The Halos are a comin'

I recently submitted a short article to an editor of a St. FX school newspaper, my good friend Will Fitzpatrick. I am publishing it here verbatim.

Next week (Sept 25) Halo 3 is being released. The sheer number young people who will be standing outside of their local video-game selling outlet at 11:59 pm on Monday the 24^th would shock and astound even the most stalwart gamer. Why would so many give up their time and money (approx. $150 for the limited edition box of the game) for a video game. If you need to ask, you've obviously not played this game's predecessors. Halo and Halo 2, both released on microsoft's former console, the xbox, were some of the best selling and most loved games that the world have ever seen. An engaging storyline, cooperative gameplay, and one of the most well delivered multiplayer experiences ever offered on a console (especially in the second iteration).

With the third game, Bungie, the company producing the game, has promised a number of features which should push this trilogy's closing act into a whole new realm of popularity. Firstly, the cooperative gameplay (my personal favorite aspect of halo games) has been buffed from two players to a maximum of four players over xbox live. So you and three friends can all be working on ridding the world of the evil alien covenant together in the comfort of your own homes.

Secondly, every multiplayer game is automatically recorded and offered to each player after the match has ended. The replays can then be edited, viewed, and shared over xbox live. This means never again will a player be disappointed when his cries of “DID YOU SEE THAT?!” are not answered in the affirmative.

Lastly comes a genre defying multiplayer gameplay type, called 'The Forge'. A team based game, The Forge invites each team to select one player who receives omnipotent power. That player can alter the map in wonderfully radical ways. They can bring in new weapons and drop them near teammates. They can pick up vehicles and fly them across the map, with teammates inside. They can create and control walls as cover for teammates. Essentially, each team gets to have the favor of a minor God.

I for one am very excited about this game, and will be one of the many waiting until midnight come this Monday, and if you're reading this, I'm sure you are too. Probably not my game of the year (That battle rages between Bioshock (which has a good head start), and Half-Life 2: Episode 2), but one I will be playing for years to come.