whats the best order to play the games in?

[VahidSlayerOfAll]

for single player
having never played a single halo game

[SwordClash117]

release order, - CE, 2, 3, ODST, Reach, then 4

[AllergicToBrainRot]

Play reach first, it's before Halo 1 story. Then play 2, 3 ODST, 3, 4, 5 is only on xbox one(trash game). I guess infinite but also trash. No idea if halo wars 1 and 2 is canon to the plot.

[R3troSim]

Originally posted by VahidSlayerOfAll:

for single player
having never played a single halo game

Firstly, welcome to Halo

Play them in original release order; it's the best way to play them if you're completely new.

There's a multitude of reasons to do this in my view - but I think it comes down to seeing how the games evolve (pun intended) through the years from start to finish - especially with the Bungie-era Halo games: that is, the grand opener with Halo: Combat Evolved, to their final swansong send-off with Reach (with Halo 4 being 343 Industries' first entirely developed Halo game by themselves).

Order of play

1. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
   
   Follow these steps:
   Go to Main Menu > Campaigns > Halo: CE Anniversary > Missions
   
   In the Choose Mission section, select the first mission, The Pillar of Autumn.
   
   In the game Choose Options section, select the following options:
   - Scoring and Time HUD = Off (default)
   - Visuals and Effects = Classic
   - Music = Classic
   - Enable Campaign Customization = Disabled (default)
   
   Then select Accept Options.
   
   In the Choose Difficulty section, select your difficulty as you please.
   
   As said above:
   If you're new to first-person shooters in general, play on Normal difficulty. Normal difficulty is default.
   
   If you're not new to first-person shooters, play on Heroic. Bungie (the original developer) themselves said that the original game was meant to be played on Heroic.
   
   If you're looking for the hardest challenge, play on Legendary.
   
   Then select Accept Options
   
   In the Choose Skulls section, skip selecting anything.
   
   When you're ready to play, select Start.
   
   

   Note:
   You can only switch between classic and anniversary graphics/audio effects during gameplay; you cannot switch between classic and anniversary graphics/audio effects during cutscenes. My advice: just leave on classic graphics/audio effects. To do so though, use the Tab key.

   
   
2. Halo 2: Anniversary
   
   

   Note:
   You can toggle between classic graphics/audio effects/music and anniversary graphics/audio effects/music during cutscenes (though there is some sync delay due to the difference between them) and gameplay using Tab key. It's up to you which you use. Default is Anniversary (Remastered), so if you want classic graphics/audio effects/music from the first second, follow the first set of steps where you select the options from the Missions menu.
   
   Unfortunately there's a bug with the classic music mix being quieter than it was on original Xbox :(
   
   The Anniversary soundtrack is a re-orchestrated version of the original soundtrack.

   
   With the note above in mind, if you want to play as close as possible to the original Xbox game from the get-go (bearing in mind you can switch between classic and anniversary graphics/audio effects/music during both gameplay and cutscenes - albeit with some delay during cutscenes), follow the below steps:
   
   Go to Main Menu > Campaigns > Halo 2: Anniversary > Missions
   
   In the Choose Mission section, select the first mission, The Heretic.
   
   In the game Choose Options section, select the following options:
   - Scoring and Time HUD = Off (default)
   - Visuals and Audio = Classic
   
   Then select Accept Options.
   
   In the Choose Difficulty section, select your difficulty as you please.
   
   
   Otherwise, to play with remastered graphics/audio effects/music (MCC default) from the get-go (Quickstart uses the default settings, otherwise it will use the options from your last saved mission play options):
   
   Go to Main Menu > Campaigns > Halo 2: Anniversary > Quickstart.
   
   
   
   
3. Halo 3
   
   Go to Main Menu > Campaigns > Halo 3 > Quickstart.
   
   
   
4. Halo 3: ODST
   
   Go to Main Menu > Campaigns > Halo 3: ODST > Quickstart.
   
   
   
5. Halo: Reach
   
   Go to Main Menu > Campaigns > Halo: Reach > Quickstart.
   
   
   
6. Halo 4
   
   Go to Main Menu > Campaigns > Halo 4 > Quickstart.

Difficulty

• If you're new to first-person shooters in general, play on Normal difficulty. Normal difficulty is default.
  
  
• If you're not new to first-person shooters, play on Heroic. Bungie (the original developer) themselves said that the original game was meant to be played on Heroic.
  
  
• If you're looking for the hardest challenge, play on Legendary.

Additional comments

If you want to fully immerse yourself, you might want to consider disabling challenge notifications.

Essentially, there are weekly rotational PVP and PVE challenges - these pop-up every so often as you complete the tasks for them with mid-progress and completion progress updates. Some people can find them engaging, others can find them distracting, so consider this as a heads-up just in case.

Challenge notifications can be toggled on/off in: Options & Career > Settings > Gameplay > Show Challenge Notifications > On / Off


Have fun!

[VahidSlayerOfAll]

so far spent over an hour playing this ♥♥♥♥♥♥ ass Microsoft log in game. spent ages trying to get log in to work and now
wont sign into xbox live