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SPARTAN by PriscillaTR.

Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2:

Yes, the first entry of my Top 5 is a joint entry, but because I held both games with high regards, I couldn't separate them as which is the better one, or atleast I love them so much that even if one is better than the other, both do so many things right to love them equaly. Now let's have music to set the mood:

I got my Xbox in the Christmas of 2004 and though I had seen back when I was around 7 and 8 years old covers of Halo together with its sequel, I didn't even know the name of the games and when I did, I didn't know much information except that it was apparently very popular. Fast forward to 2005 when I was around 9 by that time, I went with one of my cousins to the house of a friend of his that had an Xbox and Halo 2 and played the multiplayer. It was my first time playing the game and holy cow it did a good impression. I can't remember much, but I remember enjoying the game a lot and even did a few kills.

From that on, I wanted Halo 2, but I first needed permision. You see, though my parents weren't militant with games, they still wouldn't let me touch FPS's, GTA or anything remotely very violent (I was 10 at that time, it's reasonable). However, if I knew how to separate reality from fantasy, they didn't mind if I saw something that wasn't supposed to be of my age and actually learnt some mature theme from them. I asked my dad and he was actually cool with it and while my mom didn't trust me at first, she then didn't care much then. So I got Halo around 2006.

When I booted the game and made my start with the campaign, I was in for a ride once the action of the first level got rolling:

Go around the 9:31 minute.

I was simply amazed by all the action happening on-screen and playing the game was like experiencing something like never seen before.

When my cousins discovered I had Halo, they went gaga. They constantly played and even got ahead in some levels before I could even play them (I did it much later). Either way, I also played multiplayer with them and to this day, it remains one of my favorite multiplayers. All the costumizations, variety, modes, it was a multiplayer paradise and either with them, or with other cousins or friends, it was a blast to play and it's still to this day.

Back to the Campaign, I decided to replay the levels my cousins did and continue the story for myself (it helped that the game was dubbed in Spanish in a time I didn't know much English). From the ruined streets of Outskirts, to the first landing of the ring in Delta Halo and the critical moments of The Great Journey, I was in inmersed in the levels and I one part of my inmersion was the story.

Though some don't care much about the universe and stories of Halo, I do really like them and though I was confused in some parts because of not playing the original Halo, I still enjoyed the struggles of the war against the Covenant, the mystery surrounding Gravemind and The Flood and the fall and rise of The Arbiter and rebellion of the Elites.

I got the end of Halo 2 and experienced one of the most infamous endings in all videogame history (don't worry, no spoilers). Though it didn't bother me as much as right now, it did left me wanting more and asking myself "That's all? Come on!". Either way, it didn't ruin the game since one thing Halo is know for is replayability. I never got tired of repeating my favorite levels or starting the campaign from scratch and last year when I repeated the campaign again, I'm glad to say that it's still as excellent as every other time.

Okay let's have more music to set the mood:

In 2007, just as the time Halo 3 was announced and was released at the end of the year, I wanted to play the game so bad, but my parents never let me have an Xbox 360. So what did I do to calm my Halo hunger? Why not play the game that started it all, Halo: Combat Evolved.

I do remember playing the first game thanks to one of my cousins and also liking it as much as Halo 2, but never bought it until asked it to my dad to buy me the game. He accepted and I got it around early 2008.

What can I say, I had such a great time just like Halo 2, even with the considerably inferior graphics and some lack of weapons and elements from the future games. It had the great gameplay, the intense action, multiplayer and the story I came to love from the second game and I even thought for a little while that it was better than the second game.

To expand some more, the game managed to solve some questions I had regarding the second game in terms of story and made it easier to understand. Looking also at it, I also love the level designs. The Silent Cartographer is one of the most interesting designs ever concieved in gaming, Assault on the Control Room despite having many corridors, made us have a test of what a battlefield is about and control the godly tank, 343 Guilty Spark is like entering into a Survival Horror game and The Maw is one of the best final levels ever complete with an epic escape part.

That said, Halo 2 wasn't shy in level design either. I love how in Metropolis you feel helpless while trying to destroy the Scarab, only to take your revenge and destroy it yourselve, Quarantine Zone made us also feel inside a battlefield and The Great Journey is a great final level, which can give The Maw a run for its money.

I guess I can also talk about the Gameplay and how Halo is deeper than you think, but the words always come very short and I can't really give it that much justice. The good thing is that Greenman articulated very well how Halo isn't as dumb as you think, and he does more justice to the game than a three line sentence made by me. However I can say that the soundtrack for both games are fantastic and I gotta give Martin O' Donnel props for creating music that pumps the heart and make us ready to kick alien asses. To this day, both soundtracks are also among my favorites.

Is Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 my favorite FPSs? So far, yes. Are they my favorite games of the original Xbox? Hell yeah. Among my favorites of all time? Hell fucking yeah!!!!

They are fun, they are intense, they can be played countless times and never get tired, to simply put it they are awesome games. This blog feelt more like an story of how I feel in love with the series, but sometimes that's just enough to describe why you love something.

Without a doubt, great games.

Now, before I finish, I want to leave some clues for my 4th favorite game of all time:

- It's a recent adition to my favorites.

- It can be played on Steam.

- It involves hazards and death traps.

- It has a food article that made the internet explode with memes.

That's all for today.