Halo: The Master Chief Collection

Despite MP troubles, Halo: The Master Chief Collection's classic campaigns are amazing examples of FPS done right.

The Master Chief Collection's four campaigns are evergreen, but serious problems with online multiplayer are a blight on this compilation.

Whatever else might be in included in the Master Chief Collection, that feeling is at the heart of the game: it is a remembrance of things past, and those things are not as they were. The Collection is an instantaneous embrace of past and present that combines gaming's powerful sense of nostalgia with its perpetual arms race of processing and graphical power. It is part of a growing appreciation of the past in a medium which until recently was resolutely forward-looking. Proust would bloody love it.

The genre-defining shooter holds up fantastically, despite an imperfect package.

Ultimately, these issues are small nicks in an otherwise intimidating facade. Halo: The Master Chief Collection sets a bar that other remasters and collections will have difficulty reaching, much less topping. For players new to Halo, who have missed any of the included games, it is a stunning introduction to one of the most beloved series in video games. For Halo fans, it's a package that shows almost as much respect and affection for the Master Chief as they do.

This is a dense, content-rich package that raises the bar for remakes and re-releases. Whether you want to relive the campaigns or revisit multiplayer, you can find something here to enjoy

If you like games that are so big you can immerse yourselves in them for months, The Master Chief Collection offers excellent value. It's an absolute monolith of a package, beautifully presented for the 21st century.

While I think I would have given up playing a Halo 2 remaster on its own after a few months, The Master Chief Collection will keep me busy for quite a while. The sheer number of maps, variants, playlists, and rulesets will keep me interested for months on end. I can already envision myself joining groups of friends who only like particular games, forming separate communities within the collection. Not only that, but this is also the perfect way to replay each campaign if I ever get the itch instead of finding multiple discs. This is the new gold standard for remakes. Well done, 343 Industries.

Post patching, Halo: The Master Chief Collection's small quirks can easily be overlooked, though we certainly haven't been pleased with matchmaking issues within the first couple of weeks. For those new to the universe of Halo, a vast array of single and multiplayer content awaits, all revolving around one of the greater ongoing stories available in gaming and featuring the franchise's hallmark genre-defining arena combat. For the more initiated, a chance to go back and relive many fond moments from a whole new perspective is also a boon. With Spartan-Ops content on the way, the Halo Championship Series, Nightfall, and The Guardians Beta included in the package, we can safely say that there is some aspect of this collection that should appeal to all, from those veterans of the UNSC who proudly achieved Level 50 on their original Xbox console, to the shiniest new greenhorn Spartan... Hoo-Rah!

Halo: The Master Chief Collection has a handful of quirks and legacy issues, but those don't diminish the achievement. It's a stellar collection of some of the best games of the last few generations, with options galore and clever ideas like Playlists to breathe new life into old content. It's a must-have for Halo fans, and may rightly serve as a satisfying introduction for newcomers.