Do you know what Halo is?
Until recently I would have answered "No" to this question. So what's changed?
Well, first there was the news that McFarlane Toys had acquired the license to produce the official Halo 3 figures. But no big deal there, right?
OK, then I got to see the first pictures of the proposed figures, and this pricked my interest.
As time went on I became more aware of the buzz surrounding Halo 3, and so I being an inquisitive sort of person I began to research and read up on it a little more. And the more I saw and read the more I got sucked in by the excitement and anticipation for the game.
So much so that once I can sneak it passed the wife I intend buying myself an Xbox 360 so I too can play it!
Halo is a trilogy of video games for Microsoft's Xbox 360 created by Bungie Studios.
The story centers around a character called Master Chief, i.e. Master Chief Petty Officer SPARTAN-117. Master Chief is a human super-soldier equipped with many technologically advanced weaponry and body armor.
Master Chief and his AI companion Cortana are fighting against the alien Covenant in a futuristic universe. The Halo of the game title is a huge mega-structure that is in orbit. This huge orbital structure is similar to that in the Ringworld series of books by Larry Niven. In fact he was approached by Bungie to write the novelisation based on the game.
All three games have been critically acclaimed and praised as being the best and most influential first person shooters on a game console. Other games trying to exemplify Halo have therefore been classed as "Halo Killer".
Since its first release the franchise has expanded into other markets with five novels, several graphic novels, action figures, and several other spin off titles and games.
The cultural impact of Halo has been compared to the impact that the original Star Wars trilogy had in the 70's and 80's and in fact still has to this day. The term "Halo Nation" refers to the people who play the game.
The final episode in the current series of the game was released on Sept 25, 2007 and grossed an incredible $170 MILLION in its first 24 HOURS! Making it the biggest event ever in entertainment history.
Halo: Combat Evolved
The first installment of the trilogy takes place on the mysterious Halo mega-structure was released on November 15, 2001. In a timeline before the games beginnings a collection of alien races known as the Covenant, intent on the destruction of mankind, attack the home of human military production, called Reach, and destroy it.
But a single starship, the Pillar of Autumn escapes carrying with it the last known SPARTAN-II super soldier referred to as Master Chief. The ships on board AI named Cortana initiates a random jump through slipspace attempting to draw the Covenant away from Earth when the ship unexpectedly discovers Halo. It is at this stage that you assume the role of Master Chief and descend to the ring's surface to battle the Covenant and discover Halo's secrets.
The game received much critical acclaim on its release and was ranked as the 14th best game ever by IGN.
Halo II
Released on Nov 9, 2004 two different editions of Halo 2 were launched. The standard game comes with the traditional Xbox packaging and a single disc, the single and multi-player components. The Collectors Edition came with a specially designed aluminum case with a bonus DVD, extra booklet and a different user manual. The manual in the collector's edition looked at the game from the perspective of the Covenant military whereas the standard version was from the perspective of the human military. On it's first day of release Halo 2 grossed $124 million making it the biggest entertainment event of all time at that time and has since than gone on to sell over 8 million copies since.
With new characters, game mechanics, weapons, vehicles, improved artificial intelligence and a more advanced graphic engine that utilizes normal mapping and bloom effects. For the first time the game also supported online multiplayer games via Xbox Live.
Along with its online playability it also has Bungie.net integration with ranking and tracking for every online game. A PC port developed by an internal team composing of Microsoft Games and Bungie Studios has also been developed. Halo 1 pc and Halo 2 Vista include multiplayer maps not available on the Xbox version and has features for custom created content with the Halo Editing Kit.
A New Project
On Sept 27, 2006 an untitled Halo project was announced by Microsoft that was to be co-written and co-designed by Peter Jackson, it has since been revealed that this project is in fact a new story arc for the Halo series. It has also been confirmed that this will be a new episodic series and is likely to be a new trilogy.
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