The 5 Best and 5 Worst Levels In Halo: The Master Chief Collection

After getting a little nostalgic last week, I decided to replay the very first mission in Halo: Combat Evolved. After burning through some Covvie squads, I remembered how great the second mission is and jumped right into it. Soon enough I was halfway through the game and it was midnight. So, I took a little break for that damn waste of time known as ‘sleep,’ and came back to it in the morning. The weekend that followed consisted of me gunning through loads of aliens, intermittently joined by my roommate popping in occasionally to play splitscreen.

Over the past four days, I’ve spent nearly 20 hours finishing the fight. Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, ODST, and Halo 4 contain some of the very best levels in any FPS game ever, which is no surprise when they’re part of one of the most revered series of the last generation. But, unfortunately, there are also some other levels that, quite honestly, are mind-numbingly boring. Here are my choices for the five best missions in the eries, and also the five worst.

                               

5 Best Levels

#5 - Halo
Halo: Combat Evolved

The second mission of Combat Evolved gave us our first look at the kind of design that makes Halo campaigns great. You’re dropped into a huge open area with a warthog, with firefights all over the map to tackle in any order you’d like. It’s the first Halo sandbox, the kind that’s become a major part of the games.

#4 - Quarantine Zone
Halo 2

This is the most atmospheric level in the series. I didn’t like many of the Arbiter levels in Halo 2, but this is my favourite level of that game. The whole abandoned area has a really creepy vibe to it, and has pretty interesting lore behind it. There are so many enemies and vehicles, and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of friendly Elites to follow you into battle.

#3 - Reclaimer
Halo 4

Overall, Halo 4’s single player was mediocre. No mission sticks out as particularly good, or particularly bad to me. Except for this one. Reclaimer just felt undeniably cool, with a lot of the level taking place on a massive rolling transport with turrets, a stocked armoury, and plenty of marines to back you up. The whole mission was so awesome to me.

#2 - The Silent Cartographer
Halo: Combat Evolved

This level feels so open, especially for something made back in 2001. It starts with a great beachhead assault with plenty of marines who’ve got your back. Then you get into the driver’s seat of a warthog and are given free reign to locate your objective somewhere on this island. The great thing is, that feeling of openness still holds up today.

#1 - The Covenant
Halo 3

This is Halo at it’s best. Opening with a pelican assault on a covenant strongpoint with the tour de force that is One Final Effort playing in the background, this level features all sorts of vehicles, multiple huge firefights, both Flood and Covenant enemies, and a battle with two scarabs. It’s cinematic, exhilarating, and simply amazing. The Covenant represents the very best that Halo has to offer.

          

5 Worst Levels

#5 - Two Betrayals
Halo: Combat Evolved

Two Betrayals is just a retread of a previous mission. You walk through the same rooms, which already became boring on the first run through, and basically do the same thing that you did earlier. It’s seriously just a bunch of running back through areas you’ve already been. Some people list it with their favourite Halo levels, but I myself find it to be just laziness on the part of Bungie.

#4 - ODST Streets
Halo 3: ODST

I don’t know if this exactly classifies as a level, but I’m throwing it on here. Missions in the ODST campaign are framed by the player character, The Rookie, and their investigation into the whereabouts of his squad on the streets of New Mombasa. So, the player walks around the streets of this city, almost totally empty aside from the occasional Covenant squad, and looks for clues. It’s quite dull. A lot of time in this game is spent just walking through bland streets that all look pretty similar, looking for indicators pointing you towards the object that’ll start the next real mission.

#3 - The Library

Halo: Combat Evolved

The best word to describe this level is ‘annoying’. The layout is unnecessarily complex, some of the Flood enemies carrying rocket launchers can be quite a nuisance, and it feels really long. It’s not hard, it’s just annoying.

#2 - Floodgate
Halo 3

The worst thing about this mission is that it’s backtracking. You just walk back the way you came, except now you’re fighting the Flood. I’m sure there are many people who would disagree with me on this, but, while I didn’t particularly dislike actually playing through this level, it’s on this list because it feels so lazy on Bungie’s part.

#1 - Cortana
Halo 3

Annoyingly difficult, needlessly confusing, and very, very boring. It’s hard to find anybody who enjoys this one. I don’t even wanna talk about it, but I will for you, the reader. The worst part of this level is the design. It’s confusing, and so many rooms look the same. I got lost so much, even with waypoints. Then, with all the enemies that never seem to stop, it begins to feel like a meat grinder. I personally think that it’s some of the worst level design in a modern FPS.

Conclusion

To sum up, Halo has some of the best gameplay and design in modern gaming, but has it’s fair share of crappy sections. Overall, the series is spectacular, and the hours I’ve put into the games over the past few days is time that I consider well spent.