Halo: The Master Chief Collection
It’s almost easy to forgot just how seminal Halo: Combat Evolved was when it arrived on the scene back in 2001. Bungie’s first-person shooter proved to be much more than just a killer app for the Xbox system at the time, and is largely credited for bringing the genre itself to the console space with aplomb. Thirteen years later, that legacy continues to resonate in the industry, and the Halo: The Master Chief Collection was intended to be the ultimate fan service for the self-proclaimed Halo Nation. Only, it wasn’t.
Over the last decade and across no less than nine installments, Microsoft, Bungie and later 343 Industries crafted an online experience that was riotous and fun, genre-defining and, ultimately, reliable. So when Halo: MCC arrived back in November, it proved to be an utter letdown. Given that those blended playlists and remastered multiplayer maps were arguably one of the compilation’s biggest selling points, to release the collection half-baked frustrated long-time fans and newcomers alike.
Egregious waiting times in between matches — if you could connect to one, that is — coupled with little to no playlist support left Halo: MCC’s online component paling in comparison to what it could have been. It was a game that tethered with an almighty expectation from Xbox One owners, and even though it should have acted as a victory lap for both Microsoft and 343, Halo: The Master Collection was an unmitigated clusterfuck.
-Michael Briers