Finally, the highly praised Halo franchise has released some of its best entries on PC, neatly assembled in one juicy collection. As someone who grew up only listening to how Halo is great and Master Chief is a super-chad, after playing it, I can say, without a doubt, both statements are correct.

While the title does say The Master Chief Collection, we also get two spin-offs: ODST and Reach, with the latter being my personal favourite in terms of story. Many seem to dislike it because of how bland Noble Team is. Personally, that never bothered me. They never were the focal point of the story. It was always the planet itself, Reach. Noble Team is nothing more than a surrogate pair of eyes for us to witness humanities struggle against overwhelming odds first-hand and the horrors enacted by the Covenant upon the inhabitants of Reach. As for ODST, it was ok. It takes place during Halo 2, but nothing from its story was particularly memorable. Some quirky moments and funny dialogue, but nothing more than that.

Still, the title clearly says - The Master Chief Collection, so let's get back to his escapades. I may get some flak for this, but Halo: Combat Evolved has the worst story, if you can even call it that. There was barely anything. It felt more like a concept. Don't get me wrong, Halo 4 is right next to it, but I still consider Halo: Combat Evolved worse. But then...BAM! Halo 2. We get more lore about this universe, more epic cutscenes, more chad one-liners, and characters actually have some personality. And it is here that Master Chief actually became a chad, with subsequent entries continuing to expand the legend that is Sierra-117. So, even with a few blemishes, I immensely enjoyed this sci-fi space epic; From witnessing the glassing of Reach, helping a friend go out with a bang, to detonating a nuke above Earth like a true chad, there was never a lack of memorable moments.

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2676858881

But what about the gameplay?

Well, it's simply fantastic, and this much is true for every Halo game. Each entry improves upon its predecessor, refining the gameplay, but at the same time, staying true to that familiar gameplay loop set in stone by Halo: Combat Evolved. Personally, I have Halo 3 as my top pick. It's the culmination of Bungie's trilogy, and its greatness and epicness during gameplay are still unrivalled by any previous or subsequent Halo games.

But, where are my manners; I have yet to speak about the gunplay itself. So let's fix that, shall we - it's an FPS game where you shoot, throw grenades and drive vehicles. But the driving controls are unusual. Rather than driving, I dunno, like in 99.9% of games, with movement keys, Bungie said: "We don't do that here", and instead, your mouse is the steering wheel. Tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be drifting on the surface of halo rings like the great Colin McRae.

Each new entry does try to up the ante, spicing up the gameplay, just ever so slightly. Halo 2 has Chief dual wield smaller weapons, which he seemingly forgot how to do in Halo 4 after his cryo-sleep. With Halo 3 came one-time use equipment; Useless overall, but they do look neat in the promotional CGI trailer. However, soon after, an unfathomable evil shook the very heavens, as long and fierce wars were waged over its place in the Halo-verse, with many brave souls lost in the process. Just speaking its name aloud invokes thousand years of bad luck upon your no scope 360 trick shots. I am, of course, talking about sprinting. This putrid thing first reared its ugly head in Halo: Reach, but only as an armour ability. It wasn't until Halo 4 that it finally infected Master Chief, becoming his innate ability. Truly a sad day for Halo fans all over the galaxy. But then again, he was often seen sprinting in cutscenes...

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2643717100

Sprinting polemics aside, I love how Halo effortlessly creates a heterogeneous battlefield. Encounters pit you against a group comprised of unique enemy units, each with different strengths, weaknesses and mannerisms. We have bird boys, smol boys, wort boys, bug boys, hairy boys, chunky boys, etc. And while headshots mean instant death, some enemy units must be first stripped bare; hairy boys have armour, wort boys have shields, etc. Do note - each protection is weaker against different ammo. For example, wort boy shields are strong against human bullets but weak to plasma-based weapons. But, I will let you in on a little secret - All enemies and shields are weak to rockets to the face.

While massacring half of the known universe is fun, sometimes we need to stop, take a breath and admire the scenery. And this is where Halo got me. Halo isn't like that hot chick who doesn't know she's hot. Halo knows and wants your gaze. So, while Halo: Combat Evolved has inner beauty and Halo 4 is entirely flat, the others were a succulent journey for the senses; From the Covenant and its many species, the mysterious biomes of the halo rings and the burning cities of Reach, all the way to Johnson and his clean-shaven chin that accentuates his magnificent moustache, the Halo universe is beaming with beauty to behold.

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2676656284

Yet, visual beauty can't work solo. Its age-old accomplice - music, plays a vital role in immersing the player within the games universe. Sadly, this is where a crucial issue occurred, as how does one rate perfection?
Also, Keith David...Mmmm, you can be my Arbiter any day ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°).

But, besides Keith David making my knees weak with his stern, thick and firm voice, sound effects in Halo play a crucial role in perceiving one's surroundings. Being informed about various things during the chaotic fights is paramount for success - possible grenade explosion, what weapons the enemy is firing, etc. All produce distinct sound effects, which in turn help you avoid and instead inflict death upon the enemy.

But before we say farewell, I want to make something clear - I didn't partake in multiplay shenanigans, as I don't care for it. Thus, I can't provide insight into that part of the collection. But if that is what interests you, I highly suggest you read the review from Zionyx.

And with that said, I think it's pretty clear how I feel about Halo. Thus, I'll finish by answering three quintessential questions any buyer may ponder about:

Where is Halo? -On Steam.
Who is Halo? -The big green dude.
Why is Halo? -Yes.

If you crave a specific entry, have no fear I got you:
Halo Reach
Halo CE
Halo 2
Halo ODST
Halo 3
Halo 4

If you enjoy this review, come and read more wisdom from the Gospel of Sv. Prolivije.

Just when I think it's over, a cool EA PR man provides ya slav boy with a review copy of EA Sports FC 25 (very tenk you for this) and I'm back at it again, grinding for some smexy cards and doing SBCs for fun.

For my review, I'll only be talking about the changes to the gameplay and Ultimate Team, cuz that's the mode I main. And like every year, there is good and bad, but so far, I really like how the gameplay feels, despite it being a tiny bit clunky.

I'm in love with defending this year. Brainless pressure leaves gaps in your defense, as does using a midfielder while relying on the AI of your defenders to do the rest. Defending takes actual skill now. So, learn how to play, or heck, who am I to stop you from getting filled up if that is your kink? Also, you can commit an intentional foul (drag them to the ground), which, if used wisely, can zap the momentum from your opponent's attack.

But we all know attack is more sexy, so is there any new additions?
-Yes, yes there are!

We got precision passing (didn't play the previous game, so it's new to me), a super skill-reliant gameplay mechanic, but if you spend some time learning how to use it, you may end up ripping defenses open like Indian food me. There's also precision shooting, it's somewhere between manual and assisted, allowing more control over where you place your balls (for your shot at goal, Jesus! You lot are weird... I like that).

But delivering a precise pass in space or removing the cobwebs from the goal's corner aren't the only gameplay changes. Traits, a staple of FIFA for years, were removed last year. Instead, we got PlayStyles. So far, I'm loving how they affect the gameplay in a more meaningful way than traits did. Each has two levels, base and gold, making the difference between a master header and an apprentice easily noticeable. PlayStyles just give players more personality and their strengths stood out more, at least to me.

However, to me, the biggest improvement this year is FC IQ. Now, you may say my IQ is that of a potato for playing this game year after year, but vodka is made from potatoes, so who is the real loser here? Anyway, FC IQ. This is just a fancy term for Player Roles—roles a player will perform on the pitch. How well, well, that depends on the familiarity the player has with the assigned role, either none, a + (master) and ++ (world-class).

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3338564398
The concept is indeed amazing, but the execution bit lacking depth, for now at least. I still love what is here tho. Each role has pros and cons, affecting how the player acts on the pitch. I hope EA expand this system further, adding more options for players to use in making their team's tactics.

Do note that players must play in their God-given position if you want to take advantage of their roles. This fixes the possibility that any player can play in any position/role without issue, and I love it. I'm tired of seeing out-of-position players perform as good as someone who has dedicated their whole career to that one spot. No, a LB with no experience playing at CB should not play excellent there.

I'm currently rocking a sexy Yugoslavia team, with a sturdy 5 at-the-back, with fullbacks pushing up whenever the team goes into attack mode, providing great support on the wings.

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3338564328
But I gotta talk about Evolution, EVO for short, a system which permanently upgrades a player's stats. It's yet another thing that was introduced in the previous entry, but I just now got to play with it. And my GOD!!! This is it! This is what people who don't want meta crap dreamed for. My Yugoslavia Elite dream is now possible, as EVOs released during the year will offer me a way to improve my non-meta players and maybe find some hidden gems.

I've heard that compared to last year, EVO has improved, specifically the restrictions and requirements a bit more relaxed now, so that's nice. I've already boosted four different poor players to good card, all for FREE. One EVO required coins, so expect some in the future will too, but it also gave my Moro dude an insane stat boost and a ++ Role. But so far, I'm bricked anytime I see a new EVO. I hope they let us use an EVO more than once, or change our pick. EA, just make it fun, please.

But what about the grind?

It's better now. Squad Battles only has 12 games, each half lasts 4 minutes (used to be 6), and the rewards are better too. Now, while I do like the changes to UT Champs, I can see why many don't. There are only 5 qualifying games, which is more punishing for less skilled players. IMO, they should keep the 15 games (went from 20 to 15) for the weekend league but up the qualification games to 10 like it was. As for Division Rivals, it also got some new/old changes. You now earn points for rewards, 15 for level 1 rewards and 45 for level 2 rewards. So, about 15 wins for best rewards a division offers. And they are much better now, considering from Div 4 onward for rank 2 each week you get a TOTW player.

So, overall, I do like these grind overhauls. It doesn't feel too overwhelming anymore nor does my effort go unrewarded. And since there are more untradeable rewards now, EA finally gave us a way to store untradeable duplicates, say hello to SBC Storage! Now we have a convenient way to store and use dupes in SBCs instead of pointlessly discarding them.

The new RUSH mode is not my jam tho. It's basically Volta, a 5v5 game mode, where defense is only a suggestion and people don't seem to know that it allows you to pass the ball to others. So, I suggest playing with friends, not randos, will probably be more enjoyable. The mode does lack rewards and incentives for me to want to play it. Yeah, there are some objectives, but eh, not really worth the grind imo, maybe for an EVO or two? We shall see...

Now a bit of complaining.

The menus... The UI... The heck is this? It just feels weird to control, and I hope we see an improvement in the next game. This list-type menu just doesn't work, at least for me. Too much wasted action and it's unintuitive, simple as that. Before we had clear and easy to understand menus. But now, I guess minimalism and all that took their toll, because this is just bad UI and UX design.

There are also some weird menu bugs too. I often got locked out of doing anything, the game just froze, and so on, so had to restart quite a bit. And the controller issues (see my guide below) that are still present since day 1 kinda gave many people a sour taste, especially those who bought the game for Early Access.

So, yeah, that's all there is to say. I love the game, people who know me know this is my favorite game of all time. I'm not a super football nerd either, I just like doing the SBC stuff, playing with unique cards/teams, and the grind/gameplay loop is fun to me. Why? I dunno, I like to play with balls I guess.

With all of that said, I'm gonna head off now—my Yugoslavia brethren are calling. I reached Division 4, but the the goal is Elite Division! Oh, and I forgot to mention—THE GAME HAS A ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ PHOTO MODE!!! I'm creaming!

See ya, football cowboys!

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3338563796
To all who made it this far, if you seek even more divine knowledge, then follow the faith preached in the Gospel of Sv. Prolivije. All members receive free dental care and 2 weeks of paid vacation.

Title Update 2 fixed the controller issues for me. But if you still have issues, check out my guide with fixes, hope it can help:
https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3334325702