In the last two years, HD remixes have been all the rage. Even relatively recent next-gen games are porting over with minimal differences. Microsoft and 343 Industries are hoping to give the HD re-releases a better name with Halo: Master Chief Collection. While they are close to perfect, they fall disappointingly short in some areas.
If you don’t know, Microsoft announced at E3 a bundle of Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3 and even Halo 4 all on one disc. There were also some big promises regarding updates to these classic titles, like 60 frames per second across all four titles, 1080p resolution, and every multiplayer map ever made for all four games. It’s hard to say this is just another remix rehashed and repurposed.
The first thing you’ll probably notice (once you get past the understandably sizable installation) is that the menus can be intimidating. With four full games on disc and a variety of options for each, including all sorts of control schemes, multiplayer avatar customization, campaign options, etc.; It’s like a Swiss Army Knife from Halo.
All the games run wonderfully, and with the game running at 60 FPS, the games feel exceptional. Halo 4, for example, looks like it could fit right into the Xbox One library, the game still looks amazing. Even Halo 3 looks better than it’s entitled to; the Spartan Laser splashing on an enemy Wraith tank will give your eyes euphoria.
What’s new besides the technical bump is the complete remaster of Halo 2. Much like 2011’s remaster of Halo: Combat Evolved, 343 Industries gave everything in Halo 2 a modern graphical boost. The environments look beautiful and the enemies look much more aggressive. I did notice a slight drop in frame rate at times, but the game always quickly ramped back up to 60 FPS. Also similar to Halo: Combat Evolved, with a quick press of the view button, the graphics can be switched back and forth between the new images and how they originally looked. It’s a great feature and shows how far gaming has come, it’s also completely transparent.
Another new feature in Halo 2 is the completely revamped cutscenes. Even in 2004, Halo 2’s cutscenes looked terrible. Excessive use of the bump mapping technique made everything appear and disappear. This time, 343 Industries hired the company Blur to do the cinematics. Despite Halo 2’s admittedly shoddy storytelling, Blur somehow makes the game’s story more compelling, with better angles, facial features, and other improvements to help you immerse yourself in the game. Gravemind used to be seen as a ridiculous hybrid between monster and plant. Now he looks like a truly terrifying adversary.
With an impressive list of multiplayer features, 343 Industries was really hoping to steer the Xbox fanbase away from Call of Duty and other shooters and return to Halo, the series that really boosted sales of the original Xbox consoles. Given that the Master Chief Collection has all four main Halo games packed into one, it sounds like it should be an easy feat. When it works as it should, this collection is the main game on the Xbox One console right now.
Although therein lies the problem. Since its release, the multiplayer component of the Halo Master Chief Collection has been an unmitigated disaster. With hour long wait periods to get into matches, random gear placement, and an overall terrible structure, the online component (arguably the real reason to buy this collection) is completely broken. That first week during the game launch, it was almost impossible to find a game. I often felt adrift in a void while searching for opponents.
Since launch, 343 Industries has been working hard to implement various patches to the online infrastructure, but it’s a Band-Aid for an open wound. Unfortunately, now a month after release, the Master Chief Collection is still having ongoing problems trying to find a match. A shame, as more time in the oven, or possibly an open beta test, and these issues could probably have been avoided entirely.
That said, if you’re one of the lucky ones to find a match, Halo’s multiplayer is still among the best in gaming, regardless of which Halo title you’re playing on disc. It’s great to finally be able to replay the stellar combat of Halo 2, and with the addition of every map released for all four games, it’s easy to get lost in the fan service.
The only other multiplayer issue I had with the game was that at launch it didn’t offer a Halo: Combat Evolved playlist. The only way to play Halo’s first multiplayer is through a custom match setup or being lucky enough to have people vote for a Halo: Combat Evolved map before the match begins.
Aside from all the online issues, the game is a great bargain. It has four spectacular and polished games in one package, not to mention a web series called Halo Nightfall. Almost every issue I have with the Master Chief Collection should be fixed with one patch or another at some point. It’s a huge bummer for veteran fans like me to have to wait to play a working version of a game that was released too soon. However, once that is fixed, this game is a must buy for all Xbox One owners. It just isn’t now.