1. Mass Effect 3’s Endings

The biggest innovation the Mass Effect trilogy gave to the industry was its consequential choices affecting the events of its sequels. You could kill off beloved characters, and even have access to exclusive quests tied to specific choices. But all of that brilliant branching narrative comes crashing down when Shepard activates the Crucible to destroy the Reapers at the finale of Mass Effect 3.

Players are presented with three endings, all color-coded and nearly identical to each other. Sure, the outcomes of the endings are different, but the scenes that accompany them show the same dramatic sequence with some very slight alterations. Mass Effect 3’s illusion of choice is presented to you by the Star Child character, a shoehorned projection that pops up out of nowhere. The endings of Mass Effect 3 feel so cheap and inconsequential that many fans refuse to play through the trilogy again because of them, despite how excellent the games themselves are.

The Carcano – Sniper Elite 4

Sniper Elite 4 – as evident from the title itself, has a great assortment of sniper rifles that players can utilize in the game’s many missions. The Carcano however, stands out from the rest particularly due to its ability to deal some crazy amounts of damage along with a decent magazine size, which makes it a great choice for those wanting more stopping power. It can be hard to master though, particularly because of its high recoil – but those who do will undoubtedly have a great time sniping heads from afar.

WARNING: There are spoilers ahead for all Halo games.

STEPPING OUT ON THE RING FOR THE FIRST TIME (HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED)

It makes sense to start with this one. For millions of people out there, this is the moment that defines Halo, and it’s easy to see even now why this is such an iconic moment. After fighting your way through mazy corridors and cramped rooms aboard the Pillar of Autumn in Combat Evolved’s first mission, you then crash land on the mysterious Halo ring. And that moment when you first step out of the escape pod and lay your eyes on the majestic and alien beauty of the landscape and the ring that curves into the horizon in the distance- that’s a magical moment that will never be topped.

Games that will be impacted include Halo 3, Halo 4, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo: Spartan Assault, and Halo Wars. Aspects of the game such as matchmaking will be shut down, while others such as Achievements are yet to be ascertained. Of course, fans will still be able to play through the campaign and the Forge mode alongside Custom Games and Firefight.

343 Industries said that the move was made in an effort to move development resources to Halo Infinite, which is the same reason why Season 8 will the last content update for Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

343 Industries’ upcoming Halo Infinite also received a new campaign overview trailer, which showcases updated visuals alongside open world elements.

In 2001, Halo: Combat Evolved graced our Xboxs as what would quickly be known as one of the best launch titles of all time. Seeing that the Xbox’s chief competitor, the PlayStation 2, was somewhat underpowered compared to Microsoft’s behemoth console, Halo was the perfect excuse for Bungie and Microsoft to really show off the power and capability of the Xbox – and that they did. Not only was the first game in the series a more than competent shooter that featured vehicles, a wide array of fun weapons, and a compelling multiplayer mode, but it was also a graphical showcase for the Xbox. With the PS2 being somewhat underpowered and the GameCube not really utilizing its potential with most of its games, this game really made the Xbox ecosystem stand out with its highly detailed character models and environments. Real-time reflections and shadows were rudimentary, and often mixed with fake ones, but they were convincing for the time among the lush, expansive environments and compelling aesthetic created by Bungie’s lead artists. The different alien factions all differed greatly in their general look as well as the technology they used, so that was reflected in their visual presentation to a huge degree. The game ran well, played well, and looked great, so it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that it was remastered and re-released on the 360 and PC ten years later with some enhanced graphics and improved lighting and textures. This remastered “anniversary” version of Halo would allow players to switch back and forth between the old graphics and the new ones at any time, which was a nice touch, and also included support for the Kinect (remember that?). All in all, either version still looks good today by all reasonable standards, mostly thanks to the original artistic direction.

3 short years after the first game was released, we got Halo 2 on the same console. While the Xbox’s limits had been on full display for a while by this point, Bungie still had more than enough know-how and experience with the platform by then to really make a game that looked noticeably better than its predecessor. Halo 2 would serve as the pinnacle Halo experience up to that point, as it had basically everything that made the first game great but now with the extra 3 years, Bungie was able to iron out many of the original’s rough edges, as well as provide a robust multiplayer mode that looked indistinguishably as good as the campaign. Halo 2 would not merely be more of the same with some refinement though. The physics and graphics engine were both overhauled which allowed for several new techniques including “shadow volume” that would quickly become a mainstream way of casting real-time shadows from in-game environments. Doom 3 would also implement the same technique to an even greater effect, but that was after Halo 2 popularized it. Real-time reflections on armor and metal surfaces were also more pronounced as a result of the overhaul and it ultimately added up to one of the better looking games of its time as a result.

Halo 3 was sure to follow, and follow it did. This game would have the enormous benefit of being a game on new hardware, but also not quite needing to be a launch title, so Bungie had a bit more time to really crank out as much goodness as they could from the Xbox 360. Here we see yet again, a complete overhaul of the graphics engine. Bungie went with their own in-house development toolset and it really paid off with better lighting, depth of field effects, and a subtle motion blur that added a heightened sense of realism. While some of the techniques under the hood did require the game to render at an odd 1152×640 resolution, that was technically upscaled to a stable 1080pby the 360, making it a very sharp-looking game.

Halo ODST was an interesting game. It started out as a rather beefy expansion to Halo 3, but ultimately ended up being its own standalone release given the sheer amount of content that it contained. Given that this was only a couple years since Halo 3 launched, graphically it had more in common with it’d predecessor than not, making it the first game in the series that didn’t look like a massive improvement from the previous one. Which isn’t to say it was underwhelming in that department, just nothing to write home about in 2009. Outside of some interesting visual flair thrown in for flashback sequences, it was largely just a slightly more refined version of the look of 3.

The final Halo game to be developed by Bungie was Halo: Reach. The game had a lot of callback visual cues that more than successfully elicited plenty of nostalgia for long-time Halo fans despite Master Chief not even being the main character. The graphics were largely unchanged from 3. Much like ODST, Reach already had a solid foundation on which to build a great looking game, and it didn’t disappoint. The large battles, lush backdrops, and nice variety of locations does feel a bit limited by the 360 at times in Reach, but the occasional framerate stutter was not much more than a minor flaw in an otherwise gorgeous game.

Halo 4 was a landmark game in the series for myriad reasons, but most notably was the fact that Bungie would have basically nothing to do with it. By this time, the former Halo developer had split from Microsoft and gone multiplatform and were working on their upcoming original shooter Destiny. The Halo series would finally change hands with 343 Industries at the helm. While the game was primarily designed for the aging Xbox 360, it was also 2012, which means Microsoft’s next console was also kept in mind for a future enhanced release. While the slight tick up from Halo 3 was noticeable, the biggest changes seemed to come from a totally different artistic vision rather than technical improvements. Halo 4 was a game that still “felt” like Halo ultimately, but it also had a slightly darker tone to its visuals. Master Chief looks more weathered, his armor seems bulkier, and he’s just more imposing overall. Other characters’ facial expressions were brimming with subtle movements and emotive performances, which made them some of the best in the generation – across all platforms. 343 were handed such a finely-tuned playbook on how to make a Halo game, that they were able to really stretch beyond what most thought was doable on an Xbox 360 with global illumination, ambient occlusion, and image-based lighting that all basically added up to a very impressive illumination and shadow system that made some environments look positively next gen. As impressive as it was, it was really just a preamble to what the next game had in store. Halo 4 would also get that very logical Xbox One release a couple years later with some minor enhancements and a smoother frame-rate. This was in 2014, which was a perfect time to whet the appetites of Halo fans as they were eagerly awaiting the 5th mainline installment.

By this time Halo had done almost everything it could do. It had maxed out the capabilities of two console generations and seen enhanced PC and next gen versions get released. Even though many still considered the series the best its genre had to offer, it still had to share much more of the stage with Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Bungie’s new game Destiny. Among the things Halo 5 tried to stand out was its aiming to be the best looking first-person shooter to date, and while it didn’t slam dunk that goal as hard as it did with past entries, it certainly satisfied the eyeballs of those who played it. Gone were the vast majority of the baked in fake lighting effects of the past two generations, and gone were the majority of other tricks Bungie had to implement to make the previous games look better than they actually were. Halo 5 backed off a tad from the slightly drearier look of 4, and somewhat tiptoed back into the look of the older games with more green, lush, outdoor locations, and highly realistic water. Halo 5 did hang on to all the advancements in detail of character models that show wear and tear on various pieces of armor, though. 343 also wisely chose to continue valuing the frame-rate over resolution, and with the seamless dynamic resolution of Halo 5 in place, the game could go from 1080p while you’re walking around and taking in the atmosphere, to 720p during an intense firefight, and right back up without you ever even noticing a thing. The PC version would need to do this less of course, depending on the rig, but both the Xbox One and PC version of the game looked great.

Now, all of these games are playable on PC, Xbox One, and the Xbox Series X in their ultimate forms. The most drastic improvements can be found in the Halo: Master Chief Collection which contains all of the games we’ve mentioned here before Halo 5. Depending on the game and the hardware you’re using, the games vary in how much of an upgrade they are, but even the most conservative version of the Master Chief Collection on the Xbox One is a sight to behold with much higher resolutions and rock-solid frame rates. While the collection launched in a somewhat rocky state, and that rightly impacted its reputation for a while, playing it today with all of the current updates and patches is far and away the best way to experience these games.

With Halo Infinite on the way, and 343 surely understanding that we’ll be paying close attention to its graphics, we are likely in for yet another visual stunner from the flashy, science fiction franchise that reinvented its genre all those years ago.

#9. HALO WARS

Halo Wars definitely had some good ideas, and it was by no means a bad game. Its campaign was solid enough in its own right, online play was fun, and it was surprising how well developer Ensemble Studios managed to make a real time strategy game work on a console controller- but there just wasn’t enough here for anyone to really latch on to. For Halo fans, it was a nice distraction, but not exactly what you’d expect from a Halo game, while for RTS fans, it was far too simplified and shallow to be anything more than a decent yet largely forgettable game.

#8. HALO 5: GUARDIANS

The absolute lowest point of the Halo franchise’s numbered entries, Halo 5: Guardians represented a series that just didn’t know what to do with itself anymore. Ask any Halo fan what their least favourite campaign in the series is, and the overwhelming majority will name Halo 5, which for some reason decided to focus on Fireteam Osiris, and Master Chief receding into the background. That could have been forgiven if it at least told a good story- but of course, that was definitely not the case here. Thankfully, Halo 5: Guardians had a great multiplayer component, one that made some smart changes and improvements to the series’ formula. Aggressive monetization was a letdown here as well, but by and large, there was a lot to love in the game’s multiplayer offerings.

#7. HALO WARS 2

Much like its predecessor, Halo Wars 2 deserves credit for translating the real time strategy experience to a console gamepad with surprising ease- but again, much like its predecessor, that came with some sacrifices. As a strategy game, Halo Wars 2 was far too simplified and pared back for genre fans to really be able to get much out of it, and it didn’t help that on the multiplayer side of things, the game was largely a step back from its predecessor. That said, Halo Wars 2 had a solid campaign, with excellent production values, cinematic and flashy cutscenes, and a surprisingly compelling story that explored some interesting parts of the Halo universe. Is it a must-play for Halo fans?Maybe not. But it’s still a solid enough game in its own right.

#6. HALO 4

343 Industries and Microsoft had a lot to live up to with Halo 4. Bungie redefined the entire genre and took the industry by storm with a number of stellar games released over the course of a decade, so of course, Halo 4 had to live up to impossibly high expectations. And maybe it didn’t exactly do that- it was definitely not nearly as good as its predecessors, but it was still an excellent way to start off the series’ next era. In spite of a convoluted story that made the ill-advised decision to focus way too much on extended universe plot elements, Halo 4’s campaign was a blast to play through, with 343 Industries proving beyond a doubt that at least where the core shooting and mechanics of the series were concerned, they were more than up to the task of carrying Bungie’s legacy forward. Multiplayer, though not perfect, and though not on the same level as its recent predecessors, was still a heck of a lot of fun, and laid down solid foundations for its successors.

#5. HALO 3: ODST

A shorter expansion-style game that had relatively sparse multiplayer offerings and didn’t feature series protagonist Master Chief whatsoever? Halo 3: ODST should have been a recipe for disaster- and yet it was a masterstroke by Bungie. No, it never touched the heights of other Halo games that came around it, but as series fans will tell you every chance they get, it still deserved more of the spotlight. It had an excellent campaign that brought a very different tone and style to the series than what we had come to expect from it in previous years, while on the multiplayer front, Firefight was an addictive, tense experience that fans seemed to just never got bored of. The fact that it shipped with Halo 3’s excellent multiplayer made it that much more of a compelling experience.

#4. HALO 2

How do you follow up on one of the best, most influential games ever made? That was the question that Bungie was faced with while developing Halo 2, and in retrospect, it’s safe to say that the answers they came up with were the right ones. The sandbox shooting of Combat Evolved was taken to new heights in Halo 2, which, crucially, introduced dual wielding, while the multiplayer offerings were a huge improvement over the first game, and pretty much set the standards that Halo as a series is still following to this day. Sure, development constraints meant that Halo 2 was not without its issues – the campaign, in particular, is far from perfect, not least because of its infamously abrupt ending – but by and large, it was a worthy follow-up to its spectacular predecessor.

#3. HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED

The one that started it all, and the one that, frankly, is in so many ways what the series is still aspiring to even now. Halo: Combat Evolved was an absolute revelation, delivering a brand of sandbox shooting against vibrant and deviously intelligent enemies the likes of which were had rarely been seen in games before. Its campaign was packed full of incredible, memorable moments that captured audience’s attention and are fondly looked back on two decades from its launch, and the fact that the series still largely abides by the gameplay foundations laid down by Combat Evolved should tell you how timeless they were. Seriously, even today, going back and playing this game is an absolute joy- and that, after all, is the true mark of an unabashed masterpiece.

#2. HALO: REACH

Halo: Reach was the game that Bungie signed off with, the game that would bring about the end of an era for this massive franchise and usher in a new age at the same time- and boy did it live up to expectations. Sure, at the time it ruffled a few feathers with the introduction of abilities that many felt had no place in Halo. But once people calmed down and actually played the game, they realized that Bungie had managed to find the perfect way to implement them without compromising the series’ identity. A stellar multiplayer component was backed up by what is probably the best ever campaign in a Halo game here, all of it coming together in a game where Bungie were at their absolute best.

#1. HALO 3

Think back to the months leading up to Halo 3, and try and come up with a game that demanded as much hype, anticipation, and expectation as Halo 3 did. There aren’t many. The series was on top of the world back then, and millions upon millions were chomping at the bit to “finish the fight” with Halo 3. And without the shadow of a doubt, the game somehow managed to live up to those impossibly high expectations- it was just such a well-rounded experience. An excellent campaign that closed off the trilogy’s story in satisfactory fashion and was full of excellent levels and firefights, and a brilliant multiplayer component that commanded the attention of a deluge of players who logged in every day for a long, long time to come- to this day, in fact. Halo 3 was an absolutely incredible game that took the biggest strengths of all its predecessors and took them to their absolute zenith, to deliver the perfect refinement of Halo formula.

It’s poetic, in a way: The Master Chief Collection started as 343’s love letter to Bungie’s Halo titles, and ends with the release of a game 343 themselves made. And much like The Master Chief Collection itself, which launched poorly and has seen its standing improve over time, this release was an opportunity to reevaluate Halo 4 – and I’m pleased to say playing it again has changed my opinion of it for the better.

Halo 4’s story picks up 4 years after Halo 3. The Chief and Cortana are still adrift aboard the remains of the Forward Unto Dawn, which is floating near the Forerunner planet we got a glimpse of at the end of Halo 3’s Legendary ending. When the ship is discovered, Cortana wakes up the Chief. Their mission is simple: escape the Forerunner planet, and find a way home. It’s made all the more urgent because Cortana is entering Rampancy. Human Ais begin to degrade after seven years, ultimately thinking themselves to death in a fashion that resembles progressive dementia. If the Chief can’t get Cortana home soon and find a cure, she’ll die, losing pieces of herself along the way.

" Halo 4 is an absolutely gorgeous game. It was the prettiest game released on the Xbox 360 and pushed that console to the limits of it capabilities. It holds up remarkably well."

This setup makes for what is easily the most emotional story the franchise has attempted, and one it manages to execute well. The Chief and Cortana speak more than they ever have in Halo 4, and the game does a good job of selling what these characters mean to one another. Halo 4’s story goes beyond the standard sci-fi of the previous games and manages to ask questions about morality, legacy, and what it means to be human. The excellent narrative is anchored by some truly fantastic voice work, particularly from Jen Taylor, who gives what is easily her finest performance as Cortana. Halo 4’s story has its faults – it relies heavily on the series backstory, so you’ll need to have read some of the books or find all of the game’s Terminals to fully understand it – but it’s impressive regardless.

As good as Halo 4’s plot is, what’ll grab your attention first are the game’s graphics. Halo 4 is an absolutely gorgeous game. It was the prettiest game released on the Xbox 360 and pushed that console to the limits of it capabilities. It holds up remarkably well as a result. Whether you’re trekking through lush forests, exploring Forerunner architecture, or driving a vehicle across open plains, the game delivers. Part of it is due to the game’s exceptional visual design, but the rest is the result of hard work by 343 Industries.

This is the first release in the MCC to feature in-depth graphics settings, allowing you to tweak settings for anti-aliasing, lighting quality, shadow quality, effects quality, detail quality, and anisotropic filtering in addition to an FOV slider and the Standard, Performance, and Enhanced settings that the rest of the collection comes with. These other settings also seem to have made their way to other games in the collection, too, though it’s hard to know the extent to which they’ve been implemented across the board. Regardless, this is easily the best-looking version of Halo 4 available.

Halo 4’s art can occasionally feel a bit busy and overdesigned when compared to the elegant simplicity of Bungie’s art – check out the differences in the Chief’s armor between 3 and 4or the change in designs of Forerunner structures if you need easy examples – but Halo 4’s art is very good, even if I still do prefer Bungie’s style. Regardless of how you feel about the art, however, this port runs very well. I ran it at 1080p and a locked 60 FPS on a RTX 2060 and an i5 6600k without any frame drops or slowdown.

"343 also saw fit to experiment with the series’ core gameplay. Sprint, which was introduced half-heartedly as an armor ability in Halo: Reach, returns here, as do armor abilities in general."

The game’s sound design I excellent, too. Guns are loud and powerful, explosions and alarm claxons are vivid and clear, and everything just sounds good. That also goes for the game’s soundtrack, which was the first in the main series not to be composed by Marty O’Donnell. Neil Davidge took over for Halo 4, and while it’s hard to compare his work to O’Donnell’s best, which remain some of the most iconic tracks in the industry, his soundtrack is very, very good, and songs like “117” are some of the best compositions to grace the series. Halo 4’s sound design isn’t a complete home run; the Warthog, for instance, sounds more like an angry lawnmower than a military vehicle, but it’s still quite good.

343 also saw fit to experiment with the series’ core gameplay. Sprint, which was introduced half-heartedly as an armor ability in Halo: Reach, returns here, as do armor abilities in general, though none are as obnoxious as Reach’s armor lock. Whether sprint belongs in Halo is still a subject of much debate, and while I would still prefer that Halo didn’t have it, I think 343 does a good job of balancing around it here. Other additions, like hit markers, made their way over from other shooters, but Halo 4 still feels like a Halo game.

Part of that is due to the game’s arsenal. Nearly every weapon from the series’ past makes a return, form the trusty pistol – which, thankfully, resembles CE’s magnum without becoming an unstoppable godweapon – to Reach’s DMR and the iconic Battle Rifle. 343’s made some additions of their own, too.  My personal favorites are the SAW, a monstrous heavy machine gun that will tear through anything, and the Rail Gun, which requires a brief charge before firing a high-powered projectile that’ll ruin the day of anyone it hits.

The bigger additions are probably the Promethean weapons, though. For the most part, they adhere to the archetypes established by previous Halo weapons – a mid-range rifle, an SMG, and so on – but the best up the ante. The Binary Rifle is sniper rifle that kills in one shot no matter where you hit someone, and the Incinerator Cannon fires a blast of fire that separates before recombining into an enormous explosion that erases almost anything it comes into contact with. Even more traditional weapons, like the Boltshot, combine the single shot efficiency of a pistol with a charged shot that essentially functions as a shotgun.

"There are no bad levels here, and I’d put levels like Infinity, Reclaimer, and Midnight up there with some of the best the series has to offer."

You’ll get your feel for all the new additions in the campaign, which is fairly short. There are only eight levels here, the fewest of any game in the series, but what Halo 4 lack in quantity it makes up for in quality. Halo 4’s levels are pretty long, and while they don’t have anything approaching the highs of Halo 3’s Scarab fights, they do avoid the series’ worst low points. There are no bad levels here, and I’d put levels like Infinity, Reclaimer, and Midnight up there with some of the best the series has to offer. Part of that comes from the return of the Elites, who are are absent as enemies in 3 and ODST, having been replaced by Brutes.

They’re still Halo’s best enemies, and it’s nice to have them back, but 4 also adds the Prometheans. Watchers fly around and enhance their allies, while Crawlers are small, doglike creatures that attack in packs. By far the most dangerous, however, are Knights, shielded mechanical monstrosities that can teleport away from you or toward you, and come equipped with both melee and ranged weapons. Knights are tough to bring down, even if you’re appropriately armed, and they can be resurrected by Watchers, making them a high priority target.

These new enemies and weapons – as well as new vehicles like the Mantis, a pilotable mech – make Halo 4’s campaign a lot of fun, but you can tell where the limitations of the hardware came into play. Halo 4’s environments aren’t quite as big as earlier games in the series, and enemy AI isn’t quite as good. Halo 4 feels a bit more scripted and less open than earlier games, though it does capture the best parts of the Halo sandbox when it’s firing on all cylinders. Despite these flaws, it is one of the better Halo campaigns, and like 3, ODST, and Reach, it supports four player co-op.

If you’re looking for more story once the credits roll, you can hit up Spartan Ops, which is Halo 4’s take on a mission-based cooperative mode. Spartan Ops follows Fireteam Crimson and takes place after the main campaign. It’s a neat idea and a fun mode, and the sheer amount of missions to play through means there’s plenty to keep you busy, but it never quite hits the highs of Firefight. Still, it’s worth at least one playthrough, and is fun while it lasts, especially if you have a good group to play with.

"For many, I imagine the real draw will be Halo 4’s multiplayer."

For many, I imagine the real draw will be Halo 4’s multiplayer. The addition of sprint, and customizable loadouts, as well as the return of armor abilities, means that Halo 4’s multiplayer was a bit of a black sheep at the time of release. Much of that can be turned off – Precision Slayer, for instance, starts everyone off with the same loadout and no armor abilities – but the other stuff remains in other playlists for those who want it. Halo 4’s multiplayer, however, is where the game’s flaws start to show through. The game’s maps are solid, but they never reach the legendary status of Halo 2 and 3’s best.

The more pressing issue, however, is the game’s weapon bloat. The Promethean weapons work great in the campaign, but in multiplayer they often feel like variations of guns that already exist, and don’t add much to the experience. This isn’t a huge qualm, but one that, combined with the game’s solid but unspectacular map design, makes Halo 4 feel a little less tight that Halo 2 or 3, and that’s before we get into arguing over whether spring belongs in Halo.

That’s not to say Halo 4’s multiplayer is bad; it’s not, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. How much you like it will depend on whether you like being able to sprint and have loadouts, as well as your thoughts on the game’s maps. Halo 4’s MP is still divisive, but it does feel good to play, and I never had problems finding a match. Happily, this patch brings cross-play to the MCC, meaning you can play with your friends whether they’re on a PC or a console. The game even lets you choose whether you prefer to play games with a controller or mouse and keyboard and allows you to configure matchmaking results based on your preference. Full disclosure: I played on a controller, though the mouse and keyboard controls seem to work fine.

Halo 4’s release also means a new season of cosmetics to unlock for Halo 3 and Halo 4 and challenges to complete, including new nameplates and visual customizations for your character, weapon skins (Halo 3 and 4), and vehicle skins (Halo 3). There isn’t as much here as in previous seasons – a little over 70 items spread out over five tiers – but that makes sense given the amount of customization already available in Halo 4 and that Halo 3 has already had a season of content to unlock. As before, you can unlock content in a tier in any order, but you’ll have to unlock an entire tier before you can proceed to the next one. Happily, this update also allows you to customize each individual piece of your Halo 4 Spartan’s armor, so there’s more personalization available to players than ever.

"Replaying Halo 4 has given me more appreciation for what it did right. It has a great campaign, an engaging story, solid multiplayer, a fun co-operative mode in Spartan Ops, and it managed to push the series in new directions while remaining true to what makes Halo Halo."

There’s more that this update brings to MCC, including support for framerates higher than 60 in Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo: Reach, and Halo 4’s MP, new player emblems in Halo: Reach and Halo 3, and so on. It would take me too long to list everything that’s been added here, but rest assured that this is a sizable update that makes the MCC the best its been on both PC and consoles. Given that 343 has said they plan to continue supporting the game for a long time to come, I imagine that the updates will keep coming, and the MCC, and the games in it, will only get better as time goes on.

Halo 4, though, is the last game we’re going to get in the collection, unless 343 changes their minds about Halo 5. Halo 4 isn’t a perfect game. Some of the story decisions that 343 made are still unpopular, and the multiplayer is still the series’ black sheep. I didn’t like Halo 4 when it came out, but replaying it has given me more appreciation for what it did right. It has a great campaign, an engaging story, solid multiplayer, a fun co-operative mode in Spartan Ops, and it managed to push the series in new directions while remaining true to what makes Halo Halo.

Halo 4 isn’t always a great game, but it’s never less than a good one and 343 has done an excellent job of bringing it to PC. I went into this review thinking of Halo 4 as a black sheep. I came out of it thinking it was an underrated gem. I don’t imagine this port will change everyone’s opinion the way it did mine, but I can say this: Halo is still just as good as it’s ever been, and if The Master Chief Collection never gets another title, it picked a hell of a game to go out on. Wake up, Chief. We still need you.

This game was reviewed on the PC.

343 Industries’ Halo 4 arrives for PC later today, available to those who purchased Halo: The Master Chief Collection. It brings a host of different improvements to the original, like 60 FPS, FOV sliders and crossplay, which will also apply to the Xbox Series X/S version. What time does it unlock though?

According to Microsoft, you can expect to play it at 10 AM PT. This translates to 1 PM EST, 6 PM BST and 5 AM AEST. Season 4 will also go live at the same time with new unlocks like Halo 3 and 4 armor skins so if you’re on that grind, then you can jump into it quickly as possible.

Like previous titles on PC, Halo 4 has been having extensive betas and multiplayer flighting to ensure it’s ready for release. With this release, Halo: The Master Chief Collection is now officially complete for PC, offering Halo 1 to 4, Halo 3: ODST and Halo Reach in one stellar package. Halo 5: Guardians won’t be added any time soon though, sadly.

Cloud Strife – Final Fantasy 7 to Final Fantasy 7 Remake

The iconic Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy 7 will be making his return soon in the remake. However, the process behind his iconic look is interesting – the spiky hair was meant as a contrast to antagonist Sephiroth but also to keep the polygon count low. Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children – and by extension Crisis Core – saw Cloud have a realistic design for the first time with defined hair and facial features. Numerous models were used to capture different expressions and Cloud’s general attire combined elements of his old outfit with a darker, more contemporary look. The overall aim was to showcase how much time had passed in the world and how the guilt of losing Aerith weighed down on him.

In Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Cloud once again sports a more realistic look in keeping with the game’s high fidelity approach. His hair and facial expressions are more defined; the overall outfit has a darker look in keeping with Advent Children; and several elements like the waistband, baggy pants and boots are toned down to look more proportionally accurate. Regardless, this is Cloud Strife through and through.

Doom Marine/Slayer – Doom 1 to Doom Eternal

Though mostly represented as the gun mowing down demon hordes, the Doom Marine or Doomguy had a distinctive design. A helmet covering his entire face, save for a visor over his eyes; chest armor with short sleeves; and the signature green shade adorned the entire set. It was iconic and meant to represent the Marine as a human facing overwhelming odds. Doom 2 didn’t make any major changes to this design. The older games emphasized sprites over full 3D models and this was reflected in whatever we saw of Doomguy.

In Doom 3, however, the human aspect of the Marine was emphasized more, showcasing his face fully. The clothing is more distinct from the armor (he now wears a separate t-shirt below the same); the ab window below the chest plate is covered up; and the pauldrons are more accentuated. All of this to reinforce the Marine being prepared but not overwhelmingly powerful, perfect for the game’s survival horror approach. The Marine was packing an estimated 4400 to 5000 polygons and id Tech 4 allowed for real-time light computation, MegaTextures and shadow volumes to bring the world to life in a creepier way.

With DOOM in 2016, id Software made significant changes to the protagonist. Known as the Doom Slayer now, he had full-body armor with more plating, weathered textures, darker shades of green, and a significantly taller build. It fit well with the Slayer’s motif of being an unstoppable badass that could shred entire armies of demons. The game was developed on id Tech 6 which sported physically based rendering, SMAA and TSSAA anti-aliasing, bokeh depth of field and HDR among many other features, with the aesthetic feeling more heavy metal and visceral than previous titles. Ample amounts of gore and hellish landscapes never looked better.

DOOM Eternal takes the same design, bulks up the Slayer further and adds new weapons like the shoulder mounted cannon and arm-blade. There’s also a return to the classic short sleeves worn by previous Marines.

Jill Valentine – Resident Evil to Resident Evil 3 Remake

An abject professional at heart and in stature, Jill Valentine was designed by director Shinji Mikami and designer Isao Oishi as an anti-thesis to overly sexualized characters. Sporting tactical boots, gloves and a beret, Jill is as no-nonsense as they come. It’s interesting to note that her outfit in Resident Evil 3 received some criticism at the time for going against Mikami’s initial philosophy.

In the HD remake of Resident Evil 1, Jill’s likeness was based on actor/model Julia Voth. This likeness would define Jill’s look for a number of titles including Resident Evil 5, which saw her undergo the most radical change in design yet. Though the shock value of Jill’s return was palpable – especially with the set-up for her apparent demise – many fans reacted negatively to her form-fitting outfit and blonde hair. Resident Evil: Revelations would see Jill adopting a wet-suit in keeping with the infiltration of the Queen Zenobia cruise ship while retaining aspects of her original design. Perhaps the most surprising bit was seeing her with a ponytail instead of the trademark cropped hair.

In the upcoming Resident Evil 3 remake, Jill’s design has changed once again. Model Sasha Zotova provides her likeness, offering a harsher touch to Jill’s expressions. While the clothes have been kept casual, the darker colours, combat boots and tactical gloves reinforce Jill’s status as a former special ops soldier. The RE Engine also provides more freedom for additional details like dirt, grime, cuts, bruises and sweat. How Jill’s demeanor and overall character will change remains to be seen but so far, the design is in keeping with her original approach.

Master Chief – Halo: Combat Evolved to Halo Infinite

It’s easy to underestimate just how many changes Chief’s attire has gone through in the years. This is explained in-universe as upgrades to the Mjolnir Armor. Master Chief was first designed by Bungie developer Robert McLees, art director Marcus Lehto and concept artist Shi Kai Wang. After receiving some more muscle, the Chief would receive his trademark green shade and we got the motorcycle helmet-esque wearing marine in Halo: Combat Evolved.

Halo 2 saw the armor gain much more definition, both in terms of details, texture quality and polygon count. Instead of bright green, Bungie opted for a darker shade. This was carried over into Halo 3 where the armor looked more singular as opposed to a variety of armor sections. Improvements to lighting gave more definition to all of the details, and it felt like the Chief had truly made a generational leap. Then 343 Industries took over the franchise with Halo 4 releasing in 2012.

If Master Chief wasn’t a space marine before, it was heavily reinforced this time. His armor was highly detailed with several more components and looked to have Kevlar weaved into the mesh. Eventually, this gave way to a more streamlined design in Halo 5: Guardians. The overall tone felt less busy and seemingly a combination of the designs in Halo 3 and 4.

With Halo Infinite, 343 Industries is making a rather interesting return to the Mark VI armor from Halo 2 and 3. The green tint is more vibrant than before and the shoulder pads are more defined than Bungie’s iterations. But this feels, once again, like a natural evolution of Chief’s design from the older games.

Link – The Legend of Zelda to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2

The Legend of Zelda is an amalgamation of timelines, alternate universes and reincarnations. However, throughout it all, the hero Link has always maintained his signature blond hair and green tunic. Designed by Shigeru Miyamoto, Link started out as a simple sprite in a top-down perspective. He gained more detail and colour in Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link, mostly due to the game’s side-scrolling nature, but The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past returned to the top-down perspective with a much more defined sprite with more colours.

From there, Link would see a number of design changes depending on the game. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time saw the hero in full 3D for the first time and, as a contrast to previous adventures, featured an adult version with sharper facial features and a white undershirt and pants. The Wind Waker depicted Link with a cel-shaded style channeling the animated style and energy of the adventure with complex facial expressions and animations. Games like The Minish Cap would channel this style, emulating Link’s bright blond hair. Link’s model was about 2600 to 2800 polygons – this would be quickly surpassed by Twilight Princess, which saw our hero in a mature form right off the bat. His overall outfit was a darker shade of green with more defined gauntlets and even brownish blond hair.

For Skyward Sword, Link was a teenager but his outfit returned to the bright green shades of yore while his gauntlets were replaced by gloves. The overall aesthetic was more fantastical as opposed to the gritty atmosphere of Twilight Princess while borrowing some cel-shading from The Wind Waker. Brighter colours to reflect the game’s emphasis on the sky.

It’s interesting when you look at Breath of the Wild – Link’s design went through a number of changes including variants of the blue tunic that eventually made it in. Cel-shading was applied again, giving the world a more stylized animated feel without going over the top like The Wind Waker. With the upcoming Breath of the Wild sequel, Nintendo seems keen on replicating the same look, with Zelda taking some cues from it as well, perhaps hinting at her being a playable character.

15. RAGE (2011)

At the time, RAGE served as an excellent showcase for id Tech 5. The open world shooter featured Virtual Texturing, which could stream extremely high resolution textures seamlessly, and shadow maps for more realistic environments. Though the overall world design and story left much to be desired, RAGE still impressed with its post processing effects, screen space reflections and animation quality.