Halo is the game that made the xbox. Had it not been for this genre defining game, the xbox would not be what it is today.
Halo comes to us from Bungie, formally a PC game making company. The story of Halo follows Master Chief, a big brick of super powered armor, who is woken up from his cryogenic nap because the ship has come under attack by an alien group that call themselves The Covenant. After fighting through a few aliens here and there, Master Chief makes it o the lost ship and lands on an enormous ring structure called Halo. Chief, along with his smarmy AI companion Cortana, make their way all over the ring and try to regroup the marines and go on a reunion tour and kick the aliens ass.
The gameplay of Halo makes the FPS for the console feasible. It’s reminiscent of the keyboard and mouse controls of a computer game. The controls are tight, and effective. While it does take a while to get used to them. Most shooters in this day and age follow the control scheme of Halo because of it’s simplicity. Halo sets itself apart from these shooters, even those that came after it, with it’s incredibly fierce AI.
Halo does allow for different difficulty levels, the most advanced called Legendary. It is indeed the stuff of Legend as it is still talked about with pride, or fear, among gamers today. Halo also makes itself known with expertly crafted levels, both in multiplayer and single player.
The single player campaign is one for the books, as it maintains some of the most memorable moments in game. Most of that comes from the imaginative and superb level design. Whether it’s storming the beach of an island, to fighting your way through a bridge while being harassed from another bridge that runs along side it all while being attacked by a Banshee. The character design is also easily recognizable, and simple. Players are immediately filled with a sense of horror as they come across an Elite, clad in golden armor as he charges toward them with energy sword drawn. This desperate struggle between player and energy sword guy is accompanied by an incredible soundtrack.
People throughout the world recognize the Halo melody as it has become that of household importance. The main Halo theme along with the rest of the score that complete the soundtrack, makes for welcome accompaniment. Like a buddy that you can play through the entire campaign with.
Speaking of….
Halo has a plethora of multiplayer options, including cooperative mode, where you can play split screen with a friend through the entire campaign mode and on any difficulty level. The multiplayer, however, does not have xbox live support, which is a bit of a let down as the game types and maps to play on with Halo are so much fun. Good thing they introduced that, along with some other features in the second game.
All in all, Halo is a fantastic game that is easy to pick up for the hardcore audience, and a good place to start for those looking to become hardcore. Halo combines all the things we really like about games like these. Action, adventure, tough AI, a host of impressive and interesting weaponry, and a sense of mystery and the unknown. If you don’t have this game, you probably don’t own an original xbox. Good news though, as at this years E3 during Microsoft’s press conference, they announced that the original Halo would be remade in HD, and with updated graphics. How about that?
Ten years? Wow!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Flower
Flower is a PSN downloadable game that I believe that everybody can, and should play. It’s simple, it’s fun, it’s easy, and it’s gorgeous.
Flower has no story, it has no characters. It only seems to make a statement. Go outside, and make the world a better place. Flower touches on the tones of the big city destroying our naturally beautiful world with it’s big buildings, and ugly construction sites…. I think. This game can truly be considered art. It’s left up to the interpretation of its audience. All video games are art, but that’s for another Monday.
The gameplay is simple: hold button, steer controller. The objective is simple, fly over other flowers, make them grow, bring the place back to live. And boy does it ever come back to life. The environment turns from a dull gray to lively greens, blues, reds, whites, and a plethora of many other colors that send you into a shock of awe. It’s a game that you can sit back and admire. Te game can be beaten, or rather completed, in about 45 minutes to an hour. It’s not supposed to be a long game, but it’s fun and pretty and you should play it.
That Game Company, the developers of Flower, have a brilliant team of folks at their studio and who can make a game that is simple and enjoyable. They were also at this years E3, showing off their up and coming game, Journey. While it has nothing to do with the band of the same name, it still looks amazing. It maintains the feel of a game by That Game Company while being something else all together. Be sure to keep track of That Game Company and all that they are doing at http://thatgamecompany.com/
Flower has no story, it has no characters. It only seems to make a statement. Go outside, and make the world a better place. Flower touches on the tones of the big city destroying our naturally beautiful world with it’s big buildings, and ugly construction sites…. I think. This game can truly be considered art. It’s left up to the interpretation of its audience. All video games are art, but that’s for another Monday.
The gameplay is simple: hold button, steer controller. The objective is simple, fly over other flowers, make them grow, bring the place back to live. And boy does it ever come back to life. The environment turns from a dull gray to lively greens, blues, reds, whites, and a plethora of many other colors that send you into a shock of awe. It’s a game that you can sit back and admire. Te game can be beaten, or rather completed, in about 45 minutes to an hour. It’s not supposed to be a long game, but it’s fun and pretty and you should play it.
That Game Company, the developers of Flower, have a brilliant team of folks at their studio and who can make a game that is simple and enjoyable. They were also at this years E3, showing off their up and coming game, Journey. While it has nothing to do with the band of the same name, it still looks amazing. It maintains the feel of a game by That Game Company while being something else all together. Be sure to keep track of That Game Company and all that they are doing at http://thatgamecompany.com/
Case of the Mondays: NO YOU'RE NOT HARDCORE
This years E3 showed off a lot of game3s for the “hardcore” audience. Every single one of these games were, violent, bloody, had realistic graphics, and will be rated M for mature. This is not hardcore! This is just senseless violence, and it doesn’t help the medium progress to being considered an art form, or to be taken seriously.
What always bothers me about people talking about hardcore games, is that they always have to be violent, realistic, have guns, and has to be described with the words “visceral”, “action” and “intense”. Why can’t a hardcore game just be good? Don’t get me wrong, some of these violent games are good. However, it seems they’ve all been done, they’re all the same, they all feel expected. Call of Duty, Halo, Gears of War, Ninja Gaiden, and several others were showcased at E3 and they were all presented for the “hardcore” audience.
I always end up referencing the game Pikmin, because I was a doubter of the games capability to be a challenge and to hook me. I was dead wrong. Pikmin is extremely challenging as well as addictive. While the graphics come off as childish, they are charming and give the player of being tiny and insignificant. But with the power of your regiment of Pikmin, you can overcome almost any obstacle. It’s a tremendous sense of accomplishment when you take down a monster that’s a hundred times your size. I know that Shadow of the Colossus does this as well, and it does it very very well. However, let me put on my hipster glasses and say that Pikmin did it first.
I have no qualms about the showcasing of violent video games. But it bothers me to say that the hardcore audience, the ones who not only play nonstop, but play a variety of games, get angry at games that look “childish” or “cartoony” and cast them off to the side.
Originality was a rare find at E3 as well. Most games were sequels or ports. I was excited for these sequels and ports as well, but come on fellas! Show me something original! I know it’s tough coming up with something new, and it’s probably too much to ask for as making a game is a lot of work. E3 is one giant commercial and producers and developers want to make money so that they can continue to make new, exciting, and original IPs. So perhaps, I, and everyone else, should just be patient. But at least let us know that when you’re done with your visceral, epic, action intense trilogy, that you’re thinking ahead to the future and we will see something new.
Nintendo.
Everybody always seems to get on Nintendos back about not having anything new or original, and how they rely on their new peripherals and gadgets to see them through ad make them money. While it may seem that way, I honestly don’t care. I love The Legend of Zelda, and you do to! You love the idea that you can play The Ocarina of Time on your 3DS and take it wherever you go. You love these games because they are they reason you became hardcore gamers. You love these games because they are the reason you got into games. You love these games because they are good.
What always bothers me about people talking about hardcore games, is that they always have to be violent, realistic, have guns, and has to be described with the words “visceral”, “action” and “intense”. Why can’t a hardcore game just be good? Don’t get me wrong, some of these violent games are good. However, it seems they’ve all been done, they’re all the same, they all feel expected. Call of Duty, Halo, Gears of War, Ninja Gaiden, and several others were showcased at E3 and they were all presented for the “hardcore” audience.
I always end up referencing the game Pikmin, because I was a doubter of the games capability to be a challenge and to hook me. I was dead wrong. Pikmin is extremely challenging as well as addictive. While the graphics come off as childish, they are charming and give the player of being tiny and insignificant. But with the power of your regiment of Pikmin, you can overcome almost any obstacle. It’s a tremendous sense of accomplishment when you take down a monster that’s a hundred times your size. I know that Shadow of the Colossus does this as well, and it does it very very well. However, let me put on my hipster glasses and say that Pikmin did it first.
I have no qualms about the showcasing of violent video games. But it bothers me to say that the hardcore audience, the ones who not only play nonstop, but play a variety of games, get angry at games that look “childish” or “cartoony” and cast them off to the side.
Originality was a rare find at E3 as well. Most games were sequels or ports. I was excited for these sequels and ports as well, but come on fellas! Show me something original! I know it’s tough coming up with something new, and it’s probably too much to ask for as making a game is a lot of work. E3 is one giant commercial and producers and developers want to make money so that they can continue to make new, exciting, and original IPs. So perhaps, I, and everyone else, should just be patient. But at least let us know that when you’re done with your visceral, epic, action intense trilogy, that you’re thinking ahead to the future and we will see something new.
Nintendo.
Everybody always seems to get on Nintendos back about not having anything new or original, and how they rely on their new peripherals and gadgets to see them through ad make them money. While it may seem that way, I honestly don’t care. I love The Legend of Zelda, and you do to! You love the idea that you can play The Ocarina of Time on your 3DS and take it wherever you go. You love these games because they are they reason you became hardcore gamers. You love these games because they are the reason you got into games. You love these games because they are good.
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