What's Next?

Hey gang,

I'm having a hard time deciding what to play next. Take a look at my collection and let your voice be heard in the comments.

Review: Halo

Halo is a monumental entry into the video game universe. It not only defined the blueprint for the console first person shooter genre, but it cemented the idea of a game made for grown ups - or more accurately, college dudes. While I didn't get any time with the multiplayer in my playthrough, the single player experience was about as beefy as you could ask for. It was an experience that promised high and delivered even higher.

Story
The First Person Shooter genre is usually known for it's sub-par story telling. Usually the only real "story" in these games is just in place to establish a motive for you to be OK with shooting everything in the world.  Halo is different. From the very first level, you get the sense that there is a deep universe of races, characters, foes and allies that span centuries of a fictional timeline wrapped in mystery. It's not surprising that the Halo lore has expanded into comics and novels, and with the way the story is delivered, it's hard for me to believe that much of the expanded storyline wasn't at least mapped out before Halo was even released.

Your boss.

Within the game itself, I was pleased to find that the story not only gave me a motive to shoot things, but it surprised me. There were twists I didn't see coming. There was a lot of mystery at the outset as to what the heck this floating ring in space was, and why it seemed so important. There was suspense, excitement, tension, rage, joy, frustration...you couldn't ask for anything more.

Another thing that FPS games are guilty of is the overly macho, unrealistic cast of heroes. And while the faceless, stupidly named Master Chief isn't exactly a flawed human character, he, along with other key players in the story, has more heart than I expected and in fact more than many game characters today - in any genre. Your navi-like guide, Cortana is snarky, witty and believable. The military brass are appropriately gruff and demand the right amount of respect through their voice. Master Chief's fellow marines are believable in their fear and excitement in various situations.

The story as a whole is very well written by video game standards. There is a clear beginning, middle and satisfying end to the tale of the green clad space marine.


Gameplay
I beat the game last night, and as the credits finished I saw the copyright: 2001. "Holy crap."

Of course I knew how old the game was when I popped it in my 360's disc tray, but as I played through it, I had forgotten I was playing something that was nine years old - ancient in the game world. Games usually show their age around 2-3 years later, Halo felt as if it could have been released yesterday.

The controls are tight, the level design was clearly done by seasoned vets, the game remained exciting throughout, there were 3 or 4 different vehicles (which all handled differently), two completely different species of enemies, tons of weapons (all balanced perfectly) - in short: it's a blast to play.

 Use it! Use the plasma grenade!

On top of all the FPS basics delivering strongly, it was the little extras that made Halo possibly one of the best games of the 00s. As the player, you often had to adjust your play style to match the challenge presented. You can't just go into every situation guns blazing and expect to beat it, nor should you expect to approach every situation carefully and slowly. You will need to balance these two methods of gameplay - and often a third or fourth method - to really get everything you can out of the experience. Couple that with a great story, and you have an unforgettable game.

Presentation
This is another area where I forgot I was playing a nine-year old game. Playing on an HDTV, the graphics were sharp at all times, character models were really well developed, frame rate was smooth (most of the time), and everything we very believable from a graphics perspective. In fact, if it weren't  for the fact that the game only ran in 4:3, I could easily be convinced that this was a mid-range current gen game.

On top of the graphics, the sound design is unparalleled. Game music can be one of three things:

1) Annoying - Start, Options, Music: off.
2) Invisible - When music is just there. It doesn't offend, but it goes unnoticed.
3) Awesome - Music that you find yourself humming after you've shut the game off.

Halo's now iconic orchestral score is in the highest ranking of #3 and it set the tone perfectly for every situation in the game. From the "Tibetan Monk" opening theme to the rousing skirmish tune, the music is something that is, today, instantly recognizable. You've played the game, how many times have you found yourself singing this:

Stuff I Loved:

• Fun as hell
• Solid story with satisfying conclusion
• Barring a little drag in the middle, the game is tense and exciting throughout
• The awesome music

Stuff I Hated:

• Some parts, even on normal, are really freaking hard. 
• No subtitles. I played this mostly while my wife was sleeping, so I had to keep the volume low. When I got to a cutscene, I missed all the exposition because I couldn't hear Cortana or the Chief.
• The mother-effing driving controls for the Warthog, and by extension, the final sequence where you're forced to drive the stupid thing to the end of the game. Press up for gas and rotate the camera to steer.  Oh, and put butter all over the wheels and make the wheels out of floor wax, and then wax the floor and walls. Then pour water and lube all over everything. That sound like fun? No. It's not. It sucks. 

All in all, I loved the game. I don't think I'd play it again, just because I'm so bad at FPS games. However, the story alone makes me want to go out and get Halo 2 and 3, and I think I will do just that after this project is over.


Ten Words or Less Review:
Fully cinematic experience, tough as nails, awesome.

Finished: Halo

I did it.

Final Hour Count: About 15 hours (no official in-game clock)

As you may have read, I was having particular trouble with a segment called Final Run. I felt the same way about this segment as I did about the Grim Reaper in Castlevania. I had gotten frustrated enough with it to look it up on Youtube. And once again, the solution was cheap - drive a ghost right down the middle, grab a Banshee and avoid fighting all together. I decided to give it one more shot fighting my way to the Banshee, and after putting bite marks in my 360 controller, I went for the cheap-o method and beat the rest of the mission in one shot.

Hey - I didn't use a cheat code...

Cheap and cheat are two different words.

The Library? Please...Final Run, However...

So everyone kept warning me about a certain mission called "The Library"...

Watch out for the Library - that's quite a grind

Halo gets a lot of flack for one mission in particular, The Library, and you'll see why.

Rough stuff ahead with the Library

Brace yourself! [The library is] long.

I freaking destroyed the library. Like, no trouble at all - I don't even think I died.

I really enjoyed one particular aspect of The Library that several other games have emulated. As you're fighting through this level you are guided by a little talking beacon, and every once in a while these laser-firing drones come out to help you take out some of the enemies. Once you finish the level, though, these drones turn against you, and that's the aspect I enjoyed. It's cool when powerful enemies or allies switch sides either for you or against you. It's kinds like in Chrono Trigger when you can recruit Magus to join your party.

Anyway, I made it through the majority of the following level, but now I am on a segment called "Final Run". I remember this portion vividly from the last time I tried to play through Halo because its where I gave up. You are fighting every single type of enemy and vehicle in this section and it is over-the-top difficult.

I think it may be my gaming type/personality that's giving me trouble with this, and possibly why I didn't have much trouble with the Library. You have to be extremely strategic in Final Run, whereas in the Library you just have to be quick with the trigger finger and conserve ammo as much as possible. I approach most FPS games in the balls-out, shoot everything mode, which served me well in the Library, but it's clear that I need to alter my approach to beat Final Run.

It says something about the depth of this game that you have to change your gaming style to make it through the whole thing, and I bet many people don't notice that aspect of Halo. Because everyone else is so damn good at it.

On Second Thought...

OK, I'm back in. I just played through the level where you are first introduced to the new enemy type: the Flood. The Flood appear to be mutated humans and parasites who are much less intelligent than the aliens from the Covenant, but at the same time, twice as strong and fast.

The level where you're introduced to them is absolutely fantastic. It changed the pace absolutely perfectly. The first half of the level is designed to terrify the player. All you see is the carcasses of Covenant scrubs, as well as Earth marines, scattered around the indoor compound. A droning musical score sets the tone of absolute dread as you make your way through the "too quiet" level. Finally, in the deepest section of the building, you meet the Flood and are forced to fight your way back out.

The pacing in this level was as good as it gets. It wasn't too hard (didn't die once!) there was a lot of plot exposition, you get a couple new weapons, and you're introduced to a new enemy.

So just as I was about to give up on this whole game out of boredom and frustration, the designers almost telepathically answered me with this level. But guess what the next level is?

The Library.

Bring it on, yo. I'm ready.

Halfway There...Halo

So I guess I was completely wrong about the length of this game. I've played for about 8 hours now and I just started the 5th mission out of 10. I'm guessing the total time ends up being closer to 15-18 hours, which is unheard of for an FPS these days. Honestly, I think that's too long. People often complain about the brevity of single player campaigns in modern FPS games, but I think the genre lends itself to being on the shorter side. Like, I'm already bored with Halo to be perfectly frank. Yeah, they mix it up and bring you to different locales, but all I'm doing is shooting at the same 4 enemy types in front of different window dressing. Maybe it's just my gaming personality, but I think this is why I never finished this game to begin with, it's too damn long.

Now with the threat of "The Library" that everyone keeps telling me about, I am more hesitant to keep going. I get more frustrated playing FPS games than any other genre when I have to repeat a section over and over - like last night.

There is a section right at the end of the "snow world" stage where you leave a building that opens into a big snowfield. There are a couple hunters roaming around and then there's those damn flying machines and one of those tanks that hurls massive energy balls. You have to drop down to this area where there is a rocket launcher if you want to stand any chance at all against everything. So if you come through to doors quietly, you can melee one of those "OHH ROLL THE DICE" enemies before he jumps on a ghost. Then you jump on the ghost, ride it over to the rocket launcher area, climb out, take out the two flying things, take out the tank, take out the two hunters, take out the gun turret, all while managing other little dudes trying to kill you. This whole process took me about 7 or 8 minutes when I did it perfectly, but the trial and error before that made me want to eat tin foil. Having to do each step over and over again got old REAL quick.

I'm afraid The Library may force me to give up on this game...I await it's stupid difficulty.

Still Playing...Halo

So I've probably put about 4-5 hours into this game so far. Since this game was the flagship launch title for the original Xbox I have been trying to play it from the mindset of someone who had just bought the system and the game. Someone who had made the decision to buy an Xbox rather than a PS2 or a Gamecube. I thought, "If I had made that decision, would I be happy based on playing this game." And the answer is a resounding yes.

The music, the graphics, the cinematic storytelling all lend themselves to the feeling that you have just purchased a system that can kick some serious ass. And barring some flat textures and the lip syncing working more like marionettes than humans, the game still holds up today, nine years after it's release.

I was talking with a friend a lunch today and I said it's remarkable that I didn't even have to think twice about the controls. I jumped right in and it was just as if I was playing a game that was released yesterday. It really speaks to the FPS control blueprint the Bungie team laid out that it's just as easy to play the first Halo as it is to play Modern Warfare 2.

So I just turned off the power on that island thing so I could access that door. Does anyone remember how much longer is left in the game after that?