Halo: Combat Evolved Image
Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 40 Critics What's this?

User Score

Mixed or average reviews- based on 229 Ratings

  • Summary: In a desperate attempt to keep a conquering alien race called the Covenant from finding Earth, you--a cybernteically enhanced soldier representing the peak of human military evolution--and a ragtag group of Marines flee to a distant uncharted system where you unexpectedly stumble across Halo, an enormous alien artifact in orbit between a gas giant and its moon. Your objective: Uncover Halo's horrible secret, and destroy mankind's nemesis - the Covenant. [Microsoft] Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 40
  2. Negative: 1 out of 40
  1. Watching the game run at 1600X1200 left me speechless. Textures are incredibly rich; the lighting is to die for... On the flipside, however, in order to really enjoy Halo, you need a hardcore gaming rig to see any kind of smooth framerate. [Nov 2003, p.95]
  2. It's the outdoor areas - roughly 25 percent of the game's 20-plus hours of playtime - that host the kind of epic confrontations that you'll tell your buddies about. [Holiday 2003, p.98]
  3. The multiplayer and mechanics of combat are finely tuned, but aren't enough to lift Halo past its dated single-player, lack of graphical upgrades, and only competent performance. [Dec 2003, p.124]
  4. To put it simply, the game is horribly slow. The framerate is so devastating, that at a point during the second level, playing the game becomes literally impossible...One of the biggest disappointments in my gaming career.

See all 40 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 67 out of 102
  2. Negative: 24 out of 102
  1. Halo is truly the most innovative shooter since goldeneye. It set a new standard for the future FPS's to come. It is not only fun to play, but the graphics are excellent. Although there is not multiplayer on the xbox version, if you get games on the PC you will have the best multiplayer fun in years. Expand
  2. By itself, halo combat evolved is nothing much. just an average game. But putting in Custom edition and playing all those different maps and mods makes the game so much better Expand
  3. 7
    It's like Doom with better graphics, but not as good gameplay!
    The game is awesome in the first few levels but gets very hard at time!
    I stron
    gly recommend! Expand
  4. StevenB.
    4
    First of all, anyone who rated this game at a 5 or 6 or higher are imbiciles who don't know what a REAL PC FPS game is like with REALISTIC framerates!! Thats right, realistic framerates would be 55-60 MINIMUM for non corrupt online play! Not 15-35, especially on an awsome 2.2G computer with plenty of memory and a Radeon 9800 Pro! The graphics aren't even good. Damnit I'm pissed! Microsoft, FIX THIS CRAP! Expand

See all 102 User Reviews