Back in 2001 Microsoft released Halo for the Xbox and the world immediately became abuzz with its habit forming joy. Two years later we PC gamers finally get a chance to share in the addiction. While the single player PC version is a straight port of the Xbox version, substantial changes have been made to the multiplayer options. Let's start with the exclusion of the cooperative mode. Adding a co-op mode to the single player PC version would have been very cool, however, Gearbox made up for it by including the best part of this game - an adrenaline pumping, high velocity, 16-player online fragfest!

Since the storyline hasn't changed, I'll give the Reader's Digest version for those that, like me, had no clue. You are Master Chief - the genetically-engineered Super Marine of the future - and the only one of his kind. Earth is at war with mysterious aliens called the Covenant, and the battle cruiser that carries your cryogenically frozen body - the Pillar of Autumn - has just dropped out of warp because of heavy damage. Oh, and you're being pursued by the Covenant fleet.

So, right in the middle of all hell breaking loose, you are introduced to - the Master Chief. Your first view through his eyes comes from inside a cryo-tube as you are being woken up. Techs are re-initializing your cybernetic body armor, briefing you on why you've been so rudely stirred from your nap, and start putting you through a systems check, which is really a tutorial on how to move, read your motion tracker and HUD, how your energy shield recharges, and so on. This is one of the most ingenious introductions to a character I have ever come across in a videogame!

Suddenly, the ship rocks violently from an explosion and a Covenant boarding party emerges! You must make your way to the bridge - sans weapons - while Covenant hordes swarm around you! Talk about an adrenaline rush! When you finally reach the bridge, you meet Captain Keyes, and are treated to a nice in-game cinematic update and receive your first mission. Keyes aims to crash the Autumn Pillar on an immense, planetary ring-shaped object ahead of them (later known to be Halo) - your mission is to get Cortana, the ship's highly advanced AI, off before that happens. Time to grab an assault rifle, and start runnin'-n-gunnin' alongside your Marine buddies!

Speaking of... your fellow Marines have a very intuitive AI that makes them talk to each other, to you, and about you (oh, look at Master Chief - he's so cool!). They scream in pain when they're shot - at times making you feel a real sense of camaraderie and urgency to save them. They'll flank enemies and work together, all autonomous of what you may be doing.

Covenant forces are made up of four different types of troops, but their numbers are limitless! Grunts reminded me of those squat, silly, baddies from MDK - when you shoot at them, they run away screaming with their hands waving in the air! Jackals are sneaky, carry a shield and can hold their own against several marines. Elites are tall, strong and have an energy shield similar to the one that surrounds your battle suit. Hunters are about 12' tall and can smash you with one swipe. They have a fuel rod gun integrated into their arm and carry an impervious shield. All four types will work as a team and play off of each other's strengths in order to eradicate you from the galaxy.

If the Covenant wasn't enough, you eventually run into The Flood - an alien species similar to the Face Huggers from the Alien movies and the Head Crabs from Half-Life. They turn your Marine compadres into a misshapen collection of undying evil mutants that are as relentless as they are tough to kill! Fortunately, they attack the Covenant too, so they end up becoming a tenuous ally for a while.

How do you frag all these alien goons? While your arsenal doesn't break any new ground, you have several weapons to choose from (including all of the plasma based alien weaponry) - but you can only carry two at a time, so choose wisely. There are six human weapons: pistol, assault rifle, shotgun, sniper rifle (extremely effective in multiplay!), frag grenades, and rocket launcher. There are four alien weapons: plasma pistol, plasma rifle, plasma grenade and a Needler - which shoots some type of pinkish homing projectile that burns. Additionally, there's an alien stationary gun that you sit in, almost like an anti-aircraft plasma turret. I found the shotgun to be one of the best weapons in the single player mode - one shot, one kill at close range! And if you want to go stealthy, or run out of ammo, you can even use the butt of your gun as a melee weapon to knock the crap out of your opponent!

Halo does to vehicle combat what Grand Theft Auto did to free roaming gameplay. You can commandeer both human and alien vehicles - all are a hoot to drive, albeit physics defying beyond belief. Which probably makes them all the more fun to play! Using the mouse to steer - with perhaps the most intuitive control ever devised - you get to haul booty and power slide around the Halo landscape in a jeep-like rig called a Warthog, or a tank called a Scorpion. If you'd rather fly, you can hop into a Covenant Ghost - a one-man hovercraft type fighter that scoots across the ground, or a Banshee - a one-man assault craft capable of extreme aerial maneuvers.

Multiplayer is where heavenly gaming goodness truly shines. I am addicted - lock, stock and three smoking barrels of 12.7 mm machinegun madness! When you're playing in Team modes, I can honestly say the "team" experience is unlike any I've ever experienced. There's nothing like you and three other Marines hoping into a Warthog - one driving, one riding "shotgun" and one laying the smack down with the rear mounted machinegun! If ground pounding in a 'Hog isn't your style, you can barnstorm the skies in a Banshee. There are 27 different multiplayer maps and so many variants that listing them all would be boring to read, but rest assured - if you can't find one to your liking, you'll never find one anywhere. You can play via LAN, Internet (with up to 15 others) or direct IP. And if you don't like what's available - create your own. You can configure settings to include or exclude virtually anything you want. As if you needed further enticement - there are a few extra weapons only available in the multiplayer mode: the fuel rod gun - which is like a portable plasma mortar; and a Warthog equipped with a triple barreled, 102mm rocket launcher!

Alas, not everything about Halo is angelic. For every good, there is bad - for every angel, there is a devil. There are many saintly features, such as the exceptionally beautiful and well designed exterior levels, but Halo's halo gets devilishly bent when it comes to virtually every single interior setting in the game. Not because they are boring per say, even though they're as dismal in appearance as the exteriors are astonishing, but because they are repeated over and over and over again. Well, sort of. After you've gone through a level once, you are brought back through it in reverse order several minutes later. There are hours of this kind of nonsensical repetition - a few times I just wanted to quit. If not for the directional markers on the ground (cleverly placed to look like part of the facility), I would have gotten lost and undoubtedly stayed that way for a very long time.

Graphically, Halo is an angel with heavenly beauty - most of the time. I experienced some clipping issues and frame drops when lots of enemies were on the screen at one time, but that could have been due to my lowly MX 440 graphics card. I've heard the Xbox version had similar issues, and if that's the case, then they haven't been addressed with the PC version. The sound and music are actually quite good as well, and I absolutely loved the addition of the chanting Monks. There's something about it that lends a certain Saintly sound to the game, and fits perfectly.

With all that said, these flaws are quickly forgotten and replaced by the exquisite execution of the final level - which has to be one of the greatest, timed-to-perfection, nail-biting endings in the history of endings! More I will not say as you must experience it for yourself.

The single player crusade takes maybe 15 hours - longer if you get lost. There are several moments of sheer awe, plenty of genuine challenges and legitimately "great" gameplay. Multiplayer adds virtually endless hours of addiction - one you shouldn't even bother fighting. Just give in, buy the game, get online, and look for me (EliGamrFeed). If you get snipped in the Blood Gulch or Death Island maps... that was probably me!

Our Final ScoreExcellent

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