Halo

Games: The Halo Trilogy

Systems: Xbox and Xbox 360

Release: 2001, 2004, 2007

Halo. Few words can produce such chills and thrills in the gaming community. For anyone who ever owned an Xbox or Xbox 360 this series was probably the deciding factor for your console purchase. Out selling pretty much every console game ever made Halo 3 is the latest and greatest from the folks at Bungie. The following article will attempt to lightly cover all three of these excellent games.

Halo: Combat Evolved was one of the first games I ever purchased for the Xbox. Unsure of what was in store, I popped in the disk hoping for the best. I was blown away! This game became the new Goldeneye, and spent hundreds of hours inside my Xbox. The graphics for the time were great, and there were so many new features. Vehicles, co-op campaign, and melee added a new twist to the FPS genre. Few games, if any, featured these ridiculously fun game mechanics, and Halo provided them in a fantastically set universe. The story was not the most original, but it was put together well. Add five excellent novels to flush out some of the nerdy details, and TADA you have created another brilliant universe for the world to enjoy—and manipulate *cough* RED vs. BLUE *cough*. The sound was equally excellent, and the multiplayer is one of the most additive experiences the FPS genre has to offer.

Ok. Enough of the praising, lets get down to some of the nerdy goodness. Be warned some of the information provided is taken from my overall knowledge of this sci-fi universe and not the games themselves.

Halo puts players in the seat of the last remaining cybernetic super soldier aka Spartan. 117 is the main characters service number and his name is John. He is, however, first and foremost known as the Master Chief.

For the first game, the MC is on board an UNSC ship, Pillar of Autumn, under the command of Captain Keyes. Forced to make a blind space jump they arrive at an unknown “Halo” like object.

The human race, at this time, is fighting a losing war from a very hostile alien collective known as the Covenant. Fighting the Covenant, Captain Keyes is forced to make a crash landing on the remote construct called Halo. On the ring, with the help of the AI Cortana, the MC kicks some major alien ass and unravels some mysterious along the way.

The Flood would be the most relevant discovery. This is a parasitic species with a collective mind that uses sentient hosts to reproduce and thrive. They can also survive without a host for centuries, and are lead by the Gravemind—a giant thing that looks like the Venus fly trap.

By the end of the game, the MC has fought off thousands of Flood and Covenant baddies, ultimately decimated the Halo ring, and was floating in a loan fighter out in space. Only a few humans survived the Halo experience. Most importantly was the old time sob Cap. Johnson. This character provides much of the comic relief throughout the series, and is one of the most developed personalities. Captain Keyes passed away, but by the second game the player is introduced to his daughter.

Halo: Combat Evolved was so close to perfection that only one thing could halt a perfect score. Back in the day, Xbox Live was the “new” thing, and Halo did not support on-line multiplayer. This resulted in painstaking efforts to create LAN parties, and a missed opportunity at big bucks for Microsoft. Fortunately for everyone Halo 2 came out a few years later.

Halo 2 was the final confirmation that this franchise was a hug success. Millions of copies and dollars resulted from its release. The second chapter offered new features like duel wielding, and removed the health bars. Now players were only worried about their shields dropping before death. Vehicles became destructible, and more were added to mix. Most importantly, the multiplayer supported on-line play, and the exciting story was going to be continued.

The campaign, unfortunately, could not be experience on-line in a co-op mode. This lead to a slow steady process of not caring about the single player portion of the game. Multiplayer is where it was at. Sure the campaign introduced a new character called the Arbiter. He’s this really nifty Covenant Elite who eventually joins forces with the humans and the MC. (By the way, the Elite are just one of many alien species that make up the Covenant.) Together they stop the ape like Brutes and the Prophet of Regret from activating the Halo rings—which would result in a galaxy wide genocide of all life capable of Flood infection. But really, this was a minor thrill compared to the awesome times on Xbox Live. Multiplayer is so well developed in this series that it often takes priority to mastering the campaign mode. Hours were spent killing random players and massive amounts of shit talking took place. To top it all off all the on-line carnage is reported for all to see at www.bungie.net.

By the end of Halo 2, the MC was a stowaway on board the Prophet of Truth’s ship heading towards the invasion of Earth. Halo 3 picks up from there, as the MC crash lands from space somewhere in Africa. Unlike Halo 2, the only playable character in the story is the MC, but the Arbiter and other Elites fill the role of any friends that wish to play co-op. That’s right, “and others.” Halo 3 features four player co-op for the entire campaign, and that is just the tip of the iceberg. Bungie went all out for this next generation game. The story is completed. Gameplay improved with the introduction of new and renewed weapons, equipment, and vehicles. On-line multiplayer is again present, in addition to level editors and recorded game sessions. As with the first two games Halo 3 set the bar astronomically high for console shooters.

At the end of the trilogy, the MC is floating in unknown space with Cortana. The Arbiter and the Elites take off into the sunset to settle their own affairs. Earth remembers the great loss from this horrendous war and begins to rebuild. Meanwhile, you can go on-line, kick some major ass, customize your armor, and create your own multiplayer maps. The few faults this series has—the over powered Battle Rifle and repetitive level design—are barely noticeable when looking at the overall package. Halo 3, and the series as a whole, gets nothing less then a perfect score: 5 out of 5.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Game: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

System: Just about everything!

Release: November 2007

Recently Activision and Infinity Ward released downloadable content for the hit game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The map pack introduced four new arenas for players to experience, and grossed an estimated $10 million during the first ten days. This is followed by over three months of toping the Xbox Live most played charts. Needless to say this game kicks some major ass, and will now get some attention on the somewhat neglected Rubber’s Review. Be warned for the three or four people who have never played this game—there are some spoilers.

COD4 offers tons of action to anyone brave enough to pick up the sticks. Taking a duel role in the single player game, you will experience the adventures of a soldier for the British S.A.S. and U.S. Marines. Each add compelling points of view to the overall story, and play slightly different roles. The S.A.S. missions offer a relatively stealthier approach to combat. A smaller number of comrades are present in these missions, and snipping is a brutally effective tactic used to the fullest potential. The infamous gunny suit mission has a player sneaking around an enemy battalion to take out the main objective. The final shot is taken miles away with the coriolis effect and wind being major factors in the mission’s success. Of course after you hit your target an entire army is out to ensure you never make another badass assassination attempt.

The U.S. Marine missions are equally intense but in a different way. The U.S. typically employee’s brute force in their tactics and COD4 illustrates this vividly. Marines will be dieing left and right, but don’t worry there are plenty of soldiers to back you up. The majority of missions have the player charge, search, and clear various buildings. Wielding the helicopter guns as you punch through the urban jungle searching for key targets, the Marines are often met with wave after wave of enemies touting sniper rifles, AK-47’s, and RPGs. These bad boys are also smarter then your average terrorist. They will take cover, flank, and communicate with each other to ensure you die—frequently.

One of the features that make this single player experience outstanding is the use of non-traditional FPS moments throughout the game. Players will take on the P.O.V. of the recently overthrown president as he is delivered to his executioner. Looking side to side you see murders, tanks, and battalions throughout the streets in some “Iraq like” nation. There is also the sniper mission already mentioned, and the entertaining “Death from Above” level that places the player high up in an air support gunship. Think big explosions and lots of death—from above. Finally there are more cinematic moments where players get to make epic shots in slow motion, or witness their own demise as a nuclear devise is detonated a few miles from your position. These moments add something different to the campaign that is rarely seen in most games in this genre.

Sadly this great single player experience is just that—single player. There is no co-op of any kind, and this is defiantly a let down. With so many games, even the crappy ones, employing cooperative story modes there is no excuse for this horrendous situation. The other issue is the overall length of the single player. Six hours does not cut it when the genres average is eight to ten hours. Sure the Arcade Mode will add some replay value, but even going through each mission twice comes to a pitiful twelve hours. Fortunately the multiplayer is arguably the best FPS experience around.

The standard games-types await the contenders of Xbox Live. There is no CTF, however, everything else seems to be available—Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Sabotage, Domination, etc. To ensure players continue to play until COD5, there is semi-brilliant leveling system. Players start off with the bare essentials in terms of weapons, perks, and explosives. Upon reaching level four these three categories become customizable, and as the player levels more tools of destruction become available.

Weapons should be fairly self explanatory. Rest assured this game takes full advantage of every single piece of currently used weaponry. My personal favorites include the G36C, M16, and P90. These weapons, however, are available based on your level. Don’t expect to be wielding the deadly .50 cal sniper rifle in your first fight. Perks are a variety of “power ups” that gives your character a personalized play style. Players can customize a snipping character with Iron Lungs for a longer lasting steady shot, and Deep Impact for increased damage. Conversely, a stealthily fast soldier can be created with the UV (radar) Jammer and Extreme Conditioning for a longer sprint. These various perks provide a unique edge for players, and are remarkably balanced. Explosives come in a variety of styles. RPGs, claymores, C4, and of course a plethora of grenades will ensure plenty of big bada-booms! Like weapons the full arsenal of perks and explosives is not available until the player reaches the level cap at 55.

The leveling system is often a complaint that is easily found throughout the gaming community. This is a minor issue in my opinion, and adds much more then it takes away. Players have the ability to pick up fallen weapons, and anyone with any decent amount of skill can unlock the various perks quickly. The leveling system is cumulative, and the various challenges reward large amount of experience for rapid leveling. “But that evil man snipes me all the time with his .50 cal, and he always calls in support strikes!!!” Ok, yes, this happens. Players can score killing streak support items like Air Strikes and Helicopters with greater ease utilizing the higher level features. The beauty of this game is lower level players can call in support too. The same Air Strike is called in with a M16 kill streak as with a G36C. For those who enjoy the leveling up process there is a Prestige system to further the life of this wonderful game. Players can restart from level 1, and begin to re-earn everything over again. The reward is bragging rights with a shiny medal to indicate your rank.

So, incase you haven’t figured it out yet, this game is a must own. Superior graphics depict everything from the bullet shell to the butterfly near the creek. The gameplay is solid, and adds numerous needed features to the FPS genre. Sprinting will be seen in many a game to come, throwing grenades back is awesome, and the overall feel of the controls will make you wish all games played this smooth. The sound is so close to perfect that your neighbors may call the cops out of the fear that a revolution as just begun. Add to this a solid yet short single player, and a fantastic multiplayer, and you have an outstanding score of 4.9 out of 5. The only thing holding this game short of perfection is its lack of co-op, and limiting special features that are available in games like Halo 3—namely recording games and level editors. Despite these minor flaws this game remains #1 in the charts and the numbers do not lie.