Can you really consider it retro gaming when you are playing a game that turned 7 years old in November? I think so since playing the original Halo made me nostalgic for those days when three friends and I would sit and play Halo for hours, four of us on the split screen on one television.
Last Saturday I purchased the original Halo through the Xbox Live Marketplace. I paid more than I would have if I had been patient and bought it off eBay. I invited a couple of buddies over that night and we sat down for a couple of hours for some old school mayhem and I noticed a few major differences between the original Halo: Combat Evolved and the following two versions of the franchise.
We started out on Battle Creek since this is the map we all knew the best since there is a version of it in Halo 2. Two things jumped out at me immediately. First was the needler, when you fired the weapon it was beautiful. The long slow pink contrails it left behind were distracting sometimes, in a good way. Second, the round leaving the rocket launcher has a lot more velocity in Halo 1 than any of the other Halos. It makes it more effective as an offensive weapon since you don’t have to lead your target. When you get blowed up by it you also miss hearing it coming like you do in the two later Halos. There’s nothing like hearing that rocket coming and knowing there’s nothing you can do to help yourself. Half the fun of Halo is dying gloriously.
I also noticed that my non-gaming roommate, that used to play multiplayer with us back in the day when we would have four on a screen, was able to hang with the two more serious gamers. He pretty much stopped playing Halo when Halo 2 came around. The online combat on Halo 2 was beyond his ken. It was too fast paced and he just died all the time. He wasn’t having fun. Now back in the original Halo he was having fun once more. He still came in last during each round but he felt competitive. I think it’s because the assault rifle holds 60 rounds in a clip (his nickname is “The Sprayer”) and it’s harder to kill someone in Halo 1. He is also sometimes called “A Runner.” He may not kill you all that much but he is a challenge to kill. Killing him in Halo 2 is not a challenge.
He prefers to play a slower paced game. He’s a camper and a stalker. He prefers to assassinate you from behind with the beat down and run like you caught him stealing your TV if you start shooting at him. That’s fine, Halo 1 allows him to do that. You can’t play like that in Halo 2 as easily.
Another drastic difference I noticed was that the grenades had a lot more power. I mean a lot. They are like carrying bombs in your hands. One of our favorite custom games back in the day was playing king of the hill on the map Longest. We would set it up so we each had unlimited grenades and just turn it into a mutual massacre. Good times. My friend, Chris has a deep affection for grenades and when he noticed the increased power of the grenades he developed a new appreciation for the original Halo.
Beat downs were also harder to accomplish. I think that is another aspect of Halo 1 that allowed my non-gaming roommate to hang with the two of us that play Halo 3 a lot. Me not being able to hit him easily with a crippling melee attack allowed him either start spraying bullets, eject grenades or run away. Sometimes he did all three.
The maps hold up also. These are well designed arenas and it was fun to explore them again. Rat Race is still a favorite that offers intense close up battles and also the opportunity to toss grenades and machine gun your weakened opponent. Prisoner is still marvelous with its multiple levels that allow players to separate but still has enough corners that can throw you into a fierce firefight with little notice. Of course there’s always Wizard if you want a fast paced game and some fancy pistol sniping. I had forgotten how many maps there are. There is a lot of variety here which requires you to change your tactics as you play.
Another aspect of the original Halo that I hadn’t expected was the high ‘giggle factor.’ We laughed and laughed and laughed while playing the game. Half the time I didn’t even care who won. There’s a silliness to the game that doesn’t come through in Halo 2 or Halo 3. With more dangerous grenades (of which you can carry four), larger clips and maps designed to bring players together there can be so much chaos that all you can do is try to take someone with you because you are going to get blowed up. Also with your opponents sitting next to you in the room while playing the game it adds a level of intimacy you can never get while playing online. This game wouldn’t be as much fun over a network. This way it becomes more about causing havoc and having fun which is all you really want a video game to provide sometimes.
