it's funny how different this world feels from any of the sequels. the covenant treat halo as a weapon and seem to have a vague warrior-religion rather than forerunner worship or a great journey, halo doesn't kill flood, chief is a mark v cyborg, cortana is primarily a ship ai, sergeant johnson is not even really a specific character but just another class of marine that spawns alongside you on missions.

it can't be overstated how awesome the pistol feels to use, and it's a wonder that they never brought it back in campaign. halo is really pretty and the music is excellent. despite that, i found myself kinda down on the first half of this game. interesting level layouts are mixed in with repetitive corridors, and there's not much of a narrative drive to the action. any sense of mystery to halo is smothered by the focus on military objectives, and even that doesn't land because i don't know what the stakes of the war are. i certainly couldn't tell you that the covenant are genocidal or that humanity is badly losing. also the tank controls suck.

but the second half of this game is way stronger. the unrelenting aggression of the flood forced me to keep moving and manage my distance carefully, and there's a much stronger sense of urgency to the narrative. the library is a standout level because it's a pure combat gauntlet: keep moving forward against an enemy that keeps pushing you back. plus you get to use the shotgun.

it successfully communicates the overwhelming nature of a flood outbreak, and makes the reveal of halo's function easy to understand. what else could you do against a galactic flood outbreak? the marines previously held their own against the covenant, but are utterly outmatched against the flood. they spread so fast in just a few levels, and the three-way fights between you and covenant struggling to survive against flood makes the retread of previous levels feel exciting. it's no longer a somewhat aimless conflict on the ring, but a race against the dual villains of the flood and guilty spark.