Techtite Game Reviews ---

Every new game system needs that "jewel in its crown" upon release; the game

with all the bells and whistles turned on, showing K-Mart shoppers why they should fork out that credit card and buy a new game system, now. Halo is that game for the X-Box; no doubts there. Suffice to say, when Microsoft hired Bungee software for the very purpose of a cool game upon launch, they got their money's worth...and why shouldn't they? Bungee made that cool PC game, Oni, just last year.

The storyline here is so good, its prologue is even offered as a paperback in book stores. You are referred to by your fellow marines as "Master Chief"; the last remaining prototype of a cyborg soldier, built to defend humankind from an alien horde known as "Covenant." While this race has fortunately not discovered the true origin of humanity yet --Earth-- they have breached your ship and intend to get this information from the ship's main computer. Captain Keys downloads the ship's AI construct --named Cortana-- into your cybernetic implants for safety. He orders you to get off the now-derelict ship, and keep Cortana and her data away from the Covenant at all costs. That strange space station near the nearby planet looks like a good place to hide; the one resembling a "halo."

You crash on this strange station, to discover that the inner ring is much like Earth, complete with gravity, mountains, waterfalls, beaches, icy mountain peaks, and many strange, apparently deserted alien ruins to explore. Other marines have escaped with you, both to help you survive, and for you to help them (after all, you are the only super-soldier left!). This might be a problem, for two reasons. One, the Covenant are searching this station in droves. Two, this station is not devoid of life. I liked how diverse the aliens were in this resulting action yarn, resulting in an ongoing story with parts of Alien, Predator, Terminator, and every other cool sci-fi classic, all rolled into one game!

The game interface is as intuitive as it could be. Just in case though --brilliantly interwoven into the storyline-- is a tutorial, masquerading as a pre-battle system check to see if each function of your suit still operates properly after cryogenic sleep. Left joystick controls movement; right controls targeting. On hand for advice on how to proceed each mission is Cortana, whose AI voice is "in your head" at all times. You may be able to "logically" hold only two weapons at one time, though here's the fun part; after defeating the aliens, you can take their weapons, and use their own technology against them. When the weapon runs out of juice, either find another just like it, or exchange it for another human weapon (which is easy to find ammo for, since your marine buddies are right there). Best of all, the game rewards thinking as well as quick shooting, by allowing you to sneak up on enemies and use your "melee attack" to defeat them with one hit. This isn't easy, though it's nice to see thinking rewarded in a shooter game; that's one more plus for Halo.

Some have said the game maps are repetitive. Sorry; not feeling the "hate" here; only feeling the love. Maybe love is blind, though I can't see the places that are repetitive. Sure, there is backtracking --which may seem like "similar levels" to gamers who aren't paying attention-- though on the most part, there's a lot of diversity here. From snow-covered bridges to sandy sunny beaches, and from familiar spaceship interiors to those cool, clear catwalks in ancient alien ruins, this game is just plain cool to look at. Whoever says differently is either a Playstation 2 owner griping about the newest game system, or a GameCube fan griping about how Nintendo settled for a mini-disc format to store all its games. Sorry, guys; Halo really is cool, no matter who'd claim differently.

You'll learn to truly love this game the most once you reach the vehicles! Some of your marines were able to escape in fully loaded drop ships, complete with jeeps and even a tank. Once again, there's also the option (very frequently; I liked that!) to use alien vehicles against them, such as their own fighter ships, hover-guns, and stationary turrets. If you accidentally overturn the vehicles, don't worry; a still-operable vehicle can be turned right side up again, ready for re-use. What's even more fun; driving near fellow marines makes them hop on board, shooting at nearby aliens as you drive. Get off the jeep to explore nearby ruins, and your marine passengers follow you to help; get on the jeep again, and they hop back on too. The AI in this game is quite impressive that way.

Multiplayer is another place where this game shines brightly. Here's the coolest, most rare of features: you can play the single-player missions two-player style, in a co-operative mode. This is especially cool when trying to see that "extended ending" for gamers who complete the Legendary difficulty level; two players playing at once are more likely to succeed than just one. Meanwhile, there's competitive and team multiplayer maps, allowing 2 or more players any number of game styles to tinker with, including capture the flag and a more realistic, one-life-only competition. Up to four players can play on one system via a split screen, while up to four separate X-boxes can be linked via the Ethernet port, to play full-screen on alternate TVs. These two features can even be combined, to have up to 16 Halo players at once; 4 for each system. Let the multiplayer battles begin!

There's really nothing worth griping about in this game. There's always that one gripe I seem to discover in even the best of game titles, though not so here. Upon finishing the single-player missions for the first time, the biggest feelings I had was to either play it all over again, or call my brother to play co-operative mode. Some say the ending wasn't what they had hoped; I say, what did you want that this finale didn't offer? This game is so cool, it could easily be made into the pilot of a sci-fi TV series someday. Only the finest of games can ever say that.

	Final Rating : Deep Impact. An all-around spectacular opening title for the X-Box. The "console-itis" of the game is also minimized, which is greatly appreciated.
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Halo

A Techtite Review