I’ll be frank with you: I love the Halo series and you are going to see me talking about it a lot. That may seem strange to you. Why aren’t I talking about my books and that’s it? That’s a very good question. The answer is that I just can’t help it. I’m obsessed with Halo. I have been since I was a kid. If something exciting happens in the world of Halo, chances are you’ll hear my thoughts on it.
Now, let’s get down to business. Every Halo fan has their own official ranking of all the games. I would like to present you with mine. These always cause tumultuous arguments amongst the fanbase, but oh well. If you happen to be a fanboy like myself, this list may infuriate you, or you may nod your head and agree completely. Let’s see, shall we? If you’re not a fan of this franchise at all, then I guess you could skip this post. It’s up to you. Here we go! Here is my top nine countdown.
#9: Halo 5 – No. Just . . . no.
#8: Halo 4 – No. But . . . less no? I actually really like the narrative of this game. I think 343 really nailed the story. It’s that damn gameplay that makes me sad. I just hate it. The Prometheans are dreadful enemies to fight, and the enhanced mobility crippled the multiplayer. I don’t like the game, but I respect the direction they took the story.
#7: Halo Wars – I really love this game. The list is now moving in the direction of ‘I like it, just less than the others.’ The story was pretty cool, and the gameplay is timeless fun. And that soundtrack. My goodness, it’s so good; especially for a soundtrack that didn’t come from Martin ‘O Donnell or Michael Salvatori.
#6: Halo Wars 2 – This one is actually tough for me. I originally wanted to put it behind Halo Wars 1, but the introduction of Atriox into the verse has completely changed the face of the franchise as a whole, so I can’t lessen this game’s overall importance. Plus, it’s still just fun as hell. These games are gold. The Banished were a brilliant idea for the series.
#5: ODST – There is a shocking amount of people amongst the fandom who have this as their favourite game in the series. I say shocking, but I can totally understand why. The story and soundtrack are wonderful. I have no complaints about this game, I just find it interesting that a spinoff can hold onto so many people’s hearts. That’s the power of Joe Staten right there, who poured his soul into this project. That man just knows Halo like nobody else does.
#4: Halo Reach – I have to start this one by saying I like ODST’s story WAY more than Reach’s. Hell, I think I might like Halo 4’s story more as well. Truth be told I was rather let down by Reach’s story. I thought the gameplay of the missions was great. But the overall story itself I did not care for. Not to mention it broke a lot of the lore, which really grinds my gears. The thing that puts Reach so high up is that multiplayer. It is my favourite of the series, far and away. I adored every minute of playing it with my friends. Some people hated it but I can’t fathom their hatred. It was perfect. Forge World alone was worth the price of admission.
#3: Halo 3 – Here we go, the top three. The head honchos. Keep in mind that I feel all three of these games are masterpieces. They are the pinnacle of gaming. Period. But I do like them in a certain order. This is where things get controversial for people. For most, the remaining games on this list are ALWAYS the ones in these places. The only difference is the order for each individual fan. I put Halo 3 last for fairly simple reasons: It ruined the Prophet of Truth (and changed his voice actor), Arbiter has far less focus, the Flood invasion of Earth was random as all hell and not very interesting (they just pop in out of slipspace with no buildup whatsoever), and ‘Cortana’ is the worst level in the series. I’ll see that level in hell. Overall, as much as it is heralded as the body of God, this game was a little wonky in some areas. I still think it is brilliant, but these things put it behind the top two.
#2: Halo Combat Evolved – This game is a work of art. It hurts me to not have it as number one, but I simply can’t do it. Even though it stands as second, I cannot praise this bloody game enough. It would take an entire blog post dedicated to just it if I wished to do the game any form of justice. It changed gaming as we all know it. It came out in 2001 and still plays better than most AAA games that come out today. It will never die. The beauty of CE is eternal. What a game; the one that started it all.
#1: Halo 2 – Perfection. Pure perfection the likes of which may never be seen again. This was 2004, for god’s sake. I can’t believe how good this game was for that time period; or any time period for that matter. Fun Fact: it was actually the first Halo game I ever played. I was hooked the moment I saw the Arbiter’s trial. The Arbiter is still my favourite video game character of all time. This game is something that cannot be accurately described. It can’t be beaten by anything.
Well, that’s it! I hope I didn’t make someone want to shoot me. Halo fans can get testy. I’m hoping Infinite ends up high on this list when it comes out. Time will tell.