I never got to experience CE at the time. I was hardly a gamer in my younger years, only really playing GBA and PS2 and later the 360 casually. I never played Halo until Reach back in '10, and I really, really didn't think anything of it. I dabbled in a ton of other FPS franchises. Tried some CoD, some BF - neither really provided what I wanted. Then, I got Cryptum in a bookstore - and it convinced me to give the rest of the franchise another go. So - I bought CE from the Xbox classics section on the Marketplace. When it started up and I heard those monks chanting - I new this would be different. I started the campaign. Keyes from Reach was there - and so was the AI from The Package. But she was different to the boring, monotone Auntie Dot - she was an actual character. The first mission was Eh - Boring linear corridor shooter - the same reason I disliked CoD and BF. When I was handed my first M6 from Keyes - I took aim at him, expecting nothing to happen like every other shooter. To my surprise - something did happen - he died. And then, the game recognised what I did. Announcing that I'd gone "Rampant" over the intercom, a squad of marines were sent to kill me. I died - but I enjoyed it. So I did it again. And again. And Again. Then, when I stepped out of the lifeboat on the first mission. The first thing I noticed was the Halo, rising up into the sky and looping back behind me. I turned around and looked out to the sea. Even though the graphics were shit, I was still mesmerized by the view. This was unlike anything I'd ever seen in an FPS before. Then, after crossing a bridge and dealing with some Covenant. I ended up in a vast open plain with a structure in the middle. After killing some more guys a few marines came up to me and said some stuff. The following encounter was the best thing I'd ever done in an FPS. I had a choice - I could defend the marines up on the structure with them - or take the fight to the Covenant below. This is what makes Halo great. There's no forced stealth missions, no forced vehicle missions, no forced approach to any encounter. I could do anything I wanted - and It was awesome. Before playing CE, I had read Cryptum. I knew what a Halo was, what a Forerunner was etc. In Cryptum - The Flood was mentioned. This extragalactic, all consuming parasite. I expected it to only appear in the Saga - I thought the Halo game were only about the conflict between Humanity and these four alien types that want us dead for reasons that aren't explained. But then, while trying to find Keyes in a "Weapons Cache". I uncovered a traumatised Marine - what exactly made him so crazy? I immediately thought of the Timeless One - and the Humans who had taken their own lives after learning a horrible truth. I was expecting something new, something different. And when it came - it was all kinds of awesome. What followed next was amazing. Three way battles between Covenant, Flood and the Monitor's (I honestly feel sorry for Chakas) sentinels. This was unlike anything I'd ever played before. It wasn't just the gameplay that was different. It was the characters too - they didn't feel like the bland military types I met throughout Reach and other games. These felt different. Even the marines were different to the bland cannon fodder in other games. Topping it all with an epic run to a Longsword. Then, when the credits rolled - I wanted more. I went out and bought every book I could - at the same time, I bought Halo 2. TL;DR - This quote sums up what CE was to me: "We did what we had to do ... for Earth. An entire Covenant armada obliterated, and the Flood... we had no choice. Halo ... It's finished." "No...I think we're just getting started."