Xbox, Halo, and the Master Chief: Destined to Carry the Flag
When launching the original Xbox console, Microsoft chose to make a new and completely unknown game the star of the show… Halo: Combat Evolved. On the surface, a mostly silent […]
Halo 2, the Arbiter, and “Blessing our Enemies” with Grace
While it can be a boldly divisive choice at the time, the act of playing from the point of view of the “opposing team” (like switching to the Arbiter in […]
Healing: Even Spartans Need a Break
Over the years, most games have replaced the traditional “med-packs” and health pickups we would use to heal ourselves with a much simpler form of health regeneration… seeking out a […]
Master Chief, Link, and When Less is More
Perpetually stoic and silent protagonists are pretty common in our video games, and many of our most beloved characters like John-117 or Link from the Legend of Zelda series are […]
Halo’s “Limitations”: What Would Master Chief Do?
While each Halo game has a small amount of exploration in it, the central storyline remains a linear experience… if we want to make progress, we have to take on […]
Halo: Going Deeper for the Hidden Rewards
The first time I played through Halo, I started the single-player campaign under normal difficulty and simply followed the story through to its’ conclusion… but that was only the beginning […]
The Halo Warthog: Designed for Cooperation
Driving the Warthog in Halo all by yourself works just fine if you are trying to enjoy a nice, leisurely cruise around the installation… but if you are trying to […]
Halo’s Needler: Thorns in the Flesh
The “Needler” in Halo may not pack the same punch as a shotgun or a rocket launcher, but its’ ordnance is capable of defeating even the most powerful Spartan because […]
The Gravemind: Fighting Battles or Winning the War?
One of the most surprising moments in the entire Halo series was when both the Master Chief and the Arbiter found themselves captured by the hive mind behind the flood, […]
Halo Brutes: Too Enraged to Wisely Engage?
The “Brutes” that were introduced in Halo 2 are an interesting character study, demonstrating a fairly nuanced battle strategy that can make them quite difficult to take down… until you […]
Finding God in Video Games 