Halo: The Master Chief Collection

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Critics Recommend

Average Score

Total Reviews: 56

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Halo: The Master Chief Collection is content-rich and raises the bar for re-releases. 343 has instantaneously embraced Halo’s past, present and future with a powerful sense of nostalgia.

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Critics Recommend

Critic Reviews: 56

Critics Consensus

# Reviews: 56

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is content-rich and raises the bar for re-releases. 343 has instantaneously embraced Halo's past, present and future with a powerful sense of nostalgia.

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Critic Reviews for Halo: The Master Chief Collection

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8/10

Roger Hargreaves (Metro GameCentral)

A no expense spared celebration of the most enduring shooter series of all time, with everything a Halo fan could wish for and more than enough to entertain everyone else.

November 6, 2014 |

Full Review

Halo: The Master Chief Collection sets a bar that other remasters and collections will have difficulty reaching, much less topping. For players new to Halo, who have missed any of the included games, it is a stunning introduction to one of the most beloved series in video games. For Halo fans, it’s a package that shows almost as much respect and affection for the Master Chief as they do.

November 7, 2014 |

Full Review

9.5/10

Arthur Gies (Polygon)

9/10

Chris Carter (Destructoid)

The Master Chief Collection will keep me busy for quite a while. The sheer number of maps, variants, playlists, and rulesets will keep me interested for months on end. I can already envision myself joining groups of friends who only like particular games, forming separate communities within the collection. Not only that, but this is also the perfect way to replay each campaign if I ever get the itch instead of finding multiple discs. This is the new gold standard for remakes. Well done, 343 Industries.

November 7, 2014 |

Full Review

Roger Hargreaves (Metro GameCentral)

8/10 - (Read Review)

A no expense spared celebration of the most enduring shooter series of all time, with everything a Halo fan could wish for and more than enough to entertain everyone else.

Arthur Gies (Polygon)

9.5/10 - (Read Review)

Chris Carter (Destructoid)

9/10 - (Read Review)

**Read all 56 critic reviews on the desktop version of VSG.

Read the Reviews (56 total)

Outlet	Author	Score	Date	Quote	Read
3DNews	Денис Щенников	9 / 10	12-15-2019	Still brilliant.	Read review
ACG	Jeremy Penter	Not Recommended	12-12-2014	Video Review	Read review
Arcade Sushi	Jason Fanelli	9 / 10	11-10-2014	What was intended as a nostalgia trip has also become a blueprint for how remastering games ought to be done.	Read review
Attack of the Fanboy	Kyle Hanson	5 / 5 stars	11-10-2014	With four complete single player campaigns, over 100 multiplayer maps, and a ton of other extras, Halo: The Master Chief Collection stands as the greatest compilation and remake in gaming history. Anyone with even a passing interest in the series will find a lot to love in this package.	Read review
AusGamers	nachosjustice	8 / 10	11-07-2014	Despite an unhealthy smattering of technical concerns, Halo: The Master Chief Collection really is an essential purchase for fans of the series, whether they’re in it for the campaigns, the multiplayer, or the best of both worlds.	Read review
CGMagazine	Shawn Petraschuk	9.5 / 10	11-11-2014	Halo: The Master Chief Collection – The True Meaning of a ‘Definitive’ Collection	Read review
Cheat Code Central	Matt Walker	4.4 / 5 stars	11-07-2014	While I pointed out a few faults in the game, they are nitpicky at best. At its core this is a collection worth the price tag. It’s the franchise that changed an entire generation of gamers. It is the franchise even non-Halo fans want to play. Halo: The Master Chief Collection may not hold all things Halo, but it’s got it where it counts. It’s these areas that I enjoy and look forward to see what’s next. Simply put, there’s no reason for an owner of an Xbox One to not have Halo: The Master Chief Collection, well unless they happen to also be a robot. Robots can’t make good decisions.	Read review
COGconnected	Kirby Yablonski	95 / 100	11-11-2014	Fans of the series will no doubt feel that this is the ultimate tribute to Master Chief and his adventures so far while those who have yet to experience the Halo franchise will enjoy all it has to offer, but in one simple package. The added benefit of the Xbox One hardware also makes it better, with improved visuals in campaign and new Halo 2 Anniversary maps, as well as the control options. Add to this that the amount of extras are long and lasting, and you have a total package that makes for quite a high benchmark for all developers/publishers to meet when considering releasing a collection of a game series.	Read review
Critical Hit	Darryn Bonthuys	8.5 / 10	11-07-2014	Massive, complete and nostalgic, Halo: The Master Chief Collection isn’t just a greatest hits collection. It’s a legacy that paves the way for what’s still to come.	Read review
Destructoid	Chris Carter	9 / 10	11-07-2014	While I think I would have given up playing a Halo 2 remaster on its own after a few months, The Master Chief Collection will keep me busy for quite a while. The sheer number of maps, variants, playlists, and rulesets will keep me interested for months on end. I can already envision myself joining groups of friends who only like particular games, forming separate communities within the collection. Not only that, but this is also the perfect way to replay each campaign if I ever get the itch instead of finding multiple discs. This is the new gold standard for remakes. Well done, 343 Industries.	Read review
Digital Spy	Ian Dransfield	5 / 5 stars	11-09-2014	Halo: The Master Chief Collection is as close to a masterclass in the field of remastered collections as we’ve seen to date. It’s lacking in some areas	Read review
Digital Trends	Adam Rosenberg	4.5 / 5 stars	11-09-2014	Packed with content and freshly remastered, Halo: The Master Chief Collection is the definitive celebration of a series and its fans.	Read review
Digitally Downloaded	Nick H.	4 / 5 stars	11-09-2014	If you disliked the original Halo games, odds are this collection and its new coat of paint will not convince you that a sci-fi FPS is right for you. If you loved the Halo games, odds are you have this title ordered already and are anxiously awaiting dozens of hours of story content and potentially hundreds of hours of online play.	Read review
DualShockers	Joel Taveras	10 / 10	11-10-2014	As mentioned earlier, this is the best fan service (on any console) that I have seen. If you’re feeling nostalgic, the purchase is a no-brainer. If you want a piece of gaming history, same rule applies. Master Chief has returned to Xbox and he’s better than ever.	Read review
EGM	Josh Harmon	7.5 / 10	11-13-2014	Halo: The Master Chief Collection’s multiplayer launch problems are an unfortunate blight on what would otherwise be an exciting way to experience the franchise’s evolution—online and off—in one smartly executed package.	Read review
Eurogamer	Nathan Ditum	Recommended	11-09-2014	Whatever else might be in included in the Master Chief Collection, that feeling is at the heart of the game: it is a remembrance of things past, and those things are not as they were. The Collection is an instantaneous embrace of past and present that combines gaming’s powerful sense of nostalgia with its perpetual arms race of processing and graphical power. It is part of a growing appreciation of the past in a medium which until recently was resolutely forward-looking. Proust would bloody love it.	Read review
Game Informer	Kyle Hilliard	9.3 / 10	11-10-2014	This is a dense, content-rich package that raises the bar for remakes and re-releases. Whether you want to relive the campaigns or revisit multiplayer, you can find something here to enjoy	Read review
Game Rant	Andrew Dyce	Recommended	11-11-2014	In the end, The Master Chief Collection brings a better version of the first Anniversary, a similar treatment for Halo 2 producing even more impressive results, and tweaked versions of Halo 3 and 4 for good measure. That’s a no-brainer for both singleplayer and cooperative fans, but the weight of the multiplayer – re-capturing the gameplay and maps of Halo 2 to the finest detail – can’t be underestimated.	Read review
Game Revolution	Daniel Bischoff	4 / 5 stars	11-05-2014	Ultimately, I think The Master Chief Collection represents an inherently valuable package for consumers new to the Xbox platform.	Read review
GameCrate	Paul Hunter	9 / 10	11-11-2014	Based on my experiences with the four Halo campaigns, it’s clear that Microsoft and 343 Industries have set the new bar for remake collections. They could have easily just packaged Halo 2: Anniversary as a stand-alone title, exactly like they did with Halo: CE Anniversary on Xbox 360, and it would have been justifiable to recommend. Add in three more full Halo games, all with graphical and framerate enhancements, and The Master Chief Collection is very easy to recommend.	Read review
Gameplanet	Chris Leggett	8 / 10	11-11-2014	The Master Chief Collection is a dazzling package, but the current issues around its online modes prevent us from issuing an unequivocal recommendation for the time being.	Read review
Gamersky	棘皮动物的野望	8.5 / 10	09-25-2020	Compared with the elite Spartan, although the adventures written by ODST in mortal bodies are a bit less legendary, there are more human emotions that players can resonate in the game.	Read review
GamesBeat	Brandin Tyrrel	65 / 100	12-03-2014	Halo: The Master Chief Collection is a fantastic compendium of the high-points in recent shooter history. With four complete multiplayer suites and over 100 maps, it’s more than a bargain, it’s a steal. The groundwork 343 has laid in this colossal experience, the scope of what it might still be, is truly something to admire. If the driving minds behind the collection can dedicate the kind of care and customer attentiveness that’s always been associated with the Halo brand, and pull off the original vision, Halo: The Master Chief Collection multiplayer will easily be deserving of high praise equal to its campaign.	Read review
GameSpot	Chris Watters	6 / 10	11-14-2014	The Master Chief Collection’s four campaigns are evergreen, but serious problems with online multiplayer are a blight on this compilation.	Read review
GameZone	Matt Liebl	Recommended	11-07-2014	With more than ten years worth of Halo content offered on one disc, The Master Chief Collection is one of the most robust curations I’ve ever seen. Not only does it offer you just about everything you could possibly want from Halo, but it does so on your terms, via a simplified navigation menu in which you are free to decide what to play.	Read review
Gaming Nexus	Jeremy Duff	7 / 10	11-12-2014	If it weren’t for the multiplayer options, The Master Chief Collection would have garnered a much lower score. The multiplayer suite is truly the saving grace of this package and worth the price of admission alone.	Read review
GamingBolt	Will Borger	9 / 10	09-28-2020	Whether it’s nostalgia or intrigue, this collection of classics is a must have.	Read review
Generación Xbox	Jose Angel	10 / 10	12-04-2019	‎We are still facing one of the best games of the last generation. With the caveat that it now has more chances and arrives with a brilliant facelift. ‎‎There’s no reason not to recommend Halo Reach‎‎ to almost any player who likes shooters, it’s a veteran who has aged great and is simply a must-have. ‎The milestone of bringing the entire Master Chief Collection to PC will give the franchise a breath of fresh air, and it’s good that the first title to arrive is Reach.‎	Read review
God is a Geek	Jonny Lewis	9.5 / 10	11-07-2014	Halo has never looked so good. Throw in over 100 multiplayer maps and a bevy of Halo themed extras and you have a recipe for a true system seller.	Read review
Guardian	Steve Boxer	4 / 5 stars	11-11-2014	If you like games that are so big you can immerse yourselves in them for months, The Master Chief Collection offers excellent value. It’s an absolute monolith of a package, beautifully presented for the 21st century.	Read review
Hardcore Gamer	Matt Whittaker	5 / 5 stars	11-07-2014	Rarely does a game deliver everything its players could ever ask for, but Halo: The Master Chief Collection does just that. Everything is here that should be here: the campaigns, the multiplayer engines, the maps and the visuals.	Read review
IGN	Ryan McCaffrey	9.5 / 10	11-06-2014	Halo: MCC is like a divorced dad who stopped drinking, started going to the gym, and went to therapy to better himself.	Read review
IGN Italy	Stefano Castelli	8.8 / 10	11-11-2014	A great collection for all shooter and science fiction fans. As well as Halo, of course.	Read review
Impulsegamer	Unknown	4.8 / 5 stars	11-15-2014	The Master Chief Collection successfully brings the Halo franchise to the XBox One and with Halo 5 just around the corner, this is the perfect compendium to replay the entire series on this amazing console. More importantly, The Master Chief Collection retails for around $79AUD (November 2014) which is true value for money and given the amount of content from both single-player to multiplayer, it’s really hard to find a place to start.	Read review
Metro GameCentral	Roger Hargreaves	8 / 10	11-06-2014	A no expense spared celebration of the most enduring shooter series of all time, with everything a Halo fan could wish for and more than enough to entertain everyone else.	Read review
New Game Network	Alex Varankou	84 / 100	11-15-2014	Halo: The Master Chief Collection provides a comprehensive look at one of the most notable, and for some fans one of the most important, franchises in gaming.	Read review
NZGamer	Matthew Codd	8.5 / 10	11-09-2014	Even with these minor gameplay concerns, Halo: The Master Chief Collection offers the best version of each game contained within	Read review
PCMag	Timothy Torres	2.5 / 5 stars	12-01-2014	Halo used to be one of the big franchises that other companies wanted to kill, but 343 Industries may have done that itself with a rushed, incomplete port of four Halo classics that is compromised by bugs, and muddled multiplayer.	Read review
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette	Max Parker	8 / 10	11-07-2014	The “Halo” series has had a pristine record when it came to online stability at launch, but now that record is tarnished. This review will be updated again once these multiplayer issues are rectified, but right now this is a major disappointment. This is a series that was built on multiplayer action, and the online features are a mess.	Read review
Polygon	Arthur Gies	9.5 / 10	11-07-2014	Ultimately, these issues are small nicks in an otherwise intimidating facade. Halo: The Master Chief Collection sets a bar that other remasters and collections will have difficulty reaching, much less topping. For players new to Halo, who have missed any of the included games, it is a stunning introduction to one of the most beloved series in video games. For Halo fans, it’s a package that shows almost as much respect and affection for the Master Chief as they do.	Read review
Post Arcade (National Post)	Daniel Kaszor	9 / 10	11-06-2014	There is an incredible amount of content across all four games, and having that much stuff means you can basically play it in any way you like. Further, every single aspect of the game is unlocked at launch, every map, every level, every upgrade.	Read review
SECTOR.sk	Sector.sk Staff	10 / 10	11-11-2014	The Halo Master Chief collection is the most massive and quality port package ever. 343 industries managed to overhaul the campaigns, also very well combine different types of multiplayeres from each title while maintaining their specific style and now in 1080p and at 60 fps.	Read review
Shacknews	Steve Watts	8 / 10	11-07-2014	Halo: The Master Chief Collection has a handful of quirks and legacy issues, but those don’t diminish the achievement. It’s a stellar collection of some of the best games of the last few generations, with options galore and clever ideas like Playlists to breathe new life into old content. It’s a must-have for Halo fans, and may rightly serve as a satisfying introduction for newcomers.	Read review
SpazioGames	Aligi Comandini	9 / 10	11-08-2014	The 343 could not be wrong with this collection and, by God, they did not. The Master Chief Collection is a pack with mammoth content, which contains the best versions currently available of all the adventures of Master Chief, as well as a monstrous and potentially infinite multiplayer compartment and countless extras. We’re not usually big fans of HD remakes, but when the quality is that we can just bow our heads and let it pass. If you love Halo and have an Xbox One, this collection is a must have.	Read review
TechnoBuffalo	Joey Davidson	Recommended	11-12-2014	An awesome Halo package with a temporary caveat thanks to multiplayer instability.	Read review
TechRaptor	Andrew Stretch	9 / 10	11-17-2014	This game is the love song to Halo fans and a bridge to Halo 5, any fan of the franchise would be crazy to miss out. If you’re new to the franchise then it’s just good content for cost.	Read review
Telegraph	Tom Hoggins	4 / 5 stars	11-17-2014	Connection issues have blighted the multiplayer so far, but this is otherwise a brilliant and generous compilation of one of the industry’s most influential video games.	Read review
The Digital Fix	Andrew Phillips	9 / 10	11-13-2014	On sheer value for money alone The Master Chief Collection is a fantastic proposition, add in that it contains some of the highest regarded Xbox titles of all time, touched up, enhanced and fit for a whole new generation of players, it’s quite simply a must buy.	Read review
The Games Machine	Daniele Dolce	8.5 / 10	07-17-2020	Halo 3 for PC is an excellent re-release of an already amazing FPS, despite being held back by a few issues (no advanced graphics settings and the heavy changes of the netcode).	Read review
ThisGenGaming	ThisGenGaming	9 / 10	11-07-2014	Halo: The Master Chief Collection is one of the best collection games I’ve ever played, and that is due to the actual hard work that has been put into making this excellent bundle of arguably Xbox’s biggest series of all time. I’ve never played Halo 1, 2 or 3 before, so this collection was the perfect reason to finally say I’ve played these great games, and I recommend any new Halo players reading this review to buy this game just for the crazy amount of Halo content you will be getting in one game. I was also extremely impressed with the visual upgrade of Halo 2’s campaign, which has set the level of quality you should expect from remakes on current gen consoles. Many wondered whether a masterpiece could be remastered, and in this case it can.	Read review
USgamer	Jeremy Parish	4.5 / 5 stars	11-06-2014	Halo: The Master Chief Collection clearly sets out to be one of the videogame tributes ever assembled; and in doing so, its hard not to be impressed by the scope and ambition of its efforts. This is the definitive collection of Halo: Combat Evolved through Halo 4, effectively presenting both classic and remixed content in a way that makes it feel like more than a simple trip down memory lane. Assuming it avoids issues with multiplayer stability, it’s possible that it will end up being relevant as a shooter for a long time to come.	Read review
VideoGamer	Brett Phipps	7 / 10	11-20-2014	Halo: The Master Chief Collection is an immense package, but a table falls when a leg is cut off.	Read review
We Got This Covered	Eric Hall	4 / 5 stars	11-07-2014	Despite some technical hiccups and a few nagging issues that were carried over from the original series, Halo: The Master Chief Collection is an excellent and remarkably well put together compilation.	Read review
Windows Central	Brendan Lowry	5 / 5 stars	10-01-2020	The Halo 3: ODST port on PC is essentially perfect, and so far, it’s 343 Industries’ best work with the Master Chief Collection.	Read review
Worth Playing	Brian Dumlao	9.5 / 10	11-07-2014	As the definitive version of the core Halo experience, Halo: The Master Chief Collection is one of the few games that should be in any Xbox One owner’s collection.	Read review
ZTGD	Ken McKown	9.5 / 10	11-10-2014	For me, being able to finally play Halo 2 multiplayer again was worth the price of admission, but toss in 100 maps, Forge, Spartan Ops (coming) and four of the best FPS campaigns in history and it is impossible not to recommend this. If you own an Xbox One this game is a must own. If not, it might be time to buy one.	Read review

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About Halo: The Master Chief Collection

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The improved and enhanced Halo: The Master Chief Collection is included with Xbox Game Pass. Featuring visual enhancements with up to 4K UHD resolution on Xbox One X, improved matchmaking, offline LAN, customizable installation options, and faster load times, it’s the definitive way to experience the ultimate Halo saga. Includes the extensive suite of campaign, multiplayer and additional features from Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo 3, and Halo 4 – all updated to run at 60FPS.

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Halo: The Master Chief Collection

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Critics Consensus

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Critic Reviews for Halo: The Master Chief Collection

Critic Reviews

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56

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About Halo: The Master Chief Collection

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