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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

SirNinja

One Winged Slayer
Member
Reach followed by 3, ODST, and 1.

People really doesnt like ODST huh?
The poll isn't meant to reflect the quality of all the campaigns proportionally to each other, just how often one of them was picked for the top spot. ODST was great (most people here who ranked all the campaigns placed ODST very high), but general consensus is that it wasn't the absolute best.
 

Detective

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,853
You can't go wrong with every Halo except for 4 and 5, worse of the worst. Don't even bother with them.

Each past Halo has its own magic. I played them thousand times. Each time I play one I say it's better until I try the next one and it takes me away. Like magic.

Incredible games.
Personally I love all of them and each one is best in its own way.
 

KingPat

Member
Apr 29, 2019
796
California
I'd have to go with Halo CE. This game is awesome. Made me feel like a bad ass Spartan. The game isn't a timeless classic but it is fun as hell and in my opinion has the best overall story to any of the games. I really love the moments this game gives you. Also driving the warthog at the end and that legendary ending is so great.

Halo 3. Easiest game to replay of the bunch. Also a fantastic finale to the original trilogy. I love how fine tuned the combat is in this game. The story itself feels like a final send off and it definitely delivers.

Halo Reach. Amazing last halo from bungie and after getting used to armor abilities and the dmr. The game looks, feels, plays, and sounds great. And after the credits. Damn

Halo 2. Really great fps. Super cool how they actually show the covenant side of things and what motivated them to find/want to use the rings and that they were pissed for losing in the first game. Being able to play as not only chief. Story is fun to play. Bullshit cliffhanger. (would be higher on the list if it ended with you playing as chief and didn't have a cliffhanger)

Halo 3 ODST. Very interesting game. From the story telling. The way you traverse throughout the game. To the fact that your not even a bad ass Spartan anymore. (bonus points for Nathan Fillion as Buck). Probably the easiest game to complete as it isn't very long but it's a fun ride.

Halo 4. Forerunners are just bullshit enemies but I do have a lot of fun playing this game and I love the Chief Cortana relationship

alo 5. What to say about this game. Some ideas are cool others not so much. Like who's idea was it to only have master chief playable for 3 levels and who designed those stupid boss fights especially the last big (legendary is such a bitch for this fight). Also even more bullshit forerunners.

Overall these games are just fun to play and I really do enjoy the stories (even 5s) these games tell. I can't wait from them to come out with infinite.
 

Tsunamo

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,156
It's been a long time since i've played 2 and 3 and I haven't played ODST yet, but CE will forever be a classic for me and my favorite.
I do appreciate 2 for what it introduced at the time though, back then it was pretty mindblowing going from the first games campaign to that in terms of setpieces.

And while I wouldn't say Reach's campaign is the best that final mission hit so many right notes. Wasn't just a great sendoff for Reach, but a great sendoff for Bungie on the franchise too.
 

Prine

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
15,724
I don't want to see the Didact return, they're awful enemies, just no fun to fight. Too mechanical imo just doesnt fit within the game.
 

Fredrik

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,003
I really liked Halo 4. The master chief and cortana bonding kept me interested til the end. Haven't finished or played enough of the other games to see a reason to place them above.
 

Ethifury

Member
Dec 4, 2017
1,802
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.
Reach. It was a suicide mission.
Halo CE overall is just a blast to play, but Reach had one really, really, really great moment.



Bingo. Plus having a group of soldiers with you while going on a suicide mission was fun. Plus the outer space battle was fun too. Surprised we still haven't gotten that in Halo multiplayer.
 

Bulby

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 29, 2017
5,039
Berlin
1 > reach > 3 for me. The rest are interchangable with 5 being the worst.

They have never captured the sense of isolation of mystery like they did in Halo 1. Also Silent Cartographer is still GOAT.
 

TheDanger

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
958
Halo 3 is probably my favorite, but I need to defend H4 a bit I recently replayed Halo 4 on legendary and I gotta say it was kinda awesome, fighting the Prometheans is not so good, but fighting the covenant with Elites in a modern halo game with the chief is so awesome.

I also kinda dig the story about Cortana's rampancy and how it makes the chief show his humanity, it makes me feel soo bad for Cortana and the chief and I love that I really do. Sue me.

Can't really say where I put Reach, I remember loving the campaign, but I don't remember much. Dying to replay it, but at this point I wanna wait for the remaster.

I played CE for the first time when anniversary released on the 360, it totally bored me. Now I replayed it again solo on legendary and it was a magical experience I was too young to appreciate the game when anniversary came out and I had already played H3 all the time. That 343 guilty spark flood cutscene stays with you.

Halo 2 I also recently played for the first time, that was absolutely insane on legendary btw. Extremely difficult, but so rewarding. I love playing as the arbiter, they put so much effort into this campaign and the remaster is ridiculously good. Those cutscenes are such a joy to watch.
 
Last edited:
Nov 8, 2017
845
CE > Reach = 3 > 2 > ODST >>> 4

To this day nothing has matched the original in terms of story, presentation, and the battles themselves. Reach and 3 were close on a lot of the fights and excelled better with some, and CE's only sin was The Library. Even backtracking through levels in CE was handled well and made it feel sensible and fresh.

Reach has better level design and gameplay than 3, and an amazing finale but 3 finished off a great story (though it took some time to find itself near the beginning). No Cortana level helped immensely with Reach but I have to say the warthog finale alone beats out the last stand in terms of fun.

Halo 2 had some stumbles along the way but I still enjoyed it. If not for the cliffhanger and some of the early Arbiter levels it might have jumped to second place. When playing as the Chief, it probably had the most enjoyable mid game outside of
CE. I actually really liked Delta Halo and the whole sequence in the Covenant ship when you free the marines/covenant.

Don't get me wrong I enjoyed my time with ODST but it felt off-brand enough that it's my least favorite of the Bungie games. It was largely forgettable to me.

4 was a complete flop and killed the series for me after I bought it on release day. Incomprehensible story, horrible level design, and the worst bunch of bullet sponge enemies ever to disgrace a Halo game. The actual controls were solid, graphics were amazing, and premise was set up to knock it out of the park. 343 was handed the franchise on a silver platter and they messed it all up.

Never bothered to play 5 after 343 murdered the series and am glad I didn't.
 

Izayoi

Member
Oct 25, 2017
828
It has got to be the OG, H: CE just fucking nails that's perfect couch co-op experience. It's hard without feeling unfair, wonderful pacing (MOST of the time... mostly the first half of the game, anyway...), just a blast all around. I don't think the Silent Cartographer and Assault on the Control Room double whammy can be beat.

Reach comes a close second for me, followed by Halo 3.
 

Ardiloso

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,368
Brazil
Halo Reach, the best Halo.
Halo 3's would be better if not by the Cortana level. This shit almost ruined the game. Everytime I think about replaying it I remember this level and give up.
 

Izayoi

Member
Oct 25, 2017
828
Halo Reach, the best Halo.
Halo 3's would be better if not by the Cortana level. This shit almost ruined the game. Everytime I think about replaying it I remember this level and give up.
It's... definitely not great, that much is certain. Totally throws a wrench into the flow of the game, which is really disappointing given the momentum it had up until that point.
 

MDSVeritas

Gameplay Programmer, Sony Santa Monica
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
1,026
I'm a huge fan of the extended universe of Halo, especially the books that cover other perspectives of the Human-Covenant war, and I feel like OSDT and Reach are the ones that truly nail the sense of desperation the conflict had. ODST might inch out Reach by a tiny bit but both are incredible.
 

TheXbox

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 29, 2017
6,565
CE is the GOAT. Perfect game. Even The Library. Its imperfections add to its perfection.

Halo 3 and Reach are also top-tier. Fuck it, they all are. Excepting 4 and 5, of course.
 

Deleted member 56752

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
May 15, 2019
8,699
CE is the GOAT. Perfect game. Even The Library. Its imperfections add to its perfection.

Halo 3 and Reach are also top-tier. Fuck it, they all are. Excepting 4 and 5, of course.
I sincerely don't get the hate on 4. 5 was horribly constructed, I'll admit that. Namely the parts where they included an extra 8 characters and didn't flesh them out until the last mission of the game. But, 4? Idk man. That game was pretty great.
 

TheXbox

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 29, 2017
6,565
I sincerely don't get the hate on 4. 5 was horribly constructed, I'll admit that. Namely the parts where they included an extra 8 characters and didn't flesh them out until the last mission of the game. But, 4? Idk man. That game was pretty great.
Corridor shooting and button pressing for the length of six or seven hours. The Covenant are less diverse and less intelligent than in any other game and the Prometheans are orange glowing bullet sponges. The setpieces that should be incredible, like the Mammoth and the Pelican, are plodding and tedious.

All this to say nothing of the narrative, and on that I think it is best to say as little as possible. I enjoyed Chief and Cortana's relationship, but everything else was a wash.
 

Deleted member 56752

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
May 15, 2019
8,699
Corridor shooting and button pressing for the length of six or seven hours. The Covenant are less diverse and less intelligent than in any other game and the Prometheans are orange glowing bullet sponges. The setpieces that should be incredible, like the Mammoth and the Pelican, are plodding and tedious.

All this to say nothing of the narrative, and on that I think it is best to say as little as possible. I enjoyed Chief and Cortana's relationship, but everything else was a wash.

Then say that. I thought that was the point of the thread? To say what story was the best
 

ItsBobbyDarin

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
1,905
Egyptian residing in Denmark
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.
The story is awesome, but the gameplay sucks! The didact was a villain that was killed of too quickly.
 

Scullibundo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,692
Halo 4's story was embarrassing.

And I'm talking about Chief and Cortana. They took it to bad fanfic levels.
 

Granadier

Member
Nov 4, 2018
1,605
Reach was the first game to show that even Spartans are failable. It was truly emotional seeing each of your squadmates fall one after another.

"You're on your own Nobel. Carter out."
 

Einchy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
42,659
I think one of the biggest problems with Halo 4 and 5 is how small the levels feel when compared to past Halo games. Where are the Halos, Silent Cartographers, Tsavo Highways, the Arks and others? Halos always gave a sense of awe with the way they framed scenes like crashing into Halo for the first time or seeing a massive Scarab crawling over massive buildings and you and a bunch of AIs trying to take it down or, hell, going to the Ark for the first time and seeing those amazing skyboxes.

I can't think of a single moment like that in Halo 4 or 5.
 

TheXbox

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 29, 2017
6,565
Then say that. I thought that was the point of the thread? To say what story was the best
I think the point of the thread is best campaign, not best story. Halo 2 might win that category.

In short, I think the story in 4 is dysfunctional. This is a game that reintroduces the Covenant with no explanation after you emphatically destroy them in Halo 3. "These Covenant seem more fanatical than the ones we've faced before," says Chief. Why? Because they're fucking shooting at you? This is all we are told. How does Chief arrive at Requiem? What is Requiem? We get no answer. Compare this to the story in CE where the entire plot revolves around the mystery of Halo and what it represents to each of the three factions. This is real basic shit, but Halo 4 fails at even this level.
 

GamerDude

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
6,313
Who voted for halo 4 or 5 🤦‍♂️

Me. I've been playing through all the games for the first time these past two years. Halo 4 is easily my favorite, though I haven't played Halo 5 yet.

4 >> 1 > 2 >> 3

I enjoyed the story, gunplay, and graphics best in Halo 4. Also the game's structure - I did not enjoy the big open levels at all in the trilogy...especially in Halo 3.
 

Deleted member 56752

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
May 15, 2019
8,699
I think the point of the thread is best campaign, not best story. Halo 2 might win that category.

In short, I think the story in 4 is dysfunctional. This is a game that reintroduces the Covenant with no explanation after you emphatically destroy them in Halo 3. "These Covenant seem more fanatical than the ones we've faced before," says Chief. Why? Because they're fucking shooting at you? This is all we are told. How does Chief arrive at Requiem? What is Requiem? We get no answer. Compare this to the story in CE where the entire plot revolves around the mystery of Halo and what it represents to each of the three factions. This is real basic shit, but Halo 4 fails at even this level.
Meh. I still think it's the best. I do like halo 3s last mission driving tho