So, now that I'm back at college I find I'm getting a ton of time where I have to quietly pretend to be paying attention to lectures. And as my mind usually does, I started to think about Halo, specifically why it is my most favorite game franchise ever. There's a lot of reasons; a close-nit community, nostalgia, my love of hard scifi, and the simple yet fun gameplay. However, I decided to break it down game by game, and give each Halo game from Halo:CE to Halo 5:Guardians(excluding the anniversary editions) an award for what made me love it and grab it the day it came out.

Halo:CE "Most Accessible"
By today's standards the first Halo is a little simple, no laundry list of guns, no sprint, no ADS, and a story so power-fantasy the cover art is used as an example in the dictionary. However, if you've got a friend, child, or spouse that hasn't ever touched a controller this is the game for them. The list of guns is short and sweet, with each being entirely unique, and if they can't pick a gun just tell them to run at the baddies blaring their AR. Vehicles are lightly sprinkled meaning they won't have to worry about being caught by pesky driving sections(and everyone can be a Hog gunner). The story is simple and non-intrusive, go here shoot aliens, whoops now shoot zombies blow up giant ring, fin. There's no space politics, hard decisions or grey area characters, the biggest shock is that the floating Hal 9000 wants to actually kill everybody. It's fun to play and the bright comical aliens are a blast to gun down, and luckily for us veterans we also love the massive boost of nostalgia we get from plopping down on the couch with someone else and getting some splitscreen action.
Halo 2 "Most Quotable"
"I know what the ladies like" and apparently it's cheesy action movie one liners. Maybe, it's just the people I hang out with but if someone has played Halo 2 they will instantly recognize the lines and happily say a different one back. Maybe it has something to do with there being an actual story this time around(whether you like it or not) but this game has a host of lines that just stick in your head. I also, partially give this award to Johnson and Cortana who both returned from the first game but now with a ton more personality and some great dialogue. I think this extends to the story as well, with the massive expansion to the covenant, which I loved, and the great in your face stunts. The entire game played out like an action movie only you're the hero.
Halo 3 "Funniest Gameplay"
Although the story in Halo 3 took a darker and more serious tone than the previous entries, in contrast its gameplay seemed to get even more hilarious. Whether its the fact that all the aliens now spoke English and the voice actors were told to lay down the cheese thick, the physics engine which seemed to perpetually launch bodies into low orbit at the slightest explosion, or the fact that by the third run through of the campaign everyone had the amazing IWHBYD skull activated which meant that every marine, grunt, and brute were all stand-up comics before the war and are throwing out jokes to keep from getting rusty. Bungie also didn't take things too seriously considering we have at least one brute who happened to be taking a leak.
Halo Wars "Most Happy Surprise"
No one expected the first non-main Halo game to be a console exclusive RTS, let alone one that was surprisingly good. As far as an RTS goes, it wasn't the best, with many more hardcore RTS fans finding it far too simple but for most Halo players who were more familiar with the FPS genre, it was a great way to get into a new kind of game. The story was pretty good and combined with the gorgeous Blur cutscenes the campaign left a good taste in your mouth and a nice feeling of accomplishment. I never got into multiplayer but I can say that playing with AI and friends in skirmish was a load of run and I still remember the time I had my army of 8 Scarabs go up against my friend's army of hundreds of suicide grunts.
Halo 3:ODST "Best Mood"
The mood of ODST is a far departure from most Halo games. The dark city streets combined with the beautiful music composed by Marty, the game felt fresh and interesting. The mystery of combing dead city streets looking for your squad, accompanied by an enigmatic city AI really got me hooked. Although it was a lesser entry in the series, this game will always be one of my favorite and really signaled a transition in the tone and style of Halo stories.
Halo Reach "Best Characters"
Whether you love or hate the story, everyone can agree that Noble team has some of the best characters in Halo. The extensive armor system allowed for each member of Noble to be visually unique and match their personality. The dialogue between team members felt realistic and natural with all of them sounding like teammates and old friends. Each death had weight to it, whether you saw it coming or not, and although all but Jun never made it past Reach they all hold a special place in our hearts and have rightly earned their place in Halo.
Halo 4 "The Hardest Hitting"
The first game made by 343i, Halo 4 had a story that seemed far more mature than any before. For most of the Halos until ODST and Reach, the story was more a vehicle for making fun gameplay and under any major scrutiny didn't stand up too well on its own. ODST and Reach played out more like war movies, but Halo 4 was where the story really began to take shape. With the pain that came with watching Cortana descend into Rampancy and ultimately die, this is the only Halo game that's ever brought a tear to my eye. Although there are some major issues with the presentation of the Didact, he stills feels like a bad guy that is finally far more powerful than the Chief. Halo 4 added in the grey morality that is required in a believable story nowadays.
Halo 5:Guardians "The Most Explosive"
There is just something about Halo 5 that just decides to crank the boom up to 11. Whether it's in the campaign, riding giant space robots and blowing up enemies into bright shades of blue or orange. Or it's multiplayer and you're shooting a rocket launcher that fires 3 rockets at once, a carbine that uses needler rounds, or a suppressor with home explosive bullets. The game just feels crazy and fun. I had a hard time figuring out what about Halo 5 made me love it so much and keep on coming back to it. Easily, one of my more favorite Halo games and definitely my most favorite multiplayer, the game has all the tools needed to make a fun time and its more than willing to dish them out to you.

I know there'll be some disagreement about what was good about each Halo, but this was all based on my personal experience. I'd also like to mention that for almost all of these games there's other things about them that I love but to make sure that I could finish this in a reasonable amount of time I limited myself to one reason each. Thanks for making it all the way through my long ramble and I hope this helps you all remember why we keep going back to this great franchise.