Halo Series
Gaming fandom has always spawned new elements in pop culture. Akin to the comic book culture and the sci-fi aficionados, gaming is slowly rising to have its own following of fanatics. From fan art, fan fiction, societies, and costume events – what used to be a solo button mashing session in your den has turned into massive gatherings and festivals. Despite these big fan parties, only one game successfully spawned an entire populace. This is the Halo Nation.
Akin to the massive cultural impact created by Star Wars and Star Trek, Halo has gone from being a shoot ‘em up video game to having a life of its own. Maybe this can be attributed to its sci-fi theme. As one would observe, the biggest chunk of pop culture phenomenon stems from futuristic space voyaging themes. Halo -- though it’s a shooter game geared towards using the right weapons at the right times to kill the right opponents – is deeply rooted in science fiction literature. Its plot is far from simplistic, and the universe it has created is highly detailed and thorough.
Halo was originally a real-time strategy game. When it was ported to the Xbox in 2001, it became the first person shooter it is known for today. As Halo: Combat Evolved, players engage in battle either on foot or on a vehicle. Unlike its contemporary FPS games, your character is allowed to carry only two weapons. This makes the game far more challenging and strategic. This limitation was surprisingly well received by gamers, as it allowed them more room for tactical thinking. You can, however, carry some grenades with you too. In having to combat both range and melee enemies, players termed their attack strategy as “The Golden Triangle of Halo” – an intelligent use of the melee-weapon-grenade combination.
Halo 2 was released in 2004, three years after the original. For the first time, players can dual-wield. Firing two weapons at the same time was a novelty that was much appreciated by Halo fans. Through Xbox Live, this version now had online multiplayer support. This feature was such a hit that for two years, Halo 2 was the chart-topper for Xbox Live every week.
Halo 3 was such a monumental success that within 24 hours, it made 170 million dollars. This can be attributed by the long-running and multimedia marketing of the game. These included a mini-game website, a series of forwarded cryptic emails, and a massive viral campaign. The wait was worth it, as Halo 3 introduced a horde of new weapons, better vehicles, and a new equipment list. Players are given a map editing tool to be able to create and insert objects and tools into some parts of the game.
he trilogy gained such a universal following that Halo was not only seen on consoles. The Halo universe inspired a science fiction novel series, as well as graphic novels. A Halo movie, even said to involve Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, has been in the rumor mill for quite some time. Though there have been no definitive news regarding this, it's next to impossible that such a complete sci-fi universe with a significant following will be ignored by Hollywood. Whether we see Halo in the silver screen or not, we're sure to get continuous Halo selections for our console gaming.
