Halo: Combat Evolved

 PC
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 638 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 442 out of 638
  2. Mixed: 120 out of 638
  3. Negative: 76 out of 638
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  1. Marick
    Apr 15, 2015
    6
    The game is not really that great. I had enough trouble with the game. Since the frame rate to the problems created by the game. .
  2. skibbi
    Feb 10, 2012
    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 strongly recommend!
  3. Kurtz
    Dec 22, 2011
    7
    I've played the single player multiple times and have enjoyed the game for the most part. It is a classic. It does have shortcomings though which make it a pass for anyone who has it on Xbox. The most fun I had with this game was LAN multiplayer with friends. Don't play public servers.
  4. AstiX
    May 27, 2020
    6
    Singleplayer review only

    My first time playing Halo. I can appreciate how it influenced future games in its time, but damn if it isn't a giant slog. This thing will have you mindlessly shooting through endless waves of the same enemies running through the same areas hundreds of times over and over and then backtracking through those same areas again over and over and over again. One of    Singleplayer review only

    My first time playing Halo. I can appreciate how it influenced future games in its time, but damn if it isn't a giant slog. This thing will have you mindlessly shooting through endless waves of the same enemies running through the same areas hundreds of times over and over and then backtracking through those same areas again over and over and over again. One of the most repetitive games I've ever played.    … Expand
  5. CarlC.
    Mar 1, 2007
    6
    Good game for playing with your buddies. Did not find it challenging for clans. Not really hard for an FPS, more of a spray n pray kind of deal. No one really makes custom maps.
  6. Travis
    Oct 9, 2003
    5
    This game has the slowest frame rate of any FPS I've seen. When I went out to test the game before I bought it the game was on an Alienware computer. Even when I was playing it on that it ran choppy. So i said ok maybe its a crappy computer(yea right!), so I'll tried it on mine. Ohhh boy did it suck 3 FPS and thats at the highest I got.
  7. RancornGore
    Oct 3, 2003
    6
    So I got Halo and Freedom Fighters this week. First I played FF and was truly stunned by amazing graphics and the fantastic ability to actually command your fellow soldiers into action. That game is a true masterpiece imo! Then I started playing HALO,really high hopes for this one 2, because XBOX version was great and PC graphics could make it even better. But once I started playing it So I got Halo and Freedom Fighters this week. First I played FF and was truly stunned by amazing graphics and the fantastic ability to actually command your fellow soldiers into action. That game is a true masterpiece imo! Then I started playing HALO,really high hopes for this one 2, because XBOX version was great and PC graphics could make it even better. But once I started playing it was like going back in time. Graphics feel really dated and worst of all the framerates would only be appreciated by your grandmother.....It is NOT a bad game, its just that there are so many games today that are so much better, like e.g. Freedom Fighters or Chrome. HALO is most of all a really BAD conversion I think. I would not recommend anybody to encourage such activities by buing this game.....… Expand
  8. Lutar
    Apr 19, 2008
    5
    Average game. Nice graphics, really good plot. However, all the time you are in the same environment and shooting the same enemies which makes the game a bit boring after some time. Plot is the strongest aspect of this game.
  9. FidoMaster
    Nov 8, 2003
    5
    Holy sh.t. Everyone who is bitching about the framerates on their GeForce f....ing TWOS should get a new f...ing computer, preferably one newer than 2001. That goes for you too, Mr. NVIDIA Vanta. The only people who have any right to complain about framerates are the people with actual computers, not silicon excrement. Jeeeeesus.
  10. JonathanS.
    Feb 18, 2004
    7
    While a decent game it definitely disappoints me. I played it on a 1gh system with a Geforce 3 Ti 200, and it ran like crap. Then I upgraded to a 2.8gh w/ 1gb ram and Radeon 9800 pro and it runs fine. Extremely repetitive gameplay, ok story (we have heard the save the unverse thing to muc), and bad engine really bring this game down. On the upside are good multiplayer and the vehicles, While a decent game it definitely disappoints me. I played it on a 1gh system with a Geforce 3 Ti 200, and it ran like crap. Then I upgraded to a 2.8gh w/ 1gb ram and Radeon 9800 pro and it runs fine. Extremely repetitive gameplay, ok story (we have heard the save the unverse thing to muc), and bad engine really bring this game down. On the upside are good multiplayer and the vehicles, along with a fantastic ending. I only wish Bungie has stuck to the origonal idea before they decided to make it an Xbox game.… Expand
  11. ComputerIlliterates!
    Nov 2, 2003
    7
    With all settings cranked up to the Max, The game doesn't look bad at all. Anyone having system performance probably doesn't know how to tweak there system or update there drivers. Even my older a$$ computer can run this near perfect. To reply to the idiots here! Yes indeed you can play this above 60Hz, I have my refresh rate set at 100Hz! Anyone who has a Geforce FX 5200 and With all settings cranked up to the Max, The game doesn't look bad at all. Anyone having system performance probably doesn't know how to tweak there system or update there drivers. Even my older a$$ computer can run this near perfect. To reply to the idiots here! Yes indeed you can play this above 60Hz, I have my refresh rate set at 100Hz! Anyone who has a Geforce FX 5200 and has issues, Hmmmm I wonder why maybe because the FX Sucks, especially the 5200.....… Expand
  12. Keith
    Oct 13, 2003
    6
    I agree with all the comments about this being a VERY choppy game. I dont quite understand what the problem is, but Microsoft needs to get a patch out....QUICK! Other than the horrible frame-rate its a cool game.
  13. 99dolar
    Feb 15, 2017
    7
    Oyun başlangıçta beni kendisine çok sıkı bağladıysa da zaman içinde oyundan çok sıkıldığımı hissettim. Bunun birinci nedeni ise neredeyse oyunun çok büyük bir kısmının hep aynı yerde oynanması. Bölüm tasarımları hakkında gerçekten de çok düşünülmemiş. Ayrıca oyunun son bir kaç bölümü o kadar zordu ki hala nasıl bitirdim ben bu oyunu diyorum kendime. Tüm bunların dışında 2003 yapımı birOyun başlangıçta beni kendisine çok sıkı bağladıysa da zaman içinde oyundan çok sıkıldığımı hissettim. Bunun birinci nedeni ise neredeyse oyunun çok büyük bir kısmının hep aynı yerde oynanması. Bölüm tasarımları hakkında gerçekten de çok düşünülmemiş. Ayrıca oyunun son bir kaç bölümü o kadar zordu ki hala nasıl bitirdim ben bu oyunu diyorum kendime. Tüm bunların dışında 2003 yapımı bir oyun için grafikleri, seslendirmeleri ve senaryosu fazla güzel.… Expand
  14. HungryMan
    Oct 5, 2003
    7
    This is a pretty average game, allthough the storyline is great. I dont know why everyone is complaining about how slow it runs? Im only using P4 1.6GHZ 512mB pc2100 GF4mx440 and game runs at very decent rate at 1024 with details turned down. Maybe it's something to do with winXP(as i presume that's what most people are running) because it plays fine on ME.
  15. Brian
    Aug 20, 2007
    5
    Simply put, Halo brought nothing to the table. In single player or multi-player. the game has its moments but niether single player nor multi-player required much skill. There was nothing "new" or "revolutionary" about it. It may be fun to play from time to time, but it is by no means a standard-setter.
  16. JeffR.
    Oct 1, 2003
    5
    A medicore prt of a game that was never as good as it was hyped to be. if halo had not been the only good xbox game for over a year, if it had come out for PC as originally intended, it would never have been slathered in so much praise. this particular port, the final version of which i've been playing for a few days now, is incredibly disappointing - in my opinion the disappointmentA medicore prt of a game that was never as good as it was hyped to be. if halo had not been the only good xbox game for over a year, if it had come out for PC as originally intended, it would never have been slathered in so much praise. this particular port, the final version of which i've been playing for a few days now, is incredibly disappointing - in my opinion the disappointment of the year. it runs terribly even on my fairly good system (amd 2800, 1 gb ram, geforce 4 4800), so badly in fact that its only really playable at 640x480 with medium to low settings. on no available cards is it really capable of shining performance, which is absolutely ridiculous given the obscene amount of time gearbox had to optimize it. there is no excuse for this type of consumer-rape, and i'm appalled at the reviews this game is getting. thumbs down.… Expand
  17. DawnRipper
    Oct 1, 2003
    7
    I'll rate this at 9.9 - 100 if, just if, and if big daddy micro$oft didnt rush this game out before HL2. This game is just like unreal2 and matrix they rush this out ang we get bugs and bugs and bugs...
  18. PatrickS.
    Dec 20, 2003
    5
    Level design was terrible! Did anybody else notice you just went from one area to another that looked exactly the same? The game was kind of short too, I beat it in a day so don't pay $50 for it. The game play was fun, I'm not gonna front, but the indoor levels were worst of all: boring, and the play just couldn't make up for it.
  19. JamesF.
    Sep 19, 2003
    7
    I have a beta 1.5 version of this game for PC, and it still plays like it's on a console. The game was great for console, but I don't think Halo is gonna hold up amongst Half Life 2 and call of Duty and the other Q4 games. It was great on the console cause consoles have never had a good solid FPS, but as far as PC goes...we've seen better games, and I think people are gonna I have a beta 1.5 version of this game for PC, and it still plays like it's on a console. The game was great for console, but I don't think Halo is gonna hold up amongst Half Life 2 and call of Duty and the other Q4 games. It was great on the console cause consoles have never had a good solid FPS, but as far as PC goes...we've seen better games, and I think people are gonna realize it really quick. … Expand
  20. RandallS.
    Mar 26, 2006
    5
    An alright game. The graphics are good for it's age and so is the sound. I think the biggest error they made when making the game, is switching from fighting covenant to fighting the flood, which just pits you against hordes of little guys so all you do is spray fire most of the time. I'd much rather the flood was never incorperated in the game and you only fought covenant.
  21. AnonyomousAnonyomous
    Mar 4, 2008
    7
    Pretty good game from time to time, not really that good for playing the whole day. But a really bad part about this is that it does NOT have anti-cheat protection, it has a little but not any protection against aim bots.
  22. UncleEd
    Oct 12, 2021
    7
    Never having owned an Xbox, Halo: The Master Chief Collection on PC was an instant purchase for me. I started with the first game, hoping to love one of the most popular franchises but I am a bit disappointed. Halo: Combat Evolved is not a bad game, it’s just not that good for anyone familiar with FPSs on the PC that predated Halo. I understand its appeal to console gamers in particular,Never having owned an Xbox, Halo: The Master Chief Collection on PC was an instant purchase for me. I started with the first game, hoping to love one of the most popular franchises but I am a bit disappointed. Halo: Combat Evolved is not a bad game, it’s just not that good for anyone familiar with FPSs on the PC that predated Halo. I understand its appeal to console gamers in particular, considering it was maybe the first FPS on consoles with rather good controls. It also introduced a regenerating shield mechanic which was borrowed by many other games.

    I did not find the story anything special. There is a very little variety of enemies and you will keep killing the same aliens over and over. Whereas I really liked the graphics of the remastered version, the graphics of the vanilla game feel a bit dull with the use of repeated grey corridors throughout the game. You can switch between the original and remastered graphics by a simple press of TAB, so it was a great feature of the Master Chief Collection. Whereas enemies feel a bit repetitive, the gameplay does not. Some missions take place in narrow corridors, some in large open areas and some of them expect you to use vessels. Different missions play differently and so the game offers a change of gameplay throughout. My favorite mission was definitely The Library which felt like a mix of Serious Sam and Half-Life.

    I played on Heroic difficulty but I felt the difficulty was a bit unbalanced. Some levels were quite easy, whereas some others were really frustrating.

    Overall, I enjoyed Halo: Combat Evolved. But it failed to secure a place as one of the most memorable shooters of the early 2000s.

    6.5/10    … Expand
  23. sebastianali
    May 9, 2021
    5
    Realmente nunca entendí porque este juego era considerado tan bueno, incluso para su época, teniendo anteriormente joyas como Half Life o Quake 2 que se sienten mucho mas pulidos. Seguro, los gráficos son muy buenos para el 2001, aunque los escenarios en si son muy reutilizados y vacíos. La jugabilidad es funcional, pero demasiado repetitiva y con un personaje demasiado lento en un mapaRealmente nunca entendí porque este juego era considerado tan bueno, incluso para su época, teniendo anteriormente joyas como Half Life o Quake 2 que se sienten mucho mas pulidos. Seguro, los gráficos son muy buenos para el 2001, aunque los escenarios en si son muy reutilizados y vacíos. La jugabilidad es funcional, pero demasiado repetitiva y con un personaje demasiado lento en un mapa que a veces llega a ser enorme que ademas a veces obliga a excesivo backtracking. Este podría ser el primer FPS con vehículos montables, aunque estos se controlan muy mal. La historia tiene un concepto interesante, pero llega a ser blanda. Los enemigos tienen una buena IA pero también algunos combates llegan a cansar y se hacen algo injustos. También tuve problemas de framerate, aunque no lo tomare como un punto negativo ya que no tengo manera de comprobar si es mi PC o lo mal optimizado que esta el port de Xbox.
    Teniendo cada punto positivo uno negativo me hace pensar que a este juego le falta pulirse bastante. Casi como si intentara aspirar a muchísimo pero en el proceso solo terminaron priorizando la innovación y ambición sobre la calidad.
    Incluso a veces de lo tan vacíos que son los mapas y la naturaleza repetitiva del juego me hacen pensar que estoy jugando a un prototipo...
    Dire al final de cuentas que es un juego decente para su tiempo, pero que ha envejecido muy, muy mal a comparación de otros grandes shooters de aquel entonces.    … Expand
  24. Kujin
    Dec 15, 2020
    7
    It is good indeed it is. The pacing can be kinda whack, especially in the latter half with all it's repetition, and the game has obviously aged in not the best way, but even all these years later Halo:CE still manages to feel fresh and provide you with fun and unique experiences. It's still challenging and immersive, and the music is amazing. A classic for sure
  25. KevLooney
    Sep 16, 2022
    6
    The movement is like being stuck in mud. it makes it hard to get around. the gameplay feels like **** the enemies are too tanky. the game **** sucks. the health regen system is terrible. the whole health should be shields or health. pick one and design around it. i would prefer if it was all shields. zoom has a ****ty blur effect. there is a lack of ammo. the weapons are so inaccurate. itThe movement is like being stuck in mud. it makes it hard to get around. the gameplay feels like **** the enemies are too tanky. the game **** sucks. the health regen system is terrible. the whole health should be shields or health. pick one and design around it. i would prefer if it was all shields. zoom has a ****ty blur effect. there is a lack of ammo. the weapons are so inaccurate. it feels like **** when it is so punishing to get close. the movement is too ****ty. the crosshairs are garbage. there is no cover.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

30
#30 Best PC Game of 2003
9
#9 Most Discussed PC Game of 2003
26
#26 Most Shared PC Game of 2003

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 40 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 40
  3. Negative: 1 out of 40
  1. GameZone
    92
    The Xbox is all about high resolution graphics. The PC version outdoes the original with better graphics with hardly any loading time. The models are fairly good but the enormous amount of activity that occurs on-screen makes the graphics that much better.
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  2. GameSpot
    90
    Surprisingly taxing even on very fast PCs with tons of RAM and the latest video cards. Halo for the PC also loses the original version's much-vaunted cooperative play mode. But in spite of all that, and in spite of the very high standards for first-person shooters on the PC, Halo is still an incredible action game. It's a true classic.
    Read full review
  3. Next Level Gaming
    98
    A decent storyline, lots of NPC interaction, and graphics that you have to see to believe. Anyway, if you are even remotely a fan of FPS games, this is an absolute must have, and one hell of a ride.
    Read full review
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