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Special Links - Playstation 3 - Xbox 360 - Gamespy |
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[Playstation 3] [Site Features] [PS2] [GameCube] [Xbox] [GBA] [Multimedia] [Anime] [ESRB Ratings] [Site Rater] |
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Halo for Xbox |
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ONE LINE SYNOPSIS: Oh Halo, what can I say about you that hasn't been said already? Never before has such graphical detail and gameplay grace buttered the screen of my Trinitron. With the power of a heavily modified GeForce 3 pumping out full screen anti-aliasing, pixel shaders to die for (literally) and -- the story, oh god the story! Bungie really out did themselves on this one, a FPS which was originally intended to be a strategy game and then mutated into a 3rd person shooter (think Oni) and ended up finally being the beautifully rendered digital wonder served up on a silver platter that we have today. Combined with the 10.2gig hard drive which effectively works to buffer terrains that stretch as far as the eye can see, Halo is truly a modern day masterpiece of a video game. If you enjoy any of the following things: Kick ass graphics, blowing stuff up, intriguing story line, a huge arsenal of weaponry, team based combat, or smart non-linear gameplay, then Halo certainly has something for you my friend. Halo is the product of several years of high intensity development. And where some games would detriment from a prolonged production cycle, Halo comes through as a gleaming exception. This is a game that will still be played years from now, due in part to the on-line functionality that will receive an adrenaline boost once Microsoft unveils their on-line network some time this summer. If anything, Halo by itself is worth the price of an Xbox, any other games are just icing on the enormous Xbox cake. But I do have one request (Microsoft, are you listening?), a mouse and keyboard! Don't get me wrong, Bungie did a fine job of porting over the controls (Halo was originally intended to be a pc game) to the Xbox controller, but it comes nowhere near the precision of what a mouse and keyboard could have offered. And while I'm complaining I'd like to mention something else. The level design in Halo can be a bit (ok, a lot) tedious, you'll find yourself wandering around through corridors for a good part of the game, retracing steps due to the fact that each room looks almost identical to the previous room. This could have been a forgivable sin if Bungie included some sort of in-game map that gives you at least a rough idea of where the hell you are. But these are minor complaints that overall don't affect the fact that this is hands down the best FPS on any console, anywhere, period. It's easy to simply call this game a FPS, but Halo is more then just your traditional shoot-em-up. When I think of the term "FPS" I think of Unreal Tournament, Quake 3, or Red Faction, but Halo goes far beyond and gives you an experience that just happens to be via the first person perspective. For instance, the ability to drive or pilot vehicles. From all terrain vehicles to full out alien space crafts that allow you to explore every nook and cranny of Halo's mammoth maps. When your piloting the Banshee at a full upright and vertical position watching the rain slamming against your alien windshield and you got two more spacecrafts breathing down your crack directly behind you, you'll know what I mean. And the close quarters gun fights are truly inspirational, there’s nothing like mowing down a row of 12 baddies and then hearing that distinctive "click, click" sound politely informing you that you’re out of bullets and left with nothing but your wits and the butt of your gun to survive on. Halo keeps the action fresh by introducing new mission objectives on the fly, you might need to save the Sergeant one moment and then turn on a dime and have to escape the facility he is being held in by the skin of your teeth the next moment. The action never gets old because your continually doing new and innovative things, for this fact alone Halo shines through far above the competition (lets be honest here Half Life, your played, get over it). This will be the game that keeps the Xbox afloat (with some help from Project Gotham Racing of course) in this very early and pivotal point and Microsoft should be thanking their gold laden lucky stars that the people down there at Bungie agreed to make this game an Xbox exclusive (although I highly doubt Halo would look nearly as good on any other console anyway). Chalk one up for Bill G., Halo is an experience that must be played all the way to the climatic end. Conundrums of the highest caliber, the deepest contemplation possible by the known non-programmer is vastly inadequately equipped to comprehend the genius that went into the creation of Halo. Not quite the cinematic feel of a Hollywood movie, but also not too far off. So uhhh look out Hollywood cause uhh here comes the video game industry to make as much money as you do (or something)* Somewhere between the high intensity gun fights, adrenaline inducing vehicle escapes and enthralling storyline is a work of art that is worthy of the highest praise a game can get. As I sit here typing away at this review and watching the end credits roll I realize that this was no average game that I have just experienced. This was a game unlike any before it. *it should be noted that any reference describing the video game industry being comparable to the motion picture industry regarding net revenue is, for the most part, completely devoid of relevance. Mainly due to the fact that only the box office sales facet of the movie industry process is factored into the equation. Which means that all the money made off of DVD rentals and various other marketing crap is not taken into consideration at all. |
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