“Halo” everyone. Halo is the game child of Bungie, managed and developed by 343 Industries, and a part of Microsoft Xbox Game Studios. It is a first-person science fiction shooter that first showed up back in 2001 Combat Evolved. It has characters they love, lore, and an original story that is centered on humanity’s future. The story revolves around a soldier, Master Chief Spartan 117, Cortana, his helpful AI, and the Arbiter, his once foe-turned companion against enemies who threaten humankind in our future. The Halo franchise made a staple in the gaming world and has come a long way, but has it burned out or gone too far?
Halo‘s Master Chief is our only hope
The epic saga of these characters began with Bungie, which was founded by Alex Seropian of Chicago, Illinois, and Jason Jones in 1991. All their hard work came out in Halo: Combat Evolved, which started as a real-time strategy that was going to be for the Mac and had a code name (get this), Monkey Nuts and Blam. It has evolved since then into what it has become.
Halo: Combat Evolved allowed players to battle various aliens on foot, several vehicles, and friends while striving to discover the secrets of the mysterious ancient alien artifact called the Halo. It was released with the first original Xbox in 2001 and has been praised as one of the most excellent video games ever made.
Master Chiefs first appearance
Its quick popularity led to its sequel, Halo 2, which promised better graphics, new weapons and enemies, and expansive multiplayer modes. It was released in 2004 under great pressure to answer its predecessor’s greatness. This time, Master Chief plays in the advanced campaign with a cliffhanger ending.
Then came Halo 3, which was going to be the final game in the original Halo trilogy. It came out on the Xbox 360 in 2007. This one came with new vehicles, weapons, and a limited editor tool called the Forge. One game wasn’t enough, as two side stories were also later released: Halo 3: ODST in 2009 and a prequel called Halo: Reach the following year.
Despite the three games, the demand for more was needed as Halo 4 brought with it a visual overhaul and was centered more on the Master Chief and Cortana. Its release came in 2012 with record-setting gross earnings of 220 million on its first day and 300 million in its first week. It received multiple awards for its single and multiplier modes.
The Master Chief evolves with our enemies
Halo 5: Guardians was next coming in 2015. We join Master Chief once more, and his team, as well as another Spartan team led by Locke. Their fates are intertwined as they both strive to discover Cortana. Its graphics and game design won several awards but met some criticism for its storyline.
The last installment and most recent is Halo Infinite. It was released with the Xbox Series x hitting the world in 2021. This game differed as it now offered the player an open-world experience. Its highly favorable reviews from critics set it up to be just what the public wanted, but players were not convinced.
Despite its poor sales, Infinite will not be the end of the Master Chief, as the franchise has announced more will come. No details have been given yet, but this franchise has been highly expansive beyond the world of gaming. A series has been given, as well as several movies, toys, and even catchy homewares.
One thing is for sure: the Master Chief is here to stay, and Halo will keep coming with increased gameplay, taking down threats to humanity, one alien at a time.
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About the Author
This article is written by RJ Parker, an award-winning novelist, and author of two series, a scriptwriter for feature films and an animation series with Dissfilm, a board game designer and writer for Anzir, a digital storyteller, and a writer for Total Apex Sports and Faith at a View.
