Halo: Combat Evolved- the greatest FPS ever and one of the greatest games of all time. Has the best SP of the three because of more open ended environments (landing on the Halo for the first time and exploring it on the Warthogs was amazing), a ton of ways to approach situations/firefights, awesome vehicles and weapons, co-op extends the replayability (I must have finished it at least 4-5 times), very solid AI, some pretty funny dialogue and is just purely epic. The Library level gets tedious but other than that I loved every second.
Halo 2- Couldn't quite live up to the first, it's more linear and I didn't like how less of the game was set on a Halo, a chunk of it took place on Earth. But playing as the Arbiter was cool, especially with the cloak ability. Overall the SP was a lot of fun but I didn't experience the MP so I can't comment on that. Brutes aren't as awesome as Elites and that fucking cliffhanger, ugh. It's a 9/10 game but as I said, doesn't quite live up to Combat Evolved.
Halo 3- Better than 2, not as great as CE. My complaints are similar- not as many open environments (although more than there were in 2) and aside from the final level none of it is set on a Halo. It's short too so overall, the SP disappointed me a bit. With that said it's still the best FPS campaign this gen. The gravity hammer and new items were great additions, as well as the absolutely epic Scarab battles. The final boss was disappointing (basically a floating ball) but when do you ever get good boss battles anymore? As for the MP, it's the best I've ever played. A ton of different modes, the stat tracking, Forge, etc.
Halo Wars- It's pretty straightforward stuff, and this is coming from someone who barely plays RTS's. But it's acessible, easy to get into and of course, fun. Just like all Halo games. I played the campaign through 3 times and the online can be great if you're playing with friends. (Anytime I play it with strangers, the pricks either quit or give up) Overall it's one of the most underrated games of '09.
