Halo: Combat Evolved

I know that it is outdated now but I felt that I should do a post on each game in the series as they are so good. I am a big fan of first person shooter games. Where all you see is the gun and you go around and blow stuff up. Anyways, Halo is a unique game in the fact that it actually has a good story line and not just one concocted to blow stuff up. Halo was originally going to be a game like Starcraft with tons of story to fill it in. However, last minute changes made it a shooter game. It is obvious that the designers of the first game never really expected it to catch as much fire as it has but, we are all so very glad that it did. A quick synopsis of the game is this...

You start the game as Master Chief, the last of his race of super soldiers (Spartans), who had been preserved and awakened for a time of need. The ship that you are on is hijacked by a race of aliens although you don't exactly know why, you are trying to get out live. When the alien ships leave you follow and it leads you to a mysterious halo floating in space. The halo is extremely ominous and surprisingly earth-like. As you fight your way to the inside of the halo you begin to realize that the halo is a religious object to the alien race (the Covenant). This is what, I feel, distinguishes halo from other shooter games. Both sides can appear to be correct. It is a religion to the alien race to worship and protect the halo while as the master chief you know that it can't end well if the aliens unlock the halo. The soldiers are able to open the halo first and you lose communication with them. Of course, as the game's hero you must investigate. When you arrive you see a soldier screaming on the floor shooting at anything that moves. Once past him you search for what exactly was unlocked. Master Chief then discovers that the great religious weapon that has been opened in the halo is actually a Parasite. The parasite rapidly infects those exposed to it and causes those who are dead to fight again. You must battle your way out and destroy the halo before the infectious Parasite escapes and lays siege to earth and space.


Although the description above sounds a bit like a horror movie at times it never plays out exactly like a super freaky horror movie. You are never super grossed out or feel the need to leave the room screaming. It does however, keep you on the edge of your seat much like a suspense movie does. Halo offers a solid set of controls that are easy and responsive to all players which is a big reason that the game has become popular. The other reason for it's large gain in popularity is the incredible multiplayer mode that the game features. With maps that are always fun to traverse and well balanced for all playing styles. Overall, Halo is a very solid game and I only hope that they make a movie soon that lives up to the game.

Metroid Prime Review

So, I have always had nostalgia for the Metroid games clear back to the original Nintendo. While we never owned these games growing up I remember trying to play them at friends/relatives houses as well as the game station in the Sears store (the only relief to shopping for a young boy in the mall...you know what I am talking about). Anyways, I never really caught onto what the story was but man was I in for a treat. I bought this game for $6 at a local Game Stop in California during pest control over a year and a half ago and thought that I would give it a try. This game looks like a First Person Shooter game (for those new to this lingo, it means the view point of a Doom or Halo game). What I found after 4 hours though was a very confusing planet and controls that I didn't understand and ultimately got frustrated with. A couple of months ago I put the disc back into the Wii to give it another try. I finally learned about a tool in the game to scan the environment for clues. Holy Cow!!! Much much better now. Once I caught on to this new idea of gaming controls everything ran much smoother. I was able to find where I needed to go and the story line actually became very intriguing. While I will not ruin the story line here I do recommend this title for play mostly to the male audience of our family. The more I played the game however, the more of a Zelda feel it had with puzzles galore. Overall I give it a 5/5 and highly recommend this title to those who like Zelda or the previous Metroid games in the series. Metroid Prime 2&3 are definately going to the Christmas wish list so that I can finish out the trilogy.