What used to be the symbol of Microsoft's successful step into the world of home console gaming now stands in shame as a prime example of how greed and lust for monetary gains can ruin an entire gaming franchise and everything that it stands for. How could this be possible? Did no one understand what was going on- and what was going to happen if no one raised his voice in time? Were they threatened to remain silent by their employers? The questions are many, and will only increase in numbers as answers remain hard to come by. Just about the only thing that we know for sure is that a tragedy has taken place.
It all started back in the early 2000's as Halo: Combat Evolved shook the gaming world immediately after release. It was revolutionary in many respects; a first-person shooter featuring regenerating health, vehicles far less clumsy than previous attempts, artificial intelligence that actually seemed intelligent and, above all, a highly immersive setting.
Everyone remembers the first time that they exited the escape pod and saw the Halo ring rising at the horizon, going all the way up across the screen and back down on the other side. The sense of isolation. The will to explore and figure out what the ring is and why it was made. The connection you form with the marines - and sense of grief in the event that you fail to save them. You felt strong among allies, yet weak alone against the enemy. Your character was powerful, but not all-powerful. And the final mission truly tested your limits, giving you a great deal of satisfaction as you made it out alive, witnessing Sergeant Johnson finally making a truce with a Covenant Elite moments before the Halo ring blows up. At that moment you knew that Halo would remain a monumental experience in your gaming career, and that any series looking to top it would have a mountain to climb.
Then it happened. Halo 2 was released and suddenly everything that made the original so great and so memorable was swept away in a heartbeat: Master Chief starts flying around in space, Sergeant Johnson apparently survived the explosion somehow, marines are few and far between, the mysterious Covenant aliens start talking English, electric guitars start making noises during combat situations, the bland and uninspired Brutes become the new primary enemy, the final boss battle lacks any sense of grandeur and the game ends in a painful cliffhanger. The series became just another generic science fiction movie with some admittedly still good but not legendary gameplay. It was not Halo anymore.
I am usually a very forgiving person, but the thing that Bungie and Microsoft did to Halo is something that I will never be able to forgive them for. Halo could have been so much more, but instead ended up as yet another attempt to appeal to the masses at the cost of the game's core.
Because of this, they have earned my eternal contempt.
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