Despite some technical hiccups and a few nagging issues that were carried over from the original series, Halo: The Master Chief Collection is an excellent and remarkably well put together compilation.