With the PlayStation 4 decidedly getting the better press in the early goings of the new console war, there’s one mammoth of a franchise that will undoubtedly sell a ton of Xbox Ones regardless: Halo.
Today, Xbox One owners can have their first taste at a Halo game on their new console with the release of Halo: Spartan Assault.
It’s not a new game, having been originally released in July for Windows 8 PCs and Windows Phones (all two of you who own one). It’s also not your typical Halo game, as it’s a top-down, twin-stick shooter that spans the timeline between the core titles Halo 3 and Halo 4. Still, it’s liable to attract plenty of purchases from owners of a console with all too few games to play on it just yet – at a bargain price of $14.99. And the fact that it has Halo in the name doesn’t hurt.
Initial reviews of the title are mixed – the PC version currently sits at a Metacritic score of 71 – but for fans of the franchise, there’s a lot to like if for no other reason than the twinges of nostalgia it evokes. There are countless memories tied to that beep of a depleted shield, and it’s difficult to resist the prospect of blowing away a Covenant ship or a horde of the Flood with that new Xbox One controller.
Best of all in this version, though, is the inclusion of online co-op multiplayer, sorely missing from the original release. So if you’re home for the holidays and you’re short on software to play on your shiny new console, Halo: Spartan Assault could be a decent way to satisfy that addiction to the classic franchise – even if we do have to wait a bit longer for Master Chief’s first appearance on the Xbox One.
Last Updated: December 24, 2013
JJ's horrible secret (John)
December 24, 2013 at 07:41
Hmmm. Interesting. Halo on pc. Probably on Origin though.
Admiral Chief in Vegas
December 24, 2013 at 08:38
I would like to take a moment, and say thank you to the Lazygamer staff for an epic year!
On behalf of the community, thank you for everything you have done this year for us!
Admiral Chief, signing off, for now 🙂
Brian Murphy
December 24, 2013 at 09:07
You say Halo, and I say good-bye.
Corporal Stick
December 24, 2013 at 12:00
What happened to it raped the franchise?
Weanerdog
December 24, 2013 at 15:10
Hey Rince can play this on his phone but as he can’t read this he will never know.
Aussious
December 27, 2013 at 13:56
The Halo series has one of the most complex narratives in modern gaming and the problem is the game assumes from the onset that you know what a Forunner is or installation zeta 6453 or who the covernant are and doesn’t bother to elaborate during key moments of gameplay. The whole thing feels like it was written by NASA employees that actual writers. Hence I found that the best games in the series are the stand alone games with a self contained narrative than the Masterchief ones, a prime example being Reach which is still in my opnion the best in the series. As for 343’s Halo 4 game a couple of in it,it supisciously startedcto feel like Metroid Prime the Prometheans are straight rips of the Prime series which I though was very dubious.
Aussious
December 27, 2013 at 14:00
Not to mention the sound in Halo 4, on the forunner planet is also straight out of Prime!