HALO 3, the anticipated savior of Microsoft’s unprofitable XBOX Division, has just debuted. I’ve never had much interest in HALO. The first title, generally considered the superior effort, failed to live up to its hype. The more interesting game exteriors were too often replaced with endlessly cloned interiors that only served to pad the game’s length, epitomized by the universally reviled Library mission. The Warthog vehicle mechanics coupled with its popular multiplayer capability was a milestone for console games, but didn’t captivate against comparable multiplayer fare on the PC. The premise was sufficiently engaging, but ultimately a hodge-podge construct blatantly ripped from Ringworld and Aliens, plus countless others. Granted I’m a cynical jaded gamer disappointed with the lack of design progress exhibited by the games industry over the years.
The game’s iconic protagonist, the Master Chief, whose identity remains obscured, is a stroke of brilliance. We desire to know the Master Chief’s identity, yet his obscurity serves gaming perfectly as the Master Chief becomes synonymous with the player. Overall HALO does manage to hit the right note where others haven’t and has subsequently become the Star Wars of gaming. This of course aided by a marketing campaign for HALO 3 that is more reminiscent of Nike than Microsoft. As highlighted by the following commercials spearheaded by Agency McCann, San Francisco.