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Halo: Campaign Evolved - Review Thread

It's an external factor that doesn't belong in a game review and you don't see shit like that in most other cases, is my point.

You can disagree with me on this if you want, but like I said, there's not really any comparable examples to cite.

Put it this way, are Wolverine reviews gonna get impacted by the physical media ending thing? Most probably no.
Hogwart's Tax™

We've been saying this for years about the far left lunatics. Welcome to the club, Adam. You now finally see it.

 
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Hogwart's Tax™

We've been saying this for years about the far left lunatics. Welcome to the club, Adam. You now finally see it.




wd3q2Ze1gdkOoQDL.jpg
 
It's an external factor that doesn't belong in a game review and you don't see shit like that in most other cases, is my point.

You can disagree with me on this if you want, but like I said, there's not really any comparable examples to cite.

Put it this way, are Wolverine reviews gonna get impacted by the physical media ending thing? Most probably no.

It is possible. Considering the idiots reviewing games these days, would anyone be surprised? It's all just so petty but it is just one reviewer from a site no one has ever heard of. Xbox tax? Nah. Giving this guy way too much visibility.
 
So let me see if I have this right. According to multiple "professional" reviewers, actual players with verifiable gameplay clips on various socials, and even people in the OT here:

  • The game often runs like ass on both Xbox Series and base PS5, especially in larger firefights.
  • The visuals are sometimes an upgrade, sometimes a downgrade, and often have severe UE5 artifacting.
  • There's no way to turn off the most visually unappealing settings on console and to do so on PC requires INI file editing.
  • Sound bugs throughout.
  • Enemy AI has been downgraded.
  • Re-recorded VO lines also are a downgrade, mostly due to the age of the actors.
  • Buggy things like randomly dying happen -- not frequently, but enough to be "WTF?".
  • Always online requirement to a Microsoft Account needed to even get to the main menu, yet cracked on PC which shows this isn't necessary.

But it looks a little better and they added skulls and skins!
9/10, amirite? :pie_eyeroll:

Sounds like if I want to relive nostalgia, Halo MCC is still the better option and won't cost an additional $49.99 out of my wallet.
 
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In this video, EckhartsLadder provides a critical review of Halo Campaign Evolved, expressing deep disappointment with the new remake. He argues that the game fails to either improve upon or effectively replace the original Halo: Combat Evolved.

Key Takeaways:

Loss of Identity: The creator feels the remake sacrifices the "soul" of the original, citing poor Forerunner aesthetics (8:38-9:26) and a lack of care in environmental design that prevents seamless movement.
Narrative and Voice Acting: He highlights that the cutscenes, dialogue, and especially Cortana's voice acting (13:46-14:55) are significant downgrades. He notes that the new voice direction makes characters feel less compelling and, in some cases, strips away the grandeur of iconic moments.
Gameplay Issues: While he acknowledges that some mechanics (like the weapon sandbox) are acceptable, he criticizes the neutered AI, particularly the Flood (17:26-18:13), and the addition of features like sprint and navigation markers (21:07-21:37), which he believes break the flow and intended vulnerability of the original game.
Technical Frustrations: The creator points to amateurish cutscene direction and visual effects that give the game a "fuzzy" or "sandy" look (9:16-9:27) as reasons why he cannot recommend the release.

Overall, the creator concludes that Halo Campaign Evolved is an "embarrassing" release that fails to honor the legacy of the original title
 
Who knows - maybe the character is completely insufferable throughout. Maybe she's exactly what you say she is. I'll likely never know, because I have a near-zero percent chance of ever actually playing the game. I'm talking about one isolated snippet of dialogue, which you posted here. And as I said, as a former Halo fan, deep into the "lore," this chick badmouthing the Chief is completely right by the canon. The Spartans got shit from basically everybody, and were considered disgusting freaks of nature by most of the "elites" who feared being replaced. Only the rank-and-file idolized them at first.

I know for a fact Halo Studios is full of rainbow-haired idiots who have already gone on-record saying they hate the franchise, however, so there's that.

Still, I'm almost equally sick of that Critical Drinker bullshit in which every single female character with skill or an attitude is immediately labeled a "girlboss." It's not "based," it's a negativity grift. He's a one-note assclown who probably got dumped and never got over it.

I mean, movies are kinda for losers, anyway.

Should've just given this franchise to id, then immediately shut down 343/"Halo Studios."
This isn't at first though. This is a good 20 or so years after the Spartans have been introduced into combat. You never see this type of attitude from marines or ODSTs in any Bungie era game. You'll get snark sure, some competitive ribbing from other soldiers, but never this childish bullshit like there's some beef to prove from the marines or ODSTs. Humanity is on its last legs and every single person knows it. There's no room for petty bullshit anymore.

Yet every fucking time 343 makes a new character, they've either got a chip on their shoulder or they're just kinda there. No in between.

As for the Drinker, the man is on point more often than not. Calling his attitude that many also feel a grift kind of misses the reason the attitude is there. We've been bombarded in both Hollywood and gaming with insufferable characters. Unfortunately for the ladies, women are used for those characters often times to push some bullshit or just because they think it'll sell.
 
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What are the chances that MS patches out the MS account/online requirements?

And what are the chances they patch in a perfunctory local multiplayer PvP mode?

I was really excited for this--lots of good memories from when I was a teen with the fam--but the more I read about it the more it seems kinda like a fly-by-night effort, and I'd rather wait for some updates.
 
And what are the chances they patch in a perfunctory local multiplayer PvP mode?
They went out of their way to name it "campaign evolved". If there was a chance multiplayer was ever coming, they would have announced it months ago to appease fans and increase sales. I think it's pretty safe to say it's not happening with this release, maybe with Halo 2 if they ever remake it.
 
So let me see if I have this right. According to multiple "professional" reviewers, actual players with verifiable gameplay clips on various socials, and even people in the OT here:

  • The game often runs like ass on both Xbox Series and base PS5, especially in larger firefights.
  • The visuals are sometimes an upgrade, sometimes a downgrade, and often have severe UE5 artifacting.
  • There's no way to turn off the most visually unappealing settings on console and to do so on PC requires INI file editing.
  • Sound bugs throughout.
  • Enemy AI has been downgraded.
  • Re-recorded VO lines also are a downgrade, mostly due to the age of the actors.
  • Buggy things like randomly dying happen -- not frequently, but enough to be "WTF?".
  • Always online requirement to a Microsoft Account needed to even get to the main menu, yet cracked on PC which shows this isn't necessary.

But it looks a little better and they added skulls and skins!
9/10, amirite? :pie_eyeroll:

Sounds like if I want to relive nostalgia, Halo MCC is still the better option and won't cost an additional $49.99 out of my wallet.
10 GIF by SB Nation
out of
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Mean Girls Halloween GIF
 
You didn't think Mantana was the sign compared to her Halo 3, and especially Halo 4 designs?

They went full monty :pie_roffles:


What's with the shitty animation straight out of the early 2000's?

Artificial Intelligence No GIF by ADWEEK
Had I known this cliche Karen butch was in there I wouldn't have purchased. Fucking up Cortanas face was one thing, but this is unforgivable. I don't want to see the rest of the remakes, burn it all down and stop staining my memories with this shit.

Secondly the pacing of the voiceover work is dog shit tier
 
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As for the Drinker, the man is on point more often than not. Calling his attitude that many also feel a grift kind of misses the reason the attitude is there. We've been bombarded in both Hollywood and gaming with insufferable characters. Unfortunately for the ladies, women are used for those characters often times to push some bullshit or just because they think it'll sell.

I used to watch the Drinker and Midnight's Edge a lot. Eventually I got to the point where I couldn't handle the complaining anymore, and I came to find them profoundly irritating to listen to. I spent so much time on Kotaku In Action back in the day - and I just try not to get worked up about it anymore. It's just par for the course these days.
 
Had I known this cliche Karen butch was in there I wouldn't have purchased. Fucking up Cortanas face was one thing, but this is unforgivable. I don't want to see the rest of the remakes, burn it all down and stop staining my memories with this shit.

Secondly the pacing of the voiceover work is dog shit tier
They should change the name of "Remakes" to "Revisionisms"

That's all they are now. "Remade" to push their warped and twisted lens.
 
I used to watch the Drinker and Midnight's Edge a lot. Eventually I got to the point where I couldn't handle the complaining anymore, and I came to find them profoundly irritating to listen to. I spent so much time on Kotaku In Action back in the day - and I just try not to get worked up about it anymore. It's just par for the course these days.
Oh I get ya dude. It's tiresome seeing constant streams of bitching. Even when I agree with it more often than not, sometimes it gets played up to the point that it just feels like drama for the sake of drama.

I think everyone is just tired boss.
 
That's what kept me from buying it. Such a dumb decision. No mp on OG halo makes it a $30 buy for me or less.

I find the dismissive attitude by others about MP just as irritating. People keep throwing around the notion that multiplayer in OG Halo was "no big deal". As someone who, at the time, was usually the guy who was called upon to do all the hardware setup for dorm or apartment Halo LAN parties, people pretending like the multiplayer wasn't a major portion of the game are engaging in revisionist history. I can excuse those who weren't there at the time, I guess. But without LAN parties and multiplayer (and Blood Gulch, and Red vs. Blue) giving the game longer legs, it probably would have never been as successful as it was.
 
Not to bang on about it, but even a set of textureless gray rooms with offline-only MP would have been a vast, vast improvement on the product as it stands here.

I expect they would have spent less and made more just porting the MC collection to PS5 and calling it a day.
 
It is possible. Considering the idiots reviewing games these days, would anyone be surprised? It's all just so petty but it is just one reviewer from a site no one has ever heard of. Xbox tax? Nah. Giving this guy way too much visibility.

Not like Days Gone didn't get raked over the coals for daring to have a straight White male biker as the protagonist. And the ridiculous pearl clutching over the "cringe" banter between him and his wife. As someone who grew up around bikers, that game was absolutely tame as fuck for how it presented the culture. The reality would cause them to have periods out of their asses.

Some "journalists" were so set on not liking the game, they stopped playing with less than 10 hours logged. How did anyone know this? Because their reviews docked the game for lacking things that actually showed up at the mid point of the game. Beyond the 10-hour mark.

So, yeah. As you and DeepEnigma DeepEnigma point out, this is a culture tax.
 
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They should change the name of "Remakes" to "Revisionisms"

That's all they are now. "Remade" to push their warped and twisted lens.
If they're gonna put these characters in a game, I'm glad they're new characters and not reinvisioned ones. But they don't have to make the characters that represent these groups and turn them into the worst kind of mascot. That's the same as some MAGA nut being in the game as well. I don't want that either. I just wanna play a fucking video game.

EDIT: Also, if they are going to be in video games, make them likable and not a parody of a stereotype. For instance, Acane on Netflix was a great show with a good cast.
 
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Not like Days Gone didn't get raked over the coals for daring to have a straight White male biker as the protagonist. And the ridiculous pearl clutching over the "cringe" banter between him and his wife. As someone who grew up around bikers, that game was absolutely tame as fuck for how it presented the culture. The reality would cause them to have periods out of their asses.

Some "journalists" were so set on not liking the game, they stopped playing with less than 10 hours logged. How did anyone know this? Because their reviews docked the game for lacking things that actually showed up at the mid point of the game. Beyond the 10-hour mark.

So, yeah. As you and DeepEnigma DeepEnigma point out, this is a culture tax.
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I'm sure he knows this but just playing dumb. Now he's just hiding when he kept pestering me about it.
 

You can shoot the male officers but not the women haha

I used to watch the Drinker and Midnight's Edge a lot. Eventually I got to the point where I couldn't handle the complaining anymore, and I came to find them profoundly irritating to listen to. I spent so much time on Kotaku In Action back in the day - and I just try not to get worked up about it anymore. It's just par for the course these days.
I don't watch him anymore for the same reason. It's just the same thing over and over especially about capeshit and I don't care about capeshit. But the problem is still there. As we see.
 


In this video, EckhartsLadder provides a critical review of Halo Campaign Evolved, expressing deep disappointment with the new remake. He argues that the game fails to either improve upon or effectively replace the original Halo: Combat Evolved.

Key Takeaways:

Loss of Identity: The creator feels the remake sacrifices the "soul" of the original, citing poor Forerunner aesthetics (8:38-9:26) and a lack of care in environmental design that prevents seamless movement.
Narrative and Voice Acting: He highlights that the cutscenes, dialogue, and especially Cortana's voice acting (13:46-14:55) are significant downgrades. He notes that the new voice direction makes characters feel less compelling and, in some cases, strips away the grandeur of iconic moments.
Gameplay Issues: While he acknowledges that some mechanics (like the weapon sandbox) are acceptable, he criticizes the neutered AI, particularly the Flood (17:26-18:13), and the addition of features like sprint and navigation markers (21:07-21:37), which he believes break the flow and intended vulnerability of the original game.
Technical Frustrations: The creator points to amateurish cutscene direction and visual effects that give the game a "fuzzy" or "sandy" look (9:16-9:27) as reasons why he cannot recommend the release.

Overall, the creator concludes that Halo Campaign Evolved is an "embarrassing" release that fails to honor the legacy of the original title

I feel like the gameplay is fine. But the story elements and voice acting are terrible and the inclusion of LGBTQ+ was not necessary. The cutscenes should have also been in-engine as they've always been, and they should not have done FMV video. Why have a beautiful game engine when you don't use it where it matters. I also see where they've been taking the HUD elements throughout the series and they went over the top with the film grain and chromatic aberration and the visual clarity it lacks. Also, their skyboxes, which Halo CE-Reach have been known for, are lacking. The game overall looks good and for the most part I'm enjoying it, but they do shit on the story beats quite a bit.


You can shoot the male officers but not the women haha


I don't watch him anymore for the same reason. It's just the same thing over and over especially about capeshit and I don't care about capeshit. But the problem is still there. As we see.

That's pretty sexist. I thought Women wanted to be treated as equals.
 
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I'm going to play it on Gamepass and never buy it. That will rustle Microsoft Execs more than ignoring it.

But my god, employees need to step up and stop making sensitivity training PowerPoints for games, they aren't saving their jobs by having these woke feathers in their caps. If they don't trust leadership for other reasons, making based games is the only job protection they have.

Gears is fucked too at this point.
 
Somehow it's letting me play now, even though it's saying coming soon 😀 I don't know what's happening but I like it.
It happened with me for a while yesterday (standard purchase). Played for a couple hours, then I got the 'you're too early' message. Likely due to the server issues they were having. Oh well.
 
So even on PC its not in options menu but I have to fiddle around with some files??
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