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What's the best Halo Campaign?

What is the best Halo Campaign?

  • Halo: Combat Evolved

    Votes: 248 23.3%

  • Halo 2

    Votes: 95 8.9%

  • Halo 3

    Votes: 310 29.1%

  • Halo 3: ODST

    Votes: 94 8.8%

  • Halo Reach

    Votes: 273 25.6%

  • Halo 4

    Votes: 29 2.7%

  • Halo 5

    Votes: 16 1.5%
  • Total voters
    1,065

Deleted member 5519

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
154
While I think it's safe to say Halo 5 was universally regarded as the bottom of Halo campaigns I'm always interested to hear other differentiating opinions. Feel free to state which campaign was your favorite, which was your least favorite and why!

Inspired by the Zelda thread, of course.

I'll start. Halo 2 is my favorite campaign. I know Combat Evolved has a more consistent campaign but Halo 2 just made the universe so much bigger, added weight and epicness and even some politics to the already amazing an established world of the first game.
 
Flavius

Flavius

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,438
Orlando, FL
In terms of variety and pacing, I feel like Bungie nailed it with their last effort -- Reach is tops. I don't replay games generally, so it's been a while, but I just recall a constant feeling of wanting to play more. I didn't feel like there was any senseless filler, or missteps. Definitely my favorite campaign.
 
Bor Gullet

Bor Gullet

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,403
OP, I applaud you for going with Halo 2. That's a pretty unpopular opinion from what I've seen, but I agree with you wholeheartedly. Maybe it was rushed and it ended on a cliffhanger, but I loved switching between Chief and the Arbiter. As well as expanding the covenant lore.

I was disappointed Halo 3 dropped that and went for a more gung-ho narrative.
 
Ando

Ando

Member
Apr 21, 2018
744
definitely 3. levels like tsavo highway, the ark and the covenant are the halo sandbox at its very best. i must have played through those levels dozens of times.
 
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Kasey

Kasey

Member
Nov 1, 2017
10,822
Boise
Halo 3. So many great missions, with only Cortana to drag it down a lil bit.

Take out The Library and CE is a very strong contender.
 

Deleted member 56752

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
May 15, 2019
8,699
I liked 4 the best. I know it's blasphemy to like 343. People like to cling on one theme and hate one developer or one person or one corporation and watch YouTube telling them they're right until they feel validated. But I loved what 4 was. They explored the relationship between Chief and Cortana. It played well, looked incredible on Xbox 360. Up there with OG Tomb Raider.
 
Kirksplosion

Kirksplosion

Member
Aug 21, 2018
2,485
Reach probably? They're mostly all so good that it's hard to pick.

I'll pretty much accept arguments for any entry in the series except for Halo 3. That game was a real low-point in the series for me (I haven't played Halo 5 yet). Just found it to be incredibly dull and uninspired from the structure of the missions to the pacing to the level design.

If I had to rank I'd say
Reach > 2 = 4 > 1 > ODST >>>> 3
 
coma

coma

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,601
3, CE, ODST, and Reach are all top tier in their own ways. 3 is probably the most fun to replay.

2 is easily the worst.
 
Einchy

Einchy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
42,659
How best it feels? Halo 1.

Best writing? Halo 2.

Best level design and encounters? Halo 3.
 
LonestarZues

LonestarZues

Member
Oct 27, 2017
16,604
Solidsoul said:
I'll start. Halo 2 is my favorite campaign. I know Combat Evolved has a more consistent campaign but Halo 2 just made the universe so much bigger, added weight and epicness and even some politics to the already amazing an established world of the first game.
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Bor Gullet said:
OP, I applaud you for going with Halo 2. That's a pretty unpopular opinion from what I've seen, but I agree with you wholeheartedly. Maybe it was rushed and it ended on a cliffhanger, but I loved switching between Chief and the Arbiter. As well as expanding the covenant lore.

I was disappointed Halo 3 dropped that and went for a more gung-ho narrative.
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Halo 2 gets my vote as well for everything listed above.
 
Druffmaul

Druffmaul

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account.
Banned
Oct 24, 2018
2,228
Nothing beats the original for me. Reach is first runner up. Then 3.

Then... I dunno, ODST I guess. There's some good shit in the Halo 2 campaign, but overall I see it as an inconsistent mess, and to this day I've never forgiven them for failing to put the E3 2003 demo in the game. I think Halo 4's campaign is fun, but it's just painfully missing Bungie's je ne sais quoi. Halo 5 can just fuck off and die.
 
Arc

Arc

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
4,614
ODST.

Cortana drags down 3 and Library drags down CE. Both are still great though.
 
VeePs

VeePs

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
17,425
ODST - best
3
Reach
CE
2
4
5 - worst (maybe replace it with 4, idk)
 
Castor Archer

Castor Archer

Member
Jan 8, 2019
2,359
2 is my personal favorite, but I get it has a lot of problems. In terms of encounter design and closure I feel Halo 3 is the winner. Halo CE is an absolute classic though.
 
nib95

nib95

Contains No Misinformation on Philly Cheesesteaks
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
18,498
Either Halo CE or Halo Reach for me.
 
Green

Green

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,457
All around Halo 3 is the best Campaign. Incredible space and encounter design with phenomenal enemy AI and a fantastic sandbox of weapons, powerups, vehicles and enemies. Endlessly replayable (but all of them are in my opinion).
 
Loxley

Loxley

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,757
I adore Reach and CE's campaign. CE's hasn't aged entirely well and there are parts that just drag, but it's a classic no matter how you look at it.
 
ViewtifulJC

ViewtifulJC

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
21,020
3 and Reach feel like the culmination of everything Bungie learned about Halo up to that point. Reach is a little lower cuz they started adding weird shit just for a laugh like the terrible vehicle health system or ya shields taking forever to recharge. But they both have exceptional encounter design and fun weapon sandboxes that make them both highly replayable.
 
saenima

saenima

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
11,892
My favourite is 2 and Reach as a close second.

I can barely muster the will to even finish 5.
 
Akai

Akai

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,077
For me, Halo 3 has still the best FPS campaign out there. The only mission that stands out negatively is Cortana and that has nothing to do with the Flood, but it has to do with how the level is structured. Every other mission, especially the lead up to Cortana, is just Halo at its peak and it's why it's by far my most (re)played game.
 
Rendering...

Rendering...

Member
Oct 30, 2017
19,089
Still Halo CE. Nothing in the series compares to the combined quality of missions like Halo, The Silent Cartographer, Assault on the Control Room, Truth and Reconciliation, and Two Betrayals.

Great layouts, iconic art design, fantastically memorable music -- they've got it all. There's no end to the replay value.

The open structure of those missions combined with Halo CE's design quirks, like the general absence of invisible walls, and the bouncy and trick-friendly physics, grace you with practically limitless options.

With strategies like weapon swap-carrying, and tricks like grenade jumping and vehicle launching, you can vary your approach across many dozens of playthroughs and still be surprised by what happens.

Drive a Warthog into the closed-off middle area of SC's island, and all the way into its deepest subterranean portion, with a friend in the gunner's seat. Knock a Banshee down from a high platform in AotCR and enjoy flight in the biggest portion of the map, before the campaign normally lets you access that vehicle. Vault yourself up to a higher floor in T&R with an overshield and three grenades, or the massive knockback from a Hunter's melee swipe. So many fun things to try.

The runner up is ODST for the variety and sheer quality of its missions, and the awesome moody vibe that suffuses the game. Shortly followed by Halo 3, which comes damn close to recapturing the sense of adventure and the antic spirit of the original. It's full of memorable encounters and scenery, and so very many strategies and exploits with great additions like the Gravity Hammer, the wall-climbing Chopper, and single-use equipment.
 
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DocH1X1

DocH1X1

Banned
Apr 16, 2019
1,133
Halo 4 may be the most underrated campaign. I feel like it gets overlooked due to 343's first go, but holy cow is it good.
 
G Darksoul

G Darksoul

Banned
Dec 3, 2018
211
2 for me because it builds on to the universe...mostly to its detriment, but I'm a sucker for a great story. Reach is also up there, but it felt like them all getting killed was known and a bit boring, although Emile went out the hardest...a true O.G.

The part in 2 when the Flood crashes the Covenant ship is pure bliss! I also liked a lot but I had stopped reading the books and lost the will to research it. I did like the villain tho.
 
Oozer

Oozer

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,897
Halo 3 from a gameplay perspective, Halo 4 from a story one. But they're all good. Halo 1 is way too inconsistent. Assault on the Control Room, Two Betrayals, and Silent Cartographer are amazing, but The Library, 343 Guilty Spark, Keyes, and the entire second half of Truth & Reconciliation are not great. Halo 2 is a victim of its own ambition. The story is interesting and new, but design-wise it's clear that Bungie never gave themselves a chance to really craft the game they wanted to. Halo 3 has magnificently designed levels (aside from Cortana) and ho-hum story. Halo 3: ODST was, at the time, the most consistent Halo game. Solid story, solid gameplay. But it couldn't quite hit the highs of its predecessor. Halo: Reach was similar, though the story was lacking a bit. Halo 4 was brilliant. Played better than ever and was the first game to actually treat the Master Chief as a character. It did a great job of showing his relationship to Cortana. Halo 5 played even better, but the story was significantly overstuffed, with enough for at least two games.

BoxingIsCool said:
I liked 4 the best. I know it's blasphemy to like 343. People like to cling on one theme and hate one developer or one person or one corporation and watch YouTube telling them they're right until they feel validated. But I loved what 4 was. They explored the relationship between Chief and Cortana. It played well, looked incredible on Xbox 360. Up there with OG Tomb Raider.
Click to expand...
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Halo 4 is so damn good.
 
moonbeam

moonbeam

Member
Nov 11, 2017
315
For me a more interesting thread would be "For those of you that played each Halo game at the time it came out, which is your favorite campaign?"
 
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