Daimon's Lair

My wrists are hurting a bit, so we'll see how this goes. . . .

Immersion

Pros: There was a reason Halo basically made the Xbox the console it was (and to a large degree what the 360 is today). It's a f***ing good game!

Let's see what can I say?

There are shooters, and then there are shooters. Halo is one of my all-time favorite games and I think it will continue to be rated as one of the best shooters for years and years to come. The story isn't detailed (it's not an RPG, after all), but the combination of cut scenes and the assistance/narration from Cortana (your AI partner throughout the game) gives the player a sense of simultaneously being part of a much larger conflict and the one person who can really make a difference.

Cortana is a great character.


I *heart* Cortana.

The Master Chief is one badass mo-fo. Captain Keyes is also a compelling, if rather minor, character. The combination of good characters and storytellling that's compelling but doesn't get in the way of the action is something many games ought to imitate.

Another good aspect is that the chapters (with the possible exception of the second) are of relatively equal length, so no one level design or plotline ever gets too drawn out. Put that in combination with one of the best orchestral score ever designed for a game--where each track melds perfectly with the action, in some ways even better than a movie (because there's less dialogue) and you are totally immersed unless you're playing on Legendary and just getting your ass kicked (if you're me) and fighting from checkpoint to checkpoint.

Cons: I HATE the Flood. Yes, I know you're supposed to hate them. But I HATE them!

Replay Value: I was never on Xbox Live with the original Xbox, so I've never played the online multiplayer, but the few times I played multiplayer with friends in college I really enjoyed it. Co-0p is also quite enjoyable, regardless of whether you're playing with someone better (my neighbor Nate in college), equal (my friend Justin), or slightly worse (my wife--no offense ;) ).

And unlike many many games (especially for me), the single player campaign has a very high replay value, whether you're cranking up the difficulty level or just replaying your favorite level for fun (which I've done several times with the second and third chapters :) ).

Balancing: One of the best examples of difficulty level progression is Halo: CE. "Easy" is just that--easy. I started off on that but found it waay too easy. "Normal" is challenging for a relatively decent player and it remains the only difficulty level I've beaten the full game on. "Heroic" is challenging at its easiest points and downright hard at others--my personal favorite is when you first board Truth and Reconciliation with a bunch of Marines and you get ambushed by wave after wave of Covenant (including seven cloaked Elites with beam swords). On solo I barely emerged victorious after several hours. Playing co-op with my wife, we beat it after a couple tries with Marines to spare.

I've tried "Legendary" solo and can't even get past the first room on the Pillar of Autumn. Guess that means I suck :P. I'll probably try co-op with my wife one of these days. We just have to find time away from the kiddies.

As far as game mechanics, I swear the Xbox controller was designed for Halo. Buttons become intuitive after just an hour or so with the game (at least for me). The fact that you can only carry two weapons sucks, but it's realistic--and it forces you to make interesting decisions later on (such as do I pick up the rocket launcher or keep the sniper rifle). It also allows the designers to give the players subtle hints--as in, if you don't have the sniper rifle and you see one, pick it up. Trust me.

Level design is great and only becomes repetitive in the infamous Library (I think I remember the name) level where all the corridors basically repeat themselves. One gripe I had about this level was that when you get the Index the only possible way (for me) to beat that room was simply to book it for the index, ignoring all the Flood around me and eking out enough health to get there and trigger the cutscene.

Which is where I actually have something positive to say about the Flood. Throughout the game there are definitely "run and gun" moments and Halo is never a tactical shooter. At its most cautious moment it still has faster gameplay than, say, GRAW. But still I took my time and often remembered where weapons were stashed and had to backtrack through part of a level to replenish ammo. I liked, especially in the second level, to pick off enemies with the sniper rifle (especially Elites), then run in with the assault rifle/melee to finish off the grunts and Jackals. Co-op speeds things up, but you can still easily bite off more than you can chew.

The Flood changes all that. There are points where you can kill every enemy in a room, but there are many other points where it sure seems like the supply is basically infinite and you just have to keep running and running and. . . it's exhausting. It totally changes gameplay. Plus, the music and the horror movie-esque way the Flood is introduced really makes it creepy.

And then there's my favorite part: the Scorpion tank. All of the vehicles are cool, but the levels where you can use the tank is some of the most rewarding gaming experiences you can have. *sighs*. I *heart* the Scorpion.

Final Impression: Play it! Even if you don't like first-person shooters, play it! It might convert you. . . . Halo is the reason I got the Xbox. I've played both sequels and I'm looking forward to Halo Wars and Halo 3: ODST. Plus I've read all of the Halo books except the newest (which I'm about to start). I have all of the soundtracks. I have the Halo 3 Zune and the Halo 3 Xbox 360.

Notice a pattern?

Halo is a must-have. It is a game you will love and you will not want to trade in.