I was kinda a Halo fan, but not really. I played the first one on Christmas but I was really into the PS2 and despised Xbox. I played maybe one level and talked shit about it so badly that the kid who let me play wound up selling his Xbox and trading it for a GBA.

Some years later, I saw a used copy of Halo 3 on launch day. I bought it and played split screen. Actually wound up beating the game and having fun despite not really liking the fps genre and not really knowing what was going on. I bought Reach, Anniversary and Halo 4 as well, blowing through the campaign in co-op but not really paying attention to the story. Thanks to huge discounts, I actually wound up buying every Halo game available but not really playing them at all (1,2, MCC,  5, Halo Wars). I just saved them for my backlog. When I got an Xbox One X  and I read about the Halo 5 enhancements, I figured it was time.

So I've been playing Halo MCC. I've finished Halo 1, 2,3,  and ODST. I just started on Halo 4 and then I'll dive into either Reach or Halo 5. I have to say, my opinion on the franchise has changed. Suddenly, I understand why people love this universe. Why there's TV shows, cartoons, books, etc. It feels like the first time I actually tried to understand Star Wars. When I fired up Halo 4, I was blown away by how good it looks! So much so that I had to make this thread! This is a 360 game that looks up to par with most PS4/XBO releases. The games run so well! I'm pretty excited to see what Halo 5 looks like. I've had it for a year and only played roughly 30 seconds of it.

Anyway, I'm done gushing. Sorry I'm late to the party and all of the hype is gone. It really is a fantastic series. Probably the most engrossing fps franchise I've ever played and pretty much all I think about lately.  I can only imagine how people must have felt back when they released because the games are still spectacular, now! The series has definitely earned its legendary spot in the gaming world.

Well that's disappointing. I was really looking forward to it. At least I'll go in with tempered expectations. It'll probably be a week before I can get to it. In fact, I'll probably play Reach first just to put off the let down a little longer.

Lack of couch co-op is the reason I never bothered playing Halo 5 but I'm having a blast with the pretty other games in single player. Is the story good, at least?

i played the campaign and 2000 (<- 400 Warzone) multiplayer matches it was great but then battlefield 1 released xD
i played halo 1/2/3 i loved the story and the multiplayer i know that i played halo3 for a long time 1 and a 1/2 half years (10k multiplayer rounds).
the only problem that i have with halo 5 are the mircotransactions because of warzone there it is possible to invest money and get aircrafts or tanks because of that) but the arena multiplayer and the coop are very great. The campaign is a little bit more then a action movie then a typical halo but i like that.

It´s an amazing series indeed. Didn´t get into it so kuch at first either until I replayed Halo CE several years after my first encounter with it. Now it is my favorite game series. Halo 4 is the high point IMO when it comes to story and graphics (those graphics are still insanely good). Halo 5 is not up to par in terms of graphics but the gameplay is so refined now that I can´t get enough of it. And the prometheans have been finetuned to actually be good opponents. And when you play Halo 5, try to look past the poor writing at times and look at the bigger story arc; Halo 6 is what Halo 5 leads up to. And I hope you will love Warzone as much as most of us; it has made this game my favorite MP Halo by far in the series.

Yeah. For me, Halo 2 played better but it was a bit of a downgrade from the original. Mostly because of the times you played as the Arbiter. I just couldn't connect to him. It paid off in Halo 3, though. Maybe Halo 5 will set up for an amazing Halo 6.

I quit after Reach due to a massive lack of confidence in 343, but having just got an XBO I was pleasantly surprised to find that I somehow have a digital copy of Reach. I've been playing some matches of that, since it's still my favorite shooter to this day. Getting ready to play Wars 2 soon, because I also absolutely loved Wars.

I was a BIG Halo guy in the Bungie years. 4 and 5 really do nothing for me, though, so I'll pick up MCC and stick with 1-3, ODST, Reach, and Wars. Glad to hear the series clicked with you!

That is what 60FPS will do to you.

Reach has a good campaign, 5 is the weakest in the series. Halo wars 2 has the best cinamatics on any console.

I love 1-3 and Reach. They were some of the only FPS games I got into. Unfortunately I felt 4 and 5 were lacking what made the series special to me, 4 was okay enough, but 5 was a major disappointment imo.

I have only played the first 2, and think they're both great. Despite the addition of online multiplayer, the reduction of backtracking, and the addition of Laura Prepon to the voice cast, I always preferred the original to the sequel. It still looks solid, but I barely follow it now. I don't like the highly sexualized redesign(s) of Cortana though. It seems cheap and unnecessary to have made her over in the image a intergalactic prostitute.