Best Order to Play Halo Games

Halo is a game and media franchise which was created by Bungie. It comes with a theme of military science fiction which is currently developed by 343 Industries. This media franchise is published by the famous Xbox Game Studio. This game come in series and different versions. Since Halo games provide a storyline, there are different ways and order of playing Halo games. Before we go into that in details, however, we shall first learn what Halo game is all about.

Plot of Halo

Halo’s trilogy comes with a storyline of war between humans and aliens. Different aliens have grouped themselves and is called as a covenant in this game. The covenant’s goal is to win the war they have against humans. The covenant involves different characters such as the Prophets who are the religious leaders. Forerunners on the other hand worship ancient civilization but were defeated while trying to overcome the parasitic flood. Moreover, Halo Array are known as the super weapons which were created by the Forerunners for the purpose of destroying the flood. The problem with the creation of these super weapons is that they have activated the halo rings which led it disappear.

Hundreds and thousands years later, humans who were under the leadership of the United Nations Space Command started to colonize worlds through “slipspace” travel. This has created tensions between the colonies and the government especially with the colonies’ desire of independence. With the desire of being independent, rebellion appeared and to address this issue, super soldiers known as the Spartans tried and is continuously trying to suppress the rebellion.

In 2525, however, the covenant declared a war on humanity. With the covenant’s superior and advanced technology, they are more of on the advantageous side. Furthermore, with the re-discovery of the Halo rings, this has set the humans to go against the covenant.

Original Trilogy

The original trilogy is a first-person shooter. This means, that the player will be able to experience the action on the protagonist’s perspective. The first game of the trilogy is known as Halo: Combat Evolve. Though this game was originally created for Windows and MacOS, Microsoft bought Bungie which is the company that has created the game. This means, the game was released for Xbox players but eventually was released for PC after a two year delay.

The first game, Halo: Combat Evolve has provided numerous gameplay and plot themes. In this first game, the players are provided with limited number of weapons. In fact, each player only has the option of carrying two types of weapons.

The second game of the Halo trilogy, Halo 2, on the other hand, was launched on Xbox in 2004 and on Windows Vista on 2007. This second game comes with two different versions or editions. The first edition is its standard edition which was released on a game disc and its normal, usual Xbox packaging. The second edition which is its Collector’s Edition, on the other hand, includes a designed aluminum case and a bonus DVD. In addition to that, it comes with extra booklet and a user manual. In Halo 2 game, dual wielding was introduced.

Halo 3, the last and final game out of the original Halo trilogy was released on Xbox in 2007. In this game, new vehicles, weapons and limited map editing tool were introduced. With players being allowed to edit maps, players are able to insert game objects such as weapons.

Saga

In 2009, 343 Industries took reigns over the Halo franchise and has co-developed the Halo Legends. Halo Legends is an animated series which includes Halo: Reach and Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. Halo 4, originally known as Reclaimer Trilogy, on the other hand, includes new and redesigned weapons and improved map editing tool. It also has more multiplayer options and maps. Spartan Ops is another edition which was released just weeks after Halo 4. This edition provides the story of what happened of the end of the main game. Halo 5 did not disappoint with its introduction of the Elite world. This game focused on the Spartan Locke’s hunt for the rogue Master Chief. Halo infinite on the other hand is the third part of the saga and this game focuses on the Master Chief which follows the story and events of Halo 5.

Spin-Offs

There is no doubt that Halo games have captured the interest and has provided great gaming experience to gamers. This is the reason why this game has been so popular and successful which led to spin-off games. In fact, after releasing Halo 3, a prequel to the original Halo trilogy has been created. In this game, the main focus was with the environment and in 2017, another launch has been released which is in partnership with Endeavor One which is a virtual reality called Halo Recruit. In 2018, on the other hand, in partnership with Raw Thrills and PlayMechanix, 343 Industries developed the arcade game, Halo: Fireteam Raven.

In What Order Should You Play Halo Games?

With the original trilogy, saga and spin-offs, there are other more versions, editions, series that has been launched. There are even video games and books that has been created. With these numerous different varieties with Halo games, it could get very confusing on which order one should play the Halo games. There are different ways on how to play Halo games and could be played in different order.

In Order According to Lore

The Halo franchise according to lore means you would like to play the games according to terms of which the events fall on its timeline. In this section, we shall provide you the order of Halo games in chronological order according to the timeline.

Halo Wars

Halo Wars was released back in February 2009 and the timeline of the game is in 2531 CE. This game is the earliest game in terms of lore. Halo wars is considered to have taken place about 21 years before the original game. This game’s theme surrounds the story of UNSC soldiers and scientists who were on the Spirit of Fire. Their goal is to stop the covenant from being able to find and use the armada ancient forerunner ships.

Halo: Reach

This game has been released in 2010 and this game’s timeline is in the era of year 2552. This games takes place before Halo: Combat Evolved. The plot of this game shows the attempt of the Spartans trying to defend the planet Reach.

Halo: Combat Evolved

This game was launched in 2001 and the game takes place in 2552. This game is what has started Halo’s popularity. This is the first game that has been released. In this game, players are to control the Master Chief and this game involves the Chief’s journey on the titular Halo ring.

Halo: Fireteam Raven

Fireteam Raven was released back in 2018 and the game’s plot takes place in 2552. This game follows a group of ODST soldiers in trying to fight the covenant on aHalo ring. This game is a bit different from other Halo games. This is due to its introduction of it being a cooperative arcade shooter.

Halo 2

This game was launched in 2004. This game has been considered as one of the best first-person shooter type of game. Halo 2 is a continuation of the adventures of the Master Chief.

Halo 3: ODST

In this game, the story and plot thickens as the ODST roams New Mombasa. The streets provides the creeps of the feeling of the dead of the night. This game takes place during Halo 2.

Halo 3

In this game, the story begins through the original Halo. This is the finale of the original trilogy of Halo game.

Spartan Assault

This game introduces twin-stick shooter which has been originally created for mobile devices. This game’s timeline takes place between Halo 3 and Halo 4.

Halo 4

This game is the first game in the reclaimer Saga which is also the first game which was created by 343 Industries. Its plot takes place 4 years after Halo 3 and in this game, the focus is on the relationship between the Master Chief and Cortana.

Spartan Strike

This game is considered as the sequel to Spartan Assault. This game takes places during Halo 2 and after Halo 4. In this game, you will have to hunt down the artifact, Conduit which was first seen in the ruins of New Mombasa but was transported to a Halo ring.

Halo 5: Guardians

This is the second to the most recent Halo games. It tells the story between Master Chief and Spartan Locke where Spartan Locke goes to find the Cortana.

Halo Wars 2

This game is considered as the sequel to the original Halo Wars. The plot takes place after Halo 5 and it follows the Spirit of Fire crew. This game is a real time strategy game.

Halo Infinite

This is the latest game which is scheduled to be released this year of 2021. The plot will take place after Halo 5 and Halo 2. In the preview of this game, it has been introduced the weapon which is created to destroy Cortana.

In Order According to Chronological Release

Another way to play Halo games is through how it was chronologically released. Here is the list of Halo games according to when the games were released in order of from the first game up to the latest released game.

• Halo: Combat Evolved – released in 2001
• Halo 2 – released in 2004
• Halo 3 – released in 2007
• Halo Wars – released in 2009
• Halo 3: ODST – released in 2009
• Halo: Reach – released in 2010
• Halo 4 – released in 2012
• Halo 5 : Guardians – released in 2015
• Halo Wars 2 – released in 2017
• Halo Infinite – to be released this year of 2021

Conclusion

No matter how you play or in what order you would like to play Halo games, what is more important is you enjoy and have amazing gaming experience. So what are you waiting for? Try each and every Halo game and share to us your gaming experience.