The Halo franchise came to the original Xbox steeped in years of storytelling tradition from its creators, Bungie. The original FPS-with-a-point, Marathon, had enthralled Mac gamers for years; the acquisition of Bungie and Marathon's direct descendant (in more ways than one) Halo: Combat Evolved proved to be a master stroke for Microsoft. Two games and millions of man-hours of gaming later, Halo is now a cultural icon, entrenched in and even directly influencing the present and future of gaming.
In some ways part of the charm of Halo lies in its unique blend of action and the revelation of mysteries. When the first game begins you are thrust into the action; the conflict around you is unknown, the mission unspoken: defend yourself or die.
The Movies (1:59:20, VC-1 HD, Dolby Digital 5.1)
Halo Legends strips some of that mystery away and leaves in its place a clarity that's satisfying and fascinating. Six stories (and one parody) reveal new facets of the Halo universe that were previously unthinkable.
Origins I / Origins II tell the story of the forerunners and how they eliminated the flood, the fall of life in the Galaxy, and the rise of the human race. Told from Cortana's point of view, it's an introspective revelation of the world as seen in Halo. The inspiring, documentary style presentation does its best to create a believable universe–and it succeeds. The art is clean and crisp. Colours are vivid and though the imagery is surreal it is still beautiful. The combat is gritty and visceral. 
Homecoming has an anime flavour that can't be obscured. Daisy's story is told through a series of flashbacks to the planet Sargasso, showing her trying to find her home after escaping from the Spartan-II program. What she finds is shocking. I wasn't really a fan of this one, to be honest. It seemed to pose more questions than it answered and it seemed a bit contrived. If you've read the Halo novels it won't really match up with what you know.
Odd One Out is a comedy. Telling the story of Spartan 1337 (hah) is the clumsiest, most vocal, and most incredibly dumb super-hero ever. It's ridiculous, it's silly, and it's a nice break in the series of more serious segments. Turn your brain off and chuckle.
Prototype starts with a touching scene between Ghost and an unknown soldier. It cuts to three years later at a UNSC military base. The Cole Protocol has been enacted and Ghost has one last job to do before leaving the planet: destroy the "Prototype". The action is fast and furious as the Prototype enters the fray. You've never seen Spartan action like this. 
The Package is a computer animated short that follows the spartan team as they lead an insurgent mission to attack a Covenant capitol ship to recover a high value "package". Part Star Wars, part Rambo, The Package the most detailed of the shorts. I loved this piece; done in the vein of Flight of the Osiris from The Animatrix, it's a visual pleaser, it has a ton of high action, and it's great to see the Spartans kicking some serious Covenant hind-quarters. Keep an eye out for first person mode and the always-enjoyable "Imma chargin' mah" Spartan Lazar.
Video and Sound
The video and audio for all seven stories is in Full HD 1080p with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. The types of animation vary, and your enjoyment may be in flux with them. The quality, however, is uniformly good. It's clean with no video artifacts and the sound stage is quite active.
Audio and Video Grade: A-
The Extras
Audio commentary
Running nearly the length of each video short, this audio commentary is a great way to get a behind-the-scenes look at Halo Legends. There's a good chunk of redundant information if you've watched the making up, but seeing it in context is an interesting way to absorb it.
Halo: Gaming Evolved (21:46, VC-1 HD, Dolby Stereo)
Do yourself a favour and do some research on the Halo series online. The talking heads in this video have serious revisionist history syndrome. I bought an original Xbox for Halo and I was enthralled as soon as I played it, but suggesting that it set the bar for online gaming and has not been matched since is a bit of an overstatement. A great deal of credit is due to Halo but I think the enthusiasm for the game may have gotten in the way of some of the facts. Also be warned: there aren't many pretty people in this video. All said and done, it's an alright watch. P.S. if you're a Nintendo fan keep an eye out for the Mario dissing. It's... special.
Halo: The Story So Far (23:56, VC-1 HD, Dolby Stereo)
Catch up with the Halo universe and follow the story of the Master Chief.
The Making of Halo Legends (54:49, VC-1, Dolby Stereo)
At nearly an hour long there's a ton of information here to absorb. If you're into making of docs, you'll like this, but it features many of the same talking heads from Halo: Gaming Evolved. While I enjoyed this extra, I found a lot of the info felt like promo-speak. We're all terribly excited for Halo: Reach. They didn't have to keep reminding us.
Extras Grade: B+
Conclusion
Halo Legends, much like The Animatrix and Batman: Gotham Knight before it offers a whole new way of looking at the world that its characters inhabit. If you enjoy Halo, animation, or action movies in general you'll enjoy Halo Legends. I'd recommend it on Blu-ray and I'd consider the colours of The Duel to be of reference quality. It's an interesting pot pourri that will cater to a variety of different tastes and it's an excellent first entry into what will undoubtedly be a host of Halo themed discs.
Final Grade: A-
Halo Legends is available for pre-order in-store and online. It releases on February 16th, 2010.
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