By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Microsoft - Which Halo game is the greatest, and why?

 

Which do you consider the greatest?

Halo: Combat Evolved 7 36.84%
 
Halo 2 2 10.53%
 
Halo 3 8 42.11%
 
ODST 0 0%
 
Halo Reach 2 10.53%
 
Halo 4 0 0%
 
Halo 5 0 0%
 
Halo Infinite 0 0%
 
Other 0 0%
 
Total:19

Which do you think is the greatest Halo game mader to date, and what about your pick makes it the best in your view?



Around the Network

I have played them on Xbox One and PC via Master Chief for the older ones. Infinite I have not beaten the campaign yet. 5 is underrated, and 4 was still pretty good.
CE, 2, 3, and Reach are relatively comparable in quality. 3 is the best though. It's the conclusion to the trilogy with some satisfying moments, allows up to 4 player co-op compared to the first few games, has some fun missions and multiplayer maps that are the best designed.



Lifetime Sales Predictions 

Switch: 161 million (was 73 million, then 96 million, then 113 million, then 125 million, then 144 million, then 151 million, then 156 million)

PS5: 122 million (was 105 million, then 115 million) Xbox Series X/S: 38 million (was 60 million, then 67 million, then 57 million. then 48 million. then 40 million)

Switch 2: 120 million (was 116 million)

PS4: 120 mil (was 100 then 130 million, then 122 million) Xbox One: 51 mil (was 50 then 55 mil)

3DS: 75.5 mil (was 73, then 77 million)

"Let go your earthly tether, enter the void, empty and become wind." - Guru Laghima

It has to be halo 3 because it is easily the best total package. The longterm support for its multiplayer remains the gold standard and its campaign while not the best is still one of the better ones. solely on single player i would have to give it to ODST or Reach.



I’d go Halo: CE > Halo 2 > Halo 3 > Reach > ODST > Infinite > 4 > 5.

In my mind, Combat Evolved has the best campaign and Halo 3 has the best multiplayer.



I would say that CE, as it's the only one I actually finished and had the most interest in. It was a huge deal back then and while all other games could be argued for (from the original trilogy), it did feel like the most self-sure entry and one of the first console FPS games that are still fully playable to this day.

I am not a fan of the series, but when it comes to the soundtrack I still listen to it quite often. Also, It might not be my cup of tea, but it's hard to argue against its cultural importance.



Vote the Mayor for Mayor!

Around the Network

Reach
Halo
3
2
Infinite
4
ODST


Reach is the best because Cortana doesn't interrupt the flow, it has limited flood and the battles are great. Fantastic ending as well.

Edit

5 is the only one I didnt play.  No coop campaign, unless I am mistaken.



rtx 4090, 32 gb ram, i7-13700k

Switch 2

1. Halo 3
2. Halo 2
3. Halo 4
4. Halo Infinite
5. Halo ODST
6. Halo CE
7. Halo Reach
8. Halo 5

I have a somewhat controversial list, but I think 343 was fine for the most part. Only one I truly didn't enjoy much was 5.



Greatest single player=Halo 1

Greatest multiplayer=Halo 2

Best combination of both=Halo 3.



Combat Evolved is the only one I hold in really high regard but to be fair I haven't played multiplayer since Halo 2 and I haven't played any of the series since Halo 4. I did enjoy what little I played of Reach though.

Last edited by archbrix - on 22 March 2026

Halo CE. It's still my favorite campaign in the series, and is one of the closest things to a video game equivalent of comfort food for me. I probably play at least a level of two every couple of weeks. The multiplayer was a blast back in the LAN days, which were probably my favorite memories when it came to playing multiplayer games. It's one of those things that makes me most nostalgic for my early to mid 20s, that and the early years of me really getting into anime.

Most of the rest of the games have solid campaigns, but none of them ever feel quite as fun as CE. Halo 2 has a great story but awful difficulty balancing, esp. on Legendary. Halo 3's story is kinda meh thanks to the first half of the campaign being "Chief missed the party and is now dicking around in the woods," but the levels are mostly fun to play (except Cortana). ODST is short but sweet. Reach is decent enough, but I didn't care for how it effectively retconned the entire back half of the Fall of Reach novel. Halo 4 is probably the weakest campaign gameplay-wise thanks to overly linear levels and the Prometheans not being fun to fight, while the story was serviceable, with the highlight being everything to do with Cortana. Halo 5's story was likewise lackluster, and it had some pretty cheap difficulty on Legendary (not quite as bad as Halo 2, though), but the level design was an improvement. Infinite's core gameplay was solid, and the linear levels are pretty good, but the open world felt trite and derivative, and was lacking in the varied biomes common in Halo games.

As for the multiplayer modes, CE doesn't play as good on the MCC, at least in matchmaking, probably because it's the PC version, and the weapon setup for auto starts is screwy and totally unlike the OXbox version. It's just a different experience than the old LAN days. Halo 2 still has the best maps of any MP mode, combined with the absolute worst weapon balance in the series, not to mention it was glitchy as hell (mostly fixed on MCC) and the OXbox experience was plagued by cheaters. Halo 3 actually plays very well in retrospect, esp. on the MCC once they fixed the hit detection issues that made it feel kinda mushy, and is now my go-to MP game on MCC. Reach was fun at first, but as the years have passed I've grown to despise being able to spawn with armor abilities. Halo 4 has good weapon balance for the most part (the Boltshot can go to hell), but I hate how 343i decided to go full Call of Duty with custom loadouts, rank-based unlocks, and even weapon drops similar to kill streaks, plus it continued Reach's practice of letting people spawn with things like jet packs and X-ray vision. Halo 2 Anniversary's multiplayer was great, and is how Halo 2 should have played, but they only remade like seven of the 23 maps from Halo 2. Halo 5 is probably the weakest MP mode to me. While they went back to equal starting gear, the new enhanced mobility made the game way to fast and hectic for me, and I had a hard time keeping up. Infinite is probably the best Halo has played since Halo 3 in terms of core gameplay, but it suffers from excessively strict SBMM that ensures that almost every match is as sweaty as possible, even if it's an unranked match.



Visit http://shadowofthevoid.wordpress.com

Art by Hunter B

In accordance to the VGC forum rules, §8.5, I hereby exercise my right to demand to be left alone regarding the subject of the effects of the pandemic on video game sales (i.e., "COVID bump").