Action · 2019 · 343 Industries · local · online
Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Six Halo campaigns in one collection, and every one can be played by two.
What it is about
Six games in one collection: Halo: Reach, Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, ODST and Halo 4. Together they tell the war between humanity and the Covenant, and you can start them in any order.
It plays from a first-person view, with two weapons at once, grenades and a shield that recharges in cover. Vehicles stand around between firefights, and using them with two people — one drives, one shoots — has been half the appeal for twenty years.
Each of the six campaigns can be played by two. On Xbox on split screen with up to four people, on PC only over the net. The older entries run in reworked form but can be switched to the original graphics at any time.
Our verdict for couples
Split screen was part of this series from the start, and here it is in six times over. On Xbox you sit down at the same television, plug in a second controller and play through twenty years of science fiction in whatever order you like. That is remarkable not least because hardly any other shooter of this size still offers it. On PC exactly that part is missing: split screen was cut there, leaving the route over the net with two copies. If you have the choice, play it on the console.
Pros
- Six complete campaigns, all playable by two
- Up to four on split screen on Xbox
- Difficulty is freely chosen, upwards as well
Cons
- No split screen on PC
- The oldest entries show their age in how levels are built
- The collection is large enough to feel overwhelming
Suitable from
Hobby
- Conflict potential
- Harmonious
- Cosiness
- Mixed
- When you can stop
- After 15 minutes
- How long it lasts
- Over 40 hours
What other co-op fans say
Ninety-two percent approve, and the most common sentence is a variation on "five of the best shooters ever made in one box". About the playing itself there is barely any argument. The recurring irritation is something else: without a Microsoft account you cannot even play alone, and when the sign-in sticks, everything sticks. Play on Xbox and you avoid the problem entirely — and that is also where split screen lives.
- “5 of the best first person shooters of all time in one collection.”
- “It's better in every way and has full multiplayer.”
- “Really like it, but it requires a Microsoft Account just to play solo.”
Summarised by machine from 60 Steam reviews, not written by our editors. The quotes appear verbatim in those reviews.
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