Halo:The Master Chief Collection

I have been holding off on reviewing this game because of the special place this series has held in my heart. I went through high school encountering the waves of flood, enduring the plight of the Arbiter, engaging the Brutes and Prophets, as well as suffering the rampancy of Cortana. Not to mention, the endless hours laughing, raging, and enjoying multiplayer. Halo is obviously etched into history as one of the greatest video game franchises of all-time. The abundant joy that filled me when the announcement came at E3 2014 that there would be an entire collection of remastered Halo 1 and 2, plus full versions of Halo 3 and 4 being released in one game was surreal. All of my teenage feels were in full force. Launch day was a special day because it came when SO many other titles were being released as well. Since that day...nothing has been the same. Literally, this Halo collection is not the same as anyone remembers. It is with a heavy heart that I say 343 has entirely failed at launching a finished product. This game is riddled with errors. Loading screens upon loading screens, failure to connect to any multiplayer playlists, incapability of maintaining a party of friends to engage in any sort of way are the major issues plaguing this title. 343 has recgonized and has scrambled to try and patch these errors, to which they have admitted are not working. It is truly sad, given that this game had so much promise. Single player is about the only thing operating effectively on this game. Campaign solo throughout 4 titles will give you plenty of playing time; if thats what you're interested in. I have to say, the remastered Halo 2 looks phenomenal. It is certainly the greatest console based cinematics I have ever witnessed. Looks can only take you so far, however, pretty trash is still at the end of the day, trash. Not to say that this game will always be bad. There are certainly those moments where you do connect to a game and get to relive those golden days that give you brief hope that if it is resolved this will be a fantastic game. However, much like the trend today, 343 launched a title that was half finished. So, Is It Worth? No, but maybe in a couple months. If you can wait for Christmas and have a spot open on your list, ask for this game. At least it will save you the $60 pricetag and also slot you a place in the Halo 5 beta. Hopefully by then, 343 will have all the kinks worked out and it will be a Masterful collection.