MadCap's Game Reviews - "Halo: Combat Evolved - Anniversary"

Now I know what you're thinking. "Hey, MadCap!" I hear you cry to me from down below in the gutters far beneath my absolute and unquestionable magnificence. "Didn't you already review Halo way back in 2014? And weren't you going to review Halo 3? You said you were going to review Halo 3! You've been saying that for years! Why won't you review Halo 3?!" and so, you call up to me. Well, people of the internet, I managed to get my hands on the Master Chief collection through the Xbox Store, so we're gonna play the cards we're dealt. Next few weeks, we're going to look over the first four games in the Halo franchise.

...chronologically, at least. I couldn't care less for Reach or Halo Wars and I'll have a nice complaint about ODST when the review for 3 comes around.

But I also felt that my first review of Halo (and, subsequently, Halo 2) didn't really do the experience it's full justice. I meant what I said way back when, this game was a big deal back in the day. Sure, it rips off Aliens, Doom, Starship Troopers, and 2001: A Space Odyssey (that last one particularly in the later half of the game and even more hilariously in Halo 4 - we'll be getting to that), but it does so well and it's not as if they simply consumed all that media and copied it word for word. Bungie had a pretty firm idea of what they were doing and did it well.

...can the same be said of 343 Industries? Developed by Microsoft to keep the Halo franchise going after the departure of Bungie (when they really should have just let it go at that, but we'll get to that), they had the hefty task of keeping the franchise going past it's expiration date. Have they succeeded? Well, let's take a look.