Halo PC – Combat Rehashed

The biggest selling point for Halo on the PC is network play. The XBOX system link allowed hardcore players to enjoy a full-screen multiplayer game of Halo, but it often required considerable effort to set up. Now that Halo is on the PC, it should be much easier to get a multiplayer game of Halo… right? Sure, if all you want to do is shoot your friend’s brains out. The cooperative storyline mode did not make it into the PC version. That means you and a buddy cannot team up against the aliens. It’s just you and up to 15 other players running around like idiots.

But what if you like running around like an idiot?!

If you enjoy nothing but mindless mayhem, the network version of Halo is for you. This is not Dark Age of Camelot or EverQuest. There is not much room for chatting. In fact, the death spam quickly bumps away what little conversation there might be. True, this is a first-person shooter. You may not be expecting anything else but nonstop carnage. But even if that’s the case, I’d easily choose Battlefield 1942 over Halo. There’s more strategy involved in a game of Battlefield 1942… and that game doesn’t make me feel sick.

A lot has happened in two years.

The bar has been raised in the first person shooter market. A simple rehash of a popular console shooter just doesn’t cut it for me. The genre is just too saturated. With dozens and dozens of choices, I can’t think of a reason to choose Halo over so many other games. On the XBOX, two years ago, Halo was cutting edge. Now that it’s on the PC, there’s nothing here that hasn’t been done to death before.

True… roasting four guys at once (with the new Flamethrower) was a surprising treat. Unfortunately, I was expecting more “Evolved” game play. Running around like a nutcase with a rocket launcher just doesn’t entertain me like it used to.

The storyline adds a bit more of a mature aspect to it. Sure… there’s a lot of death and destruction with the story mode as well, but at least there’s a plot. The problem is, it’s like reading a book a second time. I know what to expect because I’ve done it before.

If you have been holding out for a PC port of Halo… HOORAY FOR YOU! It looks like your time has come. With Halo now on PC, I wonder if there are any exclusive games left on the XBOX – worth owning anyway. Even Knights of the Old Republic is heading towards the PC. So unless you like buying games twice, seriously think if you need the XBOX version AND the PC version.