So recently, I’ve decided that I’m quitting Halo.
Now I’ll say first off, no, I’m not some hot-shot MLG, or popular for any kind of Machinimas or Forge maps, or anything I’ve done in the Halo community. But I can say that I’m more than just another Halo player - I’m a Halo fan, and I feel that somewhere in my heart, I always will be.
This is sort of my final swan song to Halo, and since Halo has been the story of my life up to this point, I’ll start there. . .
Growing up, I never really had anything with a single mom and 3 other siblings, my dad would visit every few years though. So when I was younger, my main interest was Sonic games - until one day, my dad bought us a used Xbox, and I was ecstatic. There were a ton of games, but the one I played first was “Halo 2”. I’d always heard my friends talking about “Halo 3” before, but I never paid any attention to it.
At the time, I was visiting my cousin in the US, and he seemed to have played this game before, so he offered to teach me the ropes of the game - I still remember hiding behind him as he he blasted his way through the Cairo with ease. . .
After that, I was hooked on Halo 2. When we got back home, I would play Co-Op everyday with my brother, and would beat him - no contest in versus, where I got my edge at sniping no-scoping him across Blood Gulch all afternoon long. I shared many laughs and good times, but eventually the Xbox stop working.
But that didn’t exactly mean I would be on a hiatus - no way. I would spend all my time watching YouTube videos, reading the books, and even going back to play Halo CE on the PC - Halo was all I ever wanted to do, and even though i never did get the chance to play the legendary “Halo 3”, I’d heard about a bundle including Halo 3: ODST and Forza Motorsport, and THAT was what I wanted. I worked my -Yoink- off raising my grades in school, and cleaning around the house every chance I got, and eventually, I got an Xbox - not that specific bundle, but I got the Xbox nevertheless, with Pure and LEGO Batman. I would play it, but I would still keep up with the Halo universe, looking at all the information I could find on Halopedia, watching HMV’s and playing Halo CE on my PC, and eventually my brother had told me "Hey dude, there’s a new Halo game coming out called Halo: Waypoint. i looked it up, and unfortunately it wasn’t a game, it was some sort of website.
Then a while later, I’d learned that there would be a new game. . . Halo: Reach.
I didn’t get the game until a year after it came out, so I spent all my time playing the demo from the marketplace - no, I’m not kidding. All day, all night, me and my brother would be play that demo, proving who was the “true spartan” between us.
Then, after enough convincing and asking, my mom finally got us the game.
And I can say that when I played the game for the first time, after all these years, the HUGE elephant in the room was that: “This is no where near as good as Halo 2”. I was “that guy” who knew the game wasn’t so great, but just wouldn’t admit it. But as huge halo fans, we just kept playing the game( we didn’t have XBL gold accounts, so we played offline) - but i could still feel the tension. The game was not as good as we anticipated - except until we got into Firefight mode.
Firefight mode was the funnest thing we ever played. Our map of choice was Beachhead - it was large, and provided for much exploration and “cinematic Halo moments”. We played on Heroic, because being the knuckle-heads we were, all we wanted was the purest Halo experience, and while the Heroic definition saying “this is the way Halo was meant to be played.” was sort of a huge middle-finger to my brother from Bungie before they left, it was right up my alley as I was much better. We would always talk about the awesome things we did, like taking on 4 Elites at close range, or tearing down the Beachhead for tactical advantages - We felt like one Spartan fighting to survive against a whole armada of Covenant was the coolest thing ever. Firefight on Beachhead is still a memory I keep close to me.
And when I went online, I know that playing Solo Firefight so much was the main thing that made me a star-player in the Rumble Pit, and gave me a 8.4 K/D in SWAT
Then, Halo 4 came out, and this time, I wasn’t scared to admit that this was not Halo - not at all.
I saw the AA’s brought back, the perks, and all the upgrades - the Weapon drops and the Large hit-box - th game hadn’t become about wheter you had good aim, and good sense, knowing where to go and what weapons to use at which time - even things that Halo: Reach managed to do - it had become about who used the best powerups, and who could lance out the grenades the fastest.
I quickly learned that Microsoft/343i only wants Halo 4 - the Reclaimer Trilogy - to be a quick, shameless money grab before the flame goes out. Selling the OST and expensive headphones, over-priced Limited Editions, licensed snacks, and merchandise - Halo was no longer the game I used to know - it had been turned into a disgusting money generator, from the casual gameplay to the hollywood-ified Campaign; lame emotional drama, cartoonish villians and all.
But I ask you:
Do we have a right to demand that 343i preserve our precious childhood memories?
Perhaps it’s time for the people like me to move on - 343i/Microsoft has made it quite obvious that this is the type of game they want - a casual game to generate money - the fact that Halo has been rapidly declining in popularity after just 2 months, as seen on Major Nelson’s XBL Activity Chart (I believe it’s down to number 8 at this point?) tells me that perhaps I’m not alone on this one. But that’s not why I’m quitting Halo - never.
I’m quitting because this Halo is just not the Halo game i was hoping for, and we have no right to demand that it be.
And I repeat, should 343i be making Halo in order to preserve our precious memories of what we think Halo is?
Although, what’s one person quitting on Halo going to do anyway?
Nothing - nothing immediate, no. It’s quite simply like taking a drop of water out of the ocean - but how long before that ocean becomes a lake? Becomes a pond?
Nevertheless, I feel that my decision is final.
And I can tell you, that this is a very hard decision for me to make - in the mean time, I’ve been revisiting and old friend of mine, Sonic, and while am happy to see that the platforming genre hasn’t been so watered down, I still feel simply. . . lost.
So as my brethren march onto meet glorious salvation, I shall stay behind, perhaps still taking a glance or two upon the horizon from the distance.
Burn Bright, Burn Blue.
- iReclaimer.