

The screen goes black and the recording ends. Sure enough, once they breach the door, they find a cavernous room and from a large hole in one side, out pour a frightening new species of aliens, who scurry about like big insects and overrun the men as they scream in horror with Keyes trying to keep them on task. Next, they find a sealed door that one soldier comments seems to be locked down pretty hard, indicating that something might be inside that the Covenant doesn’t want to let out. He inserts the helmet-cam memory card into his headset and watches a playback of Keyes and his men encountering a dead Covenant that appears to be chewed up from the inside out. Master Chief heads out alone and eventually comes upon a dying soldier and a tattered helmet. After a long battle with many losses, Master Chief finds the control room where Cortana, after entering the systems, discovers a terrible secret and pleads for him to quickly find Keyes. Along with Cortana, they make their way to the map room called The Silent Cartographer under a Covenant-held, heavily guarded island. After a daring rescue, Keys orders Master Chief to fight his way to the Halo command center and learn of its purpose. That Moment (Single Player campaign – Level Four: The Silent Cartographer) : After crash landing on the Halo, Master Chief joins forces with other marine survivors and discovers that the Pillar of Autumn’s commander Keyes is alive and being held by the Covenant aboard their ship, Truth and Reconciliation. Memorable for its groundbreaking graphics, diverse action, and engaging story, Halo: Combat Evolved still influences gaming to this day and is a must-play for any gaming fan. Its innovative multiplayer made Xbox Live, an online subscription service, a powerhouse and proved that the concept could be viable. The epic scale of the game and it’s wonderful sense of mystery and discovery make the campaign one of the greatest in gaming, not to mention that the combat completely reinvigorated and redefined the shooter experience. While it was similar in gameplay to many first person shooters of the era, it offered a number of significant enhancements that have since set the standard for the genre. Impressions : Often called a “killer app”, Halo: Combat Evolved debuted on the original Microsoft Xbox game console and has become recognized as one of the most important games of all time.
