re: Halo: Campaign Evolved

Game was fine but they probably should have cut the price if this all that was on offer. Still, I managed to have fun with the game. I felt like the original campaign dragged a bit based on my memories of it, but this time it felt smoother. Perhaps I have a greater appreciation for Halo via nostalgia now.

Initially, back in 2001, I just kept comparing it to my experiences with shooters on PC and thinking it was interesting but not on the same level as a Quake 2 or a Half Life. All the years of playing this series coop/competitive with cousins and college friends have given it a retroactive charm as I now play solo as a 40 something.

The new chapters didn't need to be included. They don't really add anything substantive to the plot. They did add some silly signaling with the butch female lieutenant and the weird references to tolerance. I can assume that the devs support feminism, tolerance, and progressivism. If so, they put on a show mocking their own beliefs while still pissing off the chuds, somehow. On the "Triumph of Tolerance", they're glassing planets because the occupants look different all while conducting biological experiments and it all ends in self destruction. The butch lieutenant dies as quickly as she's introduced and the Chief is instrumental in making sure her sacrifice is effective. What exactly were they trying to say?

They should have done a firefight mode if they didn't want to include competitive. Since this is the first and likely only Halo entry on Playstation, they probably should have included Multiplayer/Competitive. It would have generated more sales. It's not like Microsoft doesn't need a win.

I figured after Asha’s course correction that we wouldn’t see any more “exclusives” finding their way out of the Xbox ecosystem. But either course wouldn’t surprise me.