>>211965386There are no "masterpiece" Halo games. However, the first three games round out a solid 9/10-esq quality in their own unique ways each, combining for what is probably still the greatest FPS trilogy in all of vidya.
CE's levels have nearly infinite replayability. Something about the way the AI moves in that game is just timeless and the Elites will always keep you on your toes.
Halo 2 is probably the best campaign and story if you're just playing the game all the way through without breaking it up with other games. The multiplayer is also the Melee of Halo where it's maybe not for everyone but holy fuck does it feel good to kill someone with the BR in that game. It also has one of the greatest multiplayer map offerings in history.
Halo 3 is the most polished game in the series. It still plays great, and Forge enhances the multiplayer experience by magnitudes. Not every level in the campaign is a banger, and Brutes don't offer the same challenge as Elites did, but it does have arguably the best single level in the franchise in "The Covenant." I still play Halo 3 when friends come over to this day, and it's still a good time.
ODST is actually a really nice standalone expansion. It has increased enemy variety and if youre willing to take the time to get the best ending, an engaging story. Firefight is unieonically one of the better survival modes from the 360 era, and on MCC it has been expanded to have even more content.
Reach is the Jack of all trades, Master of None of Halo games. As a package it has so many different modes and experiences. And yet for all that, there isnt a single thing Reach does outside of female Spartan asses that another game doesn't do better. Because of this, it's simultaneously the most overrated game by the general public and most underrated game by the core fanbase, and that divisiveness remains to this day. In reality Reach is just "fine".