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Translation of MSN DK Halo Review from the original Danish.

Translation: Sippan
Posted: March 16, 2002

Halo is an FPS (first-person-shooter) and this is naturally not very revolutionary. Halo is different however, because it is extremely thoroughly-went-overt game, with awesome details and a good story. The story begins in outer space, where humans are, with violence and power, trying to keep aliens away from Earth. The aliens have formed an alliance, called Covenant, and they want to take over Earth, exterminate humanity and reap the fruits of the germinating [it was hard to find a good translation to that word] planet themselves. You assume the role of The Master Chief, a nameless soldier. He is the last survivor of a secret military project, with the purpose to create perfect genetic fighting soldiers. You quickly find that your spaceship is under a hostile attack and all you can do is escape. The escape ends on the planet Halo, which is a synthetic planet, meaning it has been built "from scratch." It has been discovered that Halo is habitable for almindelige [have no idea what this means] humans, because it has an atmosphere and a landscape much like that of Earth. But Halo also holds secrets...

16 players at a time
The game contains the many gametypes we know from earlier FPS's. It's the classic single player mode, cooperative, and a lot of multiplayer gametypes. The single player part contains 10 very large missions and follows the story, described above, and the solo levels can also be played with 2 players, which is a nice feature. If you like multiplayer the game offers lots of possibilities. You can play up to 16 players at a time, by linking 4 machines together. This of course requires 4 television sets, as the screen is split in 4 as in other console games in this genre. Something that scares off many PC-players from this type of console games is the controls. But the Xbox controls work eminent in Halo. One analog control stick controls in which direction you're facing, while the other controls your rotation. [Yes, that's what it said if I don't suck at Danish.] Your weapon is controlled with the 2 analog triggers on the back, while other functions like changing weapns and reloading is controlled with buttons on the "upper" side. This works prefectly, but if you're not satisfied, you can change to whatever you like best.

A part of a whole
The game itself is like in other FPS’s, but there are some things that are different, der giver lidt adspredelse. [Uhm...ask someone from Denmark to translate that.] You can for example control a few different vehicles, and then the game view switches to 3rd person, so you can see better what's going on. The first vehicle is a jeep with a machine gun mounted on the back. You can chooose to drive the jeep, while one of the other soldiers control the machine gun. Controlling these vehicles can be difficult at first, but after 10 minutes you get the hang of it. You can also man numerous stationary cannons that can also be used to fight off the enemies, after you have killed the creature that was controlling it at first. But one of the things that makes this game better than others, is that you always feel like a part of a military unit. Almost wherever you are, there's someone with you, backing you up, covering you when you run rowards the enemy, or go scouting the area. This makes the game feel very realistic and not like you against the rest of the world, as in many other games. These soldiers are not just there to look good either, they have an extremely good AI, that makes them take matters into their on hands and attacking enemies to the left and right, while you lige er uopmærksom. [This apparently has something to do with paying attention, but I don't understand the grammar.]

AI and strategy
The enemy AI is almost even more intelligent, because they, as opposed to so many other enemies, actually think before they act. They rarely attack alone, but often in formations. And if they're backing into a corner, they will do anything to find cover in the surroundings. You often see a group of enemies attack, and then suddenly one of them cover behind a shiled like a [sniper?]. If you throw a grenade into a group of enemies, they will run away in all directions, instead of just standing there like nothing happened. They are also smart enough to ambush and attack your flanks, and spread out and attack from both sides, if you were stupid enough to position yourself in the middle of an open area. This tactic you can use yuorself, by seperating from the group and sneaking up on the enemies from behind, while the other soldiers are attacking them from the other side. Another good thing is their weapons, you are adviced to use them. [Not sure about that.] They don't differ much from other games, but you can only carry 2, plus grenades, at a time and not 15 as in many other games. If you're low on ammo you can knock down an enemy with your gun, steal his weapon, and use it instead. ome weapons are better than others in certain situations, so it's good to be tactic when you have to choose between the shotgun and the sniper rifle. The sniper rifle is by the way one of the coolest things we have ever seen. It is equipped with 2x and 10x zoom and it's exact on the millimeter. It's also equipped with night vision, which is very nicely done.

Eminent graphics
To sort of supply the finishing touch, the game has a graphics engine that completely lives up to this game's standards. Since the Xbox is still young, Bungie has been smart enough to include astonishing effects and a high framerate, [even?] in splitscreen multiplayer. All the cutscenes are made with the game's own graphics engine, the grass is almost photorealistic [only ALMOST???!!!] and trees and other scenery is marvellous. The effects have also been thoroughly worked on. At a first glance you can't see them all, because you're too busy playing, [heh, for me it was like the total opposite] but given time, you will see things like trees swaying in the wind and other kræs. [Once again, ask someone from Denmark.] You almost drop both nose and mouth when you see the sunrays shine through a tree's branches, o when you can see the heat trace from the bullet you fired with your sniper rifle in nightvision-mode. We could go on forever talking about the graphical goodies, but finally we will talk about the characters and their animations, which are very lifelike. No stiff-boned soldiers here, but a fully functioning fighting squad, and just as well-working and well animated aliens. The sound is as astonishing as the graphics. You don't really notice the music, but when you do, it is intense, gloomy and very instinct with feeling. The sound effects are also great and the many weapons have a really great effect. In addition, the game contains lots of communication, both in cutscenes and in the game itself. The oter soldiers communicate frequently and you have some [input??] yourself, and all the voices are loud and [appropriate or overacted]

The best ever
To end with the same phrase as we started, [I didn't translate the headline, but yes, it was "The best game ever"] there is a reason why Halo won 4 prizes at the AIAA-awards. The game is without doubt the best FPS ever on the console market and the best PC game ever [and here there's some strange twist in the middle of the sentence so it all ends with that] the console market has to be getting better since this is just the launch title. [I think something was wrong with my Danish there.] The game is careefully though out from beginning to end, with lots of eminent eyecandy, sublime graphics and sound, that really gives us a hint about what we can expect when the developers seriously start working with the Xbox. If you only buy one game on the launch day there's no doubt about what, Halo: Combat Evolved, which therefore gets top grade.

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