DAY 34 / GAME 34 Halo

DAY 34 / GAME 34

Halo

           It took a while before a game came along that was as solid for local multiplayer as GoldenEye.  I remember watching Warthog launch videos online before I quite had a grasp of what the actual game was.  I remember hearing about how great the multiplayer was for this and trying to convince everyone to start playing it.  13 years and 5 sequels later this is still a popular title among friends for both local and online multiplayer.

            Halo was the kind of multiplayer that took advantage of being a newer generation of game.  Xbox was the first console that was easy to hook together for 8 player, two screen multiplayer.  It was also the first to offer proper online multiplayer.  (Albeit, you had to pay for the service.)  There were a lot of fun nights where we'd all gotten together; two couches, two tvs, two xboxes.  Team vs team without seeing the other players screen, but hearing their banter was tons of fun.  Times like these are hard to reproduce and will always just be left as fun memories.  I kinda wonder if local multiplayer will ever make a comeback, or if it's left as a stepping stone as games waited for the internet and the common connection to get where it is today.

             Put all of that aside and Halo was still a great multiplayer game. It felt well balanced, quick and easy to jump into.  It had (mostly) well sized levels you could traverse on foot, or jump on a Warthog jeep with a friend as someone else grabbed hold of a tank.  Vehicles tossed into a game like this is an idea I've always adored.  Halo was great on it's own.  Perhaps if only one was ever made I would still be looking back on it with as much adoration.  But it's evolution over time certainly kept it a staple game among myself and my friends.