I didn't get into the series until shortly before this game came out, so sadly I must admit this is the first Halo game that I was actually able to play while it was fresh. It was one of the games I played most back in High School and for that reason I have a weird amount of nostalgia for it despite its glaring problems.
First off, the campaign is easily the worst in the series. That's not to say it's bad, it's still very fun to play, especially in co-op, but it's short and not very memorable and the story is the only one in the series that I think is genuinely bad. It pulls together dozens of potentially interesting ideas and characters only to underdevelop or throw them away entirely. It's a mess and put the series' overarching narrative on a trajectory that 343 still doesn't seem to know how to correct.
The multiplayer was definitely where this game shined brighter; classic even-starts in arena with advanced movement wasn't everyone's cup of tea but I loved it. The fancy new Warzone mode was a fun chaotic mess that felt like the true realization of the game's sandbox. Unlocks and customization were arguably the biggest misstep in this department; armor customization was absurdly limited and REQ packs injected a pungent odor of pay-to-win to the Warzone mode. These issues would probably have bothered me a lot more had I grown up with the straightforward unlock systems of the previous games, but didn't stop me from sinking countless hours into the PVP regardless.
Was it the worst Halo game? Yeah probably, but I don't think it's lacking any redeeming qualities. Hoping it gets a PC release or added to the Master Chief collection at some point.
First off, the campaign is easily the worst in the series. That's not to say it's bad, it's still very fun to play, especially in co-op, but it's short and not very memorable and the story is the only one in the series that I think is genuinely bad. It pulls together dozens of potentially interesting ideas and characters only to underdevelop or throw them away entirely. It's a mess and put the series' overarching narrative on a trajectory that 343 still doesn't seem to know how to correct.
The multiplayer was definitely where this game shined brighter; classic even-starts in arena with advanced movement wasn't everyone's cup of tea but I loved it. The fancy new Warzone mode was a fun chaotic mess that felt like the true realization of the game's sandbox. Unlocks and customization were arguably the biggest misstep in this department; armor customization was absurdly limited and REQ packs injected a pungent odor of pay-to-win to the Warzone mode. These issues would probably have bothered me a lot more had I grown up with the straightforward unlock systems of the previous games, but didn't stop me from sinking countless hours into the PVP regardless.
Was it the worst Halo game? Yeah probably, but I don't think it's lacking any redeeming qualities. Hoping it gets a PC release or added to the Master Chief collection at some point.